I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish,
I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for
good expressions and sayings, pieces of informatio
n, ideas, themes-anything to enrich my thought and
make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that
a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the
words without recognizing either its irony(嘲讽)or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to
make a list of all the books I had ever read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have
read several times.(How, after all, could one read a book more than once?)And I included only those
books over a hundred pages in length.(Could anything shorter be a book?)
There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an
English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the "hundred most important books
of Western Civilization." "More than anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality
(firmly), "these books have made me all that I am." That was the kind of words I couldn"t ignore. I kept
the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly
understood. While reading Plato"s The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the
introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience
and superstition(迷信)of a schoolboy, I loo
ked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached
the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off
my list
1. On hearing the teacher"s suggestion of reading, the writer thought _______.
A. one must read as many books as possible
B. a student should not have a complicated idea
C. it was impossible for one to read two thousand books
D. students oug
ht to make a list of the books they had read
2. While at high school, the writer _______.
A. had plans for reading
B. learned to educate himself
C. only read books over 100 pages
D. read only one book several times
3. The writer"s purpose in mentioning The Republic is to _______.
A. explain why it was included in the list
B. describe why he seriously crossed it off the list
C. show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand
D. prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word
4. The writer provides two book lists to _______.
A. show how he developed his poi
nt of view
B. tell his reading experience at high school
C. introduce the two persons" reading methods
D. explain that he read many books at high school
environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. To
some extent our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of education can make a genius
out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment
will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits
of person"s intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his
environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the
blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be intelligence. Thus if we take
two unrelated people at random from population, it is likely that their degree of intelligence will be
completely different. If, on the other hand, we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as
intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar
intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might
send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would
soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth
plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with
each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence.
1. The writer is in favor of the view that man"s intelligence is given to him________.
A. at birth
B. through education
C. both at birth and through education
D. neither at birth nor through education
2. If a child is born with low intelligence, he can_________.
A. become a genius
B. still become a genius if he should be given special education
C. not reach his intelligence in his life.
D. reach his intelligence limits in rich surroundings
3. The example of the twins going to a university and to a factory separately shows_________.
A. the importance of their intelligence
B. the role of environment on intelligence
C. the importance of their positions
D. the part that birth plays
4. The best title of the passage can be _________.
A. Surroundings
B. Effect of education
C. Dependence on Environment
D. Intelligence
We adopted Luke four years ago. The people from the orphanage (孤儿院) dropped him off at our
hotel room without even saying 1 . He was nearly six years old, only 28 pounds and his face was
crisscrossed (交叉着) with scars. 2 , he was terrified. Luke kicked and 3 . His cries were animal-like. I wound my arms around him 4 he could not hit or kick. After an hour and a half he finally fell asleep,
exhausted. I called 5 . They delivered every noodle dish on the menu. After Luke woke up I handed him chopsticks and pointed at the food. He stopped crying and started to eat.
That night we went for a walk. 6 at the moon, he pantomimed (打手势), "What is it? " I said, "The
moon, it"s the moon." He 7 and tried to touch it. He cried again when I tried to give him a bath 8 I
started to play with the water. By the end of his bath the room was soaked and he was 9 . Then we read the book One Yellow Lion. He loved looking at the 10 pictures and 11 the pages. By the end of the
night he was saying " 12 ".
The next day we 13 orphanage officials to do 14 . Luck looked at them and wrapped my arms
15 around his waist.
It has been four years. Luke is a smart, funny, happy fourth-grader. He is 16 with charm and is a
natural athlete. His teachers say he is 17 behaved and works very hard. Our neighbor says she has never seen a happier kid.
When I think back, I am 18 at what changed this abused, terrified little creature. It was not
medications(药物治疗). It did not cost money. It was love: just simple, plain, easy to 19 . It is comprised (组成) of compassion(同情), care, security, and faith. I believe in the power of love to 20 . I believe in the power of love to heal.
| ( )1. A. hello ( )2. A. Clearly ( )3. A. spoke ( )4. A. in case ( )5. A. the police station ( )6. A. Ashamed ( )7. A. reached up ( )8. A. after ( )9. A. crying ( )10. A. colorful ( )11. A. tearing ( )12. A. goodbye ( )13. A. called ( )14. A. daily work ( )15. A. tightly ( )16. A. loaded ( )17. A. ill ( )18. A. amused ( )19. A. lose ( )20. A. prepare | B. nothing B. Surprisingly B. laughed B. while B. room service B. Interested B. stood up B. until B. thinking B. yellow B. turning B. one yellow lion B. found B. housework B. slightly B. connected B. well B. happy B. find B. remain | C. goodbye C. Sadly C. screamed C. if C. the laundry C. Delighted C. knelt down C. whenever C. giggling (傻笑) C. old C. holding C. moon C. met C. jobs C. unwillingly C. delivered C. over C. amazed C. take C. kill | D. everything D. Fortunately D. waved D. so that D. the manager D. Terrified D. moved on D. unless D. learning D. plain D. beating D. water D. refused D. paperwork D uneasily D. covered D. quite D. sorry D. give D. change |
| 阅读理解 | |||
