高中英语阅读理解

C
I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant , and ancient for a sportsman, Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me. Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age. but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.
A few days ago, a friend tried to cheer me up by saying, “ Fifty is what forty used to be . ”He had made an inspirational point, Am I over the hill ?People keep telling me that the hill has been moved, and I keep telling them that he high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.
“ Your are not getting older, you are getting better . ” says Dr. Joyce Brothers . This, however, is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.
And so. as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net. I am moves to share some thoughts on aging with you. I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally. Getting older. of course, is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼词). In fact , a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all :
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to me.
Whether or not Browning was right , most of my first fifty years have been golden ones, so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by. I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend ( 混合) of both fighting and accepting my aging, hoping that the philosopher(哲学家) was right when he said . ”Old is always fifteen years from now. ”
44. The author seems to tell us in Paragraph I that
A time alone will tell                                       B time goes by quickly
C time will show what is right                          D time makes one forget the past
45. When the author turned fifty , people around him
A. tried to comfort him                                           B. got inspiration with him
C. were friendlier with him                              D. found him more talkative
46. The author considers his fifty years of life  
A peaceful                   B. ordinary                  C. satisfactory              D. regretful
47. We can infer from the passage that
A. the old should led a simple life                            B. the old should face the fact of aging
C. the old should take more exercise                   D. the old should fill themselves with curiosity

D
All her life, my mother wanted busy children. It was very important that her house should remain at all things clean and tidy.
You could turn your back for a moment in my mother's house, leave a half written letter on the dining room table, a magazine open on the chair, and turn around to find that my mother had "put it back where it belonged." as she explained.
My wife, on one of her first visits to my mother's house, placed a packet of biscuits on an end table and went to the kitchen to fetch a drink. When she returned, she found the packet had been removed. Confused(疑惑的), she set down her drink and went back to the kitchen for more biscuits, only to return to find that her drink had disappeared. Up to then she had guessed that everyone in my family held onto their drinks, so as not to make water rings on the end tables. Now she knows better.
These disappearances had a confusing effect on our family. We were all inclined to (有......的倾向) forgetfulness, and it was common for one of us, upon returning from the bathroom, to find the every sign of his work in progress had disappeared suddenly. "Do you remember what I was doing?" was a question frequently asked, but rarely answered.
Now my sister has developed a second-hand love of clean windows, and my brother does the cleaning in his house, perhaps to avoid having to be the one to lift his feet. I try not to think about it too much, but I have at this later time started to dust the furniture once a week.
68. Which of the following is TRUE about my mother?
A. She enjoyed removing others' drinks.             B. She became more and more forgetful.
C. She preferred to do everything by herself.      D. She wanted to keep her house in good order.
69. My wife could not find her biscuits and drink in my mother's house because _______.
A. she had already finished them                        B. my mother had taken them away
C. she forgot where she had left them                 D. someone in my family was holding them
70. The underlined part to the fifth paragraph suggests that my sister _______.
A. is happy to clean windows                                   B. loves to clean used windows
C. is fond of clean used windows                       D. likes clean windows as my mother did
71. This passage mainly tells us that _______.
A. my mother often made us confused                B. my family members had a poor memory
C. my mother helped us to form a good habit     
D. my wife was surprised when she visited my mother

E
Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.
My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later I returned to school-walking on my own!
When the Great Depression(大萧条)hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.
Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951.I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra$2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽车旅馆)for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the word-Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an in income of $ 1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situations. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.
71.What Kemmons’mom often told him during his childhood was_______.
A.caring   B.moving   C.encouraging   D.interesting
72.According to the author, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?
A.Doctors.    B.Nurses.        C.Friends.    D.Mom.
73.What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?
A. His terrible experience in the hotel.
B. His previous business success of various levels.
C. His mom’s support.
D. His wife’s suggestion.
74.Which of the following best describes Kemmons’mother?
A. Modest ,helpful and hard-working.     B. Loving, supportive and strong-willed.
C. Careful, helpful and beautiful.     D.Strict, sensitive and supportive.
75.Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?
A. Self-confidence, had work, higher education and a poor family
B. Mom’s encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work.
C. Clear goals, mom’s encouragement, a poor family and higher education.
D. Mom’s encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities.

