III. Reading Comprehension 40%

Section A 30%

Directions：Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

Riding was the favourite activity of Thomas Jefferson, who was the third President of the United States. He usually rode good horses.

One day, he was riding outside Washington, when a jockey (赛马师) came near. He did not know the President, but his professional eye was attracted by Mr. Jefferson’s horse. He stopped and said that he wanted to buy the horse, but Mr. Jefferson politely refused his offer.

The jockey offered more money for the horse, because the closer he looked at the horse, the more he liked it. All of his offers were refused, which made him angry. He then became rude, but his rudeness left as little an impression as his money, for Jefferson had a very good temper. At last, he hit Mr. Jefferson’s horse with his whip, getting it to run suddenly. This would have thrown a less skillful rider to the ground, but Jefferson stayed on his seat, and controlled his horse well.

The jockey then gave up. He rode with Mr. Jefferson side by side and began to talk with him about politics. Jefferson joined in the conversation. When they got into the city and came close to the gate of the presidential mansion (总统府), Mr. Jefferson stopped, and politely invited the man to enter.

The jockey was surprised and asked, “Why? Do you live here?”

“Yes” was the simple reply.

“Why, stranger, what’s your name?”

“My name is Thomas Jefferson.”

Embarrassed, the man quickly left, while the President looked at him with a smile and then rode through the gate.

1. Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Jefferson and the Jockey   B. Jefferson’s Interest

C. Be Polite to Everyone     D. No Pain, No Gain

2. Which word can best describe the jockey?

A. Professional.     B. Skillful.      C. Impatient.       D. Impolite.

3. The underlined word “embarrassed” can be replaced by “__________”.

A. worried           B. pleased       C. hurried         D. ashamed

4. We can infer from the passage that __________.

A. the jockey had once bought a horse from another stranger

B. Mr. Jefferson was very good at riding a horse

C. Mr. Jefferson would invite the jockey to his own house later

D. the jockey would not talk about this experience to others

5. According to the passage, which of the following statement is true?

A. The President of the US is fond of riding.

B. The jockey managed to buy the horse from Mr. Jefferson.

C. Mr. Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was a man of good manners.

D. All the presidents of the US have expensive horses.

One of Britain's bravest women told yesterday how she helped to catch suspected （可疑的） police killer David Bieber -- and was thanked with flowers by the police. It was also said that she could be in line for a share of up to ￡30,000 reward money.
Vicki Brown, 30, played a very important role in ending the nationwide manhunt. Vicki, who has worked at the Royal Hotel for four years, told of her terrible experience when she had to steal into Bieber's bedroom and to watch him secretly. Then she waited alone for three hours while armed police prepared to storm the building.
She said: "I was very nervous. But when I opened the hotel door and saw 20 armed policemen lined up in the car park I was so glad they were there.”
The alarm had been raised because Vicki became suspicious of the guest who checked in at 3 pm the day before New Year's Eve with little luggage and wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face. She said: "He didn't seem to want to talk too much and make any eye contact （接触）." Vicki, the only employee on duty, called her bosses Margaret, 64, and husband Stan McKale, 65, who phoned the police at 11 pm.
Officers from Northumbria Police called Vicki at the hotel in Dunston, Gateshead, at about 11:30 pm to make sure that this was the wanted man. Then they kept in touch by phoning Vicki every 15 minutes.
"It was about ten past two in the morning when the phone went again and a policeman said ‘Would you go and make yourself known to the armed officers outside?'. My heart missed a beat."
Vicki quietly showed eight armed officers through passages and staircases to the top floor room and handed over the key.
"I realized that my bedroom window overlooks that part of the hotel, so I went to watch. I could not see into the man's room, but I could see the passage. The police kept shouting at the man to come out with his hands showing. Then suddenly he must have come out because they shouted for him to lie down while he was handcuffed （带上手铐）。
【小题1】The underlined phrase "be in line for" （ paragraph 1 ） means _____.

When a first-time father saw his newborn son, he immediately noticed the baby's ears obviously standing out from his head. He expressed his concern to the nurse that some children might be made fun of his child. A doctor examined the baby and reassured the new dad that his son was healthy---- the ears presented only a small problem with its appearance.

But the nervous father continued. He wondered if the child might suffer psychological effects of ridicule, or if they should consider plastic surgery(整形手术). The nurse assured him that it was really no problem, and he should just wait to see if the boy grows into his ears.

The father finally felt more optimistic about his child, but now he worried about his wife's reaction to those large ears. She had been delivered by operation, and had not yet seen the child.

“She doesn't take things as easily as I do,” he said to the nurse.

By this time, the new mother was settled in the recovery room and ready to meet her new baby. The nurse went along with the dad to lend some support in case this inexperienced mother became upset about her baby's large ears.

The baby was in a blanket(毛毯) with his head covered for the short trip through the cold air-conditioned corridor. The baby was placed in his mother's arms, who eased the blanket back so that she could look at her child for the first time.

She took one look at her baby's face and looked to her husband and gasped, “Oh, Honey! Look! He has your ears!”

No problem with Mom. She married those ears...and she loves the man to whom they are attached.

The poet Kahlil Gibran said, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” It's hard to see the ears when you're looking into the light.

1.When the father first saw his baby, he was worried that________.

2.According to the doctor and nurse, the baby’s ears________.

3.What is true about the baby’s mother?

4.What does the underlined word they refer to in the last but on paragraph(倒数第2段)?

5.What’s the function of the last paragraph?

    Kristy, 28, a cook in La Gross, often wondered what she’d do in a life-threatening situation. On August 29, she got her answer. While she was driving on a road, a big truck hit its head on a pickup car. The pickup car burst into flames. Kristy rushed out and ran to the pickup. Two farmers, Dean Berhard, 51, and his brother Donald, 44, were inside.

     When she got close, Kristy could see the unconscious driver. The other man was under the passenger seat. Kristy says, “The smells were sickening. I was afraid the truck would blow up and kill us all.”

    The driver of the big truck was struggling to open the passenger door, so Kristy rushed to the driver’s side. Finally they opened the door. She reached in, seized the driver and , to her horror, felt her hands sink into his chest. She quickly dragged the man to safety on the roadside, then hurried back. As Kristy stared down the ditch (水沟) with the passenger, the pickup blew up. She jumped on top of him and they both rolled to safety.

      When the police arrived a while later, Kristy started crying, “I want my mum.” In fact she cried for the next three months.

     Today the two farmers, each the father of two children, are good friends with Kristy. To show their deep appreciation, they bought her a ring with nine diamonds ―one for each member of their immediate families, and ninth for her.

56. In which order did Kristy do the following things?

a. Carried Dean and Donald to safety

b. Rushed to the pickup

c. Surprised herself

d. Saw the truck hit on the pickup

e. Got out of her car

f. Wondered what she’d do in danger

A. e, d, b, a, c, f       B. d, e, b, a, f, c

C. f, d, e, b, a, c       D. f, c, e, d, b, a

57. When coming to save Donald and Dean Bernard, Kristy never thought that she ________.

A. could have any help from others

B. would be successful in saving both of them

C. might be killed

D. would be tested in a dangerous situation

58. Which of the following best shows Kristy’s true heroism?

A. She did not feel terrified at the accident.

B. She protected herself as well as the two brothers from harm.

C. She put her life “on the line” to save others.

D. She was regarded as a member of Dean’s and Donald’s families.

59. Kristy cried because she _________.

A. was badly wounded

B. had never experienced such a situation

C. was too excited at the result

D. regretted not putting out the fire

The man to whom we handed the forms pointed out that we had not _________ filled in.