高中英语故事类阅读阅读理解

It was Christmas 1961. I was teaching in a small town in Ohio where my twenty seven third graders eagerly anticipated the great day of gift giving.
Each day the children made some new wonder – strings of popcorn, hand-made decorations, and German bells made from wallpaper samples, which we hung from the ceiling. Through it all she stayed indifferent(漠不关心的), watching from afar, seemingly miles away. I wondered what would happen to this quiet child, once so happy, now so suddenly unsociable. I hoped the festivities would light her up. But nothing did.
The day of gift giving finally came. We oohed and aahed over our handwork as the presents were exchanged. Through it all, she sat quietly watching. I had made a special package for her, red and green with white lace. I wanted very much to see her smile. She opened it so slowly and carefully. I waited but she turned away.
After school the children left in little groups, but she hesitated, watching them go out of the door. I sat down to catch my breath, hardly know what was happening when she came to me reaching out her hands, holding a small white box, unwrapped and slightly soiled, as though it had been held many times by unwashed, childish hands. “For me?” I asked with a weak smile. She said not a word, but nodded her head. I took the box and carefully opened it. There inside, lay a golden chain. In a flash I knew – she had made it for her mother, a mother she would never see again, a mother who would never hold her or brush her hair or share a funny story, a mother who would never again hear her childish joys or sorrows, a mother who had taken her own life just three weeks before.
I held out the chain. She took it in both her hands, reached forward, and put it on at the back of my neck. She stepped back then as if to see that all was well. I looked down at the golden chain, then back at the giver, “Maria, it is so beautiful. She would have loved it.” Neither of us could stop the tears. She threw herself into my arms and we were in tears together. And for that moment I became her mother, for she had given me the greatest gift of all: herself.
The underlined “anticipated” (Paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to _________.

A．prepared

B．expected

C．talked

D．kept

We can learn from the story that_________.

A．the beautiful chain was put inside a beautiful box

B．Maria made a golden chain of popcorn for her mother

C．the teacher made a special package for Maria so as to see her smile

D．Maria oohed and aahed over the handwork as the presents were exchanged

Maria became quiet and unsociable because_________.

A．she was a shy girl

B．her teacher didn’t give her any gift

C．her mother passed away three weeks ago

D．she didn’t have any friends in the class

The underlined sentence (Paragraph 5) mostly means_________.

A．Maria found her biological mother

B．Maria asked her teacher to be her mother

C．the teacher promised to be Maria’s mother after receiving her greatest gift

D．Maria believed in her considerate teacher and opened her heart to the teacher

The BEST title for the passage is _________.

A．The kid’s gift	B．A quiet girl
C．The greatest teacher	D．The great day of gift giving

Marjorie Gestring
Marjorie Gestring was a springboard（跳板） diver from the United States who won the gold medal in 3-meter springboard diving at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany at the age of 13 years．With the cancellation（取消） of the Olympics in 1940 and 1944 because of World War II, Gestring did not get a chance to defend her title, and her comeback attempt for the 1948 Summer Olympics failed．
Bob Mathias
17-year-old American Bob Mathias won the decathlon（十项全能运动） only four months after taking up the sport．He is the youngest athlete in Olympic history to win a men's track and field event．By the time Mathias retired from decathlon competition in 1952, he had nine victories in nine competitions．He had won two gold medals separately in 1948 and 1952．In 1954 a film about his early life called The Bob Mathias Story was made, in which he and his wife played themselves．
Fu Mingxia
Fu Mingxia was born on August 16, 1978 in Wuhan, Hubei Province．At an early age, her father taught her to swim at a nearby river．She started exercising gymnastics at age 5, soon turning to diving．Fu Mingxia left home at age 9 to train in Beijing．In the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Fu Mingxia became China's youngest Olympic champion ever when she won the 10-meter platform gold at the age of 13．
Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe was born on 13 October, 1982．He is a former Australian freestyle swimmer．At the age of 14, he became the youngest male ever to represent Australia．Ian Thorpe, 17 years old, won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle by breaking his own world record in Sydney 2000．He has won five Olympic gold medals．
How many times has Marjorie Gestring taken part in the Olympic Games?

A．Two．

B．Three．

C．Four．

D．Five．

Which two athletes took part in the Olympics in the same year ?

A．Marjorie Gestring and Fu Mingxia

B．Bob Mathias and Fu Mingxia

C．Marjorie Gestring and Bob Mathias．

D．Bob Mathias and Ian Thorpe．

How long had Fu Mingxia practised diving in Beijing before she won the 10-meter platform gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics?

