(10·福建A篇)

  F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24, 1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St. Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton. University  for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.

  His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary:“ My own happiness in the past often approached such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary.”

  This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. Encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Thales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, which quick brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security. Then, in 1926, he published another collection of short stories All the Sad Young Men.

  However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The Love of the Last Tycoon in 1940. while his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism.

56. How many novels written by Fitzgerald are mentioned in the passage?

 A. 5            B. 6            C. 7              D. 8

57. Which of the following is the correct order to describe Fitzgerald’s life according to the passage?

a. He became addicted to drinking.

b. He studied at St. Paul Academy.

c. He published his first novel This Side of Paradise.

d. The Great Gatsby won high praise.

e. He failed to reorder his life.

f. He joined the army and met Zelda.

A. f-c-e-a-b-d       B. b-e-a-f-c-d        C. f-d-e-c-b-a      D. b-f-c-d-e-a

58. We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald            .

  A. had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama.

  B. was well educated and well off before he served in the army

  C. would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down

  D. helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital

59. The passage is probably followed by a concluding paragraph about          .

 A. Zelda’s personal life

 B. Zelda’s illness and treatment

 C. Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham

 D. Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary world

 (10·安徽A篇)

The engineer Camilla Olivetti was 40 years old when he started the company in 1908. At his factory in Ivrea, he designed and produced the first Italian typewriter. Today the company’s head office is still in Ivrea, near Turin, but the company is much larger than it was in those days and there are offices all around the world,

     By 1930 there was a staff of 700 and the company turned out 13.000 machines a year. Some went to customers in Italy, but Olivetti exported more typewriters to other countries.

     Camillo’s son, Adriano, started working for the company in 1924 and later he became the boss. He introduced a standard speed for the production line and he employed technology and design specialist. The company developed new and better typewriters and then calculators(计算器). In 1959 it produced the ELEA computer system. This was the first mainframe(主机) computer designed and made in Italy.

After Adriano died in 1960, the company had a period of financial problem. Other companies, especially the Japanese, made faster progress in electronic technology than the Italian company.

In 1978, Carlo de Benedetti became the new boss. Olivetti increased its marketing and service networks and made agreements with other companies to design and produce more advanced office equipment. Soon it became one of the world’s lesding companies in information technology and commucations. There are now five independent companies in the Olivetti group—one for personal computers, one for other office equipment, one for systems and service, and two for telecommunications.

56.From the text we learn that            

A. by 1930 Olivetti produced 13.000 typewriters a year

B. Olivetti earned more in the 1960s than in the 1950s

C. some of Olivetti’s 700 staff regularly visited customers in Italy

D. Olivetti set up offices in other countries from the very beginning

57. What was probably the direct result of Olivetti’s falling behind in electronic technology

A. Adriano’s death                    B.A period of financial problems

C. Its faster progress                  D. Its agreements with other companies.

58. What do we know about Olivetti?

A. It produced the best typewriter in the world.

B. It designed the world’s first mainframe computer.

C. It exported more typewriters than other companies.

D. It has five independent companies with its head office in Ivrea.

59. The best title for the text would be            

A. The Origin of Olivetti.               B. The Success of Olivetti.

C. The History of Olivetti               D. The Production of Olivetti.

（2011·福建卷）D

  Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most private women in the world, yet when she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed (展现) herself as she did nowhere else.

After the death of her second husband,Greek shipping magnate AristotieOnassis laqueline’s close friend and former White House social  ?   Letitis Baldrige made a suggestion that she consider a career in publishing.After consideration,

       Jacqueline accepted it.Perhaps she hoped to find there some ideas about how to live her own life .She became not less but more interested in reading.For the last 20 years of her life, Jacqueline worked as a publisher’s editor, first at Viking,then at Doubleday ,pursuing（追求）a late-life career longer than her two marriages combined.During her time in publishing, she was responsible for managing and editing more than 100 sucessfully marketed books.Among the first books were In the Russian Style and Inventive Paris Clothes.She also succeeded in persuading TV hosts Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell to transform their popular television conversation into a book ,The Power of Myth.The book went on to become an international best-seller.She dealt  too.with Michael Jackson as he prepared his autobiography(自传)，Moonwalk.

Jaequelinered for her name and for her social relations,but she soon proved

Her worth.Her shoicas,suggestions and widespread social relations were of benefit both to the publishing Since and to Jacqueline herself.In the books she selected for publication,she built on a lifetime of spending time by herself as a reader and left a record of the growth of her mind.Her books are the autobiofraphy she never wrote,Her role as First lady,in the end,was overshadowed by her performance as an editor.However,few knew that she had achteved so much.

