The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy(总督)and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (船,舰) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability(可操作性)on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not perfect, accuracy. Columbus himself made a total of four voyages to the New World but he did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关). Columbus not only discovered a New World, but led the way for other explorers.
【小题1】What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fifteenth century?

A.The oriental countries.B.The East Indonesia.
C.The Old World.D.The African mainland. .
【小题2】What preparations did Columbus make for his first voyage to the New World?
①He planned the expedition thoroughly.
②He spent almost ten years in looking for sponsors.
③He gathered a great many ships.
④He hired 90 sailors.
⑤He demonstrated his success of former far-reaching explorations.
A.①②③④⑤B.①②④C.①④⑤D.②④⑤
【小题3】We can learn from the passage that ________.
A.Christopher Columbus was an ambitious explorer
B.he was a geologist with ambitious dreams
C.Columbus became extremely wealthy after making a total of four voyages
D.he was an unsuccessful canvasser(游说者)
【小题4】What equipment aided the sailors in locating relatively more accurately?
A.A variety of new vessels.B.The light-weighted caravels.
C.Various types of riggings.D.Charts, compasses and astrolabes.
【小题5】In the passage, the author mainly tells us ________.
A.the tragedy of Columbus's life as a whole
B.Columbus's life story and his achievements
C.Columbus's exploration to the East Indies and Asia
D.how Columbus arrived in the New World .

Mr. Backer is a kind-hearted man. Once he gave some food to a poor woman . Mr White, the boss of the restaurant, found it and became angry. He often gave the leftovers(剩饭菜) to  some poor workers. Mr. Backers lost his work for it. It was difficult for him to find work in the small country though he was an able cook. The war made all stop. Children couldn't go  to school, most shops were closed, even some farmers were  hungry. Some people were made to leave their houses and they had to find the safe places. It was an autumn night. Mr Backer  hadn't any food to eat and went to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep, because he was very hungry . suddenly he heard a noise in  his room. He saw a man looking for something useful there. He said nothing and watched it carefully. At last the man took a few old clothes out of a broken paper box and took them away. He got up from his bed quickly and followed him gently(文雅地), with his quilt on his back. The man didn't find him and went into a small and wet house. Mr. Backer also went in and saw there was nothing in the room. The thief(贼) saw him and was surprised. He asked, “What did you come here for?” “You have carried my things here,” said Mr. Backer. “I have to move here, too!”   
【小题1】Mr White sent Mr. Backer away because            .

A.he couldn't cookB.he didn't work hard
C.he didn't like him at allD.he gave some leftovers to the poor woman
【小题2】       , so the people in the small country got into trouble.
A.The war broke out(爆发)B.It didn't rain
C.Children couldn't go to school D.Shops and factories were closed
【小题3】Mr. Backer couldn't go to sleep because               .
A.the weather was coldB.the weather was hot
C.he was hungryD.he was ill
【小题4】Mr. Backer said nothing when the thief went into his room because        .
A.he wanted to send him to the police stationB.there was nothing expensive there
C.he was afraid the man could hurt himD.he hoped the man could help him
【小题5】The underlined word “quilt” in this story means               .
A.珠宝B.钱箱C.被子D.鞋带

Arthur Miller (1915—2005) is universally recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20th century. Miller's father had moved to the USA from Austria Hungary, drawn like so many others by the “Great American Dream”. However, he experienced severe financial hardship when his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the early 1930s.
Miller's most famous play, Death of a Salesman, is a powerful attack on the American system, with its aggressive way of doing business and its insistence on money and social status as indicators of worth. In Willy Loman, the hero of the play, we see a man who has got into trouble with this system. Willy is “burnt out” and in the cruel world of business there is no room for sentiment: if he can't do the work, then he is no good to his employer, the Wagner Company, and he must go. Willy is painfully aware of this, and at a loss as to what to do with his lack of success. He refuses to face the fact that he has failed and kills himself in the end.
When it was first staged in 1949, the play was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and it won the Tony Award for Best Play, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was the first play to win all three of these major awards.
Miller died of heart failure at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, on the evening of February 10, 2005, the 56th anniversary of the first performance of Death of a Salesman on Broadway.
【小题1】Why did Arthur Miller's father move to the USA?

A.He suffered from severe hunger in his home country.
B.He was attracted by the “Great American Dream.”
C.He hoped to make his son a dramatist.
D.His family business failed
【小题2】The play Death of a Salesman________.
A.exposes the cruelty of the American business world
B.discusses the ways to get promoted in a company
C.talks about the business career of Arthur Miller
D.focuses on the skills in doing business
【小题3】What can we learn about Willy Loman?
A.He treats his employer badly.
B.He runs the Wagner Company.
C.He is a victim of the American system.
D.He is regarded as a hero by his colleagues.
【小题4】After it was first staged, Death of a Salesman________.
A.achieved huge success
B.won the first Tony Award
C.was warmly welcomed by salesmen
D.was severely attacked by dramatists
【小题5】What is the text mainly about?
A.Arthur Miller and his family.
B.The awards Arthur Miller won.
C.The hardship Arthur Miller experienced.
D.Arthur Miller and his best known play.

