Recently, a study was carried out to determine who was the greatest American pre

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Recently, a study was carried out to determine who was the greatest American president．Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it, and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten leadership qual

ities, including public persuasiveness (信服), crisis leadership, management of the economy, moral leadership, and conduct of international relations．The historians also looked at administrative (管理) ability, relations with Congress, ability to set goals, and the pursuit of equ

al justice fo

r all．Finally, the experts took into consideration the historical period in which the president lived．
The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as American’s greatest president．He had also been named best president in a similar study in 2000．Abraham Linco

ln was the president who led the nation through the Civil

War in the 1860s, and was able to unite it in the end．He also took the first steps to abolish slavery in America．
Edna Medford, a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was an adviser on this study and the earlier one．She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values the nation most honors, such as truthfulness, moderation, and respect for human rights．
The historians put American’s first president, George Washington, second on the list, while Franklin D．Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman follow in that order．John F．Kennedy, the country’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list．Like Lincoln, Kennedy was murdered while in office．
Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best and Bill Clinton rated fifteenth, while the historians put former president George W．Bush at number thirty

-six．His father, George H.W．Bush, did much better, being placed at number eighteen．
小题1:We learn from the text that ___________．

A．this is the second time that Abraham Lincoln has been chosen as America’s greatest president

B．Edna Medford didn’t take part in the study conducted in 2000．

C．George H.W．Bush was thought to have done worse in office than George W．Bush

D．Harry Truman was rated the fourth-best president by the study

小题2:Which of the following belong to the ten leadership qualities considered?
a．Being able to persuade the public
b．Taking effective measures during a financial crisis．
c．Balancing home life and career．
d．Pursuing equal justice for all．

A．a,b,c

B．b,c,d

C．a,b,d

D．a,c,d

小题3:Who is rated worst among the following four presidents?

A．John F．Kennedy	B．George Washington
C．Bill Clinton	D．George W．Bush

小题4:The text is mainl

y about ________．

A．the ten qualities a great president needs

B．a study of American presidents

C．the values the American nation honors most

D．how Abraham Lincoln improved the country

答案

小题1:Ａ
小题2:Ｃ
小题3:Ｄ
小题4:Ｂ

解析

略

举一反三

The Roman Emperor Claudius II was fighting many wars. He wanted a strong army, but many men did not want to be soldiers. Claudius thought the men wanted to stay at home to be with their wives and children instead of leaving to fight wars.
Claudius thought of an awful solution to his problem. He decided to cancel all marriages! No one in all of Rome could get married. Claudius thought that if the men couldn’t get married, the men would ignore the women and want to be soldiers.
Valentine, who was a priest (牧师), believed that people needed to get married. He thought it was wrong for people to live together without being married. So he secretly and illegally married couples anyway. He performed the weddings in secret places, so the Roman soldiers would not find out.
But they did find out. Valentine was arrested and brought before the Emperor. The Emperor thought Valentine was a well-spoken and wise young man, and encouraged him to stop being a Christian (基督徒) and become a loyal Roman. Valentine would not deny his beliefs, and he refused. He was sent to prison and was finally killed. While he was in prison, he sent out letters to his friends and asked to be prayed (祈祷) for by writing Remember your Valentine.
Valentine was killed on the 14th or the 24th of February in the year 269 or 270. We celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th in honor of St. Valentine.
小题1:The Emperor Claudius II wanted men to __________.

A．live at home and work for the empire

B．become loyal Roman citizens

C．go to other countries and raise families

D．fight wars in other lands

小题2: The underlined word “awful” in the second paragraph probably means __________.

A．terrible

B．wonderful

C．possible

D．friendly

小题3: Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Valentine believed in marriage and risked death to marry people.

B．Claudius wanted to stay at home with his wife.

C．Claudius thought Valentine was a man with a bright future.

D．Valentine broke the law.

