John Grisham was born on February 2,1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in the USA. His father was a construction worker and moved his family all around the southern states of America, stopping wherever he could find work. Eventually they settled in Mississippi. Graduating from law school in 1981, Grisham practiced law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation(诉讼). In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.

One day at the Dessoto County courthouse, Grisham heard the horrifying testimony(证词) of a 12-year-old rape victim. He decided to write a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl’s father had murdered her attackers. He got up every morning at 5 am, to work on the novel, called A Time to Kill, which was published in 1988. Grisham’s next novel, The Firm, was one of the biggest hits of 1991, spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. Grisham was then able to give up law and concentrate on writing. Grisham lives with his wife and two children, dividing their time between their Victorian home on a 67 acre farm in Mississippi and a 204 acre plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia.

When he’s not writing, Grisham devote time to charitable(慈善) causes, including mission trip with his church group. As a child he dreamt of becoming a professional baseball player, and now serves as the local Little League leader. He has built six ball fields on his property and hosts children from Little League teams.

1．What inspired Grisham to write his first novel?

A．A case of murder.    B．A case of rape.

C．His father’s experience.   D．His life on the farm.

2．The story of the novel A time to Kill would probably focus on __________.

A．how the girl was attacked       B．what the circumstances of the rape were

C．how the girl’s father would act       D．how the case of rape was settled

3．Which of the following is not true of the novel The Firm?

A．It was popular at the time of publication. B．It earned Grisham great fame.

C．It brought Grisham wealth. D．It was carried by the New York Times as a series.

4．It can be inferred from the passage that Grisham has built ball fields on his property _______.

A．to achieve his life’s goal as a professional baseball player

B．to coach children in baseball

C．to see his childhood dream being realized in the children

D．to provide facilities of baseball training

5．John Grisham is a _______ at present.

A．writer  B．lawyer   C．Congressman D．professional baseball player

If law and order as well as rules and regulations ______, neither the citizen nor his property is safe.

A．are not observed                       B．is not observed

C．were not observed                      D．was not observed

阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意, 然后从1—10各题所给的A、B、C和D项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Mr Smith was a wealthy industrialist, but he was not satisfied with life. He did not sleep well and his food did not  1   with him. The situation lasted for some time. Finally, after a   2   of sleepless nights, he decided to consult his doctor. The doctor advised a change of  3  . “Go abroad,” he said, “But I’m not good at foreign languages,” said Mr Smith. “It doesn’t matter,” said the doctor. “It won’t   4   you to talk a little less. Go on a voyage. Take plenty of exercise. Try to reduce your weight,  5   rich food.”

       Mr Smith went to Switzerland. He did not know French or German, and had to communicate through gestures. He attended a physical training course. The instructor made him bend his knees, swing his arms, stretch his neck and shake his head rapidly. He had to lie on the ground and raise his right and left legs   6   . After a time his muscles grew hard and firm. The life suited him; he almost put aside his financial  7   and nearly forgot the importance of making more money. He even began to  8   individual trees and individual birds. He ate and slept well. Finally he returned home. But unfortunately his improvement was temporary. Soon he was a   9   businessman again, worried about his property, his profits, his savings, his success in a  10   society, and things in general.

A. agree          B. taste                     C. suit                      D. fit

A. series          B. course                  C. number                 D. few

A. situations   B. surroundings         C. weather                D. life

A. stop            B. hurt                      C. help                     D. prevent

A. eat              B. prepare                 C. avoid                    D. try

A. highly         B. widely                  C. alternately             D. regularly

A. hardship      B. debts                    C. worries                 D. success

A. see             B. notice                   C. glance                  D. consider

A. rich            B. happy                   C. normal                 D. successful

A. struggle     B. business                C. miserable              D. competitive

.

What a pity! All his property, the books, the pictures and the house, __________consumed by the big fire.

Insurance companies provide a service to the community by protecting it against expected and unexpected disasters. Before an insurance company will agree to insure anything, it collects accurate figures about the risk. It knows, for example, that the risk of a man being killed in a plane accident is less than the risk he takes in crossing a busy road. This enables it to quote(报价) low figures for travel insurance. Sometimes the risk may be high, as in motor-racing or mountaineering. Then the company charges a much higher price. If too many climbers have accidents, the price rises further. If the majority of climbers fall off mountains, the company will refuse to insure them.

An ordinary householder may wish to protect his home against fire or his property against burglary(入室行窃). A shopkeeper may wish to insure against theft. In normal cases, the company will check its statistics and quote a premium(保险费). If it is suspicious(可疑的), it may refuse to quote. If it insures a shop and then receives a suspicious claim, it will investigate the claim as a means of protecting itself against false claims. It is not unknown for a businessman in debt to burn down his own premises so that he can claim much money from his insurance company. He can be sure that the fire will be investigated most carefully. Insurance companies also accept insurance against shipwreck or disaster in the air. Planes and ships are very expensive, so a large premium is charged, but a reduction is given to companies with an accident-free record.

Every week, insurance companies receive premium payments from customers. These payments can form a very large total running into millions of dollars. The company does not leave the money in the bank. It invests (投资) in property, shares (股票) ,farms and even paintings and stamps. Its aim is to obtain the best possible return on its investment. This is not as greedy as it may seem since this is one way by which it can keep its premiums down and continue to make a profit while being of service to the community.

The main idea of the first paragraph is that      .

   A. insurance companies protect the community against disasters

   B. insurance companies often collect accurate figures about the risk

   C. insurance companies base their decisions on the risk involved

   D. insurance companies charge different prices in the same cases

The insurance company will usually investigate a suspicious claim to    .

   A. refuse to quote the insurance fee          B. make sure that the claim is reasonable

   C. decide how much the company should pay D. find out when the accident happened

The underlined word "premises" in Paragraph 2 most probably means"     "

   A. land and buildings                   B. insurance contract

   C. debt papers                                            D. financial papers

The author’s attitude towards customers’ premium payments being used by insurance companies is __

    A. critical             B. doubtful              C. neutral            D. positive

The purpose of this passage is to __

    A. explain how insurance companies operate

    B. encourage people to invest in insurance companies

    C. persuade people to insure against unexpected disasters

    D. advise people how to insure their life and property