Bill Clinton was born on Aug.19,1946.Three months before his birth,his father had died when driving home to his pregnant wife,Virginia,he went off a high way,was thrown from the car and drowned in a river.

When Bill was 4,his mother remarried Roger Clinton.And there were always troubles:a sometimes voilent,alcoholic stepfather and a half-brother.Only one year after the marriage,the drunken stepfather fired a shotgun at the ceiling to keep his bride and stepson from leaving the house.Virginia was very much frightened.So Roger Clinton beat Virginia from time to time.But teenager Clinton played a role of protector of his mother bravely.The stepfater never laid another band on Virginia.

In high school,he was very good at Latin and maths.He also played saxophone in the hand.At age 16,as a member of a youth group,Clinton met President John F.Kennedy at the White House,it led him to the life of public service.Once he set his mind to do something,he did not give up.He was elected governor of Arkansas at the age of 32.

Clinton has said he ran for president to make the country a better place for people like Chelsea,his daughter.He did win.At the age of 46,he became the third youngest president in the nation's history.

When this passage was published,Clinton was_________.

A.governor of Arkansas                                    B.a famous professor

C.President of U.S.A.                                       D.President of a university

Clinton's own father died_________.

A.before Clinton was born

B.after Clinton was born

C.from drinking too much brandy

D.when Clinton's mother was giving birth

Clinton protected his mother by_________.

A.fighting against his stepfather

B.beating his stepfather

C.having long talks with his stepfather

D.the means we don't know

The word “it” in “It led him to the life of public service”refers to_________.

A.Clinton's high school education

B.becoming a member of a youth group

C.Clinton's visiting President Kennedy

D.doing public service

III.阅读理解(20×2)
When Sir Winston Churchill , the great British prime minister, reached his eightieth birthday in November 1954, he was presented with his portrait by a well-known modern artist, Granham Sutherland. The painting had been ordered and paid by the members of Parliament(国会)， who wanted to honor the Grand Man of World war II.
Sir Winston and Lady Churchill were deeply moved by this mark of respect and affection. Neither of them, of course, allowed the donors（捐赠者） to see how much they both disliked the portrait. “It makes me look stupid—which I am not !” Churchill protested in private. Publicly, he only said that it was “a fine example of modern art”. His friends smiled: it was well-known that Sir Winston didn’t care for modern art.
Churchill was so unhappy about the portrait that finally his wife had it destroyed. Churchill died at ninety in January 1965. lady Churchill followed him in 1977. Shortly after her death, the public learned what had happened to Sutherland’s painting, and a heated argument broke out. The painter was understandably sad. The artistic community, shocked and angry, claimed that the destruction of the picture had been a crime. Historians said that they regretted the disappearance of a historical document. All agreed that Churchills didn’t have the right to do what they had done.
Well—did they ? A good part of the public felt that the owner of a portrait had the right to get rid of it if it made him so unhappy. The question, however, has been raised many times before: who has the right to a work of art—the sitter, the owner, the donor or the artist who created it?  And when the painting is the portrait of a historical figure, should the right of posterity (后代) be considered, as the historians claimed?
1. To have Churchill’s portrait painted was the idea of ______.
A.a well-known modern artist       B.Parliament
C.a friend of Churchill             D.the public
2. Which of the following is true ?
A. Churchill liked the portrait but his wife not
B. Churchill didn’t like the portrait because he didn’t like the painter
C. Churchill liked the portrait because it was a fine modern art.
D . Churchill didn’t like the portrait and nor did his wife
3. When Churchill said it was “a fine example of modern art”, he was ______.
A. dishonest           B. joking        C. praising the portrait          D. not been straight
4.When was the destruction of the portrait known to the public?
A . As soon as it happened             B.After Churchill died in 1965
C. Soon after Lady Churchill’s death     D. Not until recently
5. How did people reacted to the news?
A. People of the artistic community were all very sad.
B. The historians felt more strongly against it than the artistic community.
C.All people agreed that Chutchills had no right to destroy the picture.
D. while some were upset, quite a few people believed the Churchills had the right to destroy it.

Why I Don’t Spare “Spare Change”
“Poor but honest. ” “The deserving poor.” These words always come to my mind when I think of “the poor”. But I also think of people who, perhaps through alcohol or drugs, have ruined not only their own lives but also the lives of others in order to give way to their own pleasure. Perhaps alcoholism and drug addiction really are “diseases”, as many people say, but my own feeling－ based, of course, not on any serious study－is that most alcoholics and drug addicts belong to the “undeserving poor”. And that is largely why I don’t give spare change to beggars.
But surely among the street people there are also some who can rightly be called “deserving”. Deserving what? My spare change? Or simply the government’s assistance? It happens that I have been brought up to believe that it is proper to make contributions to charity（慈善机构）, but if I give some change to a beggar, am I making a contribution to charity and thereby helping someone, or, am I perhaps simply encouraging someone not to get help? Or, maybe even worse, am I supporting a cheat?
If one believes in the value of private charity, one can either give to needy people or to charitable organizations. In giving to a beggar one may indeed be helping a person who badly needs help, but one cannot be certain that one is giving to a needy person. In giving to an organization, on the other hand, one can feel that one’s money is likely to be used wisely. True, facing a beggar one may feel that this particular unfortunate person needs help at this moment－a cup of coffee or a sandwich－and the need will not be met unless I put my hand in my pocket right now. But I have come to think that the beggars whom I meet can get along without my spare change, and indeed perhaps they are actually better off for not having money to buy alcohol or drugs.
I know nothing about these beggars, but it’s my impression that they simply prefer begging to working. I am not generalizing about street people. I am talking about the people whom I actually meet. That’s why I do not give “spare change”, and I don’t think I will in the future.
53. What does the author think of beggars who take drugs?
A. They should be given a check-up.            B. They really need money to live.
C. They have no pleasure in life.                  D. They are not worth helping.
54. Why doesn’t the author give money to street people?
A. He doesn’t think they need help.            
B. He doesn’t have enough money to give.
C. He is not convinced they will use it rightly.    
D. He believes they can get help from the government.
55. In the second paragraph, the author presents his idea by_____.
A. asking questions for people to think about     B. giving examples to support his argument
C. raising questions and answering them               D. expressing his opinions directly
56. Which of the following opinions does the author accept?
A. Drug addiction is a disease.                   
B. Some street people are poor and needy.
C. Most beggars have received enough help.
D. Charitable organizations handle money properly.

