高中英语故事类阅读试题

WHAT’S the most important thing of life?
People’s answers vary greatly. For British scientist Robert Edwards，the answer is having a child.“Nothing is more special than a child，”he told the BBC.
Edwards，the inventor of the In Vitro Fertilization(IVF)technology—more commonly known as“test­tube(试管)baby”technology—passed away on April 10 ,2013 at the age of 87.
Edwards changed the lives of millions of ordinary people who now rejoice(充满喜悦)in the gift of their own child，”said Peter Braude，professor at King’s College London.“He leaves the world a much better place.”
Edwards started his experiments as early as the 1950s，when he had just finished his PhD in genetics. At that time，much of the public viewed test-tube babies as“scary”，according to Mark Sauer，professor at Columbia University，US.
Edwards and his colleague Patrick Steptoe faced opposition from churches，governments and media，not to mention attacks from many of their fellow scientists.“People said that we should not play God and we should not interfere with nature，”Edwards once told Times. He said that he felt “quite alone” at the time.
“But Edwards was a fighter，and he believed in what he was doing，”said Sauer. Without support from the government，the two struggled to raise funds to carry on. And in 1968 they finally developed a method to successfully fertilize human eggs outside the body.
The first test-tube baby was born on July 25，1978.Her name was Louise Brown. Despite people’s safety concerns，Brown was just as healthy as other children.
“IVF had moved from vision to reality and a new era in medicine had begun，”BBC commented.
Ever since then，public opinion has evolved considerably. Couples who were unable to have babies began thronging(蜂拥)to Edwards’ clinic. Nowadays，Reuters reports，some 4.3 million other“test-tube” children exist. Edwards received a Nobel Prize in 2010 and was knighted(封为爵士)by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ the following year.
Before his death，Edwards was still in touch with Louise.“He is like a granddad to me，”she said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
He is a granddad to millions, in fact.
What is the article mainly about?

A．The first test-tube baby.

B．A new era in medicine.

C．The inventor of IVF technology.

D．The changes IVF technology has brought.

The writer quoted Peter Braude to ________．

A．show how difficult it was for Edwards to do his work

B．describe what kind of person Edwards was

C．explain why he is loved by all children

D．comment on his achievement

The underlined word“opposition”in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ________．

A．attack	B．support
C．test	D．influence

What is the CORRECT order of events in Edwards’ life?
a．He received a Nobel Prize.
b．He struggled to raise funds.
c．The first test-tube baby was born.
d．He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ.
e．He succeeded in fertilizing human eggs outside the body.
f．He started his experiments on IVF technology.

A．f—e—b—c—a—d	B．f—b—e—c—d—a
C．f—b—e—c—a—d	D．f—e—d—a—c—b

My 18-month-old son, Adam, called from the front door. “Look, Mama! Doggie!” I dropped what I was doing and stuck my head out of the door. Brandy, our next-door neighbor’s 11-year-old dog, was over again. “Go away!” I shouted.
Brandy’s owner had died about a month earlier. The woman’s family had emptied the house and stuck a “For Sale” sign in the front yard, but the family had left old Brandy behind. For weeks, she’d been wandering around the neighborhood.
It wasn’t that I disliked dogs or anything like that. I just didn’t think about them very much. I never had a dog growing up and had never thought to get one.
Brandy went away and I stayed outside with Adam. Then the phone rang. I went inside to take the call. When I came back, Adam was gone. I searched the yard, front and back, then the basketball court and public pool. No trace of him. I was so nervous that I ran home and called the police, then my husband.
Police searched the neighborhood. Suddenly I heard anothersound: a dog barking. “It’s coming from the woods,” one of my neighbors said. We followed the barking to a wooded cliff（悬崖）. There we found my son, and he was just inches away from the edges of the cliff, fast asleep. Brandy was beside him, leaning（斜靠着）against him to keep him away from the edge（边缘）. When I picked Adam up, Brandy sank down on her side, breathing quickly. She must have been holding Adam there for hours!
I thanked the police and brought Adam and Brandy back to our house. She hesitated a moment on our doorstep, no doubt remembering the time I’d driven her away.
“Come on, girl,” I said. “This is your home now. ” Brandy stepped in, and once she saw she was really welcome, she relaxed and lay down on the floor just inside the door. She’d done a great thing, and I wondered if she knew it. She’d certainly touched me in a way that no animal ever had. What a pity a dog like Brandy had been left behind!
What is the correct order for the events in the story about Brandy?
a. She was left behind by her owner’s family.
b. She stepped into the woman’s house.
c. She appeared at the woman’s front door.
d. She stayed beside the woman’s son for hours.

