The city of Vienna has always been popular for its famous physicians. Around the year 1482 one such well-known physician was Dr. Paul Urssenbeck. His fame came from his ability to predict with certainty whether a patient would recover his or her health or would die. He thus became known as the doctor of death.

In his earlier years, he followed the trade of a poor but honest weaver in the town of Deckendorf near Straudigen in Bavaria. It was a time of famine(饥荒), and he, his wife, and their eleven children were in great need. Then a twelfth child was born, and they could find no one to serve as its godparent. As a last chance, the poor weaver walked to a nearby village and asked an old friend to serve as godfather, but met only rejection. Disappointed and frustrated, the poor man made his way back to his family. While walking sorrowfully through the dense forest toward his home, he said, “If only I could die.” Suddenly a tall figure dressed in a dark cloak(斗篷) appeared before him, saying, “You called me. I am Death. What can I do for you?” As much as the man had previously wanted to die, he now wanted to live. “I am seeking a godfather for my youngest child. But I cannot find anyone who will serve as his godparent,” answered the weaver sadly. “I will accept this responsibility,” said Death. And thus it happened.

Following the baptism(洗礼), the mysterious godfather took the father aside and said, “Since I own neither gold nor silver to give to your child as a baptism present, I will make you into the most famous doctor of all times. Whenever you are called to a sick person, I—invisible to others—will seat myself either to the head or to the feet of the patient. If I am seated at the head, then this will show you that hope for recovery exists. If I am seated at the feet, then the patient will die.” Through this gift, the weaver was able to cure many illnesses, for he knew whether the patient who had sought his treatment would be helped by medications, or whether he would die. Soon the previously poor weaver became a wealthy and respected physician. However, his increased wealth made him ever-more greedy.

One day, a very wealthy man fell seriously ill, but when Dr. Urssenbeck was called in, and he saw that Death was already seated at the patient’s feet. Upon hearing the diagnosis, the relatives could not be comforted, and they offered the physician a fortune if he could heal the man. Then Urssenbeck resorted to trickery. He quickly had the patient’s bed turned around, so that Death was now seated at his head. Thus the man was rescued from Death, and he regained his health. On the physician’s way home, Death suddenly appeared before him. “You unfortunate one, why have you deceived me? In return for the life that you have given back to the rich man, you yourself must now die.” Death spoke with a threatening voice, and disappeared.

Dr. Urssenbeck suddenly found himself in a large room where thousands of candles were burning. Death said to him, “Each of these candles represents someone’s life. This tiny stump that is about to go out is yours.” Terrified, Dr. Urssenbeck reached for a taller candle, wanting to take some wax(蜡) from it to fill his stump, but in doing so he touched his own candle, and it went out, and he fell to the floor dead. That evening his body was found in a valley. He was buried in the graveyard of Saint Stephen’s Cathedral.

1.Why did Death make the weaver a famous doctor?

A. Because he wanted to play a trick on him.

B. Because he didn’t have any baptism gift for his child.

C. Because he wanted to give him something as a reward.

D. Because he wanted to show his sympathy to the weaver.

2.What does the underlined phrase “resort to” mean in paragraph 4?

A. to ask someone for help

B. to visit a place of interest

C. to consult information in the dictionary

D. to make use of something bad to achieve something

3.Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.

a. Dr. Urssenbeck became more and more greedy for wealth.

b. Dr. Urssenbeck died and was buried.

c. Death made the weaver the most famous doctor in Vienna.

d. The poor weaver wanted to find a godfather for his 12th child.

e. Dr. Urssenbeck resorted to trickery to heal the patient.

A. dceab B. cdaeb C. dcaeb D. cadeb

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The weaver had a dozen children altogether.

B. A new-born baby had to receive baptism after he/she was born.

C. The weaver’s old friend refused to be the godfather of his child.

D. If Death seated himself at the head, the patient could never be saved.

5.Which of the following CANNOT be used to describe Dr.Urssenbeck?

A. Grateful B. Greedy C. Dishonest D. Unfaithful

6.What’s the best title of this passage?

A. Dr. Urssenbeck, the Physician of Death

B. The Death Game

C. A Famous Physician in Vienna

D. A Poor Weaver

Many little girls like flowers, watching butterflies and riding small horses. A lot of them also like cars, robots and spaceships. But most girls’ clothing only has pictures of flowers, butterflies or horses.

Two mothers decided to make clothes that include all the things that little girls do and love.

Six-year-old Bella loves to play with cars. So her dress has pictures of cars on it.

“We haven’t found this type of dress in the store,” Cathy, Bella’s mother, says.

