阅读理解

　　It was a cold wet night. The taxi driver hadn't had one passenger(乘客)all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man from the country coming out, carrying two big bags. “Aha! ”thought the taxi driver, “here's the right person to make good this bad day. ”He quickly stopped the taxi and opened the door.

　　Driver: Where do you want to go, sir?

　　Young Man: To the Park Hotel.

　　When the taxi driver heard that, his hopes of getting a lot of money disappeared. The Park Hotel was hardly two kilometers away. The young man would give him fifty cents at most. Only fifty cents ! Then he had an idea of taking the young man by a longer route----going all around the city and then back to the Park Hotel. This he did, and after a long time the taxi finally arrived at the hotel.

　　Driver: You should pay me fifteen dollars ,sir.

　　Young Man: What? Fifteen dollars? Do you think I'm a fool? You're trying to cheat(骗)me.

　　Driver: How dare you say I…

　　Young Man: You must think I don't know my way around.

　　Driver: But…

　　Young Man: Only last week I took a taxi from the station to this hotel. I know how much I should pay.

　　Driver: Oh…oh…all right. Now…now look…uh…

　　Young Man: I think I should call the policemen.

　　Driver: Oh, no! Please don't do that! I have a sick wife and four hungry children.

　　Young Man: All right! This time I'll forget it.

　　Driver: Oh, thank you ,sir. And you are right. The trip isn't worth fifteen dollars.

　　Young Man : You don't have to tell me that. I may come from the country, but I'm as clever as you city people.

　　Driver : Yes, sir.

　　Young Man : I just won't be cheated. I won't pay you a cent more than I paid the other taxi last week…thirteen dollars !

1．Why did the taxi driver tell the young man he had a sick wife and four hungry children?

[　　]

A．He didn't want the young man to call the policemen.

B．He wanted to let the young man know he had a big and happy family.

C．He was going to ask the young man to visit his family.

D．He wanted to let the young man know they were not afraid of the policemen.

2．From the story we know that the taxi driver ________.

[　　]

A．was an honest man

B．was very busy that day

C．got far more money than he should get for the trip

D．didn't get a cent more than he should get for the trip

3．From the story we know that the young man ________.

[　　]

A．was as clever as city people

B．knew how much he should pay for the trip

C．had been cheated by another taxi driver the week before

D．wanted to get a lot of money in the city

4．Which of the following would be the best title(标题)of the story?

[　　]

A．City People and Country Men

B．Going to the Park Hotel

C．A Passenger and a Taxi Driver

D．Clever or Foolish?

Once three men got to the Dover station at about nine o'clock that evening.

One of them asked a porter(行李搬运工)what time the next train for London was. The porter answered, "You have just missed one. They go hourly. The next train is at ten."

The three men decided to go off the station. So they went to a bar.

A minute or two after ten o'clock they came running into the station. The porter told them the train had just gone. So they went back to the bar, They missed the eleven o'clock train in the same way. The porter said, "Now the next train is the last one, if you miss that, you won't get to London. tonight."

Twelve o'clock came, and the last train was starting out when all of the three ran to catch the train as fast as they could. Two of them went into a carriage(车厢) ,but the third of them didn't run fast enough. The train went out and left him behind. He laughed until tears came into his eyes. Then he caught hold of the porter's hand and said, "Well, I myself have to go to London, and they only came here to see me off."

1. At Dover station, train went to London      .

A. at about nine o'clock every morning

B. only once a day

C. every hour

D. in a minute or two after ten o'clock

2. The three men didn't catch up with the nine o'clock train. So they decided to go off the station and to        .

A. get the tickets

B. get the drink

C. take a walk in the street

D. make a phone call in the bar

3. The last train didn't start out until it was

A. the next day

B. time for sleep

C. a minute or two after 10 o'clock

D. the middle of that night

4.         missed the last train for London.