68.We can learn from the passage that Jecqueline        

A.because fond of reading after working as an editor

B.was in charge of publishing 100 books

C.promoted lier books through social relations

D.gained a lot from her career as an editor

69.The underlined sentence in the last paragph probably means this      

A.Jscqueline’s ended up as an editor rather than as First Lady

B. Jscqueline’s life as First Lady was more colorful than as an editor

C. Jscqueline was more successful as an editor than as First Lady

D. Jscqueline’s role as First Lady was more brilliant than as an editor

70.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Jscqueline’s two marriages lasted more than 20 years

B. Jscqueline’s own publishing firm was set up eventually

C. Jscqueline’s views and beliefs were reflected in the books she edited

D. Jscqueline’s achievements were widely known

71.The passage is mainly   

A.an introduction of jacqueline’s life both as Fist Lady and as editor.

B.a brief description of jacqueline’s lifelong experiences.

C.a brief account of jacqueline’s career as an editor in her last 20 years.

D.an analysis of Jscqueline’s social relations in publishing

（2011·重庆卷）D

William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13,1865. His childhood lacked the harmony (和睦) that was typical of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered “little of childhood but its pain”. In fact, he inherited (继承) excellent taste in art from his family—both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama (戏剧) and poetry.

Yeats had strong faith in coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the fresh task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments, however, were not received favorably at the beginning. He didn’t lose heart, and finally enjoyed success in his poetical drama.

Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats’s poems attract much admiring notice. The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very tradisional forms, he brought modern sensibility to them. As his literary life progressed, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide recognition.

He had not enjoyed a major public lift since winning the Nobel Price in 1923. Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would probably now be valued as a minor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet who produces his greatest works between the age of 50 and 75. After Yeats’s death in 1939, W. H. Auden wrote, among others, the falling liners:

Earth, receive an honoured guest:

William Yeats is laid to rest.

Let the Irish vessel (船) lie

Emptied of its poetry.

68. Which of the following can describe Yeats’s family?

A. It filled Yeats’s childhood with laughter.

B. It was shocked by Yeats’s choice.

C. It was a typically wealthy family.

D. It had an artistic atmosphere.

69. According to thse passage, what do we know about Yeats’s life?

A. Yeats founded the first Irish theater.

B. Yeats stuck to modern forms in his peotry.

C. Yeats began to produce his best works from the 1910s.

D. Yeats was not favored by the publie until the 1923 Noble Prize.

70. What kind of feeling is expressed in W.H.Auden’s lines?

A. Envy.                        B. Sympathy.

C. Emptiness.                    D. Admiration.

71. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Yeats’s literary achievements.

B. Yeats’s historical influence.

C. Yeats’s artistic ambition.

D. Yeats’s national honor.

（2011·陕西卷）B

Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.

Born in September, 1987, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris.

Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities（设备） to help save the lives of wounded soldiers.Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgrum. Her services were recognised in the form of a Military’s Medal by the French government.

    In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taugh him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.

Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity（辐射能）. Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.

49．Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?【】

A.Because she received a degree in mathematics.

B.Because she contributed to saving the wounded.

C.Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic.

D. Because she worked as a helper to her mother.

50．Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederio joliot?【】

A.At the Curie Institute.       B.At the Cniversity of Paris.

C.At a military hospital.       D.At the College of Sevigne.

51．When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?【】

A. In 1932.     B. In 1927.      C. In 1897.     D. In  1926.

52． In which of the following aspects was Irene Cuire different from her mother?【】

A.Irene worked with radioactivity.    B.Irene combined family and career.

C.Irene won the Nobel Prize once     D.Irene died from leukemia.

Arthur  Miller(1915-2005)is universally  recognized  as one of the greatest dramatists  of the 20^th  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 on money and social status as indicators 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.

 D. focuses on the skills in doing business

58. 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.

59. 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

60. 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.

 (山东省滨州市2007届高三第四次模拟考试D篇)

If you have ever been rock climbing, then you will know that it is not a very easy sport. In fact you probably felt quite defeated when you first tried to do any serious climbing. Indoor and outdoor rock climbing are both extremely demanding and, like anything else, require practice, to get good at. What most people don’t know is that the sport of rock climbing is one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports there is.