A．d, c, b, a	B．a, c, b, d
C．c, d, b, a	D．a, c, d, b

What did the woman do when she first saw Brandy?

A．She gave her some food.	B．She took her home.
C．She drove her away.	D．She said thank you to her.

How were they able to be aware that the woman’s son was near the cliff?

A．By searching the neighborhood.

B．By hearing a dog barking.

C．By following a dog’s footsteps.

D．By hearing her son’s crying.

What’s the woman’s attitude towards Brandy at the end of the story?

A．Gratitude.	B．Dislike.
C．Sympathy.	D．Indifference.

At Denver there was an crowd of passengers into the coaches（车厢） on the eastbound B. & M. express. In one coach there sat a very pretty young woman dressed in elegant taste and surrounded by all the luxurious comforts of an experienced traveler. Among the newcomers were two young men, one of handsome presence with a bold, frank face expression and manner; the other a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. The two were handcuffed（拷上手铐） together.
As they passed down the aisle of the coach the only available seat offered was a reversed one facing the attractive young woman. Here the linked couple seated themselves. The young woman's glance fell upon them with a distant, swift disinterest; then with a lovely smile brightening her face and a tender pink tingeing（稍加染色，影响） her rounded cheeks, she held out a little gray-gloved hand. When she spoke her voice, full, sweet, and deliberate, proclaimed that its owner was accustomed to speak and be heard.
"Well, Mr. Easton, if you will make me speak first, I suppose I must. Don't you ever recognize old friends when you meet them in the West?"
The younger man aroused himself sharply at the sound of her voice, seemed to struggle with a slight embarrassment which he threw off instantly, and then clasped her fingers with his left hand.
"It's Miss Fairchild," he said, with a smile. "I'll ask you to excuse the other hand; "it's otherwise engaged just at present."
He slightly raised his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining "bracelet" to the left one of his companion. The glad look in the girl's eyes slowly changed to a bewildered horror. The glow faded from her cheeks. Her lips parted in a vague（含糊，犹豫）, relaxing distress. Easton, with a little laugh, as if amused, was about to speak again when the other forestalled him. The glum-faced man had been watching the girl's face expression with veiled glances from his keen, shrewd eyes.
"You'll excuse me for speaking, miss, but, I see you're acquainted with（认识，熟悉） the officer here. If you'll ask him to speak a word for me when we get to the pen（围栏，监狱） he'll do it, and it'll make things easier for me there. He's taking me to Leavenworth prison. It's seven years for cheating."
"Oh!" said the girl, with a deep breath and returning color. "So that is what you are doing out here? An officer!"
"My dear Miss Fairchild," said Easton, calmly, "I had to do something. Money has a way of taking wings with itself, and you know it takes money to keep step with our crowd in Washington. I saw this opening（通道） in the West, and--well, an officer isn't quite as high a position as that of ambassador, but--"
"The ambassador," said the girl, warmly, "doesn't call any more. I needn't ever have done so. You ought to know that. And so now you are one of these brave Western heroes, and you ride and shoot and go into all kinds of dangers. That's different from the Washington life. You have been missed from the old crowd."
The girl's eyes, fascinated, went back, widening a little, to rest upon the glittering handcuffs.
"Don't you worry about them, miss," said the other man. "All officers handcuff themselves to their prisoners to keep them from getting away. Mr. Easton knows his business."
"Will we see you again soon in Washington?" asked the girl.
"Not soon, I think," said Easton. "My butterfly days are over, I fear."
"I love the West," said the girl irrelevantly. Her eyes were shining softly. She looked away out the car window. She began to speak truly and simply without the gloss of style and manner: "Mamma and I spent the summer in Denver. She went home a week ago because father was slightly ill. I could live and be happy in the West. I think the air here agrees with me. Money isn't everything. But people always misunderstand things and remain stupid--"
"Say, officer," shouted the glum-faced man. "This isn't quite fair. I'm needing a drink, and haven't had a smoke all day. Haven't you talked long enough? Take me in the smoker now, won't you? I'm half dead for a pipe."
The bound travelers rose to their feet, Easton with the same slow smile on his face.
"I can't deny a require for tobacco," he said, lightly. "It's the one friend of the unfortunate. Good-bye, Miss Fairchild. Duty calls, you know." He held out his hand for a farewell.
"It's too bad you are not going East," she said, reclothing herself with manner and style. "But you must go on to Leavenworth, I suppose?"
"Yes," said Easton, "I must go on to Leavenworth."
The two men sidled down the aisle into the smoker.
The two passengers in a seat near by had heard most of the conversation. Said one of them: "That officer is a good sort of man. Some of these Western fellows are all right."
"Pretty young to hold an office like that, isn't he?" asked the other.
"Young!" exclaimed the first speaker, "why--Oh! Didn't you catch on? Say--did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?"
From the first three paragraphs, we know that_________

