高中英语故事类阅读试题

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet the king. He set off, walking towards the king’s castle. After many years of walking, the king’s castle came into his view. However, as the boy drew closer to the outside of the castle, the guards noticed him.
“Get out of here!” ordered the guards.
Well, the little boy didn’t have to be told twice. He turned…and ran. All he wanted to do was to tell the king wonderful things, and see all the beautiful things in the king’s house. But he couldn’t even get near the castle! The boy finally stopped running, sat down and cried.
A young man happened to be coming down the path at the very moment. He saw the little boy and stopped. “What’s wrong, young man?” he asked.
“Sir, I walked and walked just to see the king. But these guards made me scared. I wanted to tell the king how lovely everything is and just tell the king that I just wanted to see him!”
The man looked at the little boy thoughtfully. “Look, why don’t you try again? I’ll come with you this time.”
The little boy got up and took the man’s hand. The king’s guards spotted them.
“Look, mister, we don’t have to do this…I don’t want you to get hurt. We can just turn around now.”
The man held the little boy’s hand and went on. The boy really thought the man might be crazy until he looked back up at the guards. They were all smiling now. The little boy was amazed.
“Who are you?” asked the little boy in astonishment.
“Why, I’m the king’s son. You can enter the castle and be with the king.” Said the man.
The little boy broke into a huge smile.
Why did the boy want to see the king?

A．To get some help from the king.

B．To invite the king to visit his beautiful village.

C．To share wonderful things with the king.

D．To ask the king to play with him.

What does the underlined sentence in the paragraph mean?

A．The little boy didn’t understand the guards’ words at first.

B．The guards repeated the words to the boy.

C．The little boy had been to the castle twice.

D．The little boy understood the guards’ words immediately.

According to the passage, the man is        .

A．kind

B．stupid

C．ambitious

D．mean

Which of the following best suits the story’s lesson for us?

A．Never judge a book by its cover.

B．Anything is possible if one tried hard enough.

C．Life can sometimes be unfair.

D．Make new friends and keep the old.

On the night of November 14, 1978, a six-year-old Korean boy was flying to the United States. All he knew was that he was on a plane heading for somewhere. The plane landed at Kennedy International Airport, where he was greeted by a family. This young boy was me.
I have grown up in a town where there were few Asians, so I stuck out in the crowd. I made friends quickly and they treated me just like anyone else. You may ask if anyone made fun of my appearance. Well, of course, I met that kind of person. I just shrugged it off.
As an adopted child, I have something that others don't have. I have had the benefit of two families. I'm lucky to have got a chance to start a new life. But we must try never to forget our past. Someday I will go back to Korea to find out what kind of culture I left behind.
There is only one thing that I regret about being adopted. When I argue with my parents and they realize they are losing the argument, they sometimes wonder what I would be doing if I were back in Korea. I don't understand this because I thought the purpose of adopting someone was to give them a better chance of growing up in a family. Some day when I am older, I want to adopt a girl and raise her the way my parents have raised me, but I would do it better, for I know what went well and what did not.
We learn that when the writer was on the way to his new family, ______.

A．he was with his own parents

B．he was very happy and excited

C．he was about ten years old then

D．he didn't know he was going to be adopted

If someone sticks out in the crowd, it means that he/she_______.

A．is very good-looking

B．is very kind-hearted

C．is easily noticed by others

D．is disliked by others

When the writer was made fun of by others, he _______.

A．was deeply hurt

B．wanted to go back to Korea

C．didn’t care about it that much

D．tried to make friends with them

What does the writer want to do when he is older?
A Go back to live with his parents in Korea.
B. Tell his parents what they have done wrong.
C. Find out how to raise children in a better way.
D. Adopt a girl and raise her in a good way.

Pat O’Burke was a poor Irishman with a large family, and one morning, waking up very early from cold and hunger, he decided to go shooting in a wood near his cottage. The wood belonged to Lord Northwood, a rich gentleman, Pat had no right to go there, but in it there were swarms of rabbits and flocks of birds that were good to eat, and Pat determined to take the risk. Suddenly he saw the owner, with a group of friends, coming towards him in the wood. There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face as he caught sight of the gun in Pat's hands. Pat's heart sank with fear, but he saw there was no hope of escape, so he walked boldly(大胆) up to the company and said to Lord Northwood, “Good morning, sir, and what has brought you out so early this morning?” Lord Northwood, rather surprised, said he and his Mends were taking a little exercise to get an appetite(食欲) for their breakfast. Then, looking at Pat with suspicion(怀疑), he said, “but why are you out so early in the morning?” “Well, sir” said Pat, “I just came out to see if I could get a breakfast for my appetite.” The whole crowed burst into laughter at Pat's ready wit(机智，风趣), and with a smile Lord Northwood walked on, leaving Pat to try his luck with the rabbits.
This is a story about _____.