A．About ten years．

B．About nine years．

C．About five years．

D．About three years．

What is the passage mainly about ?

A．Some young Olympic champions．

B．The history of the Olympic Games．

C．How to train young Olympic athletes．

D．How to prepare for the Olympic Games．

A lawyer and a young lady were sitting next to each other on a long flight. The lawyer asked if she would like to play a fun game. The lady just wanted to take a nap, so she politely refused.
The lawyer explained that the game was actually very easy. He explained “I ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer, you pay me, and vice versa（反之亦然）.” Again, the lady politely refused and tried to get some sleep.
The lawyer added eagerly, “Okay, if you don’t know the answer, you pay me $5, and if I don’t know the answer, I will pay you $50!” Considering that there would be no end to this suffering unless she played, the lady agreed.
The lawyer asked the first question, “What is the distance from the earth to the moon?” The young lady didn't say a word, pulled out five dollars from her purse and handed it to the lawyer.
Now, it was the lady’s turn. She asked the lawyer, “What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?” The lawyer was greatly puzzled. He took out his computer and searched all of his references. He searched the Net and sent e-mails to all of his friends, but it was all to no avail. After over an hour, he woke up the lady and handed her $50. The lady politely took the money and turned away to get back to sleep.
The lawyer, very puzzled now, woke the lady up again and asked, “Well, what on earth is the answer?” Without a word, the lady reached into her purse, handed the lawyer another $5 and went back to sleep.
The lawyer tried to persuade the lady to play the game because he       .

A．knew he could win

B．wanted to have fun with the lady

C．wanted to lose money to her

D．liked to chat with young ladies

Which of the following best describes the meaning of the underlined words?

A．No messages arrived	B．No one could help him
C．The Net failed to work	D．Nobody answered his e-mails

We may infer from the story that       .

A．the lawyer and the lady used to be lovers.

B．there was no answer to the lady’s question.

C．the lady didn't like playing games with strangers.

D．the lawyer was too stupid to answer the question.

The author’s purpose for writing the story is to       .

A．tell us how clever the lady is

B．describe the rules of playing games

C．show that it is interesting to play games

D．make fun of the lawyer

The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of September 2, 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. Over one hundred people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives .
　　The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包师）in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window into the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
　　By eight o’clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul’s and the Guildhall among them .
　　Samuel Pepys , the famous writer, writer about the fire, “People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
　　The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path（路径） of the fire.With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
　　After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone．In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among which was the new St Paul’s
　　The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.
The underlined word‘family’in the second paragraph probably means____.

A．house

B．children

C．wife and husband

D．wife and children

It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that　　 .

A．many people lost their lives

B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire

C．many famous buildings were destroyed

D．the King’s bakery was burned down

Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?

A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire.

B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire.

C．To show that poor people suffered most.

D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire.

How was the fire put out according to the text?

A．The King and his soldiers came to help.

B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed.

C．People managed to get enough water from the river.

D．Houses standing in the path of the fire were destroyed.

Peanuts to This
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!
What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

A．Controversial.	B．Ridiculous.
C．Boring.	D．Puzzling.

Why was the author confused about the task?

A．He was unfamiliar with American history.

B．He followed the advice and flipped a coin.

C．He forgot his teacher’s instruction.

D．He was new at the school.

The underlined word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _______.

A．annoyed	B．ashamed
C．ready	D．eager

In the end, the author turned things around _______.

A．by redoing his task

B．through his own efforts

C．with the help of his grandfather

D．under the guidance of his headmaster

One night, as Diaz stepped off the train and onto a nearly empty platform, a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.
“He wanted my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go ’” Diaz says.
As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”
The robber looked at him puzzled, saying, “Why are you doing this?”
Diaz replied, “If you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me…..”
Diaz says he and the teen went into a diner and sat in a booth.
“The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi,” Diaz says.
The kid said, “You know everybody here. Do you own this place?”
“No, I just eat here a lot,” Dias said. “But you’re even nice to the dishwasher,” he said.
Diaz replied, “Well, haven’t you been taught you should be nice to everybody?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think people actually behaved that way,” the teen said.
When the bill arrived, Diaz said, “You’re going to have to pay for this bill because you have my money and I can’t pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I’ll gladly treat you.”
The teen returned it immediately. “I gave him $20…. I figure maybe it’ll help him.” Diaz says he asked for something in return--- the teen’s knife--- “and he gave it to me.”
Afterwards, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, “You’re the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch.”
“I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It’s as simple as it gets in this complicated world.”
What did Diaz do to the teen?

