During my first stay in the south of France, I rode my bike down a quiet road. Round a corner, I passed by a little old house. In its yard, there was a ruddy (气色好的) -faced woman. I waved at her as I went by, and she must have thought I was some silly tourist, because she didn’t wave back.
The same thing happened the second day. But on the third day, the old woman returned a tentative(试探性的)wave, and by the fourth day, she nearly got out of her chair as I called out.
“Good morning, Madam!” It became a small ritual (程序) between us. Once she even brought her husband out with her, and they both waved to me.
On my last day, my last ride, I cycled down to the little house but the lady wasn’t there. Back at my house, I told Roger, the gardener, of my missed connection.
“The old lady has a bad leg,” Roger said, “so she has gone to the hospital for surgery.”
“Who is she?” I asked.
Roger started to explain: the quiet road used to be a railway. The old lady’ husband was once the stationmaster, and their house was the stationmaster’s house. Several times a day, whenever a train passed, the couple would see the passengers waving excitedly, especially the children for them. However, the station was moved away. Everything is gone except for this couple.
It seems that my bicycle was a reminder of the past to her. As Roger said, “ She has missed the trains and the waves. You brought them back to her.”
By reaching out, in a way that cost me nothing, I gave more than I realized.
63Which of the following is TRUE?
A. She was a ruddy-faced woman so she was healthy.
B. Her husband also had leg disease but he didn’t tell others.
C. She and her husband didn’t like to live in the station.
D. Though she was a ruddy-faced woman, something was wrong with her leg.
64Why did the old woman bring her husband out and waved to me?
A. They wanted to go to the hospital.
B. They wanted to experience what they used to do.
C. They wanted to ask me for dinner.
D. They wanted to go to the city by train.
65. What can we infer from the sentence “However, the station was moved away. Everything is gone except for this couple”?
A. They enjoyed living where they had lived.
B. They had no house to live in.
C. They had no children to live with.
D. They were living nearest the hospital.
66. What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. An old couple and I B. Bicycle and railway
C. Train and passengers D. Wave and love
STAGE
Keep it in the air: The Chaoyang Theater is one of the Beijing theaters to present acrobatics(杂技 ) all year round. Top acrobatic artists invited from all over the country perform for Chinese and foreign tourists. The program contains trick cycling, leaping through hoops and Chinese magic tricks. Some of the artists have won prizes in international competitions.
Time: 7∶15 p.m. Daily
Place: 36, Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 65072421, 65071818
Use your head: Green Hat is a new drama given by a group of young Chinese actors. It’s a rewrite of American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel The Scarlet Letter. It describes the heroine’s great courage in finding the true love against the public disagreement.
Time: 7∶15 p.m. until March 5, except Mondays
Place: China Children’s Theater
Tel: 66037255, 66037265
Mix and match: Story of Puppets tells of a fairy, Zixia, who looks for true love in the human world. After watching a puppet play Peony Pavilion, she thinks there must be true love in reality, so she uses magic to turn the puppet characters into humans, wanting to fall in love with the puppet hero. But things don’t go as she planned... Li Liuyi, the director of the play has made several successful attempts to present different traditional operas in one play. This time he combines Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Pingju Opera along with a band, using the structure of modern drama.
Time: 7∶ 30 p.m. until March 10, except Mondays
Place: Small Playhouse of Beijing People’s Art Theater
Tel: 65250123
Peking Opera: The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances at the Chang’an Grand Theater. Each performance includes two classical excerpts (选段). One is Wenxi (a play focusing on singing and dancing); the other is Wuxi (a play full of acrobatic dancing). The first night will be The Crossroad and Presenting a Pearl of the Rainbow Bridge. And the second night will see the performance of The Goddess of Heaven Scatters Flowers and Havoc in Heaven.
Time: 7∶30 p.m. February 27, 28
Place: Chang’an Grand Theater
Tel: 86531043
73. If a tourist want to see a performance on March 15, he can call _____ to book a ticket.
A. 86531043 B. 65250123 C. 66037255 D. 65071818
74. We can learn from the text that _____.
A. Story of puppets is a play held in China Children’s Theater
B. the artists who have won prizes will perform only magic tricks
C. on March 5 there will be two plays for us to choose
D. the artists in the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe are from all over the country
75. According to the text, which of the following statements is true?
A. The director of the Story of Puppets combines different operas in it.
B. Green Hat is based on a famous novel acted by some American artists.
C. Top Acrobatic artists will present their performances around our country.
D. The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances with the same excerpts.
Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end with commercials (商业广告) thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. “Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” “Drink Good Wet Root Beer.” “Fill up with Pacific Gas.” Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now!”
The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed, new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless (鲁莽的) or daring, the ride can be as thrilling (惊心动魄的) as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the right or the left hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus rides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.
The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the armrests, even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at no more ways to sit.
