Mr. Smith is well known in Washington because of his many social blunders. He always likes to attend the various so??cial functions because he wants to expand his circle of friends. Whenever he is invited, he goes, unless he is ill.

Recently he received an invitation to a fashionable ban??quet. Although he did not know the hostess, he accepted the invitation. He was secretly very pleased, because he felt that his reputation as a desirable guest was growing.

When he arrived at the banquet hall, he found that about one hundred people had been invited. He began to move a-round the hall. He spoke to other guests whether he knew them or not. He soon realized that he had never met any of the other people present, although they seemed to know each other.

At dinner he was seated beside a very dignified woman. The woman tried to be friendly even though she had never met Mr. Smith before. She spoke politely whenever he spoke to her. Between the first and the second course of the meal, she, turned to Mr. Smith and said, “Do you see that gray-haired man at the end of the table? The one with glasses.”

“Ah, yes. Who is he?”

“He’s the Secretary of the Interior!” she replied.

Mr. Smith said, “So that’s the secretary of the Interior! I’ m afraid that I find very little to admire about him, although he is the Secretary.”

The woman stiffened and did not reply. Mr. Smith contin??ued in spite of her coldness. “I really can’t see how he re??ceived his appointment unless he is perhaps a relative of the President.”

“It hardly matters whether you like the Secretary or not,” she said. “He was chosen because the President thought he was the man for the job. If he does the job well, you should have no complaint.”

“That’s just it,” persisted Mr. Smith. “No one does the things he does, unless he is a complete fool!”

“Sir!” said the woman in all her dignity. “Do you know who I am?” “No,” replied Mr. Smith.

“I am the Secretary’s wife,” she said coldly. Mr. Smith was shocked, but he went on in spite of his embarrassment. “Madam, do you know who I am?”

“No, I don’t,” the woman replied.

“Thank goodness!” exclaimed Mr. Smith, as he quickly left the table.

Why is Mr. Smith well known in Washington?

A. He’s the Secretary of the Interior.

B. He has more friends than other people.

C. He always makes foolish mistakes on social occasions.

D. He likes to go to all kinds of parties.

At dinner he was seated beside a very dignified woman. The underlined part means ________.

A. beautiful          B. serious             C. noble                D. kind-hearted

When Mr. Smith learned that the woman didn’t know who he was, he felt ________.

A. shocked            B. worried          C. embarrassed   D. relieved

When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak scornfully of the poor old Romans because they enjoyed the seemingly excited killing that went on in their arenas(竞技场). We may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We may forgive them because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority(优越)really justified? Are we any less blood-thirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don’t the audience who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remain as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long ago.
  It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men punch each other in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is merely hypocrisy(虚伪). People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Audience are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they haven’t experienced the exquisite pleasure of witnessing continuous violence.
  Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally—though with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen imprisoned in cages, or public punishment of any of the countless other barbarous (野蛮的) practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the harsh forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is unworthy of human beings.
【小题1】It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s opinion of nowadays’ human beings is ________________

A.not very high.B.high.C.scornful.D.neutral
【小题2】Why does the author mention the old Romans in this article?
A.To reveal that the old Romans first started violent sports.
B.To prove that the old Romans were not civilized.
C.To show human beings in the past knew nothing better.
D.To indicate human beings today are as bloodthirsty as the old Romans.
【小题3】How many dangerous sports does the author mention in this passage?
A.Three.B.Four.C.Five.D.Six.
【小题4】     What does the author want to illustrate in this article?
A. By banning the violent sports, we human beings can improve ourselves.
B. By banning the dangerous sports, we can improve the law.
C. We must take positive steps to improve social welfare system.
D. Law is the main instrument of social change.

阅读下面句子和短文,根据以下要求:1)汉语提示;2)首字母提示;3)语境提示,在每个空格内填入一个适当的英语单词,所填单词要求意义准确、拼写正确。

1.The city has a small population, only          (稍稍) over three hundred thousand.

2.She was         (生育) of a healthy boy weighing 3 kilogrammes.

3.At the meeting they discussed three different         (方法) to the study of mathematics.

4.They are planning to start a              (战役)against nuclear weapons.

5.A theatre is a place of e          .

6.The photograph is out of          , making it useless.

7.Don’t                     the dictionary every time you come across a new word when reading.

8.However, Dr Yuan doesn’t                    fame or money.

9.Unfortunately, his father died, leaving the family even                .

10.She stepped back appearing surprised and put up her hands, as if              .

11.In most places around the world, frowning and                    to someone shows anger.

12.                 (而不是)take the aeroplane all the way, they decided to fly to Vancouver and then take the train from west to east across Canada.

13.The most universal facial expression is the smile, whose function is to show happiness and put people                  .

 

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