February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the
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February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest(牧师) in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.
But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.
小题1:Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?| A．Because there were few women in his country at that time. | | B．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. | | C．Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people. | | D．Because he wanted to control the birth rate. |
小题2:Valentine was put into prison because ______.| A．he killed one of the soldiers | | B．he stole a lot of food | | C．he didn’t obey the emperor’s order | | D．he didn’t want to be a soldier |
小题3: The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.| A．students in China send cards to their teachers | | B．it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China | | C．it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China | | D．Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now |
小题4:What is the author’s feelings toward Valentine?.| A．Honor and respect. | B．Love and joy. | | C．Praise and disbelief. | D．Sorrow and humor. |
小题5:Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage?| A．Valentine’s Day is a Festival in honor of a person. | | B．Valentine is a brave priest who died for what he believed in. | | C．All the young people in the 3rd Century could not get married freely. | | D．People at that time in Rome lived in a hard time under the control of the emperor. |
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答案
小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:A
小题5:C |
解析
本文谈论的是“情人节”。
小题1:细节题。从本文的第 2 段的最后一句，我们可以找到答案的依据。
小题2:细节题。从本文的第 3 段我们知道，这位牧师没有听皇帝的命令，还是为情人们主持仪式，因而使得皇帝大为光火。
小题3:主旨大意题。从本文的最后一段我们可以看出，本段主要讲述了情人节在中国也开始流行起来了。
小题4:推断题。结合Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.可选出答案。
小题5:推断题。结合This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest(牧师) in the third century Rome.排除A项；结合Valentine died for what he believed in排除B项；结合第2 、3段排除D项；故选C。 |
举一反三
Man has always wanted to fly. Some of the greatest men in history have thought about the problem. One of these, for example, was the great Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci. In the sixteenth century he made designs for machines that could fly. But they were never built.,
Throughout history, other less famous men have wanted to fly. An example was a man in England 800years ago. He made a pair of wings from chicken feathers. Then he fixed them to his body and jumped into the air from a tall building. He did not fly very far. He fell to the ground and broke every bone in his body.
The first real step took place in France in 1783. Two brothers, the Mongolfiers, made a very large “hot air balloon”. They knew that hot air rises. Why not fill a balloon with it? The balloon was made of cloth and paper. In September of that year, the King and Queen of France came to see the balloon. They watched it carry the very first air passengers into the sky. The passengers were a sheep and a chicken. We do not know how they felt about the trip. But we do know that the trip lasted 8 minutes and that the animals landed safely. Two months later, two men did the same thing. They rose above Paris in a balloon of the same kind. Their trip lasted twenty-five minutes and they traveled about 8 kilometers.
小题1: Leonardo da Vinci .| A．said that man would fly in the sky one day | | B．built a kind of machine which never flew | | C．drew many beautiful pictures of the birds | | D．made designs of flying machines |
小题2:Eight hundred years ago an Englishman .| A．made a kind of flying machine | | B．tried to fly with wings made of chicken feathers | | C．wanted to build a kind of balloon | | D．tried to fly on a large bird |
小题3: In fact, the Englishman who tried to fly .| A．lost his life | B．flew only 8 minutes | | C．was not wounded | D．succeeded in flying |
小题4:The very first air passengers in the balloon were .| A．the King and Queen | B．two Frenchmen | | C．two animals | D．the Mongolfiers |
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For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub．Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news．
As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved．Many of them have become historic sites．The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called " Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem" , which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England．
However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society．On a cold night, the pub"s landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire．There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drinks available at an affordable price．
That"s how things used to be．Things are beginning to change．It is said that the credit crunch （信贷紧缩） is causing 39 British pubs in a week to go out of business．People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer．Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs．
This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 11 p．m．．Previously, with 11 p．m．as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly．The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as "binge drinking" , and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities．
In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market．British pubs now offer something for everyone．A lot of pubs used to be "Working Men"s Clubs" , meaning that women could not usually enter．Today, however, women can freely enter 99% of pubs without experiencing any problems．Perhaps things are changing for the better after all．
小题1:British people have the habit of gathering in the pubs to _____．| A．have the hearty food | | B．enjoy the historic sites | | C．make themselves known | | D．communicate with each other |
小题2:The British pubs are allowed to stay open after 11p．m．to ______．| A．urge customers to drink quickly | | B．affect the number of customers | | C．help reduce social problems | | D．give pub owners better income |
小题3:We can learn from the last paragraph that the author _____．| A．is against the admission of too many women to the pubs | | B．holds an optimistic attitude towards the future of the British pubs | | C．thinks that women in the pubs will cause less social problems | | D．holds the view that British pubs should offer everything you need |
小题4:The passage mainly tells us ______．| A．the long history of British pubs | | B．the present situation of British pubs | | C．the reason why British people go to pubs | | D．the disadvantages of running pubs in Britain |
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San Francisco has its cable cars. Seattle has its Space Needle. And, Longview has its squirrel bridge. The bridge, which has attracted international attention, is now a local landmark.
