1685 was a very good year for German composers. Within the space of a month, two of the greatest were born: Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

Handel’s father was a barber and surgeon, which sounds like a strange combination today, but back then those occupations went hand in hand. Even though Handel was very interested in music, his father didn’t think that was a good way to earn a living, so he wanted his son to be a lawyer. The story goes that Handel smuggled a quiet piano into the house so that he could practice in secret.

One day, Handel went along when his father went to shave a duke. While his father was working, Handel sat down and played the duke’s organ. The duke was so impressed that he convinced Handel’s father to let his son study music, and Handel finally got to learn how to compose.

Handel soon discovered that what he liked most was opera. In fact, he was so passionate about opera that he even fought a duel (决斗) over it with one of his friends. Since Italy was the place to learn about opera composing, Handel went off to Italy to study. When he got home, he got a job as court composer for a German prince.

Having landed such a wonderful job, Handel immediately asked his boss for time off. He wanted to go to England, where he’d heard that there weren’t nearly enough composers to satisfy the British taste for Italian opera.

After great success writing opera in London, Handel came back to Germany. Then fate played a funny trick on Handel and his boss. The Queen of England died, and it just so happened that the prince Handel worked for was next in line to the British throne. When he arrived in London as King George, followed Handel, his court composer in Germany.

In addition to serving the King, Handel became one of the most successful opera composers of his time. And he also produced them and traveled all over Europe to hire the best singers. There are stories of battles with rival opera producers and of fights between rival singers. Handel apparently had quite a temper.

If you ever go to London, look for Handel’s grave in Westminster Abbey, where there’s a wonderful monument to him.

1.How did Handel begin to learn to compose?

A.His father was sure of his future success.

B.His performance impressed a duke.

C.He begged his father to send him to Italy.

D.He practiced hard and taught himself music.

2.What does the underlined word “smuggled” mean in the passage?

A.bought secretly

B.took secretly

C.carried in advance

D.possessed personally

3. Why did Handel later settle down in Britain instead of Germany?

A.Because he could find better jobs in London.

B.Because he enjoyed greater fame in London.

C.Because his boss became King of Britain and brought him along.

D.Because London was a wonderful place to learn about opera.

4.Which of the following words can NOT be used to describe Handel, as shown in the passage?

A.bad-tempered

B.talented

C.enthusiastic

D.optimistic

5. Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?

A.Handel was born in the same year with Bach.

B.Many people worked both as a barber and a surgeon.

C.Handel quit his job to learn about opera in Italy.

D.Handel was buried in London and was built a monument.

 

Ⅱ   阅读(共两节,满分50分)

第一节:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)

阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Parents have to do much less for their children today than they used to do,and home has become much less of a workshop. Clothes can be bought ready made; washing can go to the laundry; food can be bought; cooked,canned or preserved; bread is baked and delivered by the baker; milk arrives on the doorstep; meats can be had at the restaurant,the work’s canteen,and the school dining-room.

It is unusual now for father to pursue his trade or other employment at home,and his children rarely,if ever,see him at his place of work. Boys are therefore seldom trained to follow their father’s occupation,and in many towns they have a fairly wide choice of employment and so do girls. The young wage-earner often earns good money,and soon acquires a feeling of economic independence. In textile areas it has long been customary for mothers to go out to work,but this practice has become so widespread that the working mother is now a not unusual factor in a child’s home life,the number of married women in employment having more than doubled in the last twenty-five years. With mother earning and his older children drawing substantial wages father is seldom the dominant figure that he still was at the beginning of the century. When mother works, economic advantages accrue,but children lose something of great value if mother’s employment prevents her from being home to greet them when they return from school.

