C
Thirteen can be a challenging age. Not only did I have to adapt to my changing body, I also had to deal with my parents’ bitter divorce, a new family and the upsetting move from my country home to a crowded town.
When we moved, my beloved companion, a small brown pony had to be sold. I was heartbroken and terribly lonely. I couldn’t eat or sleep and cried all the time. Finally, realizing how much I missed my pony, my father bought me another horse, Cowboy.
Cowboy was without doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reasons.
I joined a riding club. When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse was judged by appearance, we were quickly ”shown the gate”. I knew nothing could turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the timed speed events. I chose the jumping race.
For the whole next month we practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home, totally exhausted.
All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. I sat at the gate and sweated all out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the court and finish in first place.
My turn finally came. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped over it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line.
No cheers filled the air. The end of our run was met with surprised silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds.
I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it. I can be the owner of my fate.Why did the author like Cowboy so much in spite of its ugliness?
| A．Because she loved horses more than anything else. |
| B．Because Cowboy was a strong and smart young horse. |
| C．Because Cowboy had a lot in common with her pony. |
| D．Because she was sad and lonely and needed a companion. |
The audience fell into silence at the end of the run probably because_________.
| A．they didn’t expect Cowboy would win the event |
| B．they were unhappy that Becky was beaten in the event |
| C．they didn’t like cowboy, for it was too ugly |
| D．they never saw a horse running as fast as Cowboy |
After the competition, the author came to realize that _______.
| A．she ought to gather the courage to solve all the problems |
| B．it was time to forget her pony and treat Cowboy better |
| C．she needed to work harder to win more blue ribbons |
| D．she could be the god of her own fate if she tried hard enough |
It can be inferred from the story that _________.
| A．all of their hard training was totally in vain |
| B．a blue ribbon must be the second highest prize |
| C．Cowboy lost in the event of being judged by appearance |
| D．both Becky and the author won in the jumping event |
I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“ None.”
“ Where did you go?”
“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“ What did you do?”
“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“ You just stood there?”
“ Didn’t sell a single one.”
“ My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
56. Why did the boy start his job young?
A. He wanted to be famous in the future. B. The job was quite easy for him.
C. His mother had high hopes for him. D. The competition for the job was fierce.
57. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.
A. excited B. interested C. ashamed D. disappointed
58. What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?
A. She forced him to continue. B. She punished him.
C. She gave him some money. D. She changed her plan.
59. What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?
A. The war between the boy’s parents.
B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.
C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.
D. The fight between the boy and his father.
60. What is the text mainly about?
A. The early life of a journalist. B. The early success of a journalist.
C. The happy childhood of the writer. D. The important role of the writer in his family.
If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner and say, “ Hey, Butterfly Man,” his face would break into a smile. The title suits him. And he loves it.
Arthur Bonner works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly(蝴蝶), once thought to have died out. Today the butterfly is coming back — thanks to him. But years ago if you’d told him this was what he’d be doing someday, he would have laughed, “ You’re crazy.” As a boy, he used to be “ a little tough guy on the streets”. At age thirteen, he was caught by police for stealing. At eighteen, he landed in prison for shooting a man..
“ I knew it had hurt my mom,” Bonner said after he got out of prison. “ So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again.”
One day he met Professor Mattoni, who was working to rebuild the habitat(栖息地) for an endangered butterfly called El Segundo blue.
“ I saw the sign ‘ Butterfly Habitat’ and asked, ‘ How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?’” Bonner recalls. “ Dr. Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass(放大镜) , ‘Look at the leaves.’ I could see all these caterpillars(蝴蝶的幼虫) on the plant. Dr Mattoni explained, ‘ Without the plant, there are no butterflies.’”
Weeks later, Bonner received a call from Dr. Mattoni, who told him there was a butterfly that needed help. That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue. Since then he’s been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back. He grows astragalus, the only plant the butterfly eats. He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs. Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat.
The butterfly’s population, once almost zero, is now up to 900. For their work, Bonner and Dr. Mattoni received lots of awards. But for Bonner, he earned something more: he turned his life around.
For six years now Bonner has kept his promise to stay out of prison. While he’s bringing back the Palos Verdes blue, the butterfly has helped bring him back, too.
41. When he was young, Arthur Bonner _______.
A. broke the law and ended up in prison B. was fond of shooting and hurt his mom
C. often laughed at people on the streets D. often caught butterflies and took them home
42. Bonner came to know the Palos Verdes blue after he _______.
A. found the butterfly had died out B. won many prizes from his professor
C. met Dr. Mattoni, a professor of biology D. collected butterflies and put them into a lab
43. From the last sentence of the text, we learn that raising butterflies has _________.
A. made Bonner famous B. changed Bonner’s life
C. brought Bonner wealth D. enriched Bonner’s knowledge
44. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. A Promise to Mom B. A Man Saved by Butterflies
C. A Story of Butterflies D. A Job Offered by Dr. Mattoni
Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.
