A 57-year-old woman was hurt yesterday by “a huge black cat”, as she was walking her two dogs near Bodmin Moor in the West Country. Local police are investigating（调查 ）her story, which follows a lot of similar reports in the area in recent months. Residents and visitors to the West Country have been warned to avoid the Bodmin area.

　　Mrs. Williams, the wife of a local farmer, described the cat as “just like something out of the jungle. It was jet-black all over with a white-tipped tail. It had short legs but was very strong.” More details were not available, as the creature moved too fast and Mrs. Williams only managed to take a short look at it. The incident happened when Mrs. Williams was taking her really hard on the back of the head, causing her to fall to the ground, stunned.

　　“When I came to, there it was—a huge black cat staring down at me with its glittering, green eyes. I got the fright of my life, I can tell you,” said Mrs. Williams. “It was a horrifying experience,” she told reporters, as she sipped a cup of tea to calm her down, still visibly shaken. “If it hadn’t been for my Labrador, it would have savaged me to death. It was about six foot long, the size of a large Alsatian.” Mrs. Williams’ description matches that of other eye witnesses（目 击者）in incidents involving strange creatures in various parts of the country.

　　Exmoor police have been trying to track the “Beast of Bodmin”, as it’s called, since it was first spotted some years ago, but they have so far come up with nothing except for a few very large animal tracks and a trail of dead sheep. Claims that the creature was sighted in a school playground recently are being investigated. “Our policy is to look into all reports of this sort, however ridiculous,” said Chief Constable（警察局长）John Witmoor.

　　Investigations are still going on and local police have brought in zoologists to assist them in the hunt for the Beast of Bodmin. Meanwhile, local people and visitors to the area have been warned not to walk alone on the moor. Parents have been advised to keep their children at a safe distance from the area. Motorists have also been asked to keep an eye out for anything unusual and to report sightings to the police immediately.

　　1．How did the police react to what Mrs. Williams said?

　　A．They accepted her story.

　　B．They did not believe her.

　　C．They are taking it seriously.

　　D．They say they have heard it all before.

　　2．According to the text, we know that Labrador is the name of the writer’s ________.

　　A．dog

　　B．cat

　　C．friend

　　D．neighbor

　　3．What is the police view of the situation?

　　A．The animal must be a wolf.

　　B．It is nothing new.

　　C．The reports are not very serious.

　　D．The animal could be dangerous.

　　4．In order to find the creature, the police ________.

　　A．have warned parents to keep the children safe

　　B．have asked experts for help

　　C．are looking for more tracks

　　D．are interviewing visitors to the area

　　5．From the text we know that the creature was first seen ________.

　　A．sometime last year

　　B．a few days ago

　　C．in recent months

　　D．a few years ago

 

　　A 57-year-old woman was hurt yesterday by “a huge black cat”, as she was walking her two dogs near Bodmin Moor in the West Country. Local police are investigating（调查 ）her story, which follows a lot of similar reports in the area in recent months. Residents and visitors to the West Country have been warned to avoid the Bodmin area.

　　Mrs. Williams, the wife of a local farmer, described the cat as “just like something out of the jungle. It was jet-black all over with a white-tipped tail. It had short legs but was very strong.” More details were not available, as the creature moved too fast and Mrs. Williams only managed to take a short look at it. The incident happened when Mrs. Williams was taking her really hard on the back of the head, causing her to fall to the ground, stunned.

　　“When I came to, there it was—a huge black cat staring down at me with its glittering, green eyes. I got the fright of my life, I can tell you,” said Mrs. Williams. “It was a horrifying experience,” she told reporters, as she sipped a cup of tea to calm her down, still visibly shaken. “If it hadn’t been for my Labrador, it would have savaged me to death. It was about six foot long, the size of a large Alsatian.” Mrs. Williams’ description matches that of other eye witnesses（目 击者）in incidents involving strange creatures in various parts of the country.

　　Exmoor police have been trying to track the “Beast of Bodmin”, as it’s called, since it was first spotted some years ago, but they have so far come up with nothing except for a few very large animal tracks and a trail of dead sheep. Claims that the creature was sighted in a school playground recently are being investigated. “Our policy is to look into all reports of this sort, however ridiculous,” said Chief Constable（警察局长）John Witmoor.

