A bag is useful and the word “bag” is useful, too. Here is an interesting phrase（短语）, “to let the cat out of the bag”. In meaning it is the same as “to tell the secret（秘密）”. And there is an old interesting story about it.

　　Long ago, when farmers wanted to sell chickens at the market, they would usually just throw the chickens in cloth (布) bags. But cats were cheaper than chickens at that time, so many farmers would put cats into the cloth bags but not chickens. One day, a woman asked a man for a chicken. The man gave her a cloth bag in which there was a cat.      When the man opened the cloth bag, a big black cat ran out. Not a chicken! The man’s secret was out and everyone knew it.

　　Now when we say someone gives away a secret, we say “he lets the cat out of the bag”. And that is the story where the interesting phrase came from.

1.The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to (指的是)     .

A. the useful bag                 B. the phrase              C. the cat                     D. the chicken

2.The farmers put cats but not chickens in the bags to      when they sold chickens.

A. tell the secret                                                      B. sell the cats

C. get more money                                                  D. keep the cats quiet

3.Which is the best for the blank (空白处) in the passage?

A. The woman was angry to see a cat.                 B. The man put a cat in the bag.

C. The man asked her to see the chicken.         D. The woman wanted to see the chicken.

4.The writer wrote the story to tell us     .

A. the woman was smart                                         B. how farmers sold their cats

C. the phrase is useful                                             D. where the phrase came from

 

阅读下面的文字，完成小题
去秋人还，蒙赐书及所撰先大父墓碑铭，反复观诵，感与惭并。
夫铭志之著于世，义近于史，而亦有与史异者。盖史之于善恶无所不书；而铭者，盖古之人有功德、材行、志义之美者，惧后世之不知，则必铭而见之。或纳于庙，或存于墓，一也。苟其人之恶，则与铭乎何有？此其所以与史异也。其辞之作，所以使死者无有所憾，生者得致其严。而善人喜于见传，则勇于自立；恶人无有所记，则以愧而惧。至于通材达识，义烈节士，嘉言善状，皆见于篇，则足为后法。警劝之道，非近乎史，其将安近？
及世之衰，人之子孙者，一欲褒扬其亲而不本乎理。故虽恶人，皆务勒铭以夸后世。立言者既莫之拒而不为，又以其子孙之所请也，书其恶焉，则人情之所不得，于是乎铭始不实。后之作铭者，当观其人。苟托之非人，则书之非公与是，则不足以行世而传后。故千百年来，公卿大夫至于里巷之士，莫不有铭，而传者盖少。其故非他，托之非人，书之非公与是故也。
然则孰为其人，而能尽公与是欤？非畜道德而能文章者，无以为也。盖有道德者之于恶人，则不受而铭之，于众人则能辨焉。而人之行，有情善而迹非，有意奸而外淑，有善恶相悬而不可以实指，有实大于名，有名侈于实。犹之用人，非畜道德者恶作辨之不惑，议之不徇？不惑不徇，则公且是矣。而其辞之不工，则世犹不传。于是又在其文章兼胜焉。故曰：非畜道德而能文章者，无以为也。岂非然哉？
然畜道德而能文章者，虽或并世而有，亦或数十年、或一二百年而有之。其传之难又如此，其遇之难又如此。若先生之道德文章，固所谓数百年而有者也。先祖之言行卓卓幸遇而得铭其公与是其传世行后无疑也而世之学者每观传记所书古人之事至其所可感则往往衋然不知涕之流落也，况其子孙也哉？况巩也哉！其追晞祖德，而思所以传之之由，则知先生推一赐于巩而及其三世。其感与报，宜若何而图之？抑又思若巩之浅薄滞拙，而先生进之；先祖之屯蹶否塞以死，而先生显之，则世之魁闳豪杰不世出之士，其谁不愿进于门？潜遁幽抑之士，其谁不有望于世？
既拜赐之辱，且敢进其所以然。所谕世族之次，敢不承教而加详焉。愧甚不宣。巩再拜。
----选自曾巩《寄欧阳舍人（欧阳修）书》
【小题1】对下列划线词解释不正确的一组是                      （   ）

