阅读理解

　　The dark, narrow streets of London were dangerous places for a lad to wander during the ruling of Charles Ⅱ (1660-1685). Bands of hoodlums(强盗), in the pay of some ships' captains, were found everywhere. Their job was to seize as many boys as they could find and carry them off to waiting ships in the harbor. Many a pale city lad would wake up from a drugged sleep, or a blow on the head, to find himself on the high seas, bound for the New World. There he might become a farmhand, an apprentice, or perhaps a household servant.

　　Thousands of unsuspecting youths were kidnapped who were never to return to the land of their birth. The traffic in young boys became, in time, a great public scandal, and this is the way it had come about.

　　America desperately needed colonists. At first, many people had come willingly, lured by tales of quick wealth and unlimited opportunity. But once they arrived, they found it to be a far rougher place than they had imagined. It was true that, there was opportunity, but hard work was needed to make it pay off. Many of the new colonists, hoping for easy fortuned, were not used to the difficulties of hard manual labour.

　　Nor could they manage the large farms by themselves. They needed help of every sort: for planting, for harvesting, for building their houses, etc. Some few skilled workers had come and set up shops--blacksmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights(修造轮子的工匠) and such--but they, too, were in need of help. Without apprentices and laborers, they could not possibly do all the work that the colonists required.

　　British shipowners offered free transportation to all those who would come, in return for an agreement to work for seven years without wages. Thousands of immigrants accepted the offer. After seven years of service they were farmers in their own right--and needed help. So there was an increasing need for workers. When the captains could not get colonists any other way, they hired hoodlums to seize any young boys they could lay hands on.

　　Over 100000 youngsters were taken to America in this way. Kidnapping became such an open scandal that in 1682 the London Council passed a law forbidding any person under fourteen to be bound into service without the knowledge and consent of his parents.

1．What shocked the London citizens in the late 17th century?

[　　]

A．The British shipowners needed hands in their business.

B．Bands of hoodlums wandered in the dark streets of London.

C．Many young boys turned to drugs and violence.

D．Many young boys were captured and shipped to America.

2．According to the passage, many British people were willing to settle in America because _____.

[　　]

A．they were poor and desperate

B．they thought they could find jobs easily and soon make a fortune

C．they were desperately tired of the bad conditions in London

D．they learned that skilled workers were badly needed there

3．According to the passage, the colonists were in need of hands for the following reasons except that _____.

[　　]

A．many rail tracks had to be built

B．there was a lot of work on the farms

C．many houses had to be built

D．there was a lot of work in various kinds of shops

4．Why did thousands of immigrants sign the agreement to work for seven years without pay?

[　　]

A．Because they had no money to pay for their voyage to the New World.

B．Because they could become farmers in their own right after their seven-year work.

C．Because they had no land of their own when they just arrived in America.

D．Because they were kidnapped and forced to sign it.

5．We can infer from the passage that the British government passed a law in 1682 because _____.

[　　]

A．the shipowners had seized a great fortune of the country apart from the young boys

B．it intended to stop the employment of the young workers under the age of fourteen

C．the public strongly condemned the kidnapping of young boys

D．it did not want to lose a lot of its young residents

阅读理解

　　The dark, narrow streets of London were dangerous places for a lad to wander during the ruling of Charles Ⅱ (1660-1685). Bands of hoodlums(强盗), in the pay of some ships' captains, were found everywhere. Their job was to seize as many boys as they could find and carry them off to waiting ships in the harbor. Many a pale city lad would wake up from a drugged sleep, or a blow on the head, to find himself on the high seas, bound for the New World. There he might become a farmhand, an apprentice, or perhaps a household servant.

　　Thousands of unsuspecting youths were kidnapped who were never to return to the land of their birth. The traffic in young boys became, in time, a great public scandal, and this is the way it had come about.

　　America desperately needed colonists. At first, many people had come willingly, lured by tales of quick wealth and unlimited opportunity. But once they arrived, they found it to be a far rougher place than they had imagined. It was true that, there was opportunity, but hard work was needed to make it pay off. Many of the new colonists, hoping for easy fortuned, were not used to the difficulties of hard manual labour.

　　Nor could they manage the large farms by themselves. They needed help of every sort: for planting, for harvesting, for building their houses, etc. Some few skilled workers had come and set up shops--blacksmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights(修造轮子的工匠) and such--but they, too, were in need of help. Without apprentices and laborers, they could not possibly do all the work that the colonists required.

　　British shipowners offered free transportation to all those who would come, in return for an agreement to work for seven years without wages. Thousands of immigrants accepted the offer. After seven years of service they were farmers in their own right--and needed help. So there was an increasing need for workers. When the captains could not get colonists any other way, they hired hoodlums to seize any young boys they could lay hands on.

　　Over 100000 youngsters were taken to America in this way. Kidnapping became such an open scandal that in 1682 the London Council passed a law forbidding any person under fourteen to be bound into service without the knowledge and consent of his parents.