　　Investigations are still going on and local police have brought in zoologists to assist them in the hunt for the Beast of Bodmin. Meanwhile, local people and visitors to the area have been warned not to walk alone on the moor. Parents have been advised to keep their children at a safe distance from the area. Motorists have also been asked to keep an eye out for anything unusual and to report sightings to the police immediately.

　　1．How did the police react to what Mrs. Williams said?

　　A．They accepted her story.

　　B．They did not believe her.

　　C．They are taking it seriously.

　　D．They say they have heard it all before.

　　2．According to the text, we know that Labrador is the name of the writer’s ________.

　　A．dog

　　B．cat

　　C．friend

　　D．neighbor

　　3．What is the police view of the situation?

　　A．The animal must be a wolf.

　　B．It is nothing new.

　　C．The reports are not very serious.

　　D．The animal could be dangerous.

　　4．In order to find the creature, the police ________.

　　A．have warned parents to keep the children safe

　　B．have asked experts for help

　　C．are looking for more tracks

　　D．are interviewing visitors to the area

　　5．From the text we know that the creature was first seen ________.

　　A．sometime last year

　　B．a few days ago

　　C．in recent months

　　D．a few years ago

 

Writing being largely a self-taught occupation, texts on how to get about it —though great in number— seldom are of much use．

You try, and fail．Then try again, and perhaps fail not quite so grievously．Until at last, if you have some gift for it, the failures become less frequent, or at any rate less noticeable．

It is this ability to conceal one’s defects（瑕疵）that passes, finally, for accomplishment．

Along the way there are the discouragements of unkind criticism, outright rejection, nagging insecurity and irregular inability to meet debts．

It is uncommon, therefore, to come across a book containing advice of much practical value for anyone toying with the dangerous idea of staring on a writing life．

A friend recently loaned me such a book, however — one I wish I’d had the luck to read years ago, and which I would commend to any young person bent on making a career of words．It is the autobiography of the English novelist Anthony Trollope, first published in 1883, the year after his death．

Needing some means to support himself, Trollope at age 19 signed on as a junior clerk in the British postal service．He was at his desk at 5:30 each morning to write for three hours．And he remained in the mail service 33 years, long after reputation and prosperity had come to him．

Now, what of his advice?

1．For safety’s sake, arm yourself with some other skills, some other line of work to fall back on．That way, failure at writing, though the disappointment may be keen, will not mean utter ruin．

2．Do not depend overly much on inspiration．Writing is a craft, which Trollope compared to the craft of shoemaking．The shoemaker who has just turned out one pair of his work sets to work immediately on the next pair．

3．Have a story to tell, but, more important than that, people it with characters who will speak and move as living creatures in the reader’s mind．Without memorable characters, story alone is nothing．

4．Meet your deadlines．Life is endlessly “painful and troublesome” for writers who can’t finish their work on time．

5．Do not be inflated by praise．And, above all, do not be crushed by criticism．

6．Understand the risks of writing for a living．“The career, when successful, is pleasant enough certainly; but when unsuccessful, it is of all careers the most painful．”

1．This passage mainly discusses _____．

       A．the difficulties and risks of making a career of words

       B．the uselessness of instructions in writing manuals

       C．the autobiography of the 19th century English novelist Anthony Trollope

       D．sound advice provided in a Trollope’s autobiography

2．From the context we can figure out that the phrase “pass for” in Paragraph 3 means _____．

       A．focus on            B．be regarded as          C．be equal to          D．lie in

3．According to the author, writing _____．

       A．is basically a self-taught occupation and few instructions are of much practical use

       B．is a “trial and error” process and it does not count whether you have the gift or not

       C．for a living is the most pleasant of all careers, full of praise and enjoyment

       D．sometimes provides good hopes of winning public praise and escaping poverty

4．From the passage we may infer that the author is most probably _____．

       A．an instructor of writing                        B．a writer

       C．an educator                                         D．a publisher

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，掌握其大意，然后从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项。

　　A 57-year-old woman was hurt yesterday by“a huge black cat”, as she was walking her two dogs near Bodmin Moor in the West Country. Local police are looking into her story, which follows a lot of similar reports in the area in recent months. Residents and visitors to the West Country have been warned to keep away from the Bodmin area.

　　Mrs Williams, the wife of a local farmer, described the cat as“just like something out of the jungle. It was jetblack all over with a white-tipped tail. It had short legs but was very strong.”More details were not available, as the creature moved too fast and MrsWilliams only managed to take a short look at it. The incident happened when Mrs Williams was taking her dogs for a walk, as she always does on Sunday morning. Suddenly something struck her really hard on the back of the head, causing her to fall to the ground, stunned.