A．a rich man who owned a big wood

B．a poor Irishman who lived all by himself

C．a clever man who tried to get something to eat

D．an Irish hunter with a large family

There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face. Why?

A．He was not expecting Pat at this early hour.

B．He knew Pat was coming for shooting.

C．He didn't like the poor Irishman at all.

D．Pat had not told him he would come.

Why was Lord Northwood surprised?

A．He had not expected such a bold question from Pat.

B．He wondered why Pat didn't run away.

C．Pat wasn't afraid of him.

D．Pat had a gun in his hands.

What made the whole crowd burst into laughter?

A．Pat's funny looks

B．Pat's interesting remarks

C．Pat's quick and humorous response

D．Pat's promise to leave fight away

阅读下列列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中, 选出最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑．
I was twenty-two, and in Bolivia. I’d been to every other country in South America, and now I was set on getting into Chile, the last on the list.
After several days, I reached the hills. It was cold, and even the distant mountains were clear. The days were lonely, but one evening I met Filomeno and his fellow teachers. They tried to persuade me not to go to Chile, saying it was a bad place, and that I would be killed. I didn’t believe them. I knew nothing of the current politics; I just wanted to go there.
So I walked into the mountains, feeling excited, and came to a sign with the word "Chile" on it. A frightening soldier appeared, stuck a gun in my back, and pushed me down a slope to the police station. The police chief then told me, "There’s nothing for you here." I explained that I had come to see this beautiful country. But he was annoyed.
In the evening they filled me with food. There was laughter, and I was less tense. Then the police chief took me to a tiny cell. I lay down on the mattress (垫子). Even though I had no light and none of my possessions, I felt euphoric. At least I had arrived! And what a story I’d have to tell! The next morning I was released, and I was told that Chile didn’t want me. Throwing my belongings into my backpack, I shouted and screamed at the soldiers. After all this effort I was being sent home! I stomped (以重踏步方式走) towards Bolivia expecting to feel a bullet. But I’d be back! I told myself.
The author went to Chile to ______.

A．visit his friend Filomeno	B．settle there forever
C．complete his trip plan	D．risk his life

The underlined word "euphoric" in Paragraph 4 most probably means "______".

A．terrible

B．shamed

C．bored

D．excited

According to the last paragraph, the author lost his temper because ______.

A．he was prevented from entering Chile

B．he was badly treated by the soldiers in Chile

C．it was his last chance to travel

D．his friends had stopped him from going to Chile

What is the passage mainly about?

A．An exciting fight with soldiers in Chile.

B．How the author escaped from Chile.

C．An adventure in Chile.

D．Why the author went to Chile.

