I'm from the South Bronx. At 7, my neighborhood was the beginning and end of my universe. It was a small town to me. Everyone knew each other, so if you got into trouble in school, chances are your mom knew about it before you got home. I felt watched over and safe.
But just before I turned 8, things began to change. I watched two buildings on my block burn down. I remember seeing my neighbor Pito go up and down the fire escape to get people out. Where were the firemen? Where was the truck? Somebody must have called them.
That same summer, after serving two tours in Vietnam, my brother was killed in the South Bronx. He was shot above the left eye and died instantly.  
People who could moved out of the neighborhood, and all I wanted to do was get out, too. I used education to get away from there and got good at avoiding the topic of where I was from. To be from the South Bronx meant that you were not a good person. It felt like a stain.
After college, I didn't want to come back to the South Bronx, but in order to afford graduate school, I had to. I was almost 30 and could only afford to live at my parents' home. It felt like a defeat, and I hated it.
At the same time, the city was planning a huge waste facility here, and no one seemed to care — including many of us who lived here. They were like, "Well, it's a poor community; what's the difference?"
I was very angry. It drove me to act. It moved my spirit in a way that I didn't know was possible. And it changed my beliefs — it changed the way I felt about myself and my community. I worked hard with others who felt the same way, and together, we defeated the plan.
After that, I realized it's just as important to fight for something as it is to fight against something. So we dreamed up a new park on the site of an illegal waste dump — and after many community clean-ups, along with $3 million from the city, we have one. And it's a glory. It was the seed from which many new plans for our community have grown.
Today, the South Bronx is no longer a stain; it's a badge(象征) of honor for me. I believe that where I'm from helps me to really see the world. Today, when I say I'm from the South Bronx, I stand up straight. This is home, and it always will be.
41. Paragraphs 2 and 3 make the readers believe ____________.

A. the author felt watched over and safe
B. he author’s brother was a bad man
C. the author’s neighbor Pito was braver than a fireman
D. the author felt his hometown was not a safe place to live in
42. The author went back to the South Bronx after college because ____________.
A. he couldn’t afford to live without his parents’ help
B. he loved his hometown very much
C. he was defeated in studies at college
D. he almost reached the age of 30
43. The underlined sentences(Paragraph 2) imply that ____________.
A. the author wondered where the firemen and the truck were
B. the author wanted someone to call the firemen
C. the firemen didn’t come to help although called
D. the firemen didn’t find a place to park the truck
44. What does the author want to convey in the passage?
A. Great changes have taken place in the South Bronx.
B. The South Bronx is a beautiful place.  
C. You can make a difference to your hometown if you act.
D. Everyone should love his hometown.

请阅读下列寓言小故事和故事寓意,从所给的六个选项( A、B、C、D、E和F)中,选出附和各小题要求的最佳选项
下面是几则寓言小故事:
46. An ant went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and being carried away by the rush of the stream, was on the point of drowning.  A dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to her.  The ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank.  Shortly afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, aiming at the dove.  The ant, perceiving his design, stung him in the foot.  In pain the birdcatcher shouted, and noise made the dove take wing.
47. Two men were travelling together, when a bear suddenly met them on their path.  One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and hid himself in the branches.  The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground, and when the bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and pretended to be dead as much as he could.  The bear soon left him, for he will not touch a dead body.  When he disappeared, the other traveler descended from the tree, and asked his friend what it was the bear had whispered in his ear.  “He gave me this advice,” his companion replied.  “Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.”
48. A prince had some monkeys trained to dance.  Being naturally good at learning, they showed themselves excellent pupils, and in their rich clothes and masks, they danced as well as any of the courtiers.  Their performance was often repeated with great applause, till on one occasion a courtier, bent on mischief, took from his pocket a handful of nuts and threw them upon the stage.  The monkeys at the sight of the nuts forgot their dancing and became (as indeed they were) monkeys instead of actors.  Pulling off their masks and tearing their robes, they fought with one another for the nuts.  The dancing spectacle thus came to an end in the laughter and ridicule of the audience.
49. A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he noticed something shining in the straw.  “Ho! Ho!” said he, “that’s for me,” and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw.  It turned out to be a pearl that by some chance had been lost in the yard.  “You may be a treasure,” signed the cock, “to man, but for me I would rather have a single barley-corn.”
50. An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around hi to give them some parting advice.  He ordered his servants to bring in a bunch of sticks, and said to his eldest son: “Break it.”  The son tried hard, but with all his efforts was unable to break the bundle.  The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful.  “Untie it,” said the father, “and each of you take a stick.”  When they had done so, he called out to them: “Now, break,” and each stick was easily broken.
请阅读下面的故事寓意,然后匹配与之对应的小故事。
A. Not everything you see is what it appears to be.
B. One man’s pleasure may be another’s pain. / One man’s meat is another’s poison.
C. Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.
D. One good turn deserves another.
E. Union gives strength.
F. Precious things are for those that can prize them.