26. The writer mentions home as workshop because______.

A. fathers often pursue employment at home

B. parents had to make food and necessity themselves for their daily-life

C. many families produce goods at home for sale

D. both fathers and mothers and mothers in most families are workers

27. The writer says that home has become much less of a workshop. He means______.

A. in the past, home was more like a workshop

B. home is much more of a workshop now

C. home-workshops are becoming fewer and fewer

D. home was less like a workshop in the past

28. The word“accrue”in the sentence“When mother...accrue,”is closest in meaning to

__________________.

A. change                            B. dwindle                    C. double                     D. increase

29. The chief reason that boys are seldom trained to follow their father’s occupation is ___________________.

A. that children nowadays rarely see their fathers at their place of work

B. that fathers do not like to pursue employment at home any more

C. that there is a wide choice of employment for children

D. that children also like to have jobs outside

30. What makes father no longer the only dominant person in a family?

A. With their earning,mother and children do not need to depend on father for their life.

B. There are many choice of employment for mothers and children.

C. Father does much less for his children today than he used to.

D. The number of married women in employment has increased greatly now.

 

If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner and say, “Hey, Butterfly Man,” his face would break into a smile. The title suits him. And he loves it.

Arthur Bonner works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, once thought to have died out. Today the butterfly is coming back — thanks to him. But years ago if you’d told him this was what he’d be doing someday, he would have laughed, “You’re crazy.” As a boy, he used to be “a little tough guy on the streets”. At age thirteen, he was caught by police stealing. At eighteen, he landed in prison for shooting a man.

“I knew it had hurt my mom,” Bonner said after he got out of prison. “So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again.”

One day he met Professor Mattoni, who was working to rebuild the habitat for an endangered butterfly called El Segundo blue.

“I saw the sign ‘Butterfly Habitat’ and asked, ‘How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?’” Bonner recalls. “Dr. Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass (放大镜), ‘Look at the leaves.’ I could see all these caterpillars(蝴蝶的幼虫) on the plant. Dr Mattoni explained, ‘Without the plant, there are no butterflies.’”

Weeks later, Bonner received a call from Dr. Mattoni, who told him there was a butterfly which needed help. That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue. Since then he’s been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back. He grows astragals, the only plant the butterfly eats. He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs. Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat.

The butterfly’s population, once almost zero, is now up to 900. For their work, Bonner and Dr. Mattoni received lots of awards. But for Bonner, he earned something more: he turned his life around.

For six years now Bonner has kept his promise to stay out of prison. While he’s bringing back the Palos Verdes blue, the butterfly has helped bring him back, too.

1.When he was young, Arthur Bonner _______.

A. broke the law and ended up in prison

B. was fond of shooting and hurt his mom

   C. often laughed at people on the streets

   D. often caught butterflies and took them home

2.Bonner came to know the Palos Verdes blue after he _______.

A. found the butterfly had died out       

B. won many prizes from his professor

C. met Dr. Mattoni, a professor of biology 

D. collected butterflies and put them into a lab

3. From the last sentence of the text, we learn that raising butterflies has ________.

A. made Bonner famous              B. changed Bonner’s life

C. brought Bonner wealth             D. enriched Bonner’s knowledge

4.What does the underlined phrase “put through” mean in the 3rd paragraph?

A. hurt                         B. recall                  C. remember                    D. experience

5.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. A Promise to Mom                B. A Man Saved by Butterflies

C. A Story of Butterflies              D. A Job Offered by Dr. Mattoni

 

完形填空(共20小题;每小题l.5分,共30分)

    阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

    The Man Who Achieved Everything He Could

Once upon a time, there lived a man who wanted to achieve everything he was capable of achieving. He was obsessed with this desire --- he ate, slept, and walked with one and only dream: to die, having accomplished every single thing he was able to accomplish.

There were so many things he could do. He felt like the whole world could be his, 36   he set his mind to it.

He knew that his  37  had no limits. He knew that he could accumulate  38  that would dwarf (使相形见绌) that of ancient kings; he knew that he could  39  books that would shake the minds of generations; he knew that he could  40  things that would forever change the lives of millions of people. He lived, constantly feeling the power within --- and that power knew no bounds.

There was only one problem: having such a potential, but only one  41, he had to make a choice. He had to decide where to  42  all of his ability. Making that decision was extremely hard, for any  43  meant cutting off some future achievements. In the meantime, he went to school, graduated, found a job, married, and  44  children. And he spent every minute of his spare time trying to decide  45  he should bring his potential into full play.

Time went by, and he grew  46. Some roads he used to dream about became closed to him. But there was still so much he could accomplish.

