On the day of a big event, many people came to Big Bend Mountain to watch. John Henry and the salesman stood side by side. Even early in the day, the sun was burning hot.

The competition began. John Henry kissed his hammer and started working. At first, the steam-powered drill worked two times faster than he did. Then, he started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. In the mountain, the heat and dust were so thick that most men would have had trouble breathing. The crowd shouted as clouds of dust came from inside the mountain.

The salesman was afraid when he heard what sounded like the mountain breaking. However, it was only the sound of John Henry at work. Polly Ann and her son cheered when the machine was pulled from the tunnel of the mountain. It had broken down. Polly Ann urged John Henry to come out. But he kept working, faster and faster. He dug deep into the darkness, hitting the steel so hard that his body began to fail him. He became weak, and his heart burst.

John Henry fell to the ground. There was a terrible silence. Polly Ann did not move because she knew what had happened. John Henry’s blood spilled over the ground. But he still held one of the hammers. “I beat them,” he said. His wife cried out, “Don’t go, John Henry.”“Bring me a cool drink of water,”he said. Then he took his last breath.

His friends carried his body from the mountain. They buried him near the house where he was born. Crowds went there after they heard about John Henry’s death.

Soon, the steam drill and other machines replaced the steel-drivers. Many laborers left their families to look for work. They took the only jobs they could find. As they worked, some sang about John Henry.

1.What does the big event mentioned in Paragraph 1 refer to?

2.The underlined word “tunnel ”in Paragraph 3 probably means “          ”.

3. What happened to John Henry when he fell to the ground?

4.What do we know about John Henry?

5.What can we infer from the passage?

Shundagarh is a village on India's east-facing coast.It is a village of simple mud and grass houses built on the beach just above the waterline.The Khadra Hills rise immediately behind the village,to a height of one hundred and fifty meters.A simple,good-hearted old man,whose name was Jalpur,farmed two small fields on the very edge of these hills.From his fields he could see the fishing boats that travelled up and down the coast.He could see the children playing on the sands;their mothers washing clothes on the flat stones where the Shiva River flowed into the sea;and their fathers landing the latest catch or repairing nets and telling stories that had no end.

All Jalpur owned in the world were the clothes he wore day in and day out,the miserable hut(小屋) that he slept in at night,a few tools and cooking pots—and his fields.The corn that he grew was all that made life possible.If the weather was kind and the harvest was good,Jalpur could live happily enough—not well,but happily.When the sun was fierce,and there was little or no rain,then he came close to the line between life and death.

Last year the weather had been so kind,and the harvest promised to be so good,that Jalpur had been wondering whether he could sell all that he had and live with his son farther up the coast.He had been thinking about doing this for some years.It was his dearest wish to spend his last days with his son and his wife.But he would go only if he could give;he would not go if it meant taking food out of the mouths of his grandchildren.He would rather die hungry than do this.

On the day when Jalpur decided that he would harvest his corn,sell it,and move up the coast,he looked out to sea and saw a huge wave,several kilometers out,advancing on the coast and on the village of Shundagarh.Within ten minutes everyone in Shundagarh would be drowned.Jalpur would have shouted,but the people were too far away to hear.He would have run down the hill,but he was too old to run.He was prepared to do anything to save the people of Shundagarh,so he did the only thing that he could do: he set fire to his corn.In a matter of seconds the flames were rising high and smoke was rising higher.Within a minute the people of Shundagarh were racing up the hill to see what had happened.There,in the middle of his blackened cornfield,they found Jalpur;and there they buried him.

On his grave,they wrote the words: Here lies Jalpur,a man who gave,living: a man who died,giving.

Which of the following could Jalpur NOT see from his Fields?

A.Mothers washing clothes.

B.Fathers taking their corn to market.

C.Fishing boats traveling on the sea.

D.Children playing on the sands.

Why didn't Jalpur live well?

A.He didn't work hard.

B.He had too many children to feed.

C.He only depended on good weather and harvest for survival.

D.The villagers kept taking his corn.

Jalpur's dearest wish was to _________.

A.move away from his son

B.take a vacation up the coast

C.make a great deal of money in order to live an easy life

D.spend his last days with his son and his wife

What did Jalpur do when he saw the huge wave?

A.He set his corn on fire so the people of Shundagarh would leave the beach.

B.He screamed loudly to get the villagers' attention.

C.He ran down the hill to tell the people.

D.He stood still,not knowing what to do.

阅读理解

Music comes in many forms; most countries have a style of their own. Poland has its folks. Hungary has its czardas. Argentina is famous for the tango. The U.S. is known for jazz, the type of music that has gained worldwide popularity.

Jazz is American contribution to popular music. While classical music follows formal European tradition(传统)，jazz is rather a free form. It is full of energy, expressing the moods, interests, and emotions (感情) of the people. It is breaking and exciting with a modern sound. In the 1920s jazz sounded like America. And so it does today.

The origins (起源)of the music are as interesting as the music itself. Jazz was invented by American Negroes, or blacks, as they are called today, who were brought to the Southern states as slaves. They were sold to farm owners and forced to work long hours in the cotton and tobacco fields. This work was hard and life was short. When a Negro died his friends and relatives would gather and carry the body to have a ceremony before they buried him.

