Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew. And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency.
Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch(缝合) in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection.
Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.
American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines.
Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle(脚踏板) to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer’s hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical, it could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals.
However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement（侵犯）. Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties（版税）. In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention. Barthelemy Thimonnier’s garment factory was burned down because _____________.
| A．people did not know how to put out the fire |
| B．Elias Howe thought Thimonnier had stolen his invention |
| C．the sewing machines was couldn’t work finally |
| D．workers who feared the loss of their jobs to a machine set fire |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Singer is an American inventor and manufacturer. |
| B．The Singer sewing company became more practical. |
| C．The foot treadle helped to make the sewer’s hands free. |
| D．Singer made improvements to the design of sewing machines. |
Why did the court force Isaac Singer to pay Elisa Howe a lifetime of royalties?
| A．Because the judge was against Singer for his surly attitude. |
| B．Because Howe had already patented the lockstitch used by Singer. |
| C．Because Singer had borrowed money from Howe and never repaid it. |
| D．Because Singer and Howe had both invented the same machine. |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Stitch in Time Saves Nine |
| B．The Case between Howe and Singer |
| C．Patent Laws on the Sewing Machine |
| D．The Early History of the Sewing Machine |
“The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful,” says Plato．Self-control is at the root of all the advantages．Let a man give in to his impulses （冲动） and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral （道德上的） freedom．
A single angry word has lost many a friend．When Socrates（苏格拉底） found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself．If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold bac
k rising anger．Many a person has dropped dead in great anger．Fits of anger bring fits of disease．“Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad．” “Keep cool”, says George Herbert, “for fierceness （狂怒） makes error a fault．”
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself．“Anger,” says Pythagoras, “brings with folly（愚蠢） and ends with regret．” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him．
Self-control is man’s last greatest victory．
If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything．Without it he can have no patience, no power to manage himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling．If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve（勇气） are lacking also．
59．What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?
A．The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself．
B．One’s moral freedom is based on the control of himself．
C．To control oneself is the most difficult in one’s life．
D．If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful．
60．What is the correct interpretation of “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad” ?
A．If the gods want to kill you, they make you crazy first．
B．If you always lose your temper, you will soon be finished．
C．If you can
not control yourself, you will become crazy．
D．If you are mad, you will be punished by the gods．
61．If a man lacks self-control, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT _______．
A．the very backbone and nerve
B．the patience and power to control himself
C．strong feelings
D．self-confidence
62．The author’s main purpose in writing this article is to _______．
A．explain that self-control is the key to success
B．teach people how to control everything in order to make a great success
C．distinguish all kinds of self-control and suggest ways for keeping it
D．advise people not to lose temper so as to make and keep more friends
第三部分: 阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A woman whose sports car was stolen with her dog in it put up notices all over the area that made it clear getting back her pet was more important than her car．
“Whoever did this can keep my car．Please let Benjerman come home,” the notice said．
It is not known whether the thief showed any pity, but almost 30 hours after the 1 pm theft Friday, Atkins and Benjerman，a 12-year-old black retriever（猎犬），were reunited after police located them in Barrington．
“He’s hungry, he’s dirty, but he’s very happy to be home，”Atkins said．
The car was found at about 5 pm Saturday off Route 125 in a swampy area frequented by off-the-road cars and dirt bikes．However, the police couldn’t control Benjerman，and they had to call Atkins to come and get him．
Atkins said the thief cared for Benjerman a little by providing him with some dry cat food．She believed Benjerman ended up drinking some muddy water in the area．
She said they have been together for nearly 11 years after she took him back from a society shelter in Dallas, Texas．
Before Benjelman was found，Atkins and several friends put up notices all over the city and in Somersworth．They also contacted animal shelters，throughout southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts The notice stated there was a re
ward，and also that the dog needed medication．Any caller could remain anonymous（匿名的）．
Atkins had parked the car outside a hardware store with the keys inside and gone in to rent a carpet cleaner．
¨It was l0 minutes and I came out and my car was gone along with Benjerman in broad daylight，” Atkins said．The car thief threw Atkins’ wallet and other personal items out of the car before escaping from the scene．
56．Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened?
a．Notices were put up saying there was a reward．
b．Atkins saw Benjerman again．
c．Police found Atkins’ car．
d．Atkins took Benjerman back from a society shelter．
e．Atkins hired a carpet cleaner in a hardware store．
A．d,e,a, b,c B．d,e,a,c,b
C．e,a,d,b,c D．e,a,c,d,b
57．We can infer from the passage ．
A．the dog was treated extremely badly by the thief
B．car stolen accidents happen frequently nowadays
C．the dog was found because of the reward
D．the thief stole the car easily
58．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Benjerman was sent back immediately after A
tkins put up the notices．
B．Atkins and her friends made a great effort to look for Benierman．
C．The thief gave the dog back but kept the sports car．
D．The dog was back at 1 pm on a Friday．
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.