 The thing is，my luck’s always been ruineD． Just look at my name: Jean．Not Jean Marie，or Jeanine，or Jeanette，or even Jeanne．Just Jean．Did you know in France，they name boys Jean? It’s French for John．And okay，I don’t live in France．But still，I’m basically a girl named John．If I lived in France，anyway．
This is the kind of luck I’ve had since before Mom even filled out my birth certificate．So it wasn’t any big surprise to me when the cab driver didn’t help me with my suitcase．I’d already had to tolerate arriving at the airport to find no one there to greet me，and then got no answer to my many phone calls，asking where my aunt and uncle were．Did they not want me after all? Had they changed their minds? Had they heard about my bad luck—all the way from Iowa—and decided they didn’t want any of it to rub off on them?
So when the cab driver，instead of getting out and helping me with my bags，just pushed a little button so that the trunk (汽车后备箱) popped open a few inches，it wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to me．It wasn’t even the worst thing that had happened to me that day．
According to my mom，most brownstones in New York City were originally single-family homes when they were built way back in the 1800s．But now they’ve been divided up into apartments，so that there’s one—or sometimes even two or more families—per floor．
Not Mom’s sister Evelyn’s brownstone，though．Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted Gardiner own all four floors of their brownstone．That’s practically one floor per person，since Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted only have three kids，my cousins Tory，Teddy，and Alice．
Back home，we just have two floors，but there are seven people living on them．And only one bathroom．Not that I’m complaining．Still，ever since my sister Courtney discovered blow-outs，it’s been pretty frightful at home．
But as tall as my aunt and uncle’s house was，it was really narrow—just three windows across．Still，it was a very pretty townhouse，painted gray．The door was a bright，cheerful yellow．There were yellow flower boxes along the base of each window，flower boxes from which bright red—and obviously newly planted，since it was only the middle of April，and not quite warm enough for them．
It was nice to know that，even in a sophisticated (世故的) city like New York，people still realized how homey and welcoming a box of flowers could be．The sight of those flowers cheered me up a little．
Like maybe Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ted just forgot I was arriving today，and hadn’t deliberately failed to meet me at the airport because they’d changed their minds about letting me come to stay．
Like everything was going to be all right，after all．
Yeah．With my luck，probably not．
I started up the steps to the front door of 326 East Sixty-Ninth Street，then realized I couldn’t make it with both bags and my violin．Leaving one bag on the sidewalk，I dragged the other up the steps with me．Maybe I took the steps a little too fast，since I nearly tripped and fell flat on my face on the sidewalk．I managed to catch myself at the last moment by grabbing some of the fence the gardeners had put up…
Why did the author go to New York?

A．She intended to go sightseeing there．

B．She meant to stay with her aunt’s family．

C．She was homeless and adopted by her aunt.

D．She wanted to try her luck and find a job there．

According to the author，some facts account for her bad luck EXCEPT that ________．

A．she was given a boy’s name in French

B．the cab driver didn’t help her with her bags

C．her sister Courtney discovered blow-outs

D．nobody had come to meet her at the airport

The underlined phrase “rub off on” in Paragraph 3 probably means _________.

A．have an effect on

B．play tricks on

C．put pressure on

D．throw doubt on

From the passage，we can know that _________．

A．the author left home without informing her mother

B．the author arrived in New York in a very warm season

C．her aunt’s family lived a much better life than her own

D．her aunt and uncle were likely to forget about her arrival

When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored "Tom Thumb" weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
The underlined words "talk of the town" means________.

A．it was in the newspaper

B．it was the most popular topic

C．people spread bad rumors about it

D．it was discussed in a city meeting

What does the author think about Tom's wedding?

A．Tom and Lavinia were stupid.

B．People gave it too much of their attention.

C．It was funny and ridiculous.

D．It helped people cheer up in a dark time.

What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.

B．People are always disappointed during war time.

C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose.

D．People should be married when they are small children.

In New York, Ma Yun witnessed the Alibaba Group opening on the New York stock exchange with the largest initial public offering (IPO，新股发行) in American history. “Alibaba, the world’s largest Internet commerce company makes China equal to the US in the rapidly increasing global competition for technological innovation (创新) and economic transformation ” commented the South China Morning Post.
It has also made Ma China’s richest man with a fortune of around $25 billion (153 billion yuan), reported Reuters.
It’s reported that Ma’s rags-to-riches journey is just as spectacular as his Internet Empire. Ma failed the national college entrance exams twice before he was finally in Hangzhou Normal University on his third attempt and failed in finding a suitable job several times. Also, Mr Ma is a big believer in perseverance, which was proved in his English study experience.
However, it was his vision and goals that launched his career.
During a short trip to the US as an interpreter in 1995, Ma first experienced the Internet. He believed in the Internet’s business potential when few other Chinese people did. He started Alibaba in his Hangzhou apartment, with 17 friends and $60,000 of funds. At the time, when e-commerce was unheard of in China, “I called myself a blind man riding on the back of blind tigers,” he once said, according to The Guardian. His unusual ideas earned him the nickname “Crazy Jack Ma”.
Indeed, Ma is different. Although he is very thin and about 160cm tall, “Ma is yet animated and forceful,” said The Guardian. “He is funny, creative, and a compelling (引人注目的) speaker.
Ma told Time magazine that he was “old for the Internet”. He started to slow down and looked around. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ma “plans to open a tai chi club with the actor Jet Li, build an entrepreneur (企业家) university in Hangzhou and continue to work on several environmental projects.”
What made him into e-commerce industry?

A．His English learning experience.

B．His foresight and ambitions.

C．His belief in perseverance.

D．His 17 friends and $60,000 funds.

