On the day of a big event, many people came to Big Bend Mountain to watch. John Henry and the salesman stood side by side. Even early in the day, the sun was burning hot.

The competition began. John Henry kissed his hammer and started working. At first, the steam-powered drill worked two times faster than he did. Then, he started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. In the mountain, the heat and dust were so thick that most men would have had trouble breathing. The crowd shouted as clouds of dust came from inside the mountain.

The salesman was afraid when he heard what sounded like the mountain breaking. However, it was only the sound of John Henry at work. Polly Ann and her son cheered when the machine was pulled from the tunnel of the mountain. It had broken down. Polly Ann urged John Henry to come out. But he kept working, faster and faster. He dug deep into the darkness, hitting the steel so hard that his body began to fail him. He became weak, and his heart burst.

John Henry fell to the ground. There was a terrible silence. Polly Ann did not move because she knew what had happened. John Henry’s blood spilled over the ground. But he still held one of the hammers. “I beat them,” he said. His wife cried out, “Don’t go, John Henry.”“Bring me a cool drink of water,”he said. Then he took his last breath.

His friends carried his body from the mountain. They buried him near the house where he was born. Crowds went there after they heard about John Henry’s death.

Soon, the steam drill and other machines replaced the steel-drivers. Many laborers left their families to look for work. They took the only jobs they could find. As they worked, some sang about John Henry.

1.What does the big event mentioned in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．John Henry’s work on a machine.

B．A competition between John Henry and a salesman.

C．John Henry’s work with his hammer and the steel.

D．A competition between John Henry and a drill.

2.The underlined word “tunnel ”in Paragraph 3 probably means “          ”.

A．flat ground

B．big rock

C．underground passage

D．hard metal

3. What happened to John Henry when he fell to the ground?

A．He was tired and had to have a rest.

B．He had heart trouble and was dying.

C．He was thirsty and wanted to drink some water.

D．He was injured slightly and was bleeding.

4.What do we know about John Henry?

A．He won the competition finally.	B．He was buried under the mountain.
C．He loved his work very much.	D．He said nothing before his death.

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A．Humans can never beat machines.	B．John Henry was regarded as a hero.
C．Laborers hated machines very much.	D．It was easy for laborers to find work.

 

第二节完形填空（共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-50各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

A boy came to a wise man living in a beautiful palace to learn about the secret of happiness. The wise man  36   with everyone in his palace, and the boy had to wait long before his  37 . But the wise man told him he had no time to explain the secret of happiness then. He handed the boy a teaspoon that held  38  drops of oil and said, “Please  39  the palace and return in two hours, but carry this spoon  40  allowing the oil to spill(洒出).”

The boy wandered around, keeping his eyes  41  on the spoon. After two hours, he returned.

“Well,” said the wise man, “Did you see the wonderful works of art hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden which it  42  the gardener ten years to create?” The boy’s face turned red. He said his only  43  was not to spill the oil.

“Then go back and  44  my palace”, said the wise man, “You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his house.”

Relieved, the boy  45  up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace; this time observing all of the works of art and all the  46  in the garden. Upon returning to the wise man, he described in  47  everything he had seen.

“But where are the drops of oil I gave to you?” asked the wise man. Looking  48  at the spoon he held, the boy saw the oil was  49 .

“Well, this is the only  50  I can give you”, said the wise man. “The secret of happiness is to see all the wonders of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

36. A. argued     B. talked     C. fought     D. played

37. A. duty       B. place      C. turn       D. distance

38. A. some       B. any       C. other        D. little

39. A. get out      B. look around         C. drop out         D. build up

40. A. with       B. for         C. without          D. instead

41. A. covered    B. stared        C. absorbed       D. fixed

42. A. took      B. spent          C. used        D. made

43. A. business      B. interest         C. concern       D. regret

44. A. find       B. reach      C. observe    D. protect

45. A. put        B. stood        C. brought          D. picked

46. A. stones    B. signs       C. mystery        D. beauty

47. A. trouble      B. detail     C. order     D. return

48. A. down     B. up     C. over    D. out

49. A. gone    B. removed    C. cold    D. frozen

50. A. gift     B. news    C. advice     D. reward

 

A boy came to a wise man living in a beautiful palace to learn about the secret of happiness. The wise man   31   with everyone in his palace, and the boy had to wait for long before his  32  . But the wise man told him he had no   33   to explain the secret of happiness then. He   34   the boy a teaspoon(茶匙) that held some drops of oil and said, “Please   35   the palace and return in two hours, but   36   this spoon without allowing the oil to spill (洒出).”

The boy wandered around, keeping his eyes   37     the spoon. After two hours, he returned.

“Well”, asked the wise man, “Did you see the wonderful   38   hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the   39   it took the gardener ten years to create? ”The boy’s   40   turned red. He said his only   41   was not to spill the oil.

“Then go back and   42   my palace”, said the wise man, “You cannot   43   a man if you don’t know his house”.

Relieved (放松下来),the boy picked up the   44   and returned to his exploration of the palace; this time observing all of the works of art and all the   45   in the garden. Upon returning to the wise man, he described in   46   everything he had seen.

“But where are the drops of oil I gave you?” asked the wise man. Looking   47   at the spoon he held, the boy saw the oil was    48  .

“Well, this is the only   49   I can give you”, said the wise man, “The secret of happiness is to see all the wonders of the world and   50   to forget the drops of oil on the spoon”.

