A qualified doctor who rarely practiced but instead devoted his life to writing. He once said: “Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my lover.” Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, was a great playwright and one of the masters of the modern short story.

When Chekhov entered the Moscow University Medical School in 1879, he started to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support his family. After he graduated, he wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.

As a writer he was extremely fast, often producing a short story in an hour or less. Chekhov’s medical and science experience can be seen through the indifference(冷漠) many of his characters show to tragic events. In 1892, he became a full time writer and published some of his most memorable stories.

Chekhov often wrote about the sufferings of life in small town Russia. Tragic events control his characters who are filled with feelings of hopelessness and despair.

It is often said that nothing happens in Chekhov’s stories and plays. He made up for this with his exciting technique for developing drama within his characters. Chekhov’s work combined the calm attitude of a scientist and doctor with the sensitivity(敏感) of an artist.

Some of Chekhov's works were translated into Chinese as early as the 1940s. One of his famous stories, The Man in a Shell, about a school teacher’s extraordinarily orderly life, was selected as a text for Chinese senior students.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ________.

A. had a lawful lover                          B. was an illegal writer

C. used to be a lawyer                         D. was a competent doctor

In 1880, Chekhov ________.

A. became a full-time writer 

B. studied medicine in Moscow University

C. practiced medicine in his hometown

D. published his most memorable stories

Which of the following adjectives can’t be used to describe Chekhov?

A. Sensitive.                                            B. Cool.

C. Quick-minded.                                     D. Warm-hearted.

Which of the following is the right order of the events?

A. became a doctor                      B. became a full time writer

C. started to publish comic short stories     

D. wrote regularly for a local daily newspaper.

e. entered the Moscow University Medical School

A. e→c→a→d→b                B. d→a→b→c→e               

C. e→c→b→a→d         　　D. a→e→c→b→d

D
　There was a story many years ago of a school teacher--- Mrs. Thompson. She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same. But that was a lie. There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. He didn’t play well with the other children and he always needed a bath. She did not like him.
Then Mrs. Thompson got to know that Teddy was actually a very good boy before the death of his mother. Mrs. Thompson was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when, like all her other students, Teddy brought her a Christmas present too. It was his mother’s perfume.
Teddy said, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smell just like my Mom used to.” After the children left ，she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she stopped teaching reading, writing and math. Instead, she began to teach children.
Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. The boy’s mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he improved. By the end of the sixth grade, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class.
Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy. He wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. He went to college. Mrs. Thompson got two more letters from him with the last one signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M. D.
The story doesn’t end there. On his wedding day, Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson’s ear, “Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, for believing in me. You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference.”
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”
68. What did Mrs. Thompson do on the first day of school?
A. She made Teddy feel ashamed.
B. She asked the children to play with Teddy.
C. She changed Teddy’s seat to the front row.
D. She told the class something untrue about herself.
69. What did Mrs. Thompson find out about Teddy?
A. He often told lies.  
B. He was good at math. 
C. He needed motherly care.  
D. He enjoyed playing with others.
70. In what way did Mrs. Thompson change?
A. She taught fewer school subjects.
B. She became stricter with her students.
C. She no longer liked her job as a teacher.
D. She cared more about educating students.
71. Why did Teddy thank Mrs. Thompson at his wedding?
A. She had kept in touch with him.
B. She had given him encouragement.
C. She had sent him Christmas presents.
D. She had taught him how to judge people.

       A German taxi-driver, Franz Bussman, recently found his brother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before.

　　While on a walking tour with his wife, he stopped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs. Bussman said that the workman was closely like her husband and even suggested that he might be his brother. Franz laughed at the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in action during the war. Though Mrs. Bussman knew this story quite well, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right.

　　A few days later, she sent a boy to the workman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say, the man's name was Hans Bussman. And he really was Franz's long-lost brother. When the brothers were reunited, Hans explained how it was that he was still alive.

After having being wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany on foot. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hans returned to his family house, but the house had been bombed. Guessing that his family had been killed during an air-raid(空袭), Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.　

50. Which of the following can be used as the best title of the passage?

　　A. Living Not Far

　　B. A Chance in a Million

　　C. Coming Back to Life

　　D. Back after the War

51. How to understand the sentence "There was a chance in a million that she might be right. "?

　　A. There was a little possibility of what she suggested, though little.

　　B. It was impossible for her to be right.

　　C. She had no chance to meet his brother any more.

　　D. There were many chances for her to meet his brother again.

52. Which of the following orders is right?

　　a. He walked back to Western Germany.

　　b. He was wounded when the war was coming to the end.

　　c. The hospital was destroyed by bombs.

　　d. He came back to his family house.

　　e. He was sent to hospital.

　　f. His unit of German didn't exist any longer.

