At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.

When the old car rumbled (发着辘辘声) toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot and four inches frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money is tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.

From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. He could do nothing right. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.

Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spend his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting him at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants. On Saturday nights he hitch-hiked into the nearest town and wandered the streets or enjoyed a restaurant meal before returning to the farm.

Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months as his farmhand. The railway station master, when questioned later that week, said he had not seen him. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey (赛马骑师), Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”

1.Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because ___________.

A.he wanted to escape from war-torn France

B.he wanted to serve in the Canadian army

C.he couldn’t find a job in England

D.he loved working as a farmhand

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.Stanley joined the French army when he was 18 years old.

B.On the farm Stanley had to milk the cows 14 times a week.

C.The Lapine family were very rich but cruel to Stanley.

D.Stanely read about the job offer in a newspaper.

3.What did Stanley like doing after work each day?

A.Hitch-hiking to different towns.

B.Caring for the farmer’s horses.

C.Wandering around the farm alone.

D.Preparing meals on the farm.

4.Why was Armand so astonished when he read about Stanley in the magazine?

A.He didn’t know Stanley had been a British soldier.

B.He had no idea Stanley had always been a wealthy man.

C.He didn’t know his father paid Stanley so little money.

D.He didn’t expect Stanley to become such a success.

 

第二节:完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从16-35各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

My earliest memory of dad is grabbing his hand while we walked together. As I   16   older, I remember my father and I listening to basketball games on the radio. I always fell asleep   17   the game was over. When I woke up in the morning the score sheet with the   18   score on it would be lying   19   me. I’ll always remember that.

On cold mornings my father would bring his bread truck by the house. I used to ride on the floor of that bread truck  20   he delivered the bread to the stores. The   21   and the warmth from the bread made my mouth water and kept me warm. I’ll always remember that.

My father would   22   all my games. One night before an important game my father told me   23   that he wouldn’t be able to watch the game because he had to deliver the bread and it was a three-hour   24   from his route(路线). The next day as the game time approached I thought about my dad. I happened to look across the field and   25   saw his bread truck pulling into the stadium. He managed to   26   the game. I’ll always remember that.

Years later I had become a teacher. I’ll never forget the voice on the phone early one morning telling me dad had just been   27   in a traffic accident. I could hear my heart   28   in my ears. I   29   the phone and went back to my bedroom. After that nothing really   30   to me. I still taught in school   31   I couldn’t focus on my teaching. One day I was on the playground

32   a little boy walked up to me and grabbed my hand. His hand held mine the same way I used to hold my father’s by the last two   33  . At that moment I found my   34   in life again. You see even though my father was gone, he left something with me. He left me his smile, compassion and touch. My purpose was to use those   35   as he did. From that day On I started. I’ll always remember that!

16.A.seemed            B.grew                      C.turned                    D.changed

17.A.when               B.although                 C.because                   D.before

18.A.fresh               B.final                       C.official                   D.opposite

19.A.across from      B.in place of                     C.next to                    D.ahead of

20.A.as                   B.so                          C.until                       D.unless

21.A.smell               B.color                      C.taste                       D.shape

22.A.react               B.confirm                  C.serve                      D.attend

23.A.exactly            B.sadly                      C.slowly                    D.simply

24.A.drive               B.walk                       C.length                     D.ride

25.A.immediately     B.hopefully                C.surprisingly             D.unusually

26.A.make               B.keep                       C.take                        D.win

27.A.killed                     B.injured                   C.trapped                   D.saved

28.A.strike                     B.knock                     C.beat                        D.hit

29.A.held up            B.held back                C.hung on                  D.hung up

30.A.cared               B.mattered                 C.troubled                  D.meant

31.A.if                    B.once                       C.and                        D.but

32.A.while                     B.after                       C.when                      D.before

33.A.shoulders         B.fingers                    C.arms                       D.legs

34.A.purpose           B.pleasure                  C.position                  D.progress

35.A.lessons            B.prizes                     C.gifts                       D.subjects

 

I travel a lot in my work, and what I dislike about my job is eating alone. It always makes me feel lonely to see others laughing and talking. So, room service for several nights was a better choice for me.

   After having room service three nights at a hotel in Houston, however, I needed to get out of my room. Although the restaurant opened at 6:30, I arrived at 6:25. The waiter at the front desk made a comment(评论) about my “being there really early”. I explained my dislike of eating alone in restaurants. He then seated me at a lovely table and asked me whether I would mind if he sat down with me for a while.

   I was glad! He sat and talked with me about his career goals and the difficulty of being at work on nights, weekends and holidays. He said he hadn’t enough time to be with his family. After 15 minutes, he saw some customers at the front desk and excused himself. I noticed that before he went to the front desk, he stopped in the kitchen for a moment.

   Then another waiter came out of the kitchen and had a wonderful chat with me. Before I left that night, some other waiters, even the cook, had come out of the kitchen and sat with me!

