Napoleon, as a character in Tolstoy’s War and Peace, is more than once described as having “fat little hands.”Nor does he “sit well or firmly on the horse.”He is said to be “undersized,” with “short legs” and a “round stomach”.The issue here is not the accuracy of Tolstoys description—it seems not that far off from historical accounts—but his choice of facts：other things that could be said of the man are not said. We are meant to understand the difference of a warring commander in the body of a fat little Frenchman. Tolstoys Napoleon could be any man wandering in the streets and putting a little of powdered tobacco up his nose-and that is the point.
It is a way the novelist uses to show the moral nature of a character. And it turns out that, as Tolstoy has it, Napoleon is a crazy man. In a scene in Book Three of War and Peace, the wars having reached the critical year of 1812, Napoleon receives a representative from the Tsar (沙皇), who has come with peace terms. Napoleon is very angry：doesn’t he have more army? He, not the Tsar, is the one to make the terms. He will destroy all of Europe if his army is stopped.“That is what you will have gained by engaging me in the war!” he shouts. And then, Tolstoy writes, Napoleon “walked silently several times up and down the room, his fat shoulders moving quickly.”
Still later, after reviewing his army amid cheering crowds, Napoleon invites the shaken Russian to dinner. “He raised his hand to the Russian’s...face,” Tolstoy writes, and “taking him by the ear pulled it gently...” To have one’s ear pulled by the Emperor was considered the greatest honor and mark of favor at the French court. “Well, well, why don’t you say anything?” said he, as if it was ridiculous in his presence to respect any one but himself, Napoleon.
Tolstoy did his research, but the composition is his own. Tolstoy’s description of Napoleon in War and Peace is .
| A．far from the historical facts |
| B．based on the Russian history |
| C．based on his selection of facts |
| D．not related to historical details |
Napoleon was angry when receiving the Russian representative because .
| A．he thought he should be the one to make the peace terms |
| B．the Tsar’s peace terms were hard to accept |
| C．the Russians stopped his military movement |
| D．he didn’t have any more army to fight with |
What did Napoleon expect the Russian representative to do?
| A．To walk out of the room in anger. |
| B．To show agreement with him. |
| C．To say something about the Tsar. |
| D．To express his admiration. |
Tolstoy intended to present Napoleon as a man who is .
| A．ill-mannered in dealing with foreign guests |
| B．fond of showing off his iron will |
| C．determined in destroying all of Europe |
| D．crazy for power and respect |
What does the last sentence of the passage imply?
| A．A writer doesn’t have to be faithful to his findings. |
| B．A writer may write about a hero in his own way. |
| C．A writer may not be responsible for what he writes. |
| D．A writer has hardly any freedom to show his feelings. |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
66. The writer of this passage must be ______.
A. an American B. a Chinese C. a professor D. a student
67. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.
B. Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.
C. Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.
D. Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.
68. From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
A. warmly welcomed at the airport B. offered a ride to his home
C. treated hospitably at his homeD. treated to dinner in a restaurant
69. The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
A. strict with time B. serious with time
C. careful with time D. willing to spend time
70. A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
A. Friendships between Chinese B. Friendships between Americans
C. Americans’ hospitalityD. Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships
You Mi, a lovely and confident 17-year-old student, is the first Chinese high school student to appear on the cover of the popular young adults’ fashion magazine Seventeen.
“You is IN,” said Wang Lihua, Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen. “She is active and mature(成熟的) because of her knowledge on everything from academic studies, to books on art, to movies. We found she’s the very style we’re looking for to represent young people’s attitudes.”
You also impressed Wang with her fluent English when they first met last year. As the hostess of an English broadcasting programme at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University, You is always praised for speaking English almost like a native speaker. “I’ve built up my English by watching thousands of English DVDs since I was 10,” she explained.
But for You, watching isn’t enough. Last year, while in Senior 1, she met a talented boy who showed self-made DV movies at the English Corner in her school.
“I thought it was so cool and I knew that I should start making my own films,” she said. So she wrote a campus(校园) story, persuaded schoolmates to star in it and then began shooting a 30-minute DV movie, all in English. “I played one of the leading roles, actually I was everything in my film. I worked on it every single day during the SARS holidays,” she recalled. The movie finally became a big hit on campus, earning You a strong reputation(名气) as a DV movie director.
But this is not the only field she wants to master. Despite being a science student, You likes art, literature and fashion design very much.
“There are people who can be artists, there are people who edit books, and there are people who become film producers. But I just hope to mix all the things up!” she said. “There is an old saying I believe: Chance favours only the prepared mind.”
1. You Mi was chosen to be a cover of Seventeen, mainly because she _____.
A. is beautiful B. she is lovely and full of confidence
C. is active and mature D. has rich knowledge
2. You Mi’s fluent English is based on _____.
A. her chance to host an English broadcasting programme B. the influence of her parents
C. her deep interest in itD. her making DV movie
3. The author mentioned a talented boy to show _____.
A. the great influence he had on You Mi
B. he was admired by his schoolmates
C. the young can do things as well as the adults do
D. self-made DV movies are popular at school
4.In the 30-minute DV movie, You Mi didn’t act as a(n) _____.