My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later I returned to school-walking on my own!
When the Great Depression(大萧条)hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.
Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951.I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra$2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽车旅馆)for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the word-Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an in income of $ 1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situations. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.
71.What Kemmons’mom often told him during his childhood was_______.
A.caring B.moving C.encouraging D.interesting
72.According to the author, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?
A.Doctors. B.Nurses. C.Friends. D.Mom.
73.What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?
A. His terrible experience in the hotel.
B. His previous business success of various levels.
C. His mom’s support.
D. His wife’s suggestion.
74.Which of the following best describes Kemmons’mother?
A. Modest ,helpful and hard-working. B. Loving, supportive and strong-willed.
C. Careful, helpful and beautiful. D.Strict, sensitive and supportive.
75.Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?
A. Self-confidence, had work, higher education and a poor family
B. Mom’s encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work.
C. Clear goals, mom’s encouragement, a poor family and higher education.
D. Mom’s encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities.
Lying in the sun on a rock, the cougar （美洲狮） saw Jeb and his son, Tom, before they saw it. Jeb put his bag down quickly and pulled his jacket open with both hands, making himself look big to the cougar. It worked. The cougar hesitated, ready to attack Jeb, but ready to forget the whole thing, too.
Jeb let go of his jacket, grasped Tom and held him across his body, making a cross. Now the cougar’s enemy looked even bigger, and it rose up, ready to move away, but unfortunately Tom got scared and struggled free of Jeb.
“Tom, no!” shouted his father.
But Tom broke and ran and that’s the last thing you do with a cougar. The second Tom broke free, Jeb threw himself on the cougar, just as it jumped from the rock. They hit each other in mid-air and both fell. The cougar was on Jeb in a flash, forgetting about Tom, which was what Jeb wanted.
Cougars are not as big as most people think and a determined man stands a chance, even with just his fists. As the cougar’s claws（爪子）got into his left shoulder, Jeb swung his fist at its eyes and hit, hard. The animal howled（吼叫）and put its head back. Jeb followed up with his other fist. Then out of the comer of his eye, Jeb saw Tom. The boy was running back to help his father.
“Knife, Tom,” shouted Jeb.
The boy ran to his father’s bag, while Jeb started shouting as well as hitting, to keep the cougar’s attention away from Tom. Tom got the knife and ran over to Jeb. The cougar was moving its head in and out, trying to find a way through the wall Jeb was making out of his arms. Tom swung with the knife, into the cougar’s back. It howled horribly and ran off into the mountains.
The whole fight had taken about thirty seconds.
63. Why did Jeb pull his jacket open when he saw the cougar?
A. To get ready to fight. B. To frighten it away. C. To protect the boy. D. To cool down.
64. What do we know about cougars?
A. They are afraid of noises. B. They hesitate before they hit.
C. They are bigger than we think. D. They like to attack running people.
65. How did Jeb try to hold the cougar’s attention?
A. By keeping shouting and hitting. B. By making a wall out of his arms.
C. By throwing himself on the cougar. D. By swinging his fists at the cougar’s eyes.
66. Which of the following happened first?
A. The cougar jumped from the rock. B. Tom struggled free of his father.
C. Jeb asked Tom to get the knife. D. Jeb held Tom across his body.
Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver. The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman.
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can’t get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman’s kind reaction (反应) . She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland. “It’s OK. It wasn’t your fault.” When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO (总裁) with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn’t the only CEO to have made this discovery. Rather, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It’s hard to get a dozen CEO’s to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule. They say how others treat the CEO says nothing. But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul.
Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, “I could but this place and fire you,” or“I know the owner and I could have you fired.” Those who say such things have shown more about their character(人品) than about their wealth and Power.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a best-selling book called, Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management.
“A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,” Swanson says. “I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rode to someone cleaning the tables.”
49. What happened after Odland dropped the ice cream onto the woman’s dress?
A. He was fired. B. He was blamed.
C. The woman comforted him. D. The woman left the restaurant at once.
50. Odland leaned one of his life lessons from ________.
A. his experience as a waiter. B. the advice given by the CEOs
C. an article in Fortune D. an interesting best-selling book
51. According to the text, most CEOs have the same opinion about __________.
A. Fortune 500 companiesB. the Management Rules
C. Swanson’s book D. the Waiter Rule
52. From the text can learn that __________.
A. one should be nicer to important people
B. CEOs often show their power before others
C. one should respect others no matter who they are
D. CEOs often have meals in expensive restaurants