At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.
When the old car rumbled (发着辘辘声) toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot and four inches frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money is tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.
From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. He could do nothing right. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.
Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spend his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting him at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants. On Saturday nights he hitch-hiked into the nearest town and wandered the streets or enjoyed a restaurant meal before returning to the farm.
Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months as his farmhand. The railway station master, when questioned later that week, said he had not seen him. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey (赛马骑师), Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”
【小题1】Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because ___________.

At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.

When the old car rumbled (发着辘辘声) toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot and four inches frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money is tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.

From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. He could do nothing right. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.

Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spend his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting him at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants. On Saturday nights he hitch-hiked into the nearest town and wandered the streets or enjoyed a restaurant meal before returning to the farm.

Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months as his farmhand. The railway station master, when questioned later that week, said he had not seen him. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey (赛马骑师), Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”

1.Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because ___________.

A．he wanted to escape from war-torn France

B．he wanted to serve in the Canadian army

C．he couldn’t find a job in England

D．he loved working as a farmhand

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Stanley joined the French army when he was 18 years old.

B．On the farm Stanley had to milk the cows 14 times a week.

C．The Lapine family were very rich but cruel to Stanley.

D．Stanely read about the job offer in a newspaper.

3.What did Stanley like doing after work each day?

A．Hitch-hiking to different towns.

B．Caring for the farmer’s horses.

C．Wandering around the farm alone.

D．Preparing meals on the farm.

4.Why was Armand so astonished when he read about Stanley in the magazine?

A．He didn’t know Stanley had been a British soldier.

B．He had no idea Stanley had always been a wealthy man.

C．He didn’t know his father paid Stanley so little money.

D．He didn’t expect Stanley to become such a success.

At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.

When the old car rumbled toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot, four inch frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money’s tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.

From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. He could do nothing right. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played nasty tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.

Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spent his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting them at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants. On Saturday nights he hitch-hiked into the nearest town and wandered the streets or enjoyed a restaurant meal before returning to the farm.

Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months as his farmhand. The railway station master, when questioned later that week, said he had not seen him. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey(赛马骑师), Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”

56. Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because ________.

A. he couldn’t find a job in England              B. he wanted to serve in the Canadian army

C. he loved working as a farmhand              D. he wanted to escape from war-torn France

57. Which of the following is True according to the passage?

A. Stanley joined the Canadian army when he was 18 years old.

B. On the farm Stanley had to milk the cows 14 times a week.

C. The Lapine family were rich but cruel to Stanley.

D. Stanley read about the job offer in a newspaper.

58. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Stanley’s weekly salary was not enough for him to live on.

B. When Stanley first met his employer, he tried to impress him but failed

C. Stanley had never worked on a farm, so he made a lot of mistakes.

D. Stanley left the farm by train, without telling anyone why he did so.

59. What did Stanley like doing after work each day?

A. Hitch-hiking to different towns.                B. Wandering around the farm alone.

C. Preparing meals on the farm.                   D. Caring for the farmer’s horses.

60. Why was Armand so astonished when he read about Stanley in the magazine?

A. He had no idea Stanley had always been a wealthy man.

B. He didn’t expect Stanley to become such a success.

C. He didn’t know his father paid Stanley so little money.

D. He didn’t know Stanley had been a British soldier.

　　At a computer exhibition Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated.“If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon（加仑）.”

　　In response to Bill's comments, General Motors announced a news release stating:

　　If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would be driving cars with the following characteristics:

　　1．For no reason your car would crash twice a day.

　　2．Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.

　　3．Sometimes your car would die on the freeway for no reason and you would just accept this, restart and drive on.

　　4．Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought“Car95”or“CarNT”.But then you would have to buy more seats.

　　5．If you tried to get your car to a mechanic（技工）, you'd make a long distance call, be put on hold for three or four hours, when you finally got the mechanic, you'd be told how to fix it yourself, and the mechanic would hang up before you even tried his or her suggestions.

　　6．People would get excited about the“new”features（性能）in Microsoft cars, forgetting completely they had been available in other cars for many years.

　　7．The airbag system would say:“Are you sure?”before going off.

　　8．Every time GM introduced a new model car, buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

　　9．Microsoft cars would have a special radio/cassette player which would only be able to listen to Microsoft FM, and play Microsoft Cassettes.

　　10．If you couldn't afford to buy a new car, then you could just borrow your friend's and then copy it.

　　11．You'd press the“start”button to shut off the engine.

(1) The purpose of writing this article is ________.

[　　]

A．to state the advantages of Microsoft in making cars

B．to inform that Microsoft will make cars in the future

C．to compare cars made by GM with those made by Microsoft

D．to make fun of the disadvantages of Microsoft's products

(2) It can be inferred from the passage that the airbag system of the new car ________.

[　　]

A．would be more safe than the old one

B．would become useless in case of an accident

C．would not surprise the driver by going off suddenly

D．would remind the driver of the danger ahead of time

(3) What does the writer really mean by saying“You'd press the 'start' button to shut off the engine”?

[　　]

A．The design of Microsoft is very funny and strange.

B．It is better to control the engine like a computer.

C．The engine control system requires to be improved.

D．It is impossible to shut off the engine by pressing the“start”button.

(4) The best title of this passage would be ________.

[　　]

A．Characteristics of the New Cars

B．GM Should Learn from Microsoft

C．If Microsoft Built Cars

D．New Cars to be Made in the Future

(5) Which of the following statements is true ac-cording to the passage?

[　　]

A．It is easy to get your Microsoft car re-paired.

B．The car mentioned in the passage will never be made.

C．You would not have to buy new cars and learn how to drive very often.

D．It is impossible to copy a new car if such cars existed.