There are three basic types of rock climbing. Top roping is probably one of the most common types and is basically climbing with a partner. The second type, which is very similar to top roping, is called lead climbing. In both of these types of rock climbing the climber can sit off the wall and rest on the rope.

The third type of rock climbing is called bouldering. Bouldering is a type of free climbing without any ropes. This is the most demanding of all climbing types. The climber must be able to complete the climbing without taking a rest on the rope.

Believe it or not, climbing is said to be about 75% legs and only 25% arms. To climb efficiently and successfully, a person needs to have a wonderful technique. One of the major rules of rock climbing is to always have three points touching the wall, whether it is both feet and one hand, or one foot and both hands, as it is much easier to have your weight rest on three points than on two. Another important idea to grasp is that your arms in most cases will do the climbing; they only hold you into the wall so that your legs are actually pushing you upward. Also, the closer you are to the wall, the easier it is to climb.

Rock climbing may sound a bit too extreme for the everyday person but it really is an amazing workout. Once you get into the sport, and learn how to position your body and rest your weight, then you can begin to deal with some difficult problems. The great thing about rock climbing is that it is mentally challenging as well. You are constantly analyzing the way your body moves and how to do certain moves on the wall. For anyone who wants to get into shape, rock climbing is a fun and effective way to exercise muscles.

71．What does the author think of rock climbing?

       A．It is an easy sport.                                                               B．It is challenging.

       C．It is quite dangerous.                            D．It is extremely difficult.

72．According to this passage, we know that __________.

       A．indoor rock climbing is much easier than outdoor rock climbing

       B．while rock climbing, people depend mainly on their arms

       C．ordinary people can practise rock climbing

       D．during climbing, the climber can always stop for a rest

73．It is much easier for a rock climber if he ___________ while climbing.

       A．takes a rope                                        B．has a partner

       C．has three points touching the wall          D．uses feet more often

74．___________ will make rock climb easier.

       A．Keeping the body closer to the wall

       B．Resting more often on the arms

       C．Resting more often on the feet

       D．Pushing forward without thinking of the problems

75．By rock climbing, one can _____________.

       A．get more weight and stronger muscles

       B．get both physical and mental exercises

       C．have a terrible experience that will last long.

       D．probably feel quite defeated

 (江苏省启东中学2007高考最后冲刺练习A篇)

A Battery’s Worst Nightmare (噩梦)

Portable electronics that can be carried about easily are only as good as their batteries and, let’s face it, batteries aren’t very good, especially when compared with, say, petrol, which packs 100 times a battery’s energy into an equal space. That’s why a large group of mechanical engineers (centered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but with partners at other universities and companies) are hard at work in an effort to replace batteries with a tiny engine that runs on fuel. Imagine a battery-free life! When the fuel runs out in your laptop or mobile phone, you just fill up and go.

The engine—about the size of a ten-cent coin—starts with a combustion chamber (燃烧室) that burns hydrogen (氢) . Its tiny parts are etched onto silicon wafers (硅片) in the same manner that computer parts are imprinted onto integrated circuits (集成电路). The first engine is made up of five wafers. And since these wafers could be produced in much the same way as computer chips, they could probably be produced quite cheaply.

But the devil in all this nice detail is efficiency（效率）. Tiny engine parts don’t always behave like their scaled-up parts of the first engine. Something between the parts can slow down the works, according to Columbia University professor Luc Frechette, one of the engine’s designers. Extreme heat from the combustion chamber is also a problem, often leaking to other parts of the engine.

The scientists’ goal is to create an engine that will operate at 10 percent efficiency —that is, 10 times better than batteries operate. Frechette says that a complete system, with all parts of place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years, but commercial models aren’t like until at least the end of the next ten years.

1. According to the passage, the title suggests that ________

       A. batteries should be greatly improved      

B. petrol will be used instead of batteries

       C. the time of batteries will be gone forever  

D. pollution caused by batteries must be solved

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “devil” in paragraph 3?

       A. problem　  B. advantage　       C. invention　 Ｄ. technique

3. What can we infer from the passage?

       A. The new invention doesn’t need any fuel.

       B. The new engine has been produced in quantity.

       C. The new invention is much cheaper than the battery.

       D. The new engine needs to be improved before it’s on sale

4. What is the main purpose of this passage?

       A. To introduce a new invention to readers.

       B. To persuade readers not to use batteries.

       C. To show us how the new invention works.

       D. To declare when the engine will be on sale.

 (吉林省实验中学2007届高三第四次模拟考试D篇)

Moods, say the experts, are feelings that tend to become fixed, influencing one’s outlook for hours, days or even weeks. That’s great if your mood is a pleasant one, but a problem if you are sad, anxious, angry or simply lonely.

