阅读理解：

　　In Europe, men do not usually wear skirts. But the Scottish national clothing for men is a kind of skirt. It is called a kilt. The Scottish like to be different. They are also proud of their country and its history, and they feel that the kilt is part of that history. That's why the men still wear kilts at traditional (传统的) dances and on national holidays. They believe they are wearing the same clothes that Scottish men always used to wear.

　　That's what they believe. However, kilts are not really so old. Before 1730, Scottish men wore a long shirt and blanket around their shoulders. These clothes got in the way when the men started to work in factories. So, in 1730 a factory owner changed the blanket into a skirt; the kilt. That's how the first kilt was made.

　　Then, in the late 1700s Scottish soldiers in the British Army began to wear kilts. One reason for this was national sentiment ( = feelings) . The Scottish soldiers wanted to be different from the English soldiers. The British Army probably had a different reason. A Scottish soldier in a kilt was always easy to find! The Scottish soldier fought very hard and became famous. The kilt was part of the fame, and in the early 1800s men all around Scotland began to wear kilts.

　　These kilts had colorful stripes (条纹) going up and down and across. In the 1700s and early 1800s, the color of the stripes had no special meaning. Men sometimes owned kilts in several different colors. But later the colors became important to the Scottish families. By about 1850, most families had special colors for their kilts. For example, men from the Campbell family had kilts with green, yellow and blue stripes. Scottish people often believe that the colors of the kilts are part of their family history. In fact, each family just chose the color they liked best.

　　This is not the story you will hear today if you are in Scotland. Most Scottish people still believe that kilts are as old as Scotland and that the colors are as old as the Scottish families. Sometimes feelings are stronger than facts!

1．This text is mainly about ________.

2．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．The English soldiers were the first to wear kilts.

B．It was hard then to tell the Scottish soldiers from the English ones apart from the clothes.

C．Colors were specially designed in the first kilts.

D．The factory owner made the first kilt from long shirts to make his workers different from others.

3．Scottish soldiers were dressed in kilts partly because of ________.

4．The colors of the kilts are ________.

[　　]

A．not part of the Scottish family history

B．older than the Scottish family history

C．for the Campbell family only

D．mainly green, yellow and blue

5．From the last paragraph we can infer that ________.

[　　]

A．the European people are full of strong feelings

B．there are no stories about kilts in Scotland today

C．the British like to do things on feelings, not on facts

D．the Scottish prefer to keep their tradition rather than believe the fact

Oh God! I think I was about seven when my sisters and I pulled this stupid stunt（惊险动作）.

I remember we were watching TV when we heard my 　 36　 , Chris, yelling from the backyard. We all 　 37　 out to see what happened. 38____ we finally located him, he was in a tree 39 from the highest tree branch. Crying, he explained he had climbed up the tree and couldn’t get down. One of us should climb up but we couldn’t 　 40　 to get him moving down.

Luckily, my youngest sister, Ka, five then, had seen a(n) 　 41　 situation. She suggested we grab a 42 　, hold it under the branch, and tell him to 43____ so we could catch him. My other sister, Yams, one year younger than me, looked at me eagerly to 　 44　 her idea and I said “Yeah, let’s try that.”

Immediately we 　 45　 a sheet and held it beneath the tree. Now mind you, the ages holding this blanket were 　46　 from seven to five, thus the sheet was probably being held up to our waist and also close to touching the ground. But we were 　 47　 it could work.

Chris, my brother, aged four, looked down at us with hesitation, asking in a 48 voice, “Are you sure I’ll land on the blanket?” But because of a problem at 49 with his tongue being a bit attached to the mouth, it came out like this, “Ah you sho awill lan on da blanked?” “Yup!” I told him, “We’re sure!” and he let go.

How 　 50　 he was to trust us! And no matter how 51 we held, Chris fell right 52 that sheet and landed on his stomach. This tiny seventy-pound boy had made a big 　 53　 right in the sheet!

Because he wasn’t moving, we bent down to 　 54　 if he was still alive. Slowly, he uttered these five words, “Ah stee hi da flow!”, in other words, “I still hit the floor!” Poor little man!

Now Chris is fourteen and he still blames us about it. Any tree he climbs he can get down on his own and, 　 55　 , he wants to be a fireman when he grows up.

36. A. neighbour　　　　 　 B. brother 　　　　　 C. classmate　　　　 D. cousin

37. A. headed　　　　　 B. wandered　　　 　 C. waited　　　　　 D. stayed

38. A. After　　　　　　 　 B. Since　　　　　 　 C. Though 　　　　　 　　　 D. When　　　　　

39. A. jumping　　　　　 B. looking　　　 　 　 C. hanging 　　　　　 D. shaking

40. A. try 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. manage　　　　 　 C. plan　　　　　　 D. decide

41. A. serious　　　　　 　 B. awkward　　 　 　 C. similar　　　　　 D. ridiculous

42. A. sheet　　　　　　 B. ladder　　　　　 　 C. quilt　　　　　 　 D. net

43. A. slide　　　　　 　 B. drop 　　　　　　 C. climb　　　　　 D. move

44. A. change　　　　 　　 B. offer　　　　　 　 C. prove　　　　 　　 D. confirm

45. A. bought　　　　 　　　 B. took　　　　　 　　 C. fetched 　　　　　 D. snatched

46. A. counting 　　　　　 B. lasting　　　　 　　 C. ranging　　　 　　　 D. decreasing

47. A. proud　　　　　 　　 B. happy　 　　　　 　　　 C. grateful　　　　 　 D. confident

48. A. soft　　　　　　 　 B. trembling　　　 C. frightening　　 　　 D. loud

49. A. birth　　　　　 　　 B. school　　　　 C. church 　　　　　 D. table

50. A. lucky　　　　　 　　 B. bright　　　　　 　 C. stupid　　　　 　　 D. careless

51. A. tight　　　　　　 　 B. long　　　　　　 C. high　　　　　 　 D. close　　

52. A. on　　　　　　　 　 B. under　　　　　 C. across　　　　　 D. through

53. A. noise　　　　　　 B. swing　　　　 　　 C. mark　　　　 　　　 D. hole

54. A. check 　　　　　　 B. sense　　　　　　 C. prove　　　　　 D. claim

55. A. frankly　　　 　　　 B. strangely 　　　　　 C. luckily　　　　 　　 D. obviously

—Sorry, Bill, I can’t go straight on and spend more time with you in Fuzhou.

—_______【江西省抚州市2011届高三模拟考试】【交际用语】