阅读理解

　　When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.

　　He gave the two - foot - tall Charles name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up(激起)great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.

　　During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall.

　　Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five.

　　Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Torn became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.

　　The ceremony (庆典) and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2,000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut.

　　Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade(浅谈), communities throughout the country sponsored (主持)“Tom Thumb”weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.

1．“Talk of the town”means ________.

[　　]

A．it was in the newspaper

B．people spread mean rumors(谣言) about it

C．it was the most popular happening

D．it was discussed in a city meeting

2．What does the author think about Tom Thumb's wedding?

[　　]

A．People gave it too much of their attention.

B．It helped people cheer up in a dark time.

C．It was funny and ridiculous(荒谬可笑的).

D．Tom and Lavinia were stupid.

3．Which of the following is the best clue to the fact that Tom was smart?

[　　]

A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five.

B．He learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age.

C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon.

D．He married a school teacher.

4．Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because ________.

[　　]

A．the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was tap dancing

B．it made Tom feel taller

C．the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted

D．die difference between them would make Tom look even smaller

5．What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

[　　]

A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.

B．People are always disappointed during war time.

C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose.

D．People should be married when they are small children.

完形填空 （共15小题； 每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从下列各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该题涂黑。
I climbed the stairs slowly，carrying a big suitcase，my father following with two more. By the time I got to the third floor，I was　1　and at the same time feeling lonely. Worse still，Dad　2　a step and fell，sending my new suitcases 　3　down the stairs. “Damn!”he screamed，his face turning red. I knew trouble was ahead. Whenever Dad's face turns red，　4　！
How could I ever　5　him to finish unloading the car without screaming at me and making a scene in front of the other girls，girls I would have to spend the rest of the  6  with？Doors were opening and faces peering out(探出)，as Dad walked with difficulty close behind. I felt it in my bones that my college life was getting off to a(n)　7　start.
“Enter the room quickly，”I thought. “Get him into a chair and calmed down.” But then again，would there be a chair in Room 316？Or would it be a(n)　8　room？
　 
Finally I turned the key in the lock and   9  the door open，with Dad still   10   about a hurting knee or something. I put my head in，　11　the worst. But to my　12　，the room wasn't empty at all！It had furniture，curtains，a TV，and even paintings on the walls.
And there on a well­made bed sat Amy，my new roommate，dressed neatly. Greeting me with a nod，she said in a soft voice，“Hi，you must be Cori.” Then，she　13　the music and looked over at Dad. “And of course，you're Mr.Faber，”she said，　14　.“Would you like a glass of iced tea？”Dad's face turned 15　 less red before he could bring out a “yes.”
I knew then that Amy and I would be friends and my first year of college would be a success.

It was Monday. Mrs Smith’s dog suffered from hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.

　　Considering that there was no better way．Mrs．Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it: “Give my dog half a pound of meat．” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently: “Take this to the butcher, and he's going to give you your lunch today．”

　　Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher's．It gave the paper to the butcher．The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady's handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to．The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once．

　　At noon, the dog came to the shop again．It gave the butcher a piece of paper again．After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more．

　　The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon．And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth．This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers．

　　But, the dog came again at four o'clock．And the same thing happened once again．To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the third time at six o'clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper．The butcher felt a bit puzzled．He said to himself, “This is a small dog．Why does Mrs．Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”

　　Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!

1.It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper Mrs．Smith gave it_______．

　  A．might do it much harm

　  B．could do it much good

　  C．would help the butcher

　  D．was worth many pounds

2.From its experience, the dog found that ________．

　  A．only the paper with Mrs Smith's words in it could bring it meat

　  B．the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it

　  C．Mrs Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher

　  D．a piece of paper could bring it half a pound of meat

3.The butcher did not give any meat to the dog __________．

　  A．before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs．Smith

　  B．when he found that the words on the paper were not clear

　  C．because he had sold out all the meat in his shop

　  D．until he was paid enough by Mrs Smith

4.At the end of the story, you'll find that _______．

　  A．the dog was clever enough to write on the paper

　  B．the dog dared not go to the butcher's any more

　  C．the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog

　  D．the butcher found himself cheated by the clever animal

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
　　阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
　　When I Was four years old,my mother died of cancer.My father brought my sister and me up 36 .Last April,when he had the heart surgery(手术),I felt as if 37 were going to end.
　　He is the most caring,selfless,loving person I know.
　　It all 38 so quickly.Out of nowhere my father's 39 was in danger.I was 17 and thinking about 40 would have to live my life 41 either of my parents! He was the person who jad 42 me what I am and could always 43 me down the fight way when I didn't know what path to choose.He was 44 to me. I felt completely 45 at the thought of his death.
　　Before my mother 46 ,My father explained her sickness to me.Now again he thought the best thing was to 47 .He sat me down for a long conversation.It was too frightening for my father and mme to talk about him 48 the surgery,so he worked around it by saying,"okay,we both know I am 48 going to die during this surgery, 50 say when I am leaving the hospital I get hit by a bus or something." 51 we talked about what I would do if he died.It was the 52 sonversation,but that was exactly what I 53 .
　　Facing the danger of death brings about the realization of 54 .I have learned to live every moment to its 55 ,never leaving anything unsaid or undone.
　　36.A.both B.alone C.later D.together
　　37.A.the world B.his illness C.our happiness D.my childhood
　　38.A.developed B.happened C.ended D.started
　　39.A.job B.family C.life D.health
　　40.A.when B.where C.why D.how
　　41.A.like B.after C.without D.with
　　42.A.made B.told C.given D.taught
　　43.A.drive B.stop C.place D.lead
　　44.A.a teacher B.a friend C.everything D.nothing
　　45.A.excited B.frightened C.disappointed D.lost
　　46.A.got ready B.fell ill C.became well D.passed away
　　47.A.talk B.wait C.leave D.plan
　　48.A.preparing for B.dying from C.working at D.having
　　49.A.not B.also C.probably D.surely
　　50.A.and B.so C.but D.then
　　51.A.First of all B.After a while C.At the end D.In this way
　　52.A.funniest B.easiest C.hardest D.happiest
　　53.A.expected B.needed C.enjoyed D.missed
　　54.A.joy B.work C.parents D.life
　　55.A.fulllest B.strongest C.longest D.happiest