Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.
　　He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity（不人道） of the bourgeoisie（布尔乔亚阶级）.
　　Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.
　　Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.
【小题1】Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

Today, people all over the world are moving out of small villages in the country to go and live in big noisy cities . They are moving from the peaceful hills, mountains, fields, rivers and streams of the countryside to the busy world of streets, buildings, traffic and crowds. This movement from rural areas to urban areas has been going on for over two hundred years.

In many countries, the main reason people come to live in towns and cities is work. After one or two large factories have been built in or near a town, people come to find a work, and soon an industrial area begins to grow. There is usually a residential area nearby, where the factory workers can live. The families of these workers need schools, hospitals and shops, so more people come to live in the area to provide these services—and a city grows.

　　In every major city in the world, there is a business district where the big companies have their main offices. In the United States, this area is usually in the city center downtown. It is here that you can see the huge skyscraper office blocks. The people who work here often travel a long way to work each day.

　　Many of them live in the suburbs of the city, far away from the industrial area and the city center. Some suburbs are very pleasant, with nice houses and big gardens. There are usually parks for children to play in and large department stores where you can buy all you need.

　　But what is the future of the big cities? Will they continue to get bigger and bigger? Perhaps not. Some major cities have actually become smaller in the last ten years, and it is quite possible that one day we will see people moving out of the major cities and back into smaller towns and villages.

We can easily know that the underlined phrase “urban areas” means._____

　A. areas of the countryside  

B. areas of a town or city

C. areas near the countryside 　

D. areas near a town or a city

Why do people move to live in cities or towns?

A. Because they can live more comfortable there

B. Because they prefer noisy life to peaceful life

C. They do so mainly to find work

D. They don’t like small villages

We can infer that this movement from rural areas to urban areas_______.　

A. has been going on for more than 2,000 years

B. will continue in the future

C. may not continue in the future           　

D. is sure to stop

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.

　　He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity（不人道） of the bourgeoisie（布尔乔亚阶级）.

　　Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.

　　Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.

1.Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

2.According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.

3.Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

4.According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

5.It can be inferred from the passage that________.

What an exciting day it was for Jennifer and Valerie! They　26　　friends since Grade Three and had  27　many of their high school experiences. Now they were driving together to their final high school event. Today was　28　day at Laman High School.　 29　they were close friends, they were different in many ways. Jennifer was a fairly　30　　student while Valerie did just enough to get by and was mainly　31　　in a good social life.

"Isn't it　32　　that we're all finished?" said Valerie. "I'm really looking forward to having a　33　　time this summer."

"　 34　　be nice,"　Jennifer replied. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to work most of the summer to help pay for my college expenses. "

Jennifer's parents had only a small　35　　and she had made up her mind to have a career in which he could　36　　all the things her　37　　could not.

Valerie,　 38　　, came firm a fairly wealthy family. She had little desire to work hard for　　39　　she had always taken for granted.

"I really don't want to go to college for a while," she　40　 . "My uncle　41 a restaurant in the Bahamas and he has　42　　me to spend a year there　43　　a waitress. That should give me plenty of　44　　for the beach. "

"It seems　45　　will really be going different ways now," thought Jennifer.

1.A.has been　　     B. were　C. had been　　　         D. would be

2.A.learned　　　    B. obtained　 C. remembered　　    D. shared

3.A.exam　　　　    B. sports　　   C. graduatioD. working

4.A.If　　　　　    B. Because　　   C. Although　　　 D. When

5.A.diligent　　        B. polite　　 C. active　　　　    D. favorite

6.A.specialized　       B. relievedC. envied　  D. interested

7.A.certain　　　       B. great　　　  C. unfortunate  　　    D. annoying

8.A.nice　　　　    B. high         C. bad　　　　　　  D. happy

9.A.Can　　　　　   B. Shall　　　  C. Must　　　　　   D. Need

10.A.income　　　   B. problem  　  C. family　　　　   D. difference

11.A .afford　　　      B. give　　　   C. support　　  　　    D. send

12.A .teachers　    B. parents　　  C. friends　　　 　 D. relatives

13.A.in fact　　　B. in a way  C. as a result　       D.on the contrary

14.A.what　　　         B. whom　　　   C. that　　　　　   D. these

15.A.admitted　B. complain　    C. proposed　　　   D. screamed

16.A.opens　　  B. runs　　　   C. works　　　　        D. makes

17.A.helped　　B. assured　　   C. invited　　　　      D. promised

18.A.on　　　　　   B. do　　　　   C. like　　　　         D. as

19.A.peace　　　　  B. work　　　   C. energy　　　         D. time

20.A.I　　　　　　  B. we　　　　   C. she　　　　　        D. they