There was once an old wise man living on the top of a mountain. Whenever the villagers had a problem, they would climb up the mountain and ask the old man for advice.
One day a young man arrived. “Wise man,” he asked, “What makes a man truly great?”
The old man said, “Do you sincerely want to know?”
“Yes, yes!” the young man replied.
“Well,” the wise old man said to him, “Let me tell you in the form of a story.”
There was once a Greek man who suffered from a deadly disease. Knowing that he would die soon, he was the first to join the army when his country was in a battle with the enemy. Hoping to die in battle, he would fight in the front line, risking himself without any worry for his life. Finally they won the battle and he was still alive. His general (将军) was so impressed with his bravery which contributed much to the victory.
The general decided to promote him and award him with medals of bravery and honor. On the day of presentation (授予仪式), he was looking very down and sad. Curiously, the general asked him why he was so sad on a day he should be so proud. The soldier told him of his deadly disease. “How could I let such a brave soldier die?” the general thought. So the general hired the best physician and finally cured the soldier. But from that day on, the once valiant soldier was no longer seen at the front. He would always avoid danger and tried his best to protect his life.
“Young man,” the wise man said, “if you want to be truly great, you must not be afraid of dying, you must be daring.”The reason why the young man went to see the old man was that .
| A．he enjoyed the scenery of the great mountain |
| B．the old man was very good at telling stories |
| C．there was a difficult problem troubling him |
| D．he was not sure who the greatest man was |
The general decided to award the Greek man .
| A．after he realized the man’s serious illness |
| B．because the man fought bravely in battle |
| C．though he knew the man would die soon |
| D．so that he could find the man a good doctor |
The underlined word “valiant” is closest in meaning to .
| A．brave | B．polite | C．curious | D．proud |
What the old man really wanted the young man to do was .
| A．trying to be kind to the people in trouble |
| B．mastering the skills of telling |
| C．joining the army to fight for his country |
| D．learning a lesson from the Greek man |
How can a creature weighing over 5 tons and normally taking 150 kilograms of food and 120 liters of water per day survive in a desert environment?
In the southwest African country of Namibia, and the Sahara lands of Mali further north, the desert elephant does just that.
Although not regarded as a separate species from the African elephant, the desert cousin differs in many ways. Their bodies are smaller, to absorb less heat, and their feet are larger for easier walking across sandy surfaces, they are taller, to reach higher branches. They have shorter tusks（象牙）, and most importantly, longer trunks to dig for water in riverbeds.
Desert elephants can travel over 70 kilometers in search for feeding grounds and waterholes, and have a larger group of families. They drink only every 3 –4 days, and can store water in a “bag” at the back of their throat, which is only used when badly needed. Desert elephants are careful feeders – they seldom root up trees and break fewer branches, and thus maintain what little food sources are available. Young elephants may even eat the dung（粪便）of the female leader of a group when facing food shortage.
During drought they are unlikely to give birth to their young but with good rains the birthrate will increase greatly. Desert elephants have sand baths, sometimes adding their own urine（尿液）to make them muddy!
As we continue to overheat our weak planet, it can only be hoped that other animal species will adapt as extraordinarily well to change as the desert elephant.The underlined part in Paragraph 2 means “ ”.
| A．remains in the African countries | B．drinks 120 liters of water a day |
| C．manages to live in desert areas | D．eats 150 kilograms of food daily |
Desert elephants are called careful feeders because they _________.
| A．rarely ruin trees | B．drink only every 3-4 days |
| C．search for food in large groups | D．protect food sources for their young |
The author answers the question raised in the first paragraph with __________.
| A．stories and explanation | B．facts and descriptions |
| C．examples and conclusion | D．evidence and argument |
What can be inferred from the last sentence in the passage?
| A．Overheating the earth can be stopped. |
| B．Not all animal species are so adaptable. |
| C．The planet will become hotter and hotter. |
| D．Not all animals are as smart as desert elephants. |
Dad came in the midnight. We heard every sound, but we pretended to be asleep.
Next morning he looked weak and thin, sitting in a chair by the kitchen fire. The light of the fire shone through his long empty sleeve. Everything went as usual. Grandma found something to do in the bedroom. Grandpa went out for some water. Mother, with her back to us, was getting the cakes ready for breakfast.
But nothing was right. When grandma came out of the bedroom, she walked on tiptoe. When grandpa came back, he said nothing about the weather. At breakfast Mother passed us the fruit and said something, but her voice was too high.
At last my sister, Lou, pushed back her chair. “It’s your turn to wash the dishes.” But I had washed the dishes the night before. I said nothing because it was not right to quarrel in front of Dad just home with the empty sleeve.
“It is your turn,” Lou said again. I looked at her in surprise.
“It is not,” I said because I suddenly remembered Mother had told us to go on as usual.
“Children, children,” Mother said in a quiet, glad kind of voice.
And Dad was smiling because he felt at home at last.What do you know happened to Dad in the story?
| A．He was badly ill. | B．He had a long journey. |
| C．He drank too much. | D．He lost one of his arms. |
The family when they saw Dad’s empty sleeve.
| A．was too surprised to do anything | B．felt sad and cried a lot |
| C．tried not to show their feelings | D．showed no worry at all |
From the story, we know .
| A．the two sisters often quarreled about who should wash the dishes |
| B．the family liked seeing the two sisters quarrelling after breakfast |
| C．Dad loved the two sisters very much though they often quarreled |
| D．Mother told the two sisters to quarrel with each other the night before |
Which of the following can be the best title of the story?
| A．The Quarrelling Sisters | B．Dad Was Back |
| C．After the Accident | D．An Empty Sleeve |
One day Mrs. Perry said to her husband, “Jack, there is a meeting of our ladies’ club at Mrs. Young’s house at lunch time today. And I want to go to it. I’ll leave you some food for your lunch. Is that all right?”
