They did not find _____ to prepare for the worst conditions they might meet.

　　A. worth their while    B. it worthwhile   C. it worth             D. it worthy

 ----Thank you for helping me carry such a big box upstairs.

   ----　　　　　　　.

  A. After all, I am younger than you.    B. It’s my pleasure.

  C. With pleasure.                   D. It’s not worthy to mention.

Like many of my generation, I have a weakness for hero worship. At some point, however, we all begin to question our heroes and our need for them. This leads us to ask: What is a hero?

　　Despite immense differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristics that instruct and inspire people.

　　A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a story of adventure to tell and a community who will listen. But a hero goes beyond mere fame.

　　Heroes serve powers or principles larger than themselves. Like high-voltage(电压) transformers, heroes take the energy of higher powers and step it down so that it can be used by ordinary people.

　　The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. Those who imitate a genuine hero experience life with new depth, enthusiasm, and meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom do they serve? What are they willing to live and die for? If the answer or evidence suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. Madonna and Michael Jackson are famous, but who would claim that their fans find life more abundant?

　　Heroes are catalysts (催化剂) for change. They have a vision from the mountaintop. They have the skill and the charm to move the masses. They create new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of the British Empire. Without Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., we might still have segregated(隔离的) buses, restaurants, and parks. It may be possible for large-scale change to occur without leaders with magnetic personalities, but the pace of change would be slow, the vision uncertain, and the committee meetings endless.

1. Although heroes may come from different cultures, they _______.

　　A. generally possess certain inspiring characteristics

　　B. probably share some weaknesses of ordinary people

　　C. are often influenced by previous generations

　　D. all unknowingly attract a large number of fans

2. According to the passage, heroes are compared to high-voltage transformers in that ____.

　　A. they have a vision from the mountaintop

　　B. they have warm feelings and emotions

　　C. they can serve as concrete(具体的) examples of noble principles

　　D. they can make people feel stronger and more confident

3. Madonna and Michael Jackson are not considered heroes because ________.

　　A. they are popular only among certain groups of people

　　B. their performances do not improve their fans morally

　　C. their primary concern is their own financial interests

　　D. they are not clear about the principles they should follow

4. Gandhi and Martin Luther King are typical examples of outstanding leaders who ___.

　　A. are good at demonstrating their charming characters

　　B. can move the masses with the skill and the charm

　　C. are capable of meeting all challenges and hardships

　　D. can provide an answer to the problems of their people

5. The author concludes that historical changes would ______.

　　A. be delayed without leaders with inspiring personal qualities

　　B. not happen without heroes making the necessary sacrifices

　　C. take place if there were heroes to lead the people

　　D. produce leaders with attractive personalities

When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying: “We have to go to work now,” you’re left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all, this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is, until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre.

　　Stage schools often act as agencies（代理机构）to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education.

　　A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all, what lively children wouldn’t settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?

　Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year; those over 13 to 80 days.

　The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who don’t make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case.

　People would stop feeling uneasy when realizing that the children they’re talking to________.

　　  A. attend a stage school　　　　  B. are going to the theatre

　　  C. have got some work to do 　　  D. love singing and dancing

　　 In the writer’s opinion, a good stage school should ________.

　　  A. produce star performers

　　  B. help pupils improve their study skills

　　  C. train pupils in language and performing arts

　　  D. provide a general education and stage training.

　“Professional work” as used in the text means ________.

　　  A. ordinary school work　　　　　  B. money-making performances

　　  C. stage training at school 　 　  D. acting, singing or dancing after class

　 Which of the following best describes how the writer feels about stage schools?

　　  A. He thinks highly of what they have to offer.　　　　

　　  B. He favours an early start in the training of performing arts.

　　  C. He feels uncomfortable about children putting on night shows.

　　  D. He doubts the standard of ordinary education they have reached.

The first people who gave names to hurricanes were those who knew them best — the people of Puerto Rico. The small island of Puerto Rico is in the West Indies, off the coast of Florida. This is where all the hurricanes begin that strike the east coast of the United States. Often they pass near Puerto Rico or cross it on their way north. The people of Puerto Rico expect some of these unwelcome visitors every year. Each one is named after the Saint’s Day on which it arrives. Two of the most destructive storms were the Santo Ana in 1840 and the San Ciriaco in 1899.

Giving girls’ names to hurricanes is a fairly new idea. It all began with a story called “Storm”, written by George Stewart in 1941. In it a weatherman amused himself by naming storms after girls he knew. He named one Maria. The story describes how she Maria grew and developed, and how she changed the lives of people when she struck the United States.

Weathermen of the U.S. Army and Navy used the same system during World WarⅡ. They were studying weather conditions over the Pacific Ocean. One of their duties was to warn American ships and planes when a storm was coming. Whenever they spotted one, they gave it a girl’s name. The first one of the year was given a name beginning with [A]. The second one got a name beginning with [B]. They used all the letters from A to W, and still the storms kept coming. They had to use three lists from A to W to have enough names to go around. This was the first list of hurricane names that followed the alphabet. It served as a model for the system the Weather Bureau (局) introduced in 1942.

　　Before 1950 the Weather Bureau had no special system for naming hurricanes. When a hurricane was born down in the West Indies, the Weather Bureau simply collected information about it. It reported how fast the storm was moving and where it would go next. Weather reports warned people in the path of the hurricane, so that they could do whatever was necessary to protect themselves.

　　This system worked out fine as long as weather reports talked about only one hurricane at a time. But one week in September 1950 there were three hurricanes at the same time. The things began to get confused. Some people got the hurricanes mixed up and didn’t know which was which. This convinced the Weather Bureau that it needed a code for naming the storms in order to avoid confusion in the future.

Hurricanes were first named after the _________.

       A. date on which they occurred　 B. place where they began

　    C. amount of destruction they did　     D. particular feature they have

The practice of giving girls’ names to hurricanes was started by _________.

　    A. a radio operator       B. an author                 C. a sailor              D. local people

The purpose for which weathermen of the army and navy began using girls’ names for hurricanes was ________.

　    A. to keep information from the enemy      B. to follow the standard method of the United States

　    C. not given in the article　  D. to remember a certain girl

The Weather Bureau began naming hurricanes because it would help them _________.

　    A. collect information more rapidly　  B. warn people more efficiently

　    C. make use of military (军事的) records　 D. remember them