One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds dashing and dancing in the exciting atmosphere above the earth. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check.
Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the controlling string and the clumsy tail kept them in tow(牵引), facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, “Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!” They flew beautifully even as they fought the forced restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose. “Free at last,” it seemed to say. “Free to fly with the wind.”
Yet freedom from control simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic gentle wind. It flew ungracefully to the ground and landed in a twisted mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. “Free at last”. Free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to settle down lifeless against the first roadblock.
How much like kites we sometimes are. There always exist misfortunes and restrictions, rules to follow from which we can grow and gain strength. Prohibition is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Some of us pulled at the rules so hard that we never fly fast to reach the heights we might have obtained. If we keep all the commandment(戒律), we will never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.
Let us each rise to the great heights, recognizing that some of the prohibitions are actually the steady force that helps us climb and achieve.In the passage the writer watched _____.
A.many young people enjoying the sunny day |
B.many birds dashing and dancing in the sky |
C.many young people flying multicolored kites |
D.the strong winds blowing against the sky |
What enables a kite fly gracefully in the sky according to the story?
A.The kite itself and strange shapes. |
B.A long string and blowing wind. |
C.A windy spring day and blue sky. |
D.The size of the kite and a long string. |
What didn’t happen to the freed kite?
A.It kept flying freely in the air. |
B.It lay powerless in the dirt. |
C.It was trapped in a dead bush. |
D.It was blown helplessly around. |
What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A.To give up tips on how to fly kites effectively. |
B.To warn us that freedom is actually powerless. |
C.To explain that restrictions are really unnecessary. |
D.To teach us a lesson that rules are important in life. |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Fly with Restrictions |
B.Where to Fly |
C.Why to Fly Kites |
D.Fly to Freedom |
C
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 are 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.
65. The woman had tears in her eyes because __________.
A. the man’s behavior was so rude
B. she was nervous about the man’s words
C. the man told her the fact she didn’t know
D. she was so excited at the man’s praise
66. Which of the following can take the place of the underlined sentence in the third paragraph?
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.
67. The best title for the passage probably is _____.
A. Pay attention to the positive B. Everyone likes to be praised
C. Spread a little sunshine D. Each of us has good points
B
YOU CAN HELP!
Everyone was born with his own built-in burglar(窃贼) alarm. It’s called the sense of sight and sound.Unfortunately, many of us go around with the alarm switched off.
We don’t see the stranger wandering outside the house next door.
We don’t notice the sounds from the flat upstairs.
(Weren’t they supposed to be on holiday?)
The police can only do so much to prevent crime. There never can be enough of them to guard every home in every town. So they need your help in fighting with the burglars,the vandals(恣意破坏者), and the car thieves.
Not, of course, by setting out to have a go every time you see something suspicious. It’ll always be the job of the police to arrest criminals.
But by acting as a line of communication between them and your community, for instance, you probably know far more about your immediate neighborhoods than the police ever could.
A stranger in someone’s garden would probably be far more obvious to you than it would to even the local police, if, of course, you were on the look-out.
That’s the whole idea behind the Neighborhood Watch schemes, springing up around the country to create a spirit of watchfulness within a community, anything suspicious being reported to the police.
It’s early days yet, but results so far are very encouraging. The crime figures are already dropping in many of the areas running the scheme. And all due to people like you.
61. The underlined word “them” refers to “______”.
A. criminals B. the police C. neighbors D. strangers
62. The advertisement points out that many people______.
A. are not ready to help the police
B. are not as watchful as they could be
C. don’t look after their gardens well
D. don’t tell their neighbors about their holidays
63. One of the ways we could help prevent crime is to______.
A. turn on the alarm system in our home
B. try to stop criminals from escaping
C. look out for people behaving suspiciously
D. inform the police if we hear noises upstairs
64. The purpose of the advertisement is to __________in their neighborhood.
A. ask people to join the police force
B. advise people how to protect their homes
C. warn people about the increasing risk of crime
D. encourage people to be on watch for possible crime
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A,B,C和D)中,选出最佳选项。 A
Jersey City, New Jersey, Nov.10
An underworld leader Gelato and three bodyguards were gunned down Thursday by unknown attackers after a short gun battle.
Gelato and two of the bodyguards died immediately, the police said, while the third body-guard remains in serious condition at Margaret Haig Hospital.
The only eyewitness(目击者) told the police the three or four gunmen were dressed in overalls and hard hats like building workers. One pulled a light machine gun out of a bag and sprayed the four with bullets, the witness said. The other gunmen fired handguns.
Three of the men fell immediately, but one of the bodyguards managed to pull his handgun and returned the fire before being shot himself, the witness said.
The gunmen then jumped into a black car and drove off. Police said the car was later found in Stegmen Street.
