D

It was Sunday morning. All the summer world was bright and fresh, and full of life. There was cheer on every face and a spring in every step.

Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly. He looked at it, and all joy left him. The fence was long and high. He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence. He repeated the operation. He felt he could not continue and sat down.

He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day. They would walk past him and laugh. They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday. The thought burned him like fire.

He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned. Perhaps he could find some way to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him. But there was nothing of value in his pockets—nothing that could buy even half an hour of freedom. So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea.

At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It filled his mind with a great, bright light. Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash.

While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared. Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street. As he walked along, he was making noises like the sound of a riverboat. First he shouted loudly, like a boat captain. Then he said “Ding-Dong-Dong”, “Ding-Dong-Dong” again and again, like the bell of a riverboat. And he made other strange noises. When he came close to Tom, he stopped.

Tom went on whitewashing. He did not look at Ben. Ben stared a moment and then said: "Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”

No answer. Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist. Ben came nearer. Tom's mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working.

Ben said, "Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?"

Tom turned suddenly and said, "Why, it's you, Ben! I wasn't noticing."

"Say — I'm going swimming. Don't you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work — wouldn't you? Of course you would."

Tom looked at the boy a bit, and said "What do you call work?"

"Why, isn't that work?"

Tom went back to his whitewashing, and answered casually,

"Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer."

"Oh come, now, you don't mean to say that you like it?"

The brush continued to move.

"Like it? Well, I don't see why I shouldn’t like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?" Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his brush back and forth, stepped back to look at the result, added a touch here and there, and stepped back again. Ben watched every move and got more and more interested. Soon he said,

"Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little."

Tom thought for a moment, was about to agree; but he changed his mind:

"No — no — it won’t do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. It has got to be done very carefully. I don’t think there is one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it well enough."

"No — is that so? Oh come, now —let me just try. Only just a little."

"Ben, I'd like to, but if it isn’t done right, I’m afraid Aunt Polly— "

"Oh, I'll be careful. Now let me try. Say -- I'll give you the core（核心）of my apple."

"Well, here — No, Ben, now don't. I'm afraid —"

"I'll give you all of it."

Tom gave up the brush with unwillingness on his face, but joy in his heart. And while Ben worked at the fence in the hot sun, Tom sat under a tree, eating the apple, and planning how to get more help. There were enough boys. Each one came to laugh, but remained to whitewash. By the time Ben was tired, Tom sold the next chance to Billy for a kite; and when Billy was tired, Johnny bought in for a dead rat — and so on, hour after hour. And when the middle of the afternoon came, Tom had won many treasures

And he had not worked. He had had a nice idle time all the time, with plenty of company -- and the fence had been whitewashed three times. If he hadn't run out of whitewash, Tom would have owned everything belonging to his friends.

He had discovered a great law of human action, namely, that in order to make a man or a boy want a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to get.

68．Tom was about to agree to let Ben whitewash when he changed his mind because ______ .

A. Tom wanted to do the whitewashing by himself

B. Tom was unwilling to let Ben do the whitewashing

C. Tom was afraid Ben would do the whitewashing better

D. Tom didn’t want to let Ben do the whitewashing before he made him give up his apple first

69．The underlined word “casually” is most similar to “______” in meaning.

A. carelessly                 B. delightedly               C. seriously                  D. angrily

70．We can learn from the passage that ______ .

A. Tom was interested in whitewashing the fence.

B. Tom had a lot of friends who are ready to help others.

C. Tom was unwilling to whitewash the fence, but he managed to let other boys do it for him

D. Tom was good at whitewashing the fence, so he looked at the result of his work with the eye of an artist.

When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously (同时地) about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what’ s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen — they can’t do both —and they don’ t understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships — not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen.

During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle body language signals that reveal how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts.

66．While watching TV with others, women usually talk a lot because they________.

A. are afraid of awkward silence with their families and friends

B. can both talk and watch the screen at the same time

C. think they can have a good time and develop relationships

D. have to explain the plot and body language to their husbands

67．After a vacation with her girlfriend, a woman would talk to her again on the phone for hours in order to________.

A. experience the happy time again

B. keep a close tie with her

C. recommend her a new scenic spot

D. remind her of something forgotten

68．What does the author want to tell us most?