A．He gave the teen a new wallet	B．He treated the teen to dinner
C．He gave his coat to the teen	D．He bought the teen’s knife

From the passage we can infer that the boy _______.

A．expressed his gratitude for Diaz’s kindness

B．gave up the idea of robbing in the end

C．wasn’t taught how to be nice to everybody

D．gave the knife to Diaz in return for his forgiveness

As for what Diaz did, his mother showed an attitude of _______.

A．anger

B．concern

C．criticism

D．praise

By telling the story of Diaz, the author intends to tell us ______.

A．to keep calm in danger	B．not to go out alone at night
C．to treat others kindly	D．not to harm others on purpose

One day, Wilson was walking quietly along the road when someone hit him hard on the back of his neck．He looked behind him, and saw a young man whom he had never seen before．    
“How dare you hit me like that?” shouted Wilson．    
The young man said he had mistaken Wilson for a friend of his and that he thought Wilson was making a lot of noise about nothing．    
This insult (侮辱) made Wilson even angrier, of course, and he at once decided to bring the young man before a judge．    
Now, the judge, who heard the case, was a friend of the young man’s father’s, and, although he pretended to be quite fair, he was thinking about what he could do to protect the young man from being punished while at the same time not to be appearing unfair．   
Finally he said to Wilson, “I understand your feelings in this matter very well．Would you be satisfied if I let you hit the young man as he hit you?”    
Wilson said he would not be．The young man had insulted him and should be properly punished．    
“Well, then,” said the judge to the young man, “I order you to pay ten coins to Wilson．”    
Ten coins was very little for such a crime, but the young man did not have it with him, so the judge allowed him to go and get it．    
Wilson waited for him to return with the money．He waited an hour, and then two hours, while the judge took care of other business．    
When it was nearly time for the court to close, Wilson chose a moment when the judge was especially busy, came up quietly and hit him hard on the back of the neck．Then he said to him, “I am sorry, but I can’t wait any longer．When the young man comes back, tell him that I have passed my right to the ten coins on to you．”
Why did the young man hit Wilson from behind?

A．Wilson had hit him before．

B．He had mistaken Wilson for a friend of his．

C．Wilson was a stranger there．

D．Wilson made a lot of noise when he was walking．

Which of the following explanations has the closest meaning with the underlined word “properly”?

A．completely

B．correctly

C．immediately

D．finally

The best title for this passage is ________．

A．I’ve passed my right on to you

B．The judge and Wilson

C．Wilson and the young man

D．The young man was set free

A year ago, August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but it was hard for Dave to find work, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at the risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift—$7,000, a legacy(遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were meeting difficulty.” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by what the Hatches had done. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in others, it was more than $100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than $3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They preferred comparison shopping and would go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camps when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything,” says their friend Sandy Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches gave away their farmland. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy—a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents—should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors—that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story.
According to the text, the Fusses ________.

A．were employed by a truck company	B．led a difficult life
C．worked in a school cafeteria	D．lost their home

What can we learn about the Hatches?

A．They had their children during the Great Depression.

B．They left the old house to live on their family farm.

C．They gave away their possessions（财产）to their neighbors.

D．They helped their neighbors to find jobs.

What Sandy Van Weelden said mainly tells us that the Hatches were _________.