The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy road without getting flattened by passing cars.
The original bridge was built over Olympia Way on the west edge of the library grounds. Before the bridge was built, squirrels had to avoid traffic to and from the Park Plaza office building where office staff put out a nutty feast for the squirrels. Many times, Peters and others who worked in and near Park Plaza witnessed squirrels being run over.
One day Peters found a dead squirrel with a nut still in its mouth, and that day’s coffee break discussion turned into squirrel safety. The group of businessmen cooked up the squirrel bridge idea and formed a committee to ask the blessing of the City Council(市政会).The Council approved, and Councilwoman Bess LaRiviere named the bridge “Nutty Narrows.”
After architects designed the bridge, Amos Peters and Bill Hutch started Construction, They built the 60-foot bridge from aluminum and lengths of fire hose(消防水带). It cost 1,000.
It didn’t take long before reports of squirrels using the bridge started. Squirrels were even seen guiding their young and teaching them the ropes. The story was picked up by the media, and Nutty Narrows became know in newspapers all over the world.
In 1983, after 20 years of use, Peters took down the worn-out bridge. Repairs were made and crosspieces were replaced. The faded sign was repainted and in July 1983, hundreds of animal lovers attended the completion ceremony of the new bridge.
Peters died in 1984, and a ten-foot wooden squirrel sculpture was placed near the bridge in memory of its builder and his devotion to the project.
小题1:The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in order to ________.| A．offer squirrels a place to eat nuts | | B．set up a local landmark | | C．help improve traffic | | D．protect squirrels |
小题2:What happened over the coffee break discussion?| A．The committee got the Council’s blessing. | | B．The squirrel bridge idea was born | | C．A councilwoman named the bridge | | D．A squirrel was found dead. |
小题3:What does the underlined phrase “teaching them the ropes” probably means in the text?| A．passing them a rope | | B．Directing them to store food for winter | | C．Teaching them a lesson | | D．Showing them how to use the bridge. |
小题4:Which of the following is true of the squirrel bridge?| A．It was replaced by a longer one. | | B．It was built from wood and metal. | | C．it was rebuilt after years of use. | | D．It was designed by Bill Hutch. |
小题5:What can we learn about Amos Peters?| A．He is remembered for his love of animals. | | B．He donated $1,000 to build the bridge. | | C．He was a member of the City Council. | | D．He was awarded a medal for building the bridge. |
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Many of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in history books are great conquerors and generals and soldiers, whereas the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all.
We do not know who first set a broken leg, or launched a seaworthy boat, or calculated the length of the year; but we know all about the killers and destroyers. People think a great deal of them, so much so that on all the highest pillars in the great cities of the world you will find the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier. And I think most people believe that the greatest countries are those that have beaten in battle the greatest number of other countries and ruled over them as conquerors.
