59.　 What’s the best title for the passage?

　　　 A. Go for it!　　　　　　　　 B. Try again！　　　　　　　　　　 C. Compete for Gold!　 D. Break a Record!

答案　 56. D　 57.C　 58.B　 59.A

Passage 18

(河南省开封市2008届第四次模拟考试B篇)

Mark felt that it was time for him, to take part in his community, so he went to the neighborhood meeting after work. The area' s city councilwoman(女议员) was leading a discussion about how the quality of life was decreasing. The neighborhood faced many problems.

　　 Mark looked at the charts taped to the walls. There are charts for parking problems, crime, and for problems in vacant buildings. People were supposed to suggest solutions to the councilwoman.

It was too much for Mark. "The problems are too big," he thought. He turned to the man next to him and said, "I think this is a waste of my time. Nothing I could do would make a difference here."

　　 Mark thought some more on his way to the bus stop. "People should just take care of themselves, "he decided. "That' s enough to do. I can' t take on all the problems of the world."

　　 As he neared the bus stop, Mark saw a woman carrying a grocery bag and a baby. She was trying to unlock her car, but she didn't have a free hand. As Mark got closer, her other child, a little boy, suddenly darted into the street. The woman tried to reach for him, but as she moved, her bag shifted and the groceries started to fall out. Mark ran to take the boy's arm and led him back to his mother. Then he picked up the groceries while the woman smiled in relief. "Thanks! "she said. "You've got great timing!"

　　 "Just being neighborly," Mark said. As he rode home, he glanced at the walls of the bus.　 On one of them was "Small acts of kindness add up.　 "Mark smiled and thought, "Maybe that's a good place to start."

58.　 According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means _______.

　　　 A. it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills

　　　 B. it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself

　　　 C. it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors

　　　 D. it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals

57.　 The crowd changed their attitudes because _______.

　　　 A. they felt sorry for the young man　　　　　　　　　　　　

B. they wanted to show their sympathy

　　　 C. they were moved by the young man　　　　　　　　　　　

D. they meant to please the young man

56.　　 From the passage we can learn that the young man _______.

A. made his turn to start back pitifully　　　　　　　　　　　

B. was skillful in freestyle in the game

C. swam faster than the average swimmer　　　　　　　　　

D. was not capable enough to win the medal

56. What did the husband think of this matter?

A. It was very strange.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. He felt ashamed of it.

C. He took great pride in it.　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　 D. He was puzzled at it.

答案　 53.D　 54.B　 55.D　 56.B

Passage 17

(福建省厦门双十中学2008年6月迎考热身试卷A篇)

While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.

　　　 The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.

　　　 I watched the man dive off the bock and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold - his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.

　　　 I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.

　　　 But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.

　　　 No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.

　　　 A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.

　　　 Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.

　　　 In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.

55. The police thought they were _______.

A. carrying a cupboard to the church　　　　　　　　　 B. sending flowers to the church

C. carrying nothing but a piece of furniture　　　　 D. going to attend a funeral at the church

54. Other drivers didn’t overtake the couple’s car because _______.

A. the rush-hour traffic was too busy 　　　　　　　　 B. they wanted to show their respect

C. their cars couldn’t run fast　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　 D. the couple were very important people

53. In fact the husband _______ the cupboard.

A. would like very much to buy　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. badly wanted

C. was glad to have bought　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. would rather not buy

49．Which of the following best describes the boy?

　　　 A．Brave and polite．　　　　　　 　 　　　　B．Kind and smart.

　　　 C．Honest and thankful．　　　　 　 　　　　D．Shy and nervous.

答案　 46.B　 47.A　 48.B　 49.C

Passage 16

(浙江省宁海县知恩中学2009届高三最后适应性考试D篇)

We spent a day in the country, picking wild flowers. With the car full of flowers we were going home. On our way back my wife noticed a cupboard(柜厨)outside a furniture shop. It was tall and narrow. “Buy it,” my wife said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof rack. I’ve always wanted one like that.”

What could I do? Ten minutes later I was ￡20 poorer; and the cupboard was tied on the roof rack. It was six feet long and eighteen inches square, quite heavy too.

In the gathering darkness I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed unusually polite that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.

After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake, I wonder?” In fact a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously as they passed. But then, with great kindness, they led us through the rush-hour traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.

“Right, sir,” he said. “Do you need any more help?”

I was a bit puzzled. “Thanks, officer,” I said. “You have been very kind. I live just on the road.”

He was staring at our car, first at the flowers, then at the cupboard. “Well, well,” he said, laughing. “It’s a cupboard you’ve got there! We thought it was something else.”

My wife began to laugh. The truth hit me like a stone between the eyes. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a cupboard, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.

48．Why did the author give his money to the boy?

　　　 A．Because he had enough money to do that.

　　　 B．Because he had learnt to help others since childhood.

　　　 C．Because he held a higher position in the society.

　　　 D．Because he had been asked by the news agency to do so.