Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea.People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.

Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.

At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea.Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added.She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.

At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess (公爵夫人) found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o’clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.

1.Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?

A.The Britons got expensive tea from India.

B.Tea reached Britain from Holland.

C.The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea.

D.It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea.

2.This passage mainly discusses_____________.

A.the history of tea drinking in Britain

B.how tea became a popular drink in Britain

C.how the Britons got the habit of drinking tea

D.how tea-time was born

3.Tea became a popular drink in Britain_____________.

A.in eighteenth century

B.in sixteenth century

C.in seventeenth century

D.in the late seventeenth century

4.People in Europe began to drink tea with milk because_____________.

A.it tasted like milk

B.it tasted more pleasant

C.it became a popular drink

D.Madame de Sevigne was such a lady with great social influence that people tried to copy the way she drank tea

5.We may infer from the passage that the habit of drinking tea in Britain was mostly

due to the influence of  ________.

A.a famous French lady

B.the ancient Chinese

C.the upper social class

D.people in Holland

 

O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank. O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.

1. In which order did O. Henry do the following things?

a. Lived in New York.   b. Worked in a bank.       c. Travelled to Texas.

d. Was put in prison.    e. Had a newspaper Job.     f. Learned to write stories.

A.e. c. f. b. d. a

B.c. e. b. d. f. a

C.e. b. d. c. a. f.

D.c. b. e. d. a f.

2.People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because       

A.they had surprise endings

B.they were easy to understand

C.they showed his love for the poor

D.they were about New York City

3.O. Henry went to prison because       .

A.people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper

B.he broke the law by not using his own name

C.he wanted to write stories about prisoners

D.people thought he had taken money that was not his

4.What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?

A.He was well-educated.

B.He was not serious about his work.

C.He was devoted to the poor.

D.He was very good at learning.

5.Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?

A.His life inside the prison.

B.The newspaper articles he wrote.

C.The city and people of New York.

D.His exciting early life as a boy.

 

 

PART THREE  READING COMPREHENSION (30 points)

Directions: There are 3 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should choose the answer that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

One dark and stormy night, an elderly man and his wife entered the hall of a small hotel in Philadelphia, hoping to get room for the night.

The clerk, a friendly man with a beautiful smile, explained that there were three conferences in town. “All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said, “but I can't send a nice couple like you into the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not a suite(套房), but it will be good enough to make you comfortable for the night.” The couple agreed.

As the elderly man paid the bill the next morning, he told the clerk, “You are the kind of person who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.” The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the elderly man, asking the clerk to pay him a visit. The elderly man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of the Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a reddish stone one with watchtowers(塔楼) thrusting up to the sky, and told the clerk that it was the hotel he had just built for him。

That wonderful building was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. And this young clerk whose names was George C. Boldt never foresaw the return of events that would lead him into the manager of one of the world's most attractive hotels.

56 .When the elderly couple left the hotel, they      .

A. tried to make the clerk pleased

B. wanted to build the same hotel in the future

C. hoped that the clerk would replace the boss of the hotel

D. thought the clerk was talented in managing hotels

57. Why did the elderly man build a hotel for the clerk?

A. He was grateful to the clerk.         B. They had a bet(打赌) at first.

C. He wanted to fool the clerk.         D. He wanted to sell the hotel.

58. According to the text, the clerk      .

A. helped the couple because he thought they were poor

B. hoped that the old couple could give him a large amount of money

C. didn't expect to receive things in return from the old couple

D. became rich, thanks to his own efforts

59. From the text, we can infer that      .

A. anybody can be a successful manager          B. old people are always very rich

C. good luck is always waiting for lucky people    D. kindness can bring a good return

60. What do you think of the clerk?

A. He was willing to help.                      B. He was very attractive.

C. He tried to make money for his hotel.         D. He liked making friends

 

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