Frederick Law Olmsted （1822 - 1903）, a Connecticut farm boy, saw his first public park in Liverpool, England, as he accompanied his brother on a walking tour. He was impressed by the park’s winding paths, open fields, lakes and bridges. Perhaps the most wonderful things of all was that the park was open to everyone.
A moment beginning in 1840 to set aside park land on New York City’s Manhattan Island has successful result in 1856 with the purchase of 840 acres of rocky and swampy （沼泽） land, bought with about $ 5 million in state funds. Olmsted’s chance meeting with a project organizer led to his applying for the job of park manager. In 1857 Olmsted was appointed manager of the proposed park, and the clearing of the site began.
Calvert Vaux, a British architect, asked Olmsted to collaborate with him on a park design, and Olmsted agreed. Vaux saw the park as a work of art, while Olmsted saw the park as a place for people to escape the noise of the city. Together they invented a plan that would give the persons and animals living in the city a quiet, green park and would also preserve and increase the good qualities of the natural features of the land. The commissioners voted in favor of Vaux and Olmsted’s plan, and in 1858, the two became the official designers of New York City’s Central Park.
It took millions of cartloads of topsoil to build Central park’s gentle slopes, shady glens, and steep, rocky ravines. Five million trees were planted, a water – supply system was laid, and bridges, arches, roads and paths were constructed. The park officially opened in 1876, and today, well over a century later, people still escape the noise of the city in Olmsted and Vaux’s great work of art.
53．What is the text mainly about?
A．A history of the planning of Central park.
B．An engineering plan for Central Park.
C．A biography of Frederick Law Olmsted.
D．A guided walking tour of Central park.
54．Olmsted became manager of Central Park because of .
A．his friendship with Calvert Vaux
B．his hard work in clearing the land
C．his winning a design competition
D．a chance meeting with one of the park’s organizers
55．The underlined word “collaborate” in the third paragraph means .
A．disagree B．comment C．vote D．work together
56．Which of the following is true about Central Park?
A．It is out of date nowadays.
B．The designers came from the same country.
C．It is an old park in America.
D．It is only for people who can well afford it.
Waller was a liked－by－all fellow full of fun who often went to coffee houses to tell people interesting stories, of which some even brought him some money. One day, asked by an office secretary who told Waller that his boss was a never－seen before serious man and he never even smiled. Waller would tell a most funny story. “Well, sir,” Waller said before he began the story, “What will be given in return of my success?”“＄100,”replied the secretary. “I haven’t seen him have a bright face since I worked in his office.”
“Then let’s make it.” Waller went to the man’s table and whispered to him, “Please tell your boss that the funny man Waller’s hen gave birth to a baby.”
Three days later a letter reached Mr. Waller in which were ＄100 and a piece of yellow paper with the words, “Mr. Waller, you have succeeded—When I repeated your ＄100－worth sentence, my boss burst into frightening laughter, saying that whoever has managed to make him laugh during the business hours will get dismissed!”The secretary asked Waller for a most funny story because he ______.
| A．was tired of his boss seriousness |
| B．tried to please his serious boss with it |
| C．wanted to improve his working conditions |
| D．wanted to see his boss' laughing face |
Saying "Let's make it," Waller______．
| A．was sure of his success |
| B．thought of nothing but the 100-dollar return |
| C．knew that his hen had really given a birth to a baby |
| D．wondered whether he could make the boss smile or not |
Which of the following ends is true according to the passage?
| A．The boss was never so strict with the secretary from then on． |
| B．The secretary lost his job in office． |
| C．The secretary dare not make his boss laugh any longer． |
| D．Mr．Waller was dismissed at last． |
Which sentence can describe the theme of the story?
| A．Things Went Opposite to Wishes |
| B．Satisfying Both Sides |
| C．Killing Two Birds with One Stone |
| D．Either Is in His Proper Place |
Marjorie Gestring
Marjorie Gestring was a springboard（跳板） diver from the United States who won the gold medal in 3-meter springboard diving at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany at the age of 13 years．With the cancellation（取消） of the Olympics in 1940 and 1944 because of World War II, Gestring did not get a chance to defend her title, and her comeback attempt for the 1948 Summer Olympics failed．
Bob Mathias
17-year-old American Bob Mathias won the decathlon（十项全能运动） only four months after taking up the sport．He is the youngest athlete in Olympic history to win a men's track and field event．By the time Mathias retired from decathlon competition in 1952, he had nine victories in nine competitions．He had won two gold medals separately in 1948 and 1952．In 1954 a film about his early life called The Bob Mathias Story was made, in which he and his wife played themselves．
Fu Mingxia
Fu Mingxia was born on August 16, 1978 in Wuhan, Hubei Province．At an early age, her father taught her to swim at a nearby river．She started exercising gymnastics at age 5, soon turning to diving．Fu Mingxia left home at age 9 to train in Beijing．In the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Fu Mingxia became China's youngest Olympic champion ever when she won the 10-meter platform gold at the age of 13．
Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe was born on 13 October, 1982．He is a former Australian freestyle swimmer．At the age of 14, he became the youngest male ever to represent Australia．Ian Thorpe, 17 years old, won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle by breaking his own world record in Sydney 2000．He has won five Olympic gold medals．How many times has Marjorie Gestring taken part in the Olympic Games?
