“I will never marry，” the future Elizabeth I declared at the age of eight, and, to the terror of her people, the Great Queen kept her word.
For four centuries, historians have guessed why Elizabeth never married. In her own day, her decision to remain single was considered absurd and dangerous. A queen needed a husband to make political decisions for her and to organize and lead her military campaigns. More important, she needed male heirs to avoid a civil war after her death.
There was no shortage of suitors for the Queen, both English courtiers (朝臣) and foreign princes, and it was confidently expected for the best part of 30 years that Elizabeth would eventually marry one of them. Indeed , although she insisted that she preferred the single state, she kept these suitors in a state of permanent expectation. This was a deliberate policy on the Queen's part, since by keeping foreign princes in hope, sometimes for a decade, she kept them friendly when they might otherwise have made war on her kingdom.
There were, indeed, good political reasons for her avoiding marriage. The disastrous union of her sister Mary I to Philip II of Spain had had an unwelcome foreign influence upon English politics. The English were generally prejudiced against the Queen taking a foreign husband, particularly a Catholic one. Yet if she married an English, jealousy might lead to the separation of the court.
There were other, deeper reasons for Elizabeth's unwillingness to marry, chief of which, I believe, was her fear of losing her autonomy as Queen. In the 16th century, a queen was regarded as holding supreme dominion(统治权)over the state, while a husband was thought to hold supreme dominion over his wife. Elizabeth knew that marriage and motherhood would bring some harm to her power.
She once pointed out that marriage seemed too uncertain a state for her. She had seen several unions in her immediate family break down, including that of her own parents.
Some writers, based on very fragile evidence, have argued that Elizabeth was frightened or incapable of the sex act, but it is more likely that she feared childbirth. Two of her stepmothers, her grandmother and several acquaintances had died in child bed.
Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, had had her mother, Anne Boleyn, killed; her stepmother Catherine Howard later suffered the same fate. When Elizabeth was 14 she was all but attracted by Admiral Thomas Seymour, who also went to the prison within a year. Witnessing these terrible events at an early age, it has been argued, may have put Elizabeth off marriage.
Elizabeth had to decide her priorities. Marriage or being single? Elizabeth was far too intelligent.The choice she made was courageous and revolutionary, and, in the long run, the right one for England.To the suitors including English courtiers and foreign princes，Elizabeth ________.
| A．held back the truth |
| B．gave a definite answer “no” |
| C．kept them expecting deliberately |
| D．said she preferred the single state |
If Elizabeth had married a foreign prince, there might have been ________.
| A．prejudice against her |
| B．separation of the court |
| C．jealousy among English courtiers |
| D．a negative impact on English politics |
Which of the following implications is right according to the passage?
| A．Queen Elizabeth was not a Catholic. |
| B．Some foreign princes made war on Britain. |
| C．Catherine Howard was killed by Anne Boleyn. |
| D．Admiral Thomas Seymour was killed by Henry VIII. |
What is the attitude of the author towards Queen Elizabeth never marrying in her life?
| A．Pitiful. | B．Approving. | C．Negative. | D．Neutral. |
If you ask most Americans, they would say their favorite season of the year is summer. The weather is warm. They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm. Young people do not have to go to school. They can do many activities outside, like playing sports and swimming at the beach or the pool. They like the sunshine during the day and the warm summer nights. People have written and recorded hundreds of songs about summer. These are some of our favorites.
One of the most famous songs about summer is from George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess”. He wrote the music in nineteen thirty-five. The opera takes place in the southern United States. It opens with these words: “Summertime and the living’ is easy. Fish are jumping’ and the cotton is high.” Leontyne Price sings the song.
The nineteen fifties and sixties produced many songs about teenagers enjoying their summer vacation from school. The songs are about having fun, swimming in the ocean, driving in cars. However, for some teenagers, summer vacation was not all fun and games. Some of them had to work to earn money.Why did people write and record so many songs about summer?
| A．Summer is warm. |
| B．They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm. |
| C．They can do many activities outside. |
| D．They like summer. |
Which of following statements is NOT true?
| A．There are 1950s or 1960s songs about teenagers enjoying their summer vacation from school. |
| B．Many songs are about teenagers having fun in summer. |
| C．Teenagers have not only fun and games but other things in summer. |
| D．Some teenagers have to work to earn money in summer |
Please choose an appropriate title for the passage.
| A．Summer. |
| B．Children in Summer. |
| C．Summer and Children. |
| D．Songs about Summer. |
Have you ever listened to young children talking in the playground? They are always boasting. They say things like, “My Dad’s car is bigger than your Dad’s,” and “My Mom is smarter than yours.” They particularly like to boast about their families.
There were three little boys, Harry, Ted and Gavin, who were always boasting. Gavin was the worst. Everything about his family was always the best or the biggest or the most expensive.
