The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle（步枪）and some Burmans. He told us that the elephant was in the rice fields below, only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting that I was going to shoot the elephant. It was fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides, they wanted the meat. It made me a little uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant—I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself—and it is always uneasy to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people knocking and pushing at my heels. Beyond the huts there was a rice field a thousand yards across, muddy from the first rains. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and feeding them into his mouth.
As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant — it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery. There, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already passing off, in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him.
But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. I looked at the sea of the faces above the colorful clothes—faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a magician about to perform a trick. They did not like me. But with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward. And it was at this moment that I first felt the hollowness, the uselessness of the white man's control in the East. Here was I, standing in front of the unarmed crowd—seemingly the leading actor; but in reality only a puppet (傀儡). I understood in this moment that when the white man turns ruler of complete power it is his own freedom that he destroys.
【小题1】The people were glad to think the elephant was to be shot mainly because ______.

Dara got off the school bus at her stop. She could see her house across the field. She started down the lane(巷) but stopped when she heard a sound coming from the bushes. Dara looked under the buses. There was a pretty little kitten(小猫). Dara reached under the bush, picked it up, and then ran toward her house. “What have you got?” Dara’s mother asked as Dara came into the kitchen.

“It’s a tiny, lost kitten,” Dara answered. “It’s hungry and frightened, but isn’t it cute(机灵的)? I think I’ll name it Bitsy.”

“We’ll feed the kitten,” Dara’s mother said, “but you’ll have to find it another home.”

“Why?” Dara cried.

“Your grandmother loves to watch the birds. They come to the feeder(进料器) by her window every day. Cats chase(追赶) birds, you know. It would make your grandmother very sad if Bitsy caught one of the birds,” said Dara’s mother.

I’ll think of something,” said Dara. I’ll figure out a way to keep both Bitsy and the birds.” Dara thought and thought. She wondered how cats could possibly catch birds. Dara could never get anywhere near the birds before they flew away. Then she remembered how quiet cats can be. Suddenly an idea came to her. Later Dara called her mother outside. “Look, Mom,” she said. “Grandma’s birds will always know when Bitsy is coming. They’ll be safe.” Dara’s mother looked down at Bitsy. The kitten had a big red ribbon(丝带) tied around its neck. A shiny silver bell hung from the ribbon. The bell would ring whenever Bitsy took a step. The birds would hear it and have plenty of time to fly away.

“What a good idea,” said Dara’s mother. “Now we can have the birds and Bitsy, too.”

56. This story is mostly about ______.

A. where Dara’s grandmother watched birds.  B. how Dara got to keep the kitten she found

C. what Dara did after school              D. why Dara’s kitten looked pretty

57. Why didn’t Dara’s mother want to keep the kitten at first?

A. She didn’t like cats.           B. Dara already had a pet.

C. Grandma was afraid of cats.    D. Cats sometimes harm birds.

58. What will happen when Bitsy runs after birds?

A. The bell will ring.           B. The birds will want to play.

C. Dara will chase Bitsy.        D. The ribbon will fall off.

59. The idea that Dara got to keep the kitten show that she was ______.

A. clever       B. considerate(体贴的)      C. kind       D. pretty

You are walking down the street, minding your own business when you see a snowball. No big deal, right? Except the snowball is as tall as you are. And weighs about a ton. Did we mention that it is June?

   That’s the experience thousand of Londoners had when they crossed paths with “ Snowball in Summer,” Goldsworthy makes sculpture （雕塑）from all sorts of things he finds outside – leaves, earth, and rocks, as well as ice and snow. He wanted to find out how busy people would react to an unexpected snowball melting in their midst.

   During the winter of 2008, he rolled 13 giant snowballs near his home in Scotland. He filled each one with a surprise in the center – such as berries, feathers, little stones or sheep’s wool – which would appear as the snow melted. The finished snowballs were stored in a deep freeze until summer, then transported to London in refrigerated trucks. At midnight on June 21, 2008, while the city slept, Goldsworthy and his helpers rolled their snowballs into place.

