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     He could have been president of Israel-or played the violin at Carnegie Hall,  but he was too busy
thinking-thinking on God,  love and the meaning of life.

     Fifty years after his death,  his shock (蓬乱) of white hair and hanging moustache still symbolize genius.Einstein remains the leading scientist of the modern time.Looking back 2,400 years,  only Newton,  
Galileo and Aristotle were his equals.
     Around the world,  universities and academies are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein's  
"miracle year" when he published five scientific papers in 1905 that basically changed our grasp of space,  
time,  light and matter.Only he could top himself about ten years later with his theory of relativity.
     Born in the age of horsedrawn carriages,  his ideas launched a technological revolution that has made
more change in a century than in the previous two thousand years.Computers,  satellites,  
telecommunication,  lasers,  television and nuclear power all owe their invention to ways in which Einstein
exposed a stranger and more complicated reality under the world.
     He escaped Hitler's Germany and devoted the rest of his life to human rights and peace with an
authority (当局) unmatched by any scientist today,  or even most politicians and religious leaders.He
spoke out against fascism and racial prejudice.His FBI (美国联邦调查局) file ran 1,400 pages.
     His letters expose a disorderly personal life-married twice and indifferent toward his children while
absorbed in physics.Yet he charmed lovers and admirers with poetry and sailboat outings.Friends and
neighbors fiercely protected his privacy (隐私).
1. The first paragraph implies that Einstein________.
A. had run for president before he worked at his research
B. had the gift for politics and music
C. was an excellent violinist
D. was more a political leader or a musician than a thinker
2. When you think of Einstein,  what typical appearance was formed in your mind?
A. Funning and humorous with an air of a musician.
B. Wearing very wide trousers,  a moustache,  with an image of an actor.
C. Rough untidy mass of white hair and hanging moustache,  with an image of a thinker.
D. Black long hair and moustache,  with an air of a painter.
3. Why was 1905 called Einstein's "miracle year"?
A. Because he topped himself with the theory of relativity.
B. Because he made important discoveries of space,  time,  light and matter.
C. Because he published five papers on his theory of relativity.
D. Because he wrote five important articles to help people better understand space,  time,  light and 
matter.
4. Which of the following is NOT true about Einstein according to the passage?
A. He was so busy with the physical research that he showed no interest in politics.
B. He tried to amuse his admirers and friends in his spare time.
C. When he was absorbed in his research,  he didn't care about his family.
D. His theory led to much improvement in many technological fields.

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     One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O.Henry. From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum. Visitors to Austin can see the house. It was saved from destruction (破坏) and turned into a museum in1934. The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer.
     William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years. Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters. Others did not. An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here. It was taken there in the house about 1895. The piano
there goes back to the 1860s. His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin.
     Porter did not start his career as a successful writer. He worked at a farm, land office and bank. He
also loved words and writing. The museum has a special proof of Porter's love of language --- his
dictionary. It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary.
     Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at
the bank and lost his job. Because he was afraid of a trail (审判), he left the country secretly. But he returned because his wife was dying. After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal. He served three
and a half years in a prison in Ohio.
     William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret. But there was one good thing about it. It provided him with time to write. By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O.Henry.
     Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there. He published over 180 stories in
the last eight years of his life.
1. O.Henry's house in Austin has been well kept up till now so that ____.
A. Americans can explore their history
B more visitors will be attracted to Austin
C. visitors can learn about O.Henry's life
D. it can show the way of life in the 1860s
2. What do we know about the piano in the house?
A. It was hated by Porter's daughter.
B. It has a long history of about 150 years.
C. Porter's wife gave music lessons on it.
D. Porter usually created music on it.
3. How does the museum prove (证明) Porter was fond of language?
A. With a dictionary he used.    
B. With the records they keep.
C. Using the books they wrote.  
D. Using the photograph they keep.
4. Why did Porter escape from Austin?
A. He didn't want to lose his job.
B. He didn't want to make trouble.
C. He meant to save his wife's life.
D. He was charged with a crime.
5. From the last two paragraphs we know that _______.
A. Porter became famous suddenly
B. Porter spent his time in prison writing
C. Porter suffered a lot from his time in prison
D. life in prison provided what he could write for Porter

