The Touchstone When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one
题型：不详难度：来源：
The Touchstone
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read little, bought it for very little money.
The book wasn"t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the "Touchstone"! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold.
The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.
So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days continued over a long period if time.
One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are cautious, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away.
1．The man bought the book because______.
A．he wanted to read it B．it was very interesting
C．there was a secret in the book D．he wanted to find the touchstone
2．We can learn from the passage that the touchstone is______.
A．pure B．cold C．magic D．big
3．Why did the man throw the pebbles into the sea?
A．Because he didn’t want to get the same pebbles.
B．Because he didn’t want others to pick them up.
C．Because he didn’t like their ordinary looks.
D．Because he didn’t like the cold feelings.
4．What does the author want to tell us in the passage?
A．We about orate opportunities in our life.
B．We should seek for opportunities in the world.
C．We may seize opportunities when we are watchful
D．We may discover opportunities when forming habits. |
答案
小题1:A
小题2:C
小题3:A
小题4:C |
解析
| 略 |
举一反三
My grandfather grew up in war-torn Europe. When German soldiers occupied his hometown ,the thriving city of Tarow, Poland, he refused to obey them and eventually joined the Soviet army to fight for his country’s freedom . “Stand straight, stand tall,” he told himself.
After the war, in 1947, he boarded a boat for Manhattan. He was hungry and suffering from seasickness. All alone in a new country, he was frightened about his future .Still, he marched head-on into the hustle and bustle of the streets of New York . Soon he met other European immigrants, each of them trying to find his or her own way .If they could do it, why couldn’t he? “Stand straight, stand tall,” he would remind himself.
Thanks to the help of a loyal and trusting friend, my grandfather gained a jewelry booth on Canal Street, New York City .He once told me how nervous he was on that first day of work. He was not only trying to learn this tough new business, but also a new language.
To his surprise, the men in neighboring booths—who could have taken advantage of him—offered their help and advice. Within months, my grandfather was commanding his spot behind the counter, selling diamonds and cultured pearls as if he’d been doing it his whole life.
Stand straight and stand tall.
In later years, my grandfather would take both my mother and her sister down the aisle at their weddings. As he stood with each of them, he thought about their new beginnings, and of the adventures and journeys they would experience together .He also thought about the children who would one day carry on his family name.
I am so proud to be one of those children. Listening to my grandfather’s remarkable experiences has changed the way I view my own life.
56．Which is the correct order of the things that happened in the passage?
a. My grandfather took both my mother and her sister down the aisle at their weddings.
b. World War II broke out in Europe.
c. My grandfather went to America.
d. My grandfather began to run his diamond business.
e. The men in neighboring booths helped him.
A．b, c, a ,d, e B．b, c,d ,e ,a C．b, c ,e , a ,d D．c, b ,e ,d ,a
57．Which is NOT true according to the passage?
A．My grandfather was a soldier during World War II.
B．My grandfather went to America by sea.
C．My grandfather had been doing a jewelry business his whole life.
D．My grandfather ran his business successfully.
58．Grandpa probably inspired his grandchildren in time of trouble by saying “ ”.
A．A friend in need is a friend indeed
B．God help those who help themselves
C．Stand straight ,stand tall
D．Practice makes perfect
59．It can be concluded that .
A．Grandpa never lost heart in time of hardships
B．Grandpa never threw doubt upon his fate
C．Grandpa was born to be a businessman
D．Grandpa didn’t live up to his friend’s expectations |
B But I wonder about my Momma sometimes, and all the other Negro(blacks )mothers who got up at 6 a.m. to go to the white man’s house with sacks over their shoes because it was so wet and cold. I wonder how they made it .They worked very hard for the man, they made his breakfast and they scrubbed his floors and they took care of his babies. They didn’t have too much time for us.
I wonder about my Momma ,who walked out of a white woman’s clean house at midnight and came back to her own where the lights had been out for three months ,and the pipes were frozen and the wind came in through the holes in the wall. She’d have to make deals with the rats: leave some food out for them so the wouldn’t bite the doors or the babies. The roaches（蟑螂）？Oh ,they were just like part of the family!
