1. We can see that the Erie Canal ___.
A. joined the Great Lakes together
B. crossed New York from north to south
C. played an important part in developing New York City
D. was the first waterway built in the US
8.In the first paragraph the word patients means ____.
A. people was did something wrong
B. people who work as doctors
C. people who was ill
D. people was ask policemen for help
Words per minute ______
%Comprehension _______
Passage 29
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal was the first important national waterway built in the US. It crossed New York from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Troy and Albany on the Hudson River. It joined the entire Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The canal served as a route(路线) over which industrial(工业的) goods could flow into the West, and materials could pour into the East. The Erie Canal helped New York develop(发展) into the nation's largest city.
The building of the canal was paid for entirely(完全地) by the state of New York. It cost $7, l43, 789, but it soon gained its price many times over. Between 1825, when the canal was opened, and l882, when toll charges were stopped, the state collected $12l, 46l, 89l.
For a hundred years before the Erie was built, people had been talking about a canal which could join the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The man who planned the Erie Canal and carried the plan through was De Witt Clinton. Those who were against the canal laughingly called it "Clinton's Ditch (沟)". Clinton talked and wrote about the canal and drew up plans for it. He and Gouvenneur Morris went to Washington in 18l2 to ask for help for the canal, but they were unsuccessful.
Clinton became governor of New York in 18l7, and shortly afterwards, on July 4, 18l7, broke ground for the canal in Rome, N. Y. The first part of the canal was completed in 1820. As the canal grew, towns along its course developed fast. The length of this canal is 363 miles.
Length 262
Total Reading Time ___
_____________________________________________________________________
Answer the following questions without referring to the reading:
7.The phrase" wore disguises" in the fourth paragraph means ____.
A. introduced oneself
B. was in rags
C. changed one's clothes or one's appearance
D. seemed to be poor and helpless
6. Conan Doyle was very successful as a writer. T F
5. Many people wrote letters to Conan Doyle at 22 1b Baker Street. T F
4. Arthur Conan Doyle came to be successful in writing because the character
he created was thought to be a real person by the general public. T F
3. Sherlock Holmes was only a product of the writer's imagination he never
existed in the world. T F
2. Many people came to Conan Doyle with their problems. T F
1.From this passage we can see that ____.
A. Conan Doyle was a person with great literary quality and talent
B. Conan Doyle was able to help those who came to see him with their
problems
C. Conan Doyle was well-known as a doctor.
D. Conan Doyle once worked at a police station.
8.The word “inland” in this passage means ____.
A. underground B. out in the sea
C. close to water D. far from the sea
Passage 28
Arthur Conan Doyle
In 1885 a young doctor named Arthur Conan Doyle opened office in London. He wanted to be a successful doctor, but for some reason he never found enough patients. To pass the time, he began to write stories and send them to the newspaper.
Conan Doyle's stories were about a clever detective, Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle wrote that Sherlock Holmes lived at 22 1b Baker Street in London, and people with problems came to him for help. Often police detectives (侦探) came to Sherlock Holmes with their problems, too. He was able to solve mysteries (神秘) that the cleverest policemen in England were unable to find out.
Sometimes Sherlock Holmes could solve a mystery without leaving his chair. He listened carefully to the information his client (委托) gave and found out the answer. At other times he spent days or weeks looking for clues (线索). Sherlock Homes traveled to different cities and countries to solve the mysteries. Sometimes he wore disguise and pretended to be an old man, or a sailor. Holmes did anything to find out the answer to the mysteries he was working on.
Sherlock Holmes is the most famous detective in English literature (文学), but many people don't understand that he is a fictional character (虚构人物), not a real person. The English post office reports that people send mail to Sherlock Homes at 22 1b Baker Street. Even he gets more than 2, 000 letters every year.
Length 235