One day, a sudden chest pain made him come home early. He dragged his feet to the bathroom. There, feeling  47, he looked in the mirror. A worn-out, gray-haired man stared back at him. He looked  48  into these eyes and, all of a sudden, 49  one simple truth. The next moment, the pain came again, and his heart stopped  50  forever.

The truth that came upon him was rather simple: People only flatter themselves (自以为是,自鸣得意) by thinking that they could have  51  this or that if not for such-and-such circumstances. Yet this is nothing but  52  . You simply lack something that is  53 for achieving that goal you’ve never reached — a talent, a skill, willpower,  54 something else. In fact,  55  you don’t achieve is something you’re not capable of achieving.

 

1. A. before            B. since                C. if               D. though

2. A. wisdom        B. potential            C. world            D. freedom

3.A. courage        B. interest             C. knowledge        D. power

4. A. write             B. read                 C. buy              D. edit

5. A. invent            B. acquire          C. adopt            D. destroy

6. A. step          B. life                 C. chance           D. condition

7.A. promote        B. accumulate       C. increase             D. apply

8. A. choice        B. mistake          C. failure          D. effort

9.A. assisted       B. loved            C. raised           D. punished

10. A. why          B. where            C. when             D. whether

11. A. greedier         B. wiser            C. older                D. cruder

12. A. sleepy           B. weak                 C. satisfied            D. comfortable

13. A. carelessly       B. secretly             C. angrily          D. closely

14. A. realized         B. remembered       C. reminded             D. created

15. A. fueling      B. starting             C. beating          D. moving

16. A. learned      B. achieved         C. undertaken       D. doubted

17.A. reality           B. history          C. imagination      D. record

18. A. unimportant      B. necessary        C. unbelievable         D. ordinary

19.A. and           B. even                 C. or               D. as

20. A. what             B. which            C. that                 D. how

 

 

People have been burying the dead at Salem’s Hope Cemetery since 1833. The place is filled with old gravestones and gothic mausoleums(哥特式陵墓), the spirits of the dead hanging over the land like an early morning fog.
Keeping watch, a few steps from the road with her skirt over the pedestal (基座), is Goldie Belle Taylor, her face weathered but otherwise in good condition. On this day, she is holding a bunch of pink rises because Goldie Belle always holds flowers. Someone makes sure of that.
“And she has had fresh flowers in her hands for the last 150 years.” Karen Biery lives in Damascus, about five miles west of Hope Cemetery. She’s written a book based on the legend of Goldie Belle Taylor titled Believe. In 1886, at the age of two, young Goldie Belle used her hands to sop up (抹去) the left over elderberry juice from her father’s iron kettle. She died not long after from poisoning. She was the love of her dad’s life, and he was so upset that he sold the family farm to buy the Italian made statue, which today marks her grave.
At first, it was her father who brought the flowers and laid them in her hands. When he died in 1896, the flowers kept coming. Her flowers are different per season. Why do the flowers keep miraculously appearing? People have tried to find out by having camped by the statue, but not even the groundskeepers have been able to catch the criminal.
It’s said that a fairy arrives at Hope Cemetery looking for the grave of her birth mother. She comes across Goldie Belle’s statue.

  1. 1.

    The underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 probably refers to________.

    1. A.
      her face in good condition
    2. B.
      her bunch of pink roses
    3. C.
      Goldie Belle Taylor is holding pink roses
    4. D.
      Goldie Belle Taylor always holds flowers
  2. 2.

    It can be inferred from the third paragraph __________.

    1. A.
      her father was poisonous
    2. B.
      the iron kettle was poisonous
    3. C.
      elderberry juice was poisonous
    4. D.
      it was her father that hated her
  3. 3.

    After her father died, the flowers in the hands of Goldie Belle Taylor_______.

    1. A.
      usually change
    2. B.
      were stolen
    3. C.
      are no longer fresh
    4. D.
      come from a criminal
  4. 4.

    What would be the best title for the passage?

    1. A.
      A fairy brings the flowers.
    2. B.
      The mystery of Goldie’s flowers.
    3. C.
      What happens to the girl?
    4. D.
      How do the flowers get there?

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