A．the two young were seated opposite to the young woman by accident.

B．it was not difficult for the woman to find the men were handcuffed

C．the young woman found she knew one of the men at the first sight of them.

D．the young woman may not be good at communicate

What would be the possible sentence following the underlined “and –-“

A．and it is not easy to make such a fortune

B．and I do the cheating things to collect money

C．and I tried my best to be a good officer

D．and the West is bond to be wealthy

When Easton uttered the underlined sentence "My butterfly days are over, I fear", his real meaning was that__________

A．he would have to focus on his work

B．he would be put in prison

C．his chance of being with butterfly is small

D．his workload as an officer was heavy

Why did the glum-faced man urge Easton to the smoker?

A．Because he needed a drink and tobacco badly.

B．Because he was angry that Miss Fairchild did not say any good words for him

C．Because he was bored and tired with Miss Fairchild and Easton’s talk.

D．Because he was afraid Miss Fairchild would find the truth.

Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage?

A．Miss Fairchild was an ambassador

B．Easton was an officer with his prisoner

C．the glum-faced was considerate and careful

D．Easton had been trying to make a big fortune in the West

What was the best title of the passage?

A．Miss Fairchild’s Trip

B．Hearts and Hands

C．The Story of a Handcuff

D．The Meeting of Two Friends

In winter Hammerfest is a thirty-hour ride by bus from Oslo, though why anyone would want to go there in winter is a question worth considering. It is on the edge of the world, the northernmost town in Europe, as far from London as London is from Tunis, a place of dark and cruel winters, where the sun sinks into the Arctic Ocean in November and does not rise again for ten weeks.
I wanted to see the Northern Lights. Also, I had long harboured a half-formed urge to
experience what life was like in such a remote and forbidding place. Sitting at home in England with a glass of whisky and a book of maps, this had seemed an excellent idea. But now as I picked my way through the grey, late-December slush（融雪） of Oslo I was beginning to have my doubts.
Things had not started well. I had overslept at the hotel, missing breakfast, and had to leap into my clothes. I couldn't find a cab and had to drag my unreasonably overweighted bag eight blocks through slush to the central bus station. I had had huge difficulty persuading the staff at the Kreditkassen Bank on Karl Johans Gate to cash sufficient traveller's cheques to pay the overcharged 1,200-kroner bus fare-they simply could not be made to grasp that the William McGuire Bryson on my passport and the Bill Bryson on my traveller's cheques were both me-and now here I was arriving at the station two minutes before departure, breathless and steaming from the endless uphill exertion（费力）that is my life, and the girl at the ticket counter was telling me that she had no record of my reservation.
"This isn't happening," I said. "I'm still at home in England enjoying Christmas．Pass me a
drop more port, will you, darling?" Actually, I said, "There must be some mistake. Please look
again."
The girl studied the passenger list. "No, Mr Bryson, your name is not here·”
But I could see it, even upside-down. "There it is, second from the bottom.”
"No," the girl decided, "that says Bemt Bjornson. That's a Norwegian name·”
"It doesn't say Bernt Bjornson. It says Bill Bryson. Look at the loop（圆圈） of the 'y', the two
'I's. Miss, please." But she wouldn't have it. "If I miss this bus when does the next one go?"
"Next week at the same time．，，
Oh, splendid.
"Miss, believe me, it says Bill Bryson."
"No, it doesn't."
"Miss, look, I've come from England. I'm carrying some medicine that could save a child's
life.” She didn't buy this. "I want to see the manager."
"He's in Stavanger.”
"Listen, I made a reservation by telephone．If I don't get on this bus I'm going to write a letter to your manager that will cast a shadow over your career prospects（前景）for the rest of this century." This clearly did not alarm her. Then it occurred to me. "If this Bemt Bjornson doesn't show up, can I have his seat?"
"Sure.”
Why don't I think of these things in the first place and save myself the suffering? "Thank you," I said, and dragged my bag outside.
What words can best describe Hammerfest in winter?

