Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and the required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.
Almost everybody in America will spend a part of his or her life behind a shopping cart(购物手推车). They will, in a lifetime, push the chrome-plated contraptions many miles. But few will know—or even think to ask—who it was that invented them.
Sylvan N. Goldman invented the shopping cart in 1937. At that time he was in the supermarket business. Every day he would see shoppers lugging(吃力地携带) groceries around in baskets they had to carry.
One day Goldman suddenly had the idea of putting baskets on wheels. The wheeled baskets would make shopping much easier for his customers, and would help to attract more business.
On June 4, 1937, Goldman’s first carts were ready for use in his market. He was terribly excited on the morning of that day as customers began arriving. He couldn’t wait to see them using his invention.
But Goldman was disappointed. Most shoppers gave the carts a long look, but hardly anybody would give them a try.
After a while, Goldman decided to ask customers why they weren’t using his carts. “Don’t you think this arm is strong enough to carry a shopping basket?” one shopper replied.
But Goldman wasn’t beaten yet. He knew his carts would be a great success if only he could persuade people to give them a try. To end this, Goldman hired a group of people to push carts around his market and pretend they were shopping! Seeing this, the real customers gradually began copying the phony(假冒的)customers.
As Goldman had hoped, the carts were soon attracting larger and larger numbers of customers to his market. But not only did more people come—those who came bought more. With larger, easier-to-handle baskets, customers unconsciously bought a greater number of items than before.
Today’s shopping carts are five times larger than Goldman’s original model. Perhaps that’s one reason Americans today spend more than five times as much money on food each year as they did before 1937—before the coming of the shopping cart.
【小题1】What do the underlined words “chrome-plate contraptions” in Paragraph 1 refer to ? ( no more than 3 words)
【小题2】What was the purpose of Goldman’s invention? (no more than 8 words)
【小题3】Why was Goldman disappointed at first? (no more than 6 words)
【小题4】Why did Goldman hire people to push carts around his market? (no more than 10 words)

第二部分阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
A
Theodore，the manager of the Paradise Hotel，told a middle-aged couple that that would have to leave the hotel after just one night．The couple，visiting from Texas，had booked a room for eight nights．
“They wanted a sterile (消毒了的) environment，”Theodore said，“They should have rented a room in a hospital，maybe an operating room．This hotel is clean，hut it isn't that clean．”
Theodore said that，on the very first day，the couple brought all the sheets，pilloweases，and bedspreads down to the main hall and just dropped them next to the front desk．They stood there next to this pile of bedding while other guests looked，pointed，and murmured．The hotel got three cancellations within the hour from people who witnessed this strange，event．
When Theodore asked the couple what the problem was，they said that their bedding was filthy and they wanted it replaced．The couple could not identify any specific“filth”on the bedding．The wife just said，“We’re paying good money to stay here．How dare you doubt us？We know the filth is there．That's all the proof you need，”Theodore called room service，and the bedding was replaced immediately．
Early the next evening，however，the couple marched to the front desk again and demanded seven cans of sterilizer，“We need a can for each night．We have to spray the phone，the TV，all the door handles，the toilet handle，the shower stall，the faucet，the sink，and any hotel staff entering our room．”
Worried，Theodore politely suggested that a hotel more suitable for them was just around the corner．He then called ahead to reserve a“very clean”room，and gave them free transportation in the hotel Rolls-Royce．Also，he told the couple that they wouldn’t he charged for the second day．
The couple were surprised but they really liked the idea of free room for a night and that expensive car service．
56．The underlined word “filthy” means     in this article．
A．clean               B．dirty                C．smelly                    D．old
57．Why was Theodore worried?
A．The couple might have more demands the following days．B．The hotel was not clean enough．
C．The hotel would run out of cleaning stuff．D．More guests would make the same requests．
58．What word could best describe the couple?
A．Narrow-minded.             B．Expensive        C．Particular         D．Easy-going

 — Why was it so noisy over there?

— The Twins were surrounded by their fans ____ they stepped out of the hall.

A. until        B. the moment       C. in case       D. so that

One day in 1965，when I worked at View Ridge School in Seattle，a fourth?grade teacher approached me.She had a student who finished his work before all the others and needed a challenge.“Could he help in the library？” she asked.I said, “Send him along.”

Soon a slight，sandy?haired boy in jeans and a T?shirt appeared.“Do you have a job for me？” he asked.

I told him about the Dewey Decimal System(杜威十进分类法) for shelving books.He picked up the idea immediately.Then I showed him a stack(摞) of cards for long?overdue books that I was beginning to think had actually been returned but were misshelved with the wrong cards in them.He said，“Is it kind of a detective job？” I answered yes，and he became working.

He had found three books with wrong cards by the time his teacher opened the door and announced，“Time for break！”He argued for finishing the finding job；she made the case for fresh air.She won.

The next morning，he arrived early.“I want to finish these books，”he said.At the end of the day，when he asked to be a librarian on a regular basis，it was easy to say yes.He worked untiringly.

After a few weeks I found a note on my desk，inviting me to dinner at the boy’s home.At the end of a pleasant evening，his mother announced that the family would be moving to a neighbouring school district.Her son’s first concern，she said，was leaving the View Ridge library.“Who will find the lost books？” he asked.

When the time came，I said an unwilling good?bye.I missed him，but not for long.A few days later he came back and joyfully announced，“The librarian over there doesn’t let boys work in the library.My mother got me transferred back to View Ridge.My dad will drop me off on his way to work.And if he can’t，I’ll walk！”

I should have had an idea such focused determination would take that young man wherever he wanted to go.What I could not have guessed，however，was that he would become a genius of the Information Age：Bill Gates，tycoon(企业巨头) of Microsoft and America’s richest man.

1.What was the author when the story happened?

A．A teacher.? B．A librarian.

C．A detective.? D．A student.

2.Why was the boy sent to the library by the fourth?grade teacher?

A．He failed to finish his work on time.

B．He challenged the teacher in the class.

C．He disturbed all the other students in the class.

D．He needed something to do to challenge himself.

3.What was the boy told to do on his first day in the library?

A．To rearrange the books according to the new system.

B．To put those overdue books back to the shelves.

C．To find out the books with wrong cards in them.

D．To put the cards back in the long?overdue books.

4.The boy got transferred back to View Ridge because ________.

A．he didn’t get along well with the librarian in the new school

B．he was not allowed to work in the new school’s library

C．he missed his old schoolmates and teachers

D．he had to walk a long way to go to school

When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
　　My mother has long realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on the phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人). I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, "This is Mrs. Tan.”
　　And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, "Why he don’t send me check, already two week late.”
　　And then, in perfect English I said, "I’m getting rather concerned. You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived. "
　　Then she talked more loudly.  "What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss. "And so I turned to the stockbroker again, "I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week. "
　　The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
　　When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.
【小题1】Why was the author’s mother poorly served?