Today, roller skating is easy and fun．But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
　　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!
【小题1】The text is mainly about ________.

Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn't exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin's work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

　　One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

　　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin's grand entrance for a long time!

1.The text is mainly about_________.

A．a strange man                          B．how roller skating began

C．an unusual party                        D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century

2.People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he________.

A．often gave others surprises　　　　        B．was a gifted musician

C．was full of imagination　　 　　           D．invented the roller skates

3.Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to_______.

A．test his invention　　　　　　            B．arrive at the party sooner

C．impress the party guests                  D．show his skill in walking on wheels

4.What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

A．Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.

B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool.

C．The roller skates needed further improvement.

D．Merlin regretted what he had done

Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn't exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin's work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.

　One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.

　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin's grand entrance for a long time!

The text is mainly about_________.

　  A. a strange man

　  B. an unusual party

　  C. how roller skating began

　  D. how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century

　People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he________.

　  A. often gave others surprises　　　　  B. was a gifted musician

　  C. invented the roller skates　　 　　  D. was full of imagination

　 Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to_______.

　  A. impress the party guests　　　　　  B. arrive at the party sooner

　  C. test his invention　　 　　　　　　  D. show his skill in walking on wheels

　 What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?

　  A. The roller skates needed further improvement.

　  B. The party guests took Merlin for a fool.

　  C. Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.

　  D. Merlin got himself into trouble.

Is there a nationwide shortage of nurses? It’s hard to say．However, some characteristic symptoms often indicate that there is indeed a shortage．

One symptom is the vacancy rate, or the percentage of budgeted positions that are unfilled．New England’s hospitals currently report that an average of 7 to 12 percent of their registered nurse positions are vacant, the highest level since the last shortage in the late 1980s．Vermont has a relatively low vacancy rate, at 7．8 percent．But its vacancies were at 1．2 percent just five years ago．

Another symptom is the increased use of stopgap measures to fill empty positions．For instance, many nurses report an upswing in how frequently they are asked to stay past their shifts．According to Murphy, working in the St．Elizabeth’s Hospital, “The shortage has definitely created a lot of opportunities of overtime for our nurses, whether they want them or not．” Similarly, a national survey of registered nurses shows that in an average week, nurses in the U．S．work 2．4 more hours than they are scheduled to．Much of this extra time is voluntary, as nurses earn overtime pay when they stay to fill in blanks in the schedule．

When they can’t fill open positions by more traditional means, health care providers hire temporary staff to tide them over．Travelling workers are the largest part of the temporary health care workforce, hired for thirteen-week reduction at health care facilities facing short-term lack of workers．Temporary workers, mainly nurses, cost hospitals $ 7．2 billion in 2000．

“Any successful solution to the shortage depends on convincing more people to become nurses, and that is not an easy goal to reach．To achieve it,” says Buerhaus, “society needs to place more value on nursing．Legislation （法规） can’t do that – it should come from people．” And if this continues, we might have to learn to care for ourselves in the hospital．

The temporary staff hired by a hospital _______．

      A．cost a large part of the hospital’s budget

       B．meet the need for nurses in the hospital for a short time

      C．should work on a weekly basis and on a scheduled timetable 

       D．ought to work passively for thirty continuous weeks

According to Buerhaus, what is a successful solution to the nurse shortage?

      A．To convince people of the benefits of being a nurse．

      B．To ask the government for help to work out specific legislation．

      C．To publicize the past achievements of nurses．

      D．To make people aware of the importance of being a nurse．

What’s the probable meaning of the underlined word “upswing” in Paragraph 3?

      A．Symptom    B．Decrease   C．Increase             D．Figure

What’s the author’s attitude towards nurse shortage?

       A．Worried        B．Indifferent     C．Doubtful      D．Optimistic

Today, roller skating is easy and fun．But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball（化装舞会）. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
　　Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
　　On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!
1．The text is mainly about ________.
A．a strange man              B．an unusual party
C．how roller skating began     D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century
2．People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he _________.
　　A．often gave others surprises　　　　　 B．was a gifted musician
C．invented the roller skates　　　　　　D．was full of imagination
3．Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to ________ .
A．impress the party guests　　　　　　B．arrive at the party sooner
C．test his invention　　　　　　　　　D．show his skill in walking on wheels
4．What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?
A．The roller skates needed further improvement. 
B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool.
C．Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.       
D．Merlin got himself into trouble.