History, as we know, is filled with facts, with places, names, dates, and events.

History is also filled with feelings, with pain, joy, excitement, and fear.

Facts are set down in books, but what happens to feelings? How can you take the pain, for example, and write it into a history book? You can’t. But you can put it to music. Take the blues for example.

The blues started when black musicians in the South began to sing about their hard times, those times which made them feel blue. The early blues was the beginning of other musical styles, from jazz to rock and roll.

Music, you might say, is a record of feelings.

Of course, facts are important: the civil rights movement, the race for space, the Vietnam War. But the feelings behind these events – the pride of being black, the excitement of a rocket blast (点火起飞), the pain of a war – are also an important part of history.

1.In the passage, the word “blue” and the word “blues” are related to __________.

A．a feeling and a kind of music               B．a color

C．a kind of music and a person               D．people and their feelings

2.According to the writer’s idea, what can make people feel blue?

A．A history book                         B．Music.

C．History.                               D．Hard times.

3.Besides the above, the writer also explains ___________.

A．what caused the Vietnam War

B．the feelings behind some important events

C．the relation between history and music

D．why he wrote the article

 

A thief entered the bedroom of the 30^th President of the United States, who met him and helped him escape punishment.

The event happened in the early morning hours on one of the first days when Calvin Coolidge came into power, late in August,1923. He and his family were living in the same third-floor suite (套房) at the Willard Hotel in Washington that they had moved in several years before. The former President’s wife was still living in the White House.

Coolidge woke up to see a stranger go through his clothes, remove a wallet and a watch chain.

Coolidge spoke, “I wish you wouldn’t take that.”

The thief, gaining his voice, said, “Why?”

“I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm (表坠). Take it near the window and read the words on its back, ” the president said.

The thief read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidge.”

“Are you President Coolidge?” he asked.

The president answered, “ Yes, and the House of Representatives（众议院）gave me the watch charm. I’m fond of it. It would do you no good. You want money. Let’s talk this over.”

Holding up the wallet, the young man said in a low voice, “I’ll take this and leave everything else.”

Coolidge, knowing there was 80 dollars in it, asked the young man to sit down and talk. He told the President he and his college roommate had overspent during their holiday and did not have enough money to pay their hotel bill.

Coolidge added up the roommate two rail tickets back to the college. Then he counted out 32 dollars and said it was a loan (借款).

He then told the young man, “There is a guard in the corridor(走廊).” The young man nodded and left through the same window as he had entered.

1.What caused the thief to meet the President?

A. He knew the president had lots of money.

B. He knew the president lived in the suite.

C. He wanted to be a rich businessman.

D. He wanted to steal some money.

2.Why did Calvin Coolidge live at the Willard Hotel in those days?

A. Because the former president was still in the White House.

B. Because the former First Lady hadn’t left the White House.

C. Because the hotel was suitable for the First Family to live.

D. Because the First lady liked to live there.

3.Coolidge counted out 32 dollars______.

A. in order to be out of danger

B. to make more money from the loan

C. in order not to be killed by the thief

D. so that the student could overcome his difficulty

4.The young man’s roommate went back to college _____.

A. by bus           B. by water         C. by train     D. by air

5.Which of the following might happen afterwards?

A. The thief was put into prison.

B. The young man repaid the 32 dollars.

C. The President told many reporters the thief’s name.

D. The President ordered the young man to repay the money.

 

A teacher began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.  He held it up for all to see, and asked the students, " How much do you think this glass weighs?"

"50 g!" "100 g!" "125 g!" the students answered.

        "I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the teacher, "but my question is what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"

" Nothing! " the students said.

"OK. What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the teacher asked.

"Your arm would begin to ache," said one of the students.

"You're right.  Now, what would happen if I held it for a day?"

"Your arm could go numb. Have to go to hospital for sure!" said another student. All the students laughed.

"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the teacher.

"No." the students said.

"Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle (肌肉) stress?"

The students fell silent for a moment.

"Put the glass down!" said one of the students.

"Exactly!" said the teacher. "The problems of life are something like this. Hold them for a few minutes in your head, and it seems OK. Think of them for a long time and they begin to make you ache. Hold them even longer and you will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the  challenges(挑战)  in your life, but it' s even more important to put them down at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed. You wake up fresh and strong and can deal with any challenge that comes your way!"

Remember to put the glass down today.

1. How much do you think this glass which was held by the teacher weighs?

A.50g     B.125g       C.I don’t know.    D.100g

2.What would happen if the teacher held the glass up like this for an hour?

