Many years ago，a French naturalist，Comte de Buffon，wrote some books about natural history．The books were a great success even though some critics（批评家）did not like them．
Thomas Jefferson did not like what Comte de Buffon had said about the natural wonders（奇观）of the New World．It seemed to Jefferson that Comte de Buffon had spoken of natural wonders in America as if（好像）they were unimportant．
This troubled Thomas Jefferson．He was also a naturalist，as well as a farmer，an inventor，a historian，a writer and a politician（政治家）．He had seen the natural wonders of Europe．To him，they were no more important than those of the New World．
In 1788，Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state，Virginia．While writing，he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of Comte de Buffon．At that moment，Jefferson created a new word﹣belittle．He said，"Comte de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic（大西洋）．"
Noah Webster，the American word expert，liked this word．He put it in the English language dictionary in 1806，"Belittle﹣to make small，unimportant．"
Americans had already accepted Jefferson's word and started to use it．In 1797，the Independent Chronicle（独立纪事报）used the word to describe a politician the paper supported．"It is an honorable man，"the paper wrote，"so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please．"
In 1872，a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word．He said，"Belittle shouldn't become English．And more critical writers of America，like those of Britain，feel no need of it．"
This expert failed to kill the word．Today，belittle is used where the English language is spoken．
53．Thomas Jefferson was NOT a ．
A．naturalist B．historian C．politician D．musician
54．We can infer（推断）that Jefferson created the word"belittle"out of his ．
A．anger B．excitement C．kindness D．responsibility
55．What can we know about the word"belittle"from the passage？
A．It has already disappeared from the English language．
B．It had been used before it was put in the English language dictionary．
C．It is used to describe natural wonders now．
D．An American politician decided to kill this word in 1872．
56．What's the passage mainly about？
A．How the word"belittle"came into being．
B．The argument about natural wonders．
C．Every word has a long history behind．
D．Noah Webster supported Jefferson's idea．
It was very late at night when Sam got off the train . He was tired and wanted to find a hotel to have a rest. He looked around and saw a hotel not far away. There were three floors in it. Then Sam went in.
“How much do I need to pay for a single(单人的) room a night?” Sam asked.
“Well , sir,”said the girl, “a single room on the first floor is fifty dollars a night.”
“What about the one on the second floor?” asked Sam.
“Forty dollars.”
“Then how about the one on the third floor?”
“Thirty dollars.”
Sam picked up his suitcase(手提箱) and wanted to go out.
“Don’t you think our price is reasonable?” The girl said.
“Yes,” said Sam. “Your price is of course reasonable, but I’m sure your hotel is not high enough.”Sam wanted to find a hotel after_______.
| A．working a whole day | B．getting off the train |
| C．getting out of his car | D．walking a whole day |
How many floors were there in the hotel?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
Sam needed to pay_____for a single room on the second floor.
| A．$50 | B．$40 | C．$30 | D．$20 |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “reasonable”?
| A．理智的 | B．昂贵的 | C．奇怪的 | D．合理的 |
Why didn’t Sam stay in the hotel?
| A．Because the hotel was full(满的) |
| B．Because the hotel wasn’t clean. |
| C．Because the hotel wasn’t nice enough. |
| D．Because Sam thought the price was high. |
| Driver Wanted 1)Cleaning driver licence 2)Must be of smart appearance 3)Aged over 25 Apply to Capes Taxi ,17 Palace Road, Roston |
| Air Hostess for International Flights Wanted Applicants must be between 20 and 33 years old Height:1.6m to 1.75m Education to GGSE Standard Two languages ,must be able to swim Apply to Recruitment Office , Southern Airlines, Heathrow Airport West HR37KK |
| Teacher Needed For private language school teaching, experience unnecessary Apply to The Director of studies ,Instant Languages Ltd,279 Canal Street, Roston |
You’re 26 years old and want to be a teacher, you should apply to .
| A．Capes Taxi ,17 Palace Road, Roston |
| B．Recruitment Office , Southern Airlines, Heathrow Airport West HR37KK |
| C．The Director of studies ,Instant Languages Ltd,279 Canal Street, Roston |
| D．A private language school |
What stops Jack, an experienced taxi driver, working for Capes Taxi
| A．Fond of beer and wine |
| B．Punished（惩罚）for driving too fast and wrong parking |
| C．Unable to speak a foreign language |
| D．Not having college education |
Ben,aged 22,fond of swimming and driving, has just finished college. Which job might be given to him?
| A．driving for Capes Taxi |
| B．working for Southern Airlines |
| C．teaching at Instant Languages Ltd |
| D．working for Northern Airlines |
What prevents（阻止）Mary , aged 25, from becoming an air hostess.
| A．She once broke a traffic law and was fined |
| B．She can’t speak Japanese very well |
| C．She has never worked as an air hostess before |
| D．She doesn’t feel like working long hours flying abroad |
Which of the following is NOT talked about in these three ads?
| A．Whether she or he is married |
| B．Whether they are men or women |
| C．Their education |
| D．The ages |
A young man worked very hard at his lessons. He was too busy to have a rest. At last, he became ill, so he couldn’t go to sleep. Every night, when he went to bed, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. But he always stayed awake and couldn’t fall asleep.
