A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that costs $5, 000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality as she wanted a pair of earrings made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl."
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse." “I don’t like to part with it." she said sadly, I got it from my mother, and, my mother got it from her’s. But I really need the money.
The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind .Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news .The man, however, was nowhere to be found. The jeweler immediately realized the whole thing.
【小题1】Actually, the man wanted to buy another pearl for _____.

A.himselfB.his wifeC.no oneD.his mother
【小题2】He paid $5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because______.
A.he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
B.he was very rich.
C.his business had been successful
D.he was anxious to get it
【小题3】He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be______.
A.exactly the same quality as the black one
B.exactly the same size as the black one.
C.exactly the same as the black one
D.exactly worth $25,000
【小题4】The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
A.he happened to be out
B.he died suddenly
C.he wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time
D.he got $20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his vast fortune, largely to the cause of global health, during the course of his lifetime. With an estimated (估计) worth of more than $40 billion, according to Forbes, the project will be no small feat (功绩) for Gates. Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $24 billion to address global health issues, Gates said that eventually his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”.
So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest? Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity” in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the population, he says, has proven to be an essential (实质的) method in helping poor countries to be financially successful. “National borders allow inequalities,” said Gates: “We all need to take a more global view, rather than just saying my country is doing well. We have to step up these health issues, knowing how few resources are going into them.”
Gates said that both his parents set an example for him as a child. His father, William H. Gates, was the head of the local Planned Parenthood, and his mother, Mary, volunteered for the United Way. As he gathered his fortune, Gates knew he would eventually want to give back as well, but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole-heartedly to one project until he was about 60.
However, Gates, 47, began to question his ability to wait that long. “It seemed there was a real time urgency (紧迫),” Gates said. “I started to think, how many lives could I save before then?”
【小题1】.. Bill Gates will give away his vast fortune to ___.

A.improve the health of population in America alone
B.improve the health of population all over the world
C.avoid leaving his children too much money
D.spare the American government the burden of health care
【小题2】.. Bill Gates believes that one important way of developing poor countries is ___.
A.to set up more foundations for themB.to aid them with natural resources
C.to put more effort into the health issues in themD.to help them take a more global view
【小题3】. It can be learned from the text that Bill Gates thinks ___.
A.Americans should care about people in other countries
B.Americans should treat fellow citizens well
C.Americans should devote themselves to certain projects
D. Americans can be world-famous by giving away vast fortune
【小题4】.. Bill Gates gave away his vast fortune earlier than he had expected because of ___.
A.his weakening health conditionB.his parents’ suggestions
C.his great success in businessD.his concern for suffering people
【小题5】. The underlined word “channel” probably has a similar meaning as it is used in sentence “___”.
A.Try to channel your abilities into something useful
B.We ought to channel this street so that water can flow away easily
C.Ships must follow the channel into the portD.Which channel will you be broadcasting tonight

War Horse author Michael Morpurgo is being interviewed:
Reporter:How did War Horse become so successful?
Michael:War Horse was published in 1982,and it did not sell very well.But my publishers kept it in print,along with all my books.I am very grateful to Egmont and I’m sure now they are very grateful to themselves.
The book was discovered 21 years later,by accident.I was on Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 in 2003 when my work was becoming better known.One of the listeners was the mother of a director called Tom Morris,and after reading War Horse herself she told her son to read it.Two years later the play came out,and it was a huge hit that went to the West End,Broadway and now Canada and Australia,then a nationwide American tour in June this year.
In 2009 kathy kennedy,the producer who worked with Steven Spielberg,walked into the New London Theatre to see the play because her daughter liked it very much.She then phoned Spielberg and told him this would be his next film!The way it all happened is better than any of my stories.War Horse has now sold over 1 million copies.
Reporter:Has War Horse changed your life?
Michael:It has made all the difference in the world.The most important gift it has given us is not to have to worry about money,because there has always been a slight anxiety.It has allowed us to ensure our grandchildren’s education.There is a disadvantage to it as well,which is an assumption that I am super rich.I’m not,actually.It is very nice and completely unexpected but I have got to go on writing.If I were younger,I think,it would go to my head.Now I am too old for anything to go to my head.It is not the same as winning the lottery(彩票)。
【小题1】Why are Michael’s publishers grateful to themselves too?

A.Because they never stopped printing it and it finally proved successful.
B.Because they earned a lot thanks to books of high quality they printed.
C.Because they have the ability to enlarge their company.
D.Because they have the potential to film the story.
【小题2】War Horse got the first huge success thanks to____.
A.Steven Spielberg and his daughter
B.Tom Morris and his listeners
C.Kathy Kennedy’s daughter
D.Tom Morris’ mother
【小题3】Why did Kathy Kennedy watch the play of War Horse?
A.Because she knew that the film was very popular.
B.Because her daughter was mad on the play.
C.Because her friend,Steven Spielberg,advised her to see it.
D.Because she was looking for a story with an animal in her mind.
【小题4】What change made Michael feel most valuable because of War Horse?
A.He could stay at home looking after his grandchildren.
B.He can make friends with famous film directors.
C.He needn’t worry about his financial problems.
D.He needn’t spend time writing another book.
【小题5】What is the attitude of Michael to his great success?
A.Calm.B.Unbelievable.C.ConfusedD.Excited.

