阅读理解

　　One Saturday night, while we were sitting around our living room with some old friends, one of them started trying to remember how long we'd lived there.

　　“Since 1952,” I said. “We paid off the mortgage eight years ago.”

　　“What did you pay for it?”

　　“We paid $ 29,500 in 1952.”

　　My friend nodded knowingly and thought a minute.

　　“I think,” he said, “that you could get $ 85,000 for it today.”

　　I don't know why it is such a popular topic of conversation these days, but if any real estate dealers (房地产商) are reading this, I will give them some money-saving advice: don't waste any stamps on me with your offers to buy.

　　Our house is not an investment (投资). Our house is our home. We live there. It is the place we go when we don't feel like going anyplace. We do not plan to move.

　　Our house gives me a simple pleasure every time I come home to it. I am warmed by some ambiance (氛围) which perhaps is only dust, but it is our dust and I like it.

　　There's been much talk of moving, usually brought on by a leak in the roof or a neighbor we don't like. But when anyone asks me how much I think our house is worth, I just smile. They couldn't buy what that house means to me for all the money in both local banks. The house is not for sale.

1．The word “mortgage” means a certain amount of money from ________.

[　　]

2．According to the passage, we can learn that the house is a ________.

[　　]

A．careful investment

B．careless investment

C．money-losing investment

D．money-making investment

3．Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

[　　]

A．It was not easy for the writer to pay off the mortgage.

B．People often talk about buying houses.

C．People never lose interest in moving.

D．Some people do not get on well with their neighbors.

4．The writer thinks that his house ________.

[　　]

5．The best title for the passage would be ________.

[　　]

A．The Structure of My House

B．The Value of My House

C．The Story of My House

D．The History of My House

Frankly，I appreciate myself very much.Yes，I admit I’m in many aspects not as good as other people，but I don’t think I’m always not good.When I find what I’ve done or written is okay，I’ll remain pleased with myself for quite a few days，and if I receive praise for it，I’ll even become so excited as to add a few words to reward myself.

True，I’m not modest at all.People may call me conceited(自负的)．But I think otherwise.

I appreciate other people.I appreciate anything good.Isn’t it unfair to forget appreciating myself while appreciating others?

We Chinese generally tend to be modest，and we take pride in being so.For example，a Chinese man will call his own wife zhuojing，meaning “my humble wife”，and his own writings zhuozuo，meaning “my poor writings”．But if you call his wife a “rustic(乡村的)woman”or his writings “trash”，he would，I’m sure，declare he would make a clean break with you angrily.As a matter of fact，there is probably no difference at all between what is said by him and you.

I don’t think it’s wrong of you to freely praise yourself if you’re really worthy of praise.As we know，there is an old Chinese saying disparaging(蔑视) a melon seller，named Lao Wang，who keeps praising his own goods.Well，why can’t he praise his melons if they are really sweet and juicy?

Lao Wang sells melons for a living.How could he carry on business if he，by imitating the affectations(装模作样)of us intellectuals，were to show false modesty about his melons？He would sure enough die of starvation.

Self?appreciation is therefore a key to professional dedication and enjoyment of work.Needless to say，the same is true of those who make a living with their pen.One will lose confidence in writing when he stops admiring his own essays.

1．We know from the first three paragraphs that the author________.

A．is modest in some way

B．is pleased to be a good writer

C．is too conceited

D．thinks it unfair to appreciate others

2．What do we know about the author’s attitude towards Chinese modesty according to Paragraph 4?

A．Supportive.　　　　　　　B．Negative.

C．Neutral.　 　　　　　　 D．Careless.

3．The author mentions the example of Lao Wang to prove that ________.

A．Lao Wang is very proud of himself

B．melon sellers should praise their goods

C．reasonable self?appreciation is good

D．writers should learn from Lao Wang

4．The purpose of the passage is to encourage readers to be________.

A．modest 　　　　　　　B．considerate

C．respectful 　　　　　 D．confident

I have said enough to you about the fact that no two native speakers of English speak it alike, but perhaps you are clever enough to ask me whether I myself speak it in the same way.
I must1at once that I do not. Nobody does. I am at present speaking to an audience of many thousands of gramophonists(学话者), many of2are trying hard to follow my words, syllable by syllable. If I were to speak to you as carelessly as I speak to my wife at home, this record would be3; and if I were to speak to my wife at home as carefully as I am speaking to you, she would think that I was going mad.
As a public speaker I have to take care that every word I say is heard clearly at the far4of large halls containing thousands of people. “But at home, when I have to consider only my wife sitting5six feet of me at breakfast, I take so little pains with my speech that very often,6giving me the expected answer, she says, “Don’t mumble, and don’t turn you head away when you speak. I can’t hear a word you are saying.” And she also is a little careless. Sometimes I have to say “what” two or three times during our meal. And she7me of growing deafer and deafer, though she does not say so, because, as I am now over seventy, it might be true.
We all have company manners. If you were to8a strange family and to listen through the keyhole before going in---not that I would suggest for a moment that you are capable of doing such a very unladylike or ungentlemanlike thing; but still, if, in your enthusiasm for studying languages you could bring yourself to do it just for a few seconds to hear how a family speak to one another when there is9listening to them, and then walk into the room and hear how very10they speak in your presence, the change would surprise you. Even when our home manners are as good as our company manners---and of course they ought to be better --- they are always different; and the difference is greater in speech than in anything else.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      admit
   2. B.
      accept
   3. C.
      refuse
   4. D.
      deny
2. 2.
   1. A.
      them
   2. B.
      who
   3. C.
      whom
   4. D.
      us
3. 3.
   1. A.
      useful
   2. B.
      important
   3. C.
      useless
   4. D.
      helpful
4. 4.
   1. A.
      side
   2. B.
      end
   3. C.
      distance
   4. D.
      length
5. 5.
   1. A.
      within
   2. B.
      at
   3. C.
      from
   4. D.
      by
6. 6.
   1. A.
      other than
   2. B.
      except for
   3. C.
      apart form
   4. D.
      instead of
7. 7.
   1. A.
      excuses
   2. B.
      suspects
   3. C.
      thinks
   4. D.
      accuses
8. 8.
   1. A.
      call at
   2. B.
      drop by
   3. C.
      drop in
   4. D.
      call on
9. 9.
   1. A.
      nobody else
   2. B.
      nobody
   3. C.
      someone else
   4. D.
      someone
10. 10.
    1. A.
       strangely
    2. B.
       politely
    3. C.
       differently
    4. D.
       calmly