A．Grey and dirty.

B．Dark and cold.

C．Unfriendly and expensive.

D．Wild and forbidden.

Why did the author mention the Kreditkassen Bank on Karl Johans Gate?

A．To suggest that people there could be ridiculous and stubborn.

B．To introduce the cultural differences in northern Europe and England.

C．To give an example of an interesting story during his journey.

D．To indicate that the bus fare was very expensive．

What could be inferred from the passage?

A．The author booked his bus ticket with a Norwegian name.

B．The author paid the bus fare by traveller's cheque.

C．The author would hopefully get on the bus．

D．The girl at the ticket counter cared about the author's complaints.

According to the last paragraph, the author probably felt＿at that moment.

A．embarrassed	B．contented
C．regretful	D．grateful

We can learn from the passage that＿．

A．the author's journey to the north was not worthwhile

B．the Europeans didn't welcome visitors

C．the author wrote a letter to the girl's manager

D．the author's journey to the north was not smooth

Erica McElrath calls herself “ The Happy Lady”. And by now, you may have caught her singing and dancing with her mp3 player on any of several city street corners. “ I don’t want money,” said McElrah, 40, of St. Louis. “ I come out here to make people smile.”
McElrah lost her full-time job in January. Since then, she has spent her days doing what she loves-dancing in the street. Her message to people in hard times: do something that you enjoy, no matter what your circumstances. “ Life isn’t that bad,” she said. “ If you’re working 40 hours a week, you shouldn’t be complaining.”
McElrah graduated from parkway Central High School and has spent the past 21 years working as a nursing assistant, She began singing and dancing publicly on her days off a few years ago to help her through the pain of her second divorce.
Her favorite spot is the northwest corner of Chouteau Avenue and South Grand Boulevard near St. Louis University. McElrah’s mp3 player is loaded with hundreds of classic rock hits and 80’s pop songs, including those by Joe Cocker, Tina Turner, Neil Diamond and Toto. But her favorite artist, by far, is Stevie Nicks.
Videos of McElrah have appeared on YouTube, a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. “People think I’m crazy, but I don’t care,” She said. “ I can dance a little. I just go with the music.” Even a rude gesture from a passing motorist doesn’t bother her either. “ I just smile and wave,” she said.
McElrah’s show of bravery recently earned her a job opportunity with Liberty Tax Service, which temporarily offered her a job as a dancer Statute of Liberty to promote a new place near Grand Center starting in January.
“ Just be happy and do what you love,” she said. “The money will come.”
At first McElrah began singing and dancing in public in order to _____.

A．make a living

B．entertain the public

C．rise to fame

D．encourage herself

Erica McElrah’s actions are _______.

A．popular with others

B．stopped by her family

C．supported by passers-by

D．laughed at sometimes

Erica McElrah was offered a job because of _____.

A．her beautiful voice

B．her positive behavior

C．her lively dancing

D．her competitive spirit

Which of the following about Erica McElrah is TRUE？

A．She doesn’t care others’ comments on her.

B．Her favorite artist is Joe Cocker.

C．She once worked as a doctor.

D．She has been divorced once.

What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Ways To Be Happy

B．Learn To Do What You Love

C．Happy Lady’s Singing and Dancing Life

D．What Made The Happy Lady Famous?

In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8. Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree！
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.
When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be __________.

A．a writer	B．a teacher
C．a judge	D．a doctor

Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?

A．She wanted to study by herself.

B．She fell in love and got married.

C．She suffered from a serious illness.

D．She decided to look after her grandma.

What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?

A．She was busy yet happy with her family life.

B．She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons.

C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.

D．She was too confused to make a correct choice.

What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．Failure is the mother of success.

B．Little by little, one goes far.

C．Every coin has two sides.

D．Well begun, half done.

Which of the following can best describe the author?

A．Caring and determined.

B．Honest and responsible.

C．Ambitious and sensitive.

D．Innocent and single-minded.

