Outside her shabby cottage，old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line，unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.
They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps.But，much to their disappointment，she did not mount the broomstick and take flight.Suddenly，the old lady's work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen－a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.
The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty，a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back.With only three legs，it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady.The cat provided proof－ the children were sure that only a witch would own a black cat with three legs.
There，standing on a wooden box，was Mrs.Tailor，stretching out to gather her precious egg.Taking the egg in one of her hands，she began to climb down when，without warning，the box broke and the old lady fell.
“We have to go and help her，”whispered Amy.
“What if it is a trick？” replied Ben.
“Don't be silly，Ben.If she were a witch，she would have turned us into frogs already，” reasoned Meg.“Come on Amy，let's go.”The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.
Approaching carefully，they could see a wound on the old lady's face.She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken.“Go and get Dad，” Amy yelled to her brother.“Tell him about the accident.”
The boys did not need another excuse to leave.They ran as fast as they could for help，hoping that Mrs.Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.Why were the children hiding in the tree?
| A．They wanted to watch Mrs.Tailor do her housework closely. |
| B．They were playing a hideandseek game. |
| C．They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs.Tailor were true. |
| D．They were pretending to be spies. |
Mrs.Tailor stopped sweeping when________.
| A．her front steps were clean |
| B．she noticed the children in the tree |
| C．she was ready to take a flight |
| D．she heard the hen cackling |
Ben did not rush to help Mrs.Tailor because________.
| A．he thought that she could be tricking them |
| B．he knew that they should not have been in the tree |
| C．he did not see the old lady fall down |
| D．he was afraid of the threelegged cat |
Which of these old sayings best suits the story's lesson for us?
| A．Make hay while the sun shines. |
| B．Never judge a book by its cover. |
| C．People in glasshouses should not throw stones. |
| D．A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. |
When you buy a T-shirt, or a fur coat in a store , it often carries a label(标签) telling who made it or from what store it was bought. Indeed, some labels show the dress is famous and it is very expensive, so buyers who deal with the cheapest products would be pleased to do away with labels entirely.
However, there is another label more important than the one showing from which store the dress was bought. When a person buys a fur coat, or a jacket , from a store , a label telling what the product is made of should be carried to it.
This label is required by law. Besides telling what the product on show is made of , the label should be in clear English and be where one can find it easily. The information on the label must be the truth.
The reason for this label is that most buyers today aren’t expert enough to know exactly what kind of fur or material they are buying. The buyer must believe in the store that sells the products or in what the labels say.The author doesn’t agree that_______.
| A．some clothes may carry more than one label |
| B．some clothing stores sell cheap dresses |
| C．shops can sell products with or without labels |
| D．buyers will believe what the label says |
This article mainly refers to__________.
| A．making furs and clothes | B．protecting buyers with law |
| C．keeping the buyers informed | D．businessmen and sellers |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Not all buyers know the materials they are buying. |
| B．A fur coat with a high price often carries a false label. |
| C．A label only says what material the product is made of . |
| D．A T-shirt seldom carries a label. |
In many homes, divorce is caused by the “battle between the sexes.” To understand the problem, one must remember that the modern American woman is freed. During childhood and adolescence(青少年期), the American girl is given freedom and education which is equal to a boy's. After completing school, she is able to get a job and support herself. She doesn't have to marry for financial security. She considers herself an independent, self-sufficient person. She wants a husband whom she can respect, but she doesn't want to be dominated(控制) by him. She wants a democratic household in which she has a voice in making decisions. When a husband and wife are able to share decisionmaking, their marriage is probably closer, stronger, and more satisfying. Otherwise, the couple is likely to wind up in the divorce court.
When a couple gets divorced, the court usually requires the man to pay his former wife a monthly sum of money. If the couple has children, they usually remain with the mother, and the father is expected to pay for their support.
Although divorce is quite common in the United States, 80 percent of those who get divorced remarry. The remarriages allow thousands of people, especially children, to enjoy family life again, but at the same time many troubles have arisen. A well-known American joke tells of a wife calling to her second husband, “Quick, John! Come here and help me! Your children are beating up our chidlren!”What causes most of the divorce cases in the U.S.A.?
A.Financial trouble in the family.
B.Women's liberation movement.
C.Different attitudes towards children's education.
D.Lack of democratic atmosphere in the household.What do you know of modern American women, according to the passage?
| A．They are overbearing and hardworking. |
| B．They are more independent than ever. |
| C．They do not have much say in the household. |
| D．They respect their husbands, but do not rely on them. |
What kind of marriage can be successful?
| A．Both the man and woman are financially secure. |
| B．Husband and wife share housework. |
| C．Both the man and woman are well-educated. |
| D．Decisions are made by the man and woman together. |
What happens when a couple is divorced, according to the passage?
| A．The children become homeless. |
| B．The man is still responsible for the welfare of his children. |
| C．Life becomes difficult for the woman and her children. |
| D．The man, rather than the woman, remarries soon. |
There is a story of a country where the rate of inflation(通货膨胀) is so high that clever people pay for a taxi ride before, instead of after the trip. The story may not be true, but inflation was almost that serious in Germany from July 1920 until December 1923. Prices went up so fast that by the end of 1923 they were 50 billion percent higher-arise of almost 2,500% a month.