A．understanding

B．kind

C．childlike

D．wealthy

Michael Jackson fans are coming a Chicago museum to see a 3,000 year old Egyptian statue which looks remarkably like the late king of pop. Staff have been rushed off their feet since Jackson's death as thousands of mourners visit the exhibition to pay tribute to the star.
The statue has skinny cheeks and - most strikingly - a tipless nose. It is on display at the Ancient Egypt exhibition at The Field Museum in the United States. The bust(半身像) was bought in Cairo in 1889 and has been on display at the museum for 21 years.
But its popularity has risen rapidly since Michael Jackson's death after fans started writing about the ancient statue on internet blogs. The bust was carved during the New Kingdom Period, which ran between 1550 BC to 1050 BC. This was around the same time as famous Egyptians Ramesses and King Tut.
The museum's 4,500 daily visitors are banned from touching or kissing the statue, which is protected behind a glass screen. Astonished fans stand admiring the statue and discussing its likeness with others who have travelled to see it.
Darnell Williams, the director of guest relations, said some fans were treating a visit to the museum like a pilgrimage(朝圣). He said: "The statue has been here for years but interest has been raised since Michael Jackson's death. People are coming from all over the country to see the statue and compare its likeness to the king of pop.
"They want to touch and kiss the model like it is some sort of God but it is behind a screen to protect it from damage. Once people see it they are astounded and can't stop talking about its likeness. It really is remarkable."
James Phillips, manager of near east and north African exhibits, said little was known about the origins of the model.
He said: "The likeness is astonishing but I think it is probably a coincidence. We do not believe Michael Jackson ever visited the museum or saw the exhibit and there is therefore little chance he based his image on it. We believe the model is missing a nose because early Christians or Muslims removed noses from paintings and models to make them non-human.
Many people are streaming to see the Egyptian statue to _______.

A．satisfy their curiosity

B．show their respect to Jackson

C．enjoy the splendid Egyptian culture

D．learn about the history of Egyptian

The underlined words “rushed off their feet” in the first paragraph mean”______”.

A．extremely busy	B．rather tired
C．very annoyed	D．quite surprised

The statue is rapidly getting popular mainly because of ________.

A．Jackson’s death	B．its archaeological value
C．the Internet	D．its long history

It can be inferred that the exhibits at the Ancient Egypt exhibition are classified by _________.

A．age

B．area

C．kind

D．value

I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language — the way it can evoke(唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all — all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But I feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions (认识) of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly, her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal(内在的) language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show; her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.
By saying “Language is the tool of my trade”, the author means that       .

A．she uses English in foreign trade

B．she is fascinated by languages

C．she works as a translator

D．she is a writer by profession

The author used to think of her mother’s English as      .

A．impolite

B．amusing

C．imperfect

D．practical

Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?

A．Americans do not understand broken English.

B．The author’s mother was not respected sometimes.

C．The author’s mother had positive influence on her.

D．Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts.

What is the passage mainly about?

A．The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English.

B．The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother.

C．The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English.

D．The author’s experiences of using broken English.

Born into a poor family，two of the Durers' children still had a dream for art，but they knew their father could not afford to send either of them to the academy(院校)．
After discussions，the two boys finally agreed to toss a coin．The loser would go to the nearby mines and support his brother while he attended the academy．Then，when the winner completed his studies，he would support the other brother，either with sales of his art work or，if necessary，by working in the mines．So they tossed a coin．Albrecht Durer won the toss and went to Nuremberg．Albert went to the dangerous mines and financed his brother，whose work at the academy was almost an immediate success，and by graduation，he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his works．
When the Durer family held a dinner to celebrate Albrecht's homecoming， Albrecht drank a toast to his brother，“Now，Albert，it is your turn to go to Nuremberg and follow your dream，and I will take care of you．”
Albert wiped the tears from his cheeks，glanced at the faces he loved，and said softly，“No，brother．It is too late for me．Look….look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been broken at least once，and lately I have been suffering from arthritis(关节炎)so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast，much 1ess make lines on canvas(画布)with a pen or a brush．No，brother …for me it is too 1ate．”
Therefore，Albrecht took pains to draw his brother’s injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward．The entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and named it “The Praying Hands”．
The passage is mainly about

A．the early life of Albrecht Durer

B．the story behind “The Praying Hands”

C．the sacrifice Albrecht made for his brother

D．a young man showing his talent through effort

According to the two brothers’ agreement，．

A．they let the coin decide who would go to the academy first

B．the winner would work at the academy in exchange for the loser’s help

C．the loser would go to the mines and earn money to pay for his own education

D．the winner would work in the mines after graduation in return for the loser's support

Albert refused his brother’s offer because．

A．he was too old to learn drawing

B．he suffered an accident.

C．he was not used to holding a pen or brush

D．his hands were out of shape as a result of hard work

The artist created the masterpiece “The Praying Hands”

A．to show kindness to his poor brother

B．to encourage people to realize their dreams

C．in praise of his brother’s sacrifice and love

D．in honor of his brother as a symbol of working people

In 1901, H. G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers (探险者) landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise. “Why?” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H. G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Chunnel”, a tunnel (隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities.” The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome (太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H. G. Wells “moon people” would agree. Would you?
The explorers in H. G. Wells’ story were surprised to find that the “moon people” .

