Mousepotatoesjoinedcouchpotato-优题课

One summer my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency. You know, you would be submerged (淹没) in crowds of tourists and lose lots of opportunities to get familiar with the country more closely. We started to think over our trip and managed to come up with a free tour of Italy.
The trip was not very long but it was still very impressive. We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially anxious about my visa, but everything went quite smoothly in the end.
The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation. In the Italian consulate(领事馆), one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa. Then we had to solve the ticket problem. Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far in advance. The next step was to book a hotel. We finally booked a hotel about thirty km away from the heart of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip.
Every day we took a train that carried us to the heart of Rome. Our big house, which was surrounded by the forest, was a rare girl for the fresh air and absolute silence, beautiful views, hospitable (好客的) hosts, comfortable living conditions delighted us to no end. Besides this, we were very lucky that our mistress was Russian. She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use. She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go.
Don’t be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself. It’s not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoyed traveling by ourselves. We walked with a map and a guide-book to wherever we wanted and we even met some of our fellow countrymen on the way just two or three times. So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their native tongue.
Why does the author want to go to Italy again?

A．He had a great time there.

B．Italy has a lot of attractions.

C．His friend invited him there.

D．He didn't stay in Italy long enough.

What does the author think was the hardest in preparing for his Italian trip?

A．Buying cheap airline tickets to Italy before the traveling

B．Getting a visa without an invitation from the Italian consulate.

C．Booking a comfortable hotel on his own in Rome.

D．Solving the ticket problem far in advance.

In the fourth paragraph the author mainly explains

A．the reason why he chose to live in the center of Rome

B．the reason why the hotel he booked was the right choice

C．what transport they chose to travel in their Italian trip

D．the reason why the mistress gave them some advice

Which of the following questions has NOT been answered in the passage?

A．Why did the author decide to go to Italy for a holiday for the first time?

B．Why did the author decide not to follow a travel agency?

C．How did the author prepare for his trip?

D．What tools did the author use for his traveling?

From the text we can know the author

A．enjoy

s traveling everywhere in the world

B．likes being accompanied by tour guides

C．advises us to arrange trips by ourselves

D．met with a lot of his countrymen

in Italy

Douglas Grace talks about his ideal city of the future.
I see the city of the future in three zones——inner， middle and outer. In the inner zone there will be no private cars. Public transport will be free and there will only be ambulances， fire engines， taxis and police cars. This inner zone will be the residential（住宅的） and recreational（娱乐的） area of the city. People will live there and go out to enjoy themselves——to cinemas and restaurants. There will be parks and open spaces， trees and lakes， schools and universities. This way， when people are at home， they can go out easily and safely.
Just outside the inner zone there will be big car parks for all private cars.
The banks and most of the shops and hospitals will be in the middle zone. These are things that people don’t need every day.
All the factories and offices will be in the outer zone. People will travel out of the center to work， and back to the center in the evenings. The inner zone will be cleaner and better to live in and there will be more space for industry on the outside.
This is my ideal city of the future—— a very beautiful place！ But I don’t really think things will ever be like that！
Where will people live and go out to enjoy themselves？

A．In the middle zone.

B．In the inner zone.

C．In the outer zone.

D．In the inner and middle zone.

Where will big car parks be？

A．Just outside the middle zone.

B．Just inside the middle zone.

C．Just outside the inner zone.

D．Just inside the inner zone.

What will be in the middle zone？

A．The banks，hospitals and schools.

B．The banks，hospitals and police stations.

C．The banks，schools and car parks.

D．The banks，hospital and most of the shops.

Where will the factories and offices be？

A．In the outer zone.

B．In the middle zone.

C．In the inner zone.

D．In the middle and inner zone.

Douglas Grace is probably .

A．a painter

B．a builder

C．a town planner

D．a dentist

I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“ None.”
“ Where did you go?”
“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“ What did you do?”
“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“ You just stood there?”
“ Didn’t sell a single one.”
“ My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
Why did the boy start his job young?