　　“When I came to, there was a huge black cat staring down at me with its glittering, green eyes. I got the fright of my life, I can tell you,”said Mrs Williams.“It was a frightening experience,”she told reporters, as she sipped a cup of tea to calm her down, still visibly shaken.“If it hadn't been for my Labrador, it would have savaged me to death. It was about six feet long, the size of a large Alsa-tian (a kind of dog).”Mrs Willians' description matches that of other eye witnesses in incidents involving strange creatures in various parts of the country.

　　More police have been trying to track the“Beast of Bodmin”, since it was first spotted some years ago, but they have so far come up with nothing except for a few very large animals tracks and a trail of dead sheep. Claims that the creature was sighted in a school playground recently are being investigated (调查).“Our policy is to look into all reports of this sort, however ridiculous,”said Chief Constable(警察局长) John Witmoor.

　　Investigations are still going on and local police have brought in zoologists to help them with the hunt for the“Beast of Bodmin”. Meanwhile, local people and visitors to the area have been warned not to walk alone on the moor. Parents have been advised to keep their children at a safe distance from the area. Motorists have also been asked to keep an eye out for anything unusual and to report sightings to the police immediately.

1．According to the text, we know that Labrador refers to _____.

[　　]

A．Mrs Williams' dog　　　　　　B．the black cat

C．Mrs Williams' friend　　　　　D．a policeman

2．In order to find the creature, the police _____.

[　　]

A．have warned parents to keep the children safe

B．have asked experts for help

C．are looking for more eye witnesses

D．are interviewing visitors to the area

3．From the text we know that the creature was first seen _____.

[　　]

A．sometime last year　　　　　B．a few days ago

C．in recent months　　　　　　D．a few years ago

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，掌握其大意，然后从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项。

　　A 57-year-old woman was hurt yesterday by“a huge black cat”, as she was walking her two dogs near Bodmin Moor in the West Country. Local police are looking into her story, which follows a lot of similar reports in the area in recent months. Residents and visitors to the West Country have been warned to keep away from the Bodmin area.

　　Mrs Williams, the wife of a local farmer, described the cat as“just like something out of the jungle. It was jetblack all over with a white-tipped tail. It had short legs but was very strong.”More details were not available, as the creature moved too fast and MrsWilliams only managed to take a short look at it. The incident happened when Mrs Williams was taking her dogs for a walk, as she always does on Sunday morning. Suddenly something struck her really hard on the back of the head, causing her to fall to the ground, stunned.

　　“When I came to, there was a huge black cat staring down at me with its glittering, green eyes. I got the fright of my life, I can tell you,”said Mrs Williams.“It was a frightening experience,”she told reporters, as she sipped a cup of tea to calm her down, still visibly shaken.“If it hadn't been for my Labrador, it would have savaged me to death. It was about six feet long, the size of a large Alsa-tian (a kind of dog).”Mrs Willians' description matches that of other eye witnesses in incidents involving strange creatures in various parts of the country.

　　More police have been trying to track the“Beast of Bodmin”, since it was first spotted some years ago, but they have so far come up with nothing except for a few very large animals tracks and a trail of dead sheep. Claims that the creature was sighted in a school playground recently are being investigated (调查).“Our policy is to look into all reports of this sort, however ridiculous,”said Chief Constable(警察局长) John Witmoor.

　　Investigations are still going on and local police have brought in zoologists to help them with the hunt for the“Beast of Bodmin”. Meanwhile, local people and visitors to the area have been warned not to walk alone on the moor. Parents have been advised to keep their children at a safe distance from the area. Motorists have also been asked to keep an eye out for anything unusual and to report sightings to the police immediately.

1．According to the text, we know that Labrador refers to _____.

[　　]

A．Mrs Williams' dog　　　　　　B．the black cat

C．Mrs Williams' friend　　　　　D．a policeman

2．In order to find the creature, the police _____.

[　　]

A．have warned parents to keep the children safe

B．have asked experts for help

C．are looking for more eye witnesses

D．are interviewing visitors to the area

3．From the text we know that the creature was first seen _____.

[　　]

A．sometime last year　　　　　B．a few days ago

C．in recent months　　　　　　D．a few years ago