A. One of the students thought his arm could go numb.

B. One of the students thought his arm would begin to ache.

C. One of the students thought his arm would be changed.

D. One of the students thought his arm would be lost.

3. Why did the teacher hold up a glass in his class?

A. Because he wanted to know how much the glass weighs.

B. Because he wanted to ask some student to weigh the glass.

C. Because he wanted to make his class more interesting.

D. Because he wanted to explain it was important to put the challenges in life down at the end of every day.

4. In this passage, the underlined words "go numb" means_______.

A．疼痛不止                  B．消瘦萎缩                   C．松弛下垂         D．失去感觉

5. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. The teacher told his students to face the challenges bravely.

B. The teacher taught his students how to deal with the problems.

C. The teacher used to begin his class with a glass of water.

D. The teacher usually begins his class by holding a glass of water.

 

A thief entered the bedroom of the 30^th President of the United States, who met him and helped him escape punishment.
The event happened in the early morning hours on one of the first days when Calvin Coolidge came into power, late in August,1923. He and his family were living in the same third-floor suite (套房) at the Willard Hotel in Washington that they had moved in several years before. The former President’s wife was still living in the White House.
Coolidge woke up to see a stranger go through his clothes, remove a wallet and a watch chain.
Coolidge spoke, “I wish you wouldn’t take that.”
The thief, gaining his voice, said, “Why?”
“I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm (表坠). Take it near the window and read the words on its back, ” the president said.
The thief read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidge.”
“Are you President Coolidge?” he asked.
The president answered, “ Yes, and the House of Representatives（众议院）gave me the watch charm. I’m fond of it. It would do you no good. You want money. Let’s talk this over.”
Holding up the wallet, the young man said in a low voice, “I’ll take this and leave everything else.”
Coolidge, knowing there was 80 dollars in it, asked the young man to sit down and talk. He told the President he and his college roommate had overspent during their holiday and did not have enough money to pay their hotel bill.
Coolidge added up the roommate two rail tickets back to the college. Then he counted out 32 dollars and said it was a loan (借款).
He then told the young man, “There is a guard in the corridor(走廊).” The young man nodded and left through the same window as he had entered.
【小题1】What caused the thief to meet the President?

A．He knew the president had lots of money.

B．He knew the president lived in the suite.

C．He wanted to be a rich businessman.

D．He wanted to steal some money.

【小题2】Why did Calvin Coolidge live at the Willard Hotel in those days?

A．Because the former president was still in the White House.

B．Because the former First Lady hadn’t left the White House.

C．Because the hotel was suitable for the First Family to live.

D．Because the First lady liked to live there.

【小题3】Coolidge counted out 32 dollars______.

A．in order to be out of danger

B．to make more money from the loan

C．in order not to be killed by the thief

D．so that the student could overcome his difficulty

【小题4】The young man’s roommate went back to college _____.

A．by bus

B．by water

C．by train

D．by air

【小题5】Which of the following might happen afterwards?

A．The thief was put into prison.

B．The young man repaid the 32 dollars.

C．The President told many reporters the thief’s name.

D．The President ordered the young man to repay the money.

On the night of 23 July, 2011, a fast running train D301 from Beijing to Fuzhou suddenly hit another train which had already stopped there. The motor car accident happened in Wenzhou, China's eastern province of Zhejiang. It caused four carriages to fall off a bridge which is at least 30 metres high from the ground. 40 people have died in the accident. Among them were 2 foreigners: an Italian woman, Assunta Liguori, and a Chinese American, Cao Erxing. So far, most of the 39 bodies have been claimed by their relatives, based on ID cards, clothes and other characteristics, but the results of DNA tests are coming out in about one week or two. Another 210 people have been taken to hospitals in Wenzhou after the accident.
The accident study shows that it is the lightning strike that caused the big accident: the first train lost power because of a lightning strike and had to stop on the rail way. And after a few minutes it was soon hit from the back by another train following it. 
After the accident, questions have been raised over “what caused the accident” and “how to do with it”. During a visit to Wenzhou, where 39 people have been killed last weekend, Premier Wen calls for an transparent investigation into the cause of the accident, and he once again emphasized(强调) the importance of putting safety first in the country’s development.
【小题1】According to the report, _______ people got hurt in the accident.

A．40

B．42

C．210

D．250

【小题2】The underlined word “claim” means ______ in Chinese.

A．发现

B．掩埋

C．索赔

D．认领

【小题3】The motor car accident happened because of _______.

A．the lightning strike	B．running fast
C．high bridge	D．too many people

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A．The accident happened in Zhejiang Province.

B．Train D301 was hit from the back by another train.

C．the 39 bodies have been claimed by the results of DNA tests.

D．Premier Wen came to Wenzhou after the accident.

【小题5】Premier Wen mainly tell the Chinese _________.

A．what caused the accident

B．how to do with the accident

C．the importance of our country’s development

D．how importance the safety is