A．knew so much about the earth

B．understood their language

C．lived in so many underground cities

D．were ahead of them in space technology

What does the underlined word “it” (paragraph 2) refer to?

A．Discovering the moon’s inner space.

B．Using the earth’s inner space.

C．Meeting the “moon people” again.

D．Traveling to outer space.

What sort of underground systems are already here with us?

A．Offices, shopping areas, power stations.

B．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.

C．Gardens, car parks, power stations.

D．Tunnels, gardens, offices.

What would be the best title for the text?

A．Alice Cities—cities of the future

B．Space travel with H. G. Wells

C．Enjoy living underground

D．Building down, not up

Light for the City
Edison and his assistants came to New York to set up an electric power system. They hoped it would provide enough electricity to light up a part of the great city.
They bought several machines with them. These were called generators, which produced electricity power for lamps in Edison’s building.
Soon there were lights for the building. Edison lived in a room facing the street and he often worked over night. The light burned brightly and steadily and he often worked over night. People often came and stopped their horse-drawn carriage to look. Everyone knew that Thomas Edison was in town.
First, the inventor and his assistants produced several large generators. A great deal of power would be needed to light up even a small part of the city.
Then the workers were busy digging deep trenches(沟) in the hard earth below the city streets, and Edison had fourteen miles of wire laid into the trenches. The wire connected each building to a generator.
Setting up an electric power system was not an easy job. It took a year and a half. In September, 1882, the job was finished.
A small group of men stood around Edison inside the power house. The big moment came at last. The inventor, taking a deep breath, pulled a switch. The electric lights flashed up.
“Very good! Very good!” a man nearby shouted to praise Edison for what he had done.
“Sir,” said Edison, “this is only the beginning!” And Edison was right. Soon Edison’s lamp were lighting up cities all over the world.                
The generators they brought with them could produce as much as electricity as ______ needed.

A．Edison’s building

B．a small part of the city

C．the whole city

D．the world

At that time carriages ______ by horse could be seen in the street.

A．draw

B．drew

C．drawn

D．drawing

Trenches were dug to ______.

A．set up generators

B．lay wires

C．built city streets

D．build a power house

It took a year and a half to ______.

A．set up the electric system	B．produce several large generators
C．dig the deep trenches	D．lay fourteen miles of wire into the trench

When I first got an e-mail account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisements and other correspondence that do not interest me at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need specific laws that make spamming(发送垃圾邮件) a crime.
If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse. Computer programs allow spammers to send hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual(个人的) e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?
This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well. Many spam e-mails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail for their employees to communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passes on to the consumer.
For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate (立法) against spam. Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.
According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?    

A．Companies rely on e-mail for communications.

B．More people in the world communicate by e-mail.

C．More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam.

D．Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail.

According to Paragraph 3, who is the final victim of spam?             

A．The business

B．The advertiser

C．The consumer

D．The employee

What is the purpose of the text?

A．To inform

B．To educate

C．To instruct

D．To persuade

A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspapers．“last week, ” said he, “my umbrella was stolen from a London church．As it was a present, I spent twice its worth in advertising, but didn't get it back．”
“How did you write your advertisement?”asked one of the listeners, a merchant．
“Here it is, said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper．The other man took it and read, “Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening, a black silk umbrella．The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings on leaving it at No．10 Broad Street．”
“Now, ”Said the merchant, “I often advertise, and find that it pays me well．But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance．Let us try for your umbrella again, and if it </PGN0332.TXT/PGN>fails, I'll buy you a new one．”
The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote：“If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn't wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No．10 Broad Street．He is well known．”
This appeared in the paper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door．In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colours that had been thrown, and his own was among them．Many of them had notes fastened to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter．
The result of the first advertisement was that ______________.

A．the umbrella was found somewhere near the church

B．the man got his umbrella back

C．the man wasted some money advertising

D．nobody found the missing umbrella

The merchant suggested that the man should _______________.

A．buy a new umbrella

B．write another and better advertisement

C．go on looking for his umbrella

D．report the police

“If it fails, I’ll buy you a new one,” suggested that the merchant
_______________.

A．wanted to buy him a new umbrella

B．didn’t know what to do

C．was rich enough to buy one

D．was quite sure of success

The story is mainly about _________________.

A．a useless advertisement

B．how to make an effective advertisement

C．what the merchant did for the umbrella owner

D．how the man lost and found his umbrella