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Crosstalk(相声)，a traditional form of comic storytelling，is making a comeback in China’s tea houses and theaters．
Audiences can laugh the night away every Saturday at the Qianxiangyi Teahouse in Tianjin，entertained by the apprentices(学徒)of Hou Baolin，Ma Sanli or Yin Shoushan—all leading crosstalk artists of years past—for only 20 yuan($2．40)．
The success in Tianjin has also caused the rejuvenation(复活) of crosstalk in Beijing and other places．
Although the art form originated in Beijing in the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911)，Tianjin became a place where rising stars formed their styles and new pieces were tried out．The city was well—known nationwide for the quality of its crosstalk performances．
Known in Chinese as xiangsheng(1iterally，“face and voice”)，crosstalk was the predominant(支配的)form of comedy throughout most of the 20th century．In the old days in Tianjin and elsewhere，temple fairs and markets were the main places for crosstalkers to perform，although they occasionally also appeared in teahouses or theaters．
Crosstalk pieces draw on every aspect of Chinese culture，from history and folk tales to social issues of the time．Although there’re hundreds of traditional pieces，they’re constantly rewritten to suit the times and the audience, while new works are written as well．It’s one of the features that have made crosstalk a
public art form throughout its history．
“Crosstalk was in the doldrums(萎靡不振)with competition from other art forms，especially TV，”said Wang Xiaochun，headmaster of the Northern Storytelling Arts School of China(NSAS)．“But it has regained its status with crosstalk fans，especially young people，growing aware of its rare qualities．”
“More and more students are coming to NSAS to study crosstalk，including some girl students，”said Wang, “They’re sure that crosstalk will have a strong market.”
小题1:Crosstalk means“__________ ”in Chinese．

A．storytelling

B．face and voice

C．folk tale

D．dialogue

小题2:According to the text, crosstalk is so popular throughout its history because____________．

A．it is constantly changed and renewed	B．it is often performed at temple fairs
C．it is different from other arts	D．it is comic and humourous

小题3:Crosstalk makes a comeback mainly because__________．

A．it is a popular traditional art after all

B．the pieces contain some famous folk tales

C．the crosstalkers make it return to teahouses

D．the pieces are made to suit the times and the audience

小题4:We can learn that the future of crosstalk first lies in ____________．

A．setting up more storytelling art schools	B．beating TV and other arts
C．young people’s awareness of its value	D．a strong market

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The market is a concept. If you are growing tomatoes in your backyard for sale you are producing for the market. You might sell some to your neighbor and some to the local manager of the supermarket. But in either case, you are producing for the market. Your efforts are being directed by the market. If people stop buying tomatoes, you will stop producing them.
If you take care of a sick person to earn money, you are producing for the market. If your father is a steel worker or a truck driver or a doctor or a grocer, he is producing goods or service for the market.
When you spend your income, you are buying things from the market. You may spend money in stores, supermarkets, gas stations and restaurants. Still you are buying from the market. When the local grocer hires you to drive the delivery truck, he is buying your labor in the labor market.
The market may be something abstract (抽象的). But for each person or business that is making and selling something, it is very concrete. If nobody buys your tomatoes, it won’t be long before you get the message. The market is telling you something. It is telling you that you are using energies and resources in doing something the market doesn’t want you to do.
小题1: Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A．Selling and Buying.	B．Everything you do is producing for the market.
C．What is the market?	D．What the market can do for you.

小题2:All of the following acts are producing for the market except________.

A．working in a bank	B．attending a night school
C．driving a taxi	D．growing beans for sale

小题3:You are buying from the market when you________.

A．borrow a book from the library	B．drive to the seaside for a holiday
C．look after your children	D．dine at restaurant

小题4:The word “concrete” in the last paragraph may most probably mean________.

