I’m a pig, and my son is a rabbit. I have snakes for daughters, and my wife, believe it or not, is a dragon! Do I live in a zoo? No, of course not! I am talking about Chinese zodiac signs（十二生肖）. Depending on the year of your birth, each person has an animal for a sign. That’s why I am a pig and my wife is a dragon. If you, like me, were born in the year of the pig, then you are brave, thoughtful and loyal. The year of the pig is filled with good fortune.

　　 Now let’s take a closer look at this interesting animal.

　　 Pigs were first raised by man about 9,000 years ago, and are still a very common farm animal in many parts of the world. We don’t just use pigs for their meat — almost every part of the animal is used. The hair is used for artists’ brushes. The fat is used to make floor wax, rubber and plastics.

　   Pigs have also been important in the world of entertainment. In 1995 the film ‘Babe’ starred a loveable talking pig as its main character. The film won an Oscar and was nominated （提名）for 6 more. In England you can even go to watch pig racing. A farmer, Rob Shepherd, has been raising money for charity by holding pig races on his farm. The events have been very successful. People don’t just want to eat pigs, it seems!

　   Pigs also play an important role in the English language. For example, if someone says that he will travel to the sun one day, you can say “pigs might fly!” to him. Hungry? Well then, you can “pig out” and eat lots of food. And what if someone rescues you? Well, you can say that they “saved your bacon”.

1. The writer wrote the first paragraph in a ______ tone.

　　A. sad　　　　　　B. confused       　C. serious　　　　 D. humorous

2. We may know from the passage that ______.

　　A. people in England like pigs more than other animals

　　B. pigs are more useful than ordinary people imagine

　　C. pigs are the first animals raised by man

　　D. more people don’t want to eat pigs now

3.The underlined sentence “pigs might fly!” in the fifth paragraph means “______”.

　　A. What you have just said is impossible

　　B. Pigs are great animals

　　C. I don’t understand your words

　　D. I can’t agree with you more

4.Which diagram shows the structure（结构） of the passage?

　　　　　A 　　　　　　　　B 　　　　　　　C　　　　　　　　　 D

完形填空

Harriet Tubman was born a slave. She didn’t get a   1   to go to school.   2   a child, Harriet had to work very hard in   3   all day. That way, her owner could   4   a lot of money when he sold his crops. Harriet   5   think that she was being treated fairly.

  6   Harriet grew up, she ran away from the plantation(庄园)to the Northern United States. There, and in Canada,   7   could be free.

Harriet liked to be free. She felt   8   for all of the black people who were   9   slaves.

Harriet returned to   10   to help other slaves to run away. She made   11   that they got to the North and became free.

Harriet was in great   12   because of a law that   13  .The law said it was not permitted to   14   runaway slaves. She also   15   that the slave owners said they would   16   $4000 to anyone who could catch Harriet Tubman.

There were many stories about Harriet   17   slaves run away. In all, she made nineteen trips back to the South and guided about 300 slaves to   18  .When the Civil War broke out, the northern states   19   with the southern states. Harriet   20   the northern states because the Northerners believed that slaves should be free. She worked as a nurse and spied behind enemy lines until the northern states won the war.

1.A.day　　　　  B. chance　　   C. permission　　　　 D. moment

2.A.As　　　　   B.Being　　　　  C.Since　　　　　　　　 D.Like

3.A.the farm   B.a school　　  C.the fields　　　　    D.a factory

4.A.make B.pay　　　　　　 C.got　　　　　　　　    D.spend

5.A.certainly   B.didn’t　　　　  C.did　　　　　　　　　　 D.no longer

6.A.Since　　   B.After　　　　   C.Then　　　　　　　　  D.With

7.A.the white  B.white　　　　  C.black　　　　  　　   　　  D.black people

8.A.happy　　   B.sure　　　　    C.wrong　　　　 D.sorry

9.A.still　　　　  B.yet　　　　　　  C.only　　　　　　　　   D.not

10.A.Canada   B.the South　　 C.the North　　　　   D.the U.S.

11.A.perfect    B.way　　　　    C.possible　　　　　　  D.sure

12.A.anger　　  B.anxiety C.hurry　　　　　　　　 D.danger

13.A.has just been passed　　　　　　   B.had just been broken

C.had just been passed　　　　　　　　   D.has just been broken

14.A.help B.set free C.stop　　　　    　　　　　　  D.catch

15.A.found　　 B.noticed C.found out    　　　　　　  D.made sure

16.A.pay B.make　　　　   C.spend　　　　　　　　 D.get

17.A.help B.helped  C.helping　　    D.to help

18.A.freedom  B.safety　　　　  C.North　　　　　　　　 D.Southern states

19.A.united　　 B.fought  C.made peace　　    D.gave in

20.A.looked for     B.stood for　　 C.looked on　　　　   D.went to

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard. I remember him as someone who was a lot nicer than most of the adults in our community.

When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. His house sat on ten acres, and his life’s goal was to make it a forest.

The good doctor had some interesting theories concerning plant care and growth. He never watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them so that each successive tree generation would grow weaker and weaker. So you have to make things rough for them and weed out(淘汰) the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of moisture. I took him to mean that deep roots were to be treasured.

So he never watered his trees. He planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. Smack! Slap! Pow! I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.

Dr. Gibbs passed away a couple of years after I left home. Every now and again, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty-five years ago. They’re extremely tall, big and robust since they have deep roots now. However, the trees in my garden trembled in a cold wind although I had watered them for several years.

It seems that adversity(逆境) and suffering benefit these trees in ways comfort and ease never could. I stood there deep in thought.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I stand over them and watch their little bodies, the rising and falling of life within. I often pray for them. Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy. But I think that it’s time to change my prayer(祷词) because now I know my children are going to encounter hardship.

According to Dr. Gibbs’ theories, trees will become weaker if they _________.

A. are lack of care　　　　　B. are watered      C. are weeded out　　　　　D. are beaten

According to Para.3 and Para.4, we can infer that Dr. Gibbs’ motto(座右铭) may be       .

A. “Seeing is believing”                                    B. “Put everything in proper use”

C. “Practice makes perfect”                               D. “No pain, no gain”

The underlined word robust in Para.5 most probably means _________.

A. strong　　                      B. strange　　       C. deep　　                        D. old

Which of the following may be the author’s best prayer for his two sons now?

A. I wish them strong wings, with which they can fly higher and touch the sky.

B. I wish them nice fortune so that they can meet people like Dr. Gibbs in the future.

C. I wish them deep roots into the earth since the rains fall and the winds blow often.

D. I wish them great shades under the tree since the sunlight is always sharp and bitter.

Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A Nice Doctor  B. The Deep Roots  C. Adversity and Suffering  D. My Childhood Memory