There was once a beautiful nymph called Echo. But Echo had one failing; she was fond of talking, and whether in chat or argument, would have the last word. As she was good company, she and Zeus became good friends. However, Zeus’ wife, Hera, became jealous. She followed Zeus to the earth to find out what he was doing and Zeus asked Echo to distract Hera until he could escape. Later when Hera discovered she had been tricked, she became very angry. She turned on Echo and said, “You shall lose the use of your tongue because you cheated me. You’ll have the last word, bur no longer have the power to speak first.” So from that moment on, Beautiful Echo was hardly able to hold a conversation because she could only repeat the last words of those around her. She became very embarrassed and hid herself deep in the woods.
One day a handsome young man called Narcissus came into the woods. He had been hunting deer and lost his way. However, the moment Echo saw him, she fell in love with him. She followed him, wishing to tell him but unable to begin a conversation. Oh, how she wished she could speak first. Unfortunately, Narcissus was far too busy worrying about where his companions might be and how he could find his way home.
Eventually Narcissus, with Echo following behind along, came to a pool of water in the middle of the woods. Feeling thirsty, Narcissus bent down to drink. As he did so, he saw a beautiful creature in the water staring up at him. He immediately bent over and said to him, “I love you!” Echo, nearby, and seeing her chance, immediately responded “…. I love you!” But it was too late. Narcissus was already in love, with himself.
The stranger seemed to rise up closer to Narcissus who was so involved that he entirely failed to notice Echo. “I want to stay and look at this beautiful sight forever,” he whispered dreamily to himself.”… Forever,” repeated Echo sadly. “Come here,” called Narcissus to his reflection as he moved his head and the creature seemed to move away. “…Here.” responded Echo. Narcissus bent back down to see his reflection more clearly. “So beautiful! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!” “….So beautiful!” responded Echo truthfully.
Narcissus remained by the water refusing all Echo’s silent offers of food and drink until he died. Where he had been, a flower grew in his place, as beautiful as Narcissus himself. As for Echo, from that time forward, she also didn’t eat or drink till she turned to rocks and all that was left was her voice. Even now you can still hear Echo trying to attract Narcissus’ attention by repeating his words and still see Narcissus as a beautiful flower growing near a pool.Why was Echo unable to let Narcissus know she loved him?
| A．Because she had lost the ability to speak. |
| B．Because she was too shy to speak first. |
| C．Because Narcissus took no notice of her. |
| D．Because Hera had taken away her ability to speak first. |
“The stranger” in paragraph 4 refers to ______.
| A．Echo |
| B．Hera. |
| C．Narcissus himself. |
| D．a fairy in the woods. |
Which of the following kinds of person can be described as a “Narcissus”?
| A．A person who loves and admires himself or herself. |
| B．A person who loves to admire beautiful water flowers. |
| C．A person who is too shy to have a chat with other people. |
| D．A person who’s afraid of being separated from companions. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Echo’s sacrifice. | B．Echo and Hera. |
| C．Echo and Narcissus. | D．Narcissus’s self-love. |
In the new book The Education of Millionaires，Michael Ellsberg suggests that although“there are many wonderful things you can learn in college，”few of them are applied to real life ．So Ellsberg has written the book to tell“the capabilities and attitudes that will get you improved outside the classroom．”
I welcome the kind of debate about the value of higher education.It is necessary to remember， however，that Ellsberg also tells how important it is to make money．He mentions a number of college dropouts一such as Bill Gates and Michael Dell一to show how successful they have become without the benefit of a college degree．While Ellsberg stresses the achievements of dropouts，he includes degree holders who have become wealthy and famous．For example，of the current Fortune 500 CEOs，some 99％have a college degree．Similarly，of the Forbes 400 richest people in America，81％hold postseconda.ry（高等）degrees.