After some days, he decided to see a doctor.“I just can’t go to sleep at night. What should I do? Could you please help me?”
“I have a suggestion(建议)，”said the doctor. “Try counting numbers. By the time you reach one thousand, you’ll be asleep. I’m sure of it.”
The next day the man returned to the doctor’s office. “Well,” said the doctor, how are you today? Did you try my suggestion?”
The man still looked tired. “Yes,” he said, “I tried counting one , two, three—up to one thousand. But when I reached five hundred and sixty-nine, I began to feel sleepy. I had to get up and drink some tea so that I could go on counting up to one thousand. But then I still couldn’t fall asleep.”The young man couldn’t go to sleep because。
| A．he was worried about his homework |
| B．he worked too hard and became ill |
| C．he didn’t finish doing his lessons |
| D．there was a lot of noise there and he couldn’t have a rest |
The doctor asked the young man.
| A．to put all numbers from I to 1000 together |
| B．to take some medicine and go to bed earlier |
| C．to count numbers while he was lying in bed |
| D．to count numbers before he went to bed |
The young man returned to the doctor’s office the next day because .
| A．he wanted to ask the doctor how to count the numbers |
| B．he wanted to thank the doctor |
| C．he was better and wanted some more medicine |
| D．he still couldn’t go to sleep at night |
The young man.
| A．counted from 569 to 1000 |
| B．counted from 1 to 1000 and fell asleep |
| C．counted from 1 to 569 and got up to drink some tea |
| D．counted from 1 to 569 and fell asleep |
The young manin fact.
| A．didn’t understand the doctor’s suggestion |
| B．wasn’t ill at all |
| C．was not able to count numbers |
| D．didn’t try the doctor’s suggestion |
Each country has many kind people who volunteer to take care of others. For example, some high school and university students in the US often spend many hours as volunteers in hospital or old people’s homes. They read books for the people or they just visit them and play games with them or listen to their problems.
Other young volunteers go and work in the homes of the sick people. They clean up their houses or do the shopping. For boys who don’t have fathers there is an organization called “Big Brothers”. University students and other people take these boys to play baseball games and help them get to know things that boys usually learn from their fathers.
Each city has a lot of clubs where boys and girls can go to play games or take part in other activities. Some of these clubs show movies or have short trips to the mountains, the beaches or the museums. Most of these clubs use a lot of high school and university students as volunteers because they can understand the problems of these boys and girls more easily.
Volunteers believe that some of the happiest people in the world are those who help to bring happiness to others.Which place is not mentioned about volunteering in the US ?
| A．Sick people’s homes. | B．Hospital. |
| C．Old people’s homes. | D．Zoos. |
What is “Big Brothers” ?
| A．It’s a name of a club. |
| B．It’s the name of famous movie. |
| C．It’s the home for children who have no brothers. |
| D．It’s an organization for boys who don’t have fathers. |
Why do most of the clubs use a lot of high school and university students as volunteers?
| A．Because they can understand the problem children. |
| B．Because they are young enough to get on well with the child. |
| C．Because they know the things the young children usually learn from their fathers. |
| D．Because they have more free time. |
What do volunteers believe ?
| A．The happiest people in the world are those who join some clubs. |
| B．Bringing happiness to others make them the happiest people in the world. |
| C．The happiest people in the world are those who make themselves happy. |
| D．The happiest people in the world are those who are young and healthy. |
When I was seven years old, my family made me an ant farm. First , we put clean sand in a thin glass box. Then we waited for the ants to arrive.
After the ants were in the glass farm, they started to make tunnels(隧道). I was amazed that each one knew exactly what to do. Each had its own job.
On the fifth day a tragedy happened. I put my face so close to the glass farm that I knocked it over.
All the tunnels fell down. Although the ants remained alive after their earthquake, one by one they began to die. I was scared as I watched them give up building their tunnels to carry the bodies to a corner of the farm .
My mother said that the ants were dying of sadness . They simply could not stand that their tunnels were gone.
Although much time has passed , I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world , but it taught me much more.
Over the years, I came to realize the importance of teamwork . Working together , the ants were able to make an amazing world for themselves . I also learned that they should be admired for their hard word.
But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: adversity is a natural part of life , and must be accepted . Unlike the ants ,we cannot give up when we are sad . We have to realize that if a tunnel is gone , we must building another .
Giving up , I say , is not a good choice.The writer’s family made him an ant farm when he was___.
| A．seven years old | B．seventeen years old. |
| C．seventy years old | D．six years old |
Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The writer broke the glass box because it made his face dirty. |
| B．The ants died one by one because the tunnels were destroyed. |
| C．Unlike people , teamwork is not so important for the ants. |
| D．Giving up is a good way when we meet trouble. |
The underlined word “teamwork” in the passage means_______.
A小组工作 B团队合作 C辛勤劳作 D不停工作What did the writer come to realize a few years later?
| A．Working together is useless. | B．Teamwork is important. |
| C．He can’t accept adversity. | D．Working alone is amazing. |