Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly. He looked at it, and all joy left him. The fence was long and high. He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence. He repeated the operation. He felt he could not continue and sat down.
He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day. They would walk past him and laugh. They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday. The thought burned him like fire.
He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned. Perhaps he could find some way to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him. But there was nothing of value in his pockets —nothing that could buy even half an hour of freedom. So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea
At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It filled his mind with a great, bright light. Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash.
While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared. Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street. As he walked along, he was making noises like the sound of a riverboat. First he shouted loudly, like a boat captain. Then he said “Ding-Dong-Dong”, “Ding-Dong-Dong” again and again, like the bell of a riverboat. And he made other strange noises. When he came close to Tom, he stopped.
Tom went on whitewashing. He did not look at Ben. Ben stared a moment and then said: “Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working.
Ben said, “Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?”
Tom turned suddenly and said, “Why, it’s you, Ben! I wasn’t noticing.”
“Say —I’m going swimming. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work — wouldn’t you? Of course you would.”
Tom looked at the boy a bit, and said “What do you call work?”
“Why, isn’t that work?”
Tom went back to his whitewashing, and answered carelessly.
“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to say that you like it?”
The brush continued to move.
“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his brush back and forth, stepped back to look at the result, added a touch here and there, and stepped back again. Ben watched every move and got more and more interested. Soon he said,
“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom thought for a moment, was about to agree; but he changed his mind.
“No —no —it won’t do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. It has got to be done very carefully. I don’t think there is one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it well enough.”
“No —is that so? Oh come, now —let me just try. Only just a little.” “Ben, I’d like to, but if it isn’t done right, I’m afraid Aunt Polly … ”
“Oh, I’ll be careful. Now let me try. Say —I’ll give you the core of my apple.”
“Well, here —No, Ben, now don’t. I’m afraid …”
“I’ll give you all of it.”
Tom gave up the brush with unwillingness on his face, but joy in his heart. And while Ben worked at the fence in the hot sun, Tom sat under a tree, eating the apple, and planning how to get more help. There were enough boys. Each one came to laugh, but remained to whitewash. By the time Ben was tired, Tom sold the next chance to Billy for a kite; and when Billy was tired, Johnny bought in for a dead rat —and so on, hour after hour. And when the middle of the afternoon came, Tom had won many treasures.
And he had not worked. He had had a nice idle time all the time, with plenty of company -and the fence had been whitewashed three times. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, Tom would have owned everything belonging to his friends.
He had discovered a great law of human action, namely, that in order to make a man or a boy want a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to get.

1. 1.

   How many characters are mentioned in this story?

   1. A.
      7
   2. B.
      6
   3. C.
      5
   4. D.
      4
2. 2.

   Why did Tom take all his bits of toys out of his pockets?

   1. A.
      Because he is tired and wanted to play with his toys.
   2. B.
      Because he wanted to throw his toys away.
   3. C.
      Because he wanted to know if he could buy help with his toys.
   4. D.
      Because he wanted to give his toys to his friends.
3. 3.

   Tom was about to agree to let Ben whitewash when he changed his mind because ______.

   1. A.
      Tom wanted to do the whitewashing by himself
   2. B.
      Tom was afraid Ben would do the whitewashing better.
   3. C.
      Tom was unwilling to let Ben do the whitewashing
   4. D.
      Tom planned to make Ben give up his apple first
4. 4.

   We can learn from the passage that ________.

   1. A.
      Tom was good at whitewashing the fence, so he looked at the result of his work with the eye of an artist.
   2. B.
      Tom was unwilling to whitewash the fence, but he managed to let other boys do it for him
   3. C.
      Tom had a lot of friends who are ready to help others.
   4. D.
      Tom was interested in whitewashing the fence.
5. 5.

   What made Ben Rogers eagerly gave up his apple and offer to brush the fence for Tom?

   1. A.
      His curiosity about Tom’s brushing job.
   2. B.
      His warm heart and kindness to friends.
   3. C.
      Tom’s threat.
   4. D.
      Aunt Polly’s idea.
6. 6.

   Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

   1. A.
      Tom And His Fellows
   2. B.
      The Happy Whitewasher
   3. C.
      Whitewashing A Fence
   4. D.
      How To Make The Things Difficult To Get

D

It was Sunday morning. All the summer world was bright and fresh, and full of life. There was cheer on every face and a spring in every step.

Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly. He looked at it, and all joy left him. The fence was long and high. He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence. He repeated the operation. He felt he could not continue and sat down.

He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day. They would walk past him and laugh. They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday. The thought burned him like fire.

He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned. Perhaps he could find some way to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him. But there was nothing of value in his pockets—nothing that could buy even half an hour of freedom. So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea.

At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It filled his mind with a great, bright light. Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash.

While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared. Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street. As he walked along, he was making noises like the sound of a riverboat. First he shouted loudly, like a boat captain. Then he said “Ding-Dong-Dong”, “Ding-Dong-Dong” again and again, like the bell of a riverboat. And he made other strange noises. When he came close to Tom, he stopped.

Tom went on whitewashing. He did not look at Ben. Ben stared a moment and then said: "Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”

No answer. Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist. Ben came nearer. Tom's mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working.