But in the discussion，what is forgotten about the value is that the purpose of education is not simply to enable one to earn a living but to prepare one for living over the course of life ．What is also left out of the debate about higher education is that its purpose is not just to provide a pathway covered with gold for the nation’s elites（精英）．If we have the discussion that way，we may look down upon the people who devote themselves to other ordinary jobs that form the basic structures（结构）of our society，Though these individuals may not be reaching for the kind of stars that Michael Ellsberg and others would have them grasp，most are doing something even more important：they are involved in the useful tasks of good citizens and contributing to the common welfare，including providing for their families．In the book The Education of Millionaires，Michael Ellsberg＿＿＿．
| A．approves of the value of education |
| B．explains the reasons for dropping out |
| C．tells the way of getting out of college |
| D．discusses the practical value of college degrees |
The second paragraph suggests a fact that＿＿＿＿
| A．the value of higher education is never challenged |
| B．higher education ensures people making more money |
| C．most of the richest people received college education |
| D．success of dropouts proves the value of higher education |
From the last paragraph we can learn that the author＿＿＿
| A．is keen on society charity work | B．calls for the equality of all man |
| C．speaks highly of the nation’s elites | D．shows respect to common people |
The passage is written mainly to．＿＿＿
| A．persuade people to go to university |
| B．make a comment on a new book |
| C．complain about the college education |
| D．praise Michael Ellsberg for his hard work |
“Get yourself up and make something of yourself，buddy！”Though my mother has passed away，her words are as clear in my head today as when I was a boy．
“Christ！”I said，“I have made something of myself. I want to sleep late as I like．”
“If there’s one thing I can’t stand，it’s a quitter．”Her voice in my head is more powerful than my will to refuse，so I pull myself from bed．
Before I was out of primary school，mother could see I lacked the gifts for either making millions or winning the love of crowds．So she began pushing me toward working with words．Words ran in her family．There seemed to be a word gene that passed down from her mother’s grandfather·
The greatest proof was my mother’s first cousin Edwin．He was the managing editor of the New York Times and had gained a name in his career．
In 1947 1 graduated from Johns Hopkins and applied for a job with the Baltimore Sun as a police reporter．It paid＄30 a week ．When I complained the wage was shameful for a learned man，mother refused to sympathize．“If you work hard at this job，”she said，“maybe you can make something of it．”
After a while，I was asked to cover diplomats（外交官）at various African embassies. Then，
seven years later I was arranged by the Sun to cover the White House，a task that was as close to heaven as a journalist could get．However，whatever achievement of mine only seemed insignificant in her eyes．Uncle Edwin’s success was really annoying during my early years as a reporter．What a thrill，I thought．
Then，out of my wildest childhood fantasy，the Times came knocking．It was sad that Uncle Edwin had passed away by this time．In 1979 I won the Pulitzer Prize．Unfortunately，my mother’s brain and health broke down the year before，leaving her in a nursing home，out of touch with life forevermore ．She never knew of my Pulitzer．
I can probably guess how she’d have responded．“ That’s nice，buddy．It shows if you work hand，you’11 be able to make something of yourself one day，”The first three paragraphs are intended to＿＿＿＿＿＿
| A．draw readers’attention to the author’s success |
| B．remind readers that the road to success is rough |
| C．serve as an introduction to the author’s mother |
| D．explain why the author’s mother kept blaming him |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 probably means that tier families＿＿＿＿
| A．were gifted at language | B．never broke their promise |
| C．were fond of reading | D．stuck to their family belief |
What can we learn about the author
| A．He got a good salary working as a police reporter． |
| B．He lived a rich life with his mother in his childhood． |
| C．It was proud of her mother to see his winning the Pulitzer Prize． |
| D．It was beyond his wildest dream that he could work for the Times． |
The author regards Uncle Edwin’s success as a thrill because＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．he himself was less smart than Uncle Edwin |
| B．his mother’s family thought Uncle Edwin to be a good reporter |
| C．few reporters can become the managing editor of the New York Times |
| D．Uncle Edwin spared no effort to get the Pulitzer Prize at the cost of his life |
I was in a strange city I didn’t know at all, and what’s more, I could not speak a word of the language. On my second day I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops, then got off and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough, then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived, and even that I pronounced badly. I stopped to ask a newspaper-seller. He handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person, I asked was a policeman. He listened to me carefully, nodded and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I nodded politely and began walking in the direction he pointed.
