At exactly eleven Sir Percival knocked and entered,with anxiety and worry in every line of his face.This meeting would decide his future life, and he obviously knew it.
“You may wonder,Sir Percival,”said Laura calmly,“if I am going to ask to be released(免除)from my promise to marry you.I am not going to ask this. I respect my father’s wishes too much.”
His face relaxed a little,but one of his feet kept beating the carpet.
“No,if we are going to withdraw(退出)from our planned marriage,it will be because of your wish,not mine.”
“Mine?”he said in great surprise.“What reason could I have for withdrawing?”
“A reason that is very hard to tell you,”she answered.“There is a change in me.”
His face went so pale that even his lips lost their color. He turned his head to one side.
“What change?”he asked,trying to appear calm.
“When the promise was made two years ago,”she said,“my love did not belong to anyone. Will you forgive me,Sir Percival,if I tell you that it now belongs to another person?”
“I wish you to understand,”Laura continued,“that
I will never see this person again,and that if you leave me,you only allow me to remain a single woman for the rest of my life.All I ask is that you forgive me and keep my secret.”
“I will do both those things,”he said. Then he looked at Laura,as if he was waiting to hear more.
“I think I have said enough to give you reason to withdraw from our marriage,”she added quietly.
“No.You have said enough to make it the dearest wish of my life to marry you,”he said.How did Percival feel during his meeting with Laura?
| A．Angry. |
| B．Calm. |
| C．Nervous. |
| D．Excited. |
We can learn from the passage that _________.
| A．Laura had once promised to marry Percival |
| B．Laura’s father wished to end her marriage |
| C．Percival had been married to Laura for two years |
| D．Percival asked to be released from the marriage |
The passage is probably taken out of __________.
| A．a novel |
| B．a report |
| C．a diary |
| D．an essay |
In 1977, a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world.
In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar, near Saudi Arabia. Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness with confidence, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London. She was then only semi-conscious and on the "Dangerously Ill" list. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were confused by the very unusual symptoms (症状). While they were discussing the baby's case, a nurse asked to speak to them. "Excuse me," said Nurse Marsha Maitlan, "but I think the baby is suffering from thallium (铊) poisoning."
"What makes you think that?" Dr. Brown asked. "Thallium poisoning is extremely rare."
"A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse by Agatha Christie," Nurse Maitlan explained. "In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are described. They're exactly the same as the baby's."
"You're very thoughtful and you may be right," another doctor said. "We'll carry out some tests and find out whether it's thallium or not."
Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium, a rare metallic substance used in making special glass. Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soon recovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (杀虫剂) used in Qatar. The one who first suggested the correct cause of the baby's illness was _____.
| A．a doctor in Qatar | B．Dr. Brown |
| C．Nurse Maitlan | D．Agatha Christie |
As far as we can tell from the passage, Agatha Christie _____.
| A．had spent a long time studying the baby's case |
| B．visited the baby in the hospital at Hammersmith |
| C．had never met this baby |
| D．gave Nurse Maitlan some advice on the phone |
It seems likely from the passage that the baby's illness had something to do with _____.
| A．a harmful substance used to kill insects |
| B．a dangerous pair of glasses |
| C．the water in Qatar |
| D．a dead writer |
I first went to Harrow in the summer term. The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen. It was a good joke to come up behind a naked boy, and push him into the pool. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less.
One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the pool. He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him a fair game. Coming secretly behind, I pushed him in, holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet, I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and a being of great strength masking its way by face strokes (猛力地划)to the shore. I fled, but in vain. He overtook me, seized me violently, and threw me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon climbed out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys.” Do you know what you have done?” they said, “It’s Amery; he is in Grade Six. He is champion at gym; he has got his football honor.”
I was frightened and felt ashamed. How could I tell his position when be was wrapped in a bath towel and so small.” He didn’t seem pleased at all, so I added in a most brilliant word,” My father, who is a great man, is also small.” At this be laughed, and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future, signified the incident was closed.The writer thought Amery” a fair game” because the boy .
| A．was of similar size |
| B．was fond of games |
| C．looked like an animal |
| D．was good at sports |
The writer felt” ashamed” because .
| A．he was laughed at by other boys |
| B．he played a joke on an outstanding athlete |
| C．Amery turned out to be in the same grade |
| D．he pushed Amery hard and hurt him |
By saying “My father, who is a great man, is also small”, the writer .
| A．challenged Amery | B．threatened Amery |
| C．admired his father | D．tried to please Amery |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The writer could run faster than Amery. |
| B．Amery forgave the writer for his rude behavior. |
| C．The writer liked playing on boys of all sizes. |
| D．Amery was a student in Grade Four. |
In earliest times, men considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries of nature. Some ancient people believed that lightning and thunder were the weapons of the gods.
In reality, lightning is a flow of electricity formed high above the earth. A single flash of lightning 1.6 kilometres long has enough electricity to light one million light bulbs .
