There is a story of a country where the rate of inflation（通货膨胀率）is so high that clever people pay for a taxi ride before the trip instead of after. This story may or may not be true. But inflation was almost that serious in Germany from July 1920 until December 1923. Prices went up so fast that by the end of 1923 they were 50 billion percent higher－a rise of almost 25000 / 40 a month.

　　There was so much paper money, and it had so little value, that people carried bags full of money around to pay for things. One woman told the story of standing outside a shop with a basket full of 500 000 mark notes（马克）. She wanted to buy just one piece of meat, and she hoped she had enough money. But when she was looking, a thief robbed（抢夺） her. He didn't take her money, though, he threw it away and took the basket in stead.

　　At first workers demanded to be paid every day. But as the situation be came worse, they had to be paid twice a day. But they had to run out and spend the money at once, or it would lose its value. People bought anything that was for sale, but food was almost impossible to find. Farm workers re fused to take money. They wanted to be paid in potatoes instead.

　　New policies（政策）ended the inflation in 1923, when the government introduced a new money. But about half of the German people lost every thing in those three and a half years.

　　1．People paid for a taxi ride before the trip because they________

　　　　A. did not want to carry so much money with them

　　　　B. had so much paper money that they wanted to spend them quickly

　　　　C. wanted to save money

　　　　D. were afraid of the taxi driver

　　2．According to the passage, in Germany the prices in 1920 were ________.

　　　　A. higher than those in 1923

　　　　B. lower than those in 1923

　　　　C. the highest in history

　　　　D. the lowest in history

　　3．The thief stole the basket instead of the money in it because he thought _________

　　　　A. he couldn't buy a piece of meat with the money

　　　　B. the basket was more valuable than the money

　　　　C. the basket was what he needed most

　　　　D. the money was of no value

　　4．The farm workers demanded to be paid in potatoes because they be lieved that _______

　　　　A. the money could not buy potatoes

　　　　B. the money might lose its value

　　　　C. the potato was too expensive

　　　　D. the potato was valuable

Eighty-year-old retired tailor, James McKay, spent Saturday night in jail after     thirty-year-old Keith Smith over the head       his walking stick. McKay's wife, Laurence told us that while McKay is usually a       person, he had been       to this act of violence by getting wet just once too often.

Smith lives above the McKays and it appears that not only is he a keen gardener, he is also a       collector. Unfortunately for him, the water he sent over his balcony every day ended up on the McKay's, or too often, on the McKays      .

“For the last fortnight, since Smith moved into the flat above us, we have hardly dared to go to our      ,” said Laurence. She added that it wasn't so much the water falling onto their balcony from Smith watering his plant       bothered them, it was more the way he cleaned his fish tanks. “We'd be       there happily reading our newspapers, when       so much water would come from above that we'd be as wet as if we'd       with our clothes on! Neither could we get rid of the       of fish!”

And on Saturday evening it was just too      . “It was James's birthday,” explained Laurence, “and I'd made him a birthday cake. The candles were a great sight as you can imagine, but James didn't get to blow them out.”      , Smith emptied one of his larger tanks over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet      . Rarely had Laurence seen McKay move so fast. “I couldn't       him. He was up there in a flash. It was the fastest I'd seen him move since 1964.”

Smith is not going to take things further with the police. He has also promised to change his       from now on. And what of James McKay?       he left the police station, a large crowd of supporters sang him, “Happy Birthday”. “      the most exciting birthday      !” said the cheerful old man. “The best since my adolescence I'd say!”                 

11．A. hitting B. tapping       C. pushing      D. touching

12．A. by      B. via      C. through      D. with

13．A. quiet   B. peaceful     C. sensitive     D. stubborn

14．A. accustomed       B. taken   C. driven D. attracted

15．A. fish     B. seed    C. plant   D. newspaper

16．A. himself       B. itself   C. themselves D. herself

17．A. bathroom   B. kitchen       C. bedroom    D. balcony

18．A. which B. what   C. that     D. whether

19．A. sitting B. exercising   C. sleeping      D. eating

20．A. regularly     B. unconsciously   C. precisely    D. suddenly

21．A. swum B. showered   C. watered      D. drowned

22．A. taste   B. sense  C. feeling D. smell

23．A. little    B. soon   C. late     D. much

24．A. Beside B. Instead       C. Otherwise  D. Consequently

25．A. over    B. across C. through      D. down

26．A. stop    B. blame  C. ignore D. stand

27．A. views  B. attitude       C. ways  D. mind

28．A. While  B. Since  C. Until   D. As

29．A. Sincerely    B. Impossibly  C. Definitely   D. Previously

30．A. before B. ever    C. already       D. since

F Albert Einstein had a great effect on science and history. An American university president once said that Einstein had made a new outlook, a new view of the universe. It may be some time before the average mind understands fully the identity of time and space and so on—but even ordinary man now understand that the universe is something larger than ever thought before.