About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside. The only thing left for me to do was find the nearest railway station.The writer preferred to walk back to his hotel because ________.
| A．he had no money to buy a ticket |
| B．he wanted to lose himself in the city |
| C．he tried to know the city in this way |
| D．it was late and there were no buses passing by |
The newspaper-seller______.
| A．didn’t know where the hotel was |
| B．didn’t understand what the writer said |
| C．could understand what the writer said |
| D．didn’t want to take the money from the writer |
From the story we know that the policeman______.
| A．was kind but didn’t understand the writer |
| B．told the writer where to take a train |
| C．knew what the writer really meant |
| D．was cold-hearted and didn’t help the writer |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．The writer got close to the hotel where he stayed. |
| B．The writer got to the hotel with the policeman’s help. |
| C．The writer found he was much farther away from the hotel. |
| D．The writer found the hotel in the direction the policeman pointed. |
In your opinion, what was the writer’s real trouble?
| A．He didn’t know the city at all. |
| B．He couldn’t speak the language. |
| C．He went too far in the wrong bus. |
| D．He followed the policeman’s direction. |
People have strange ideas about food. For example, tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition(营养) and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous(有毒的). They called tomatoes “poison apples”.
President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his honored guests about the fact.Tomato is a kind of ___________.
| A．poisonous fruit | B．poisonous vegetable |
| C．tasty fruit | D．tasty vegetable |
After you read the passage, which of the following do you think is true?
| A．Americans never ate tomatoes after they began to plant them. |
| B．Americans didn’t eat tomatoes before 19th century. |
| C．Even now Americans don’t eat tomatoes. |
| D．In the 18th century Americans ate a lot of tomatoes. |
Jefferson learned that tomatoes were good to eat ____.
| A．while he was in Paris | B．when he was a little boy |
| C．because his parents told him so | D．from books |
From the passage we know all the honored guests invited by Jefferson were____.
| A．people from other countries | B．from France |
| C．people of his own country | D．men only |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．None of the guests knew the soup that was served at the President’s party was made of tomatoes. |
| B．All of the guests thought the soup which was prepared by the President’s cook was nice. |
| C．President Thomas Jefferson knew that tomatoes were good to eat and not poisonous at all. |
| D．All of the guests didn’t know that their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. |
The pen is more powerful than the sword. There have been many writers who use their pens to write things that were wrong. Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of them.
She was born in the U. S. A. in 1811. One of her books not only made her famous but has been described as one that excited the world, and was helpful in causing a civil war and freeing the enslaved race. The civil war was the American Civil War of 1861, in which the Northern States fought the Southern States and finally won.
This book that shook the world was called Uncle Tom's Cabin. There was a time when every English-speaking man, woman, and child had read this novel that did so much to stop slavery. Not many people read it today, but it is still very interesting, if only to show how a warm-hearted writer can arouse people's sympathies. The author herself had neither been to the Southern States nor seen a slave. The Southern Americans were very angry at the book, which they said did not at all represent the true state of affairs, but the Northern Americans were widely excited over it, and were so inspired by it that they were ready to go to war to set the slaves free.Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe became famous for .
| A．one of her books |
| B．she was a very heartedly person |
| C．she was a kind wife |
| D．she worked for the war |
How old was Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe when her world famous book was published?
| A．About sixty years old. |
| B．Over fifty years old. |
| C．In her forties. |
| D．Around twenty years old. |
What do we learn about Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe from the passage?
| A．Before the civil war she had been a slave. |
| B．Before the civil war she had lived in the north of America. |
| C．She had a good school education. |
| D．She was better at writing than swinging a sword. |
Why could Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's book cause a civil war in America? Because .
| A．she disclosed the terrible wrongs done to the slaves in the Southern States |
| B．she wrote so well that the Americans loved her very much |
| C．the Americans were too excited when they reads the book |
| D．the Southern Americans hated the book, while the Northern Americans liked it |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．No wor can be won without such a book as Uncle Tom's Cabin. |
| B．We must understand the importance of literature and art. |
| C．We needn't use weapons to fight things that are wrong. |
| D．A writer is more helpful in war than a soldier. |