Mr. Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water. Mr. Johnson took the only escape route—through the boot (行李箱).
Mr. Johnson’s car had finished up in a ditch (沟渠) at Romney Marsin, Kent after skidding on ice and hitting a bank. “Fortunately, the water began to come in only slowly,” Mr. Johnson said, “I couldn’t force the doors because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in.”
Mr. Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sitting Home, Kent, first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot (汽车行李箱). Then he began his struggle to escape.
Later he said, “It was really a half penny that saved my life. It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew(拧开…的螺丝) the back seat to get into the boot. I hammered desperately with a hammer trying to make someone hear, but no help came.”
It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat, and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot. Then Mr. Johnson found a wrench(扳钳) and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. “It was the only chance I had. Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in. I forced the lid down into the mud and scrambled (move with difficulty) as the car filled up.”
His hands and arms were cut and bruised (擦伤). Mr. Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby, where he was looked after by the farmer’s wife, Mrs. Lucy Bates. Huddled in a blanket, he said, “The thirty minutes seemed like hours.” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible(can be seen), police said last night. The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch.
What is the best title for this newspaper article?

A．The Story of Mr. Johnson, A Sweet Salesman

B．Car Boot Serve As The Best Escape Route

C．Driver Escaped Through Car Boot

D．The Driver Survived A Terrible Car Accident

Which of the following objects is the most important to Mr. Johnson?

A．The hammer.	B．The coin.
C．The screw.	D．The horn.

“Finally it gave”(Paragraph 5) means that ________.

A．luckily the door was torn away in the end

B．at last the wrench went broken

C．the lock came open after all his efforts

D．the chance was lost at the last minute

It may be inferred from the passage that __________.

A．the ditch was along a quiet country road

B．the accident happened on a rainy cold day

C．Mr. Johnson’s car stood on its boot as it fell down

D．the police helped Mr. Johnson get out of the ditch

By the time we finished, herring(鲱鱼)covered the bottom of the boat as deep as my calves(腿肚子). For the first time in days, my father seemed happy as a herring choker(捕鲱鱼的人). Then he looked at the western sky, and his smile faded. The storms were sweeping out of Canada hard and fast. No one could predict their arrival. All fishermen feared them.
“We’re going back,” my father said. He pulled the cord and started the motor.
We were only two miles out, but the shoreline looked to me as far away as the moon. Over the distant hills, black clouds ran toward us like wild horses. We made it only halfway home before we met the storm.
The wind came first. It lifted the lake in whitecaps. The weight of the herring made us ride low in the water, and the waves broke over our bow. My father struggled to hold us on course. I’d put on my raincoat, but I had no life jacket.
Then the rain fell so hard we couldn’t see the land. The boat was filling with water. I was scared, but I saw my father sitting straight, holding the boat steady into the wind, and I felt hopeful. He didn’t look hurt at all.
I was starting to think we were going to make it. That’s when the motor died. My father pulled the cord hard, but the motor wouldn’t catch. We would go down in no time.
“Grab an oar(浆),” he cried above the wind. He always carried two oars for just such a moment. We began to pull hard. My father grunted, from pain or effort I couldn’t tell. He dug his oar into the violent lake and bowed into the wind again. With all my strength, I pulled on my own oar.
The wind pushed hard against us. Ws seemed to be fighting the anger of the whole lake. I was tired. My arms felt heavy and on fire. I didn’t know how much longer I could push that oar through the water.
As if he heard my thinking, my father called to me, “I need you, Karl. Only a little longer.”
So I kept rowing.
Just when I thought I had no more strength, I heard it. The sound of waves breaking against the shore. We moved into the shelter of our small cove and rode the swells toward the landing.
My mother rushed through the rain to greet us. “I’ve been so worried,” she said. She hugged me and then my father.
“Nothing to worry about,” he assured her. He put his hand on my shoulder. “You did well, son. How do you feel?”
Tired as I was, I managed a smile. “I feel like a herring choker.”
The author’s father decided to go back because______.

A．the motor didn’t work well

B．they couldn’t catch more herrings

C．the storm would arrive at any time

D．it was too cold for them to stay any longer

The author created a picture of ______ with the underlined sentence in Para.8.

A．a rare chance

B．a violent struggle

C．an exciting trip

D．an amazing experience

According to the passage, what was the main reason Karl kept rowing even though he was very tired?

A．He did not want to lose all the fish.

B．He knew the storm was about to end.

C．He knew his mother was waiting on shore.

D．He did not want to disappoint his father.

We can learn from the passage the author felt ______ after arriving home safe.

A．he were a real man

B．he needed his father’s praise

C．he shouldn’t have gone out to the lake

D．he would be a herring choker when he grew up

In New York, Ma 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 foresight and ambitions.

B．His English learning experience.

