She was only about five feet tall and probably never weighed more than 110 pounds, but Miss Bessie was a towering presence in the classroom．She was the only woman tough enough to make me read Beowulf and think for a few stupid days that I liked it．From 1938 to 1942, she taught me English, history－and a lot more than I realized．
I shall never forget the day she scolded(批评)me into reading Beowulf．“But Miss Bessie, ” I complained, “I ain’t much interested in it．”
Her large brown eyes became sharp．“Boy, ” she said, “how dare you say ‘ain’t’ to me! I’ve taught you better than that．”
“Miss Bessie, ” I said, “I’m trying to join the football team, and if I go around saying ‘it isn’t’ and ‘they aren’t, ’ the guys are gonna laugh me off the team．”
“Boy,” she replied, “you’ll play football because you have guts(勇气)．But do you know what really takes guts? Refusing to lower your standards to those of the crowd．It takes guts to say you’ve got to live and be somebody fifty years after all the football games are over．”
I started saying “it isn’t” and “they aren’t, ” and I still joined the team without losing my friends’ respect．
Negroes, as we were called then, were not allowed in the town library, except to sweep floors or clean tables．But with the help of some nice whites, Miss Bessie kept getting books out of the white library．That is how she introduced me to the Bront?s, Byron and Keats．“If you don’t read, you can’t write, and if you can’t write, you might as well stop dreaming, ” Miss Bessie once told me．
So I read whatever Miss Bessie told me to, and tried to remember the things she insisted that I store away．It could be embarrassing to be unprepared when Miss Bessie said, “Get up and tell the class who Frances Perkins is and what you think about her．” Forty-five years later, I can still recite her “truths to live by”．
Miss Bessie noticed things that had nothing to do with schoolwork, but were essential to a youngster’s development．Once a few classmates made fun of my worn-out hand-me-down overcoat．As I was leaving school, Miss Bessie patted me on the back of that old overcoat and said, “Carl, never worry about what you don’t have．Just make the most of what you do have － a brain．”
No child can get all the necessary support at home, and millions of poor children get no support at all．This is what makes a wise, educated, warm-hearted teacher like Miss Bessie so essential to the minds, hearts and souls of this country’s children．
(1)
The underlined words “towering presence” in the first paragraph means _________．
[ ]
A．
Miss Bessie was strong enough to influence her students
B．
Miss Bessie was watching the students all the time
C．
the students thought she was tall and heavy
D．
the students felt nervous in front of her
(2)
What can we infer from the passage?
[ ]
A．
Carl’s friends came from poor families．
B．
Carl hated to read Beowulf in public．
C．
Miss Bessie wanted Carl to be a better man．
D．
Miss Bessie didn’t want Carl to play football．
(3)
Miss Bessie asked Carl to read a lot because _________．
[ ]
A．
his parents were too poor to afford books
B．
he was not allowed into the library
C．
the whites didn’t want the blacks to read
D．
she expected him to have a goal in life
(4)
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
Jack is a twenty-year-old young man．Two years ago, when he finished middle school, he found work in a shop．Usually he works until ten o’clock in the evening．He is very tired when he gets home．After a quick supper he goes to bed and soon falls asleep．His grandma who lives downstairs is pleased with him．
One day, on his way home, he met his friend Mary．They were both happy．He asked the girl to his house, and she agreed happily．He bought some fruit and drinks for her．And they talked about their school, teachers, classmates and their future．They talked for a long time．
“Have a look at your watch, please,”said the girl．“What time is it now?”
“Sorry, something is wrong with my watch,”said Jack．“Where’s yours?”
“I left it at home．”
Jack thought for a moment and found a way．He began to stamp his foot on the floor, “Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The sound woke his grandma up．The old woman shouted downstairs, “It’s twelve o’clock in the night, Jack．Why are you still jumping upstairs?”
(1)
Jack was ________ when he finished middle school．
[ ]
A．
sixteen
B．
eighteen
C．
twenty
D．
fifteen
(2)
The old woman is satisfied with Jack because ________．
[ ]
A．
he’s her grandson
B．
he’s clever
C．
he can keep quiet
D．
he gets home on time
(3)
From the story, we can know that Mary is Jack’s ________．
[ ]
A．
classmate
B．
colleague (同事)
C．
aunt
D．
wife
(4)
The word “stamp” in the story means ________ in Chinese．
[ ]
A．
盖印
B．
跺
C．
贴邮票
D．
承认
(5)
Jack stamped his foot on the floor inorderto (为了)________．
[ ]
A．
wake his grandma up
B．
make his grandma angry
C．
let his grandma tell him the time
D．
let his grandma buy him a watch
阅读理解
Eric Wilson, the reporter from Lifestyle Magazine, interviews two persons on how they spend their day．Read what they say and answer some questions．
My name’s Stella．I usually leave at around eight fifteen．It takes me around forty minutes, and we start at nine－sharp．I take a coffee break at eleven, and then have my lunch at one o’clock．Pretty much the same hours as most people, I guess．I generally get home around six o’clock, have a snack, and then watch the news on TV at seven．I eat around eight, watch more TV or read a book, and try to be in bed by ten．Pretty boring, really, but that’s life．
My name’s Sophie．You ask my daily routine---that’s kind of a strange thing to ask．Still, if you really want to know…I get up around eleven thirty, and I hang out and read the paper and drink some tea．Then I go to the gym around twelve thirty, till about one fifteen, I guess．Well, then I might do some shopping or visit a friend．I usually have something to eat around three thirty, and I leave home at six thirty, and get to work around seven．I work until eleven．I’m usually home by eleven thirty．I have a meal, watch TV or a video, and try and be in bed by one o’clock．Unusual, maybe, but I like it．
(1)
What does around mean in the sentence “I usually leave at around eight fifteen．”
[ ]
A．
在……周围
B．
围绕
C．
大约
D．
圆的
(2)
What does the sentence “We start at nine－sharp” mean?
[ ]
A．
We start earlier than nine o’clock．
B．
We start at 9 o’clock．
C．
We start later than 9 o’clock
D．
We start at almost ten．
(3)
The word “unusual” probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
popular
B．
interesting
C．
unhappy
D．
strange
(4)
After work, what does Stella do before supper?
[ ]
A．
visit friends
B．
watch TV
C．
do some shopping
D．
read a book
(5)
How long does it take Sophie to get to work?
[ ]
A．
one hour
B．
forty-five minutes
C．
half an hour
D．
forty minutes
(6)
What does Stella do when Sophie on her way home from work?
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