Ben said, "Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?"

Tom turned suddenly and said, "Why, it's you, Ben! I wasn't noticing."

"Say — I'm going swimming. Don't you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work — wouldn't you? Of course you would."

Tom looked at the boy a bit, and said "What do you call work?"

"Why, isn't that work?"

Tom went back to his whitewashing, and answered casually,

"Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer."

"Oh come, now, you don't mean to say that you like it?"

The brush continued to move.

"Like it? Well, I don't see why I shouldn’t like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?" Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his brush back and forth, stepped back to look at the result, added a touch here and there, and stepped back again. Ben watched every move and got more and more interested. Soon he said,

"Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little."

Tom thought for a moment, was about to agree; but he changed his mind:

"No — no — it won’t do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. It has got to be done very carefully. I don’t think there is one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it well enough."

"No — is that so? Oh come, now —let me just try. Only just a little."

"Ben, I'd like to, but if it isn’t done right, I’m afraid Aunt Polly— "

"Oh, I'll be careful. Now let me try. Say -- I'll give you the core（核心）of my apple."

"Well, here — No, Ben, now don't. I'm afraid —"

"I'll give you all of it."

Tom gave up the brush with unwillingness on his face, but joy in his heart. And while Ben worked at the fence in the hot sun, Tom sat under a tree, eating the apple, and planning how to get more help. There were enough boys. Each one came to laugh, but remained to whitewash. By the time Ben was tired, Tom sold the next chance to Billy for a kite; and when Billy was tired, Johnny bought in for a dead rat — and so on, hour after hour. And when the middle of the afternoon came, Tom had won many treasures

And he had not worked. He had had a nice idle time all the time, with plenty of company -- and the fence had been whitewashed three times. If he hadn't run out of whitewash, Tom would have owned everything belonging to his friends.

He had discovered a great law of human action, namely, that in order to make a man or a boy want a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to get.

68．Tom was about to agree to let Ben whitewash when he changed his mind because ______ .

A. Tom wanted to do the whitewashing by himself

B. Tom was unwilling to let Ben do the whitewashing

C. Tom was afraid Ben would do the whitewashing better

D. Tom didn’t want to let Ben do the whitewashing before he made him give up his apple first

69．The underlined word “casually” is most similar to “______” in meaning.

A. carelessly                 B. delightedly               C. seriously                  D. angrily

70．We can learn from the passage that ______ .

A. Tom was interested in whitewashing the fence.

B. Tom had a lot of friends who are ready to help others.

C. Tom was unwilling to whitewash the fence, but he managed to let other boys do it for him

D. Tom was good at whitewashing the fence, so he looked at the result of his work with the eye of an artist.

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中选出最佳选项。

　　If you walk to the far end of any school courtyard in the UK during the lunch break, you will find several teenagers trying to hide their cigarette smoke from the teachers at the other end.

　　Teenage smoking is a big problem in the UK, even though it is illegal to smoke before you reach 16 years of age. Children start smoking from as young as 11, and over a quarter of 15-year-olds are regular smokes , according to the Office of National Statistics(统计) or ONS in the UK.

　　Jonathan Williams, a 15-year-old boy from Hastings on the southeast coast of England, smoking four months ago.“All my friends smoke cigarettes,”he said.“It's easy to buy them because most people my age look 16 anyway. No one can tell the difference between a 15 and 16-year-old.”

　　Young girls living in the UK are much more likely to smoke than boys. They also smoke more frequently. This is because girls are more likely to“follow the crowd”. They want to feel included .

　　Jonathan's sister Paula is 17. She tried her first cigarette when she was just 12.“I didn't start smoking regularly until a year ago, because I was afraid of my mum finding out,”She said.“but now I'm over 16. There is nothing she can do, even though she doesn't agree to it.”

　　Parents, teachers and government are increasingly concerned (关注) about this trend (趋势) . The latest ONS research says that this habit will kill about 1 million of today's teenagers when they reach middle age.

　　In New Castle in northeast England, the local health expert is working with a secondary school to help teenagers stop smoking. They hold regular“stopping”meeting where students can talk openly about smoking and are given advice about why and how to stop.

　　Parents and experts are also concerned because there seems to be a relationship between smoking and educational achievement. Most students who pass fewer than five General Certificate of Secondary Education Exams( GCSEs) , which all students must take at the age of 16, are regular smokers. The national average for a good student is nine GCSE passes.

1．From Jonathan's experience we can conclude that some boys ________.

[　　]

A．are born smoking

B．are experienced at smoking

C．smoke only to help others

D．smoke only to follow others

2．What Paula said in the text means ________.

[　　]

A．she smokes mostly in her family

B．she doesn't like her parents

C．she can smoke freely when she's 16 years old

D．she can earn money to buy cigarettes

3．From this passage we may learn that ________.

[　　]

A．only teachers are worried about the problem of teenage smoking

B．teenage smoking is a serious problem in UK

C．smoking has little effect on teenagers' health

D．the writer suggests the government close cigarette factories

4．In the last paragraph the writer wants to show us ________.

[　　]

A．smoking is bad for students' studies, too

B．the age of 16 is very important for a teenager

C．students don't have exams before the age of 16

D．regular smokes mostly start smoking at the age of 16