For the 17 years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill, and soon she knew that she was dying. Just before she died, she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She held our hands and said, “Victor and Elizabeth, my children, I’m very happy because you love each other, and because one day you’ll get married. Everyone in the family loves you, Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family, my dear? I can die happy if you look after them when I have gone.”
My mother died and we were very sad, because we loved her dearly. Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother’s death. The time came for me to go to university. I didn’t want to leave my sad family, but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave, too, because the parents of my good friend Henry would not let him go to university with me. So I had gone alone.
On my first day at university I met my teacher, Professor Waldman, who was one of the greatest scientists in the world. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students who were starting at the university. He ended his talk by saying, “Some of you will become the greatest scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can. This is why God made you intelligent—to help other people.”
After the professor’s talk, I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was 15; I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. From then on, I wanted to use electricity to help people, and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things.
I started to work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.
The professor helped me very much, and other important scientists who were his friends helped me, too. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day’s holiday during the next two years, I did not go home, and my letters to my family were very short.
After two years, I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was the best in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university, I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day, month after month, I followed death, so it was a dark and terrible time.
I built a tall mast about 150 meters high, which is higher than the tallest building in the city, to catch lightning and send the electricity down to my machine in the lab. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.
Then one day, the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

My friend as well as I often go to cinema.                                   1．        

Yesterday, we heard a new film was being on. We hurried                   

to the cinema, only find that the tickets had been sold out.                    2．        

We were very sad. While we were about to leave, a man                      3．        

came up to us, hold two tickets. He told us t hat he and his                  4．        

girlfriend had something important to do. So there were two                5．        

tickets left. He asked us t hat whether we would like to buy them.        6．        

We were happy and asked him how many they were. He said               7．        

“The tickets each costs 50 yuan.” We bought them and                       8．        

entered the cinema. Much to our surprised, the conductor told us they  9．        

were fake and we were taken in. It was the worst day we had never had.                      10．         

For the 17 years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill, and soon she knew that she was dying. Just before she died, she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She held our hands and said, “Victor and Elizabeth, my children, I’m very happy because you love each other, and because one day you’ll get married. Everyone in the family loves you, Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family, my dear? I can die happy if you look after them when I have gone.”
My mother died and we were very sad, because we loved her dearly. Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother’s death. The time came for me to go to university. I didn’t want to leave my sad family, but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave, too, because the parents of my good friend Henry would not let him go to university with me. So I had gone alone.
On my first day at university I met my teacher, Professor Waldman, who was one of the greatest scientists in the world. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students who were starting at the university. He ended his talk by saying, “Some of you will become the greatest scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can. This is why God made you intelligent—to help other people.”
After the professor’s talk, I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was 15; I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. From then on, I wanted to use electricity to help people, and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things.
I started to work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.
The professor helped me very much, and other important scientists who were his friends helped me, too. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day’s holiday during the next two years, I did not go home, and my letters to my family were very short.
After two years, I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was the best in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university, I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day, month after month, I followed death, so it was a dark and terrible time.
I built a tall mast about 150 meters high, which is higher than the tallest building in the city, to catch lightning and send the electricity down to my machine in the lab. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.
Then one day, the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life.

1. 1.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   1. A.
      Elizabeth married shortly after Victor’s mother died.
   2. B.
      Elizabeth was a brave girl who loved Victor and gave him much help.
   3. C.
      Victor’s mother was very angry when she knew he loved Elizabeth.
   4. D.
      Victor did not want to leave his family because his mother died not long before.
2. 2.

   Victor did all the following during his research in the university EXCEPT that       .

   1. A.
      he discovered many things and built a scientific machine
   2. B.
      he learnt much about death both in the hospitals and in the university
   3. C.
      he worked hard and took only one day’s holiday during the next two years
   4. D.
      he built a tall mast to catch lightning and send the electricity down to the lab
3. 3.

   According to the author, the secret of life is to        .

   1. A.
      give life to things that were dead
   2. B.
      use electricity to help others
   3. C.
      build the best machine to learn about death
   4. D.
      become the greatest scientist of tomorrow
4. 4.

   Which is the correct order about the life of Victor?
   ① Victor’s mother passed away.
   ② Victor got help from the professor and other scientists.
   ③ Victor went to university and attended the professor’s talk.
   ④ Victor found the answer to giving life to things that were dead.
   ⑤ Victor experienced a storm, seeing the lightning destroying the tree.

   1. A.
      ①②③④⑤
   2. B.
      ⑤①②④③
   3. C.
      ①③②⑤④
   4. D.
      ⑤①③②④

Playing basketball isn’t a sport for women．That’s what Jewell Chapman’s high school headmaster told her in 1961 when he forbade the girls to play basketball．“We were very sad，”said Chapman，a player for her high school team of Des Moines．

Nearly 50 years later，Chapman is back on the basketball playground．She is 62 years old and plays for the Hot Pink Grannies，joining about 10 other women on a team whose uniforms are black trousers and hot pink socks．They play in the Iowa Granny Basketball League．

It is one of the twelve of basketball leagues for women over 50 that have spread up across the country．For some, it’s an opportunity to exercise and socialize；for others，it’s a once-refused chance to compete．“You see more and more senior women’s teams taking part in state and national competitions，”said Michael Rogers，a professor in sports studies at Wichita State University．“In the future it will be a common thing to have leagues like this．”

Yearly researches by the National Sporting Goods Association show the number of women of 55 and older who play basketball at least 50 times a year has grown from 16，000 in 1995 to nearly 131,000 ten years later．

The women on the Hot Pink Grannies are good-natured but they are competitive when game time comes．“I think I’m tough，”says Hot Pink Granny Colleen Pulliam, 69, showing her biceps（二头肌）in a game against the Strutters, known for their bright yellow socks．

Granny Basketball Leagues and similar groups are scattered（分布）through much of the country, including California，Connecticut, Louisiana，New Mexico，North Carolina，Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C．

72．The underlined word “It”（in Paragraph 3）refers to        ．

A．the Iowa Granny Basketball League              B．the Hot Pink Grannies

C．the school team of Des Moines                    D．Chapman

73．Why does Colleen Pulliam show her biceps? She wants to prove that she is        ．

A．beautiful．           B．hard                    C．thin．                     D．strong

74．When game time comes，the women on the Hot Pink Grannies are        ．

A．good-natured        B．active                  C．friendly                  D．happy

75．This passage mainly tells us about        ．

A．American Granny Basketball Leagues

B．American women basketball teams

C．Chapman and her team

D．more old women’s joining basketball teams in America