A．serious

B．important

C．necessary

D．real

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Many people like the feeling of the gentle wind in spring. Many like to see the falling leaves dancing in the wind in autumn. But sometimes, when the wind becomes a storm, it can be very destructive (毁灭性的).
A series of such storms struck the US last month and caused very serious damage and human pain.
Every year, major storms cause many problems around the world. There is nothing people can do to stop these powerful forces of nature. But new techniques are helping scientists to predict how, when, and where big storms will happen. The more exact scientists’ warnings are, the better people can prepare for the storms.
Predictions are improving. “We’ve gotten better over the years, especially the last few years,” says Phil Klotzback, a scientist at an American university. How is a storm formed? Even if scientists know where a storm will happen, winds can suddenly change, carrying the storm to a new direction. “For a hurricane to happen, conditions have to be just right,” Klotzback says.
First, the ocean water needs to be warm enough so that it evaporates and rises into the air. As it rises, the air containing drops of water cools and turns back into liquid. This process gives off heat. This produces energy like an engine that causes winds to increase. It drives the formation of a hurricane.
If wind speeds reach 40 miles per hour, the system is called a “ tropical storm”, and it gets a name. At 75 miles per hour, it becomes a hurricane. Hurricanes that hit the US start when a thunderstorm forms off the coast Africa. Storms also develop over tropical waters in other parts of the world.
On average, 60 or 70 storms form off Africa every year. About 10 of them get names. There are usually about six hurricanes. Two tend to be very big, with winds of 115 miles per hour or a bit higher.
The hurricane season lasts from June to November. Ninety percent of all hurricanes hit in August, September and October.
小题1:According to the text, hurricanes usually ________.

A．form off the coast of Africa and America

B．hit parts of the world in summer and autumn

C．cause sea winds to rise and blow over the sea

D．strike the US but cause no damage

小题2: The underlined word “evaporates” (in Paragraph 5) probably means “________”

A．begins to move

B．gets lost

C．becomes hot

D．changes into a gas

小题3:Which of the following about the information of a hurricane is the correct order?
a. The ocean water evaporates and goes into the air.
b. Heat creates energy and causes winds to increase.
c. The vapor cools.
d. The ocean water is warm enough.
e. The vapor changes back into liquid.
f. This course gives out heat.

A．a, d, e, b, c, f

B．a, b, c, f, d, e

C．d, a, c, e, f, b

D．d, a, b, c, e, f

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For many people today, reading is no longer relaxation. To keep up with their work they must read letters, reports, trade publications, interoffice communications: a never-ending flood of words. In getting a job or advancing in one, the ability to read and comprehend quickly can mean the difference between success and failure. Yet the unfortunate fact is that most of us are poor readers.
Most reading faults can be traced to early school training. According to Dr. Betts, two persons out of five in school were forced to read material too difficult for them to understand at the time, a frustration experience which left them with bad reading habits.
Fortunately, almost anyone can learn to read faster and with more comprehension. Age makes little difference. According to a recent study of 138 students at The Reading Laboratory, Inc. , all age groups showed a marked increase in reading rate after training from 93 percent for the 50-90 age group to 142 percent for the 20-29.Dr. Mila Banton Smith, director of New York University’s Reading Institute, says that the average adult student, in 28 training hours, nearly triples (三倍的) his reading speed and boosts(增长) his comprehension by about 30 percent.
The best way to improve your reading, of course, is to enroll(登记) in a reading clinic. If there’s no clinic handy, you can improve your reading ability yourself--- provided you have no eyes troubles. (if reading tires you easily or makes your eyes or head ache, you should consult a doctor.)
小题1:To many people today, _______.

A．reading quickly is easy

B．reading quickly and comprehending quickly can ensure their success

C．reading is only for fun

D．reading can ensure their success

小题2:Most reading faults are_______

A．due to early school training

B．a frustrating experience

C．made by reading difficult materials

D．made by reading carelessly

小题3:Who can learn to read fast and with comprehension?

A．teachers only	B．students only
C．a few people	D．almost everybody

小题4:According to the passage, what is the best way to improve one’s reading？

A．go to a doctor

B．review what has been learnt at school

C．go to reading remedial class for special training

D．consult a dictionary

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