Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.

       Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, that is the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive（印象深刻的）as the building itself.

       First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial（纪念物） to celebrate their love.

       When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife’s death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white.

Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out. More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains in the center under the building.

       And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Hehan lived the rest of his days－eight years, to be exact － imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it－until he was buried next to his wife.

       Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired（激发……的灵感） its construction.

59．The first two paragraphs were written to show that _____.

       A.the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building

       B. ancient Indian emperors were cruel

       C. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India

       D. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world

60．The Taj Mahal was first built as _____.

       A. a prison           B. a gift to Mumtaz     

       C. a memorial building        D. a tourist attraction

61．We learn from the text that Mumtaz probably died in _____.

       A. 1626           B. 1632            C. 1634            D. 1653

62．The underlined word “happiness” in the last sentence refers to _____.

       A. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife

       B. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power

       C. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal

       D. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal

This is a story that happened in Europe in the 17th century. Tulips (郁金香) were introduced into Holland before the 17th century but it did not take long for the flowers to gain popularity among the upper classes. Flowers of such beauty soon became symbols of power and the rich tried their best to lay their hands on some to display them in their gardens. When more people learned of the prices that the rich were willing to pay for tulips, they knew they just found a “get-rich-quick” gold mine.

By 1634, the whole country was so attracted by tulips that all other activities almost came to a stop. People were trading in tulips and even buying and selling bulbs (球茎). At that time, one rare bulb cost as much as ten tons of cheese.

Many made a fortune in the beginning. As the prices moved in one direction, they only needed to buy low and sell high, buy high and sell higher. After the gains, confidence rose and many sold away all their property in order to invest more money in tulips, hoping to make more money. The desire was so strong that those who were watching also rushed to the tulip market. Everyone thought that the high demand for tulips would continue forever and prices could only go up because more and more people from all over the world would start to like tulips.

When the prices of tulips was much higher than it should be, few people bought them for planting in their gardens. The real demand for the flowers seemed greater than it really was. Many people were buying them for speculation (投机), not appreciation. In 1637, for some unknown reasons, a group of people suddenly realized the danger. The prices of tulips began to fall and the market crashed. When confidence was destroyed, it could not be recovered and prices kept falling. Soon the nobles and the rich became poor. Cries of suffering were heard everywhere in Holland.

1.Why did the upper classes buy tulips in the beginning?

   A. Because the prices of tulips were low.      

B. Because they wanted to make a fortune.

C. Because tulips were introduced from abroad.          

D. Because tulips were beautiful and represented power.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

   A. greed(贪婪) was the reason why so many people were mad about tulips

   B. tulips became popular among the upper classes very slowly

   C. people who were mad about tulips bought them for appreciation

   D. when the prices were extremely high, most people planted tulips in their gardens

3.The passage is mainly about ________.[来源:学*科*网]

   A. Europe in the 17th century               B. buying and selling tulips         

C. being mad about tulips                            D. the life of the nobles and the rich 

Zxxk[来源:]

Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.

    Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人赞叹的) as the building itself.

    First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.

    The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.

    Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.

    Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.

1.The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.

A. the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building

B. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world

C. ancient Indian emperors were cruel

D. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India

2.The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.

A. a memorial building          B. a tourist attraction

C. a prison                   D. a gift to Mumtaz

3.From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.

A. 1626            B. 1653    C. 1632        D. 1634

4.The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.

A. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal

B. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal

C. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife

D. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power

第二部分 阅读理解（共两节，满分50分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、Ｂ、Ｃ和Ｄ）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
A
This is a story that happened in Europe in the 17th century. Tulips (郁金香) were introduced into Holland before the 17th century but it did not take long for the flowers to gain popularity among the upper classes. Flowers of such beauty soon became symbols of power and the rich tried their best to lay their hands on some to display them in their gardens. When more people learned of the prices thatthe rich were willing to pay for tulips, they knew they just found a “get-rich-quick” gold mine.
By 1634, the whole country was so attracted by tulips that all other activities almost came to a stop. People were trading in tulips and even buying and selling bulbs (球茎). At that time, one rare bulb cost as much as ten tons of cheese.
Many made a fortune in the beginning. As the prices moved in one direction, they only needed to buy low and sell high, buy high and sell higher. After the gains, confidence rose and many sold away all their property in order to invest more money in tulips, hoping to make more money. The desire was so strong that those who were watching also rushed to the tulip market. Everyone thought that the high demand for tulips would continue forever and prices could only go up because more and more people from all over the world would start to like tulips.
When the prices of tulips was much higher than it should be, few people bought them for planting in their gardens. The real demand for the flowers seemed greater than it really was. Many people were buying them for speculation (投机), not appreciation. In 1637, for some unknown reasons, a group of people suddenly realized the danger. The prices of tulips began to fall and the market crashed. When confidence was destroyed, it could not be recovered and prices kept falling. Soon the nobles and the rich became poor. Cries of suffering were heard everywhere in Holland.
41. Why did the upper classes buy tulips in the beginning?
A. Because the prices of tulips were low.    
B. Because they wanted to make a fortune.
C. Because tulips were introduced from abroad.         
D. Because tulips were beautiful and represented power.
42. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. greed(贪婪高☆考♂资♀源?网) was the reason why so many people were mad about tulips
B. tulips became popular among the upper classes very slowly
C. people who were mad about tulips bought them for appreciation
D. when the prices were extremely high, most people planted tulips in their gardens
43. The passage is mainly about ________.
A. Europe in the 17th century                 B. buying and selling tulips             
C. being mad about tulips                        D. the life of the nobles and the rich 

This is a story that happened in Europe in the 17th century. Tulips (郁金香) were introduced into Holland before the 17th century but it did not take long for the flowers to gain popularity among the upper classes. Flowers of such beauty soon became symbols of power and the rich tried their best to lay their hands on some to display them in their gardens. When more people learned of the prices that the rich were willing to pay for tulips, they knew they just found a “get-rich-quick” gold mine.

By 1634, the whole country was so attracted by tulips that all other activities almost came to a stop. People were trading in tulips and even buying and selling bulbs (球茎). At that time, one rare bulb cost as much as ten tons of cheese.

Many made a fortune in the beginning. As the prices moved in one direction, they only needed to buy low and sell high, buy high and sell higher. After the gains, confidence rose and many sold away all their property in order to invest more money in tulips, hoping to make more money. The desire was so strong that those who were watching also rushed to the tulip market. Everyone thought that the high demand for tulips would continue forever and prices could only go up because more and more people from all over the world would start to like tulips.

When the prices of tulips was much higher than it should be, few people bought them for planting in their gardens. The real demand for the flowers seemed greater than it really was. Many people were buying them for speculation (投机), not appreciation. In 1637, for some unknown reasons, a group of people suddenly realized the danger. The prices of tulips began to fall and the market crashed. When confidence was destroyed, it could not be recovered and prices kept falling. Soon the nobles and the rich became poor. Cries of suffering were heard everywhere in Holland.

Why did the upper classes buy tulips in the beginning?

   A. Because the prices of tulips were low.      

B. Because they wanted to make a fortune.

C. Because tulips were introduced from abroad.         

D. Because tulips were beautiful and represented power.

It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

   A. greed(贪婪) was the reason why so many people were mad about tulips

   B. tulips became popular among the upper classes very slowly

   C. people who were mad about tulips bought them for appreciation

   D. when the prices were extremely high, most people planted tulips in their gardens

The passage is mainly about ________.

   A. Europe in the 17th century               B. buying and selling tulips         

C. being mad about tulips                           D. the life of the nobles and the rich