A. Women’s brains are better organized for language and communication.

B. Women love to talk because they are more sociable than men.

C. Men do not like talking because they rely more on facts.

D. Social conditioning is not the reason why women love talking.

69．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Women Are Socially Trained to Talk

B. Talking Maintains Relationships

C. Women Love to Talk

D. Men Talk Differently from Women

When someone says, “Well, I guess I'll have to go to face the music,” it doesn’t mean he is planning to go to a concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you did not do this or that. Terrible music, indeed, but it has to be faced. At some time or another, every one of us has had to “face the music”, especially as children. We can remember father’s angry voice: “I want to talk to you!” And only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

The phrase “face the music” is known to every American, old and young. It is at least one hundred years old. Where did the expression come from?

The first explanation came from the American novelist James Fenimore Cooper. He said, in 1851, that expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings (舞台的两侧) to go on stage. After they got their clue(暗示) to go on , they often said, “It’s time to go to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did face the orchestra (乐队) which was just below the stage. An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience(观众) that might be friendly, or perhaps unfriendly, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So “face the music” came to mean: having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.

1．The expression “face the music” means ______.　

A. plan to go to a concert　　 　　　　　　　　　

B. get one’s clue to do something

C. have to go through something far less pleasant　

D. disobey what one's father says

 

2．The passage tells us that the expression was first used by _____.

A. children　　　 　 B. novelists　　　 　 C. actors　　　　 　 D. audience

3．In the last paragraph the Chinese meaning of the word “line” is _______.

A. 老板　　　　 B. 同事　　　 　 C. 角色　　 　　　　 D. 台词

4．Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The expression came from James Fenimore Cooper, an American novelist

B. The expression has a history of 100 years.

C. If someone doesn’t obey his boss, he will have to face the music.

D. Almost everyone once had an experience to face the music.

 

Why don’t birds get lost on their long migratory(迁移的) flights?  Scientists ____1  over this question for many years．Now the reasons have been discovered only recently.

    2    ago experiments showed that birds depend on the sun to guide them   3  . But what about birds that fly mainly by night ?    4    with man-made stars have proved   5    certain night-flying birds are able to follow the    6    in their long distance flights.

　　 One such   7   -a warbler (鸣禽)-had spent its lifetime in a   8   and had never flown under a natural sky. Yet it showed an inborn (天生的)    9   to use the stars for guidance. The bird’s cage was placed under a man-made star-filled sky at migration   10  . The bird tried to fly   11   the same direction as   12   taken by his indoor cousins. Any   13   in the position of the make-believe (虚构的) stars  14   a change in the direction of his flight.

Scientists think that warblers,   15   flying in daylight, use the sun for guidance. But stars are clearly their important   16   of navigation (导航). What do they do when the stars are   17   by the clouds? Clearly, they find their way by such land.   18    as mountain ranges, coastlines (海岸线) and river courses. But when it’s too   19   to see these, the warblers circle   20  , unable to find out where they were.

