Tomb-Sweeping Day
A well-known poem by Tang Dynasty writer Du Mu tells of a sad scene in early April: "Rains fall heavily as Qing Ming comes， and passers-by with lowered spirits go. "Qing Ming Day, the traditional tomb-sweeping day, falls on April 4—6 each year. It is a time for remembering loved ones who have departed. People visit their ancestors' graves to sweep away the dirt.
Its origin dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period. Jin prince Chong'er ran away from the country with his supporters due to persecution. They were homeless for 19 years and things got so bad that Chong'er began to starve to death. One of the prince's faithful followers, Jie Zitui, cut a piece of muscle from his own leg and served it to his master. Chong'er was saved and, in 636 BC, he took back the throne.
He rewarded the officials who had stayed loyal to him but he forgot about Jie Zitui. By the time Chong'er remembered him, a heartbroken Jie Zitui had traveled deep into the mountains. Chong'er wanted to persuade Jie to come home， so he had the hills set on fire. But Jie was later found beside a large tree, with his old mother on his back. Both were dead.
Saddened by the tragedy, Chong'er ordered that fires could not be lit on the day of Jie Zitui's death. From this comes Hanshi Day, or Cold Food Day. People visited Jie Zitui's tomb the next day to pay their respects. Over time, Hanshi Day was replaced with tombsweeping day. This passage is mainly about ______ .
| A．a poem called Qingming which was written by Du Mu |
| B．the story between Chong'er and Jie Zitui |
| C．the origin of Qingming Day |
| D．Chong'er rewarded his loyal followers |
According to the passage, which statement is NOT right?
A. Hanshi Day has another name, Cold Food Day.
B. Chong'er was forced to leave his country in 617 BC.
C. Qingming Day is a traditional festival, which is on April 5 every year.
D. Qingming Day dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period. Cold Food Day started from ______.
| A．the Tang Dynasty |
| B．the Ming Dynasty |
| C．617 BC |
| D．the Spring and Autumn Period |
C
When it comes to hard, noisy traveling, we’ve found that sometimes we’d rather read about it than actually go. Here are some bestsellers for armchair travelers.
The Station by Robert Byron. In 1928, the 22-year-old man made a journey to Mount Athos, resulting in one of the best travel books ever written, matched only by Byron’s own, much more famous The Road to Osciana.
In Darkest Africa by Henry Monton Stanley. It’s about his great efforts to save an unlucky German doctor Eduard Schnitzer, who had no desire to be rescued at all.
A Traveler’s Alphabet: Partial Memoirs by Sir Steven Runciman. A to Z and around the world. He provides priceless information of long-gone princesses, priests, and places.
South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage by Sir Ernest Shackleton. As the planet started the global war, Shackleton and his brave group of explorers made an unsuccessful but heroic journey to cross Antarctica from 1914 to 1917.
The Michelin Red Guide: France 2005 Reading through this final listing of all the nice hotels and wonderful restaurants in France is better than going there, listening to Chirac talk about the poisonous American culture, and spending the price of this book for a tiny cup of tea and a cookie the size of your thumb.
The Past Is a Foreign Country by David Lowenthal. This great book of an armchair exploration tells us what has happened in the past and shows the relationship between us and the past travelers.The underlined phrase “armchair travelers” in the first paragraph refers to those who___________ .
| A．can only travel with special equipment for the disabled |
| B．find fun teaching others how to travel to other places |
| C．like to write about their strange traveling experiences |
| D．like to read about travels instead of traveling themselves |
Which of the books has a very low price according to the passage?
| A．The Past Is a Foreign Country. |
| B．South: A Memoir to the Endurance Voyage. |
| C．The Michelin Red Guide: France 2005. |
| D．A Traveler’s Alphabet: Partial Memoirs. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The Station is more famous than The Road to Osciana |
| B．Henry Monton Stanley, was saved by a German doctor in Africa. |
| C．It took Shackleton and his men 3 years to cross Antarctica. |
| D．In his book, Lowenthal focuses more on history than the present. |
This passage is written____________ .
| A．to warn readers against traveling |
| B．to sell more books about travels |
| C．as an introduction to famous travelers |
| D．to tell people where to travel |
B
Nelson Mandela is respected and admired across the world. And to South Africans he is a superstar. He is a hero who shocked the world by fighting for peace between races, despite the 27 years he spent in the prison of the South Africa’s white, racist regime(政权).
Mandela who won the nation’s first all-race elections after the fall of apartheid (种族隔离) in 1994, retired 1999.
