56. Why did the boy start his job young?

　 A. He wanted to be famous in the future.

　 B. The job was quite easy for him.

　 C. His mother had high hopes for him.

　 D. The competiton for the job was fierce.

71. This passage mainly tells us that _______

A. my mother often made us confused

B. my family members had a poor memory

C. my mother helped us to form a good habit

D. my wife was surprised when she visited my mother.

答案　 68.D　 69.B　 70.D　 71.C

Passage 35

(07·浙江E篇)

I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

70. The underlined part in the fifth paragraph suggests that my sister _______

A. is happy to clean windows

B. loves to dean used windows

C. is fond of clean used windows

D. likes clean windows as my mother did

69. Sly wife could not find her biscuits and drink in my mother’ a house because

A. she had already finished them

B. my mother had taken them away

C. she forgot where she had left them

D. someone in my family was holding them

68. Which of the following is TRUE about my mother?

A. She enjoyed removing others drinks.

B. She became more and more forgetful.

C. She preferred to do everything by herself.

D. She wanted to keep her house in good order.

58. Fitzgerald's will showed __________.

A. his desire to fool the bidders

B. his invaluable love for his son

C. his sadness at the death of his son

D. his regret of having no children to take over his wealth

答案　 56.C　 57.A　 58.B

Passage 34

(07·辽宁D篇)

All her life, my mother wanted busy children. It was very important that her house should remain at all times clean and tidy.

You could turn your hack for a moment in my mother’ s house, leave a half-written letter on the dining room table, a magazine open on the chair, and turn around to find that my mother had put it back where it belonged,” as she explained.

My wife, on one of her first visits to my mother’ s house, placed a packet of biscuits on an end table and went to the kitchen to fetch a drink. When she returned, she found the packet had been removed. Confused (疑惑的), she set down her drink and went back to the kitchen for more biscuits, only to return to find that her drink had disappeared. Up to then she had guessed that everyone in my family held onto their drinks, so as not to make water rings on the end tables. Now she knows better.

These disappearances had a confusing effect on our family. We were all inclined to(有```的倾向)forgetfulness. And it was common for one of us, upon returning from the bathroom, to find that every sigh of his work in progress had disappeared suddenly. “Do you remember what I was doing was a question frequently asked, but rarely answered.

Now my sister has developed a second-hand love of clean windows, and my brother does the cleaning in his house, perhaps to avoid having to be the one to hit his feet. I try not to think about it too much, but I have at this later time started to dust the furniture once a week

57. Why did the old servant bid for the painting of Fitzgerald's son?

A. He was devoted to the family. 　　　　　　　　 　　B. He saw that no one bid for it.

C. He knew the content of the will. 　　　　　　 　　D. He found it cheap for him to buy.

56. The English Baron Fitzgerald was __________.

A. a museum director 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　B. a master of art

C. an art collector 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　D. an art dealer

75. Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?

　 A. Self-confidence, hard work, higher education and a poor family.

　 B. Mom’s encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work.

　 C. Clear goals, mom’s encouragement, a poor family and higher education.

　 D. Mom’s encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities.

答案　 71.C　 72.D　 73.A　 74.B　 75.B

Passage 33

(07·重庆A篇)

The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child, a son, who understandably was the apple of his eye. His wife died when the child was in his early teens. So Fitzgerald devoted himself to fathering the kid. Unfortunately the son died in his late teens.

Meanwhile, Fitzgerald's wealth greatly increased. He spent a lot on art works of the masters. Later Fitzgerald himself became seriously ill. Before his death, he had carefully prepared his will as to how his wealth would be settled-to sell his entire collection at an auction(拍卖).

Because of the large quantity and high quality of his collection, a huge crowd of possible buyers gathered for the auction. Many of them were museum directors and private collectors eager to bid(出价). Before the auction, the art works were shown, among which was a painting of Fitzgerald's son by an unknown artist. Because of its poor quality, it received little attention.

When it was time for the auction, the auctioneer gaveled(敲槌)the crowd to attention. First the lawyer read from Fitzgerald's will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his son.

The poor-quality painting didn't receive any bidders. . . except one-the old servant who had served the son and loved him, and who for emotional reasons offered the only bid.

As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound, the auctioneer stopped the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will. The crowd became quiet, and the lawyer read from the will: “Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection. ”Then the auction was over.

74. Which of the following best describes Kemmons’ mother?

　 A. Modest, helpful, and hard-working.

　 B. Loving, supportive and strong-willed.

　 C. Careful, helpful and beautiful.

　 D. Strict, sensitive and supportive.