When Charles Strattion was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P.T.Barnum, and thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled around the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a new name, general Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall.
Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding carriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon, just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.“the talk of the town” means _________ .
| A．they were in the newspaper |
| B．people spread mean rumors about them |
| C．they were the most popular things happening |
| D．they were discussed in a city meeting |
What does the author think about Tom Thumb’s wedding?
| A．People gave it too much of their attention. |
| B．It helped people cheer up in a dark time. |
| C．It was funny and ridiculous. |
| D．Tom and Lavinia were stupid. |
Which of the following is the best clue to the fact that Tom was smart?
| A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five. |
| B．He learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age. |
| C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon. |
| D．He married a school teacher. |
It was very funny when Tom danced on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because ________ .
| A．the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom were tap dancing |
| B．it made Tom feel taller |
| C．the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted |
| D．the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller |
What does the author imply in the last paragraph?
| A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine. |
| B．People are always disappointed during wartime. |
| C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose. |
| D．People should be married even if they are small. |
For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news.
As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved. Many of them have become historic sites. The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called “The Old Trip to Jerusalem”, which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England.
However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society. On a cold night, the pub’s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.
That’s how things used to be. Things are beginning to change. It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩) is causing 39 British pubs a week to go out of business. People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer. Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs.
This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 1l pm. Previously, with 1l pm as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly. The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as “binge drinking”, and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities.
In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. British pubs now offer something for everyone. A lot of pubs used to be “Working Men's Clubs”, meaning that women could not usually enter. Today, however, women can freely enter 99% of pubs without experiencing any problems. Perhaps things are changing for the better after all.The passage mainly tells us something about ______.
| A．the past and present of British pubs |
| B．the decline of British pubs |
| C．the long history of British pubs |
| D．the importance of British pubs |
Which may not be the cause of the decline of British pubs?
| A．The credit crunch. |
| B．The present closing time. |
| C．The ban of smoking. |
| D．Having no spare money. |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．British people used to like drinking slowly |
| B．closing the pubs early will reduce social problems |
| C．binge drinking means drinking less beer |
| D．British government aims to discourage people from binge drinking |
We can see from the last paragraph that the author _______.
| A．is against the admission of too many women to the pubs |
| B．holds an optimistic attitude towards the British pubs |
| C．thinks that women in the pubs will cause less social problems |
| D．thinks that British pubs should offer everything you need |
The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.The best title for the article is _______.
| A．When the Computer Is Down |
| B．The Most Frightening Words |
| C．The Computer of the Airport |
| D．Asking the Computer |
What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
| A．She could sell a ticket. |
| B．She could write out a ticket. |
| C．She could answer the passengers’ questions. |
| D．She could do nothing. |
Why do you think they had not a backup computer?
| A．Because it was easy down |
| B．Because it was very expensive. |
| C．Because it was not advanced enough. |
| D．Because it was not as big as the main computer. |
The last paragraph suggests that _______.
