SixteenyearsagoIlearnedthisles-优题课

The United States became a rich industrial nation toward the end of 1800s. There were more goods, more services, more jobs, and a higher standard of living. There was more of everything, including problems. One problem was monopoly, that is, to be the only seller of a certain line of products or a service. In some cases, several companies that manufactured the same product would agree not to compete with one another. They would all agree to charge the same price. These arrangements made it impossible for customers to shop around for lower prices for certain products.
Some people decided that huge corporations had too much power and controlled too many markets. Because of their wealth and power, they could see to it that governments passed laws favorable to them. Many people believed that monopoly and price fixing were bad for customers and bad for the country so that they should be broken up.
Finally the national government and some states passed laws that placed limits on corporations and big companies. These laws made it illegal for companies to make agreements to charge only a certain price. Later on the national government forced monopoly to be broken up.
Such laws and government action didn’t entirely do away with monopolies. Nor did they stop the growth of huge corporations. But they did show that American people had decided that some of the changes that had occurred were harmful. (from www.nmet168.com)
1. The underlined word “monopoly” in the first paragraph most probably means ________.
A. the production of certain kinds of goods B. complete control and possession of trade
C. a big corporation of company D. an agreement on prices
2. Because of the agreements between big companies ________.
A. people had to buy things at certain shops B. the prices of their goods were much lower
C. customers had no choice but to buy D. there were fewer markets in some states
3. According to the laws, companies ________.
A. were not allowed to control the markets
B. could not force the customers to buy their products
C. should have fixed prices for their products
D. must produce the same kind of goods for the same markets
4. Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
A. Big companies could not influence the government.
B. A large number of markets were controlled by big companies.
C. Many Americans were worried about the changes in their country.
D. Some of the laws were in favor of customers.

THERE are many different Londons, and they appeal to people with many different passions: museum lovers, theatergoers, opera buffs (爱好者，迷；热心人), devotees of royalty, students of history, people who like to walk in the rain. But richest of all, perhaps, is the London for book lovers.
Because the city is the star and the backdrop of so much great literature, it is possible to believe you know it very well — how it looks, how it feels — without ever leaving your home country, or indeed your home. But it is better to visit, if only for the joy of seeing the landscape of your imagination come to life. How breathtaking to happen upon Pudding Lane, where a bakery accident led to the Great Fire of 1666, after reading Pepys’s account in his diaries. Or to wander along Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes once fictionally solved the unsolvable. Walk across London Bridge and gaze down, toward Southwark Bridge: this is the stretch of the Thames where Dickens’s sinister characters dredged up corpses in “Our Mutual Friend.”
The city is not so foggy as it was in 1952, when Margery Allingham published “The Tiger in the Smoke,” or as socially stratified as it when Marianne Dashwood waited in “Sense and Sensibility” for a suitor who never called; or as greedy as it was in the thrusting 1980s of Martin Amis’s “Money.” But it is all of those Londons, an accrual of different descriptions and eras. It is a city made for description — reread the first passages of “Bleak House,” also on the subject of fog, for a moody introduction — and one that so respects its authors that it buried a number of the best ones in style, in Westminster Abbey.
There are plenty of organized literary-themed tours around the city, easily found on the Internet. Or you can wander characteristically on your own, which is more fun. If you take the Tube or the bus, make sure to carry a book.
6. What can we infer from the first paragraph?
A. Most people of London like visiting museums.
B. No Londoners go to cinemas to see the films.
C. A majority of Londoners are book lovers.
D. All the Londoners like to walk in the rain.
7. What information can you get from Pepy’s diaries?
A. Great Fire of 1666 caused by an accident in a bakery.
B. Sherlock Holmes once lived in Baker Street.
C. London Bridge is next to Baker Street.
D. “Our Mutual Friend” is one of Dickens’s works.
8. Who is Sherlock Holmes?
A. A book lover. B. A character of Dickens’s novel: “Our Mutual Friend”.
C. A detective. D. A person who set the Great Fire of 1666.
9. In which book can’t you find the description about the fog in London?
A. “The Tiger in the Smoke” B. “Sense and Sensibility”
C. “Money” D. “Our Mutual Friend”
10. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Most kinds of tours around London may be found on the Internet.
B. You must be shown around London by a guide.
C. There are many kinds of literary-themed activities including tours.
D. You’d better take a book when you travel in London.

