Do you ever wonder how some things came about? For instance, who figured out that there was something worth eating inside a banana peel? Or how astonishing do you have to be to discover that an artichoke has edible parts? Well, we may not know how either of those foods was discovered, but we do know how potato chips were invented.
Potato chips originated in New England as one man’s variation on the French-fried potatoes, and their production was the result not of a sudden inspiration of cooking invention but of a fit of annoyance.
It was the summer of 1853 and Commodore Vanderbilt, a wealthy railroad magnate, was vacationing at a hotel named Moon Lake Lodge in New York. On the restaurant menu were French-fried potatoes, prepared in the thick-cut French style that was popularized in France in the 1700s and enjoyed by Thomas Jefferson as ambassador to that country.
At dinner one night, Vanderbilt complained that his French-fried potatoes were cut too thick and sent them back to the kitchen. Offended by his snobbyguest, chef George Crum decided he would give Mr. Vanderbilt exactly what he asked for! He decided to annoy the guest by producing French fries too thin and crisp. The chef angrily gather
ed up some potatoes and sliced them paper-thin. He threw the slices into hot oil to fry, drained and salted them and then personally served the new dish to Mr. Vanderbilt.
Surprised to see the chef in the dining room, the other diners fell into silence and everyone held their breath, waiting for Vanderbilt’s reaction.
Vanderbilt immediately popped a crisp potato slice into his mouth and the loud “Crunch” broke the silence. He continued to crunch away, delighted with his new dish. The plan backfired. Vanderbilt was interested in the browned, paper-thin potatoes. Clapping a surprised Chef Crum on the back, Vanderbilt praised him on the impressive potatoes. And other diners requested Crum’s potato chips, which began to appear on the menu as “Saratoga Chips”, a house specialty. Soon they were packaged and sold, first locally, then throughout the New England area. Crum eventually opened his own restaurant, featuring chips. At that time, potatoes were peeled and sliced by hand. It was the invention of the mechanical potato peeler in the 1920s that paved the way for potato chips to rise quickly from a small specialty item to a top-selling snack food. .
The author wrote the first paragraph to .
| A．tell us how potato chips were invented |
| B．introduce the topic dealt with in the passage |
| C．give examples of how some things came about |
| D．explain why we do know how those foods were discovered |
.
. According to the passage, chef George Crum .
| A．invented potato chips by accident |
| B．opened his own restaurant, featuring potatoes |
| C．served the new dish to Mr. Vanderbilt in private |
| D．helped promote potato chips to a top-selling snack |
.
. The production of potato chips was the result of .
| A．Mr. Vanderbilt’s praise for the new dish |
| B．Thomas Jefferson’s appreciation of the French Fries |
| C．George Crum’s anger at Mr. Vanderbilt |
| D．the invention of the mechanical potato peeler |
.
The underlined word “backfired” in the 6th paragraph probably means .
| A．developed in a successful way | B．made a big difference |
| C．happened in a particular way | D．had an opposite result |
In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the film-maker Walter Disney. He had an unusual voice and he wanted to work in Disney’s cartoon film for children. When Walter Disney heard Nash’s voice, he said, “Stop! That’s our duck!”
The duck was the now-famous Donald Duck, who first appeared in 1934 in the film, The Wise Little Hen. Donald lived in an old houseboat and worn his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a star after an eight minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema audiences liked him because he was lazy and greedy, and because he lost his temper very easily. And they loved his voice when he became angry with Mickey’s eight nephews. Soon Donald was more popular than Mickey Mouse himself, probably because he wasn’t a goody-goody, like Mickey.
In the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Donald and his friends Mickey, Goofy and Pluto made hundreds of Disney cartoons. He also made educational film about the place of the USA in the world, and safety in the home. Then in 1966 Donald Duck and his voice disappeared—there were no more new cartoons.
Clarence Nash died in February, 1985. But today’s children can still see the old cartoons on the television and hear that famous voice.
Who made Donald Duck cartoons?
| A．Mickey Mouse. | B．Clarence Nash. |
| C．Walter Disney. | D．Pluto. |
When did the first Donald Duck film appear?
| A．In 1933 | B．In 1934 | C．In 1966 | D．In 1965 |
Who was Clarence Nash?
| A．A cartoonist. | B．A writer. |
| C．A film maker. | D．The man who made the voice for Donald Duck. |
Why did people like Donald better than Mickey Mouse?
| A．Probably because he was lazy and greedy. | B．Probably because he wasn’t a goody—goody like Mickey. |
| C．Probably because he lost his temper very easily. | |
| D．Probably because he became angry with Mickey’s eight nephews. |
Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea．People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea．Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added．She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o’clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her 
friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.
Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?
| A．The Britons got expensive tea from India. |
| B．Tea reached Britain from Holland. |
| C．The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea. |
| D．It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea. |
This passage mainly discusses_____________.
| A．the history of tea drinking in Britain |
| B．how tea became a popular drink in Britain |
| C．how the Britons got the habit of drinking tea |
| D．how tea-time was born |
People in Europe began to drink tea with milk because.
| A．it tasted like milk |
| B．it tasted more pleasant |
| C．it became a popular drink |
| D．Madame de Sevinge was such a lady with great social influence that people tried |
to copy the way she drank tea
We may infer from the passage that the habit of drinking tea in Britain was mostly
due to the influence of ________.
| A．a famous French lady | B．the ancient Chinese |
| C．the upper social class | D．people in Holland |
As we all know, it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of the Independence. He wrote it in two weeks, and after a few changes, it was accepted by the Congress. As a result, he became famous.
Born in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, a brilliant student at school and almost talented lawyer later, was much interested in politics.
Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia in 1779, and he was sent to France as the representative of the American government in 1784. Sixteen years later, at the age of 57, he was elected president after Washington and Adams.
Far from a handsome man, he was tall with long arms and big hands. Jefferson, who was an amusing talker in conversation but a poor speaker, was generally good-natured.
Jefferson was regarded as a defender of freedom on America. As a president, he protected the right of free speech. Interestingly enough, in his eight years as President, Jefferson never vetoed a bill which Congress had passed. He did a lot in organizing the new University of Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson died on July the fourth, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American Independence.
From the passage we can infer that America won its independence in ___.
| A．1786 | B．1776 | C．1842 | D．1800 |
How old was Thomas Jefferson when he became Governor of Virginia?
| A．He was 26. | B．He was in his forties. |
| C．He was 36. | D．We don’t know. |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Jefferson was not only very talented but also very handsome. |
| B．Jefferson was not an easy person to get along with. |
| C．Jefferson was an amusing talker, but not good at speaking in public. |
| D．Not being politically-minded, Jefferson never vetoed a bill passed by the Congress. |
Jefferson’s greatest contribution in American history should be that ___.
| A．he did a lot in organizing the new University of Virginia |
| B．he was strongly against the slavery |
| C．he was for the right of free speech |
| D．he wrote the Declaration of Independence |
More than seven hundred years ago, the Prince of Wales had a very big and brave dog called Gelert. One day the Prince wanted to go hunt-ing with his men. He told his dog to stay at home and look after his baby son. The baby was in a wooden cradle, which was like a small bed. When the Prince came back from hunt-ing, Gelert ran out to meet his master. He wagged his tail and jumped up to put his paws on the Prince's chest. Then the Prince saw the blood on Gelert's jaws and head.
"What have you done?" the Prince said. He rushed into his house and looked for his baby son. The cradle was lying on its side on the floor. The clothes were torn and there was blood on them.
"So you have killed my son?" the Prince said angrily. "You unfaithful dog!" He took out his sword and killed the dog. Just as Gelert was dying, he managed to bark. Then the Prince heard a baby call to the dog.
The Prince ran out of the house and saw his son lying on the ground unhurt. Near him was a dead wolf. Then the Prince knew that Gelert had defended the baby and killed the wolf.
The Prince ran back into the house but he was too late. Gelert was dead. The Prince was very sad indeed. Tears ran down his face when he realized 'he had killed his faith-ful friend. The Prince carried the body of his brave dog to the top of a mountain and buried him there. After this, the Prince never smiled again. Every morning at dawn, he walked up the mountain and stood by the dog's grave for a few minutes.
If you go to Mount Snowdon in Wales, people will show you where Gelert is buried. There is a sign by his grave. It reminds peo-ple of a brave and faithful dog.
Gelert was the dog of the Prince of ___.
| A．Scotland | B．England | C．Ireland | D．Wales |
The Prince told the dog to _____ when he was leaving.
| A．watch the door | B．take care of his baby at home |
| C．welcome his friends | D．stop the strangers |
The dog was very ____ when his master came back from hunting.
| A．glad | B．fearful | C．afraid | D．tired |
The Prince never smiled again because __
| A．the wolf was killed by Gelert | B．he had buried the dog on the top of mountain |
| C．he had killed his faithful friend Gelert | D．Gelert had killed his baby son |
He's an old cobbler (修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street ; he'll fix them for you right away.”
But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” -- without knowing much about m
ending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron ( 围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on 
one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work. ”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.
Which of the following is true about the old cobbler.'?
| A．He was equipped with the best repairing tools. | B．He was the only cobbler in the Marais. |
| C．He was proud of his skills. | D．He was a native Parisian. |
The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” ( paragraph 7 ) implies that
| A．nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him |
| B．it was difficult to communicate with this man |
| C．the man was very strange |
| D．the man was too old |
According to the author, many people work just to .
| A．realize their abilities | B．gain happiness | C．make money | D．gain respect |
This story wants to tell us that ________ .
| A．craftsmen make a lot of money | B．whateve r you do, do it well |
| C．craftsmen need self-respect | D．people are born equal |