   When I asked for my bill about one hour later, all the people who had sat down with me came over in a big group to my table, and presented me with a red rose. And I cried! What had begun as a lonely night ended as a beautiful experience.

48. The author asked for room service because _______.

A. a lot of money would be saved in this way

B. he didn’t like to eat with other people around

C. he didn’t wanted to be recognized by the waiters

D. seeing people laughing and talking made him feel bad

49. How did the waiter feel when he saw the author come in at 6:25?

   A. Dissatisfied.        B. Pleased.        C. Surprised.       D. Angry.

50. From the third paragraph, we can learn that the waiter at the front desk ______.

   A. knew how to attract more customers to his restaurant

   B. found it hard to balance his work and his family

   C. was getting tired of his present job

   D. had never had such a chance to talk about his worries

51. The author wants to tell us that ______.

 

   A. people are actually all lonely in their own way

   B. restaurants should put the need of customers first

   C. the kindness of strangers can make you less lonely

   D. restaurants are full of surprises for lonely people

 

William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13, 1865. His childhood lacked the harmony (和睦) that was typical of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered “little of childhood but its pain”. In fact, he inherited (继承) excellent taste in art from his family—both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama (戏剧) and poetry.

Yeats had strong faith in coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the fresh task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments, however, were not received favorably at the beginning. He didn’t lose heart, and finally enjoyed success in his poetical drama.

Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats’s poems attract much admiring notice. The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very traditional forms, he brought modern sensibility to them. As his literary life progressed, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide recognition.

He had not enjoyed a major public life since winning the Nobel Price in 1923. Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would who probably now be valued as a minor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet Auden wrote, among others, the following liners:

Earth, receive an honored guest:

William Yeats is laid to rest.

Let the Irish vessel (船) lie

Emptied of its poetry.

1. Which of the following can describe Yeats’s family?

A. It filled Yeats’s childhood with laughter.

B. It was shocked by Yeats’s choice.

C. It was a typically wealthy family.

D. It had an artistic atmosphere.

2. According to the passage, what do we know about Yeats’s life?

A. Yeats founded the first Irish theater.

B. Yeats stuck to modern forms in his poetry.

C. Yeats began to produce his best works from the 1910s.

D. Yeats was not favored by the public until the 1923 Noble Prize.

3.What kind of feeling is expressed in W. H. Auden’s lines?

A. Envy.                        B. Sympathy.

C. Emptiness.                    D. Admiration.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Yeats’ literary achievements.

B. Yeats’ historical influence.

C. Yeats’ artistic ambition.

D. Yeats’ national honor.

 

The house was quiet at 5 am and Tim’s mother was asleep. Only the sound of the big freezer broke the quiet. He’d dreamt of the cave last night. The purring(轻微颤动声)of the freezer had been the sea .

      Tim pulled on a sweater and put some apples into his schoolbag. It was too early for breakfast. He’d eat after he’d been through the cave, sitting on the rocks and staring at the sea.

      He wished he had a proper pack. His schoolbag would have to do. What else? Sandwiches—but his mother might wake up if he started pulling out bread for sandwiches, she’d want to know why he had to leave so early. He settled for some biscuits, and left a note stuck to the table:

Gone to Michael’s. Back tonight. Tim.

      The sky was high and soft and light outside, though the sun still wasn’t up. Even the highway up the hill was quiet as he made his way down the street. The wind from the sea was fresh and sweet.

      The sandhills still breathed heat from yesterday’s sun, though the top of the sand was cool. He ran down to the beach impatiently, but there was no one, just dry sand dancing in the early wind and seabirds marching up and down watching the waves.

      The light changed suddenly. The first rays of sunlight stretched(延伸)across the sea . The sun was pushing its way over the edge of the world.

      Over the first rocks, along to the point. Tim glanced back. The beach was still empty. The sun sailed higher in the sky. 

     He could see the cave now, even darker in the morning light. The sand turned silver then dark gold as the water flowed away from it. He had to force himself to go closer. Why was it so much more mysterious now ? But it would be silly to go back now after so much trouble. He needn’t go in all the way …

1. “ He settled for some biscuits ”(in Paragraph 3)means that Tim_______.

    A. had to leave the biscuits on the table   

    B. liked biscuits better than sandwiches

    C. had to take biscuits instead of sandwiches 

    D. could only find some biscuits in the kitchen

2.What made it possible for Tim to see the entry to the cave?

    A. The height of the first rocks.     

    B. The ups and downs of the waves.

    C. The change in the position of the sun.   

D. The vast stretch of the sunlit beach.

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?

    A. The sea looked like a piece of gold.   

    B. Seabirds flew away when Tim arrived.

    C. Tim was the only person on the beach.   

    D. The sky got dark as Tim reached the cave.

4.In the story , Tim’s mood changed from_______..

    A. loneliness to craziness          B. anxiousness to excitement

    C. helplessness to happiness     D. eagerness to nervousness

 

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