　　A. b, a, e, d, f, c  B. b, e, c, a, f, d

　　C. b, e, a, c, d, f   D. b, c, f, d, a, e

In 1883, an imaginative engineer named John Roebling decided to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was a pipe dream. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

But Roebling refused to listen to them. He thought about the bridge day and night and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. After much discussion and persuasion he convinced his son Washington, who was a promising engineer himself, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished. With great excitement, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but several months after it began, a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was so seriously injured that he was never able to walk, talk or even move again.

"We told them so", "Crazy men and their crazy dreams", "It's foolish to chase wild visions", the critics said and most thought the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

Washington's wife tried to inspire and pass on her husband's enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay in his hospital room, an idea suddenly hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this finger and tapping it on his wife's arm, he slowly developed a code to communicate with her. Then he used this method to tell his wife what the engineers should do. It seemed crazy but the project was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed.

Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.

_ What did most people think about Roebling's idea to build the bridge?

A. It would never become a reality.                    B. Washington was not experienced enough.

C. It would take a lot of time.                            D. Finding the money would be impossible. 

_The underlined word `daunted' (para. 6) is closest in meaning to '______'.

  A. unpleasant    B. scared    C. amazed    D. determined

_ Which of the following shows the correct order of the events that happened in the story?

   a. Roebling convinced his son.

   b. Washington found a new way to communicate.

   c. They hired the crew.

d. The bridge was completed.

   e. Roebling wanted to build a bridge.

   f. There was a tragic accident.

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

_ What can we learn about Washington's wife?

A. She knew sign language very well.

B. She was devoted to her husband.

C. She developed a code to communicate with her husband.

D. She helped her husband design the plan.

_ What does the story tell us?

  A. Success will come with the passing of time.

  B. Struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

  C. Even the most distant dream can be realised with a never-say-die attitude.

  D. The people who make a difference in our life should be remembered forever.

The Mother Goose Stories, so well known to children all over the word, are commonly said to have been written by a little old woman for her grandchildren. According to some people, she lived in Boston, and her real name was Elizabeth Vergoose. Her son-in-law, a printer named Thomas Fleet, was supposed to have published the famous stories and poems for small children in 1719. However, no copy of this book has ever been found, and most scholars doubt the truth of this story—and doubt, moreover, that Mother Goose was ever a real person. They point out that the name is a direct translation of the French “Mere I’ Oye.” In 1697 the Frenchman Charles Perrault published the first book in which this name was used. The collection contains eight tales, including “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” and “Puss in Boots.” But Perrault did not originate these stories; they were already quite popular in his day, and he only collected them.

In 1729 there appeared an English translation of Perrault’s collection,Robert Samber’s Histories or Tales of Past times, Told by MotherGoose(London,1729), which introduced “Sleeping Beauty”, “Little Red-hood”, “Puss in Boots”,”Cinderella” and other Perrault’s tales to English-speaking audiences. These were fairy tales(童话)。 John Newbery published a book of English rhymes，Mother Goose’s Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle( London, undated,1765), which switched the focus from fairy tale to nursery  rhymes, and in English this was until recently the primary meaning for Mother Goose.A book of poems for children entitled Mother Goose’s Melody was published in England in1781, and the name “Mother Goose” has been associated with children’s poetry ever since.

1.What is supposed to have happened in 1719?

　 A.　Elizabeth Vergoose wrote the first Mother Goose Stories.

　 B.　 The Mother Goose Stories were translated into French.

　 C.　 Thomas Fleet published the Mother Goose Stories.

　 D.　Charles Perrault published the first Mother Goose Stories.

2. Most scholars consider Mother Goose to be _________.

　　 A. a real person                                                 B. a translation from French

 　　C. a collection by Elizabeth Vergoose          D.　 a book written by a little old woman

3.When Perrault published the first book in 1679, _______.

　　 A. no story of the book had been known to people

　　 B. some stories of the book were already well known

　　 C. few people were interested in the stories of the book

　　 D. stories like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” became popular

4.The name used in the first book published in 1679 is supposed to have been _______.

　A. Mother Goose         B. Charles Perrault C. Elizabeth Vergoose  D. Mere I’ Oye 

5.When people talk about Mother Goose, they refer to,___________

     A.    a printer of Boston          B. a kind of animal

     C.    children’s  poetry            D. the  French “Mere L’oye