A
If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner and say, “ Hey, Butterfly Man,” his face would break into a smile. The title suits him. And he loves it.
Arthur Bonner works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly(蝴蝶), once thought to have died out. Today the butterfly is coming back — thanks to him. But years ago if you’d told him this was what he’d be doing someday, he would have laughed, “ You’re crazy.” As a boy, he used to be “ a little tough guy on the streets”. At age thirteen, he was caught by police for stealing. At eighteen, he landed in prison for shooting a man..
“ I knew it had hurt my mom,” Bonner said after he got out of prison. “ So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again.”
One day he met Professor Mattoni, who was working to rebuild the habitat(栖息地) for an endangered butterfly called El Segundo blue.
“ I saw the sign ‘ Butterfly Habitat’ and asked, ‘ How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?’” Bonner recalls. “ Dr. Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass(放大镜) , ‘Look at the leaves.’ I could see all these caterpillars(蝴蝶的幼虫) on the plant. Dr Mattoni explained, ‘ Without the plant, there are no butterflies.’”
Weeks later, Bonner received a call from Dr. Mattoni, who told him there was a butterfly that needed help. That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue. Since then he’s been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back. He grows astragalus, the only plant the butterfly eats. He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs. Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat.
The butterfly’s population, once almost zero, is now up to 900. For their work, Bonner and Dr. Mattoni received lots of awards. But for Bonner, he earned something more: he turned his life around.
For six years now Bonner has kept his promise to stay out of prison. While he’s bringing back the Palos Verdes blue, the butterfly has helped bring him back, too.
41. When he was young, Arthur Bonner _______.
A. broke the law and ended up in prison           B. was fond of shooting and hurt his mom
C. often laughed at people on the streets            D. often caught butterflies and took them home
42. Bonner came to know the Palos Verdes blue after he _______.
A. found the butterfly had died out                   B. won many prizes from his professor
C. met Dr. Mattoni, a professor of biology        D. collected butterflies and put them into a lab
43. From the last sentence of the text, we learn that raising butterflies has _________.
A. made Bonner famous                B. changed Bonner’s life
C. brought Bonner wealth              D. enriched Bonner’s knowledge
44. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. A Promise to Mom                         B. A Man Saved by Butterflies
C. A Story of Butterflies                     D. A Job Offered by Dr. Mattoni

E
I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“ None.”
“ Where did you go?”
“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“ What did you do?”
“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“ You just stood there?”
“ Didn’t sell a single one.”
“ My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
56. Why did the boy start his job young?           
A. He wanted to be famous in the future.                 B. The job was quite easy for him.
C. His mother had high hopes for him.                    D. The competition for the job was fierce.
57. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.
A. excited         B. interested                      C. ashamed   D. disappointed
58. What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?
A. She forced him to continue.                     B. She punished him.
C. She gave him some money.                      D. She changed her plan.
59. What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?
A. The war between the boy’s parents.                    
B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.
C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.
D. The fight between the boy and his father.
60. What is the text mainly about?
A. The early life of a journalist.                       B. The early success of a journalist.
C. The happy childhood of the writer.        D. The important role of the writer in his family.

Anyone who cares about what schools and colleges teach and how their students learn will be interested in the memoir（回忆录）of Ralph W. Tyler, who is one of the most famous men in American education.
Born in Chicago in 1902, brought up and schooled in Nebraska, the 19-year-old college graduate Ralph Tyler became hooked on teaching while teaching as a science teacher in South Dakota and changed his major from medicine to education.
Graduate work at the University of Chicago found him connected with honorable educators Charles Judd and W. W. Charters, whose ideas of teaching and testing had an effect on his later work. In 1927, he became a teacher of Ohio State University where he further developed a new method of testing.
Tyler became well-known nationality in 1938, when he carried his work with the Eight-Year Study from Ohio State University to the University of Chicago at the invitation of Robert Hutchins.
Tyler was the first director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, a position he held for fourteen years. There, he firmly believed that researchers should be free to seek an independent（独立的）spirit in their work.
Although Tyler officially retired in 1967, he never actually retired. He served on a long list of educational organizations in the United States and abroad. Even in his 80s he traveled across the country to advise teachers and management people on how to set objectives（目标）that develop the best teaching and learning within their schools. 68. Who are most probably interested in Ralph W. Tyler’s memoir?
A. Top managers.            B. Language learners.
C. Serious educators.               D. Science organizations.
69. The words “hooked oh teaching” underlined in Paragraph 2 probably mean ________.
A. attracted to teaching       B. tired of teaching
C. satisfied with teaching            D. unhappy about teaching
70. Where did Tyler work as the leader of a research center for over 10 years?
A. The University of Chicago.      B. Stanford University.
C. Ohio State University.           D. Nebraska University.
71. Tyler is said to have never actually retired because ____________.
A. he developed a new method of testing      B. he called for free spirit in research
C. he was still active in giving advice                 D. he still led the Eight-Year Study