1. A. talked 　　　　　　　　　　    B. puzzled 　　　　　　　　　　    C. went　　　　　　　　　　    D. looked

2. A. Not long 　　　　　　　　　　    B. Long   　　　　　　　　　　    C. Centuries　　　　　　　　　　    D. Years

3. A. during the night　　　　　　　　   　　　　　　　　　　    B. during daylight hours

C. in winter　　　　　　　　　　  　　　　　　  D. in the dark

4. A. Examinations 　　　　　　　　　　    B. Laboratories　　　　　　　　　　    C. Tests　　　　　　　　　　    D. Sky

5. A. why　　　　　　　　　　    B. how　　　　　　　　　　    C. what　　　　　　　　　　    D. that

6. A. stars　　　　　　　　　　    B. moon　　　　　　　　　　    C. route　　　　　　　　　　    D. sun

7. A. star　　　　　　　　　　    B. scientist　　　　　　　　　　    C. bird　　　　　　　　　　    D. flight

8. A. forest　　　　　　　　　　    B. cage　　　　　　　　　　    C. nest　　　　　　　　　　    D. cave

9. A. strength　　　　　　　　　　    B. ability　　　　　　　　　　    C. experience　　　　　　　　　　    D. practice

10. A. time　　　　　　　　　　    B. place　　　　　　　　　　    C. way　　　　　　　　　　    D. season

11. A. to　　　　　　　　　　    B. towards　　　　　　　　　　    C. in 　　　　　　　　　　    D. under

12. A. that　　　　　　　　　　    B. which　　　　　　　　　　    C. one　　　　　　　　　　    D. it

13. A. one　　　　　　　　　　    B. change　　　　　　　　　　    C. way　　　　　　　　　　    D. bird

14. A. caused 　　　　　　　　　　    B. gave　　　　　　　　　　    C. resulted　　　　　　　　　　    D. meant

15. A. for　　　　　　　　　　    B. when　　　　　　　　　　    C. after　　　　　　　　　　    D. they are

16. A. ways　　　　　　　　　　    B. means　　　　　　　　　　    C. objects　　　　　　　　　　    D. homes

17. A. shown　　　　　　　　　　    B. covered　　　　　　　　　　    C. removed　　　　　　　　　　    D. hidden

18. A. areas　　　　　　　　　　    B. surface　　　　　　　　　　    C. marks　　　　　　　　　　    D. signs

19. A. far　　　　　　　　　　    B. far away　　　　　　　　　　    C. dark　　　　　　　　　　    D. bright

20. A. helplessly　　　　　　　　　　    B. hopefully　　　　　　　　　　    C. easily　　　　　　　　　　    D. freely

 

Why don’t birds get lost on their long migratory(迁移的) flights?  Scientists ____1  over this question for many years．Now the reasons have been discovered only recently.

    2    ago experiments showed that birds depend on the sun to guide them   3  . But what about birds that fly mainly by night ?    4    with man-made stars have proved   5    certain night-flying birds are able to follow the    6    in their long distance flights.

　　 One such   7   -a warbler (鸣禽)-had spent its lifetime in a   8   and had never flown under a natural sky. Yet it showed an inborn (天生的)    9   to use the stars for guidance. The bird’s cage was placed under a man-made star-filled sky at migration   10  . The bird tried to fly   11   the same direction as   12   taken by his indoor cousins. Any   13   in the position of the make-believe (虚构的) stars  14   a change in the direction of his flight.

Scientists think that warblers,   15   flying in daylight, use the sun for guidance. But stars are clearly their important   16   of navigation (导航). What do they do when the stars are   17   by the clouds? Clearly, they find their way by such land.   18    as mountain ranges, coastlines (海岸线) and river courses. But when it’s too   19   to see these, the warblers circle   20  , unable to find out where they were.

1. A. talked 　　　　　　　　　　    B. puzzled 　　　　　　　　　　    C. went　　　　　　　　　　    D. looked

2. A. Not long 　　　　　　　　　　    B. Long   　　　　　　　　　　    C. Centuries　　　　　　　　　　    D. Years

3. A. during the night　　　　　　　　   　　　　　　　　　　    B. during daylight hours

C. in winter　　　　　　　　　　  　　　　　　  D. in the dark

4. A. Examinations 　　　　　　　　　　    B. Laboratories　　　　　　　　　　    C. Tests　　　　　　　　　　    D. Sky

5. A. why　　　　　　　　　　    B. how　　　　　　　　　　    C. what　　　　　　　　　　    D. that

6. A. stars　　　　　　　　　　    B. moon　　　　　　　　　　    C. route　　　　　　　　　　    D. sun

7. A. star　　　　　　　　　　    B. scientist　　　　　　　　　　    C. bird　　　　　　　　   

;　　 D. flight

8. A. forest　　　　　　　　　　    B. cage　　　　　　　　　　    C. nest　　　　　　　　　　    D. cave

9. A. strength　　　　　　　　　　    B. ability　　　　　　　　　　    C. experience　　　　　　　　　　    D. practice

10. A. time　　　　　　　　　　    B. place　　　　　　　　　　    C. way　　　　　　　　　　    D. season

11. A. to　　　　　　　　　　    B. towards　　　　　　　　　　    C. in 　　　　　　　　　　    D. under

12. A. that　　　　　　　　　　    B. which　　　　　　　　　　    C. one　　　　　　　　　　    D. it

13. A. one　　　　　　　　　　    B. change　　　　　　　　　　    C. way　　　　　　　　　　    D. bird

14. A. caused 　　　　　　　　　　    B. gave　　　　　　　　　　    C. resulted　　　　　　　　　　    D. meant

15. A. for　　　　　　　　　　    B. when　　　　　　　　　　    C. after　　　　　　　　　　    D. they are

16. A. ways　　　　　　　　　　    B. means　　　　　　　　　　    C. objects　　　　　　　　　　    D. homes

17. A. shown　　　　　　　　　　    B. covered　　　　　　　　　　    C. removed　　　　　　　　　　    D. hidden

18. A. areas　　　　　　　　　　    B. surface　　　　　　　　　　    C. marks　　　　　　　　　　    D. signs

19. A. far　　　　　　　　　　    B. far away　　　　　　　　　　    C. dark　　　　　　　　　　    D. bright

20. A. helplessly　　　　　　　　　　    B. hopefully　　　　　　　　　　    C. easily　　　　　　　　　　    D. freely