The USA is a land of immigrants. Between 1815 and 1914, the world witnessed the

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The USA is a land of immigrants. Between 1815 and 1914, the world witnessed the greatest peaceful migration in its history: 35 million people, mostly Europeans, left their homelands to start new lives in America. Why did these people risk everything by leaving their homes and families?
First, what forced emigrants to make the decision to leave? One major cause for European farmers to leave was the rise in population which in turn led to land hunger. Another was politics. There was an increased taxation（税收） and the growth of armies, and many young men fled eastern Europe to avoid being forced to join the army.
Physical hunger provided another pressing reason. Following the collapse （衰退）of the economy of southern Italy in the 1860s, hundreds of thousands decided to start a new life in America. Religion also encouraged millions to leave the Old World.
In short, people chose to leave their homes for social, economic and religious reasons. As a result, by 1890 among a total population of 63 million, there were more than nine million foreign-born Americans.
But what were the attractions? First of all, there was the promise of land which was so scarce in Europe. Next, factories were calling for workers, and pay conditions were much better than back home. Men were needed to open up the West and build the long railroads, and new towns needed settlers to live in and to develop business. There was the space for religious people to practice their faith in peace.
This immigration meant that by around the 1850s Americans of non-English had started to be more than those of English. As we know, there were losers. To start with, there were those unwilling immigrants, the slaves who had been used as a source of cheap labour. Nor should we forget the equally unlucky American Indians. By 1860 there were 27 million free whites, four million slaves and a mere 488,000 free blacks.
Nowadays, the USA is still seen by millions as the Promised Land. As always, it remains an attractive place to those who think it will offer them a second chance.
小题1:What is not the cause for people to leave their homeland?

A．The search for religious freedom.

B．The search for adventure.

C．Unwillingness to join the army.

D．Economics.

小题2:Why was life of the 19th Century European farmers difficult?

A．There was no land.

B．There was no peace.

C．The population had gone down.

D．There were too many of them.

小题3: Which of the following was not an attraction of the USA?

A．Employment	B．A healthy life
C．freedom of religion	D．Business opportunities

小题4:What is the topic of this passage?

A．The USA is still seen by millions as the Promised Land.

B．The USA is a land of immigrants.

C．Religion encouraged millions to leave the Old World.

D．About one-eighth of non-native born Americans live in the USA in 1890.

小题5: The American Indians __________.

A．were as fortunate as the slaves

B．were more unfortunate than the slaves

C．were the most unfortunate

D．were as unfortunate as the slaves

答案

小题1:B
小题2:D
小题3:B
小题4:B
小题5:D

解析

试题分析：本文叙述了在 1815 和 1914之间,美国成了移民最好的去处，由于政治，经济、宗教信仰等的原因，欧洲的一些人开始向美国迁移，因为在这里人们有更多的就业机会、有商机有宗教自由，现在美国仍然是许多人的想去的乐土。
小题1:细节理解题。根据many young men fled eastern Europe to avoid being forced to join the army.
In short, people chose to leave their homes for social, economic and religious reasons. 他们由于社会经济，宗教自由，不愿入伍等原因离开了自己的家乡，不是为了冒险，故选B。
小题2:细节理解题。根据One major cause for European farmers to leave was the rise in population which in turn led to land hunger. 农民人数的增加，而相对土地的平均少了，故选D。
小题3:细节理解题。根据First of all, there was the promise of land which was so scarce in Europe. Next, factories were calling for workers, and pay conditions were much better than back home. Men were needed to open up the West and build the long railroads, and new towns needed settlers to live in and to develop business. There was the space for religious people to practice their faith in peace.在美国有就业机会，有商机还有宗教自由吸引了外国的移民，没有提到健康的生活，故选B。
小题4:主旨大意题。根据The USA is a land of immigrants.文章开始点题，短文主要论述了美国为什么会成为外国移民的主要去向，故选B。
小题5:细节理解题。根据Nor should we forget the equally unlucky American Indians.美洲的印第安人与奴隶一样地不幸，故选D。
考点：

举一反三

Surtsey Was born in 1963. Scientists saw the birth of this island. It began at 7.30 a.m. on 14th November. A fishing boat was near Iceland. The boat moved under the captain"s (船长) feet.He noticed a strange smell. He saw some black smoke. A volcano was breaking out. Red-hot rocks, fire and smoke were rushing up from the bottom of the sea. The island grew quickly. It was 10 meters high the next day and 60 meters high on 18th November. Scientists flew there to watch it. It was exciting. Smoke and fire were still rushing up. Pieces of red-hot rock were flying into the air and falling into the sea. The sea was boiling and there was a strange light in the sky. Surtsey grew and grew. Then it stopped in June 1967. It was 175 metres high and 2 kilometres long. And life was already coming to Surtsey. Plants grew. Birds came Some scientists built a house. They want to learn about this young island. A new island is like a new world.
小题1: Surtsey is_______.

A．an island not far from Iceland	B．a new volcano
C．a fishing boat	D．a place in Iceland

小题2: Scientists flew there_________.