A. argued                   B. talked               C. fought               D. played

A. duty                   B. place                 C. turn                  D. distance

A. time                   B. room                C. ability               D. idea

A. bought                  B. made                C. lent                   D. handed

A. get through            B. look around              C. tear down          D. build up

A. carry                     B. hide                  C. weigh               D. test

A. covered with          B. reminding of     C. escaping from    D. fixed on

A. designs of dishes                                B. works of art

C. vegetables of seasons                      D. carpets of colors

A. garden                   B. palace               C. city                   D. hall

A. eyes                B. hands                C. face                  D. nose

A. business                 B. concern             C. interest              D. regret

A. find                   B. reach                C. protect                     D. observe

A. trust                   B. greet                 C. cheat                 D. hate

A. chance                   B. spoon                C. oil                    D. way

A. stones                    B. marks               C. mystery             D. beauty

A. trouble                  B. order                C. detail                D. return

A. down                    B. up                    C. over                  D. out

A .hot                        B. cold                  C. frozen               D. gone

A. gift                       B. news                 C. advice               D. reward

A. also                    B. even                 C. never                D. always

Britain's oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 110. Mr John Evans had never found the time or the money—to make the trip from his home near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all expenses paid birthday trip to the capital, he just could not refuse.

Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. Mr Evans, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century.“There was a trip to the White City but it was ten shillings (1 shilling=1/20 pound) return from Swansea—too much I thought. All my money went to the family then，” he said.

During the next two days Mr Evans will be taken on a whistle stop tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament(国会).

The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided to move

him about if he gets tired.“I don't like the chair business—people will so think I am getting old，” he said.

His secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized—no alcohol, no cigarette and no anger. Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped, “I'm glad to see they've given me a return ticket.”

1.It was reported that Mr Evans's healthy long life was to a certain extent due to his________ .

A. wine drinking         B. proper smoking

C. mild temper           D. sense of humor 

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A.A single trip from Mr Evans's home to the White City used to be ten shillings.

B.The first place for Mr Evans to visit is the Houses of Parliament.

C.He appreciated people's arrangement of a wheelchair during his visit.

D.Mr Evans once made the journey to London at the turn of the century. 

3.The word “quip” in the last sentence most probably means  ________.

A. to make a witty remark          B. to express a happy message

C. to make a wish                 D. to tell a joke 

4.What might be the best title for this passage?

A. 110-Year-Old Tourist           B. Secret for Long and Healthy Life

C. Free Return Ticket             D. Sightseeing in London 

Jonathan James looks like just another kid about to graduate from high school. But this 19-year-old Swede is anything but ordinary, from the computer in his parents’ home he helps the US Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) find out the world’s most wanted cyber criminals(网络犯罪分子).

Jonathan first made headlines when he and another Swede, Fredrik Bjoerck, found out the maker of the “Melissa” virus(病毒) in March 1999. He came to the aid of the FBI again on May 7, finding out the suspected(嫌疑的) sender of the dangerous “I LOVE YOU” virus. The suspect was caught in Manila on May 8.

Jonathan’s special skills are in hot demand as officials around the world express alarm at the “virtual” crimewave. In between studying for final exams, hanging out with friends and refereeing his younger brother’s football matches, the quiet, gentle teenager also gives lessons on e-security(电子安全) to large companies. He reads a lot and exchanges information with other computer experts to know much about the latest tricks of the hacker (黑客) trade.

Many companies have already tried to employ him, but he is not interested at the moment. Instead, he plans to begin law school in the autumn at Sweden’s Uppsala University and start up his own e-security company.

Although he works with the FBI now, his family insists he’s just “a regular kid”. “Jonathan is a great kid, he has his friends and he does a lot more than just play with the computer,” his little sister Tessa said, adding that he helps the FBI because “he likes to help”, not because he’s looking for fame and recognition.

When the world was hit by the “Love Bug” virus, Jonathan was too busy preparing a speech on e-security to look into the problem. “Finally on May 7, I had some free time, so I began looking.” Within a few hours, he had found the suspect and e-mailed his method and results to the FBI. He said his work on the “Melissa” virus, which took three weeks to solve, was a big help in finding the suspect so quickly.

“This time I knew exactly where to start, I knew what to disregard and what to look at.”

The passage mainly wants to tell us that______.

A. Swedish kid helps FBI find out the most wanted cyber criminals

B. Jonathan is really a quiet, gentle and ordinary boy

C. many companies want the young computer expert to join in

D. any cyber criminals will surely be found out wherever they are

The public started to know something about Jonathan just from____.

A. his helping the US FBI to find out the sender of the dangerous “I LOVE YOU” virus

B. his work together with Fredrik Bjoerck to find out the maker of the “Melissa” virus

C. his little sister’s talk about his good qualities as a regular kid and a good programmer

D. his speech on e-security to many computer companies after his fight against hackers

From Jonathan’s success in finding out the sender of the dangerous ‘Love Bug” virus we can infer that ___.

A. where there’s a will, there’s a way   B. experience is knowledge

C. hard work leads to success               D. failure is the mother of success

What do we know about Jonathan?

A. He is a good fame hunter with various abilities.

B. He is such a brave fighter that any criminal will feel afraid.

C. He is an expert on security, not interested in running a company.

D. He is a regular kid but does something unusual.