The American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to show the connection between electricity and lightning in 1752. In the same year he also built the first lightning rod (避雷针). This device protects buildings from being damaged by lightning.
Modern science has discovered that one stroke of lightning has a voltage (电压) of more than 15 million volts (伏特). A flash of lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 30 million meters per second.
Scientists judge that there are about 2,000 million flashes of lightning per year. Lightning hits the Empire State Building in New York City 30 to 48 times a year. In the United States alone it kills an average of one person every day.
The safest place to be in case of an electrical storm is in a closed car. Outside, one should go to low ground and not get under tress. Also on,e should stay out of water and away from metal fences. Inside a house, people should avoid open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things.
With lightning, it is better to be safe than sorry.People once thought lightning came from ________.
| A．the gods | B．the earth |
| C．the sky | D．nature |
According to the passage what do you think all buildings need?
| A．Metal fences. | B．Machines. |
| C．Electricity. | D．Lightning rods |
Lightning can travel ________.
| A．as quickly as water | B．not so quickly as electricity |
| C．at very high speed | D．at very low speed |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．In the U.S about one person per day dies from lightning. |
| B．Swimming during a thunder storm is a good idea. |
| C．The Empire State Building frequently gets hit by lightning. |
| D．A closed car is the best place to be during an electrical storm. |
Rush hour traffic is a problem in many big cities around the world. Commuters(上下班者)rush to and from their jobs in cars, buses, subways, trains, and even on bicycles. Large cities in the United States have two rush hours—one in the morning and one in the evening. But in cities in other parts of the world, there are four rush hours. In Athens and Rome, for example, many workers go home for lunch and a nap. After this midday break, they rush back to their jobs and work for a few more hours.
In Tokyo, there's a big rush hour underground. Most of the people in Tokyo take the subways. The trains are very crowded. Subway employees called packers wear white gloves and help pack the commuters into the trains when the doors close. They make sure that all purses, briefcases, clothes, and hands are inside the trains.
In Seoul, many commuters prefer to take taxis to get to work.. To hail a cab，many people stand at crossroads and raise two fingers. This means they'll pay the cab driver double the usual fare. Some people even raise three fingers! They'll pay three times the normal rate。
Streets in Rome are very crowded with automobiles and mopeds(摩托自行车)during rush hours. The city can't make its streets wider, and it can't build new highways, because it doesn't want to disturb the many historic sites in the city, such as the Forum and the Coliseum. It took the city fifteen years to construct a new subway system. Construction had to stop every time workers found old artifacts and discovered places of interest to archaeologists(考古学家).
In many big cities, there are special lanes on highways for carpools. These are groups of three or more people who drive to and from work together. They share the costs of gas and parking and take turns driving into the city.
Getting to work and getting home can be difficult in many places around the world. Rush hour traffic seems to be a universal problem.Big cities have traffic problems during rush hours because there are _______
| A．special lanes on highways | B．many commuters |
| C．four rush hours | D．many cars on the street |
Most of the commuters in Tokyo _______
| A．take subway trains to work | B．are packers |
| C．take taxis to work | D．carry briefcases to work |
To “hail a cab” means to _______
| A．pay double the normal fare | B．try to get a cab |
| C．prefer to take taxis | D．to stand at crossroads |
Commuters in carpools probably_______
| A．live in the city | B．take the subway to work |
| C．save money on gas and parking fees | D．have special license plates(牌照) |
Five people are at our table, including myself. I’ve already learnt a great deal about them in the short time we’ve been at sea, although we rarely meet except at mealtimes.
First of all, there is Dr. Stone. He is a man of about sixty-five, with gray hair and a friendly face. He gave up his work a short while ago and is now traveling round the world before he retires to some quite country village. As a young man, he served for many years as a doctor in the army and visited many countries. He’s told us a great deal about the city to which they are going.
Then there is “Grandmother”. I call her that because her name escapes me. In spite of being a grandmother, she looks remarkable young, no more than fifty. She is on her way to visit a daughter who went to Australia some years ago. Naturally she is very excited at the thought of seeing her again, and her three grandchildren, whom she has never seen.
Then there is a man I don’t care for very much, the engineer by the name of Barlow. He has been on leave in England and is now returning to his work in Singapore.
The other person who sits at our table is Mrs. Hunt. I’ve found out hardly anything about her. She’s extremely quiet and rarely talks, except to consult the doctor about children’s various illnesses. She is on her way to join her husband in India.What can we know about Mr. Stone?
| A．He is a doctor in the army now. |
| B．He is going to give up his work. |
| C．He has been retired for many years. |
| D．He knows a lot about the city the author is going to visit. |
Who live in India?
| A．Mrs. Hunt | B．Grandmother | C．Mr. Hunt | D．The doctor |
The writer calls the second person “Grandmother” because _____.
| A．She looks old. | B．he respects her | C．She has three daughters | D．he can’t think of her name |
The underlined phrase “on leave” in Paragraph 4 probably means _____.
| A．on vacation | B．at home | C．about to leave | D．leaving |