Perhaps the best way to deal with such moods is to talk them out; sometimes, though, there is no one to listen. Modern pharmacology（药理学）offers a lot of tranquilizers（镇静剂）. What many people don’t realize, however, is that scientists have discovered the effectiveness of several non – drug methods to set you loose from an unwanted mood. These can be just as useful as drugs, and have the added benefit of being nonpoisonous So next time you feel out of sorts, don’t head for the drug – store but try the following methods.

Of all the mood – altering self – help techniques, aerobic exercise（有氧运动）seems to be the most efficient cure for a bad mood. “If you could keep up the exercise you’d be in high spirits,” says Kathryn Lance, author of Running for Health and Beauty.

Researchers have explained biochemical an various other changes that make exercise compare favorable to drugs as a mood raiser. Physical work such as housework, however, does little. The key is aerobic exercise —running, cycling, walking, swimming or other repetitive and sustained activities that increase the heart rate, increase blood circulation and improve the body’s use of oxygen. Do some of the activities for at least 20 minutes a session three to five times a week.

53．What is the main subject of the passage?

       A．How to beat a bad mood                       B．How to talk bad moods out

       C．How to do physical exercises                D．How to do aerobic exercises

54．It can be inferred from the passage that            .

       A．when one is in a bad mood, he or she may not work very well

       B．the best way to overcome a bad mood is to talk to oneself

       C．some drugs are more effective than physical exercises

       D．taking drugs is at risk of being poisonous

55．The phrase “feel out of sorts”, could be best replaced by            .

       A．put things in order                               B．are in a bad mood

       C．search for tranquilizers                         D．want a mood - raiser

56．Which of the following best describes the organization of the this passage?

      A．An exercise and its importance are explained.

       B．A problem is examined and solutions are given.

       C．Two different views of a problem are presented.

       D．Recent developments in medicine are described.

57．According to the passage, all of the following are true except            .

       A．moods can have an effect on people’s feelings

       B．aerobic exercise can help people get rid of the bad moods.

       C．scientists have provided people with many tranquilizers

       D．swimming, or running is an effective cure for a bad mood

 (吉林省实验中学2007届高三第四次模拟考试A篇)

LONDON- “Everyone else has one!” Lucy declared to her parents, trying to get a mobile phone as a gift for 14^th birthday. Her parents gave in.

Curious to know how her daughter would use the phone, Jane Bidder, the mother, followed Lucy to the school bus in the morning. The bus seats 20, of whom half have a mobile phone. One rings and several adolescent owners fumble with their bags.

Many parents have just come to realize that the mobile phone is no longer for traveling businessmen—it is as likely to be found in school bags.

The mobile phone seems to have become something essential for today’s teens in Britain, according to a survey published last week, by NOP, a leading market research company in Britain. Research found that 66 percent of 16 – year – olds now have access to a mobile phone.

The mobile phone has been turned into a secret messaging service by teen users. When they are talking on the mobile, their parents are not able to eavesdrop on the second line.

The interview with 2,019 young people aged 7 to 16 found that they favor the text messaging service because they offer a secret way of keeping in touch. The days of secret notes in the classroom are dying out.

For example, “cul” means “see you later”; “lol” means “laugh out loud’; and “2nite” is the abbreviation of “tonight”. All these are based on shorthand phrases on the Internet.

Many schools have banned students using mobile phones. But they are not very successful. Still phones ring in the class and disturb study. Besides, people are worried about the health risk to kids using mobile phones.

Scientists believe children are especially vulnerable（易受伤的）mobile radiation.

41．The story of Lucy is told to show us          .

       A．British parents always meet their children’s needs.

       B．British kids have good relationship with their parents.

       C．how British parents accept the truth of teenagers owning a mobile phone.

       D．why every child gets a mobile phone as a birthday present in UK

42．Which of the following statements is NOT   true according to the passage?

       A．People worry about the harm to the kids’ health by using mobile phone.

       B．Teenagers want to have their own secret.

       C．Lucy does not get the mobile phone she wants

       D．Teenagers like to send messages to each other

43．The underlined word “eavesdrop” means          .

       A．join in actively                                     B．interrupt rudely

       C．watch carefully                                   D．listen secretly

44．Interviews discover children like to send messages instead of          .

       A．calling each other                                 B．writing to each other

       C．playing games online                            D．greeting each other