“Oh, yes,” her husband answered, “that’s quite all right. What are you going to leave for my lunch?”
“This tin of fish.” Mrs. Perry said. “And there are some cold boiled potatoes and some beans here, too.”
“Good,” Mr. Perry answered. “I’ll have a good lunch.”
So Mrs. Perry went to her meeting. All the ladies had lunch at Mrs. Young’s house, and at three o’clock she came home.
“Was your fish nice?” asked she.
“Yes, but my feet are hurting,” he answered.
“Why are they hurting?”
“Well, the words on the tin were Open the tin and stand in hot water for five minutes.”Mrs. Perry went to the meeting because .
| A．she had something to do with the ladies’ club | B．she was a member of the ladies’ club |
| C．she wanted to join the club | D．she was a friend of Mrs. Young’s |
Mrs. Perry left some food for Jack’s lunch because .
| A．she didn’t like cooking | B．Jack knew nothing about cooking |
| C．she wanted Jack to have a good time | D．she wanted to go to the meeting very much |
Jack had his feet hurt .
| A．when he was opening the tin | B．when he was helping himself to the fish |
| C．before he opened the tin | D．after he opened the tin |
“Open the tin and stand in hot water for five minutes” means .
| A．you should open the tin and stand in hot water for 5 minutes |
| B．you should open the tin but not stand in hot water for 5 minutes |
| C．you should not open the tin but stand in hot water for 5 minutes |
| D．you should open the tin and let it stand in hot water for 5 minutes |
Drunken driving –sometimes called America’s socially accepted form of murder—has become a national epidemic (流行病). Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years. A drunken driver is usually referred to as one with 0.10-blood alcohol content or roughly three beer glasses of wine or shots of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were lenient in most courts, but the drunken killing has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially concerning young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.
Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-20 years old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.
Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop “responsible attitudes” about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.
Though new laws have led to increased arrests and tests in many areas already, to a marked drop in accidents, some states are also punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A bar in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who was “obviously drunk” and later drove off the road, killing a 9-year-old boy.
As the accidents continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years national prohibition of alcohol that began in 1919, which President Hoover called the “noble experiment”. They forgot that legal prohibition didn’t stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution. From paragraph one, we can know that ____________.
| A．most Americans like drinking |
| B．heavy drinking is hard to avoid |
| C．many Americans are killed by drunk drivers |
| D．Americans are not shocked by traffic accidents |
What can be inferred from the fact of the traffic accidents in New Jersey?
| A．The legal drinking age should be raised. |
| B．Young drivers were usually bad. |
| C．Most drivers hoped to raise the legal drinking age. |
| D．Drivers should not be allowed to drink. |
The underlined word “lenient” in the first paragraph means “_________”.
| A．serious | B．cruel | C．merciful | D．determined |
In America, public opinion about drunken driving has changed because __________.
| A．judges are no longer lenient |
| B．new laws are introduced in some states |
| C．the problem has attracted public attention |
| D．drivers do not appreciate their manly image |
Which of the following best shows the writer’s opinion of drunken driving?
| A．It may lead to organized crime. |
| B．It is difficult to solve this problem. |
| C．The new laws can stop heavy drinking. |
| D．There should be no bars to serve drinks. |
It was not yet eleven o’clock when a boat crossed the river with a single passenger who had obtained his transportation at that unusual hour by promising an extra fare.
While the youth stood on the landing-place searching in his pockets for money, the ferryman lifted a lantern, by the aid of which, together with the newly risen moon, he took a very accurate survey of the stranger’s figure. He was a young man of barely eighteen years, evidently country bred（长大的）, and now, as it seemed, on his first visit to town. He was wearing a rough gray coat, which was in good shape, but which had seen many winters before this one. The garments under his coat were well constructed of leather, and fitted tightly to a pair of muscular legs; his stockings of blue yarn must have been the work of a mother or sister, and on his head was a three-cornered hat, which in its better days had sheltered the grayer head of the lad’s father. In his left hand was a walking stick, and his equipment was completed by a leather bag not so abundantly stocked as to inconvenience the strong shoulders on which it hung. Brown, curly hair, well-shaped-features, bright, cheerful eyes were nature’s gifts, and worth all that art could have done for his adornment(装饰).
The youth, whose name was Robin, paid the boatman, and then walked forward into the town with a light step, as if he had not already traveled more than thirty miles that day. As he walked, he surveyed his surroundings as eagerly as if he were entering London or Madrid, instead of the little metropolis（都市）of a New England colony.What time of the year was it in this story?
| A．Winter. | B．Fall. | C．Summer. | D．Spring. |
The boatman was willing to take Robin across the river because ________.
| A．he was going to row across the river anyway |
| B．he saw that Robin was young and rich |
| C．he would give extra money |
| D．he felt sorry for him because Robin looked poor |
The stockings that Robin wore were obviously _________.
| A．well worn | B．very expensive | C．handmade | D．much too big |
From the text we can learn that Robin had traveled __________.
| A．from London | B．from Madrid |
| C．from a nearby city | D．over thirty miles |
At what time of day did Robin cross the river?
| A．Night. | B．Late afternoon | C．Midday. | D．Morning. |
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