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy. He was the oldest of five children in his family. His father was a wool weaver. He helped his father with the weaving, but he always wanted to sail the seas.

He didn’t get to school very much, but he learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Some people thought he was trying to prove the world was round, but this is not true. He wanted to find a short way to get to the Indies by ship.

He was a Christian and wanted to tell the story of Christ to the people he would find in the far-away lands. He also wanted wealth for himself and for Spain, and he wanted to be famous. He tried for eight years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money.

They left Spain on August 3, 1492 and sailed toward the west. After many days, the sailors had covered a long distance on the sea and were ready to turn around for home when they saw land, an island Columbus named San Salvador. He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there “Indians”. When they got to Cuba, he thought he was in Japan. The world was a lot larger than he thought.

On Christmas Eve, the Santa Maria was wrecked near Haiti. Columbus built a fort(城堡) and left 40 men to hunt for gold. Then he returned to Spain on the Nina. The people of Spain welcomed him as a hero. He made three more voyages across the ocean. His 13-year-old son, Ferdinand, went with him on the fourth voyage.

Columbus did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and the queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关节炎). Columbus not only discovered a New World, but he led the way for other explorers.

1.Columbus taught himself Latin because _______.

A. he wanted to prove the earth was round.

B.he wanted to find a short way to the Indies by sea.

C.he found Latin was very useful at that time.

D.he wanted to travel around the world.

2.How was Columbus able to make his voyage to the west?

A.He was supported by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

B.He worked hard for eight for to save enough money for his voyage.

C.The king and the queen helped him with money and ships.

D.Many people supported him with money and food for his voyage.

3.Why did Columbus call the local people in Salvador “Indians”?

A.Because he thought he had arrived in Japan.

B.Because he thought he looked like in the Indies.

C.Because he thought it was a wealthy place.

D.Because he thought he had arrived in the Indies.

4.From the fifth paragraph we can infer that “Santa Maria” and “Nina” must be the names of_________.

A.trains

B.ships

C.cities

D.women

5.From the text we know that ________.

A.Columbus lived a difficult life in his later life.

B.Columbus was considered as a hero all his life.

C.Columbus didn’t get the wealth as he had hoped for.

D.Columbus was the first person to travel round the world.

 

第二节 完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Recently, I flew to Las Vegas to attend a meeting. As we were about to arrive, the pilot announced with apology that there would be a slight 36 before setting down. High desert winds had  37  the airport to close all but one runway. He said that we would be   38   the city for a few minutes waiting to   39 . We were also told to remain in our seats meanwhile with our seat belts fastened 40   there might be a few bumps.We11,that few minutes turned into about four—five minutes,including a ride that would make a roller coaster       by comparison.

The movement was so fierce that several passengers felt  42  and had to use airsickness bags(呕吐袋). As you might guess,that’s not good thing to have happen in a(n)  43  space because it only  44   to increase the discomfort of the situation.

About twenty minutes into the adventure,the entire airplane became very  45   There was now a sense of anxiety and fear that could be  46  noticed.Every passenger simply held on for dear life …except one. A  47   was having a good time! With each bump of the  48  !he would let out a giggle(咯咯的笑)of delight As I observed this,I  49  that he didn’t know he was supposed to be afraid and worried about his 50  He neither thought about the past nor about the future Those are what we grown—ups have learned from  51  .He was  52  the ride because had not yet been taught to fear it. Having understood this,I took a deep breath and  53   back into my seat,pretending I was  54  on a roller coaster. I smiled for the rest of the flight. I even 55 to giggle once or twice ,much to the chagrin(随恼)of the man sitting next to me holding the airsicknessbag.

36.A.mistake    B.delay C.change      D.wind

37.A.forced      B.warned     C.swept       D.reminded

38.A.watching  B.visiting     C.circling     D.crossing

39.A.arrive       B.enter C.stop   D.land

40.A.if      B.though      C.because     D.while

41.A.light  B.pale   C.easy  D.quick

42.A.sick   B.nervous    C.angry       D.afraid

43.A.empty      B.narrow     C.secret       D.open

44.A.happens    B.continues  C.fails  D.serves

45.A.quiet B.hot    C.dirty  D.crowded

46.A.partly       B.gradually  C.shortly      D.clearly

47.A.pilot  B.baby  C.guard       D.man

48.A.seats  B.passengers C.flight D.airplane

49.A.realized    B.hoped       C.agreed      D.insisted

50.A.health       B.safety       C.joy    D.future

51.A.teachers    B.books       C.experience       D.practice

52.A.learning    B.taking       C.missing     D.enjoying

53.A.sat    B.lay    C.went  D.rode

54.A.nearly      B.finally      C.really       D.suddenly

55.A.attempted B.managed   C.wanted     D.decided

 

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