What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Ma is a blind man riding on a blind tiger.

B．Ma had no confidence in his business future.

C．Ma knew little about e-commerce.

D．Ma had not enough money at that time.

What’s the personality of Ma Yun according to the passage?

A．Funny and competitive.

B．Determined and creative.

C．Rich and different.

D．Attractive and believable.

What’s the best title of the passage?

A．The Development of Alibaba Group

B．Ma Yun’s Personal Life

C．Ma Yun’s Crazy Success

D．E-commerce in China

When the swim season began, my 11-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and I cut a deal. She would go to practice three times a week, and I wouldn’t make her compete in swim meets.
Elizabeth does not like swim meets. She gets horribly nervous because she is afraid that she will do something wrong and let everyone down. She started to talk about quitting swimming, which broke my heart because she loves swimming. So I came up with the deal.
Recently, Elizabeth’s team announced a T-shirt relay, which works like this: One person from each relay team puts on a T-shirt and a pair of socks and swims 50 meters. She takes off the clothes and put them on the next person, who then swims 50 meters. This continues until everyone on the team has completed a lap.
It wasn’t exactly a meet, because it would involve only team members. But Elizabeth thought it was. I told Elizabeth I really wanted her to go. She fought back angrily but finally agreed.
When the day for the T-shirt relay arrived, Elizabeth was nervous. She was chosen to swim the anchor leg (最后一棒).By the last leg, Elizabeth’s team had built up a narrow lead. Then it was Elizabeth’s turn to swim.
Approaching the halfway mark, she was still in the lead. Then somebody noticed that one of Elizabeth’s socks had fallen off and was floating in the pool. “She has to get that sock on before the end of the race,” a swimming official told Elizabeth’s team, “or you will be disqualified.”
Everybody on her team started shouting, “Elizabeth! Get the sock!” But she couldn’t hear them. Meanwhile, a girl in lane two was gaining on Elizabeth. Just then, a girl on my daughter’s team jumped in the pool, grabbed the sock, swam after Elizabeth and put the sock on Elizabeth.
With the sock finally on, Elizabeth swam her heart out for the last 15 meters and won! There was much celebration. And, for a few minutes, Elizabeth was the hero.
On the ride home, she relived her moment of glory again and again. She told me that if the T-shirt relay was an Olympic event, her team would win the gold medal, I told her that in my professional opinion, she was absolutely right.
What do we know about the T-shirt relay?

A．Elizabeth was eager to attend it.

B．Elizabeth made full preparations for it.

C．Elizabeth thought she was sure to fail the relay.

D．Elizabeth agreed to attend it after a lot of persuasion.

What happened to Elizabeth when she was swimming the anchor leg?

A．The girl on the other team swam faster than her.

B．She was disqualified for breaking the rule.

C．She was too nervous to swim.

D．One of her socks fell off.

We can infer from the last paragraph that Elizabeth_____.

A．believed she was the best of her team.

B．hoped to take part in the Olympics.

C．overcame her fear of swim meets.

D．was grateful for the girl’s help.

What would be the best title for the text?

A．Born to be a swimmer	B．Swimming in socks
C．The swim season	D．Never give up!

Three Japanese tourists taking a holiday in Australia got stuck when their GPS told them they could drive from the mainland to an island, failing to mention the 15 kilometres of water and mud in between.
As they drove their hired car from Moreton Bay to nearby North Stradbroke Island, they started to notice the firm surface they were driving on giving way to the well-known bay mud. However, being confident that their GPS would direct them to a road soon, they decided to drive on, managing to travel around 500 metres before their car was up to its tires in mud. To make matters worse, the tide(潮汐) started to come in and soon forced them to seek help and abandon the vehicle. Just four hours later the car was trapped in two metres of water — to the great amusement of onlookers on the shore and passengers on passing boats and ferries.
Yuzu Noda, 21, said she was listening to the GPS and “it told us we could drive down there. It kept saying it would navigate(导航) us to a road. But we got stuck…there’s lots of mud.” She and her travel companions Tomonari Saeki, 22, and Keita Osada, 21, instead had to give up their plans for a day trip to the island and headed back to the Gold Coast of a lift from the RACQ tow truck(吊车) driver who was called to the trapped car. No such luck for the hired car though – after assessing the situation, no attempt was made to recover it. The students from Tokyo, who are due to return home tomorrow, said the experience would not put them off returning to Australia for another visit. Mr. Tomonari said, “It has rained every day on our six day holiday. Hopefully next time we come back, it will be sunny.”
The car was covered by insurance, but the tourists will have to pay up to about $1500 in extra charges.
The three Japanese tourists got stuck because___________.

