All day long he flew, and at night-time he arrived at the city. “Where shall I put up?” he said; “I hope the town has made preparations.”

Then he saw the statue(雕像) on the tall column.

“I will put up there, ” he cried; “it is a fine position, with plenty of fresh air.” So he flew down and settled just between the feet of the Happy Prince.

“I have a golden bedroom,” he said softly to himself as he looked around, and he prepared to go to sleep; but just as he was putting his head under his wing, a large drop of water fell on him.

“What a curious thing!” he cried; “there is not a single cloud in the sky, the stars are quite clear and bright, and yet it is raining. The climate in the north of Europe is really terrible. ”

Then another drop fell.

“What is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off?” he said; “I must look for a good chimney-pot,” and he determined to fly away.

But before he had opened his wings, a third drop fell, and he looked up, and saw –AH! What did he see?

The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears were running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the moonlight that the little Swallow was filled with pity.

“Who are you? ” he said.

“ I am the Happy Prince. ”

“ Why are you weeping(哭泣) then?” asked the Swallow; “you have quite wetted me.”

“When I was alive and had a human heart, ” answered the statue, “I did not know what tears were, for I lived in Palace of Sans-Souci(无忧宫)，where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very high wall, but I never cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. People called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead(铅), yet I can’t choose but weep.”

“ What! Is he not solid gold? ” said the Swallow himself. He was too polite to make any personal remarks out loud.

1. The Swallow wanted to put up when he arrived at the city because_______.

A. he saw the Statue of the Happy Prince.

B. he flew into a lovely golden bedroom.

C. he had a whole-day flight and wanted to sleep.

D. it was night and a rain was likely to come soon.

2. Why did the Swallow feel curious when a drop of water fell on him?

   A. Because of the heavy rain though there was no cloud in the sky.

   B. Because the statue couldn’t keep the rain off though made of gold.

   C. Because he thought it was raining despite bright and clear stars.

   D. Because he couldn’t understand why the Happy Prince was weeping.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   A. Seeing the Prince’s beautiful face, the Swallow had pity on him.

   B. The Swallow flew away immediately he found it was raining.

   C. The Prince lived happily because he didn’t know what tears were.

   D. The Swallow had wanted to find a good chimney-pot but failed.

3. What made the Happy Prince weep according to the passage?

   A. The high wall stopping him from going out.

   B. His not being able to play with his companions.

   C. His sudden death and his statue being too high.

   D. The hard life of the people and his inability to help.

It’s Pigs’ Hometown

The story happened during the Second World War. An old man lived in a small town of Germany. He had three sons and they all worked in the same factory where he had worked. After the war had begun, his sons were all made to join the army one after another and they all died in the fights. The old man was very sad. He didn’t have enough food and was often hungry. And nobody helped him and he didn’t know how to go on living.

It was a very cold winter night. The old man couldn’t go to sleep. He had been hungry for two days and it was so cold in his room that ice could be seen. He had to get up and began to run in the room until he lay down on the floor. The next morning he had to beg from door to door. He had been to a lot of cities and knew a lot.

Once he came to a village, but the villagers were all poor and couldn’t give him anything. He was too hungry to go to another village. He thought hard and found a way. He came to a police station and called out, “Hitler is a foolish pig!”

Out came an old policeman at once. He took the old man into a room, gave him some bread and a cup of tea. Then he said, “Don’t say so in our village, sir!”

“I’m sorry, sir,” said the old man. “I don’t know it’s Hitler’s home town.” “No, no, sir,” the policeman said in a hurry. “It’s pigs’ hometown!”

1.The old man’s son joined the army because ___________

A. they were all strong

B. they loved their country 

C. they wanted to be full

D. they had to do so

2.The villagers didn’t give the old man any food because _______.

A. they weren’t kind-hearted

B. his sons were in the army

C. they were also hungry

D. they hated him

3.The policeman thought _______.

A. Hitler was more foolish than pigs

B. the old man insulted(侮辱) their hometown

C. the old man had to say sorry to him

D. the old man had to fight with Hitler

Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult I feared him and felt bitter（痛苦的） about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We talked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.
【小题1】Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?

(2013·高考江西卷，A)The light from the campfire brightened the darkness，but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones.It was a strange place.Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare.They liked camping，but not near this swamp.

“So，”Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals.“How did this place get its name? ”

“Are you sure you want to hear it ? It’s a scary story，”warned Jack.

“Of course！”cried out Tom.“If there were anything to be scared of，you wouldn’t have chosen this place！”

“Ok，but don’t say I didn’t warn you，” said Jack，and he began his tale.

“Way back in time，a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here.He built that cottage over there to live in.In those days，the area looked quite different—it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystal?clear river.After three hard years，Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops.He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.

“‘You are clearing too much land，’warned one old man.‘The land is a living thing.It will hit back at you if you abuse it.’”

“‘Silly fool，’said Dennis to himself.‘If I clear more land，I can grow more crops.I’ll become wealthier.He’s just jealous！’”

“Dennis continued to chop down trees.Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed.He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door.He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land.He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”

“What happened？”Martin asked.It was growing colder.He trembled，twisting his body closer to the fire.

“The land hit back—just as the old man warned，”Jack shrugged.“Dennis disappeared.Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater.His body was never found.”

“What a stupid story，”laughed Tom.“Plants can’t...”Before he had finished speaking，he screamed and fainted(晕倒)．The other two boys jumped up with fright，staring at Tom.Suddenly，they burst out laughing.Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face.It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.

1.The underlined word “dare”in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to________.

A．courage B．assistance

C．instruction D．challenge

2.Why did Jack tell Tom and Martin the story?

A．To frighten them.

B．To satisfy their curiosity.

C．To warn them of the danger of the place.

D．To persuade them to camp in the swamp.

3.Why did Dennis ignore the warning of the old man?

A．The old man envied him.

B．The old man was foolish

C．He was too busy to listen to others.

D．He was greedy for more crops.

4.Why did Tom scream and faint?

A．He saw Dennis’s shadow.

B．He was scared by a plant.

C.His friends played a joke on him.

D．The weather became extremely cold.

5.What lesson can we learn from the story of Dennis?

A．Grasp all，lose all.

B．No sweat，no sweet.

C．It is no use crying over spilt milk.

D．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

Born into a poor family，two of the Durers' children still had a dream for art，but they knew their father could not afford to send either of them to the academy(院校)．

After discussions，the two boys finally agreed to toss a coin．The loser would go to the nearby mines and support his brother while he attended the academy．Then，when the winner completed his studies，he would support the other brother，either with sales of his art work or，if necessary，by working in the mines．So they tossed a coin．Albrecht Durer won the toss and went to Nuremberg．Albert went to the dangerous mines and financed his brother，whose work at the academy was almost an immediate success，and by graduation，he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his works．

When the Durer family held a dinner to celebrate Albrecht's homecoming， Albrecht drank a toast to his brother，“Now，Albert，it is your turn to go to Nuremberg and follow your dream，and I will take care of you．”

Albert wiped the tears from his cheeks，glanced at the faces he loved，and said softly，“No，brother．It is too late for me．Look….look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been broken at least once，and lately I have been suffering from arthritis(关节炎)so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast，much 1ess make lines on canvas(画布)with a pen or a brush．No，brother …for me it is too 1ate．”

Therefore，Albrecht took pains to draw his brother’s injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward．The entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and named it “The Praying Hands”．

1.The passage is mainly about

2.According to the two brothers’ agreement，．

3.Albert refused his brother’s offer because．

4.The artist created the masterpiece “The Praying Hands”