Danielle Steel, America's sweetheart, is one of the hardest working women in the book business. Unlike other productive authors who write one book at a time, she can work on up to five. Her research time before writing takes at least three years. Once she has fully studied her subjects, ready to dive into a book, she can spend twenty hours nonstop at her desk.
Danielle Steel comes from New York and was sent to France for her education. After graduation, she worked in the public relations and advertising industries. Later she started a job as a writer which she was best fit for. Her achievements are unbelievable: 390 million copies of books in print, nearly fifty New York Times best-selling novels, and a series of "Max and Martha" picture books for children to help them deal with the real-life problems of death, new hobbies and new schools. Her 1998 book about the death of her son shot to the top of the New York Times best-selling list as soon as it came out. Twenty-eight of her books have been made into films. She is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for one of her books being the Times best-seller for 381 weeks straight.
Not content with a big house, a loving family, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Danielle Steel considers her readers to be the most important resource(资源) and has kept in touch with them by e-mail. While she is often compared to the heroines(女主人公) of her own invention, her life is undoubtedly much quieter. But, if she does have anything in common with them, it is her strength of will and her inimitable(独特的) style. There is only one Danielle Steel.
60. Danielle Steel is different from other writers in that ____.
A. she can write several books at the same time
B. she often does some research before writing a book
C. she is one of the most popular American women writers
D. she can keep writing for quite a long time without a break
61. Children who have read "Max and Martha" picture books may know ______.
A. how to deal with affairs at school                  B. what to do if Max and Martha die
C. what to do when new babies are born into their families
D. how to solve the difficult problems in their writing classes
62. One of Danielle Steel's achievements is that ______.
A. some TV plays were based on her books         B. her picture books attracted a lot of young men
C. one of her books became a best-seller in 1998
D. she wrote the Guinness Book of World Records
63. We can learn from the passage that Danielle Steel _____.
A. lives an exciting life                       B. values her readers a lot
C. writes about quiet women               D. is pleased with her achievements

   Louis Armstrong had two famous nicknames (绰号). Some people called him Bagamo. They said his mouth looked like a large bag, Musicians often called him Pops, as a sign of respect for his influence (影响) on the world of music.
Born in 1901 in New Orleans, be grew up poor, but lived among great musicians. Jazz was invented in the city a few years before his birth. Armstrong often said, “Jazz and I grew up together.”
Armstrong showed a great talent (天赋) for music when he was taught to play the cornet (短号) at a boy’s home. In his late teens, Armstrong began to live the life of a musician. He played in parades, clubs, and on the steamboats that traveled on the Mississippi River. At that time, New Orleans was famous for the new music of jazz and was home to many great musicians. Armstrong learned from the older musicians and soon became respected as their equal.
In 1922 he went to Chicago. There, the tale of Louis Armstrong begins. From then until the end of his life, Armstrong was celebrated and loved wherever be went Armstrong had no equal when it came to playing the American popular song.
His cornet playing had a deep humanity (仁爱) and warmth that caused many listeners to say, “Listening to Pops just makes you feel good all over.” He was the father of the jazz style(风格) and also one of the best-known and most admired people in the world. His death, on July 6,1971, was headline news around the world.
41.Armstrong was called Pops because he     .   
A. looked like a musician               B. was a musician of much influence
C. showed an interest in music              D. traveled to play modern music
42.The third paragraph is developed      .
A. by space         B. by examples       C. by time       D. by comparison
43.Which statement about Armstrong is true?
A. His tale begins in New Orleans.                 B. He was born before jazz was invented.
C. His music was popular with his listeners. D. He learned popular music at a boy’s home.
44.Which would be the best title for the text?
A. The Invention of the Jazz Music                    B. The Father of the Jazz Style
C. The Making of a Musician                      D. The Spread of Popular Music