A．生者得致其严 　　严：严肃

B．警劝之道 　　　　道：作用

C．议之不徇 　　　　徇：徇私，袒护

D．所谕世族之次 　　次：排列

【小题2】下列各组句子中划线词的用法和意义相同的一项是      （   ）

A．则足为后法则告诉不许

B．惧后世之不知臣之壮也，犹不如人

C．有意奸而外淑圣人不凝滞于物，而能与世推移

D．先祖之屯蹶否塞以死死犹为厉鬼以击贼

【小题3】下面各项对文章的内容理解不正确的一项是             （   ）

A．铭志能够著称后世，它的意义与“史”相接近，但是它的内容却与“史”有所不同。

B．文中，作者就碑文写作提出了看法，一是撰写碑文要态度公正，二是撰写碑文要慎选作者。

C．文章既论述了铭志的作用，也由衷赞扬了欧阳修为他祖父所作铭志的“公与是”。

D．这篇文章虽是感谢信，但又不仅仅止于感谢，文章还重点述说了“史”的社会意义，也表达了对道德文章兼胜的赞许与追求。

【小题4】用“/”给文中画波浪线的部分断句。（3分）
先 祖 之 言 行 卓 卓 幸 遇 而 得 铭 其 公 与 是 其 传 世 行 后 无 疑 也而 世 之 学 者 每 观 传 记 所 书 古 人 之 事 至 其 所 可 感 则 往 往 衋 然不 知 涕 之 流 落 也
【小题5】将文中画线的句子翻译成现代汉语。（7分）
(1) 苟其人之恶，则与铭乎何有？（3分）
(2) 则知先生推一赐于巩而及其三世。其感与报，宜若何而图之？（4分）

Betty is not a traditional American beauty. She is unfashionable, has thick red glasses, untidy hair and large metal braces (牙套) on her teeth. But this hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of American’s favorite TV characters. So how did she manage to do it?
The answer is that charm can be more attractive than beauty. Betty is the main character in a TV show Ugly Betty. The show is about her life as an office worker at a fashion magazine in New York.
　　The TV show has just started. Betty has many exciting experiences and romantic stories. Betty is often looked down on and laughed at by the people around. But she manages to do better than others with her hard work, charm and wisdom. The show tells us about how a girl goes from an ugly young duck into a beautiful swan.
　　Though you may know the ending of the show from the beginning and the story is familiar to many of us, it has still been a big success in the USA. It has attracted a large number of viewers and won two Golden Globes awards, one of the highest honors for a television program in the USA.“ I think you can see a bit of Betty in all of us, and I mean men as well, because it’s about the underdog (弱者)”，says Ashley Jensen, who plays one of the characters on the show.
　　The program is so successful because of the good performance of the 23-year-old actress America Ferrera who plays the role of Betty. She brings the character alive on the screen.
【小题1】Betty is popular because of ____.

A．her clothes

B．her charm

C．her metal braces

D．her appearance

【小题2】In Paragraph 4, the underlined word “it” refers to (指的是) ____.

A．the beginning

B．the ending

C．the story

D．the show

【小题3】Which is the reason for the success of the show?

A．A large number of viewers.	B．Her life as an office worker.
C．The wonderful performance.	D．Two Golden Globes awards.

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT true according of the show?

A．Betty is a girl of wisdom.

B．Betty acts as a beautiful swan on the show.

C．Betty is an American favorite TV character.

D．Betty is often looked down on by the people around.

【小题5】 What can be the best title for the passage?

A．Beauty from within.	B．A romantic story.
C．An ugly girl.	D．An exciting experience.