As a teenager in 1972, Bill Gates boasted that he would be a millionaire by the time he was 20. While he did not quite achieve that goal, only 15 years later, he was a millionaire. And by 1992, as head of the Microsoft company, he became the richest man in America with assets(资产)of nearly US $ 6.3 billion.

Born in Seattle, Washington on 28, October, 1956, Gates was named William Henry after his father and grandfather. From the beginning, he was an extremely energetic and intelligent child. He had read the entire world book encyclopedia(百科全书)by the age of nine. His favorite subjects at school were science and math and his favorite pastime was "thinking".

Gates first started to play with computers at the age of 13. Before long he became an expert at working the school's computer. After his graduation from secondary school, Gates was accepted by the three top universities in the USA-Princeton, Harvard and Yale. He chose Harvard and began classes there the next autunm, majoring maths. But he was still obsessed(占据心里)with computers and spent as much time in the computer laboratories as he did in the lecture halls.

By 1975, Gates and a partner, Paul Allen, had developed a software program called BASIC. This was not the first program ever created, but its inventors were the first to decide that people who wanted to use it should pay for it.

BASIC was a success because until it came along, there had been no efficient way of getting computers to carry out instructions. Although he had not completed his degree, Gates left university and went to work full time for the new company he had formed called Microsoft.

His next project was the software program that made him famous and very rich. It was called DOS, short for Disk Operating System, and it was purchased by IBM in 1980. Today it is the operating system used in more than 14 million personal computers around the world.

As chief executive officer(首席行政长官)of Microsoft, Gates is known as a bright man, but one who is not easily satisfied. He is quick to criticize his staff and hates to be questioned about decisions he has made. He was regarded as a loner and unfashionable boring computer nut until his marriage to Microsoft manager Melinda French on New Year's Day 1994. Yet to many people now, Gates, is a person who is, in spite of his great wealth, humble(谦恭)and ordinary. He spends his money carefully. He eats in fast food restaurants and flies economy class. And when praised for Microsoft's great success, he has been heard to say, "All we do is put software in a box and if people see it in the stores and like it, they buy it."

1.When he was a teenager, Bill Gates wanted to be a ______.

A.teacher           B.doctor            C.businessman       D.professor

2.When Gates went to Harvard, he ______.

A.was only interested in maths

B.spent most of his time in computer laboratories

C.developed the first computer software program

D.divided his time between his maths studies and the computer laboratories

3.Before the development of BASIC, ______.

A.no one was interested in computer software

B.software programs were not considered commercial projects

C.software programs were very expensive

D.no one wanted to pay for computer software

4.When the writer says "He was regarded as a loner and unfashionable boring computer nut", he means ______.

A.Bill was so strong-minded that no one could change his mind

B.The only thing that could interest Bill in his life was computer

C.Bill was such a boring young man that nobody would like to talk to him

D.Bill couldn't work out the boring computer programs

5.Most people think that Bill Gates is ______.

A.a crazy person                         B.a person obsessed with making money

C.someone who spends money freely         D.a quite common, normal person

 

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两处为多余选项。

There was once a lonely girl who longed so much for love. One day while she was walking in the woods she found two starving birds._1____ She cared them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning they greeted her with a wonderful song. The girl felt the great love from the birds.

__2___. The larger and the stronger of the two birds flew from the cage. The girl was so frightened that he would fly away. As he flew close, she grasped him wildly. Her heart felt glad at her success in capturing him. __3______. She opened her hand and stared in horror at the dead bird. Her desperate love had killed him.

She noticed the other bird moving back and forth on the edge of the cage. She could feel his great need for freedom. He needed to fly into the clear, blue sky. ___4_____. The bird circled once, twice, three times.

The girl watched delightedly at the bird’s enjoyment. ____5______ .She wanted the bird to be happy. Suddenly the bird flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder. It sang the sweetest songs that she had ever heard.

The fastest way to lose love is to hold on it too tight, while the best way to keep love is to give it wings!

A.She gave them some delicious food and left.

B.Suddenly she felt the bird go softly.

C.Her heart was no longer concerned with her loss.

D.One day she left with the two birds at home alone.

E. She took them home and put them in a small cage.

F. One day the girl left the door of the cage open.

G. She lifted him from the cage and threw him softly into the air.

 

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