Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer’s office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.
He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity of the bourgeoisie.
Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.
Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.Dickens only received a little formal education because______.
| A．he wanted to teach himself |
| B．he wanted to work and made a lot of money |
| C．he was too poor to afford any more formal education |
| D．he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist |
According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.
| A．just | B．poor |
| C．comfortable | D．unsatisfying |
Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?
| A．Oliver Twist | B．The Pickwick Papers |
| C．A Tale of Two Cities | D．Great Expectations |
According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?
| A．He didn’t go to school at all. |
| B．He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them. |
| C．He began to write fictions when he was 21 years old. |
| D．He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor. |
Uncle Li and Uncle Wang are good friends. They live next to each other and their farms are both at the foot of the mountain. So they can help each other. But neither of them likes to use his head. They're both poor though they work hard. Most villagers have built new houses, but they still live in the low and broken houses. They never find out why.
Once Uncle Li went to town to buy some medicine for his wife. In the town he heard the apples in a city were expensive. He told Uncle Wang about it as soon as he went back. They decided to carry some apples to the city. They borrowed some money from their friends and bought nearly 1,000 kilograms of apples in the villages and carried them to the city on a tractor. Bad luck! A lot of apples has already been carried there when they arrived. A few days later they had to sell them at a low price (价格)。They felt unhappy and returned to their village.
"I can't understand why we sustained (蒙受) losses in business while others always profit (盈利)" Uncle Li asked one day.
"The tractor was too small " Uncle Wang said without thinking. "We'll carry more apples on a truck next time!"
"I agree!" said Uncle Li. "How foolish (傻的) we were !"
| A．they hope to save money |
| B．they're both poor |
| C．their farms are at the foot of the mountain |
| D．they're not far from their farms |
| A．make a journey |
| B．visit some places of interest |
| C．meet their friends |
| D．make a profit |
| A．theirs weren't as good as the others' |
| B．theirs were much less than the others' |
| C．a lot of apples had been already carried to the city |
| D．they forgot to carry them on a truck |
| A．they had sustained losses in business |
| B．they had lost some money in the city |
| C．something was wrong with the tractor |
| D．other people profited in the city |
Mr Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "if anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea."
"OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn't remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it every now and then.
Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt it that evening.
The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, "Where is your father?" The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, "No more."
The man was very surprised. He asked, "No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?"
"Burnt yesterday evening."
| A．he would be away from home for four days |
| B．he would be back in seven days |
| C．he would be back in a month |
| D．he liked a cup of tea |
| A．the wall | B．the door |
| C．a piece of paper | D．his son's pocket |
| A．the second day | B．the third day |
| C．the fourth day | D．the fifth day |
| A．he thought the child's father was dead |
| B．the child didn't ask him to sit down |
| C．the child gave him a cup of tea |
| D．he couldn't find that piece of paper |
In England, people often talk about the weather because they can experience (经历) four seasons in one day. In the morning the weather is warm just like in spring. An hour later black clouds come and then it rains hard. The weather gets a little cold. In the late afternoon the sky will be sunny, the sun will begin to shine, and it will be summer at this time of a day.
In England, people can also have summer in winter, or have winter in summer. So in winter they can swim sometimes, and in summer sometimes they should take warm clothes.
When you go to England, you will see that some English people usually take an umbrella (伞)or a raincoat with them in the sunny morning, but you should not laugh at them.
If you don't take an umbrella or a raincoat, you will regret (后悔) later in the day.
| A．Because they may have four seasons in one day |
| B．Because they often have very good weather |
| C．Because the weather is warm just like in spring |
| D．Because the sky is sunny all day |
| A．sunshine and snow | B．black clouds |
| C．summer and winter | D．spring and autumn |
| A．their friends ask them to do so |
| B．it often rains in England |
| C．they are going to sell them |
| D．they are their favorite things |
| A．Bad Seasons |
| B．Summer or Winter |
| C．The Weather in England |
| D．Strange English People |
Dick lived in England. One day in January he said to his wife, "I'm going to fly to New York next week because I've got some work there." "Where are you going to stay there?" his wife asked. "I don't know yet." Dick answered. "Please send me your address from there in a telegram (电报)," his wife said. "All right," Dick answered.
He flew to New York on January 31st and found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.
In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."
He found a taxi (出租车) and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.
"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address at this post office."
| A．he went there for a holiday |
| B．he had work there |
| C．he went there for sightseeing (观光) |
| D．his home was there |
| A．Because she didn't know his address yet |
| B．Because she wanted to go to New York, too |
| C．Because she might send him another telegram |
| D．Because she couldn't leave her husband by himself in New York |
| A．In the center of the city. | B．In a hotel. |
| C．In a restaurant. | D．At his friend's house. |
Mrs. Janes gave music lessons at a school. She had a good voice and enjoyed singing, except that some of her high tones sound like a gate that had forgotten to oil. Mrs. Janes knew her weakness well, and took every chance she could find to practise these high notes. As she lived in a small house, where she could not practise without disturbing the rest of the family, she usually went for long walks along the country roads whenever she had time and practised her high notes there. Whenever she heard a car or a person coming along the road, she stopped and waited until she could no longer be heard before she started practicing again, because she was a shy person.
One afternoon, a fast, opened car came up behind her so silently and so fast that she didn't hear it until it was only a few yards from her. She was singing some of her highest and most difficult tones at that time and as the car passed; she saw an anxious expression came over the driver's face. He stopped his car suddenly, jumped out and began to examine all his tyres carefully. Mrs. Janes didn't dare to tell him what the noise he had heard really was, so he got back into the car and drove off.How did Mrs. Janes sing?
| A．She sang well, but she didn't practise singing hard. |
| B．She enjoyed singing, but she had a terrible voice. |
| C．She was a good singer, but she could not sing the high tones well. |
| D．She sang terribly, she was no singer at all. |
Why did she go for long walks along the country roads?
| A．Because she enjoyed the country's fresh air. |
| B．Because she was afraid to disturb the rest of the family. |
| C．Because she lived in a small house far away. |
| D．Because she was afraid to practise the high tones. |
Why did the driver stop his car suddenly and jump out of it?
| A．Because he supposed something must have gone wrong with his car. |
| B．Because he was moved by the pretty voice of Mrs. Janes. |
| C．Because he wondered what had happened to Mrs. Janes. |
| D．Because he frightened by the terrible voice of Mrs. Janes. |
Where did the noise come from?
| A．From the small house. | B．From Mrs. Janes' voice. |
| C．From the types. | D．From the engine. |