It is just possible they are, but they are not the most civilized. Animals fight; so do savages; hence to be good at fighting is to be good in the way in which an animal or a savage（野人） is good, but it is not to be civilized. Even being good at getting other people to fight for you and telling them how to do it most efficiently—this, after all, is what conquerors and generals have done—is not being civilized. People fight to settle quarrels. Fighting means killing, and civilized people ought to be able to find some way of setting their disputes other than by seeing which side can kill off the greater number of the other side, and then saying that that side which has killed most has won. And not only has it won, but because it has won, it had been in the right. For that is what going to war means; it means saying that might（权利） is right.
小题1:The author thinks that the conquerors and generals and soldiers ________.| A．only appear glorious in history books | | B．are greater than any other people | | C．are not as great as described in history books | | D．do not really help civilization forward |
小题2:As it is indicated in the passage, the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier is put on the highest pillars in the great cities of the world mainly because ________.| A．people respect them very much | | B．they fought bravely to protect their cities | | C．people think they fought too brutally（野蛮地） | | D．they conquered many cities and countries |
小题3:What is the writer’s attitude towards the countries that ruled over a large number of other countries ?| A．Positive. | B．Critical. | C．Ironic. | D．Respectful. |
小题4:The author says that civilized people________.| A．should not have any quarrels to settle | | B．should not fight when there are no quarrels to settle | | C．should settle their quarrels without fighting | | D．should settle their quarrels by killing the other side |
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To take the apple as a forbidden fruit is the most unlikely story the Christians（基督教徒）ever cooked up. For them, the forbidden fruit from Eden is evil（邪恶的）. So when Columbus brought the tomato back from South America, a land mistakenly considered to be Eden, everyone jumped to be the obvious conclusion. Wrongly taken as the apple of Eden, the tomato was shut out of the door of Europeans.
What made it particularly terrifying was its similarity to the mandrake, a plant that was thought to have come from Hell（地狱）.What earned the plant its awful reputation was its roots which looked like a dried-up human body occupied by evil spirits. Tough the tomato and the mandrake were quite different except that both had bright red or yellow fruit, the general population considered them one and the same, too terrible to touch.
Cautious Europeans long ignored the tomato, and until the early 1700s most of the Western people continued to drag their feet. In the 1880s, the daughter of a well-known plant expert wrote that the most interesting part of an afternoon tea at her father’s house had been the “introduction of this wonderful new fruit—or is it a vegetable?” As late as the twentieth century some writers still classed tomatoes with mandrakes as an “evil fruit”.
But in the end tomatoes carried the day. The hero of the tomato was an American named Robert Johnson, and when he was publicly going to eat the tomato in 1820, people journeyed for hundreds of miles to watch him drop dead. “What are you afraid of?” he shouted. “I’ll show you fools that these things are good to eat!” Then he bit into the tomato. Some people fainted. But he survived and, according to a local story, set up a tomato-canning factory.
小题1:The tomato was shut out of the door of early Europeans mainly because ______.| A．it made Christians evil. | | B．it was the apple of Eden | | C．it came from a forbidden land | | D．it was religiously unacceptable |
小题2:What can we infer the underlined part in Paragraph 3 ?| A．The process of ignoring the tomato slowed down | | B．There was little progress in the study of the tomato | | C．The tomato was still refused in most western countries | | D．Most western people continued to get rid of the tomato |
小题3:What is the main reason for Robert Johnson to eat the tomato publicly?| A．To make himself a hero | | B．To remove people’s fear of the tomato | | C．To speed up the popularity of the tomato | | D．To persuade people to buy products from his factory |
小题4:What is the main purpose of the passage ?| A．To challenge people’s fixed concepts of the tomato | | B．To give an explanation to people’s dislike of the tomato | | C．To present the change of people’s attitudes to the tomato | | D．To show the process of freeing the tomato from religious influence |
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