中国人失掉自信力了吗
鲁迅
　　①从公开的文字上看起来：两年以前，我们总自夸着“地大物博”，是事实；不久就不
再自夸了，只希望着国联，也是事实；现在是既不夸自己，也不信国联，改为一味求神拜佛，
怀古伤今了——却也是事实。
②于是有人慨叹曰：中国人失掉自信力了。
③如果单据这一点现象而论，自信其实是早就失掉了的。先前信“地”，信“物”，后来
信“国联”，都没有相信过“自己”。假使这也算一种“信”，那也只能说中国人曾经有过“他
信力”，自从对国联失望之后，便把这他信力都失掉了。
④失掉了他信力，就会疑，一个转身，也许能够只相信了自己，倒是一条新生路，但不
幸的是逐渐玄虚起来了。信“地”和“物”，还是切实的东西，国联就渺茫，不过这还可以
令人不久就省悟到依赖它的不可靠。一到求神拜佛，可就玄虚之至了，有益或是有害，一时
就找不出分明的结果来，它可以令人更长久的麻醉着自己。
⑤中国人现在是在发展着“自欺力”。
⑥“自欺”也并非现在的新东西，现在只不过日见其明显，笼罩了一切罢了。然而，在
这笼罩之下，我们有并不失掉自信力的中国人在。
⑦我们从古以来，就有埋头苦干的人，有拚命硬干的人，有为民请命的人，有舍身求法
的人，……虽是等于为帝王将相作家谱的所谓“正史”，也往往掩不住他们的光耀，这就是
中国的脊梁。
⑧这一类的人们，就是现在也何尝少呢？他们有确信，不自欺；他们在前仆后继的战斗，
不过一面总在被摧残，被抹杀，消灭于黑暗中，不能为大家所知道罢了。说中国人失掉了自
信力，用以指一部分人则可，倘若加于全体，那简直是诬蔑。
⑨要论中国人，必须不被搽在表面的自欺欺人的脂粉所诓骗，却看看他的筋骨和脊梁。
自信力的有无，状元宰相的文章是不足为据的，要自己去看地底下。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　九月二十五日。
【小题1】．作者批驳的观点是什么？确立的观点又是什么？（４分）
【小题2】．文章由直接反驳转到间接反驳起过渡作用的是第几段？它在内容上是怎样承上启下的？请结合原文作答。（５分）
【小题3】．联系全文，对“埋头苦干的人”、“拼命硬干的人”、“为民请命的人”、“舍身求法的人”的共同特征概括错误的一项是（　　）（２分）

A．他们都是中国的脊梁。

B．他们有确信，不自欺。

C．他们前仆后继的战斗。

D．他们总不为大家所知道。

【小题4】．文章⑦—⑨段反复强调“中国的脊梁”，表达出作者怎样的思想感情？（４分）
【小题5】．今天的中国正在各个领域展现出国民的自信力，请依照例句按要求续写。（5分）例句：杨利伟，用自信的挥手代表了中国航天科技的高度；
续写：　　　　，                                                          ；
　　　　，                                                          。
他们都                                 。

Several years ago, a television reporter was interviewing three of the most important people from local businesses. One was a very rich banker, another owned one of the largest companies in the world, and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.
　　The reporter was talking to them about being important.
　　“How do we know if someone is really important?” the reporter asked the banker.
　　The banker thought for a few moments and then said, “I think anybody who is invited to the White House to meet the President is really important.”
　　The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that?” she asked.
　　The man shook his head, “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You’d only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the president of another country, and the President said he was too busy to answer it.”
　　The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so?”
　　“No, I don’t.” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”
　　“Then what would make the visitor important?” the reporter and the other two men asked.
　　“Oh, I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang, and the President picked up the receiver, listened and then said, ‘it’s for you.’”
【小题1】This story happened in ________.
A. U.N.             B. U.S.A.               C. U.K.      D. P.R.C.
【小题2】There are________in this passage.

A．three men	B．three women and one man
C．four men	D．three men and one woman

【小题3】The banker and the owner of one of the largest companies in the world ________.

A．had similar opinions about the reporter’s question

B．disagreed with each other

C．had been invited to the White House many times

D．didn’t reply to the reporter

【小题4】The owner of one of the largest companies thought ________.

A．he himself was really important because he owned one of the largest companies in the world

B．the President was really important because the president of another country called him

C．the visitor was really important if the President would rather treat him than answer an important phone call from another country

D．none of them was really important

【小题5】The underlined word you in the last paragraph refers to (指的是) ________.

A．the television reporter	B．the owner of many buildings
C．the President	D．the visitor to the White House