"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all． It was, of course, a miserable childhood． The happy childhood is hardly worth your while． "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood． And worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood．" That was Frank McCourt reading the opening lines of his book Angela's Ashes, released in nineteen ninety-six．

This Irish American author best known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography Angela's Ashes that recorded his poor upbringing, died of cancer on Sunday, The New York Times reported． He was 78．

Born in New York City, he was the eldest of seven children born to Irish immigrant parents． Angela's Ashes was a memoir that captured an irresponsible, drunkard father with a gift for story-telling． When not drunk, his father was absent, turning his back on a family so poor, McCourt wrote, that they were reduced to burning the furniture in their rented hut to keep warm． His mother struggled to raise her many children after his father left the family．

Already struggling when the Great Depression hit, the family moved back to Limerick, where they slipped ever deeper into poverty in the  1930s．

Three of McCourt's siblings died of diseases worsened by hunger and the wretchedness of their surroundings． McCourt himself almost died of typhoid（伤寒的） fever as  a child．

In Angela's Ashes, he wrote of hunger, a home flooded with rainwater and the unbearable humiliation of seeking handouts from charities in the Irish city． But he told the story in a way that is expressive, warm and light-hearted．

Frank McCourt left Ireland at the age of nineteen to return to New York City where he was born． He earned a degree in- English education and taught creative writing for nearly thirty years． After retiring in nineteen eighty-seven, he decided to write about his childhood． "Angela's Ashes" became a huge success and brought McCourt a 1997 Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award and other honors． Millions of copies of the book were sold worldwide and it was adapted into a 1999 movie starring Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle．

1.What's the text mainly about?

A．A brief introduction to Frank McCourt and one of his works．

B．A literary review on Frank McCourt's book Angela's Ashes．

C．An account of Frank McCourt's miserable childhood.

D．A comment on Frank McCourt's life experience．

2.By saying "The happy childhood is hardly worth your while", the writer really means that      ．

A．a lot of readers don't deserve happy childhood

B．his childhood is not worth of others' sympathy

C．his childhood is mixed with happiness and misery

D．smooth childhood surely will not draw readers' attention

3.From the passage, we know Frank McCourt's father is        ．

A．humorous and trustworthy                B．alcohol-addicted but loves his family

C．poor but warm-hearted                   D．irresponsible but gifted in telling stories

4.What does the underlined word "handouts" mean in the 6th paragraph?

A．Reliefs．                              B．Compensations．

C．Leaflets．                             D．Teaching materials．

There once was a very honest shopkeeper whose business was to provide goods to the local people. He would open his shop at 8:00 a.m. after having his breakfast and at 1:00 p.m. he would go for lunch. In the evening at 8:30 p.m. he closed his shop to complete his daily routine.

However, to get time for lunch was really difficult be-cause he didn’t have anybody to help him at that time. Therefore, it was his daily practice that whichever customer was shopping at 1:00 p.m. would be asked to oversee (看管) the shop until the shopkeeper returned from lunch.

One day, a group of four thieves planned to steal from his shop while he was gone for lunch. One of the thieves went at 1:00 p.m. to be the customer that would be asked to oversee the shop.

The thief, pretending to be a customer, went in at 1:00 p.m. and started buying several items. As planned, the shop-keeper asked the thief to sit on his chair for thirty minutes until he returned from lunch.

Then, the other three thieves quickly came and told the pretend customer to help, but something had changed within him and he knew deeply in his heart that if he was given responsibility for the shop, he should not perform any dishonest acts during that time. His friends did not agree. As the now honest man tried to stop them, they resisted (抵抗) and a fight started. And at the same time the shopkeeper returned and asked why there was a fighting. The now honest man explained the entire plan.

The shopkeeper had been searching for an honest man who could take ownership of the shop and run it. The shop-keeper felt that he had found the right man.

1.What is the problem for the shopkeeper?

A. Nobody could prepare lunch for him every day.

B. He had nobody to keep the shop when he went for lunch.

C. He was too busy to have lunch every day.

D. He couldn’t find a person to work at the shop.

2.Why did the thief go to the shop at 1:00 p.m.?

A. Because he thought he would be asked to keep the shop.

B. Because the shopkeeper invited him to lunch then.

C. Because the shop was closed at that time.

D. Because he thought he could buy cheap things then.

3.When the shopkeeper returned from lunch, he found _______.

A. everything in his shop was stolen

B. the thief became the new owner of the shop

C. there was a fighting in his shop

D. the thief helped his fellows steal things from his shop

4.From the passage, we can infer that _______.

A. once a thief, he will always be a thief

B. an honest man will be responsible for his action

C. you can’t believe in a dishonest man forever

D. trust can change a thief into an honest man

The private automobile has long played an important role in the US. In fact, it has become 1.___necessary and important part of the American life. In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned 2.__least one car, and thirty-eight percent had 3.___than one. With the convenience of rapid transportation, workers don’t have to live near their workplace. This has encouraged the growth of the cities, 4.___it has also led to traffic problems.

For farm families the automobile is very helpful. It has made 5.___ possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure.

Family life has been affected in 6.___ways. The car helps to keep families together. However, when teenage children use the car, their parents can’t keep an eye on them. There is a great danger 7.____the driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs or breaking 8._____ traffic laws.

Cars mean very much to Americans.

阅读短文，根据短文内容，从文后所给的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。

A  Famous University Town

When we say that Cambridge is a university town we do not mean that it is a town with a university in it.

   1    The university is not just one part of the town; it is all over the town. The heart of Cambridge has its shops, restaurants, market places and so on, but most of it is university, colleges, libraries, clubs and other places for university staff and students. The town was there first. Cambridge became a center of learning in the thirteenth century. Many students were too poor to afford lodgings（公寓）  2    This was the beginning of the present day college system.

Today there are nearly thirty colleges.    3   Many of them live in lodgings at first and move into college for their final year. But every student is a member of his college from the beginning. He must eat a number of meals in the college hall each week.

   4    so nearly all of them use bicycles. Don’t try to drive through Cambridge during the five minutes between lectures, as you will find crowds of people on bicycles hurrying in all directions. If you are in Cambridge at five minutes to the hour any morning of the term, you’ll know that you are in a university town.     5   .

A．Colleges were opened so that students could live cheaply.

B．Students are not allowed to keep cars in Cambridge,

C．Many students were short of money for their education, so college towns were set up then.

D．A university town is one where there is no clear separation between the university buildings and the rest of the city.

E. Stop in some safe place, and wait.            

F. The size of Cambridge University is not so big as the town.

G. Very few students can now live in college for the whole of their course; the numbers are too great.

请根据各句上下文的意义，选择正确的单词填入空白处。

1.I saw a man in a blue jacket thirty meters ____________ me.

2.It was a few moments before his eyes _________ the bright glare of the sun.

3.I regret to say your performance didn’t’ get to the requirements, ________, you can’’t be accepted by our company..

4.______________ half an hour every day to do some English reading is a good way to improve  your English study.

5.She has a preference for Chinese art, and for calligraphy and Beijing opera ________.

6.___________ how much these wild animals means to our future generation, more and more people have been quitting the bad habit of eating them.

7.I saw some smoke ________________.

8.He ___________ tell me the secret when some patted him on the shoulder.

9.It doesn’t             whether he comes or not.

10.What will you                your pocket money?