But he remains as popular as ever.
“He’s loved by all people, whether you’re white or black, whether you’re young or old,” said Ali Bacher, South Africa’s former cricket (板球) chief.
His popularity has inspired an entire national industry. His portrait(肖像) has appeared at many places, including on some goods. His face has appeared on a South African coin, a metropolitan area was named in his honour and some business leaders hope to build a massive, rotating statue in his likeness --- the Statue of Freedom. It would stand taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty.
His popular appeal is similar to that of John F. Kennedy with US or Winston Churchill in Britain, but few politicians in this times have achieved his level of admiration, said Tom Lodge, head of the political science department of the University of the Witwatersrand.
“Sometimes it isn’t completely appreciated what a skilled performer Mandela has been throughout his political career. He’s a very, very clever man.” However, he is far from perfect.
Most articles for his birthday, which appeared in every major South African newspaper on the day, brief mentioned that Mandela did have his shortcomings.
Then they returned to their flowing praises.
“Through the ages, the human race has had its icons (偶像) --- men and women who rose above ordinary people to inspire their generations,” The Mail and Guardian Weekly said. “In our generation, the gods presented us Nelson Mandela.”Nelson Mandela is loved by all the people of South Africa because _____.
| A．he’s as popular as Kennedy and Churchill |
| B．he spent 27 in prison |
| C．he’s a great fighter against the racialism |
| D．he’s the first all-race elections president |
Which of the following statements about Mandela’s portrait is true?
| A．It helps develop business. |
| B．It appears on the Statue of Freedom. |
| C．It is used to raise money for the Statue of Freedom. |
| D．It is similar to that of John F. Kennedy or Winston Churchill. |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means “________.”
| A．Mandela is as great as a god |
| B．We are proud to live in Mandela’s time |
| C．Mandela lives together with us all |
| D．We are proud to know Mandela |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Mandela is very skilled politician. |
| B．Most articles specially stressed Mandela’s shortcomings. |
| C．The Statue of Freedom is a present for Mandela’s birthday. |
| D．The article may have appeared in a newspaper on Mandela’s birthday. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
The following are letters to the editor of a school newspaper
Dear editor,
I’d like to express my opinion about grades. Students should be allowed to study without worrying about grades. Fortunately, most educators are becoming aware of the fact that students have different interests and abilities. I understand that grades are useful, but grades often limit creativity. Competing for better grades causes many students to turn down opportunities to pursue music, dramatics and sports. Grades force an arbitrary(武断的) standard of success on everyone. I do not demand as some extremists do, that grades be removed immediately. However, I do believe that less emphasis should be placed on grades. I hope that someday grades will become optional at Village High School.
Magdalena Smith
Drama Club
Dear editor,
I’d like to say something about grades. Let’s face the facts about grades. Grades perform three basic functions. First, grades motivate students to work at their highest level of competence. Second, they act as a reward for hardworking students and as a punishment to students who do not work hard. Finally, grades are used as an effective standard by which to measure student achievement. Good grades help students to get jobs and to get into university. I've spoken with a number of students who have jobs, and most of them say that they were hired primarily on the basis of their grades. My grades helped me land a part-time job and will help me get into university next year. I think grades are extremely important at Village High School.
Simon Harper
Science ClubWhich of the following is not Magdalena Smith’s opinion?
| A．Students may give up the chance to learn music and sports for grades. |
| B．Students’ creativity may not be developed for grades. |
| C．Grades should not be used to measure a person’s success. |
| D．Grades should be taken away at once. |
We can learn Simon Harper _____.
| A．believes in the benefits of good grades |
| B．is concerned about students' creativity |
| C．doesn't work too hard at his studies |
| D．supports students' interests and abilities |
From the second letter, we can infer that Simon Harper is a/an_____.
| A．teacher | B．headmaster |
| C．student | D．advertiser |
D
Most city parks are places where you can escape from big, ugly structures of metal and stone. The Manhattan High Line is different. Raised 25 feet above the ground, this massive metal structure once supported a rail line. The line opened in 1934 to bring trains directly into factories and warehouses. It was hardly used after the 1960s, and much of it was torn down. However, one section remained in an area of Manhattan called Chelsea. Chelsea was becoming more and more valuable as restaurants, art galleries and apartments were built, but the ugly railway structure remained as a dead weight. Everyone knew that at some time, it would have to be removed.
