D 

            Where can you find the first successtul airplane,one of the world's biggest bugs(虫子) and Kermit the Frog? They,re all at the Smithsonian Institution,American's storehouse of the coolest things ever,in Washington,D. C. More than 138 million objects have been collected by their 19 museums,with more coming in every day.

            The Smithsonian was founded in 1846 and named after James Smithson,an English businessman. Smithson never visited America,but he left his entire fortune to the United States to^ build an institution “for the increase of knowledge."

            Here are just a few of the amazing things in the Smithsonian collection.

                              Big bugs 

            The Smithsonian has 35 million bugs. The largest insect in the collection is a beetle(甲虫) from South America called the titan beetle. Titan beetles can grow to more than 6 inches long.

                           Flying machines 

            The first powered plane to fly,the 1903 Wright Flyer,is displayed in the National Air and Space!Museum. The Smithsonian has the first supersonic (超音速的) airliner ,the which could cross the Atlantic Ocean in fewer than four hours.

                           The longest beard 

            The Smithsonian is home to the longest beard;ever recorded. Norwegian imniigrant Hans Langseth I had grown his facial hair to 18 feet 6  inches by the time he died in 1927. The Smithsonian has 17 feet 6 inches of it because,even though Langseth's final wish was to have his entire beard preserved,his family decided it wouldn't be right to bury him clean-shaven.

Time and admission:

             Smithsonian museums are open every day of the year except December 25 unless otherwise note Most museums are open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery are open 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

             Admission is free for all Smithsonian museums and the zoo in Washington,   D. C., and the American Indian Museum,s George Gustav Heye Center in New York. A fee is required at the Cooper-Hewitt,National Design Museum in New York (Members and children under 12 are admitted free) .

32. According to the text,the Smithsonian Institution.

   A. was founded in honor of an American

   B. has all its museums in Washington,D. C.

   C. is most famous for its fine collection of art

   D. was funded by money from James Smithson

33. The Smithsonian failed to get the entire beard of Hans Langseth’s due to .

   A. the words in his last will

   B. the rejection of his family

   C. the tradition of Norwegians

   D. the bad condition of the beard

34. What do the objects mentioned have in common?

   A. They were from South Africa.

   B. They are in the same museum.

   C. They are record-breaking items.

   D. They were from the 19th century.

35. All of Smithsonian museums .

   A. are open at 10 a.m.

   B. charge an entrance fee

   C. are closed on Christmas Day

   D. ask for your membership cards

                                     B 

             Zora Neale Hurston proves to be a study in contrasts a black writer reaching a white audience,a woman struggling in a man's profession,an independent thinker living in a conformist(墨守成规的) era. Now,almost 50 years since her death,her hard work and great novels still have much to teach the modem audience. She overcame the challenges she faced and showed that determination makes anything possible.

              Hurston thought much of her deeply individualistic personality was developed because of the experience of growing up in Eatonville,Florida. The town was unique in that it was particularly hot in the summer,but mild at other times of the year. Hurston always said growing up in a community totally separate from the larger white society allowed her freedom and independence not available to everyone in the south.

              Hurston began her undergraduate studies at Howard University,but her obvious intelligence and talent soon earned her a scholarship to Barnard College in New York City. Moving north in the 1920s helped her get to know the Harlem Renaissance,a black cultural movement that produced exceptional achievements in literature,art,and music. Communicating with the likes of Langston Hughes,W.E. B. DuBois,Billie Holiday,and Duke Ellington,Hurston developed her skills as a writer and published lots of short stories and poems.

              Her most influential work grew out of her attempt to record the black experience. That novel,called Their Eyes Were Watching God,was about three generations of a family living in Eatonville. Her interesting representation of the southern dialect caused her Harlem Renaissance contemporaries to look down upon the work for what they saw as its spread of inaccurate patterns. Hurston,however,remained true to her project,believing that the accuracy of her representation would finally win over the political pressures her peers forced her to accept.

              History has shown that Hurston was right. Modem critics admire her authentic(真实的) and skillful representation of the language as well as her realistic description of daily life in the early twentieth century. She is universally considered as one of the best writers of her era and ranked with Toni Morrison,Maya Angelou,and Alice Walker as one of the most important African-American writers of all time.

6. Hurston grew up in a town where .

   A. a larger white society existed

   B. all the four seasons were like spring

   C. the black people could enjoy much freedom

   D. the black people had no chance to get. an education

7. What happened to Hurston after she moved north?

   A. She changed her political attitude.

   B. She decided to give up her studies.

   C. She developed an interest in literature.

   D. She was warmly welcomed by the white.

8. At her times,Hurston's works were .

   A. special in the way they were published

   B. not popular with the general audience

   C. mostly written in standard English

   D. good examples of African history

9. What can we learn from Hurston's story?

   A. It's easy to be wise after the event.

   B. Where there is a will,there is a way.

   C. A good beginning makes a good ending.

   D. In time of danger,one's mind works fast.

10. What does the text mainly discuss?

   A. The origins of a black cultural movement.

   B. A very influential African-American novel.

   C. A famous African-American female writer.

   D. The struggle between the white and the black.


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