How can a small stamp be worth ＄16,800?
Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors. A mistake on a two-penny stamp has made it worth a million and a half times its face value.
Do you think it impossible? Well, it is true. And this is how it happened.
The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the former British colony (前英国殖民地) of M auritius (毛里求斯岛), a small island in the Indian Ocean. In 1847 an order for stamps was sent to London. Mauritius was about to become the fourth country in the world to put out stamps.
Before the order was filled and the stamps arrived from England, a big dance was planned by the commander-in-chief (总司令) of all the armed forces on the island. The dance would be held in his house and letters of invitation would be sent to all the important people in Mauritius. Stamps were badly needed to post the letters. Therefore, an islander, who was a good printer, was told to copy the pattern of the stamps. He carelessly put the words “Post Office” instead of “Post Paid”, two words seen on stamps at that time, on the several hundred that he printed.
Today, there are only twenty-six of these misprinted stamps left--- fourteen One-penny Reds and twelve Two-penny Blues. Because there are so few Two-Penny Blues and because of their age, collectors have paid as much as ＄16,800 for one of them.
小题1:When a mistake is made in the printing of the stamp, the stamp___________.| A．will be thrown away | | B．increases in value | | C．is not worth buying | | D．is worth no more than its face value |
小题2:Why did Mauritius print some stamps too? Because__________.| A．London stamps were not well printed | | B．London would not print them | | C．invitations to a big dance had to be posted quickly | | D．Mauritius had a very good printer |
小题3:“Post Paid” means___________.| A．the same as “Post Office” | | B．the Post Office is the place to buy stamps | | C．money has been paid for the stamp | | D．the letter must be posted |
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小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:C |
试题分析：这篇短文主要介绍了邮票印刷上的错误导致两便士的邮票在一百多年后会卖到16800美元。价格是当时面值的一百万零一倍。
小题1:细节理解题。根据短文第二段Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors.在邮票印刷上的任何错误对邮票收藏家来说都会提高邮票价值。故选B。
小题2:细节理解题。根据第五段The dance would be held in his house and letters of invitation would be sent to all the important people in Mauritius. Stamps were badly needed to post the letters.描述，可知邀请函要被寄到岛上的重要人物手中，所以邮寄信的邮票被急需。故选C
小题3:词义猜测题。根据上下文可知是邮资已付。故选C。 |
核心考点
试题【How can a small stamp be worth ＄16,800? Any mistake made in the printing of a st】；主要考察你对
人物故事类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
Billy is a boy of fifteen. His parents died three years ago. One day when he was walking in the street, he a wallet. He returned it to the owner, Mr. Baker. He gave his to the boy. As the boy had no job, Mr. Baker made him work for him in his . Billy worked so hard that Mr. and Mrs. Baker were with him.
Mr. Baker loved planting . The week before last, he brought a few trees home, planted them in the himself and watered them every day. Several days , he had to leave for another city. Before he started, he said to Billy, “Take good care of these trees. Some boys near our house always want to steal them.” “Don’t about them, sir.” answered Billy, “I"ll try my best to watch them.” Six days passed and Mr. Baker came back. He asked, “ anyone ever come to steal the trees?” “No, sir.” said Billy. “To stop someone from stealing the trees, I them up six days ago. I have hidden them for almost a week!”
| 小题1: | | A．bought | B．found | C．carried | D．wanted |
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| 小题2: | | A．wallet | B．pity | C．thanks | D．excuses |
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| 小题3: | | A．office | B．city | C．town | D．home |
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| 小题4: | | A．pleased | B．angry | C．bored | D．sad |
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| 小题5: | | A．grass | B．flowers | C．vegetables | D．trees |
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| 小题6: | | A．garden | B．office | C．city | D．room |
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| 小题7: | | A．ago | B．later | C．before | D．after |
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| 小题8: | | A．think | B．talk | C．learn | D．worry |
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| 小题10: | | A．sent | B．pulled | C．put | D．pick |
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Mr. White is a member of his office. He’s and can easily deal with all kinds of matters. So he’s always more than his workmates. Of course he’s often and has no time to do the housework. His wife him well and does all at home.
! Their daughter was hurt in a traffic accident last month and had to be . Now Mrs. White has to look after her there she can’t go home. Mr. White often eats something in the restaurant. As he did some cleaning, the rooms were all disorderly(凌乱不堪的).