But the High Line was not destroyed. In fact, now the old rail line serves as one of the most peaceful places in the city. It holds an elevated park, with beautiful gardens, a sidewalk and great views of the city. The idea to change the rail line into a park came from Joshua David and Robert Hammond. In 1999, they attended a community meeting to decide the fate(命运) of the High Line. David and Hammond were the only people at the meeting interested in saving the structure for its historical significance. Later on, when they asked railway officials to take them up to look at the High Line, they saw a mile and a half of wild flowers growing in the middle of the city, and they realized that the High Line had potential to become a park. There was growing interest in improving urban centers, and so the project quickly won support and funds for construction were easily obtained.
The first section of the High Line opened in 2009 and immediately became popular with tourists and locals alike. Each part of the park has a different atmosphere. Some areas are like balconies (阳台)with wonderful city views. Where the rail line goes between buildings, trees are thickly planted. Other sections have wide walkways planted with wild flowers. Only the final section remains the way it has been for the last fifty years – a railway line overgrown with weeds.The underlined phrase “a dead weight” in Paragraph 1 means_____.
| A．something with potential to be better. |
| B．something with historical interest. |
| C．something which is a danger to people. |
| D．something useless which slows progress. |
According to Paragraph 2, David and Hammond wanted to save the High Line because they_____.
| A．thought it had historical value |
| B．wanted to reopen the train line |
| C．thought it would bring them money |
| D．were interested in improving the city |
From the last paragraph, we can learn that the park ______.
| A．is different in its design |
| B．is covered with trees |
| C．didn’t change at all |
| D．became a natural countryside |
Which of the following is NOT true about the High Line?
| A．It is situated above ground level. |
| B．Only part of the line remains. |
| C．It is now a popular park. |
| D．Trains still use the line. |
C
Walt Disney is credited for creating such wonderful things as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. However, he cannot take the credit for creating other well-loved characters, such as Cinderella and Snow White. They are almost automatically associated with Disney because Disney turned old fables(寓言) into cartoon movies.
The original Cinderella varies very much from the Disney version we know today. It started off with the girl mourning her mother’s death and going to her tomb three times a day. In addition, there were only birds that helped Cinderella; there was no such thing as a fairy godmother or helpful mice, nor was there mention of a horse and carriage.
The stepsisters were cruel: they always threw Cinderella’s food into the ashes of the fire and made her sleep on the ashes on the floor, hence（因此）her name.
In the original story, the king’s ball actually lasted for three days. With the help of the birds, the girl, beautifully dressed, danced with the prince on all three nights and the prince fell in love with her. However, she broke away from him to rush back home each night. On the last night, the prince placed soothing sticky on the stairs; as Cinderella made her escape, a shoe got stuck on it.
Here now is where the story becomes unpleasant: when the prince went to the house looking for the girl whose foot fit the shoe, the wicked(邪恶的) stepmother told one of her two daughters to cut off her big toe to fit into the shoe. The daughter did as told. So the prince took her away to be his bride. But when they passed the tomb of Cinderella’s mother, the birds called out to the prince,
“Turn and peep, there’s blood in the shoe;
the shoe is too small, the true bride waits for you.”
Realizing he had been tricked, the prince returned the daughter to her mother. The other then had to cut off part of her heel in order to fit into the shoe, with the same result. Only Cinderella’s foot fit perfectly and so the prince chose to marry her. The story ends with the wedding day: as Cinderella’s two stepsisters followed her, pretending to be devoted to her so that they could enjoy the king’s riches, two birds flew by and plucked(啄) out their eyes. Because of their wickedness and falsehood, they had to spend the rest of their days blind.
The original Cinderella is so different from the Disney version. Thank goodness Disney made such changes; it indeed was a wise move.What dose the underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refer to?
| A．Such wonderful things. |
| B．Other well-loved characters. |
| C．Old fables. |
| D．Cartoon movies. |
How did Cinderella get her name?
| A．The Birds came up with it. |
| B．It was given by Disney. |
| C．It came from the word “ash”. |
| D．She got it from her mother. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the original story?
| A．Helpful mice got Cinderella a beautiful dress. |
| B．The ball was held to celebrate the prince’s wedding. |
| C．Cinderella left her shoe on the stairs on purpose. |
| D．The birds told the prince that he had been cheated. |
The moral of the original story is that ____________.
| A．a wicked person cannot escape punishment. |
| B．a devoted person certainly deserves respect. |
| C．a well-behaved child earns a great reward. |
| D．a dishonest child cannot get mother love. |
What does the author think of the Disney version?
| A．Excellent. | B．Ordinary | C．Dull. | D．Ridiculous. |
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