Anyone who cares about what schools and colleges teach and how their students learn will be interested in the memoir（回忆录）of Ralph W. Tyler, who is one of the most famous men in American education.
Born in Chicago in 1902, brought up and schooled in Nebraska, the 19-year-old college graduate Ralph Tyler became hooked on teaching while teaching as a science teacher in South Dakota and changed his major from medicine to education.
Graduate work at the University of Chicago found him connected with honorable educators Charles Judd and W. W. Charters, whose ideas of teaching and testing had an effect on his later work. In 1927, he became a teacher of Ohio State University where he further developed a new method of testing.
Tyler became well-known nationality in 1938, when he carried his work with the Eight-Year Study from Ohio State University to the University of Chicago at the invitation of Robert Hutchins.
Tyler was the first director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, a position he held for fourteen years. There, he firmly believed that researchers should be free to seek an independent（独立的）spirit in their work.
Although Tyler officially retired in 1967, he never actually retired. He served on a long list of educational organizations in the United States and abroad. Even in his 80s he traveled across the country to advise teachers and management people on how to set objectives（目标）that develop the best teaching and learning within their schools. 68. Who are most probably interested in Ralph W. Tyler’s memoir?
A. Top managers.                      B. Language learners.
C. Serious educators.           D. Science organizations.
69. The words “hooked oh teaching” underlined in Paragraph 2 probably mean ________.
A. attracted to teaching         B. tired of teaching
C. satisfied with teaching       D. unhappy about teaching
70. Where did Tyler work as the leader of a research center for over 10 years?
A. The University of Chicago.         B. Stanford University.
C. Ohio State University.       D. Nebraska University.

Susan Sontag (1933 — 2004)was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature.For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything — to read every book worth reading ,to see every movie worth seeing .When she was still in her early 30s,publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American culture life ,trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art .With great effort and serious judgment . Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords(格言),but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious,she argued for a true openness to the pleasures of pop culture.In “Notes on Camp”,the 1964 essay that first made her name ,she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous .“Notes on Camp”,she wrote,represents“a victory of ‘form’over‘content’,‘beauty’over‘morals’”.
By conviction（信念）she was a sensualist（感觉论者）, but by nature she was a moralist （伦理学者）,and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s , it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor —published in 1978, after she suffered cancer—she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities（被压抑的性格）, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact , re-examining old positions was her lifelong lifelong habit.
  In America,her story of a 19thcentury Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000.But it was as a tireless, all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame.“Sometimes,”she once said ,“I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending …is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.”And in the end ,she made us take it seriously too.
71.The underlined sentence in paragraph 1 means Sontag_________.
A.was a symbol of American cultural life           B.developed world literature,film and art
C.published many essays about world culture
D.kept pace with the newest development of world culture
72.She first won her name through ___________.
A. her story of a Polish actress                          B. her book Illness as Metaphor
C. publishing essays in magazines like partisan Review
D. her explanation of a set of difficult understandings
73.According to the passage,Susan Sontag__________.
A. was a sensualist as well as a moralist                            B. looked down upon the pop culture
C. thought content was more important than form      
D. blamed the victim of cancer for being repressed
74.As for Susan Sontag’s lifelong habit , she __________.
A. misunderstood the idea of seriousness                   B. re-examined old positions
C. argued for an openess to pop culture                     D. preferred morals to beauty
75.Susan Sontag’s lasting fame was made upon___________-.
A. a tireless, all-purpose cultural view        B. her lifelong watchword ：seriousness
C. publishing books on morals             D. enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing

  People fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor in 1944, when she starred in National Velvet-the story of Velvet Brown, a young girl who wins first place in a famous horse race. At first, the producers of the movie told Taylor that she was too small to play the part of Velvet. However, they waited for her for a few months as she exercised and trained—and added three inches to her height in four months! Her acting in National Velvet is still considered the best by a child actress.
Elizabeth Taylor was born in London in 1932. Her parents, both Americans, had moved there for business reasons. When World war II started, the Taylor moved to Beverly Hills, California, and there Elizabeth started acting in movies. After her success as a child star, Taylor had no trouble moving into adult(成人)roles and won twice for Best Actress: Butterfield 8(1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? (1966)
Taylor’s fame(名声)and popularity gave her a lot of power with the movie industry, so she was able to demand very high pay for her movies. In 1963, she received $1 million for her part in Cleopatra—the highest pay received by any star up to that time.
Elizabeth Taylor is a legend (传奇人物) of our time. Like Velvet Brown in National Velvet, she has been lucky, she has beauty, fame and wealth. But she is also a hard worker. Taylor seldom acts in movies any more. Instead, she puts her time and efforts into her businesses, and into helping others — several years ago, she founded an organization that has raised more than $40 million for research and education.
60. The producers didn’t let Taylor play the part of Velvet at first because they thought she      .
A. was small in size                            B. was too young
C. did not play well enough              D. did not show much interest
61. What Elizabeth Taylor and Velvet Brown had in common was that they were both     .
A. popular all their lives                B. famous actresses
C. successful when very young            D. rich and kind-hearted
62. Taylor became Best Actress at the age of     .
A. 12     B. 28         C. 31     D. 34
63. In her later life , Elizabeth Taylor devoted herself to       .
A. doing business and helping others           B. turning herself into a legend
C. collecting money for the poor                 D. going about research and education work

When Babbage was working at Cambridge, a new idea occurred to him. He wanted to construct a calculating machine to work out the solutions（解法）to maths problems not only with correctness but also with a speed beyond the power of any human mind. His machine could solve problems involving（涉及）long rows of figures in one continuous operation（运算）.
In 1822 Babbage exhibited his invention and won a prize from the government. After that, he immediately started to work on a larger machine designed to solve more difficult problems. Although he received some money left by his father, the money was not enough to support his design. He wrote to the government about his plan and was given ￡2500 to start with, a sum worth much more in those days than it is now.
Babbage continued his work in London for four years. Then his health broke down, and he had to take a long holiday abroad. When he returned to London in 1828, he was at the end of his resources. Many bills remained unpaid. His chief assistant and co-workers quarreled with him and left with many expensive tools. For one year no work was done. During this period, Babbage, whose mind was always active, suddenly thought of a completely new idea for the machine. He rushed to meet the government officials to explain his new idea. But this time, they were unwilling to help him. For eight years, they refused to say whether they wanted the machine or not, and their final answer was “No.”
From 1828 to 1839, Babbage held the position of professor at Cambridge very successfully. But his greatest work was the unfinished calculating machine which stood covered in dust in his house. It was the beginning of the modern computer.
60．The machine Babbage designed would solve difficult maths problems _________.
A．in one operation with few mistakes
B．in more than one operation without any mistakes
C．in more than one operation with slight mistakes
D．in one operation without any mistakes
61．Babbage failed to continue his research work in 1828 mainly because _______.
A．he was in poor health                B．he almost ran out of money
C．his co-workers argued with him         D．he spent all his money on his bills
62．Babage explained his new idea to the government officials, expecting that _________.
A．they would agree to his plan             B．they would pay for his new idea
C．they would support him with money    D．they would exhibit his new design
63．From the passage, we can infer that __________.
A．Babbage failed to be a famous scientist at Cambridge
B．Babbage always had new ideas but gave them up easily
C．Babbage always needed support from the government officials
D．Babbage was the first designer of the modern computer

Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16,1775, and died on July 18, 1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously ( 匿名 ).
But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806, Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced (增强)by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.
The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy.
You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen's Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.
56. Jane Austen paid two long visits to Bath________.
A. in her early twenties                      B. in her early teens
C. in her late twenties                 D. in her late teens
57. What can we learn about Bath from the passage?
A. Bath has greatly changed since Jane Austen's death.
B. The city has changed as much as Jane Austen knew it.
C. Bath remains almost the same as in Jane Austen's time.
D. No changes have taken place in Bath since Jane Austen's time.
58.The author（作者）writes this passage in order to________.
A. attract readers to visit the city of Bath            B. ask readers to buy Austen's books
C. tell readers about Jane Austen's experience
D. give a brief introduction to the Jane Austen Society
59. It takes you about one and a half hours________.
A. to get to the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street
B. to buy Jane Austen related books, cards and gifts
C. to find a guide to take you to the Centre                D. to look around the city of Bath on foot