A. director B. musician C. actress D. producer
5. We can learn from the passage that _____.
A. You Mi hopes to be a mixed talent
B. the success of a 30-minute DV movie shocked You Mi
C. You Mi dreams of becoming a scientist
D. the outbreak of SARS delayed You Mi’s studies
PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION ( 30 points)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
When Christopher Columbus landed on the then unnamed Costa Rica in 1502, he saw many Indians wearing gold earrings. So he thought the land must be rich in gold. He named the place Costa Rica, which means “rich coast” in Spanish.
Though little gold was found, Costa Rica today is indeed rich with coffee and bananas. Coffee is the most important product in Costa Rica and most of it is exported (出口) to other countries like America and West Germany. Bananas are the country’s second most important export.
Costa Ricans also grow many other crops such as fruits, corn and beans for their own use. Costa Ricans love colors and their houses are painted in bright colors.
Education is very important to the Costa Ricans. Almost every village has a school and education is a must for children between seven and fourteen years of age. Boys and girls go to separate (单独的) schools. Classes begin in March and end in November. The other three months of the year are harvest time and the children have to help their parents to pick coffee beans.
56. What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?
A. How Columbus found Costa Rica. B. How Costa Rica got its name.
C. What the Costa Ricans wore.D. What language the Costa Ricans spoke.
57. The Costa Ricans may NOT paint their houses ______.
A. pink and redB. grey and black
C. blue and green D. yellow and orange
58. In Costa Rica, boys and girls between seven and fourteen ______.
A. must go to school B. study in the same school
C. do not have to go to school at allD. can choose to stop schooling at any time
59. From December to February, school children in Costa Rica ______.
A. have lessons every day B. have their examinations
C. help their parents pick coffee beansD. help their parents decorate their houses
60. This passage is mainly about ______.
A. Christopher ColumbusB. Costa Rica
C. some products from Costa Rica D. the education of Costa Rica
The gigantic dam of the multi-function water control facility would be finished nine months ahead of schedule, said an engineer who is in charge of the Three Gorges Project. He said by June, the workers would have built the half-done dam from the southern bank of the river to the height of 185 meters. The Three Gorges Project will be capable of controlling the floods on the Yangtze by then and generating more electricity. And the level of the water stored in the reservoir will rise from 135 meters at present to 156 meters.
Situated near the Xiling Gorge, the easternmost gorge of the Three Gorges on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges Dam is designed to have a length of 2,309 meters and a height of 185 meters.
It will also have the functions for flood control, power generation and navigation. It will be built from northern and southern banks of the Yangtze, which has been troubled by floods for hundreds of years.
Launched in 1993, the Three Gorges Project, including the 185-meter-high dam and 26 generators on both banks of the Yangtze, is being built in three phases. The preparations and construction of the first phase were carried out between 1993 and 1997. The Yangtze was dammed at the Three Gorges area for the first time on November 8, 1997.
The entire Three Gorges Project is expected to be completed in 2009 and by then, it will be able to generate 84.7 billion kwh of electricity every year.
63. The underlined word in the fourth paragraph might mean ____.
A. places B. periods C. gorges D. dams
64. According to the passage, we know _______.
the construction will be completed ahead of time
the biggest function of the dam is used to control flood
the Three Gorges Dam will be finished in ten years
the dam will be 156 meters tall when it is finished
65. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The Yangtze River was first dammed in the year 1993.
B. The water level in the reservoir will remain at 135 meters.
C. The Three Gorges Dam is on the easternmost part of the river.
D. The first phase of this project is finished in 1997.
Have you noticed that the majority of human beings seem to focus on the negative? Bad news is often seen in the newspapers, television shows and magazines, but good news is often overlooked.
I saw a woman I was not very familiar with. She is a beautiful woman; every time I see her, I am struck by the smile on her face that can light up a whole room. So at one time I walked up to her and said, “You know, you are like liquid sunshine! Every time I see you, you give me so much joy.” I was not quite prepared for her reaction. She was blown away. Her eyes seemed about to shed tears, and she said, “That is so sweet! That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!” It was as if nobody had ever told her how beautiful her appearance was. I was extremely moved by the moment I had shared with this woman.
Why not take notice of the positive and spread a little sunshine? When you are looking for beauty, you will begin to see it more and more. When you discover it, don’t be afraid to appreciate it. Not only will it make them feel good, it will make you feel good as well. I truly believe the saying, “What goes around, comes around.” When you show kindness and sincerity, you will receive it back. You may even discover — much to your surprise — that you become the friend of someone you would never have expected to get along with.
60. The woman had tears in her eyes because __________.
the man’s behavior was so rude
she was nervous about the man’s words
the man told her the fact she didn’t know
she was so excited at the man’s praise
61. Which of the following can take the place of “What goes around, comes around”?
A. The wise appreciate one another.
B. Respect yourself, or no one else will respect you.
C. There is kindness to be found everywhere.
D. Everybody should learn to praise others.
62. The best title for the passage probably is _____.
Spread a little sunshine
B. Everyone likes to be praised
C. Pay attention to the positive
D. Each of us has good points