The car dress is from a new girl’s clothing line called Princess Awesome. Rebecca Melsky set up the business. She says its products for girls have some designs normally found on boys’ clothes.

It all started two years ago when Rebecca was hoping to buy clothing for her two-year-old, who liked robots, trucks and spaceships.

“One day when I walked through a girls’ store, I thought to myself I wish they’d make one of those beautiful dresses that also have a robot on it because she will love that. And I thought someone should do that. Maybe I should do that,” Rebecca, said.

Her friend Eva St. Clair believed she should, and their business was born. The women sold the first 70 dresses they made at a market. So they decided to expand their business online. Their products sold very well there, too.

“They sold out so fast that I could not make them fast enough. We decided it was time to think about a factory,” Rebecca said.

So they started to raise money from people over the Internet. The women raised more than $215,000 within days, far more than the $35,000 they expected.

“Our biggest challenge is going to be how we expand as rapidly as people seem to want us to,” Rebecca said.

The women hope Princess Awesome will expand into products for girls of all ages and all interests.

1.Princess Awesome was started .

A. by Cathy and Rebecca

B. because of six-year-old Bella

C. with the help of a girls’ store

D. to make unusual clothing for girls

2.The dresses made by Rebecca and her friend .

A. sold better online than at the market

B. helped them get a job in a factory

C. were popular among girls

D. were sold expensively

3.What is the most difficult thing Rebecca and her friend will face?

A. Meeting the needs of all girls.

B. How to make interesting products.

C. Raising enough money for their business.

D. How to expand their business as people expected.

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.

The Write Feeling

Growing up in a military family, I moved a lot. I mostly went to ______ with other kids whose parents were also in the military. But when my dad ______ from the Marines after twenty years of

service, I found myself ______ a civilian school with twelve-year-olds who shared no similar life experience with me.

I was a stranger in a strange land. Everyone in my class had grown up together, and they had no

room to ______ for a newcomer. I wore different clothes, had different thoughts, and spoke with an

accent. I ______ for the first few weeks of school. I had no friends, no activities, and no ______ of a

bright future. To deal with it all, I began ______ in my diary every day---stories of adventure, of old

friends, of feelings that I could not speak. I wrote as if my life depended on it, as if the very next breath I took could not happen ______ I wrote down words.

One day, my teacher, Mrs. Bush, came to me and asked why I always sat there writing instead

of playing with others. I told her I enjoyed writing and ______ writing to playing. She smiled at me

and walked away. About three weeks later, Mrs. Bush gave us a writing assignment. I was ______

that I could now participate in something I knew I excelled in.

That night I worked and worked on the essay. I wrote with great ______. It was my one chance

to feel important and ______ by the class.

A few days after we handed in our assignments, Mrs. Bush called me up to the ______ of the

classroom. I stood before thirty pairs of eyes looking at me, and I got ______. Was I in trouble? Did

I do something wrong?

Then Mrs. Bush told the class how much she ______ all the work that went into the essay and

everyone had done a great job. But, she said, one student stood ______ as an excellent writer, one

with imagination, creativity, and word mastery. That student was me!

The class clapped politely and Mrs. Bush handed me my paper, with the following ______ on it:

"Malinda, you are an excellent writer. You fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. Please

keep on writing and share your ______ of writing with the world. I am proud of you and glad you

are in my class."

Mrs. Bush helped me feel a sense of ______, a place of purpose, and a way to survive a transition in life. She helped me gain ______ in myself that stayed with me beyond sixth grade.

1.A. church B. school C. war D. work

2.A. separated B. withdrew C. quit D. retired

3.A. visiting B. attending C. running D. leaving

4.A. build B. preserve C. take D. spare

5.A. struggled B. played C. fought D. exercised

6.A. memory B. control C. promise D. need

7.A. reading B. drawing C. writing D. copying

8.A. unless B. once C. while D. after

9.A. compared B. applied C. turned D. preferred

10.A. astonished B. satisfied C. excited D. embarrassed

11.A. anxiety B. curiosity C. wonder D. passion

12.A. impressed B. accepted C. challenged D. envied

13.A. front B. corner C. door D. outside

14.A. annoyed B. disappointed C. worried D. surprised

15.A. appreciated B. expected C. recognized D. enjoyed

16.A. out B. up C. by D. off

17.A. descriptions B. remarks C. suggestions D. accounts

18.A. advantage B. purpose C. gift D. idea

19.A. responsibility B. belonging C. devotion D. relief

20.A. interest B. imagination C. creativity D. confidence

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