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

“ON a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?”
Baymax, the plus-sized white robot, asks the question each time he detects (探测到) his patient’s pain. Considering that he is hardly like a typical Marvel superhero, how could this robotic caregiver from Big Hero 6 have stolen viewers’ hearts and taken home this year’s best animation Oscar?
Set in fictional San Fransokyo, the film follows Hiro, a 14-year-old robotics genius (天才). After his brother dies, he goes on a journey to save his city from an evil masked man with his brother’s invention, Baymax.
Baymax was named “Disney’s most straightforwardly adorable (萌的) character” in years by The Telegraph. He has a pure white pear-shaped body and stumpy elephant legs. And his eyes –just two black dots with a line through them – can blink (眨眼) quickly or slowly. Baymax’s physical appearance “works with his personality because he’s purely good and naive (天真的),” co-director Don Hall told The Hollywood Reporter.
Sometimes Baymax is awkward. Moving in tight spaces gets challenging with his potbelly (大肚子). And when his batteries run low, he behaves like an amusing drunk. “This means that he is not at all intimidating (令人生畏的) and is easy to like,” commented The Straits Times in Singapore.
Baymax is a comforting friend, the kind that perhaps everyone needs.
After he diagnoses (诊断) Hiro with feeling sorrow, he says: “Physical comfort helps too,” and pulls Hiro into a hug. He pats his head, saying: “There, there.”
The team’s car crashes into the water at one point, and they have to walk shivering (颤抖) back home. Baymax notices that everyone’s body temperatures are low, so he turns on his internal heaters. Everyone cuddles (依偎) up with him. “This is like spooning (拥抱) with a warm marshmallow (棉花糖),” says Fred, one of the characters.
One minute, he is used as a bouncy castle (充气城堡), and the next he transforms into a superhero.
To fight against the villain, Hiro upgrades Baymax so that the robot can attack and fly. The robot has a hard time figuring out these new skills, but after he realizes that Hiro is happy with his improvement, he immediately becomes an expert. “The treatment is working,” he says.
Tencent Entertainment calls the amazing Baymax a “perfect companion”. “He is quiet, clumsy, and adorable. But at important times, he steps up and stops at nothing to protect his friends from harm, even if it means that he has to sacrifice his life. This is an idealized (理想化的) relationship in harsh reality,” the site commented.
What does Baymax do when he discovers Hiro is sad?

A．He tries to amuse him by behaving awkwardly.

B．He leaves him alone.

C．He comforts him with a hug.

D．He advises him to go for a walk.

Which of the following adjectives best describe Baymax?

A．Considerate and selfless.

B．Adorable and humorous.

C．Clumsy and cautious.

D．Brave and proud.

What is the article mainly about?

A．The plot and background of the movie Big Hero 6.

B．The friendship between Hiro and Baymax in Big Hero 6.

C．The reasons for the popularity of Baymax from Big Hero 6.

D．What sets Big Hero 6 apart from other animation movies.

Which of the following is TRUE about Baymax?

A．Baymax’s awkwardness actually makes him more adorable and popular.

B．Baymax was invented by Hiro, a robotics genius.

C．Baymax’s physical appearance doesn’t quite match his personality.

D．Baymax looks like a typical Marvel superhero.

There has been an outpouring of love for a 23-year-old disabled woman whose dog was killed in front of her while a groomer(美容师) tried to trim(修剪) its claws.
Calls and e-mails came from as far away as the Upper Peninsula and Arizona as well as Oakland and Macomb counties, offering Laurie Crouch, who uses a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis(硬化症), everything from dogs to money, such as that from Jason Daly of Roseville who said, “ I would like to buy her a new dog.”
A story about the death of Crouch’s pet, Gooch, was printed on the front page of Macomb Daily. Crouch said a man sat on the dog to trim its nails. Gooch died after one claw was trimmed.
Crouch yelled at the groomer to stop when she saw Gooch was struggling to breathe, but she said she was ignored. “If I could have walked, I would have put my hands on her and pulled her off my dog and physically stopped her, but I can’t do that.” Gooch was not a trained service animal, but naturally helped Crouch by picking up things for her.
“This case is absolute animal abuse(虐待),” Larry Obrecht, division manager of the Oakland County Animal Shelter in Auburn Hills, said.
People who read the story contacted Oakland Press to offer help. A message, from Rebecca Amett of Giggles N Wiggles Puppy Rescue, in Roseville, said, “We have puppies to donate … and want to help the young woman who lost her service dog.”
“When Gooch was with me, I was happy,” Crouch said, “I think I can be happy again but no animal can replace Gooch. There’s never going to be another Gooch out there but I think I will find a dog that can bring me joy again.”
What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．A disabled woman’s service dog.