Yesterday morning, before Mr. White got up, the telephone . He sat up to answer it. His friend told him to an important telephone number down. But he could find a piece of paper. He found there was much dust(灰尘) on the table and wrote the number on it. But soon he it and went to work. Two hours later came back and looked for a sweater for her daughter. Her husband came in while she was the table. He couldn’t the number on the table and called out angrily, “Who let you clean the table?”
| 小题1: | | A．important | B．strong | C．good | D．able |
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| 小题2: | | A．helped | B．thought | C．paid | D．asked |
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| 小题3: | | A．busy | B．quiet | C．lazy | D．happy |
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| 小题4: | | A．sees | B．knows | C．misses | D．takes care of |
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| 小题5: | | A．Well | B．Once | C．What’s more | D．Bad luck |
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| 小题6: | | A．in hospital | B．outside | C．in bed | D．in time |
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| 小题8: | | A．not | B．never | C．almost | D．often |
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| 小题9: | | A．shouted | B．spoke | C．rang | D．called |
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| 小题10: | | A．write | B．remember | C．understand | D．use |
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| 小题11: | | A．either a pen or | B．neither a pen nor | C．both a pen and | D．not only a pen but |
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| 小题12: | | A．forgot | B．read | C．took | D．threw |
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| 小题13: | | A．he | B．his friend | C．his wife | D．his daughter |
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| 小题14: | | A．brushing | B．walking in | C．leaving | D．cleaning |
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| 小题15: | | A．find | B．listen to | C．look at | D．write |
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What’s the meaning of “dark horse”? It’s someone who wins when no one expects it.
Han Xiaopeng took China’s first gold on snow. He became an Olympic “dark horse” last Thursday by winning the gold medal in men’s freestyle aerial skiing(自由式滑雪空中技巧) at Turin in Italy. He made two almost perfect jumps for the highest score. Han had never won a world gold medal before, let alone(更不用说) in the Olympics!
“I never thought this would happen,” said the 23-year-old. “I feel like I’m in a dream.” It’s China’s second gold medal at the Turin Olympics. But more important, Han’s gold was the country’s first ever in a snow sport. In 2002, China’s Yang Yang won the gold for speed skating at the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, US.
Just because Han’s win was unexpected doesn’t mean that he didn’t work hard.
Han grew up in Jiangsu Province. Before he started his training on snow, he used to be an acrobat(杂技演员) at a circus. In 1995, a coach found his talent(才能). The coach, Yang Er’qi, said Han had the agility(灵活性) and courage to be a ski jumper. When Yang first took the 12-year-old to northern China, the boy couldn’t swim, skate or ski. But he wasn’t afraid of the high platform(跳台) and kept on training.
Han almost left the sport after hurting his knee months before the Salt Lake Games. In that Olympics he only got 24th. “I was hopeless at that time, but my family and the coach stood firmly(坚强地) behind me, helping me through,” he recalled.
Han Xiaopeng worked so hard that he won the gold medal in the Olympics at last. Because of his success, more and more people in China are becoming interested in skiing. We are proud of him and we hope he will have another big success in the next winter Olympics.
小题1:What does ‘dark horse’ mean? It means _____________.| A．a horse which is dark | | B．someone who is expected to win | | C．a horse which likes living in the dark | | D．someone whose win is unexpected |
小题2:Where did Han Xiaopeng take China’s first gold on snow?| A．In China . | B．In Italy. | C．In America. | D．In Australia. |
小题3:What made the coach, Yang Er’qi, choose Han Xiaopeng to be a ski jumper?| A．He had the agility and wasn’t afraid of the high platform. | | B．He was good at skiing though he was only 12 years old. | | C．He was born in the north of China and liked sports on snow. | | D．He had the talent and he had won a world gold medal before. |
小题4:Which of the following sentences is NOT TRUE according to the passage?| A．He was 23 when he won the gold medal at the winter Olympics. | | B．He made two almost perfect jumps and got the highest score. | | C．No one had won the gold before Han Xiaopeng at the winter Olympics. | | D．He never gave up even though he had faced many difficulties. |
小题5:What is the best title for this passage?| A．A Dark Horse at the Winter Olympics | | B．A Wonderful Match | | C．A Hopeless Snow Game | | D．An Exciting Horse Race |
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Writing a good story is not an easy task. What’s the secret? Mo Yan, last year’s Nobel Prize winner in literature, believes his success comes from a large amount of reading.