When other nine-year–old kids were playing games , she was working at a petrol station.When other teens were studying or going out , she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street.But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholar and gain entry to Harvard University.

Her amazing story has inspired a move , “ Homeless to Harvard : The Liz Murray Story ”, shown in late April.

Liz Murray , a year- old American girl , has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination.

Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted.There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house.Liz was the only member of the family who had a job.

Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old.The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life.Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died , she decided to do something about it.

Liz went back to school.She threw herself into her studies , never telling her teachers that she was homeless.At night , she lived on the streets.

“ What drove me to survive had to do with understanding , by understanding that there was a whole other way of being.I had only experienced a small part of the society , ” she wrote in her book “ Breaking Night ”.

She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on.She used the benefits that come easily to others , such as a safe living environment , to encourage herself that “ next to nothing could hold me down ”.

She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University.But Liz decided to leave her top university for a couple of moths earlier this year in order to take care of her father , who has also developed AIDS.“ I love my parents so much.They are drug addicts.But I never forget that they love me all the time.”

Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is “ as simple a making a decision.”

1.In which order did the following thing happen to Liz ?

a.Mum died                            b.Worked at the petrol station

c.Got admitted into Harvard           d.had trouble finding a place to sleep

A.b-a-d-c           B.a-b-d-c            C.d-b –a –c       D.b-d-a –c

2.What decision did Liz make that changed her life ?

A.To go back to school                     B.To go to the best university

C.To survive                             D.To live a different life from her parents

3.What actually drove her on towards her goal ?

A.Envy                                 B.Her love for her parents

C.He Mum’s death                       D.Her willpower and determination

4.When she wrote “ I had only experienced a small part of the society ”, she _____

A.wanted to encourage herself

B.suggested something she wanted for her life

C.suggested people often look back

D.meant that she had little experience

 

Jim Lehrer hosts The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS ( Public Broadcasting Service) and has written 18 novels, two memoirs (回忆录), and three plays. And in his spare time…

What He's Working On

Oh, Johnny (Random House, $ 25), his hovel about a young Marine in 1944. "On his way to war, Johnny met the most beautiful and wonderful girl he'd ever seen. It changed his life. "

Where He's Surfing

"I'm on the computer all day long for nay job, checking the telegraphs, reading the news, send the news eBay because I collect bus memorabilia (值得纪念的东西): toy buses, bus stop signs, and bus driver caps. I've bought quite a bit."

What He's Watching

"I love all the Mystery Series on PBS, including Poirot. My wife and I just love those people. I’m a huge fan of The Sopranos. These are serious stories about high school football in small-town Texas and the challenges these kids have. It's very exciting. "

What He t s Listening To

"I'm always amazed when people say they have 3,000 songs on their iPod, 1 like music, but it’s not a part of my life. 1 am always listening to books on tape, I'm about to begin American Lion, Jon Meacham’s biography (传记) of Andrew Jackson. "

What He's Reading

"At present, I am reading Home, which is set in small-town Iowa. Marilynn Robinson writes about the simple things that are the most complicated of all within the human spirit. Her characters are so alive and real. Not long ago, 1 just finished The Spies of Warsaw, Alan Furst's terrific novel set in pre-World WarⅡ."

60. What job does Jim Lehrer do?

A. A TV host.                 B. A novelist.          C. A reporter.          D. A play - writer.

61. Why does Jim Lehrer spend much time on Google?

A. To collect information for his novel.             B. To collect bus memorabilia.

C. To better carry out his job.                D. To read his favorite novels.

62. In his spare time, Jim Lehrer does all the following things EXCEPT ________.

A. surf eBay for his hobby                                B. watch exciting TV series

C. listen to music on his iPod                     D. work on his own novel

63. Which of the following books is based on a real person?

A. Oh, Johnny.      B. American Lion.         C. Home.         D. The Spies of Warsaw.

 

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