A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.
| A．his wife | B．his mother -in–law |
| C．his own mother | D．no one |
He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
| A．he was very rich | B．he wanted to make the jeweler believe him |
| C．he was anxious to get it | D．his business had been successful |
He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
| A．exactly the same size as the black one |
| B．exactly the same quality as the black one |
| C．worth no more than $ 25,000 |
| D．exactly as big and nice as the black one |
Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
| A．to see the perfect pearl |
| B．to buy some beautiful pearls too |
| C．to get in touch with the rich man |
| D．to sell their own pearl at a high price |
The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
| A．he died suddenly. |
| B．He happened to be out |
| C．He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money. |
| D．He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time. |
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
The 65-year-old Steve Goodwin was found suffering from early Alzheimer's (阿尔楚海默症). He was losing his memory.
A software engineer by profession, Steve was a keen lover of the piano, and the only musician in his family. Music was his true passion, though he had never performed outside the family.
Melissa, his daughter, felt it more than worthwhile to save his music, to which she fell asleep catch night when she was young. She thought about hiring a professional pianist to work with her father.
Naomi, Melissa's best friend and a talented pianist, got to know about this and showed willingness to help.
"Why do this?" Steve wondered.
"Because she cares." Melissa said.
Steve nodded, tears in eye.
Naomi drove to the Goodwin home. She told Steve she'd love to hear him play. Steve moved to the piano and sat at the bench, hands trembling as he gently placed his fingers on the keys.
Naomi put a small recorder near the piano, Starts and stops and mistakes. Long pauses, heart sinking. But Steve pressed on, playing for the first time in his life for a stranger.
"It was beautiful." Naomi said after listening to the recording. "The music was worth saving."
Her responsibility, her privilege, would be to rescue it. The music was sill in Steve Goodwin. It was bidden in rooms with doors about to be locked.
Naomi and Steve met every other week and spent hours together. He'd move his fingers clumsily on the piano, and then she'd take his place. He struggled to explain what he heard in his head. He stood by the piano, eyes closed, listening for the first time to his own work being played by someone else.
Steve and Naomi spoke in musical code lines, beats, intervals, moving from the root to end a song in a new key. Steve heard it. All of it. He just couldn't play it.
Working with Naomi did wonders for Steve. It had excited within him the belief he could write one last song. One day, Naomi received an email. Attached was a recording, a recording of loss and love, of the fight. Steve called it "Melancholy Flower".
Naomi heard multiple stops and starts, Steve struggling, searching while his wife Joni called him "honey" and encouraged him. The task was so hard, and Steve, angry and upset, said he was quitting. Joni praised him, telling her husband this could be his signature piece.
Naomi managed to figure out 16 of Steve's favorite, and most personal songs. With Naomi's help, the Goodwin family found a sound engineer to record Naomi playing Steve's songs. Joni thought that would be the end. But it wasn't.
In the months leading up to the 2016 Oregon Repertory Singers Christmas concert, Naomi told the director she had a special one in mind: "Melancholy Flower"
She told the director about her project with Steve. The director agreed to add it to the playing list. But Naomi would have to ask Steve's permission. He considered it an honor.
After the concert, Naomi told the family that Steve's music was beautiful and professional. It needed to be shared in public.
The family rented a former church in downtown Portland and scheduled a concert. By the day of the show, more than 300 people had said they would attend.
By then, Steve was having a hard time remembering the names of some of his friends. He knew the path his life was now taking. He told his family he was at peace.
Steve arrived and sat in the front row, surrounded by his family. The house lights faded. Naomi took the stage. Her fingers. His heart.
（1）Why did Melissa want to save her father's music?
| A． |
His music could stop his disease from worsening. |
| B． |
She wanted to please her dying old father. |
| C． |
His music deserved to be preserved in the family. |
| D． |
She wanted to make her father a professional. |
（2）After hearing Steve's playing, Naomi ________.
| A． |
refused to make a comment on it |
| B． |
was deeply impressed by his music |
| C． |
decided to free Steve from suffering |
| D． |
regretted offering help to her friend |
（3）How can the process of Steve's recording be described?
| A． |
It was slow but productive. |
| B． |
It was beneficial to his health. |
| C． |
It was tiresome for Naomi. |
| D． |
It was vital for Naomi's career. |
（4）Before Steve finished "Melancholy Flower," his wife Joni ________.