By 1914 young Einstein had been world-famous. He accepted the offer to become a professor at the Prussian Academy of Science in Berlin. He had few duties, little teaching and unlimited chances for study, but soon his peace and quiet life were broken by World War I.

Einstein hated fighting and killing. The great suffering of war affected him deeply, and he sat unhappily in his office doing little. He lost interest in his research. Only when peace came in 1918 was he able to get back to work. In the year following World War I honors were increasingly put on him. He became head of the Kaiser Whihem Institute of Theoretical Physics. But he himself refused the effort to put him in a position far above other people. He was well known for his humble（谦逊的）manners. He often said that his success would certainly have been achieved by others if he had never lived. In 1921 he won the Nobel Prize, and he was honored in Germany until the rise of Nazism when he was driven from Germany because he was a Jew.
71．The main idea of the first paragraph is　　　　 .

A．the difficulty of Einstein's thought to others

B．the feeling of an American university president towards Einstein

C．the difference between science and history

D．the change in human thought produced by Einstein

72．From the second paragraph, we know Albert Einstein　　　　 .

A．enjoyed world popularity　　　　　　　 B．was the head of a school

C．was popular with his students　　　　　 D．enjoyed studying wars

73．Which of the following statements about Einstein is true?

A．He achieved more than any other scientists in history.

B．Our ideas about the universe differ from one another because of him.

C．He kept working until peace came in 1918.

D．His research practically stopped during the first world war.

74．In the years following the First World War, 　　　　　.

A．Einstein’s theory was soon accepted even by ordinary people

B．more and more honors went to Einstein

C．Einstein almost had no chances for his research

D．Einstein was not honored in Germany until the rise of Nazism

75．It can be inferred from the third paragraph that　　　　 .

A．Albert Einstein was interested in nothing but science

B．Einstein was forced to serve in the German army

C．Einstein made a lot more breakthroughs in his research after the First World War

D．Einstein was driven out of his motherland for his humble manners

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family．Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can't peel potatoes．I have only one hand.”

Mom never looked up from sewing．"You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes," she told me. “And don't ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”

In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel bar to the next．When it was my turn, I shook my head．Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying．

That night I told Mom about it．She hugged me, and I saw her "we'll see about that" look． The next afternoon, she took me back to school．At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars．

"Now, pull up with your right arm," she advised．She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other arm．Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung （横档） I reached．I'd never forget the next time, crossing the rungs．I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open．

One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing．I could hear Mom come into my room．"Mom," I said, weeping, "none of the girls would dance with me．"

For a long time, I didn't hear anything．Then she said, "Oh, honey, someday you'll be beating those boys off with a bat．" Her voice was soft and weak．I glanced at her to see tears running down her cheeks．Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf．She had never let me see her tears．

Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom's attitude when she made the child peel potatoes?

    A．Cruel．          B．Serious．   C Strict．           D．Cold．

From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train ____．

    A. the skill to circle round a bar

    B. the skill to throw and catch things

    C. the speed of one's hand movement

    D. the strength and skill to hang and swing

What does the sentence "I saw her 'we'll see about that' look" imply?

    A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it．

    B．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity．

    C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher．

    D．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up．

The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ____．

    A. the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

    B. the child's experience reminded Mom of that of her own

    C. Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

    D. in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child's growth

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family．Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, "Mom, I can't peel potatoes．I have only one hand．"

Mom never looked up from sewing．"You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes," she told me．"And don't ever use that as an excuse for anything again!"

In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel bar to the next．When it was my turn, I shook my head．Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying．

That night I told Mom about it．She hugged me, and I saw her "we'll see about that" look． The next afternoon, she took me back to school．At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars．

"Now, pull up with your right arm," she advised．She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other arm．Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung （横档） I reached．I'd never forget the next time, crossing the rungs．I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open．

One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing．I could hear Mom come into my room．"Mom," I said, weeping, "none of the girls would dance with me．"

For a long time, I didn't hear anything．Then she said, "Oh, honey, someday you'll be beating those boys off with a bat．" Her voice was soft and weak．I glanced at her to see tears running down her cheeks．Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf．She had never let me see her tears．

Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom's attitude

when she made the child peel potatoes?

    A．Cruel．          B．Serious．   C．Strict．        D．Cold．

From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train ____．

    A．the skill to circle round a bar

    B．the skill to throw and catch things

    C．the speed of one's hand movement

    D．the strength and skill to hang and swing

What does the sentence "I saw her 'we'll see about that' look" imply?

    A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it．

    B．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity．

    C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher．

    D．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up．

The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ____．

    A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

    B．the child's experience reminded Mom of that of her own

    C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

    D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child's growth