The students start arriving on our upper playground from about 8:45 am. School begins at 8:55 am.
The children do their early morning work while their class teacher takes the attendance register (记录，登记). The attendance of every child attending school each morning and afternoon is recorded in a special book.
The teacher reads out each child’s name in turn. On hearing his/her name, the child replies 'yes Mrs. (teacher's name)' and the teacher notes down in the book whether the child is in school or not. Sometimes the children will answer their teacher in a different language e.g. French or German.
At 9:10 am the children go to assembly in our main hall. They sit on the floor in rows with the youngest children at the front and the older children at the back. As the children enter the hall they listen quietly to the music playing. Each week has a different musical theme and the children are asked to listen out for particular things.
In our assemblies the children listen to a story, sing a song and pray. The story is either taken from the Christian Bible or is a story with a moral. The songs we sing are particularly chosen with the children in mind. Some of our songs are sung with the English sign language.
To supply for the children of different faiths, some of our assemblies do not have a Christian theme. These assemblies are a time for us to gather together to celebrate the achievements of our children and of the school as a whole.
Every parent has the right to withdraw their child from a school assembly.
1. How many times does the teacher take the registration everyday?
A. Once. B. Twice. C. Three times. D. Not mentioned.
2. Basing on what do the children line up in the assemblies?
A. Body-weight. B. Body-height. C. Ages. D. Classes.
3. Where do the students listen to music every day?
A. In their classroom. B. In their dormitory.
C. In the main hall. D. On the upper playground.
4. According to the passage, what happens in an Assembly?
A. Tell stories in turns. B. Sing English songs sometimes with gestures.
C. Pray for good luck. D. Listen to stories taken from the Christian Bible.
5. Which of the following statements are NOT true?
A. All the activities in the assemblies have a theme based on the Bible.
B. The assemblies are for fun to get together.
C. It’s not the duty for the children to attend the assemblies.
D. The assemblies are to celebrate the achievements of our children.

Doors and windows can’t keep them out; airport immigration officers can’t stop them and the Internet is a complete reproduction soil. They seem harmless in small doses, but large imports threaten Japan’s very uniqueness, say critics. “They are foreign words and they are infecting the Japanese language”.
“Sometimes I feel like I need a translator to understand my own language, ”says Yoko Fujimura with little anger, a 5-year-old Tokyo restaurant worker.“It’s becoming incomprehensible”.
It’s not only Japan who is on the defensive. Countries around th globe are wet through their hands over the rapid spread of American English. CocaCola,for example, is one of the most recognized terms on Earth.
It is made worse for Japan, however, by its unique writing system. The country writes all imported utterances(言论) except Chinesein a different script called katakana (片假名). It is the only country to keep up such a difference. Katakana takes far more space to write than kanjithe core pictograph (象形文字) characters that the Japanese borrowed from China 1,500 years ago. Because it stands out, readers complain that sentences packed with foreign words start to look like extended strings of lights. As if that weren’t enough, katakana terms tend to get puzzling.
For example, digital camera first appears as degitaru kamera. Then they became the more earpleasing digi kamey. But kamey is also the Japanese word for turtle. “It’s very disappointing not knowing what young people are talking about,” says humorously Minoru Shiratori, a 53yearold bus driver. “Sometimes I can’t tell if they’re discussing cameras or turtles.”
In a bid to stop the flood of katakana, the government has formed a Foreign Words Committee to find suitable Japanese replacements. The committee is slightly different from Frenchstyle language police, which try to support a law that forbids advertising in English. Rather, committee members and traditionalists hope a nonstop campaign of persuasion, gentle criticism and leadership by example can turn the tide.
12.According to the author, the reason why the Japanese is infectd greatly by English is .
A.that nothing can prevent it from entering into Japan
B.that English is the most recognized language in the world
C.that the government has not set up a special administration department to control this trend before it becomes popular in Japan
D.not clearly mentioned in this passage
13.By saying “counties around the globe are wet through their hands over the rapid spread of American English,”the author infers that .
A.even a restaurant worker in Japan may feel the English infection on Japanese
B.the flood of katakana has covered most of countries in the world
C.CocaCola is the most popuar on the earth and this product covers all the global market
D.many other countries are affected greatly by American English
14.According to the author, the last paragraph mainly deals with.
A.how French-style language police has prevented the infection of English
B.how Japanese Foreign Words Committee prevents the infection of foreign words
C.the suitable Japanese replacements
D.why committee members and traditionalists begin to declare a war against the infection of foreign words
15.Which conclusion can be drawn based on the opinions from the Japanese people (in paragraph 2 and 4 of this passage)?
A.The elders strongly advocates replacing the foreign words than young people.
B.All the people dislike speaking the foreign words, such as “digi kamey”.
C.They are so old that it is necessary to give some language assistance by a specialist.
D.People’s work determines the language they speak.

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9.A student of history is most likely to take listed above.
A.the fourth book B.the third book C.the second book D.the first book
10.The underlined word“others”in Paragraph 3 may include.
A.traffic accidents B.floods C.pollution D.diseases
11.It can be learned from one of the books how to.
A.repair your digital camera for yourself
B.work out the expenses before going to a restaurant
C.get the latest information about natural disasters
D.learn a lot about historian Alan Brinkley