| A． |
thought the music talent of Steve was exhausted |
| B． |
didn't expect the damage the disease brought about |
| C． |
didn't fully realize the value of her husband's music |
| D． |
brought her husband's music career to perfection |
（5）How did Steve feel at the concert held in downtown Portland?
| A． |
He felt concerned about his illness. |
| B． |
He sensed a responsibility for music. |
| C． |
He regained his faith in music. |
| D． |
He got into a state of quiet. |
（6）What can be a suitable title for the passage?
| A． |
The Kindness of Friends |
| B． |
The Power of Music |
| C． |
The Making of a Musician |
| D． |
The Value of Determination |
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Who cares if people think wrongly that the Internet has had more important influences than the washing machine? Why does it matter that people are more impressed by the most recent changes?
It would not matter if these misjudgments were just a matter of people's opinions. However, they have real impacts, as they result in misguided use of scarce resources.
The fascination with the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) revolution, represented by the Internet, has made some rich countries wrongly conclude that making things is so "yesterday" that they should try to live on ideas. This belief in "post-industrial society" has led those countries to neglect their manufacturing sector (制造业) with negative consequences for their economies.
Even more worryingly, the fascination with the Internet by people in rich countries has moved the international community to worry about the "digital divide" between the rich countries and the poor countries. This has led companies and individuals to donate money to developing countries to buy computer equipment and Internet facilities. The question, however, is whether this is what the developing countries need the most. Perhaps giving money for those less fashionable things such as digging wells, extending electricity networks and making more affordable washing machines would have improved people's lives more than giving every child a laptop computer or setting up Internet centres in rural villages, I am not saying that those things are necessarily more important, but many donators have rushed into fancy programmes without carefully assessing the relative long-term costs and benefits of alternative uses of their money.
In yet another example, a fascination with the new has led people to believe that the recent changes in the technologies of communications and transportation are so revolutionary that now we live in a "borderless world". As a result, in the last twenty years or so, many people have come to believe that whatever change is happening today is the result of great technological progress, going against which will be like trying to turn the clock back. Believing in such a world, many governments have put an end to some of the very necessary regulations on cross-border flows of capital, labour and goods, with poor results.
Understanding technological trends is very important for correctly designing economic policies, both at the national and the international levels, and for making the right career choices at the individual level. However, our fascination with the latest, and our under valuation of what has already become common, can, and has, led us in all sorts of wrong directions.
（1）Misjudgments on the influences of new technology can lead to ________.
| A． |
a lack of confidence in technology |
| B． |
a slow progress in technology |
| C． |
a conflict of public opinions |
| D． |
a waste of limited resources |
（2）The example in Paragraph 4 suggests that donators should ________.
| A． |
take people's essential needs into account |
| B． |
make their programmes attractive to people |
| C． |
ensure that each child gets financial support |
| D． |
provide more affordable internet facilities |
（3）What has led many governments to remove necessary regulations?
| A． |
Neglecting the impacts of technological advances. |
| B． |
Believing that the world has become borderless. |
| C． |
Ignoring the power of economic development. |
| D． |
Over-emphasizing the role of international communication. |
（4）What can we learn from the passage?
| A． |
People should be encouraged to make more donations. |
| B． |
Traditional technology still has a place nowadays. |
| C． |
Making right career choices is crucial to personal success. |
| D． |
Economic policies should follow technological trends. |
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
In the 1960s, while studying the volcanic history of Yellowstone National Park, Bob Christiansen became puzzled about something that, oddly, had not troubled anyone before: he couldn't find the park's volcano. It had been known for a long time that Yellowstone was volcanic in nature-that's what accounted for all its hot springs and other steamy features. But Christiansen couldn't find the Yellowstone volcano anywhere.
Most of us, when we talk about volcanoes, think of the classic cone (圆锥体) shapes of a Fuji or Kilimanjaro, which are created when erupting magma (岩浆) piles up. These can form remarkably quickly. In 1943, a Mexican farmer was surprised to see smoke rising from a small part of his land. In one week he was the confused owner of a cone five hundred feet high. Within two years it had topped out at almost fourteen hundred feet and was more than half a mile across. Altogether there are some ten thousand of these volcanoes on Earth, all but a few hundred of them extinct. There is, however, a second les known type of volcano that doesn't involve mountain building. These are volcanoes so explosive that they burst open in a single big crack, leaving behind a vast hole, the caldera. Yellowstone obviously was of this second type, but Christiansen couldn't find the caldera anywhere.