B．A cruel groomer killed a disabled woman’s dog.

C．People’s love for a disabled woman who lost her dog.

D．Disabled woman loves to have the dog as company.

People called and emailed to              .

A．offer help and care to Laurie Crouch.

B．give their angry voice to the groomer.

C．offer a cure for Crouch’s disease.

D．tell Crouch how to punish the groomer.

We can infer from the passage that           .

A．Crouch refused to take another dog.

B．Crouch must be sad after losing her dog.

C．Crouch has accepted another dog from a stranger.

D．Crouch can live well without a dog’s company.

Son’s Help
Mr. Lang worked in a factory. As a driver, he was busy but he was paid much. His wife was an able woman and did all the housework. When he came back, she took good care of him and he never did anything at home. So he had enough time when he had a holiday. A few friends of his liked gambling(赌博) and he learned it soon. So he was interested in it and hardly forgot anything except gambling. He lost all his money and later he began to sell the television, watches and so on. His wife told him not to do it but he didn’t listen to her. She had to tell the police. He and his friends were punished for it. And he was hardly sent away. After he came out of lockup(拘留所), he hated her very much and the woman had to leave him. It was New Year’s Day. Mr. Lang didn’t go to work. He felt lonely and wanted to gamble again. He called his friends and they came soon. But they were afraid the police would come. He told his five-year-old son to go to find out if there were the policemen outside. They waited for a long time and didn’t think the police would come and began to gamble. Suddenly opened the door and in came a few policemen.  ―“I saw there weren’t any policemen outside, daddy,” said the boy, ―“so I went to the crossing and asked some to come.”
Mr. Lang was paid much because _______.

A．he worked in a factory

B．he had a lot of work to do

C．he had worked there for a long time

D．he was a driver

Mrs. Lang did all housework because _______.

A．she wouldn’t stop her husband gambling

B．she couldn’t find any work

C．she thought her husband was tired

D．her husband spent all time in gambling

The woman had to leave Mr. Lang because _______.

A．he wouldn’t stop gambling

B．he had been put into lockup

C．he was hardly sent away by the factory

D．he didn’t love her any longer

Which of the following is right?

A．The boy thought his father needed some policemen.

B．The boy hoped his father would stop gambling soon.

C．The boy hoped his mother would come back.

D．The boy hoped his father would be put into lockup again.

When I began planning to move to Auckland to study，my mother was a little worried about the uncertainty of living in a place that was so different from India，where we lived. She worried particularly about the lack of jobs，the cultural differences and the chance that I would face racism.
Despite these worries，I came to New Zealand in July 2009. I have found the place and people very nice and supportive. Soon after I arrived，I realized the importance of getting a job to supply my living expenses.
Determined to do this on my own ，I spent a whole day going from door to door asking for a job. However，I received little or no response. This became my routine every day after college for
a few weeks.
One afternoon，I walked into a building to ask if there were any job opportunities. The people there were very surprised，and advised me not to continue my job search in that manner. As I was about to leave，a clerk in the building，who had been listening to what the others had said, approached me and asked if I would wait outside. Fifteen minutes later，he returned. He asked me what my plans were and encouraged me to stay confident. He then offered to take me to the Royal Oak area to search for a job.
I was a little surprised，but had a good feeling about him，so I went along. Along the way I realized that I had run out of copies of my resume（简历）．The man stopped at his business partner's office to make me 15 extra copies. He also gave me tips on dressing and speaking，and added that I should give him, a call if I ever needed anything. I handed out my resumes and went home feeling very satisfied. The following day，I received：call from。store in Royal Oak offering me a job.
It seems that the world always gives back to you when you need it. And this time，it was a complete stranger who turned out to be a real blessing.
What wasn't the author's mother worried about?

A．People might look down on the author.

B．The author couldn't speak the local language.

C．The author wasn't familiar with local customs.

D．It might be difficult for the author to find a job.

After staying in New Zealand for a short time, the author   

A．decided to go back to his own country

B．felt the local people were not very friendly

C．had to find a job to cover his living expenses

D．wanted to get a job that needed practical skills

When the author went into a building to look for a job

A．a clerk gave him encouragement and advice

B．he was confident that he would find a good one

C．he found many college students like him already there

D．a clerk recommended him to the company he worked for

What is the story mainly about?

