The incident took place on Sunday,the 25th of June. On that particular day,a south wind had been gusting(劲吹) on and off all morning. It was not strong enough to cause us any concern,so we carried on our daily work, not suspecting what was about to happen.

    The storm gave us very little warning. Black clouds loomed over the distant horizon(地平线) so suddenly that we were taken by surprise. Even then,we were not really worried,as the clouds seemed to be moving over our house and towards the distant mountains. Then,just as the clouds had moved inland,the wind suddenly swung around in a full circle and we were facing a major storm.

    Instantly,we were busily preparing for the worst. The whole family had experienced such a storm before and everyone remembered the damage it had caused to stock and crops. There was very little we could do about the crops. But we needed to protect the animals in case the river flooded again. My older brother called his sheep-dog and began driving our small flock of sheep to higher ground above the river. If the river flooded,they should be safe there.

    In the meantime,my father was mending a shed roof that had partly fallen down after many years of fine service. If the tin flew off,it could damage the house. My younger brother began hurriedly carrying firewood under the shelter. My job was to help Mum board up the windows. If the storm developed into a cyclone(旋风),the boards would protect the glass.

    The storm raged for four hours,pouring more rain on us than we had seen in the last five years. As expected,the river broke its banks and came slowly up towards the house and the stock..

    Then,just as we were beginning to lose hope,the storm stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The animals were safe,and the roof was still nailed on. “All’s well that ends well ,”said my mother.

56.When the black clouds appeared suddenly in the distance,           .

   A. the family were surprised    B. they were extremely worried

   C. they were preparing for the worst    D. they faced the storm bravely

57.“There was very little we could do about the crops” indicates that           .

   A. little damage would be done to the crops           B. they had everything ready for the crops

   C. they felt unable to protect the crops                  D. the crops should be safe enough there

58. The underlined word “ stock” in the third paragraph refers to          .

   A. money owned by the family                      B. goods for sale

   C. supplies for family use                             D. farm animals    .

59.It can be inferred from what the mother said that          ·

   A. they had no damage at all                                B. everything went beyond their expectation

   C. everything was under control                    D. the family could have suffered a greater loss

As a boy, Charles Robert Darwin collected anything that caught his interest: insects, coins and interesting stones. He was not very clever, but Darwin was good at doing the things that interested him.
His father was a doctor, so Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and was planned to follow a medical career. But Charles found the lectures boring. Then his father sent him to Cambridge University to study to be a priest. While at Cambridge, Darwin’s interest in zoology and geography grew. Later he got a letter from Robert FitzRoy who was planning to make a voyage around the world on a ship, the Beagle. He wanted a naturalist to join the ship, and Darwin was recommended(推荐). That voyage was the start of Darwin’s great life.
As the Beagle sailed around the world, Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth. He began to observe everything. After he was home, he set to work, getting his collection in order. His first great work The Zoology of the Beagle was well received, but he was slow to make public his ideas on the origin of life.
Later Darwin and Wallace, another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin, produced a paper together. Darwin’s great book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (《物种起源》) appeared. It attracted a storm. People thought that Darwin was saying they were descended from monkeys. What a shameful idea! Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right, the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work.
Afterwards, he published another great work, The Descent of Man. His health grew worse, but he still worked. “When I have to give up observation, I shall die,” he said. He was still working on 17, April, 1882. He was dead two days later.
【小题1】Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A.Charles Darwin’s ideas
B.Charles Darwin’s works
C.Father of modern biology: Charles Darwin
D.The greatest scientist: Charles Darwin
【小题2】Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburgh to _____.
A.make him like natural history
B.make him become a doctor
C.let him change his hobbies
D.have him give up his collection
【小题3】According to the passage, Charles Darwin’s whole life was changed by _____.
A.his study at Cambridge University
B.his collection of coins
C.the naturalists at Cambridge
D.the voyage of the Beagle
【小题4】The underlined part “they were descended from monkeys” probably means “_____”.
A.they gave monkeys life
B.they were different from monkeys
C.they were developed from monkeys
D.they had to live with monkeys

As the forceful king of Macedonia(马其顿), Alexander the Great overthrew the Persian Empire, becoming a hero that would survive centuries after his death.
Born in 356 B.C., Alexander III was the son of Philip II and Olympias. Alexander’s parents wanted him to receive the finest education, and arranged for him to study under Aristotle, regarded as one of the greatest scholars.
Alexander’s father was a strong leader. Philip II built an impressive army and established the Macedonian kingdom; he was even planning to attack Persia shortly before his death.
In 336, Philip was murdered by one of his guards. Although it was obvious that the guard had a personal hatred, there are clues that other people were related to it.
After Alexander was cleared as a suspect, he succeeded his father without opposition, and killed those said to be responsible for his father’s murder, as well as all rivals. He was then just 20 years old. He then prepared to attack Persia.
In the spring of 334, Alexander led the army made up of nearly 50,000 soldiers into Asia, which is called “the most powerful military expedition ever to leave Greece”, He soundly defeated the Persian army at the Granicus River, sending a strong message to Darius III, leader of the Persian Empire.
In 333, Alexander faced Darius at Issus, a mountain pass. The Macedonian army was greatly outnumbered but able to work the narrow mountain passageway to their advantage. Darius managed to escape. Continuing down the Mediterranean Coast, Alexander took every city in his path.
In 332 Alexander declared Egypt to be part of the Greek Empire and was crowned Pharaoh(法老).
When Alexander left Egypt in 331, he defeated the Persians again and was crowned leader of Asia.
In 323, however, Alexander developed a fever on the way back home and died 10 days later at Babylon. He was just 33 years old.
【小题1】What can we know about Philip’s death?

A.He was killed by someone intending to take power from him.
B.Alexander sent someone who hated Philip to kill him.
C.His death was related to his plan of fighting Persia.
D.The murder might be organized by a group of people.
【小题2】The Macedonian army could defeat the Persians at Issus mainly because _________.
A.Darius didn’t command his army in the battlefield
B.Macedonian soldiers were more than the Persian soldiers
C.Macedonian soldiers could fight better at the mountain pass
D.Macedonia was more powerful than the Persian Empire
【小题3】In which order did Alexander do the following things?
a.Totally overthrew the Persian Empire.
b.Defeated the Persian army at Issus.
c.Was crowned Pharaoh of Egypt.
d.Defeated the Persian army at the Granicus River.
e.Became the leader of Macedonia.
A.e, d, b, c, aB.d, e, a, c, b
C.e, b, d, c, aD.d, a, c, e, b
【小题4】According to the passage, we can infer _________.
A.Aristotle taught Alexander how to defeat other nations
B.Alexander was happy about his father’s death
C.Persia is tougher to defeat than Egypt
D.Macedonia soon declined after Alexander died

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