| I was sure that I was to be killed. I became terribly nervous. I felt in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes, which had escaped their search. I found one and because of my shaking hands, I could hardly get it to my lips. But I had no matches(火柴), they had taken those. I looked through the bars at my jailer (狱卒). He did not make eye contact with me. I called out to him: "Have you got a light?" He looked at me, shrugged and came over to light my cigarette. As he came close and lit the cigarette, his eyes inadvertently(无意)locked with mine. At that moment, I smiled. I don"t know why I did that. Perhaps it was nervousness, perhaps it was because, when you get very close, one to another, it is very hard not to smile. Anyway, I smiled. I know he didn"t want to, but my smile leaped (=went) through the bars and generated a smile on his lips, too. He lit my cigarette but stayed near, looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile. I kept smiling at him, now considering him as a person and not just a jailer. "Do you have kids?" he asked. "Yes, here, here." I took out my wallet and nervously fumbled (摸) for the pictures of my family. He, too, took out the pictures of his family and began to talk about his plans and hopes for them. My eyes filled with tears. I said that I was scared that I"d never see my family again, never have the chance to see them grow up. Tears came to his eyes, too. Suddenly, without another word, he unlocked my cell and silently led me out and set me free. "My life was saved by a smile." Yes, the smile - the unaffected, unplanned, natural connection between people. I really believed that if that part of you and that part of me could recognize (认可) each other, we wouldn"t be enemies. We couldn"t have hate or scare. | |||
| 1. The true statement of the following according to the passage is _______ | |||
| A. when I was smiling to the jailer, he didn"t smile. B. the jailer was moved by what I said about my family and kids. C. the jailer set me out of the jail as long as I kept silent over it. D. if we could recognize each other, we must be good friends. | |||
| 2. Which of the following do you agree with most? | |||
| A. The jailer helped him because he was a friend of the author. B. If there is understanding there would be no hate or fear. C. A picture of one"s family is helpful in time of trouble. D. The writer had no chance to see his children again. | |||
| 3. The underlined word "generated" probably means _______. | |||
| A. produced B. forced C. escaped D. showed | |||
| 4. If you are asked to give the passage a title, ______ could be the best of the following. | |||
A. jailer and a prisoner | |||
| 阅读理解 | |||
| I first went to Harrow in the summer term. The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen. I t was a good joke to come up behind a naked(裸体的) boy, and push him into the pool. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less. One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel(毛巾) on the side of the pool. He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him a fair game. Coming secretly behind, I pushed him in, holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet, I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and a being of great strength making its way by force strokes (猛力地划)to the shore. I fled, but in vain.(徒劳的) He overtook me, seized me violently, and threw me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon climbed out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys." Do you know what you have done?" they said," It"s Amery; he is in Grade Six. He is champion(冠军) at gym, he has got his football honor." I was frightened and felt ashamed. How could I tell his position when he was wrapped in a bath towel and so small." He didn"t seem pleased at all, so I added in a most brilliant word," My father, who is a great man, is also small." At this he laughed, and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future, signified(说明) the incident was closed. | |||
| 1. The writer thought Amery "a fair game" because the boy _____ . | |||
| A. looked like an animal B. was fond of games C. was of similar size D. was good at sports | |||
| 2. The writer felt" ashamed" because _____. | |||
| A .he was laughed at by other boys B. Amery turned out to be in the same grade C. he pushed Amery hard and hurt him D. he played a joke on an outstanding athlete | |||
| 3. By saying "My father, who is a great man, is also small", the writer_____. | |||
| A. tried to please Amery B. challenged Amery C. threatened Amery D. admired his father | |||
| 4. Which of the following is TRUE? | |||
| A. The writer could run faster than Amery. B. The writer liked playing on boys of all sizes. C. Amery was a student in Grade Four. D. Amery forgave(原谅) the writer for his rude behavior. | |||
| 阅读理解 | |||
| Thanks a Million, Dad I was born disabled. A difficult birth, feet first, my head stuck. By my first birthday, I couldn"t stand or walk. When I was three, the doctor told dad I had cerebral palsy (脑瘫). A loss of oxygen to my brain had destroyed brain signals to the right side of my body. But no son of my dad" s was going to be disabled. Every morning before breakfast and every evening before bed, my dad placed me on the bedroom floor to exercise my right leg. The muscles were shrunk and twisted together. Back and forth up and down, my dad pushed and pulled the muscles into shape. But my dad" s exercise of passion didn"t stop there. For my 13th birthday, he threw me a special party. When everybody was gone, he brought me to open a large box, it was a-set of boxing gloves. We put them on. My dad kept on beating me mercilessly. Each time I tried to get up, leather kissed my nose, eyes and jaw. I "begged him to stop. He said he beat me to get me ready for the tough world. That same year, I was the only kid in my neighborhood that wasn"t picked for Little League. Two weeks later. Dad started the Shedd Park Minor League, and every kid played. Dad coached us and made me a pitcher (棒球投手). The power of my dad" s love guaranteed I walked and more. In high school, I became a football star. In 1997, a brain surgeon in San Jose told me I didn"t t have cerebral palsy after all. He explained how and where the doctor" s forceps (镊子) at birth had damaged my brain. My dad never knew the whole truth since he passed away years ago. But all that counts is the bottom line. After all his madness, on this Father" s Day, like every Father" s Day, I" m no longer disabled. 1. What caused the author" s disability? A. A failed operation. B. The doctor"s forceps. C. An accident in a game. D. Shrunken and twisted muscles. 2. What do we learn from the passage? A. The author has a talent for boxing. B. The author achieved a lot thanks to his father" s love. C. The author became a baseball star with the help of his father. D. The author doesn"t think his father should be so strict with him. 3. Paragraph 3 suggests that the author" s father____. A. wouldn"t give up hope easily B. believed his son was a normal child C. blamed the doctors for his son" s disability D. couldn"t accept the truth that his son was disabled 4. The author wrote the passage to ____. A. remember his father B. encourage disabled children C. show the difficulty the disabled face D. give advice to the parents of disabled children |