Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine’s Day.One legend dates as far back as the days of the Roman Empire.According to the story,Claudius,the Emperor of Rome,wanted to increase the size of his army.He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join.Therefore he made a rule that no young man could marry until he had served a certain number of years in the army.

A priest(牧师) named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great many young people.Finally,Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison,where he remained until his death on February 14.

After his death,Valentine was made a saint(圣人),and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine’s Day.It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day.Now Saint Valentine’s Day is a time for people to send one another greeting of many kinds.

February 14,Valentine’s Day,is sweethearts’ day,on which people in love with each other express their tender(温柔的) emotions.

People sometimes put their love message in a heartshaped box of chocolates,or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons(带子).Words of letters may be written on the flower covered card,or something else.Whatever the form may be,the message is almost the same：”Will you be my Valentine?”

1.Valentine was put in prison because 　　　.

A.he secretly got married　　　　　　　　 B.he didn’t serve in the army

C.he married many young people secretly　　 D.he broke the laws

2.According to the rule,　　 .

A.no young men could get married unless they were old enough

B.young men could marry if they served in the army for several years

C.no one could get married without the emperor’s permission

D.young men could marry only in the army

3.This passage mainly tells us about 　　　.

A.how Valentine died　　　　　　　　 B.the Emperor of Rome

C.how Valentine’s Day is celebrated　　　　 D.the origin Valentine’s Day

4.February 14 is chosen as Valentine’s Day because 　　　.

A.lovers express their tender emotions on this day

B.people want to remember Valentine

C.people send one another greetings of many kinds on this day

D.people want to fix a date for lovers to express their emotionse

When I was eight years old, I had a big accident. I get scared even now when I think about that time. There were many people skating near my house, and seeing them skate so wonderfully, I couldn’t wait to have a try, just a piece of cake, I thought .

I went with a friend who was very skillful. He spent a long time teaching me how to skate , but I still didn’t learn much , which made him very angry. Finally , he left me and skated all around. I skated alone and soon got bored because I kept falling down so I took off my skates and just walked around on the ice in my shoes. It was cold and my feet were frozen.

Suddenly, I stepped on something that was not hard. What was it ? It was a weak place in the ice . When I stepped there, I sank under the ice. I thought that I was going to die, but I did my best to grab something to get out from under the ice. I would have climbed out myself by grabbing the edge of the ice, but at that time I was only a child of eight . I cried out.

Fortunately, someone helped me. He grabbed my arms and pulled me up. Those several minutes seemed a year to me. I thanked him. At that time, my friend came back. I was annoyed at him because he was supposed to take care of me, but he didn’t. He was embarrassed. When I took a taxi home, the taxi driver was surprised and asked what had happened. I didn’t want to say anything because I was tired and scared. Since then, I have never touched skating.

66. At first the writer thought that skating _________________.

　 A. was hard to learn　　　　　　　　 B. was only suitable to watch

　 C. was easy to learn　　　　　　　　 D. can only be done with support

67. Why did the writer’s friend leave and skate alone? ___________

　 A. He wanted to show off his skating skill before the writer.

　 B. He was disappointed at the writer’s performance.

　 C. He was too tired to go on teaching the writer.

　 D. He found he had no gift for teaching others to skate.

68. Before the accident , the writer himself was____________

　 A. searching for his friend everywhere.　　

　 B. skating with great care and interest

　 C. going to find a place to warm himself up.

　 D. walking on the ice with no special purpose

69. According to the writer, if an adult sank under the ice, he would _____________.

　 A. grab the edge of the ice and get out.　　　　　　　　　　

　 B. have courage to call for help

　 C. wait until people came to help　　　　　　　　　　　　

　 D. not like to accept others’ help

70. What effect did the accident have on the writer?

　 A. He broke away from his irresponsible friend.　　　　　　

　 B. He didn’t dare to skate any longer

　 C. He fell ill because of staying under ice too longer.　　　　

　 D. He lost interest in all kinds of sports.

阅读理解: 阅读下列短文, 从所给的四个选项中, 选出最佳答案。

    Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories.His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to　　 know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where　　 he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O.Henry　　 was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories.　　 After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing.　　 He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People　　 liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish　　 with a sudden change at the end, to the readers' surprise. 　　

1. In which order did O. Henry do the following things? 　　

[    ] 　　

a. Lived in New York.　　

b. Worked in a bank　　

c. Traveled to Texas　　

d. Was put in prison.　　　　

e. Had a newspaper job.　　

f. Learned to write stories. 　　

A. e,c,f,b,d,a　　

B. c,e,b,d,f,a　　　　

C. e,b,d,c,a,f　　

D. c,b,e,d,a,f　　

2. People enjoyed reading O.Henry's stories because________　　

[    ]

A. they had surprise endings. 　　

B. they were easy to understand. 　　

C. they showed his love for the poor. 　　

D. they were about New York City.　　

3. O. Henry went to prison because___________.　　

[    ]

A. people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper 　　

B. he broke the law by not using his own name 　　

C. he wanted to write stories about prisoners 　　

D. people thought he had taken money that was not his 　　

4. What do you think about O. Henry before he began writing? 　　

[    ]

A. He was well educated.　　　　

B. He was not serious about work. 　　

C. He was devoted to the poor. 　　

D. He was very good at learning.　　

5. Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?　　

[    ]

A. His life inside the prison. 　　

B. The newspaper articles he wrote. 　　

C. The city and people of New York.