A．there was no way to the island

B．their GPS was broken during their journey

C．their GPS had given the wrong information

D．their car was not made in Japan

They didn’t abandon their car until _________.

A．some onlookers went to save them

B．they got stuck in the mud

C．there came the tide

D．they managed to travel around 500 metres

How did these Japanese students get back?

A．They had to walk back to their living place.

B．They had to take a lift from the tow truck driver.

C．They had to repair their GPS and drove back.

D．They had to turn to passengers on boats and ferries.

Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercise every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:
Sorry, I’m still alive!
How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?

A．She is miserable and unhappy.

B．She is cheerful and humorous.

C．She would like to live much longer.

D．She feels she is going to die very soon.

Jeanne Calment owes her good health and long life to _______.

A．smoking only a little every day

B．her giving up smoking and drinking

C．drinking two glasses of strong red wine every day

D．the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercise

Which of the following could best replace the word “move” in the fourth paragraph?

A．deal

B．trick

C．march

D．sport

Why does Jeanne Calment say “Sorry, I’m still alive” to the local lawyer every year on her birthday?

A．Because she had an agreement at 80 with the lawyer which was to her advantage.

B．Because she has asked the lawyer to pay her more rent than they first agreed.

C．Because the lawyer has paid her much more money than the value of the house.

D．Because the house she sold to the lawyer isn’t worth the money he has already paid.

Christian Eijkman, a Dutch doctor, left the Netherlands for the island of Java. Many people on the island had a disease called beri-beri. He was going there to try and find a cure.
At first, Eijkman thought some kind of germ (细菌) caused beri-beri. He raised some chickens. He didn’t eat them, but made experiments on them. The local people were quite surprised at that. One day he noticed that his chickens became sick when they were fed the food most Javanese ate — refined white rice (精炼米). When he fed them with unrefined rice, also known as brown rice, they recovered. Eijkman realized that he had made an important discovery — that some things in food could prevent disease. These things were named vitamins. The Javanese were not getting enough vitamins because they had actually removed the part that contains vitamins. Later, other diseases were also found to be caused by the lack of vitamins in a person’s food.
Today many people know the importance of vitamins and they make sure they have enough vitamins from the food they eat. If they don’t, they can also take vitamin pills.
Christian Eijkman went to the island of Java to ______.
A. help the Javanese with their illness
. find ways to grow better crops
C. do some research about the island
D. spend his holiday
Why did Christian Eijkman raise some chickens?

A．To eat them.

B．To make money by selling them.

C．To give the Javanese a surprise.

D．To carry out his experiments.

If a person doesn’t get enough vitamins in his diet, he’d better ______.

A．eat more rice	B．eat vitamin pills
C．eat some chicken	D．eat more meat

Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice．Gifts are easy—they’re given after all．Choice can be hard．
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago．I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year．I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast，and the idea of building all online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old，and I’d been married for a year．I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t and I wasn’t sure what to expect．MacKenzie told me I should go for it．As a young boy，I’d been a garage inventor．I’d always wanted to be all inventor，and she wanted me to follow my passion．
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired．I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet．He took me on a long walk in Central Park，listened carefully to me，and finally said，“That sounds like a really good idea，but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job．”That 1ogic made some sense to me，and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision．Seen in that light,it really was a difficult choice，but finally，I decided I had to give it a shot．I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing．And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration ，I took the less safe path to follow my passion ，and I’m proud of that choice．For all of us，in the end，we are our choice．
What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?

A．His dream of being an inventor．

B．The support of his wife．

C．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet．

D．Millions of exciting titles,

Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?

A．The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him．

B．He would be very excited if he tried it out．

C．Be would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try．

D．The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him．

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Cleverness and Kindness	B．The Starting of Amazon
C．Following My Passion	D．We Are What We Choose

We can know from the passage that_______．

A．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author

B．the author wanted someone else to try the idea

C．the author might not regret if he failed the idea

D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed

Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people werr not willing to work on farms along the Atlantic because they worried about the terrible storms that would destroy buildings and crops. The farmer received a steady stream of refusals at the interview for a farmhand.
Finally, a short, thin man approached the farmer. “Are you a good farmhand?” the farmer asked him.
^“Well, I can sleep when the wind blows. ” answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer ，the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm ，busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly from offshore. Jumping out of bed，the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled，“ Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they are blown away! ”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows. ”
Enraged (激怒）by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot . Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement，he discovered that all of the hay had been covered. The cows were in the barn，the chickens were in the coops，and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could be blown away.
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he also returned to his bed to sleep while the wind was still blowing.
Why did the farmer constantly advertise for hired hands?