   When Lew Alcindor was 13, and obviously still growing, a group of schools began offering him scholarships（奖学金）. The Alcindors decided to send their only child to Power Memorial Academy, a small school on Manhattan’s West Side.
At Power. Alcindor came under the control of Coach Jack Donohue, a strict young man who already gained his fame as one of the best coaches in the city. Donohue brought Alcindor along slowly. As a first-year student, the boy was not able to do much but wave his long skinny arms and shoot a basket now and then. But by the second year, when he was 15 years old and nearly 7 feet tall, Alcindor was quick and skillful enough to make the high school All American team and to lead Power to an undefeated season.
From then on be simply got better. Some rival coaches（对方教练）used to take their teams quickly away from the floor before Power warmed up so that their players would not see him any sooner than they had to. Wearing size 16D shoes and sucking a lollipop（棒棒糖）, Alcindor would loosen up by starting his leaping lay-ups（擦板球）. Then he would casually shoot the ball with either hand, to the delight of the fans.
When reporters and photographers began to follow Alcindor closely, Donohue protected his boy firmly. He simply ordered Lew to talk to no member of the press, and this suited Lew fine. He was not comfortable talking to grownups, perhaps because he towered over them. Discouraged photographers began following him in secret as though he were an easily-frightened giraffe. “People want you not for yourself,” Donohue warned him, “but because you’re a basketball player. Don’t forget that.”
57. Many schools offered Alcindor scholarships because_______.
A. he was young                        B. he was hardworking
C. he was tall for his age                  D. he was skillful at playing basketball
58. Which of the following best describes Donohue as a young coach?
A. serious, popular and slow         B. tall, skillful and successful
C. kind, powerful and undefeated     D. well-known, strict and experienced
59. Why did some rival coaches take their teams away from the floor before Power warmed up?
A. Their teams refused to play Power.        B. Their teams feared to see Alcindor.
C. Their teams would lose courage.      D. Their teams would lose interest.
60. What does the last paragraph mainly discuss?
A. How Donohue protected Alcindor from the press.
B. How Alcindor disliked meeting reporters.      
C. Why the press followed Alcindor closely.              D. Why the public wanted Alcindor badly.

   Paul Zindel’s death on March 27,2003 ended the brilliant life of a famous writer. Not only did Paul Zindel win a Pulitzer Prize as well as an Obie Prize for his 1970 play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, but be was one of the earliest writers in the field of contemporary（当代的） literature for young adults（成人）. The Pigman, published in 1968, is still one of the most well-known and widely-taught novels in the genre. The American Library Association has named it one of the 100 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults published between 1967 and 1992, and Zindel’s autobiography, The Pigman and Me, was among the 100 Best of the Best Books published for teenagers during the last part of the twentieth century. Six of Zindel’s books, in fact, have been voted the Best Books for Young Adults, and most of his recent horror books-such as The Doom Stone and Rats－have been chosen as Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Clearly, he was a writer who knew how to interest contemporary children. Recognizing that, the American Library Association in 2002 honored Paul Zindel with the Margaret A. Edwards Prize for his lifetime achievements, and later that same year he was presented with the ALAN Prize for his contributions to Young Adult Literature. With his passing, young readers, teachers, and librarians have lost a great friend.
56．Which of Paul Zindel’s books was the most popular with young adults in the 20th century?
A．The Pigman.                  B．The Doom Stone.
C．The Pigman and Me.              D．The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.
57．Why was Paul Zindel honored with the Margaret A. Edwards Prize?
A．His books were widely read by children.
B．His books were interesting and helpful to adults.
C．He made great contributions to contemporary literature.
D．He wrote a number of horror books for young adults.
58．When did Paul Zindel win the ALAN Prize?
A．In 2002.                        B．In 2003.
C．Between 1967 and 1992.           D．Between 2002 and 2003.
59．Choose the correct statements from the following according to the passage.
a.The Pigman and Me was one of the Best Books for teenagers.
b.Zindel was one of the earliest writers who wrote for adults only.
c.The Doom Stone and Rats are not popular with young adults.
d.Zindel was given four prizes for literature before he died.
e.At least eight of Zindel’s books were very popular in his times.
A．c, d, e         B．a, b, c      C．a, b, d         D．a, d, e