68. The writer feels long bus rides are like TV shows because _____.
A. the commercials both on TV shows and on billboards along the road are fun
B. they both have a beginning, a middle, and an end, with commercials in between
C. the drivers are always reckless on TV shows just as they are on buses
D. both traveling and watching TV are not exciting.
69. According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip?
A. Buses on the road. B. Films on television.
C. Advertisements on the billboards. D. Gas stations.
70. The writer of this passage would probably favor _____.
A. bus drivers who aren’t reckless B. driving alone
C. a television set on the bus D. no billboards along the road
71. What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To give the writer’s opinion about long bus trips.
B. To persuade you to take a long bus trip.
C. To explain how bus trips and television shows differ.
D. To describe the billboards along the road.
72. The writer thinks that the end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning because both are _____.
A. exciting B. comfortable C. tiring D. boring
What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.
We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.
Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”
65. A person ________ is more likely to become a genius.
A. whose parents are clever
B. often thinking about difficult problems
C. often helped by his parents and teachers
D. born with a good brain and putting it into active use
66. It is better for parents ________
A. to praise and encourage their children more often
B. to be hard on their children
C. to leave their children alone with nothing to do
D. to give their children as much help as possible
67. Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
A. Parents play an important part in their children’s growth.
B. The less you use your mind, the duller you may become.
C. Intelligence is obviously the result of where and how you live.
D. What makes a person bright or stupid is still under discussion.
I don' t know if I am missing the greatest pleasure of my life. I am no fan of computer games. Some guys forget themselves and forget day and night when they play games. For example, a colleague has been playing since 1 o’clock this morning and now it is 7 o'clock. He is still commanding his army of little people to attack strange-looking animals. Some games could be fun, 1 admit, and it is therefore understandable that such a game catches players. For example, games like Red Storm or some role-play games, you do something and try to outwit(智胜) your computer. You get some fun out of these games. It is understandable that such a game pushes you into a pitfall(陷阱) of pleasures. But some games look quite stupid and simple. Again for example, my colleague has been interested in Stone Age, a cartoon-like game rooted in prehistoric time. The game is well made, full of strange people and animals and you can play on line with partners. You can have reference books to study so as to shortcut your rivals(对手) and increase your own conquering power.
I believe some kinds of games are really created for adults. But seeing these adults play the simple games with such interest, I just wonder if there is something wrong with me and if I am losing the greatest possible fun of my life. I ask why I don’t bother playing such games and why I seem to have some aversion(讨厌) to such games. I have no answers. Certainly computer games is no my idea of a good time. I would rather listen to some music or read a book. Take music for example. Good music tops my list of pleasures. Nothing could beat music, all in a harmony of sounds and emotions. But how about games? Why am I so strongly biased(偏见) against such games?
61. From the passage we know that ______.
A. the author is a fan of computer games
B. the author spends much time playing computer games
C. the author once played a whole night
D. the author doesn't like playing computer games
62. In this passage, the author tells us a fact that ______.
A. some computer games are interesting enough to attract people
B. many people fall into a dangerous pitfall
C. many people are suffering a lot from the computer games
D. computer games are pitfalls for most players
63. The underlined word "bother" here means ______.
A. make trouble B. take an interest in C. disturb D. confuse
64. The author has a pleasure to ______.
A. make a computer game B. read books
C. listen to good music D. ask himself questions
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9.There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.
“J.C.,” he replied.
She thought he had said “Jesse”, and he had a new name.
Owens ran his first race at age 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a second year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.
A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.
The stage was set for Owens’ victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the African American winners.
“It was all right with me,” he said years later. “I didn’t go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway.”
Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.
Owens Olympic victories made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles and dogs.
“Sure, it bothered me,” he said later. “But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat.”
In time, however, his gold medals changed his life. “They have kept me alive over the years,” he once said. “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard.”
56. Owens got his other name “Jesse” when _____.
A. he went to Ohio State University B. his teacher made fun of him
C. his teacher took “J. C.” for “Jesse” D. he won gold medals in the Big Ten meet
57. In the Big Ten meet, Owens _____.
A. hurt himself in the back B. succeeded in setting many records
C. tried every sports event but failed D. had to give up some events
58. We can infer from the text that Owens was treated unfairly in the US at that time because _____.
A. he was not of the right race B. he was the son of a poor farmer
C. he didn’t shake hands with Hitler
D. he didn’t talk to the US president on the phone
59. When Owens says “They have kept me alive over the years”, he means that the medals_____.
A. have been changed for money to help him live on
B. have made him famous in the US
C. have encouraged him to overcome difficulties in life
D. have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs
60. What would be the best title for the text?
A. Jesse Owens, a Great American Athlete
B. Making a Living as a Sportsman
C. Golden Moment — a Life Time Struggle
D. How to Be a Successful Athlete