There was always a band おwith them. On the way to the ceremony the band played slow, solemn music suitable for the situation. But on the way home the mood changed. Spirits lifted. Everyone was happy. Death had removed one of their members, but the living were glad to be alive. The band played happy music, this music made everyone want to dance. It was an early form of jazz.

Music has always been important in Negro life. The blacks, who were brought to America from West Africa, had a rich musical tradition. In the fields, they made up work songs. Singing made the hard work go faster. And when they got to Christianity, they made lovely spirituals, which have become an everlasting part of American music.

1．From the passage, we can see that jazz　　   .

A. is a kind of African music

B. started from Africa but is popular in America

C. was started by blacks working in Africa

D. was started by blacks in America

2．Jazz is a kind of music　　   .

A. almost the same as classical music

B. quite different from classical music

C. popular only in America

D. quite different from Africa music.

3．Generally speaking, Jazz is mostly a kind of　　   .

A. American music

B. African music

C. classical music

D. popular music played at funerals

4．Usually we may feel 　　   moods when we listen to jazz music.

A. sad and sorry

B. tiring and hard working

C. exciting and happy

D. lonely and sad

5．Jazz will always be connected with　　   .

A. American blacks

B. slavery in the United States

C. modern times

D. quick development of music

On the day of a big event, many people came to Big Bend Mountain to watch. John Henry and the salesman stood side by side. Even early in the day, the sun was burning hot.
The competition began. John Henry kissed his hammer and started working. At first, the steam-powered drill worked two times faster than he did. Then, he started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. In the mountain, the heat and dust were so thick that most men would have had trouble breathing. The crowd shouted as clouds of dust came from inside the mountain.
The salesman was afraid when he heard what sounded like the mountain breaking. However, it was only the sound of John Henry at work. Polly Ann and her son cheered when the machine was pulled from the tunnel of the mountain. It had broken down. Polly Ann urged John Henry to come out. But he kept working, faster and faster. He dug deep into the darkness, hitting the steel so hard that his body began to fail him. He became weak, and his heart burst.
John Henry fell to the ground. There was a terrible silence. Polly Ann did not move because she knew what had happened. John Henry’s blood spilled over the ground. But he still held one of the hammers. “I beat them,” he said. His wife cried out, “Don’t go, John Henry.”“Bring me a cool drink of water,”he said. Then he took his last breath.
His friends carried his body from the mountain. They buried him near the house where he was born. Crowds went there after they heard about John Henry’s death.
Soon, the steam drill and other machines replaced the steel-drivers. Many laborers left their families to look for work. They took the only jobs they could find. As they worked, some sang about John Henry.
【小题1】What does the big event mentioned in Paragraph 1 refer to?

On the day of a big event, many people came to Big Bend Mountain to watch. John Henry and the salesman stood side by side. Even early in the day, the sun was burning hot.

The competition began. John Henry kissed his hammer and started working. At first, the steam-powered drill worked two times faster than he did. Then, he started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. In the mountain, the heat and dust were so thick that most men would have had trouble breathing. The crowd shouted as clouds of dust came from inside the mountain.

The salesman was afraid when he heard what sounded like the mountain breaking. However, it was only the sound of John Henry at work. Polly Ann and her son cheered when the machine was pulled from the tunnel of the mountain. It had broken down. Polly Ann urged John Henry to come out. But he kept working, faster and faster. He dug deep into the darkness, hitting the steel so hard that his body began to fail him. He became weak, and his heart burst.

John Henry fell to the ground. There was a terrible silence. Polly Ann did not move because she knew what had happened. John Henry’s blood spilled over the ground. But he still held one of the hammers. “I beat them,” he said. His wife cried out, “Don’t go, John Henry.”“Bring me a cool drink of water,”he said. Then he took his last breath.

His friends carried his body from the mountain. They buried him near the house where he was born. Crowds went there after they heard about John Henry’s death.

Soon, the steam drill and other machines replaced the steel-drivers. Many laborers left their families to look for work. They took the only jobs they could find. As they worked, some sang about John Henry.

What does the big event mentioned in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A.John Henry’s work on a machine.

B.A competition between John Henry and a salesman.

C.John Henry’s work with his hammer and the steel.

D.A competition between John Henry and a drill.

The underlined word “tunnel ”in Paragraph 3 probably means “           ”.

A.flat ground                B.big rock             C.underground passage         D.hard metal

What happened to John Henry when he fell to the ground?

A.He was tired and had to have a rest.

B.He had heart trouble and was dying.

C.He was thirsty and wanted to drink some water.

D.He was injured slightly and was bleeding.

What do we know about John Henry?

A.He won the competition finally.        B.He was buried under the mountain.

C.He loved his work very much.          D.He said nothing before his death.

What can we infer from the passage?

A.Humans can never beat machines.            B.John Henry was regarded as a hero.

C.Laborers hated machines very much.        D.It was easy for laborers to find work.