题目内容
They had a wonderful holiday, _________ bad weather.
A. in spite of B. despite of C. because of D. even though
A
The two-week vacation at the end of summer school ended yesterday. Kevin had gone nowhere during his vacation. He had the money, but he hated to travel alone. He used to take vacations with Gary, his youngest brother, but they had a big argument at the end of their last vacation. Each of them had spent the last three years waiting for the other to apologize.
Kevin did not feel good about being on non-speaking terms with his favorite brother. But he was not going to ask for forgiveness when, in his mind, this whole misunderstanding was his brother’s fault.
So Kevin’s summer vacation was spent in his own “back yard.” As usual, he had planned to clean up his apartment. As usual, two weeks later his apartment looked just as it had two weeks before.
He did do one thing new and different during his vacation. There was a new coffee shop on Foothill Street. It served 25 varieties of delicious coffee at reasonable prices, and the staff was genuinely friendly. The shop was air-conditioned at a slightly chilly temperature. About eight small round tables were inside. Outside were four bigger tables. Each had four white metal chairs around it, and several big umbrellas provided shade. Even on hot afternoons, there was usually a pleasant breeze.
Kevin visited the coffee shop four times during his vacation. He always sat at a table outside by himself and read the free daily paper. Each day he was there, he read most of the newspaper articles while he enjoyed two cups of coffee.
Between articles, he took breaks by watching the nearby traffic and pedestrians. The coffee shop was next to a huge parking lot. The lot was for customers of a grocery store, movie rental store, pharmacy, bank, and restaurant. Kevin considered his outdoor seat the perfect place for one of his favorite activities—people watching.
The coffee shop, with its excellent location and coffee, had helped make his vacation a pleasant one. But he knew in his heart, had his brother been there to join him just one day, his vacation would have been a perfect one.
【小题1】 Why didn’t Kevin go anywhere during his vacation？
| A．Because he was short of money. | B．Because he didn’t like traveling. |
| C．Because he had no company. | D．Because he had to clean up his apartment. |
| A．He cleaned up his apartment. | B．He had a big argument with Gary. |
| C．He worked in a parking lot. | D．He stayed at home most of the time. |
| A．It served delicious coffee of different flavors. |
| B．It had an effective air-conditioning system. |
| C．It was often crowded with local customers. |
| D．It provided free newspapers for customers. |
One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文)showing how it was used.
This was a huge task. So Murrary had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897， Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
【小题1】According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary _________.
| A．came out before minor died |
| B．was edited by an American volunteer |
| C．included the English words invented by Murray |
| D．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary |
| A．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers. |
| B．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray. |
| C．He provided a great number of words and quotations |
| D．he went to England to work with Murray. |
| A．He was shut in an asylum |
| B．He lived far from Oxford |
| C．He was busy writing a book |
| D．He disliked traveling |
| A．they both served in the Civil War. |
| B．They had a common interest in words |
| C．Minor recovered with the help of Murray |
| D．Murray went to America regularly to visit Minor |
| A．Brave and determined | B．Cautious and friendly |
| C．Considerate and optimistic | D．Unusual and scholarly |
| A．The history of the English language. |
| B．The friendship between Murray and Minor |
| C．Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary |
| D．Broadmoor Asylum and is patients |