  People walking to work or school must have thought the sky was falling when they stumbled across snowballs the size of baby elephants. Some of them had never even seen snow in real life, and they couldn’t help touching them in great surprise. As the snow started to melt, things got even more interesting. The perfectly round snowballs took on different shapes as the stuff inside began to poke through. Two days later, most of Goldsworthy’s snowballs were gone, and their fillings scattered. But Londoners were left with a really good story about that odd summer day when the snowball came.

What is really special about the snowballs is that ______________________.

A. they lie in the street

B. they are in the shape of baby elephants.

C. they have berries, feathers, little stones and feathers in them.

D. they appear in June.

What was the purpose of Goldsworthy in making the snowballs?

A. To find out people’s reactions to them

B. To call up people’s memory of the cold winter.

C. To show off his skills in sculpture.

D. To let people experience the cold winter.

Why did Goldsworthy and his helpers roll their snowballs into place at mid-night?

A. They didn’t want to disturb other people.

B. It was quite at that time.

C. They wanted to avoid the traffic jam.

D, They wanted to give people a surprise.

You are walking down the street, minding your own business when you see a snowball. No big deal, right? Except the snowball is as tall as you are. And weighs about a ton. Did we mention that it is June?
That’s the experience thousand of Londoners had when they crossed paths with “ Snowball in Summer,” Goldsworthy makes sculpture （雕塑）from all sorts of things he finds outside – leaves, earth, and rocks, as well as ice and snow. He wanted to find out how busy people would react to an unexpected snowball melting in their midst.
During the winter of 2008, he rolled 13 giant snowballs near his home in Scotland. He filled each one with a surprise in the center – such as berries, feathers, little stones or sheep’s wool – which would appear as the snow melted. The finished snowballs were stored in a deep freeze until summer, then transported to London in refrigerated trucks. At midnight on June 21, 2008, while the city slept, Goldsworthy and his helpers rolled their snowballs into place.
People walking to work or school must have thought the sky was falling when they stumbled across snowballs the size of baby elephants. Some of them had never even seen snow in real life, and they couldn’t help touching them in great surprise. As the snow started to melt, things got even more interesting. The perfectly round snowballs took on different shapes as the stuff inside began to poke through. Two days later, most of Goldsworthy’s snowballs were gone, and their fillings scattered. But Londoners were left with a really good story about that odd summer day when the snowball came.
【小题1】What is really special about the snowballs is that ______________________.

You are walking down the street, minding your own business when you see a snowball. No big deal, right? Except the snowball is as tall as you are. And weighs about a ton. Did we mention that it is June?

   That’s the experience thousand of Londoners had when they crossed paths with “ Snowball in Summer,” Goldsworthy makes sculpture （雕塑）from all sorts of things he finds outside – leaves, earth, and rocks, as well as ice and snow. He wanted to find out how busy people would react to an unexpected snowball melting in their midst.

   During the winter of 2008, he rolled 13 giant snowballs near his home in Scotland. He filled each one with a surprise in the center – such as berries, feathers, little stones or sheep’s wool – which would appear as the snow melted. The finished snowballs were stored in a deep freeze until summer, then transported to London in refrigerated trucks. At midnight on June 21, 2008, while the city slept, Goldsworthy and his helpers rolled their snowballs into place.

  People walking to work or school must have thought the sky was falling when they stumbled across snowballs the size of baby elephants. Some of them had never even seen snow in real life, and they couldn’t help touching them in great surprise. As the snow started to melt, things got even more interesting. The perfectly round snowballs took on different shapes as the stuff inside began to poke through. Two days later, most of Goldsworthy’s snowballs were gone, and their fillings scattered. But Londoners were left with a really good story about that odd summer day when the snowball came.

1.What is really special about the snowballs is that ______________________.

A. they lie in the street

B. they are in the shape of baby elephants.

C. they have berries, feathers, little stones and feathers in them.

D. they appear in June.

2. What was the purpose of Goldsworthy in making the snowballs?

A. To find out people’s reactions to them

B. To call up people’s memory of the cold winter.

C. To show off his skills in sculpture.

D. To let people experience the cold winter.

3. Why did Goldsworthy and his helpers roll their snowballs into place at mid-night?

A. They didn’t want to disturb other people.

B. It was quite at that time.

C. They wanted to avoid the traffic jam.

D, They wanted to give people a surprise.