Whatever the others said, he could always go on better. One day when they were walking to
school, Harry said, “My father had a bath twice a week,” Ted spoke next. “That’s nothing,” he said. “Having a bath twice a week is dirty. My father has a bath every day, sometimes twice a day.” Ted looked at Gavin. Now it was his turn. But what could he say? “This time,” Ted thought, “I’m going to win.” Gavin didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t say that his father had a bath three times a day. That was silly. He walked on in silence. Ted smiled at Harry, and Harry smiled back. They were sure that for once they had beaten Gavin. They reached the school gates. Still Gavin said nothing. “We’ve won,” Ted said to Harry, but he spoke too soon. On the way home, Gavin said, “My Dad is so clean that he doesn’t have to bathe at all.”According to the passage, the meaning of the word “boast” is __________.
| A．to sing a nice song |
| B．to talk big |
| C．to go on better |
| D．to have a bath three times a day |
What did Harry boast about?
| A．The number of times his father had a bath every week. |
| B．The size of the bathroom in his home. |
| C．His father’s car. |
| D．His mother’s family. |
Who boasted the most?
| A．Ted. |
| B．Harry and Ted. |
| C．Harry and Gavin. |
| D．Gavin. |
What does “he spoke too soon” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．He spoke quickly. |
| B．He should have spoken earlier. |
| C．He was wrong. |
| D．He couldn’t be understood. |
Every country has its traditional festivals. The Chinese New Year is now known as the Spring Festival because it starts from the beginning of spring. Though there are some sayings about its origin, all agree that the word Nian, which in modern Chinese means “year”, was originally the name of a beast that started to eat people the night before the beginning of a new year.
One story goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would take in a great many people at one time. People were very afraid. One day, an old man came to their help and said he would stop all this. He said to Nian, “I hear that you are very strong, but can you eat up all the beasts on earth instead of people who are too weak to be your enemies?” “Yes,” Nian agreed with him and went to kill many of the beasts on earth. People were very happy because those beasts also did bad things to people and killed their farm animals from time to time.
After that, the old man, who was a god, rode on the beast Nian and left. Nian was gone, and other beasts also went into forests; people began to enjoy their happy life. Before the old man left, he had told people to put up red paper-cuts on their windows and doors at each year’s end to drive Nian away, because red is the color the beast felt most afraid of.
From then on, every year at the beginning of spring, people prepare to “Guo Nian”. The word “Guo Nian” means “go through the Nian safely”. Putting up red paper-cuts to drive Nian away and making dumplings for a better new year are still an every-year doing by the Chinese people. However, people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this, they just feel the color and the food make the New Year very enjoyable.How did the old man stop Nian from eating people?
| A．By putting red paper-cuts on windows. |
| B．By eating up beasts. |
| C．By talking to him. |
| D．By riding on him. |
Why did people put on red paper-cuts instead of those of any other color?
| A．Because Nian liked the color red. |
| B．Because the color red could kill Nian. |
| C．Because the old man like the color red. |
| D．Because Nian was afraid of the color red. |
The best title of this passage is “__________”.
| A．The Origin of the Chinese New Year |
| B．The Old Man and the Beast Nian |
| C．How to Go Through the Nian safely |
| D．What Nian Was Like |
Which of the following statement is TRUE?
| A．Nian can eat up all the beasts on earth at one time. |
| B．Nian is a tall beast that likes to eat farm animals. |
| C．Nian is afraid of red paper-cuts. |
| D．Nian doesn’t like to use his own mind. |
Everyday we talk about and use the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet?
Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer network didn’t work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working on the time.
At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” in the Internet more convenient.
Today it is easy to get on-line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students.The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people’s life.The Internet has a history of more than _______ years.
| A．sixty | B．forty | C．fifty | D．twenty |
A new network system was set up to _________.
| A．make computers cheaper |
| B．make itself keep on working all the time |
| C．break down the whole network |
| D．make computers large and expensive |
__________ made “surfing” the Internet more convenient.
| A．Computers |
| B．Hardware |
| C．Software |
| D．Information |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．In the 1960s, computer network worked well. |
| B．In the early 1970s, the Internet was easy to use. |
| C．Today it’s still not easy to get on-line. |
| D．Sending e-mail is now more popular among students than before. |
Some children are natural-born bosses. They have a strong need to make decisions，manage their environment，and lead rather than follow. Stephen Jackson，a Year One student，“operates under the theory of what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine，” says his mother. “The other day I bought two new Star Wars light sabers (剑). Later，I saw Stephen with the two new ones while his brother was using the beat-up ones.”
“Examine the extended family，and you'll probably find a bossy grandparent，aunt，uncle or cousin in every generation. It's an inheritable trait，” says Russell Barkley，a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Other children who may not be particularly bossy can gradually gain dominance (支配地位) when they sense their parents are weak，hesitant，or in disagreement with each other.
Whether it's inborn nature or developed character at work，too much control in the hands of the young isn't healthy for children or the family. Fear is at the root of a lot of bossy behavior，says family psychologist John Taylor. Children，he says in his book From Defiance to Cooperation，“have secret feelings of weakness” and “a desire to feel safe.” It's the parents' role to provide that protection.
When a “boss child” doesn't learn limits at home，the stage is set for a host of troubles outside the family. The overly willful and unbending child may have trouble obeying teachers or coaches，for example，or trouble keeping friends. It can be pretty lonely as the top dog if no one likes your bossy ways.
“I see more and more parents giving up their power，” says Barkley，who has studied bossy behavior for more than 30 years. “They bend too far because they don't want to be as strict as their own parents were. But they also feel less confident about their parenting skills. Their kids，in turn，feel more anxious.”Bossy children like Stephen Jackson_________.
| A．make good decisions | B．show self-centeredness |
| C．lack care from others | D．have little sense of fear |
The underlined phrase “inheritable trait” in Paragraph 2 means ___________.
| A．inborn nature | B．developed character |
| C．accepted theory | D．particular environment |
The study on bossy behavior implies that parents_________.
| A．should give more power to their children |
| B．should be strict with their children |
| C．should not be so anxious about their children |
| D．should not set limits for their children |
What is the passage mainly about？
| A．How bossy behavior can be controlled. |
| B．How we can get along with bossy children. |
| C．What leads to children's bossy behavior. |
| D．What effect bossy behavior brings about. |