A．Because he needed hired hands all the year round.

B．Because there was too much work to do on the farm.

C．Because he could hardly hire a farmhand.

D．Because he offered poor conditions for the hired hands.

The farmer felt amazed because _______.

A．the little man was sleeping

B．everything was in safety

C．the wind was too strong

D．he could not open the doors

What did the man mean by saying “I can sleep when the wind blows” ?

A．He needed much sleep after working hard on the farm.

B．He was very brave and not afraid of wind

C．He enjoyed sleeping when the wind blew.

D．He would get everything done before the wind blew.

Which of the following statements about the little man is TRUE?

A．He was not afraid of storms.

B．He was a heavy sleeper under any condition.

C．He was hard-working and devoted to his work.

D．He was fired shortly after he tied everything down.

In 1978, I was 18 and was working as a nurse in a small town about 270 km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five days off from duty. Unfortunately, the only one train a day back to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I’d hitch a ride (搭便车).
I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn’t give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured （使…放心）me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.
Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the favour I’d been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.
After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, “You haven’t changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same.”
I couldn’t remember where I’d met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.
The author had to hitch a ride one day in 1978 because           .

A．her work delayed her trip to Sydney

B．she missed the only train back home

C．she was going home for her holidays

D．the town was far away from Sydney

Which of the following did Gordon do according to Paragraph 2?

A．He helped the girl find a ride.

B．He gave the girl a ride back home.

C．He bought sandwiches for the girl.

D．He watched the girl for three hours.

The reason why the author offered a lift to the elderly man was that             .

A．she realized he was Gordon

B．she had known him for decades

C．she was going to the nearby town

D．she wanted to repay the favour she once got

What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?

A．Those who give rides will be repaid.

B．Good manners bring about happiness.

C．Giving sometimes produces nice results.

D．People should offer free rides to others.

Peter, a high school student, was pretty busy with school, and he was on the soccer team. High school was hard, because everyone wanted to have nice clothes, hang out, drive cars, and all these cost money. Peter’s father was the sort of guy that believed you had to earn whatever you got, so he wasn’t just about to hand over lots of money for Peter to use to have fun. So, he had to get a job.
During his freshman year summer vacation, his classmate got him a job working on a hay (干草) farm. He threw hay up into wagons as the tractor drove around fields, and then they stacked (剁起) it in the hot barn.（干草棚） It was a hot, low paying job.
He once worked a few nights a week at a grocery store. He put things on the shelf. It was a lot of lifting and carrying, and his arms were strong from this and the previous job. It was dull and didn’t pay much.
He took some time off when soccer got serious, but the following summer he tried working at a lumber（废旧家具）yard. It was hot outside, but he got a lot of exercise lifting and carrying things like boards and drywall. He also learned a lot about building supplies. It still didn’t pay well.
From there, he spent a year doing some tutoring for a friend of the family, but that was piecemeal. His first real job came the last year at school, when he fixed registers and worked on computers at a big box store. It was his favorite job yet, but it still didn’t pay well.
What Peter realized with all of these jobs was that he needed a better paying job! The only way to get that was to get trained or educated. He could go to school and get a 2­year degree in an office or technical position. His other choices were going to a 4­year college or joining the army. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do yet, but he knew he had to do something. Jobs were a lot of work, money was hard to earn, but he liked staying busy and being able to buy things. Peter wanted the most out of life, and that meant education.
How many jobs had Peter taken?

A．Three

B．Four

C．Five

D．Six

All the jobs Peter had taken had one thing in common:________.

A．They were done during his vacation

B．They were dull and tiresome

C．They needed hard labour

D．They didn’t pay well

________was the most important for Peter if he wanted a good job.

A．Confidence

B．Education

C．Opportunity

D．Wisdom

We can learn from the text that________.

A．Peter knew what to do for his future

B．Peter’s father didn’t care about him

C．it was very hard for Peter to make his choices

D．Peter was determined to do whatever he liked