The United States economy has dipped into economic recession (经济衰退). This caused discomfort and hardship in every level of society; but for many of the nation’s poor, discomfort and hardship turned into misery (苦难).

An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation’s financial disaster. About 3 million Americans were homeless because of a lack of affordable housing. Experts suggest that a family should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on housing. In fact, in some families housing costs make up 50 percent or more. An unexpected event, such as losing work or illness, can quickly push a family into homelessness.

An article in Time magazine tells a story of one such family. A young couple and their three children rented a two-bedroom apartment for about $350 a month. They could hardly go on with the husband’s $920-a-month take-home pay; so when their rent was raised to $500 a month, they could no longer make ends meet.

Another woman was found dead on a street in Washington D.C., the capital, and she died at a bus-stop across the street from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

People become homeless for different reasons. Some may not be able to pay for housing, because they have lost their job and cannot find another place they can afford. Others have mental diseases, or are addicted to drugs or alcohol, many of whom do not live with their family. And what’s more, there are not enough centers for shelter as the government doesn’t pay enough attention to this social problem. 

People are making efforts to solve the problem. However, it will not be easy, because it is a personal and economical problem as well as a social problem.

1.The passage is mainly about __________ in the US.

A. ways of solving economic problems

B. homeless people being taken good care of

C. different reasons for economic recession

D. economic recession leading to social problems

2.In the passage the author supported his view by __________.

A. presenting specific figures                        B. giving examples

C. explaining in details                               D. discussing different opinions

3. One main result that economic recession has led to is __________

A. an increase of living costs                     B. more and more deaths

C. an increase of homeless people       D. less centers for poor people

4.How many reasons why people become homeless are listed in the passage?

A. 2.        B. 3.               C. 4.              D. 5.

Why I Don’t Spare “Spare Change”

“Poor but honest.” “The deserving（值得帮助的）poor. ” These words always come to my mind when I think of “the poor. ” But I also think of people who, perhaps through alcohol（酒）or drugs, have ruined not only their own lives but also the lives of others in order to give way to their own pleasure. Perhaps alcoholism and drug addiction（上瘾）really are “diseases. ” as many people say, but my own feeling－based, of course, not on any serious study－is that most alcoholies and drug addicts belong to the “undeserving poor. ” And that is largely why I don’t give spare change to beggars.

But surely among the street people there are also some who can rightly be called “deserving.” Deserving what? My spare change? Or simply the government’s assistance? It happens that I have been brought up to believe that it is proper to make contributions to charity（慈善机构）, but if I give some change to a beggar, am I making a contribution to charity and thereby helping someone, or, am I perhaps simply encouraging someone not to get help? Or, maybe even worse, am I supporting a cheat?

If one believes in the value of private charity, one can either give to needy people or to charitable organizations. In giving to a beggar one may indeed be helping a person who badly needs help, but one cannot be certain that one is giving to a needy person. In giving to an organization, on the other hand, one can feel that one’s money is likely to be used wisely. True, facing a beggar one may feel that this particular unfortunate person needs help at this moment－a cup of coffee or a sandwich－and the need will not be met unless I put my hand in my pocket right now. But I have come to think that the beggars whom I meet can get along without my spare change, and indeed perhaps they are actually better off for not having money to buy alcohol or drugs.

I know nothing about these beggars, but it’s my impression that they simply prefer begging to working. I am not generalizing about street people. I am talking about the people whom I actually meet. That’s why I do not give “spare change, ” and I don’t think I will in the future.

64．What does the author think of beggars who take drugs?

A．They should be given a cheek-up.

B．They really need money to live.

C．They have no pleasure in life.

D．They are not worth helping.

65．Why doesn’t the author give money to street people?

A．He doesn’t think they need help.

B．He doesn’t have enough money to give.

C．He is not convinced they will use it rightly.

D．He believes they can get help from the government.

66．In the second paragraph, the author presents his idea by _______.

A．asking questions for people to think about

B．giving examples to support his argument

C．raising questions and answering them

D．expressing his opinions directly

67．Which of the following opinions does the author accept?

A．Drug addiction is a disease.

B．Some street people are poor and needy.

C．Most beggars have received enough help.