A．to stop the birth of the island	B．to save the fishing boat
C．to learn about the island	D．to build a house

小题3: When did scientists fly to Surtsey?

A．Before the volcano broke out

B．As soon as the volcano broke out.

C．About four days after the volcano broke out

D．After the volcano stopped rushing up.

小题4:The best title of this article probably is______.

A．A New Island	B．The Birth of an Island
C．A New World	D．Scientists Discovered Surtsey

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Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人赞叹的) as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.
小题1:The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.

A．the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building

B．India has some of the most famous buildings in the world

C．ancient Indian emperors were cruel

D．construction workers led a hard life in ancient India

小题2:The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.

A．a memorial building	B．a tourist attraction
C．a prison	D．a gift to Mumtaz

小题3:From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.

A．1626

B．1653

C．1632

D．1634

小题4:The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.

A．the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal

B．the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal

C．the married happiness of the emperor and his wife

D．the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power

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Benin is one of the smallest African states. It lies in West Africa on the Gulf (海湾) of Guinea, to the south of Burkina Faso and Niger, between Togo on the west and Nigeria on the east.
Benin used to be called Dahomey and was controlled and ruled by France from 1893 to 1960, when it became independent. In 1963 the army general Soglo overthrew (推翻) the first president Maga. Soglo set up an army government and called himself head of state in 1965, but was overthrown and replaced by a civilian (非军人) government in 1967. In December 1969 Benin had another change of power with the army again taking over. In May 1970, Maga and two other men set up a new government, with each of them acting as president in turn for two years. However, half a year after Maga turned over power to the second man Ahomadegbe, the three-man government was overthrown by the army once more and General Kerekou became president. In November 1975 Kerekou changed the name of the nation from Dahomey to Benin, Benin being the name of a 17th century kingdom covering the same place. Kerekou also announced that Benin would be a People’s Republic based on Marxism-Leninism.
小题1:Which of the following maps shows rightly the positions of Benin and its neighbouring countries?

Bn="Benin;"
Tg="Togo;"
Nr="Niger;"
BF="Burkina" Faso;
Na="Nigeria;"
GG="Gulf" of Guinea
小题2:For how long was Benin an independent state before it became a People’s Republic?

A．30 years.

B．25 years.

C．20 years.

D．15 years.

小题3:Choose the right order in which the following people ruled in Benin. (Ah="Ahomadegbe;" Ke="Kerekou;" Ma="Maga;" So=Soglo)

A．Ma, So, Ma, Ke, Ah

B．So, Ma, Ah, Ma, Ke

C．Ma, So, Ma, Ah, Ke

D．So, Ma, Ke, Ma, Ah

小题4:When and how did Benin get its two names — Benin and Dahomey?

A．Benin was its oldest name. The name Dahomey was used later, but has been replaced by Benin again.

B．Dahomey was its oldest name, but it has been replaced by Benin.

C．Dahomey was its oldest name. The name Benin was used later, but has been replaced by Dahomey again.

D．Benin was its oldest name, but it has been replaced by Dahomey.

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Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English ruler tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English, Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people will work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Creeks". Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
小题1:What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?

A．How the Irish fought against the English.

B．How Ireland gained independence.

C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

D．How two “Irelands” came into being.

小题2:We learn from the text that in Ireland________.

A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population

B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

小题3:The last paragraph is mainly about________.

A．the Irish character	B．Irish culture
C．Irish musical instruments	D．a famous Irish writer

小题4:What can be the best title for the text?

A．Life in Ireland	B．A very difficult history
C．Ireland, past and present	D．the independence of Ireland

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Americans consider baseball as an American sport. They often refer to something being “as American as baseball and apple pie”. But is baseball really an American sport? And what are origins of baseball anyway?
The American game of baseball more than likely came from several European ball games. Russia had an early form of baseball and so did Germany and Romania. People in England played a game called “stool ball”. In this game, the pitcher(投手)tried to hit a stool(凳子)or chair with a ball and the batter(击球手)used a stick to keep the ball away. But American baseball was most likely based on another English game, which is called “rounders”. Players use a soft ball rater than a hard ball while playing rounders.
So when was the first real game of “baseball” played? It seems that it took place in the 1840s. The father of baseball was Alexander Cartwright, who organized a baseball club in New York. Cartwright developed 20 rules that distinguished baseball from previous ball games.
In 1858, the first organized baseball league—the National Association of Baseball players—was formed. This league began charging fans to watch the games. However, the players were all amateurs and did not get paid . In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings began to pay their players. Since they could hire the best players, Cincinnati won 57 games and lost none in their first season. As a result, other teams decided to hire players too. By 1871, the National Association was the first professional baseball league.
Today baseball is liked very much in America. Top professional baseball players earn millions of dollars each year. There are two professional leagues—the National League and the American League. The best teams from these two leagues compete for the baseball championship every year.
小题1:81.What do Americans think of baseball? (No more than 3 words)2’
小题2:82. Why was Alexander Cartwright called “the father of baseball ”?(No more than 16 words).3’
小题3:83. Where did the American baseball most probably come from?(No more than 5 words).2’
小题4:84.What does the passage mainly talk about?(No more than 5 words).3’

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