阅读理解

　　Most great inventors often met with much trouble in their work. Before they could succeed, they had to overcome thousands of difficulties which were put in their way. The following is one of such examples.

　　George Stephenson(1781～1848), a famous British inventor, made the first train in 1825, using a steam engine. When he was experimenting with the engine on the train, he met with troubles from the government in the country. They said the noise and the smoke would kill cows, horses and sheep, that the engine would burst or that the hot coals from it would set fire to their houses. People believed what they said.

　　George Stephenson told the people that the train could go on small rails, could pull carriages full of goods and passengers and that there was no great harm to them. It was a very difficult matter for him to make them believe. However, after some time, he was able to do it, and the first train that was driven by George Stephenson himself proved what he had said. On the train, there was a new steam engine. It was invented by him and was proved a complete success.

　　The first day when the train was on the rails, people along the way heard the noise of the train far away, and saw it running quickly to them. They thought it was a genie. They ran quickly home for fear and closed their doors tightly. They did not dare to come out until it had passed. A week later an old woman still said that her hen had been so frightened that it hadn't laid any eggs for three days.

1．The story tells us something about the ________.

[　　]

A．life of George Stephenson

B．invention of the train

C．trouble of George Stephenson in his invention

D．use of the engine on the train

2．Troubles came from ________ during the experiment with the engine on the train.

[　　]

A．the government

B．the newspapers

C．the gentlemen in the country

D．all of the above

3．People along the way were ________ when the first train ran on the rails.

[　　]

A．greatly frightened

B．interested in the invention

C．running quickly to it

D．proud of the invention

4．The sentence “They ran quickly home for fear” in the reading means ________.

[　　]

A．they ran home quickly for happiness

B．they ran home quickly because they were afraid of something

C．they ran home quickly to get something

D．they ran home quickly to have a rest

5．People ran quickly back home because they thought ________.

[　　]

A．the smoke was too dirty

B．the train would set fire to their houses

C．the train would kill them

D．a genie was coming to them

George Stephenson was born in 1781 in a poor family. He had to start work when he was only eight．When George was fourteen, he became his father's helper．He spent a lot of time learning about engines（发动机）．And on holidays he often made one engine to pieces and studied each piece carefully．Soon he became a very good worker though he could not read or write．He began to learn English letters when he was seventeen years old．Every day after he did twelve hours of hard work, he walked a long way to have lessons from a young school teacher. On his eighteenth birthday，he wrote his own name for the first time in his life．George invented（发明） many things in his life．The train was the greatest one among them．Today when we take trains from one place to another，we'll think of this great man---George Stephenson．
【小题1】In which year did George Stephenson start to help his father？________．

阅读理解
George Stephenson was born in 1781 in a poor family. He had to start work when he was only eight. When George was fourteen, he became his father’s helper. He spent a lot of time learning about engines. And on holidays he often took one to pieces and studied each piece carefully. Soon he became a very good worker though he could not read or write. He began to learn the English letters when he was seventeen years old. Every day after he did twelve hours of hard work, he walked a long way to have lessons from a young school teacher. On his eighteenth birthday, he wrote his own name for the first time in his life. George invented many things in his life. The train was the greatest one among them. Today when we watch or take trains from one place to another, we will think of this great man -- George Stephenson.
【小题1】 In which year did George Stephenson start to help his father?

短文填词  根据文章意思和首字母提示写出所缺单词，每空一词（满分10分，每小题1分）。

    George Stephenson is my f   1.   inventor. He was b 2.   in 1781. He was f  3.    a poor English worker's family. His father was too poor to s    4.    him to school. He began l   5.   his ABC when he was seventeen. On his 18th birthday he could write his o    6.   name.

    George had to work when he was o   7.    a small child. He worked twelve h  8.   every day. But he worked and studied very h   9.   . As he studied hard, he invented many things. The locomotive（火车头）was the g   10.    one among them.