| A．Two． | B．Three． | C．Four． | D．Five． |
Which two athletes took part in the Olympics in the same year ?
| A．Marjorie Gestring and Fu Mingxia |
| B．Bob Mathias and Fu Mingxia |
| C．Marjorie Gestring and Bob Mathias． |
| D．Bob Mathias and Ian Thorpe． |
How long had Fu Mingxia practised diving in Beijing before she won the 10-meter platform gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics?
| A．About ten years． |
| B．About nine years． |
| C．About five years． |
| D．About three years． |
What is the passage mainly about ?
| A．Some young Olympic champions． |
| B．The history of the Olympic Games． |
| C．How to train young Olympic athletes． |
| D．How to prepare for the Olympic Games． |
How is it that siblings （兄弟姐妹） can turn out so differently? One answer is that in fact each sibling grows up in a different family． The firstborn is, for a while, an only child, and therefore has a completely different experience of the parents than those born later． The next child is, for a while, the youngest, until the situation is changed by a new arrival． The mother and father themselves are changing and growing up too． One sibling might live in a stable and close family in the first few years; another might be raised in a family crisis, with a disappointed mother or an angry father．
Sibling competition was identified as an important shaping force as early as in 1918． But more recently, researchers have found many ways in which brothers and sisters are a lasting force in each others’ lives． Dr． Annette Henderson says firstborn children pick up vocabulary more quickly than their siblings． The reason for this might be that the later children aren’t getting the same one-on-one time with parents． But that doesn’t mean that the younger children have problems with language development． Later-borns don’t enjoy that much talking time with parents, but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sisters, learning entire phrases and getting an understanding of social concepts such as the difference between “I” and “me”．
A Cambridge University study of 140 children found that siblings created a rich world of play that helped them grow socially． Love-hate relationships were common among the children． Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive communication as the other sibling pairs．
One way children seek more attention from parents is by making themselves different from their siblings, particularly if they are close in age． Researchers have found that the first two children in a family are typically more different from each other than the second and third． Girls with brothers show their differences to a maximum degree by being more feminine than girls with sisters． A 2003 research paper studied adolescents from 185 families over two years, finding that those who changed to make themselves different from their siblings were successful in increasing the amount of warmth they gained from their parents． In terms of language development, later-borns ________．
| A．get their parents’ individual guidance |
| B．learn a lot from their elder siblings |
| C．experience a lot of difficulties |
| D．pick up words more quickly |
What was found about fights among siblings?
| A．Siblings hated fighting and loved playing． |
| B．Siblings in some families fought frequently． |
| C．Sibling fights led to bad sibling relationships． |
| D．Siblings learned to get on together from fights． |
The word “feminine” （in Para． 4） means “_______”．
| A．having qualities of parents |
| B．having qualities of women |
| C．having defensive qualities |
| D．having extraordinary qualities |
If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles． He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out．
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought． It’s nothing personal． Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes．
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius． In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China．
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities． More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries． These schools teach both Chinese language and culture． The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy． Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy． Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese． So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States． Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers．
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well．
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West．
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is． The opening paragraph is mainly intended to _______．
| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers’ interest in the subject |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students_______．
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
| D．Old Thinker with a Big Future |
The passage is likely to appear in _______．
| A．a biography | B．a history paper |
| C．a newspaper | D．a philosophy textbook |
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Call 1-888-809-8794 or visit www.jitlerbugdirect． com．What made “I” finally think of getting a cell phone?
| A．Being stuck by the highway． |
| B．Being urged by his grandkids． |
| C．Being persuaded by cell phone salespersons． |
| D．Being attracted by the friendly return policy． |
On the monthly basis of 100 minutes, the Jitterbug weekly rate is about_______．
| A．$3．75 | B．$4．99 | C．$14．99 | D．$19．99 |
An advantage of Jitterbug mentioned in the passage is _______．
| A．its discount price with a free gift |
| B．its reasonable rate plans without a contract |
| C．its "global-positioning" system with 911 access |
| D．its good customer service all over the world |
The main purpose of the passage is to _______．
| A．tell a customer’s story of Jitterbug |
| B．provide two ways to order Jitterbug |
| C．give a brief introduction of Jitterbug |
| D．attract potential customers to Jitterbug． |
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