阅读理解：

    Mr． Brown’s horse was stolen at night． All of his friends were very sorry about it and came to see him together． After they had been told about it, one of them said, “Why didn’t you lock the door of your stable（马厩）last night? I think that it had something to do with you!”

    “You aren’t deaf man,” complained（抱怨）the second． “Didn’t you hear anything at that moment? The thief must have driven the beast away out of the gate, and couldn’t have carried it away on his back!”

    “I agree with them,” blamed（责备）the third． “How careless you are! Every evening, before I go to bed, I lock my stable first and hide the key in my box． Why didn’t you do so?”

    The more they said, the more excited they became． At last Mr． Brown couldn’t bear（忍受） any more and said angrily, “I’m glad that you have come to see me． But none of you would help me either look for my horse or catch the thief． Do you think that it’s all my fault（过错）? Why don’t you blame the thief?”

1．After we read the story, we can know ____ ．

[　　]

   A．what Mr． Brown was

   B．what happened to Mr． Brown

   C．where Mr． Brown lived

   D．who stole Mr． Brown’s horse

2．All of his friends came to see Mr． Brown so that they ____ ．

[　　]

   A．comforted him B．felt sorry for him

   C．blamed him D．helped him

3．They imputed（归咎于） the fault to Mr． Brown because they thought ____ ．

[　　]

   A．he wasn’t deaf

   B．he didn’t lock his stable

   C．he was very careless

   D．he didn’t hide the key in his box

4．The friends’blame could ____ ．

[　　]

   A．help Mr． Brown find his horse

   B．help Mr． Brown catch the thief

   C．help Mr． Brown bear in mind the lessons（记住教训）

   D．make Mr． Brown angry

5．Finally Mr． Brown ____ ．

  [　　 ]

   A．wasn’t satisfied with his friends

   B．thanked his friends very much

   C．agreed with his friends

   D．decided to look for his horse himself at once

One day a famous speaker gave a speech to a crowd of people. He held up a   36   bill. He asked, “Who would like this $20 bill ? ” Hands were   37   . Then he said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first let me do this.” He began to crumple（弄皱）the   38  . He then asked the audience, “   39   still wants it ?” Still the hands went   40  in the air.

  “ What   41   I do this? ” He asked, and he   42   it on the ground, and started to step on it. He   43   it up. Now the bill was   44   and crumpled. “ Now who still wants it?” Still the hands went up.

  “My friends,” He continued, “You have all   45    a good lesson . No matter   46   I did to the money, you still wanted it because the bill did not lose its   47   . It was still worth $20. Many times in our   48  , we are dropped, crumpled, and stepped on, because we sometimes  49   wrong decisions, or we may   50   with something we do not   51  .When that happens, we feel depressed and think we are   52  . But in fact no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. The worth of our life comes not   53   what we do or whom we know, but in who we are! Don’t forget ‘the worth of a thing does not depend on its outside   54   , but on its inner value.’ This is the   55   of life.

A. 20 dollar         B. 20 dollars              C. 20-dollars      D. 20-dollar.

A. risen         B. put                C. raised               D. held

A. bill          B. paper               C. cash                      D. change

A. Somebody    B. Nobody             C. Anybody      D. You

A. up           B. down                C. above              D. around

A. should          B. can                 C. if            D. whether

A. threw           B. dropped             C. fell                D. put

A. showed         B. lifted                C. brought           D. picked

A. good            B. clean                C. large               D. dirty

A. given           B. learned              C. taught              D. taken

A. that              B. how                 C. what                D. why

A. value           B. price                C. effect              D. part

A. studies          B. work               C. fields               D. lives

A. do              B. make                C. give                       D. take

A. meet            B. deal                 C. talk                 D. get

A. like             B. hope                C. wish                D. expect

A. worthless      B. weak                C. poor                D. careless

A. from            B. in                  C. about               D. at

A. beauty          B. face                 C. looks              D. impression

A. lesson           B. truth                C. saying            D. story