1．What shocked the London citizens in the late 17th century?

[　　]

A．The British shipowners needed hands in their business.

B．Bands of hoodlums wandered in the dark streets of London.

C．Many young boys turned to drugs and violence.

D．Many young boys were captured and shipped to America.

2．According to the passage, many British people were willing to settle in America because _____.

[　　]

A．they were poor and desperate

B．they thought they could find jobs easily and soon make a fortune

C．they were desperately tired of the bad conditions in London

D．they learned that skilled workers were badly needed there

3．According to the passage, the colonists were in need of hands for the following reasons except that _____.

[　　]

A．many rail tracks had to be built

B．there was a lot of work on the farms

C．many houses had to be built

D．there was a lot of work in various kinds of shops

4．Why did thousands of immigrants sign the agreement to work for seven years without pay?

[　　]

A．Because they had no money to pay for their voyage to the New World.

B．Because they could become farmers in their own right after their seven-year work.

C．Because they had no land of their own when they just arrived in America.

D．Because they were kidnapped and forced to sign it.

5．We can infer from the passage that the British government passed a law in 1682 because _____.

[　　]

A．the shipowners had seized a great fortune of the country apart from the young boys

B．it intended to stop the employment of the young workers under the age of fourteen

C．the public strongly condemned the kidnapping of young boys

D．it did not want to lose a lot of its young residents

As I began to feel completely sick of the cold North American winter, spring break finally arrived! What made me even more excited was that we were going to Florida to enjoy the warm weather!
Just imagine wearing T-shirts or a swimsuit under the hot Florida sun!
Before the vacation started, we had a little episode(插曲) at the airport. The alarm sounded when my host mom and me were walking through the security check. We were taken away to have further checks, but when they finally told us that we could go, we felt relieved and amused. It was just because of the decorations(装饰品) on my pants and the tinfoil(锡纸) around my host mom’s chewing gum! —Just as a reminder, no overly fashionable pants or tinfoil on a plane!
Of course, I had a lot of first experiences during this special vacation. Since eight of us were living in a house, we had to share bedrooms, I, fortunately or unfortunately, had to share a room with my 4-year-old host sister. She is tiny compared to me, but she took up about two thirds of the bed. Moreover, because I was not used to sleeping in the same room with others, I was afraid of waking her up and hardly slept at all.
Luckily, except for that, everything went really well. My host family were really warm hearted, and they wanted me to try everything new. With their “persuasion”, I was “forced” to go kayaking(划皮艇), which turned out to be really fun. We went through some canals and I saw manatees(海牛) and dolphins with my own eyes for the very first time!
When we finally landed in Wisconsin again, everyone looked tanned and full of energy!
【小题1】 What happened to the author and her host mom at the airport?

As I began to feel completely sick of the cold North American winter, spring break finally arrived! What made me even more excited was that we were going to Florida to enjoy the warm weather!

Just imagine wearing T-shirts or a swimsuit under the hot Florida sun!

Before the vacation started, we had a little episode(插曲) at the airport. The alarm sounded when my host mom and me were walking through the security check. We were taken away to have further checks, but when they finally told us that we could go, we felt relieved and amused. It was just because of the decorations(装饰品) on my pants and the tinfoil(锡纸) around my host mom’s chewing gum! —Just as a reminder, no overly fashionable pants or tinfoil on a plane!

Of course, I had a lot of first experiences during this special vacation. Since eight of us were living in a house, we had to share bedrooms, I, fortunately or unfortunately, had to share a room with my 4-year-old host sister. She is tiny compared to me, but she took up about two thirds of the bed. Moreover, because I was not used to sleeping in the same room with others, I was afraid of waking her up and hardly slept at all.

Luckily, except for that, everything went really well. My host family were really warm hearted, and they wanted me to try everything new. With their “persuasion”, I was “forced” to go kayaking(划皮艇), which turned out to be really fun. We went through some canals and I saw manatees(海牛) and dolphins with my own eyes for the very first time!

When we finally landed in Wisconsin again, everyone looked tanned and full of energy!

1. What happened to the author and her host mom at the airport?

    A. They lost their passports.          

B. Their luggage was overweight.

    C. They quarreled with the other passengers.

    D. The decorations and tinfoil brought them trouble.

2. What does the underlined word “they” in Para 3 most probably refer to?

    A. The author and her host family people.

    B. People in charge of security at the airport.

    C. People sharing the same house with the author.

    D. The author’s host mom and the host sister.

3. We can learn from the first paragraph that the author    .

    A. hated going to Florida               B. had no sense of weather

    C. disliked the cold winter         D. didn’t like living in North America

4.From the passage, we can infer that    .

    A. the author thought little of her host family

    B. the author didn’t like her 4-year-old host sister

    C. the security check at the airport was very strict

    D. the author didn’t get along well with her host family