The old couple 　　　　 a happy life in the village.?

A.are living　　　　　　　　　 B.are lived?

C.is living　　　　　　　　　　 D.is lived

　　　 Shakespeare, more perhaps than any other writer, made full use of the greatest resources of the English Language．Most of us use about five thousand words in our normal employment of English; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty-five thousand! There is probably no better way for a foreigner to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying the various ways in which Shakespeare uses it．Such a study is well worth the effort, even though some aspects of English usage, and the meaning of many words, have changed since Shakespeare’s day．

　　　 However, it is surprising that we should know comparatively little about the life of the greatest English author．We know that Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, and that he died there in 1616．He almost certainly attended the Grammar School in the town, but of this we cannot be sure．We know he was married there in 1582 to Anne Hathaway and that he had three children．We know that he spent much of his life in London writing his masterpieces．But this is almost all that we do know．

　　　 However, what is important about Shakespeare’s life is not its incidental details but its products, the plays and the poems．For many years scholars have been trying to add a few facts about Shakespeare’s life to the small number we already possess and for an equally long time critics have been theorizing about the plays．Sometimes, indeed, it seems that the poetry of Shakespeare will disappear under the great mass of comment that has been written upon it．

　　　 Fortunately this is not likely to happen．Shakespeare’s people have long delighted not just the English but lovers of literature everywhere, and will continue to do so after the scholars and critics and all their works have been forgotten．

55. This passage is about 　　　　．

　　　 A. the great length of each chapter

　　　 B. the great varieties in writing styles

　　　 C. the richness of the content in Shakespeare’s works

　　　 D. the rich English language used by Shakespeare in his works

56. According to the writer, which of the following remains uncertain about Shakespeare?

　　　 A. His date of birth．　　　　　　　 　　　　　

B. His marriage．

　　　 C. His life in the Grammar School．　 　　　　

D. His date of death．

57. It can be inferred from Para 3 that 　　　　　．

　　　 A. not all the comments on Shakespeare’s works have produced good effects

　　　 B. scholars have successfully collected facts about Shakespeare’s life

　　　 C. critics are more interested in Shakespeare’s play than his poetry

　　　 D. the details of Shakespeare’s life are more important than his literary works

58. What does the last sentence in Para 3 mean ?

　　　 A. People don’t think the poetry of Shakespeare good any more．

　　　 B. People pay more attention to the comment than the poetry of Shakespeare．

　　　 C. People can’t see the poetry of Shakespeare any more．

　　　 D. The comment is printed on the poetry of Shakespeare．

阅读理解

　　Canberra, the capital of Australia, lies in the southeast of the country. From this city, it is 240 kilometers to Sydney, and over twice to Melbourne. The former faces the Pacific Ocean, and the latter is close to the Bass Strait, through which ships from Sydney can enter the Indian Ocean.

　　When the Federal Government of August was founded in 1901, no one knew where Australia's capital would be. The two cities of Melbourne and Sydney both wanted the honor. Instead, the founding fathers chose a piece of land between the two cities for the new capital. The government would build a new city called Canberra as the country's capital.

　　In 1911, the government invited world leading architects (建筑家) to enter designs for Canberra in a contest. An architect from Chicago named Wallet Griffin won. The government decided to build Canberra according to his plan. Men started to work on Canberra in 1913. Twenty-four years later, the city was finished. But the government moved to this new city ten years before it was completed.

　　At one time, almost everyone in Canberra worked for the government. However, the city today has become a center of education and favorite place for tourists. Now people can hold a government job, or they can work in businesses. They also make a living by teaching or meeting the needs of tourists.

　　People find life in Canberra very relaxing and pleasant. The city is surrounded by beautiful mountains where people can ski. There is a large man-made lake lined with beaches and parks in the center of Canberra.

　　Canberra is now Australia's largest inland city. Many people living there have come from other cities in Australia and from other lands. They have come to Canberra to work. Some have come to escape the busier way of life found in many other cities.

1．According to the passage, it is ________ kilometers from Sydney to Melbourne.

[　　]

2．Canberra is now ________.

[　　]

A．a lovely city to which no visitors can go by sea

B．the largest city and an education center in Australia

C．a beautiful coastal city with beaches and parks

D．a pleasant place with mountains and big lakes surrounding it

3．Which of the following shows the correct order?

a．The founding fathers chose a piece of land between Melbourne and Sydney.

b．The Federal Government was founded in 1901.

c．Canberra was completed after twenty-four years.

d．Both Melbourne and Sydney wanted to be the capital.

e．The government had a contest to design the capital.

f．The people began to build Canberra in 1913.

g．The Federal Government moved to the new city.

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阅读理解。阅读下列短文，从每题所给的选项中，选出最佳答案。

　　Maxim Gorky was born of a worker's family. At the age of five, he lost his father. He spent his childhood mainly in his grandfather's home. When he was ten, his mother died of illness. His grandfather made him look for a job by himself. For ten years, young Gorky wandered about. He did whatever kinds of jobs he could find. He lived such a wandering life not because he liked it, but because he wanted to see the great land where he lived and the people around him.

　　The wandering life in those years made him deeply understand the pains of the working people and deeply hate the old Russian society. During that period he read books of all kinds with great interest, which provided him with rich materials to write his works later on.

(1)Which of the following sentences is true?

[　　]

A．Gorky spent his childhood happily with his grandfather.

B．Gorky spent his childhood mainly with his parents.

C．Gorky's childhood was not a happy one.

D．Gorky's childhood was a very happy one.

(2)The reason why young Gorky did all kinds of jobs and lived a wandering life is that ________.

[　　]

A．he wanted to know more about his country and people

B．nobody liked him

C．he liked such a kind of life

D．his grandfather asked him to do so

(3)Russia in Gorky's time was ________.

[　　]

A．a country that people liked

B．a dark country Gorky hated

C．a great socialist country

D．an advanced country

(4)Gorky was such a man who ________.

[　　]

A．cared little about any people around him

B．loved his people deeply and hated his enemy deeply

C．cared much about himself

D．disliked the books

(5)From the passage we know probably Gorky stopped his wandering life at about the age of ________.

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