阅读理解

  I got my first driver’s license in 1953 by taking driver education in my first year at Central High School in charlotte, North Carolina.Four years later when it was time to renew my license I was a married woman Henry and I were living in Batimore, Maryland Two weeks before my 20th birthday.Henry drove me to the motor vehicle office on a hot July afternoon.When I got to the office and showed to the man behind thè counter my North Catroina driver’s license ready to renew, the man told me that I was under age by Maryland law since I was not yet 21.“Mr Henry Smith your husband.to sign for you,” he said

  I argued.pointing to a very large belly of mine, “I am married.I am having a baby.Why shoud I have to have someone sign for me to drive?’ He answered coldly, “it’s the law, madam?”

  Henry encouraged me to calm down, just go ahead and get the license and be done with it.

  “No” I said.I refused to have him sign for me.So I left without a Maryland license.

  I called the North Carolina Motor Whice Office and renewed my NC license by mail-using my name Susan Brown And thus it was for the next twelve years.Since Henry was in the army I could drive under my home state licene.By the time Henry left the army we were once again liviing in Maryland and I had to take the Maryland driver’s exam Since then I just go in and renew every four years - sign the name Susan Brown have my new picture taken, and walk out with a license to drive..

(1)

Susan got her first driver's license

[  ]

A.

before she got married to Henry

B.

when she was twenty years old

C.

after she finished high school

D.

when she just moved to Maryland

(2)

Susan failed to renew her license the first time in Maryland because

[  ]

A.

she was forbidden to drive by Maryland law

B.

she lacked driving experience in Maryland

C.

she was to give birth to a baby soon

D.

she insisted on signing for herself

(3)

We can infer from the text that in the U.S.

[  ]

A.

American males should serve in the army

B.

different states my have different laws

C.

people have to renew their licenses in their home states

D.

women should adopt their husbands' family names after marriage

完形填空

  I work as a volunteer for an organization that helps the poor in Haiti.Recently I took my son Barrett there for a week, hoping to   1   him.

  Before setting out, I told Barrett this trip would be tiring and   2  .For the first two days, he said almost nothing.I worried the trip was too   3   for a 17-year-old.Then, on day three, as we were   4   over high rocky mountains, he turned to me and grinned(咧嘴笑), “Pretty hard.”

  After that there was no turning back.A five-year-old girl, wearing a dress several sizes   5   large and broken shoes, followed Barrett around, mesmerized(着迷).He couldn't stop   6  .Later he said   7  , “I wish I could speak French.” I was   8   - this from a boy who hated and   9   French classes throughout school.

  Usually silent, he   10   Gaby, our host, and kept asking questions about the country and its people.He blossomed(活泼起来).

    11  , the moment that really took   12   breath away occurred in a village deep in the mountains.I was   13   a woman villager for an article.135 centimeters tall, she was small in figure but strong in   14  .Through determination, she had learned to read and write, and   15   to become part of the leadership of the   16  

  Learning her story, Barrett was as   17   as I by this tiny woman's achievements.His eyes were wet and there was a   18   of love and respect on his face.He had finally understood the importance of my work.

  When leaving for home, Barrett even offered to stay   19   as a volunteer.My insides suddenly felt struck.This   20   achieved all I'd expected.Soon he will celebrate his 18 th birthday.He'll be a man.

(1)

[  ]

A.

comfort

B.

please

C.

attract

D.

educate

(2)

[  ]

A.

rough

B.

dangerous

C.

troublesome

D.

violent

(3)

[  ]

A.

little

B.

much

C.

fast

D.

slow

(4)

[  ]

A.

moving

B.

running

C.

climbing

D.

looking

(5)

[  ]

A.

too

B.

very

C.

even

D.

so

(6)

[  ]

A.

joking

B.

crying

C.

shouting

D.

smiling

(7)

[  ]

A.

patiently

B.

regretfully

C.

lightly

D.

cheerfully

(8)

[  ]

A.

ashamed

B.

disappointed

C.

determined

D.

surprised

(9)

[  ]

A.

took up

B.

went in for

C.

fought against

D.

called off

(10)

[  ]

A.

befriended

B.

disregarded

C.

avoided

D.

recognized

(11)

[  ]

A.

Thus

B.

Even

C.

Meanwhile

D.

However

(12)

[  ]

A.

my

B.

his

C.

our

D.

her

(13)

[  ]

A.

asking

B.

interviewing

C.

arranging

D.

describing

(14)

[  ]

A.

brain

B.

wish

C.

will

D.

health

(15)

[  ]

A.

appeared

B.

struggled

C.

hesitated

D.

failed

(16)

[  ]

A.

village

B.

city

C.

organization

D.

state

(17)

[  ]

A.

pleased

B.

bored

C.

puzzled

D.

touched

(18)

[  ]

A.

combination

B.

composition

C.

connection

D.

satisfaction

(19)

[  ]

A.

in

B.

behind

C.

out

D.

away

(20)

[  ]

A.

interview

B.

flight

C.

article

D.

trip

One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts,it came without wrap(包装).
On September 11 th , 1 958,Mum gave birth to Richard.After she brought him home from hospital,she put him in my lap,saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own.I played with it day and night. I sang to it, I told it stories.I told it over and over how much I loved it!  
One morning, however,I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital.It had a fever. For several days,I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”,“pitiful",and “dying”, which sounded Ominous
Christmas was coming, “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. “If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke,his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning.Dad jumped out of bed to answer it.From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!” “Thank God!” I heard Mum cry.
From the window upstairs,I watched my parents rush out to the car.I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat.But I knew they were not empty: they were filled with love !
【小题1】What happened to the author on September 11th,1958?

A.He got a baby brother.B.He got a Christmas gift.
C.He became four years old.D.He received a doll.
【小题2】What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.Impossible.B.Boring.C.Difficult.D.Fearful.
【小题3】Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?
A.Excitement.B.Happiness.C.Sadness.D.Disappointment.

As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating(发电)and transmission (输送) system for the 21st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.

The 19 th century saw land grants(政府拨地) offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died.

Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now.

So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species(物种) will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects.

The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21st century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.

The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape the West far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines. So let’s remember the effects of the railroads and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the West.

1.What was the problem caused by the construction of the railways?

A.Small towns along the railways became abandoned.

B.Land in the West was hard to manage.

C.Some railroad stops remained underused.

D.Land grants went into private hands.

2.What is the major concern in the development of alternative energy according to the last two paragraphs?

A.The use of money and power.

B.The transmission of power.

C.The conservation of solar energy.

D.The selection of an ideal place.

3.What is the author’s attitude towards building solar plants?

A.Disapproving.      B.Approving.         C.Doubtful.          D.Cautious.

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A.How the Railways Have Affected the West

B.How the Effects of Power Plants Can Be Reduced

C.How Solar Energy Could Reshape the West

D.How the Problems of the Highways Have Been Settled

 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网