A. The third of the three

B. The friends of the third man

C. None of the three men

D. All of the three

5. Which of the following is true?

A. The third man didn't run as fast as the other two.

B. The third man changed his mind and didn't want to leave.

C. The train didn't start off on time.

D. The third man laughed for he was glad to see his friends off.

I will never forget the very moment that caused me to leave my gift behind because I wanted the gift that my older sister Maria had.
My family was spending a week at the beach. One morning, Maria went to the beach early, but I stayed behind to finish a drawing of a seashell. After finishing the drawing, I walked to join Maria. She was a top gymnast (体操运动员). Her show was perfect as she wheeled along the beach. The beauty of that sight froze me, and I decided immediately that I too would become a gymnast like her.
I knew that I had never been very good at sports. However, when I told my parents I wanted to take a gymnastics class, they agreed with me in surprise. The next week, I went to a beginners’ class.
If only my parents had talked me out of this misguided plan! Five minutes into the first class, it was clear that I didn’t have the gift of a gymnast. But I kept at it.
During this time, drawing and painting—which had been my two favorites—all but left my mind. It must have been hurting for my family as they watched my hopeless efforts. I blindly decided to be like Maria. I just would not give up.
At the same time, on the advice of Ms. White, my art teacher, I hurriedly handed in my seashell drawing for an art contest in our town. One night as I was having a hard time practicing, the phone rang. It was Ms. White. “Alice, you won the contest!” she said loudly.
“Really?” was all I could reply.
“Yes,” Ms. White said. “They’re going to give you a prize. And that’s not all. The winner is also accepted into Wildale’s Summer Fine Arts Institute.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. Only a handful of young artists were accepted each summer.
That night I didn’t go back into the living room to continue practicing. Gymnastics was Maria’s gift, not mine. It had taken me a while, but I realized that I had a gift of my own.
【小题1】Alice wanted to be a gymnast because ________.

A．she had been good at sports	B．her sister’s show was perfect
C．she hated drawing and painting	D．her parents wanted her to do so

【小题2】 How did Alice feel about learning gymnastics at last?

A．Satisfied.

B．Worried.

C．Hopeful

D．Regretful.

【小题3】 From the story, we can infer that ________.

A．Alice’s parents disagreed with her choice of gymnastics

B．Alice did not realize her gift in drawing and painting at first

C．Alice spent a hard time preparing for the art contest in the town

D．Alice couldn’t believe the news that she got the prize for painting

【小题4】 What does the writer want to tell us according to the passage?

A．We should value our own gifts.	B．It takes time to find one’s gifts.
C．We could develop different gifts.	D．It’s never too late to show our gifts.

I will never forget the very moment that caused me to leave my gift behind because I wanted the gift that my older sister Maria had.
My family was spending a week at the beach. One morning, Maria went to the beach early, but I stayed behind to finish a drawing of a seashell. After finishing the drawing, I walked to join Maria. She was a top gymnast (体操运动员). Her show was perfect as she wheeled along the beach. The beauty of that sight froze me, and I decided immediately that I too would become a gymnast like her.
I knew that I had never been very good at sports. However, when I told my parents I wanted to take a gymnastics class, they agreed with me in surprise. The next week, I went to a beginners’ class.
If only my parents had talked me out of this misguided plan! Five minutes into the first class, it was clear that I didn’t have the gift of a gymnast. But I kept at it.
During this time, drawing and painting—which had been my two favorites—all but left my mind. It must have been hurting for my family as they watched my hopeless efforts. I blindly decided to be like Maria. I just would not give up.
At the same time, on the advice of Ms. White, my art teacher, I hurriedly handed in my seashell drawing for an art contest in our town. One night as I was having a hard time practicing, the phone rang. It was Ms. White. “Alice, you won the contest!” she said loudly.
“Really?” was all I could reply.
“Yes,” Ms. White said. “They’re going to give you a prize. And that’s not all. The winner is also accepted into Wildale’s Summer Fine Arts Institute.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. Only a handful of young artists were accepted each summer.
That night I didn’t go back into the living room to continue practicing. Gymnastics was Maria’s gift, not mine. It had taken me a while, but I realized that I had a gift of my own.
【小题1】Alice wanted to be a gymnast because ________.

A．she had been good at sports	B．her sister’s show was perfect
C．she hated drawing and painting	D．her parents wanted her to do so

【小题2】 How did Alice feel about learning gymnastics at last?

A．Satisfied.

B．Worried.

C．Hopeful

D．Regretful.

【小题3】 From the story, we can infer that ________.

A．Alice’s parents disagreed with her choice of gymnastics

B．Alice did not realize her gift in drawing and painting at first

C．Alice spent a hard time preparing for the art contest in the town

D．Alice couldn’t believe the news that she got the prize for painting

【小题4】 What does the writer want to tell us according to the passage?

A．We should value our own gifts.	B．It takes time to find one’s gifts.
C．We could develop different gifts.	D．It’s never too late to show our gifts.