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     Arthur Miller (1915-2005) is universally recognized as one of the greatest dramatists(剧作家) of the
20th century. Miller`s father had moved to the USA from Austria Hungary, drawn like so many others by
the "Great American Dream". However, he experienced severe financial hardship when his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the early l930s.
     Millers' s most famous play, Death of a Salesman, is a powerful attack on the American system, with its aggressive way of doing business and its insistence(执着) on money and social status(身份) as indicators(指数) of worth. In Willy Loman, the hero of the play, we see a man who has got into trouble with his
worth. Willy is "burnt out" and in the cruel world of business there is no room for sentiment: if he can't do
the work, then he is no good to his employer, the Wagner Company, and he must go. Willy is painfully
aware of this, and at loss as to what to do with his lack of success. He refuses to face the fact that he has
failed and kills himself in the end.
     When it was first staged in 1949, the play was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and it won the Tony
Award for Best Play, the New York Drama Critics` Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It
was the first play to win all three of these major awards.
     Miller died of heart failure at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, on the evening of February 10, 2005,
the 56th anniversary of the first performance of Death of a Salesman on Broadway.
1. What can we learn about Willy Loman?
A. He treats his employer badly.          
B. He runs the Wagner Company.      
C. He is a victim of the American system.  
D. He is regarded as a hero by his colleagues.
2. After it was first staged, Death of a Salesman         .
A. achieved huge success            
B. won the first Tony Award
C. was warmly welcomed by salesmen
D. was severely attacked by dramatists
3. Why did Arthur Miller's father move to the USA?
A. He suffered from severe hunger in his home country.
B. He was attracted by the "Great American Dream.
C. He hoped to make his son a dramatist.      
D. His family business failed.
4. The play Death of a Salesman          .
A. exposes the cruelty of the American business world      
B. discusses the ways to get promoted in a company    
C. talks about the business career of Arthur Miller  
D. focuses on the skills in doing business
5. What is the text mainly about?
A. Arthur Miller and his family.          
B. The awards Arthur Miller won.
C. The hardship Arthur Miller experienced.  
D. Arthur Miller and his best-known play.

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     Thomas Edison was one of ten said to be the greatest genius of his age. There are only a few men in all of the history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric
light.  But Edison could never be happy only because someone said he was a genius. "There is no such
thing as genius, " Edison said. He said that what people called genius was mostly hard work.
     But Edison was a dreamer as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about
the secrets of nature. Nature, he often said, is full of secrets. He tried to understand them; then, he tried to
learn what could usefully be done with them.
     Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people will do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking can give men
enjoyment and pleasure.
     Edison could not understand how anyone could be uninterested in life. As he loved to think, he also
loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what ideas he had about life.
"Work," he answered. "Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier." He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.
1. The passage is mainly about  _________.
A. great genius in history
B. a great inventor
C. Edison's inventions
D. love for nature
2. Edison thought _______.
A. he could be happy if he was a genius
B. genius plays the most important part in one's success
C. hard work could do better than genius
D. genius could do better than hard work
3. Edison was _______.
A. very much interested in dreaming
B. interested in the secrets of nature
C. interested in changing people's ideas
D. uninterested in making people happier by discovering the secrets of nature
4. In Edison's opinion, _____ .
A. thinking can supply people with enjoyment and pleasure as well as help
B. people's success lies mostly in genius
C. hard work is the second important thing in making people successful
D. there are few secrets for him to discover later
5. The last sentence in the passage most probably implies        .
A. life is too short for Edison to invent more for human beings
B. Edison made 100 inventions in his life
C. Edison was able to live and work for 100 years
D. People of his time were ready to give Edison another 100 years' work

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