D

His first fight was for the equal rights of black people in South Africa. Then, as the first black president he fought to unite the country and organize the government. Now Nelson Mandela has set his sights on a new enemy, AIDS.

On March 19 the 82-year-old, former president, hosted his second AIDS-awareness concert. He warned that 25 million people in Africa were already infected with the fatal disease.

Mandela was born in a small village in South Africa in 1918. He was adopted (收养) by the chief of his tribe (部族) and could have been a chief himself and lived a happy country life.

But he refused to be a chief when his people lived under racial discrimination ( 种族歧视). He decided to fight for equal rights for all the people in South Africa. Before 1990, under the country’s Racial Segregation Law (种族隔离法), colored and white people lived separately. Black people were treated unfairly even when taking a bus. Blacks had to stand at the back of the bus to make room for white people even when there were only a few of them on board.

For his opposition (反对) to the system Mandela was arrested (被捕) and spent 27 years in prison. He was freed in 1990 and become the president of the country after the first elections were held in which everyone could vote.

Mandela was not only a political fighter who attacked with speeches. He was also a trained boxer (拳击手) and fought in the ring when he was young.

“ Although I did not enjoy the violence of boxing, I was interested in how one moved one’s body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat (撤退),” he wrote in his autobiography.

As a skillful fighter, he chose music as his weapon against AIDS. He hopes to win another victory against AIDS.

52．Nelson Mandela succeeded in doing the following except _____.

A. winning the equal rights for the black people in South Africa

B. uniting South Africa

C. organizing a government in South Africa

D. controlling the spread of AIDS

53．If Nelson Mandela hadn’t fought against racial discrimination, he _____.

A. could easily have been the president of South Africa

B. could still have lived a happy life

C. could have been in a difficult situation

D. would have been an excellent boxer

54．It can be inferred that Nelson Mandela _____.

A. continues to help the black people with the political struggle

B. is taking a position in a music group

C. is taking on the world’s greatest fight against AIDS

D. is preparing for the next election of president

55．Which statement can best describe the life of Nelson Mandela?

A. Struggle is his life.          B. Sports make his fame.

C. Fight for equal rights.        D. Great fighter against government.

Dick lived in England. One day in January he said to his wife, "I'm going to fly to New York next week because I've got some work there." "Where are you going to stay there?" his wife asked. "I don't know yet." Dick answered. "Please send me your address from there in a telegram (电报)," his wife said. "All right," Dick answered.

He flew to New York on January 31st and found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.

In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."

He found a taxi (出租车) and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.

"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address at this post office."

Dick flew to New York because ___.

A. he went there for a holiday

B. he had work there

C. he went there for sightseeing (观光)

D. his home was there

Why did his wife want a telegram from him?

A. Because she didn't know his address yet

B. Because she wanted to go to New York, too

C. Because she might send him another telegram

D. Because she couldn't leave her husband by himself in New York

Where did Dick stay in New York?

A. In the center of the city.              B. In a hotel.

C. In a restaurant.                     D. At his friend's house.

Who would send him the name and address of his hotel?

A. The manager (经理) of his hotel.       B. The police office.

C. The taxi driver.                     D. His wife.

Which of the following is not true?

A. Dick stayed at a nice hotel in the center of the city.

B. Dick didn't work on the first night of his arrival.

C. Dick forgot to send his wife a telegram.

D. Dick wanted to go back to his hotel in a taxi.

One morning more than thirty years ago, I entered the Track Kitchen, a restaurant where everyone from the humblest(卑微的) to the most powerful came for breakfast. I noticed an empty chair next to an elderly, unshaven man, who looked somewhat disheveled. He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone. I asked if I might join him. He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast.

We cautiously began a conversation and spoke about a wide rang of things. We never introduced ourselves. I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat. So as I rose to go back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee, I asked,

“My I get you something?”

“A coffee would be nice.”

Then I bought him a cup of coffee, we talked more, and he accepted another cup of coffee. Finally, I rose to leave, wished him well, and headed for the exit. At the door I met one of my friends. He asked,

“How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath?”

“Who?”

“The man you were sitting with. He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs.”

I could hardly believe it. I was buying, offering a free breakfast, and feeling pity for one of the world’s richest and most powerful men!

My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life. Now I try to treat everyone with respect, no matter who I think they are, and no matter another human being with kindness and sincerity.

1.What does the underlined word “disheveled” mean?

A. Unfriendly.         B. Kind.        C. Elegant.         D. Untidy.

2.The author bought coffee for the old man because      .

A. he wanted to start a conversation       

B. he thought the old man was poor

C. he intended to show his politeness      

D. he would like to thank the old man

3.How did the author probably feel after he talked with his friend?

A. Surprised.        B. Pitiful.         C. Proud.          D. Regretful.

4.What is the message mainly expressed in the story?

A. We should learn to be generous.

B. It is honorable to help those in need.

C. We should avoid judging people by their appearances.

D. People in high positions are not like what we expect.

Alex knew colors and shapes．He learned about 150 English words．With his language ability he made himself known as perhaps the world’s most famous talking bird．

But Alex，a parrot，died two weeks ago when he was 31．Irene，a psychologist(心理学家) at Harvard University，studied and worked with the parrot for nearly 30 years．

In 1977，Irene，then an excellent student in chemistry at Harvard，bought Alex from a pet store．At that time，scientists were not quite sure whether birds could learn to communicate with humans．

But using the methods of teaching．Irene helped Alex to learn about 150 words，and to count small numbers，as well as colors and shapes．

In experiments，Irene would give Alex a small reward，like a grape．Alex learned to ask for the grape by watching what the trainer was doing to get it．The researchers then worked with the bird to help him with pronunciation．

Alex showed a surprising ability to learn．For example，when he was shown a blue paper circle．he could tell what color the paper was．what shape it was，and after touching it，what it was made of．

Like other parrots，he also picked up some words when staying in the lab，like“calm down”and“good morning”．He could also show his happiness and sadness．

Even before the week he died，Alex was working with Irene on difficult words．As she put him into his cage for the night that Thursday，Irene said that Alex looked at her and said，“You be good．See you tomorrow．I love you．”

He was found dead in his cage the next morning．

1．Alex is the name of ________．

A．an excellent student        B．a clever bird

C．a trainer                 D．a psychologist

2．How did Irene get the parrot?

A．A friend gave it to her．       B．She caught it in a forest．

C．She bought it from the market． D．The passage doesn’t mention it．

3．The underlined words“picked up”in the seventh paragraph mean ________．

A．捡到    B．挑选    C．举起    D．学到

4．The passage is probably taken from a ________．

A．history textbook    B. novel    C．newspaper      D. dictionary