I wonder how she felt telling those white kids she took care of to brush their teeth after they ate, to wash their hands after they finish bathroom. She could never tell her own kids because there wasn’t soap or water back home.
I wonder how my Momma felt when we came home from school with a list of vitamins and pills the school nurse said we had to have .Momma would cry all night , and then go out and spend most of the rent money for pills. A week later ,the white man would come for his eighteen dollars’ rent and Momma would beg him to wait until tomorrow . She had to lie to him that she had lost her wallet or the relief check was coming soon or the white people had some money for her. Tomorrow I’d be hiding in the closet because there was only supposed to be two kids in the flat ,and I could hear the rent man shout at my Momma and call her a cheat. And when he finally went away, Momma put the sacks on her shoes and went off to the rich white man’s house to dress the rich white kids so their mother could take them to a special baby doctor.
60．Mother got up at 6 a.m. every day ,because .
A．she had to cook breakfast for her children
B．she had to catch the first bus to the factory
C．she had to work in the white man’s house
D．she had to go to see a special baby doctor
61．Mother never told us to brush our teeth or to wash our hands because .
A．she though we didn’t need to B．we didn’t like washing hands
C．we had done everything very well D．there was no soap or water in our home
62．Why did the writer hide in a closet when the landowner came for rent?
A．The closet could only hold two kids.
B．Only two kids were allowed to live in the house.
C．They should pay more rent for two kids.
D．There was only one bedroom for the two kids.
63．What does the writer mainly tell us?
A．Black people lead a miserable life.
B．Black people don’t have enough rent money.
C．White people lead an expensive life.
D．White people have special baby doctors. |
（三）
A
I recently spent two years in the Arctic filming the series Blue Planet. I love being in an environment that hasn"t changed for 20,000 years. Of course it"s freezing, but it must be a healthy place because you never catch colds.
When I"m filming, I like to really feel how lonely the environment is. Filming underwater involves cutting through thick ice and diving in tied to a line. The person at the other end has to be ready to pull you out fast if necessary.
Originally I was a research diver for the British Antarctic Survey project, but for me science lacked excitement. I"d always enjoyed photography, and whenever camera teams passed through, they encouraged me to watch and learn. I was then able to move into filming in 1985 and have concentrated on Arctic and Antarctic wildlife ever since.
I prefer to be faced with the animals I"m filming. I haven"t got in the water with killer whales yet, but I plan to. Of course, it"s dangerous if you choose the wrong moment. They"re big animals and can move fast, so I"d be stupid to film them searching for food!
I"ve never had problems with polar bears, although once I was frightened when one tried to get into my tent. Polar bears are bold, clever and dangerous. But I made this one see I wasn"t about to attack it - I"m sure it realised I wouldn"t hurt it.
When I come home back from my trips, I work in the mornings and spend the afternoons swimming to keep fit. Now I"m fifty, filming is harder. The challenge for me is to continue to deliver high-quality work.