A．How a stranger offered the author a job.

B．How a stranger turned out to be a real blessing.

C．How the author adapted himself to a new situation.

D．How the author was helped to get a job by a stranger.

In April 2014，the world's oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in theBaltic Sea. It had spent 101 years lost in the ocean！The message was finally sent to the author's granddaughter.
A German fisherman named Konrad Fischer found the brown bottle near Kiel，Germany. He said he nearly threw the bottle back into the water after pulling it out of a fishing net. Then he noticed something inside.
The bottle in good condition contained a Danish postcard with two German stamps，dated May 17，1913. Although dampness had made most of the writing illegible（字迹模糊的），thereadable part of the message asked whoever found it to return it to an address in Berlin. It even contained two stamps to pay for postage.
From the address，researchers found that the postcard was written by a man named Richard Platz，who was 20 years old when he wrote the message. While he was hiking on the Baltic coast with a nature appreciation group，he threw the bottle into the sea. Then the researchers began a search for any living relatives of his. Sure enough，they were able to find his 62-year-old granddaughter，Angela Erdmann，who still lives in Berlin.
“It was almost unbelievable，”Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message.“That was a pretty moving moment. Tears rolled down my face."
Erdmann never knew her grandfather，who died in 1946，but says that the discovery of the bottle has made her want to learn more about him.
The bottle remained on display at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg until May 1 ．After that，the researchers examined the postcard and tried to figure out the meaning of the rest of the message.
Previously，the oldest message found in a bottle spent nearly 98 years at sea and was discovered in April 2012，according to Guinness World Records.
When Konrad Fischer picked up the bottle from the sea，    ．

A．he thought it would bring him good luck

B．he noticed the postcard inside immediately

C．he decided to uncover the secret of the bottle

D．he wanted to throw it back into the sea at first

Why did Richard Platz throw the bottle with the message into the sea?

A．He expected his granddaughter could find the postcard.

B．He wished the finder would send the postcard to his home.

C．He believed his postcard would be kept secret at sea forever.

D．He thought he could make friends with the finder of the bottle.

What can be the best title for this passage？

A．The finding of a floating bottle at the sea

B．A one-century-old letter to a granddaughter

C．The world's oldest message in a floating bottle

D．The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle

Jimmy is an automotive mechanic, but he lost his job a few months ago. He has good heart, but always feared applying for a new job.
One day, he gathered up all his strength and decided to attend a job interview. His appointment was at 10 am and it was already 8:30. While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed to be interviewed, he saw an elderly man wildly kicking the tyre of his car. Obviously there was something wrong with the car. Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand. When Jimmy finished working on the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the service. Jimmy said there was no need to pay him; he just helped someone in need, and he had to rush for an interview. Then the old man said, “Well, I could take you to the office for your interview. It’s the least I could do. Please. I insist.” Jimmy agreed.
Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of applications waiting to be interviewed. Jimmy still had some grease on him after the car repair, but he did not have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt. One by one, the applicants left the interviewer’s office with disappointed look on their faces. Finally his name was called. The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window. Rocking the chair back and forth, he asked, “Do you really need to be interviewed?” Jimmy’s heart sank. “With the way I look now, how could I possibly pass this interview?” he thought to himself.
Then the interviewer turned the chair and to Jimmy’s surprise, it was the old man he helped earlier in the morning. It turned out he was the General Manager of the company.
“Sorry I had to keep you waiting, but I was pretty sure I made the right decision to have you as part of our workforce before you even stepped into the office. I just know you’d be a trustworthy worker. Congratulations!” Jimmy sat down and they shared a cup of well-deserved coffee as he landed himself a new job.
What did Jimmy see on the way to the interview?

A．A friend’s car had a flat tyre

B．A wild man was pushing a car

C．A terrible accident happened

D．An old man’s car broke down

Why did the old man offer Jimmy a ride?

A．He was also to be interviewed

B．He needed a traveling companion

C．He always helped people in need

D．He was thankful to Jimmy

How did Jimmy feel on hearing the interviewer’s question?

A．He was sorry for the other applicants

B．There was no hope for him to get the job

C．He regretted helping the old man

D．The interviewer was very rude

What can we learn from Jimmy’s experience？

A．Where there is a will, there’s a way

B．A friend in need is a friend indeed

C．Good is rewarded with good.

D．Two heads are better than one