A．He wanted to be famous in the future.

B．The job was quite easy for him.

C．His mother had high hopes for him.

D．The competiton for the job was fierce.

From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A．excited

B．interested

C．ashamed

D．disappointed

What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A．She forced him to continue.	B．She punished him.
C．She gave him some money.	D．She changed her plan.

What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

A．The war between th

e boy’s parents.

B．The arguing between the boy and his mother.

C．The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

D．The fight between the boy and his father.

What is the text mainly about?

A．The early life of a journalist.

B．The early success of a journalist.

C．The happy childhood of the writer.

D．The important role of the writer in his family.

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator (美洲鳄) was swimming toward the shore.
His father working in the yard saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.
Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U – turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug – of – war (拔河) between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, took aim and shot the alligator.
Remarkably, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his fresh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.
The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy asked if he would show his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my dad wouldn’t let go.”
You and I can identify with that boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because someone has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, someone has been there holding on to you.
If you have the scars of someone’s love on your arms, be very, very grateful. Someone in your life did not and will not ever let you go.
Never judge another person’s scars, because you don’t know how they got them.
Which of the following is the most closely related to the underlined word “passionate”?

A．determined

B．anxious

C．frightened

D．courageous

When the boy told the newspaper reporter about the scars on his arms, he felt .

A．painful and fearful	B．regretful and panic
C．proud and grateful	D．excited and thankful

In the story the writer intends to tell us that .

A．scars always remind people of their past experiences

B．wounds in the mind are more painful than those in the body

C．a painful past always leaves scars on a person’s mind

D．scars do not necessarily mean pain at all times

Which of the following viewpoints will the writer most probably agree with?

A．Be grateful to a painful past, for you can always learn something from it.

B．Other people’s criticism or blame may hurt you, but if it is for your own good, you should take it thankfully.

C．The swimming hole of life is filled with danger, but you don’t need to be too serious about it as someone will never let you go.

D．If someone hurts you, be grateful to them, for they mean no harm

Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7:34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch. We should have arrived at Liverpool at 9:19, but due to a typical London fog, the train had to move along so slowly that it was not until 10:30 that it got there. In spite of our late arrival, Joan, my wife’s sister, decided that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London while we went shopping. It was only after her sister had disappeared into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should meet for lunch. Since I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a problem. There seemed to be nothing we could do except taking a taxi to the Tower of London, and try to find her there. Needless to say, we didn’t find her.
It was now one o’clock, and the concert began at 2:30. “Perhaps she will think of waiting outside the concert hall,” suggested my wife hopefully. By this time the fog was so thick that road traffic had to stop, and the only way to get there was by underground railway. Hand in hand we felt our way along the road to where we thought the nearest station should be. An hour later we were still trying to find it. Just as I was about to lose my temper completely when we met a blind man tapping his way confidently through the fog. With his help we found Tower Hill tube station just fifty yards down the road.
By now it was far too late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2:30, so we decided to return to Cambridge. It took seven long hours instead of the usual two to make that journey. Nor were we able to get any food and drink on the train. Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten, opening the door to the sound of the telephone bell. It was Joan; she had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for concert, and had had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant near the hotel where she decided to stay for the night. Now she was ringing to discover whether we had had an equally successful day.
Why was Joan separated from her sister and her brother-in-law?

A．they could not see each other because of the fog.

B．Joan had not seen Crown Jewels.

C．They planned to do different things until lunch time.

D．The writer didn’t want to go to the concert.

What did the writer plan to do in the afternoon?

A．Go to the concert.	B．See the Crown Jewels.
C．Return to Cambridge.	D．Go shopping.

The reason why they didn’t all meet for lunch was that _______.

A．They lost their way in the fog

B．they forgot to make necessary arrangement

C．they waited at different places and didn’t meet each other

D．the couple couldn’t find the underground station

It’s quite clear that for Joan the trip to London had been ________.

A．spilt by the fog	B．quite tiring
C．rather disappointing	D．very enjoyable