When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.

He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.

During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.

Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.

The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.

Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored(发起) “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.

1.“Talk of the town” means 　　　.

A. it was in the newspaper

B. people spread bad rumors about it

C. it was the most popular happenings

D. it was discussed in a city meeting

2.What does the author think about Tom’s wedding?

A. It helped people cheer up in a dark time.

B. People gave it too much of their attention.

C. It was funny and ridiculous.

D. Tom and Lavinia were stupid.

3.Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because 　　　.

A. the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was dancing

B. it made Tom look taller

C. the eight–foot–tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted

D. the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller

4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.

B. People are always disappointed during war time.

C. Entertainment can serve an important purpose.

D. People should be married when they are small children.

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在文后第53至第57小题的空格里填上适当的单词或短语，并将答案转写到答题卷上。每空不超过3个单词。

One day, in spring, four lawyers were riding their horses along a country road.

There had been a storm, and the ground was very soft. Water was dripping(滴) from the trees, and the grass was wet. As they were passing through a grove(树丛) of small trees, they heard a great fluttering(拍翅) over their heads and a weak chirping(唧唧声) in the grass.

“What is the matter here?” asked the first lawyer, whose name was Speed. “Oh, it’s only some birds!” said the second lawyer, whose name was Hardin. “The storm has blown two of the little ones out of the nest. They are too young to fly, and the mother bird must be very worried about them.”

“What a pity! They’ll die down there in the grass,” said the third lawyer.

“Oh, well! They’re noting but birds,” said Hardin. “Why should we bother?”

Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. In a few minutes they forgot about the birds.

However, the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and very gently put the little ones in his big warm hands. They did not seem frightened, but chirped softly, as if they knew they were safe. Then he looked up to find the nest from which they had fallen. It was much higher than he could reach from the ground, so Lincoln climbed up the tree. He put the birds softly one by one into their warm little home.

Soon the other three lawyers stopped at a spring(泉) to give their horses water.

“Where’s Lincoln?” asked one.

All were surprised to find that Lincoln was not with them.

In a few minutes Lincoln joined them. His shoes were covered with mud.

“Hello, Abraham!” said Hardin. “Where have you been?”

“I stopped a minute to give those birds to their mother,” he answered.

Then all three of them laughed heartily

Then all three of them laughed heartily. They thought it so foolish that a strong man should take so much trouble just for some worthless little birds.

“Gentlemen,” said Lincoln, “I would not sleep well tonight if I had left those helpless little birds on their own in the wet grass.”

Abraham Lincoln afterwards became very famous as a lawyer and statesman. He was then elected president. Next to Washington, he is regarded as one of the greatest American presidents.

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery（公墓）. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism (批评) of President Lincoln at the time. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The other speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman (政治家) and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.
It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Later that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. His speech lasted an hour and 57 minutes and it was a perfect example of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause（掌声）. Lincoln turned to a friend and said, “I have failed again.”
Some newspapers at first criticized (批评) the speech. But little by little, as people read the speech, they began to like its simplicity（简洁）and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.
Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.
【小题1】 In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was __________________ in Gettysburg.

第三部分  阅读理解（共20小题，；每小题2分，满分40分）

     On Nov.18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert in the Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

     If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him.  He was stricken with polio (小儿麻痹症) as a child, and so he has braces (支架) on both legs and walks with the aid of a pair of crutches (拐杖).

     He walks painfully until he reaches his chair.  Then he sits down  slowly,  puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps (扣压环) on his legs, pushes one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and begins his play.

     But this time,  something went wrong.  Just as he finished the first few notes,  one of the strings on his violin broke — it went off like gunfire across the room.      We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again,  pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage — to either find another violin or else find another string for this one. But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again.

     The orchestra began,  and he played from where he had left off. When he finished,  there was an extremely impressive silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered.  He smiled,  wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet us,  and then he said in a quiet tone, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."

1. What does the author mean when he writes the underlined part in Paragraph 2?

    A. It's very difficult for Perlman to get to the stage. 

    B. It's' hard for Perlman to play a violin with three strings.

    C. It's not easy for Perlman to face such a large audience.

    D. Pefiman plays the violin with three strings successfully.

2. The third paragraph describes             .

    A. how Perlman deals with his disability

    B. Pefiman's attitude towards the concert

    C. the various stages of Perlman' s performance

    D. the difficulties Pefiman had before playing

3. What does the underlined word "one" in Paragraph 5 refer to?

    A. String.              B. Crutch.

    C. Violin.              D. Orchestra.

4. Itzhak Pefiman can be best described as a man who is         .

    A. intelligent            B. strong-willed

    C. humourous           D. highly skilled

阅读理解: 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

Young adult filmmakers all hope to show their works in international festivals like Sundance and Toronto. But what about really young filmmakers who aren’t in film school yet and aren’t, strictly speaking, even adults?

They are at the heart of Wingspan Arts Kids Films Festival, tomorrow, in a setting any director might envy: Lincoln Center. Complete with “red carpet” interviews and various awards, the festival has much in common with events for more experienced moviemakers, except for the age of the participants: about 8 to 18.

“What’s really exciting is that it’s film for kids by kids,” said Cori Gardner, managing director of Wingspan Arts, a nonprofit organization offering youth arts programs in the New York area. This year the festival will include films not only from Wingspan but also from other city organizations and one from a middle school in Arlington, Virginia. “We want to make this a national event,” Ms. Gardner added.

The nine shorts to be shown range from a Claymation biography of B.B. King to a science fiction adventure set in the year 3005. “A lot of the material is really mature,” Ms. Gardner said, talking about films by the New York City branch of Global Action Project, a media arts and leadership-training group. “The Choice is about the history of a family and Master Anti-Smoker is about the dangers of secondhand smoke.” Dream of the Invisibles describes young immigrants’ feelings of both belonging and not belonging in their adopted country.

The festival will end with an open reception at which other films will be shown. These include a music video and full-length film whose title is Pressures.

1. Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival ____.

A. is organized by a middle school

B. is as famous as the Toronto Festival

C. shows films made by children

D. offers awards to film school students

2. Which of the following is true of Wingspan Arts?

A. It helps young filmmakers to make money.

B. It provides arts projects for young people.

C. It’s a media arts and leadership-training group.

D. It’s a national organization for young people.

3. The underlined word “shorts” in Paragraph 4 refers to _____.

A. short trousers  B. short kids   C. short films   D. short stories

4. Movies to shown in the festival ____.

A. cover different subjects.

B. focus on kids’ life

C. are produced by Global Action Project

D. are directed by Ms. Gardner

5. At the end of this film festival, there will be ____.

A. various awards    B. “red carpet” interviews

C. an open reception  D. a concert at Lincoln Center