Mr. Reese was born in a big city. His father had several companies and got a lot of money. He could give his son all the young man wanted. He was busy with his business and never asked him how he got along with his studies. So the boy spent most time in the restaurants or cinemas. Of course he was weak at his lessons and learned nothing at school. He made many friends but none of them was good and when they knew he came from a rich family, they began to teach him to gamble(赌博). Of course he lost much money.

　　Now Mr. Reese was twenty and finished middle school. He could not do anything. But his father didn't mind it until one day he found the young man had sold one of his companies. He became so angry that he made him leave his house. The young man couldn't gamble any longer. His friends made him pay his debt. He had to ask his mother to help him and the woman often gave him some money. But one evening his father happened to find it. The old man stopped his wife from doing so. They began to fight in the room. The young man brought out a knife and killed his father. His mother helped him to run away, but soon after that he was caught and sentenced(判刑)to death.

　　It was a cold and wet day. Suddenly it began to rain hard when Mr. Reese was being sent to the execution ground(刑场). Soon both he and the soldiers were wet through. He said angrily,“Bad luck! I shall be shot in such bad weather!”

　　“Don't complain(抱怨), brothers” said one of the soldiers. “You're luckier than us all. We'll have to go back to the city after that!”

1.Old Reese never wanted to know about his son's studies because _________.

A．he was sure his son was good at his lessons

B．he spent all his energies on his business

C．he knew nothing about the education

D．his wife looked after their children

2.The bad young men taught Young Reese to gamble in order _________.

A．to play with him

B．to spend spare time

C．that the could get much money from him

D．that they could find jobs in his father's companies

3.Old Reese became angry because _________.

A．him son had learned nothing at school

B．his son was weak at all his lessons

C．his son couldn't do anything in the companies

D．his son had lost one of his companies

4.Mr. Reese complained _________.

A．he was sentenced to death

B．he would be shot

C．he went to the execution ground on foot

D．he would be shot in bad weather

 

FFather was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes，hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better. paid job. Except. for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.
Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing，fine food and vacation abroad.
However, the family still did not get to see Father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact, to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion, he took another course in an open university.
Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Happily, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium.  Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients.
 Over again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. Though he often longed to spend more time with his family, he weighed his contribution to his family above everything else.
As expected, Father's hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take any more courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to
his family, and it was a promise.
Father did not wake up the next day.
【小题1】Father worked and studied very hard because ________.

A．he had to support his family

B．he was enthusiastic in attending classes

C．he wanted to bring his family a better lire

D．he had to so as to reduce his family’s complaint

【小题2】What CAN’T Father get through his hard work?

A．Family time.

B．Higher education.

C．Better housing.

D．Vacation abroad.

【小题3】How would the family feel when “Father did not wake up the next day”?

A．To their joy, Father can have a good rest in the end.

B．They should have stopped Father from working so hard.

C．Thank God, Father can stay home with them.

D．There is no point working hard for a better life.

【小题4】What is the function of the italicized(斜体)paragraphs in this passage?

A．To make readers show sympathy for Father.

B．To show how stubborn Father was.

C．To make readers fee l how hard Father worked.

D．To imply a sad ending to the story.

When Babbage was working at Cambridge, a new idea occurred to him. He wanted to construct a calculating machine to work out the solutions（解法）to maths problems not only with correctness but also with a speed beyond the power of any human mind. His machine could solve problems involving（涉及）long rows of figures in one continuous operation（运算）.

       In 1822 Babbage exhibited his invention and won a prize from the government. After that, he immediately started to work on a larger machine designed to solve more difficult problems. Although he received some money left by his father, the money was not enough to support his design. He wrote to the government about his plan and was given ￡2500 to start with, a sum worth much more in those days than it is now.

       Babbage continued his work in London for four years. Then his health broke down, and he had to take a long holiday abroad. When he returned to London in 1828, he was at the end of his resources. Many bills remained unpaid. His chief assistant and co-workers quarreled with him and left with many expensive tools. For one year no work was done. During this period, Babbage, whose mind was always active, suddenly thought of a completely new idea for the machine. He rushed to meet the government officials to explain his new idea. But this time, they were unwilling to help him. For eight years, they refused to say whether they wanted the machine or not, and their final answer was “No.”

       From 1828 to 1839, Babbage held the position of professor at Cambridge very successfully. But his greatest work was the unfinished calculating machine which stood covered in dust in his house. It was the beginning of the modern computer.

60．The machine Babbage designed would solve difficult maths problems _________.

      A．in one operation with few mistakes

       B．in more than one operation without any mistakes

       C．in more than one operation with slight mistakes

       D．in one operation without any mistakes

61．Babbage failed to continue his research work in 1828 mainly because _______.

      A．he was in poor health                                 B．he almost ran out of money

      C．his co-workers argued with him            D．he spent all his money on his bills

62．Babage explained his new idea to the government officials, expecting that _________.

      A．they would agree to his plan                 B．they would pay for his new idea

      C．they would support him with money             D．they would exhibit his new design

63．From the passage, we can infer that __________.

       A．Babbage failed to be a famous scientist at Cambridge

       B．Babbage always had new ideas but gave them up easily

       C．Babbage always needed support from the government officials

       D．Babbage was the first designer of the modern computer

 They ______ him to prepare for the coming exam, but he spent all day playing computer games.

A．persuaded

B．urged

C．suggested

D．made

 

In high school, George Lucas didn’t do much work because he spent all his time dreaming about racing cars.

Just a few days before graduation, George was driving home from the library in his Fiat; he prepared for a left turn by looking in the minor. But as he started the turn, he heard the sound of another car, a blowing horn（喇叭）, and the speeding Chevy hit the driver side of his car. The little Fiat turned over four or five times before it was stopped by a big tree. Luckily, George did not die in the accident, but his recovery was slow and he needed months of physical treatment. He would never be able to race ears now.

The accident really changed George’s life. He decided there must be some reason he survived, and made up his mind to get his act together and make something out of his life. He decided to go to university and developed an interest in reading and writing. He got on quite well in his studies. He didn’t quite forget about racing cars. At that time instead of driving race cars, he began filming them.

You may have seen one or all of George Lucas’s most famous films from the Star Wars series or the Indiana Jones trilogy. Not only has George produced movies, but also he has helped invent and develop new technologies to modernize the movie industry.

Today, Lucas, who earns as much as ＄3.0 billion, is one of the American film industry’s most successful directors and producers.

1.What was George Lueas’s life like in high school?

A．He was the best race ear driver.

B．He did very well in his school subjects.

C．He didn’t spend much time on his studies.

D．He was one of the worst students in school.

2.We can learn from this passage that __________.

A．George’s Fiat was not seriously damaged

B．the Chevy driver didn’t break the traffic law

C．George was seriously injured in the accident

D．the Chevy driver wasn’t injured in the accident

3.The greatness of George Lucas mainly lies in his __________.

A．earning a great deal of money

B．directing several famous movies

C．making movies about racing cars

D．making the film industry more modern