题目内容
A man escaped from the prison last night. It was a long time ________ the guards discovered what had happened.
A. before B. until C. since D. when
提示：
本题要突破定向思维，不是It was a long time before句型，注意空格后面的时态是过去完成时，前面是过去时，因此从时间概念上看应该是since。
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When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored(发起) “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
【小题1】“Talk of the town” means .
| A．it was in the newspaper |
| B．people spread bad rumors about it |
| C．it was the most popular happenings |
| D．it was discussed in a city meeting |
| A．It helped people cheer up in a dark time. |
| B．People gave it too much of their attention. |
| C．It was funny and ridiculous. |
| D．Tom and Lavinia were stupid. |
on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because .| A．the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was dancing |
| B．it made Tom look taller |
| C．the eight–foot–tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted |
D．the difference between them would make Tom look even  smaller |
| A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine. |
| B．People are always disappointed during war time. |
| C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose. |
| D．People should be married when they are small children. |
A long time ago, there was a seed and because he was only a seed, nobody noticed him. Thus, feeling inferior (低级的), the seed gave no importance to his existence (存在). Then one day, a wind picked him up and threw him on an open field in the sun. Later, he was given rain. Years later he saw a traveler sitting by his side. "Thank you God for this. I really need some rest," he heard the traveler say. "What are you talking about?" the seed quickly asked. He thought the man was making fun of him. No one ever spoke to him like that. "Who just spoke?" the shocked man asked. "It is me. A seed." "A seed?" The man looked at the big tree. "Are you joking? You are not a seed. You are a big tree!" "Really?" "Yes! Why else do you think people come here?" "What do they come here for?" "To feel your shade (树阴)! Don’t tell me you didn’t know you had grown over time." A moment passed before the traveler’s words brought him pride. The seed thought and smiled for the first time in his life. The years of torture (折磨) by the sun and the rain finally helped him grow up. "Oh! That means I’m not a little seed anymore! I was actually born to make people feel comfortable. Wow! That’s great!"
【小题1】The seed didn’t realize the importance of his existence because __________.
| A．nobody looked after him |
| B．he was thrown into the open air |
| C．he can’t not grow up |
| D．he didn’t believe in himself |
| A．escape from the rain |
| B．thank God for offering him a tree |
| C．have a rest and enjoy the shade |
| D．talk with the big tree |
| A．Sad. | B．Proud. | C．Funny. | D．Sorry. |
| A．tell us a very interesting story |
| B．praise the seed for his strength |
| C．teach readers a lesson: don’t laugh at others |
| D．tell us that we should never lose hope |
| A．A history book. | B．A science book. | C．A story book. | D．A guide book. |