Mo was born into a farming family in a village in Shandong province. He grew up listening to folk stories about gods, spirits and foxes. Those stories later became the inspiration(灵感) for Mo’s writing.
Mo left school at the age of 12 and started to work in the fields.
Although he was tired after his daily hard work, Mo was always hungry for books. However, there were very few in the village. He read his older brother’s textbooks and even dictionaries. He helped others with farm work in exchange for books.
“When I finished reading all the books around, I thought I was the most knowledgeable man in the world,” he told Xinhua.
After Mo left his hometown and joined the army in 1976, he began to read widely, including works by Lu Xun and many other famous writers. He studied from these writers but did not copy them. Instead, he developed his own style. As the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in literature, Mo told a group of reporters in his hometown shortly after he won the award. “I grew up in an environment filled with folk culture. It enters my novels whenever I pick up a pen. This has affected, even decided, my style.”
小题1:Mo Yan is from . | A．Shandong | B．Shanxi | C．Jiangsu | D．Guangdong |
小题2:Mo Yan developed his own style .| A．while listening to folk stories about gods, spirits and foxes. | | B．during his daily hard work in the fields. | | C．after he studied from many famous writers | | D．when he won the Nobel Prize in literature |
小题3:Which of the following is wrong?| A．Mo Yan left school when he was very young. | | B．Mo Yan read many books when he was very young. | | C．Mo Yan was the most knowledgeable man in the world. | | D．Mo Yan is the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in literature. |
小题4:What can we learn from Mo Yan’s success? | A．Easier said than done. | B．Rome was not built in a day. | | C．Well begun, half done. | D．The older, the wiser. |
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It"s not easy to be an astronaut"s son. Everybody expects you to be special or perfect. I often wonder how my father ever had a son like me. I mean he"s so special and so good at everything he does. Even in middle school he was class monitor and captain of the football team.
Well, to be honest, I often dream about being some kind of hero or doing something special-like saving a child from a burning building or discovering a new star. I was daydreaming at school one morning when my teacher said there would be a Father"s Day writing competition for the whole school. "I hope we have a winner right here in my class."
When I got home, I started to think about what to write. My father is an astronaut. No, :I wouldn"t start like that. That was the way others saw him. How did I see my father? Hmm...
I saw him sitting with me in the dark when I had a terrible dream. I remembered how he hugged(拥抱 ) me for hours when my dog Spotty was killed by a car. Yes, these were the things I was going to write. To me, he wasn"t just a world-famous astronaut. He was my dad.
My parents and l went to school Thursday night. There were so many people in the big hall! My dad looked at me, and I shrugged(耸肩 ).
The third prize was announced and it was not me. I was relieved and disappointed at the same time. The second prize was announced. It was me.
I went up to the stage and read what I had written, "My father"s son". When I finished, the people stood up and cheered. I saw my father blowing his nose. Tears (眼泪 ) were running down my mother"s face. Dad cleared his throat and put his hand on my shoulder.“Son, this is the proudest moment of my life."
It was the proudest moment of my life, too. Maybe I"ll never be a great hero or win a Nobel Prize, but it was enough just to be my father"s son.
小题1:The writer"s dream is________________________ .| A．to become an astronaut"s son | | B．to have a class monitor | | C．to meet the captain of the football team | | D．to do something special |
小题2:The teacher hoped to_______________________ .| A．save the child from a burning building | | B．buy his father a gift for Father"s Day | | C．have the competition winner in his class | | D．take part in the speech competition |
小题3:What did the writer probably write about?| A．It was very interesting to be an astronaut"s son. | | B．His father was special and could do everything well. | | C．His father"s experiences as a very famous astronaut. | | D．The unforgettable time he spent with his father. |
小题4:Why did the writer"s parents go to school Thursday night?| A．Because the result of the competition would be announced. | | B．Because they were asked to give a speech to the students. | | C．Because there was an important football match at school. | | D．Because the writer did something wrong at school. |
小题5:Which of the following is true according to the passage?| A．The writer was very disappointed at the result. | | B．The writer"s achievement made his father feel proud. | | C．The writer"s mother cried because he didn"t win first prize. | | D．The writer"s father had a sore throat because he talked too much. |
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