It was a sunny day. A city man was driving along a country road with a new wagon(马车)and a beautiful pair of horses. He didn’t pay a lot of  1 to where he was going. Pretty soon he  2  that he was lost, but he  3 to drive, expecting to find his way or to  4 someone who could tell him how to get back to the  5 .

It was a long  6 road. For many hours he kept on driving. When it was almost   7 , he saw in a  8  a tall farmer ploughing the land. He stopped his  9 team of horses near the fence and called out, “Hello, farmer.”

“Hello, yourself,”  the farmer replied,  10 ploughing.

“Where does the horse   11 ? He asked without knowing his languages mistakes.

“I haven’t seen it go anywhere. It   12 stays right where it is,” said the farmer,   13     stopping his work.

“How far is it to the next town?” said the city man, speaking a little  14 .

“Don’t know. I never  15 it,” replied the farmer. By this time the city man was getting 16 . “What do you know? You’re the biggest fool I  17 saw.”

18  stopping, the farmer turned and looked for a long time  19 at the city man. Then he said, “Maybe I don’t know much.   20  I am a fool. But at least I’m not lost!”

1.                A．signs           B．orders          C．attention  D．direction

 

2.                A．realized        B．recognized      C．accepted D．received

 

3.                A．stopped        B．used           C．wanted   D．continued

 

4.                A．miss           B．meet           C．look D．lose

 

5.                A．town           B．country         C．capital    D．village

 

6.                A．lonely          B．busy           C．dirty D．crowded

 

7.                A．at noon         B．at night         C．raining   D．dark

 

8.                A．truck          B．pile            C．field D．store

 

9.                A．strong          B．tired           C．weak D．tiring

 

10.               A．but            B．went on        C．stopped   D．still

 

11.               A．go            B．lead up         C．get   D．show

 

12.               A．always         B．often          C．sometimes D．seldom

 

13.               A．began          B．still            C．without   D．already

 

14.               A．clearly         B．lower          C．more loudly    D．more politely

 

15.               A．judged         B．measured       C．saw  D．studied

 

16.               A．sad            B．lovely          C．friendly   D．angry

 

17.               A．ever           B．often          C．even D．never

 

18.               A．Still            B．Not            C．With  D．Finally

 

19.               A．gladly          B．immediately     C．in silence  D．excitedly

 

20.               A．Really          B．Perhaps        C．Certainly  D．Fortunately

 

 

Starry Night
Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (产生幻觉的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.
I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (无限).
Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (绝望) and collapse in hopelessness.
Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.
And so the sky flows across the canvas (画布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (发光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.
What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?
【小题1】Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.

A．The singing angels	B．the giant trees
C．the sleepy village	D．the sparkling stars

【小题2】Van Gogh does NOT describe a feeling of ______ through the Starry Night.

A．happiness

B．vitality

C．power

D．despair

【小题3】The underlined word “prison” in the 3rd paragraph probably means ______.

A．trouble in one’s life	B．mental illness
C．control from the authority	D．a place where criminals are kept

【小题4】What is the main purpose of this passage?

A．To explain how Van Gogh painted the Starry Night.

B．To tell us how to appreciate the Starry Night.

C．To prove Van Gogh was in a hallucinating state of mind while painting the picture.

D．To show us the beauty of the sky on a starry night.

Starry Night

Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (产生幻觉的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.

I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (无限).

Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (绝望) and collapse in hopelessness.

Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.

And so the sky flows across the canvas (画布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (发光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.

What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?

72. Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.

A. the sparkling stars　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. the giant trees

C. the sleepy village　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. The singing angels

73. Van Gogh does NOT describe a feeling of _______ through the Starry Night.

　 A. happiness　　　　　 B. vitality　　　 C. power　　　　　　　 D. despair

74. The underlined word “prison” in the 3rd paragraph probably means _______.

　 A. mental illness 　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　B. trouble in one’s life　

　 C. control from the authority　　　　　　　　 D. a place where criminals are kept

75. What is the main purpose of this passage?

　 A. To tell us how to appreciate the Starry Night.

　 B. To explain how Van Gogh painted the Starry Night.

　 C. To prove Van Gogh was in a hallucinating state of mind while painting the picture.

　 D. To show us the beauty of the sky on a starry night.

　　It was a sunny day. A city man was driving along a country road with a new wagon (马车) and a beautiful pair of horses. He didn't pay a lot of 1 to where he was going. Pretty soon he 2 that he was lost, but he 3 to drive, expecting to refind his way or to 4 someone who could tell him how to get back to the 5 .

　　It was along 6 road. For many hours he kept on driving. When it was almost 7 , he saw in the 8 a tall farmer ploughing the land. He stopped his 9 team of horses near the fence and called out, “Hello, farmer.”

　　“Hello, yourself.” the farmer replied, 10 ploughing.

　　“Where does the horse 11 ?” he asked without knowing his language errors (错误).

　　“I haven't seen it go anywhere. It 12 stays right where it is.” said the farmer, 13 stopping his work.

　　“How far is it to the next town?” said the city man, speaking a little 14 .

　　“Don't know. I never 15 it.” repeated the farmer. By this time the city man was getting 16 . “What do you know? You're the biggest fool I 17 saw.

　　 18 stopping, the farmer turned and looked for a long time 19 at the city man. Then he said, “Maybe I don't know much. 20 I am a fool. But at least I'm not lost!”

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