Where there is a river, there is a city.  Perhaps this is not always true, but it is true that many of the
world's greatest cities have been built on the banks of a river. The Neva River flows through the center
of St Petersburg in Russia. Three hundred years ago, the Russian Czar Peter the Great
came here and built a new capital-St Petersburg.  Peter the Great, like his country, was strong and proud.  Many great palaces were built during his lifetime. The palaces were large and beautiful,  and they often
looked like something out of a fairy tale, St Petersburg has also been the center of many important events
in history. In 1941, the Germans tried to destroy the city.  It was under attack for 900 days, but the
people of the city never gave in. The Germans burned many of the palaces as they left.  St Petersburg
was almost in ruins: fires burned everywhere. Buildings were destroyed, and paintings and stadium lay in
pieces on the ground. Rebuilding the city and its cultural relics seemed impossible, but the people of the
great city would not give up, "We will not let our history and city be destroyed, and we will do everything we can to save our city ! "
     When the Nazi had gone, the people of St Petersburg began rebuilding the city. Pieces of the palaces
that had been hidden before the Nazis came could now be used to rebuild the city and its culture.  It was
not easy.  Painters and workers had to be very careful when they were trying to bring the city back to
life. It was difficult to save the palaces and building without detracting their old beauty.
     With the help of old paintings and photographs, the people of St Petersburg were able to bring back
the beauty of their culture and history.  Now, after years of hard work, parts of statues have been put
back together and missing pieces have been replaced. Old paintings, including a portrait of Peter the
Great which was found in the snow outside St Petersburg, have been carefully copied, and the old
palaces have been made as wonderful as in the past.
     Today Peter the Great on his bronze horse can once again look out over the city he built.  Like their
hero Peter, the people of St Petersburg have shown that dreams can come true. Strong, proud and
united, the people of St Petersburg are modern heroes of Russia.

1. The underlined word "portrait" in the third paragraph is perhaps closest to____in meaning.

A. room
B. picture
C. knife
D. dress

2. Which of the following sentences is not true of St Peterburg according to the passage?

A. It was the capital of Russia,  and it was built about three hundred years ago.
B. It people never gave in to the Germans during World War Ⅱ.
C. The Germans tried to destroy the city because they hated Peter the Great.
D. It took years of hard work of the painters and workers to rebuild it.

3. The third paragraph of the passage is mainly about____.

A. how bravely the people of the city fought against the Germans.
B. how beautiful the city looked now.
C. how hard the people of the city worked to rebuild the city.
D. how proud the people of the city were.

4. The best title of the passage should be___

A. A City of Heroes
B. St Petersburg
C. Peter the Great
D. Rivers and Cities

     Proverbs are quite common in spoken English. We don't normally put them in a composition or a letter.
Sometimes it is helpful if you know what common proverbs mean. Here are a few examples.
     1) "Once bitten, twice shy." If a dog bites me, I shall be twice as careful in future when I see it. This
proverb is also used to apply to many things and not only to dogs. If you have been cheated at a shop, you
will not go the same shop again.
     2) "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." If I am a hunter, trying to catch birds, it is better to
catch one than to see two birds in a bush but not able to catch them. Thus this means that what you have
already got is better than the chance of being able to get something bigger in future.
     3) "Too many cooks spoil the broth (soup)". When too many people do something, they get in each other's
way and do a bad job.
     4) "To pour oil on troubled waters" is to try to calm things down. Oil is lighter than water. If a ship is in
trouble at sea, another ship may come to help it. The second ship can send small boats to rescue people.
However, it may first pour oil on the sea to make the sea less rough.
     5) "Don't be a dog in a manger( 槽 )" means " Don't be selfish." In a stable ( 马房 ), the manger is the
place where the horse's food is put. Sometimes a dog will sleep in the manger and bark when a horse comes
to get its food. The dog does want to eat the lay in the manger but it will not let the horse eat it.
     6) "He is sitting on the fence" means that somebody will not say whether he is in favor of a plan or against
it. He is sitting on a fence between two opposing sides, perhaps waiting to see which side will win.
     7) "He who pays the piper calls the tune." A piper is a musician. The man who employs or pays a musician
can say what tunes the man will play. Thus this means that if a man provides the money for a plan, he can say
how it will be carried out.
     8) "You can't get blood out of a stone" means that you cannot get something from a person who has not
got any of the things you want. e. g. you cannot get a million dollars from a poor man.

1. Peter has a bicycle which is much too small for him but he does not want to let his younger brother
    ride on it. His mother is angry and says to him: ______.

A. You can't get blood out of a stone
B. Don't be a dog in a manger
C. The early bird gets the worm
D. To pour oil on troubled waters

2. Mr. Wang paid for a new school. Some people didn't like the design of the school but they
    didn't argue with Mr. Wang because ______.

A. he was sitting on the fence
B. once bitten, twice shy
C. he who pays the piper calls the tune
D. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

3. Mrs. Lin wanted to buy a new dress. Her husband suggested that she buy it from a shop near their home.
    Mrs. Lin disagreed because she had been cheated by that shop. So she said: "I won't go there again
     because ______."　

A. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
B. I am sitting on the fence
C. once bitten, twice shy
D. too many cooks spoil the broth

4. Mr. Brown had quite a good job in Hong Kong but he thought that if he went to Singapore, he might
    get a much better job with more money and a larger house. His wife didn't want him to leave his job
     in Hong Kong and she reminded him that ______.

A. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
B. too many cooks spoil the broth
C. you can not get blood out of a stone