| A．a modern computer won’t be down. |
| B．computers can take the place of humans |
| C．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people |
| D．there will be great changes in computers |
Depression(抑郁症)is a serious problem today．Depression causes workers to be unproductive，causing companies and countries to lose billions of dollars．One expert says that depression is like cancer because it is “widespread，costly and deadly”．Depression hits one person in five around the world．
Although people have believed depression to be a problem among the rich and educated，studies show that depression is a problem among everyone。Over any six-month period，between five to seven percent of the world's population will be suffering from a serious depression．
uicide(自杀)rates among people suffering from the disease in its extreme，or clinical form were 80 percent higher than in the population at large，and sufferers were four times more likely to have heart attacks. People who suffer from depression often have problems sleeping，getting up on time，and doing work productively．
Depression，which researchers agree has its origin in the genes(基因)，brings loss of confidence and ability to concentrate-making it impossible for employees and managers to work efficiently．
Depression is made more serious in China by Chinese's inability to face it．Many people believe that depressed people are either weak or lazy． Besides，there is no good treatment，with few specialists available．
“Most patients in China just don't get help，”a Chinese doctor says．“In my hospital．I have to see 30 or 40 patients in a morning，just have time to say “Hello how do you feel？”
In Western countries，people are not afraid to admit that they have depression，but most do not tell it to their boss，because they fear that their boss would fire them．
“In my experience，aging bosses are the most willing to admit they have it. Because they feel the most secure about themselves，”an American doctor says．
Hopefully，in the near future，people around the world will be able to admit that they have depression so that they can get the right treatment．Which of the following is true according to the passage？
| A．It is widely believed that everyone may suffer from depression． |
| B．Depression brings great problems to its sufferers in their life and work |
| C．Depression is a commonly-existing problem only in rich countries． |
| D．The poorer and the less educated a person is，the less he will suffer from depression． |
Compared to normal people，the depressed people are likely to be▁▁▁．
| A．very unconfident and often absent-minded |
| B．easy to avoid being hit by heart attacks |
| C．working efficiently and productively |
| D．either weak or lazy |
Depression becomes more serious in China because of．
| A．the understanding of the problem |
| B．the lack of treatment and doctors |
| C．their unwillingness to tell it to their boss |
| D．the doctors' careless work |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．People are suffering from depression because of the shortage of specialists． |
| B．The aging bosses around the world dare to say they are depressed． |
| C．More and more patients will turn to specialists for help． |
| D．Western people are braver than Chinese people． |
Computer people talk a lot about the need for other people to become “computer-literate.” But not all experts (专家) agree that this is a good idea.
One pioneer, in particular, who disagrees is David Tebbutt, the founder of Computertown UK. Although many people see this as a successful attempt to bring people closer to the computer. David does not see it that way. He says that Computertown UK was formed for just the opposite reason, to bring computers to people and make them “people-literate.” David Tebbutt thinks Computertowns are most successful when tied to a computer club but he insists there is an important difference between the two. The clubs are for people who have some computer knowledge already. This frightens away non-experts, who are happier going to Computertowns where there are computers for them to experiment on, with experts to encourage them and answer any questions they have. They are not told what to do, they find out.The computer experts have to learn not to tell people about computers, but have to be able to answer all questions people ask. People don’t have to learn computer terms(术语), but the experts have to explain in plain language. The computers are becoming “people-literate.”Which of the following is David Tebbutt’s ides on the relationship between people and computers?
| A．Computer learning should be made easier. |
| B．There should be more computer clubs for experts. |
| C．People should work harder to master computer use. |
| D．Computers should be made cheaper so that people can afford them. |
We can infer from the text that “computer-lilerate” means_______.
| A．being able to afford a computer |
| B．being able to write computer programs |
| C．working with the computer and finding out its value |
| D．understanding the computer and knowing how to use it |
The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to the idea that Computertowns ___.
| A．help to set up more computer clubs |
| B．bring people to learn to use computers |
| C．bring more experts to work together |
| D．help to sell computers to the public |
David Tebbutt started Computertown UK with the purpose of______.
| A．making better use of computer experts |
| B．improving computer programs |
| C．increasing omputersales |
| D．popularising computers |
Do you know that men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The largest study of the effects of ageing(变老) on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the aging process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age. The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.
| A．health | B．long life | C．ageing | D．effect |
The text mainly talks about ________.
| A．men’s heart cells | B．women’s ageing process、 |
| C．the gender difference | D．hearts and long life |
According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
| A．women have more cells than men when they are born |
| B．women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat |
| C．the female heart loses few of the cells with age |
| D．women never lose their pumping power with age |
If you want to live longer, you should ________.
| A．enable your heart to beat much faster |
| B．find out the reason for ageing |
| C．exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy |
| D．prevent your cells from being lost |
We can know from the passage that ________.
| A．the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out |
| B．scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells |
| C．the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss |
| D．women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20 |