Police sources said the 48-year-old Gelato was the leader of a new crime syndicate (犯罪团伙), challenging the city gangsters(暴徒) for control of the city. The city gangsters decided to get rid of him. Killers were brought in from outside the state to do the job.
Police are now waiting to question the surviving bodyguard when he came back to life.
Gelato had a long police record with his first arrest when he was 14 years old. He served a total of 17 years in prison for different crimes, from illegal possession of guns to armed robbery.
56. The murder took place in ____.
A. the United States B. Canada C. Australia D. England
57. Altogether, ____ were killed in the gun battle.
A. three people, Gelato and two gunmen
B. three people, Gelato and his two bodyguards.
C. four people, Gelato and three gunmen
D. four people, Gelato and his three bodyguards
58. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Nobody knew exactly how many people took part in the murder.
B. Many people saw the gun battle when it began
C. The gun battle lasted for quite a long time
D. The bodyguards didn’t have any reaction before they were shot down.
59. The reason why they killed Gelato was that ____.
A. he served so many years in prison for different crimes
B. he would be arrested again by the police
C. he had killed some of the city gangsters
D. he wanted to control the city against the city gangsters
60. Why didn’t they take the job of murder themselves, but brought killers from other states?
A. They were afraid of Gelato and his men.
B. They didn’t have the proper opportunity.
C. They didn’t want themselves to get into trouble.
D. They never killed any men themselves.
D
One day my teacher said, “ Life is a game of chess, and the other player is time.” From that moment, I knew I had to enjoy my life.Do not waste time, because, you know, time will not come back.You cannot buy it.It is one of those things in life that you must really, really value.
When you see an opportunity, take it.You might not get it back.Never let an opportunity pass.And if it is too hard, remember that in the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity.
Remember, you cannot choose how you' re going to die, or when.You can only decide how you' re going to live.Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow.Don' t just think of the present, but also think of your future.Your future is yet another chapter in your life and another way to live it.
Every single living thing has a purpose in life."The purpose of life is a life of purpose," said Robert Byme.
Learn to use time wisely, take opportunities, and enjoy life.We can discover the meaning of life in three different ways: (1) by doing a deed; (2) by experiencing a value;(3) by suffering.Life.
58.The underlined part suggests that___________.
A.if life is a game of chess, time is also a game of chess
B.if life is a game of chess, both you and time are the players
C.if life is one player in a game of chess, time is the other player
D.if time is a game of chess, both life and you are the players
59.According to the author, what can you decide?
A.How you die. B.When you die.
C.How you live. D.When you succeed.
60.This article is most probably from__________.
A.an explanation of time in the universe
B.an essay about time and life
C.an argument that time is the most important thing in life
D.a description of an important class
C
Perhaps you have never heard of Katherine Lawes.Katherine was the wife of Lewis Lawes, warden (监狱长) at Sing Sing Prison from 1920 to 1941.In these 21 years he made many reforms --- and an important part of his success was due to his wife Katherine.
Katherine took seriously the idea that the prisoners are human beings ,worthy of attention and respect .She regularly visited inside the walls of Sing Sing.She encouraged the prisoners, took things to them and spent time listening to them.Most importantly, she cared about them.And as a result, they cared deeply about her.
Then one night in October of 1937, news was "telegraphed" between the prison cells that Katherine had been killed in an accident.The prisoners asked the warden to allow them to attend her funeral.He agreed to their strange request and a few days later the south gate of Sing Sing swung slowly open.Hundreds of men who had committed almost every crime imaginable marched slowly out of the prison, later gathered again at the gate and returned to their cells.There were so many that they proceeded unguarded.But no one tried to escape.If he had, the others might have killed him immediately.So devoted were they to Katherine Lawes, the woman who daily walked into Hell to show the men a piece of Heaven.
Katherine' s strength was to see the men less as prisoners and more as individuals.Thomas Moore once said, "We can only treat badly those things or people whose souls we show no respect for."
54.When Katherine's husband was the warden at Sing Sing Prison, she did the following things EXCEPT_______________.
A.encouraging the prisoners B.visiting the prison houses
C.doing some writing for the prisoner D.spending time in listening to the prisoners
55.Why did the prisoners ask the warden to allow them to attend Katherine’s funeral?
A.Because Katherine didn't look down upon them and cared about them.
B.Because Katherine was the wife of the warden.
C.Because Katherine made reforms in the prison.
D.Because Katherine had been killed by one of them.
56.Whom does the underlined part “the others” refer to?
A.The policemen at the funeral. B.The other prisoners.
C.The guards. D.The policemen from other prisons.
57.The best title of this passage is_________.
A.Katherine Lawes' s Life B.Reforms at Sing Sing Prison
C.To Honor Their Souls D.To Meet Their Requirement