Just at this time NASA decided to test some new high-altitude cameras by taking photographs of Yellowstone. A thoughtful official passed on some of the copies to the park authorities on the assumption that they might make a nice blow-up for one of the visitors' centers. As soon as Christiansen saw the photos, he realized why he had failed to spot the caldera; almost the whole park-2.2 million acres-was caldera. The explosion had left a hole more than forty miles across-much too huge to be seen from anywhere at ground level. At some time in the past Yellowstone must have blown up with a violence far beyond the scale of anything known to humans.
（1）What puzzled Christiansen when he was studying Yellowstone?
| A． |
Its complicated geographical features. |
| B． |
Its ever-lasting influence on tourism. |
| C． |
The mysterious history of the park. |
| D． |
The exact location of the volcano. |
（2）What does the second-paragraph mainly talk about?
| A． |
The shapes of volcanoes. |
| B． |
The impacts of volcanoes. |
| C． |
The activities of volcanoes. |
| D． |
The heights of volcanoes. |
（3）What does the underlined word "blow-up" in the last paragraph most probably mean?
| A． |
Hot-air balloon. |
| B． |
Digital camera. |
| C． |
Big photograph. |
| D． |
Bird's view. |
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
|
Whatever your age or interests, Buxton has something to see or do to make your visit truly memorable. High energy
If you desire physical activities, you can choose activities from swimming to horse riding. Explore the heights with Go Ape, the high wire forest adventure course, or journey beneath the earth at Poole's Cavern. And don't forget: we are surrounded by a natural playground just perfect for walking, caving, climbing and cycling. High minded
Buxton is justifiably proud of its cultural life and you'll find much to suit all tastes with art, music, opera and the performing arts at Buxton Opera House & Pavilion Arts Centre and Green Man Gallery. There are plenty of opportunities for the creative person to become involved, including workshops and events. Keeping the kids happy
Children love the small train and playgrounds in the Pavilion Gardens and there's plenty more to explore at the Buxton Museum. There's a new indoor play centre, plus the special events and workshops, and others during school holiday periods |
（1）If you want to take an undergounld journey, which place is the best choice?
| A． |
Pole's Caven. |
| B． |
Pavilion Gardens. |
| C． |
Buxton Museum. |
| D． |
Green Man Gallery. |
（2）Buxton Open House & Pavilion Arts Centre is special because it offers ________.
| A． |
rides in small trains |
| B． |
courses in modcm arts |
| C． |
artistic and cultural activities |
| D． |
basic courses in horse riding |
阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
Haze Mabry, who has worked as a school keeper for thirteen years, walks into the school building every day and empties garbage cans, wipes down bathrooms and mops wet messes in the hallways.
Last Friday, after he arrived at the school, instead of finding garbage to clean up, he found almost 800 students lining the hallways with handmade cards, blowing noisemakers and singing a full-throated happy birthday to him. It was his 80th. As he walked the long hallway, some popped out of lime to hug him. They handed him so many cards that they filled several large boxes. Touched by their enthusiastic expression of affection. Mabry thanked them all. "They're like my children," Mabry said.
On a regular day, students at the school sometimes come up to him to say they're not feeling well or other times to tell him about something that happened at break. He knows most of the kids at the school, but can't name each one. Some of them make him know them. Like Faith, who often forgets her backpack in the cafeteria, and Lucy, who just wants a hug.
"He won't brag（夸耀）on himself, but it doesn't matter what he's doing or where he is, he will always stop what he's doing to take care of a child if that child is having a bad day. If a child approaches him, he will pause to give that child his undivided attention. He's the most loved one in this building," said Lori Gilreath, a reading teacher.
Mabry works circles around all the students, cleaning up messes others don't want to touch. He doesn't expect a lot. Mabry said he hadn't planned to do much for his milestone birthday, so he was happy the students had prepared the surprise celebration.
Over the weekend, he worked through the piles of handmade cards at his house. One card from a student stood out to him. It read: "Mr. Haze, you are my sunshine."
（1）What is Mabry's daily work as a school keeper？（no more than 5 words）
（2）How did the students celebrate Mabry's birthday？（no more than 15 words）
（3）What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 probably mean？（1 word）
（4）Why is Mabry's presence at the school important？（no more than 10 words）
（5）Who is the "sunshine" in your life？Please explain. （no more than 20 words）