There was so much paper money, and it had so little value, that people carried bags full of money around to pay for things. One woman tells the story of standing outside a shop with a basket full of 500,000 marks(马克) notes. She wanted to buy just one piece of meat, and she hoped she had enough money. But when she was looking, a thief robbed her. He didn't take her money, he threw it away and took the basket instead.
At first workers demanded to be paid every day, but as the situation became worse, they had to be paid twice a day. But they had to run out and spend the money at once, or it would lose its value. People bought anything that was for sale, but food was almost impossible to find. Farm workers refused to take money. They wanted to be paid in potatoes instead.
New policies ended the inflation in 1923, when the government introduced a new money, but about half of the German people lost everything in those three and a half years.According to the text, in Germany the prices in 1920 were ______.
| A．the lowest in history | B．the highest in history |
| C．higher than those in 1923 | D．lower than those in 1923 |
The thief stole the basket instead of the money in it because he thought ______.
| A．the basket was what he needed most |
| B．the money was of no value |
| C．the basket was more valuable than the money |
| D．he couldn't buy a piece of meat with the money |
The farm workers demanded to be paid in potatoes because they believed ______.
| A．the potato was valuable | B．the money might lose its value |
| C．the potato was too expensive | D．the money could not buy potatoes |
Computer people talk a lot about the need for other people to become “computer-literate”. But not all experts agree that this is a good idea.
One pioneer, in particular, who disagrees is David Tebbutt, the founder of Computertown UK. Although many people see this as a successful attempt to bring people closer to the computer, David does not see it that way. He says that Computertown UK was formed for just the opposite reason, to bring computers to people and make them “people-literate”.
David Tebbutt thinks Computertowns are most successful when tied to a computer club but he insists there is an important difference between the two. The clubs are for people who have some computer knowledge already. This frightens away non-experts, who are happier going to Computertowns where there are computers for them to experiment on, with experts to encourage them and answer any questions they have. They are not told what to do. They find out. The computer experts have to learn not to tell people about computers, but have to be able to answer all questions people ask. People don't have to learn computer terms(术语), but the experts have to explain in plain language. The computers are becoming “people-literate”.Which of the following is David Tebbutt's idea on the relationship between people and
computers?
| A．Computer learning should be made easier. |
| B．There should be more computer clubs for experts. |
| C．People should work harder to master computer use. |
| D．Computers should be made cheaper so that people can afford them. |
We can infer from the text that “computer-literate” means ______.
| A．being able to afford a computer |
| B．being able to write computer programs |
| C．working with the computer and finding out the value |
| D．understanding the computer and knowing how to use it |
The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to the idea that Computertowns ___.
| A．help to set up more computer clubs | B．bring people to learn to use computers |
| C．bring more experts to work together | D．help to sell computers to the public |
David Tebbutt started Computertown UK with the purpose of ______.
| A．making better use of computer experts | B．improving computer programs |
| C．increasing computer sales | D．popularising computers |
Watercolor is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the walls of caves by mixing the natural colors found in the earth with water.
Fresco(壁画), one of the greatest of all art forms, is done with watercolor. It is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster(灰泥). Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelo's heroic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, very few know that they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolor painting in the world.
The invention of oil painting by the Flemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go down-hill, and for the next several centuries watercolor was used mainly for doing sketches(素描) or as a tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolor as a serious art form. The English have a widely-known love for the outdoors and also small, private pictures. The softness of watercolor had a remarkably strong attraction for them.
The popularity of watercolor continued to grow until in the twentieth century. The United States passed England as the center for watercolor, producing such well-known watercolor artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The gradual weakness of fresco painting. |
| B．Oils having more power or influence over watercolor. |
| C．The rediscovery of watercolor in England. |
| D．The start and development of watercolor. |
The first watercolor artists were ______.
| A．early cave men | B．Italian fresco artists |
| C．Flemish masters | D．English artists of the 18th century |
In 16th and 17th centuries the artists thought ______.
| A．watercolor was more costly, but was better |
| B．oil painting lasted less long, but clearer and brighter |
| C．watercolor was not suitable for finished works |
| D．oil painting was difficult to use |
According to the passage, watercolor painting was put back in England because ______.
A.it was easy to use outdoors B.it was a strong medium
B.it was extremely bright in color D.it was well suited to popular tastesWhat would the next paragraph most probably deal with?
| A．The works of famous American watercolor artists. |
| B．The weakness of oils as popular paints. |
| C．Techniques of producing watercolor. |
| D．Modern American oil painters. |