56. In this text, the writer is describing __________.
A. the challenges of the environment he works in B. the beautiful scenery of the Arctic
C. the career opportunities in TV camera work. D. the difficulties of having to work alone
57. What does the writer say about his early career?
A. He was bored by working only in Antarctic.
B. It taught him how to become a skilled diver.
C. He wasted the years he spent as a scientist.
D. It provided him with a chance to learn about filming.
58. When talking about killer whales, the writer says that __________.
A. he has always been careful when diving with them
B. he tries to avoid any danger by facing them
C. he will only film them from a safe distance
D. he believes there are safe opportunities to film them
59. How does the writer describe his experience with a polar bear?
A. The writer realized he was wrong to trust polar bears.
B. The writer felt nervous that the bear might come back.
C. The bear seemed to know the writer wasn’t a danger.
D. The animal was much more afraid than the writer was. |
第二节: 信息匹配 (共5小题; 每小题2分，满分10分）
阅读下面一篇文章，文章后有七个选项，从A、B、C、D、E、F、G的七个选项中选出五个符合每一段文章主旨大意的选项。
To be a good teacher, you need some of the gifts of a good actor: you must be able to hold the attention and interest of your audience; you must be a clear speaker, with a good strong, pleasing voice which is fully under your control; and you must be able to act what you are teaching, in order to make its meaning clear． (56)__________．
Watch a good teacher, and you will see that he does not sit motionless before his class: he stands the whole time he is teaching; he walks about, using his arms, hands and fingers to help him in his explanations, and his face to express feelings．Listen to him, and you will hear the loudness, the quality and the musical note of his voice always changing according to what he is talking about． (57) _______________．
The fact that a good teacher has some of the gifts of a actor doesn’t mean that he will indeed be able to act well on the stage, for there are very important differences between the teacher’s work and the actor’s．The actor has to speak words which he has learnt by heart; he has to repeat exactly the same words each time he plays a certain part, even his movements and the ways in which he uses his voice are usually fixed beforehand．What he has to do is to make all these carefully learnt words and actions seem natural on the stage． (58)_________________．
A good teacher works in quite a different way．His audience takes an active part in his play: they ask and answer questions, they obey orders, and if they don’t understand something, they say so．The teacher therefore has to suit his act to the needs of his audience, which is his class．He cannot learn his part by heart, but must invent it as he goes along． (59)_________________．
I have known many teachers who were fine actors in class but were unable to take part in a stage play because their brains wouldn’t keep discipline: they could not keep strictly to what another had written． (60)_______________．
A．Characteristics of a good teacher
B．Qualities of a good actor
C．What makes up a good teacher
D．What makes a teacher famous
E．It is not easy for a good teacher to become a good actor．
F．The image（印象）of a good teacher
G．Duties of a good teacher |
第Ⅱ卷（非选择题，共35分）
第四部分：写作（共两节，满分35分）
第一节 任务型读写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
In a memory – based competition between you and a chimp (猩猩); who do you think would win? If you put yourself on top, you might want to guess again.
In a test that challenged participants to remember numbers, a young chimp performed better than Japanese college students.
Here"s how the test worked. At Kyoto University in Japan, human students and chimpanzee participants sat in front of a computer. Five numbers, ranging from 1 to 9, were combined with one another and then, they appeared at random places on the screen.
The numbers stayed on the screen for less than a second. In the first test, for example, participants saw the numbers for 650 milliseconds (about two- thirds of a second).
Then, each number disappeared and they saw a white square instead. Participants had to touch the squares in numerical order, based on the numbers that had been there a moment before.
In this test, the students touched the boxes in the correct order about 80 percent of the time. A young chimp named Ayumu performed equally well.
During a harder test, participants were only able to see the numbers for 210 milliseconds.
This time, students only succeeded in putting the boxes in the correct order about 40 percent of the time. But Ayumustill could select the boxes in the right order nearly 80 percent of the time.
Some people have what"s called a "photographic memory", which allows them to remember a surprising number of details after just a quick glimpse of something. Ayumu"s memory might work in a similar way, says lead researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa.
The chimp"s young age might have something to do with his impressive performance, too. In previous tests, the Japanese researchers found that young chimps performed better than their mothers.
The scientists are interested to see whether Ayumu loses his strong memory as he arrows older. They already know that young children sometimes have sharp memories when offered something photographical, but they lose this ability over time.
Topic
| A (76) competition between human beings and chimps
| Purpose
| To judge whose memory is better
| The (77)
of the first test
| ◆A chimp and some Japanese students participated in the competition and sat before a computer.
◆Different (78) of five numbers appeared on the screen.
◆Each of the number was (79) by a white square.
| The results of the second test
| ◆Students (80) to put the boxes in the right order about 40% of the time.
◆Ayumu got the right order (81) the time of the students
| Conclusion
| ◆Some people have “photographic memory”, (82) some people to remember numbers after they (83) at something.
◆The chimps have the similar (84) to human beings’.
◆Young children, just like chimps, have strong memory but they’ll lose it when they (85) .
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