Science fiction is a popular kind of writing, and many people think of Jules Verne as the father of science fiction. He was born in France in 1828. His father wanted him to become a lawyer（律师）, but when he was about twenty years old, Verne decided to become a writer. At first he wrote plays for the theater. Then, in 1863, he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Balloon. The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories such as A Journey to the Center of the Earth （1864） and From the Earth to the Moon （1865）.

In the 19th century, many people were interested in science and inventions. Jules Verne wrote about scientific subjects in his stories and, as a result, they were very popular. Verne’s writing included many predictions （预言） for the 20th century and many of them came true. He described space flight, movies, and air conditioning, a long time before they appeared. These books were very successful and they made Verne rich.

Jules Verne’s books have been the subjects for many movies. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney. It was the first Disney movie to use real actors instead of cartoon drawings. Around the World in Eighty Days is another famous movie based on one of Verne’s books. The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg. For him, the most important thing is to be always on time!

1．What does the phrase “the father of science fiction” mean?

A．The man who loves science and inventions.

B．The writer whose father wrote science fiction.

C．The man who first started writing science fiction successfully.

2．What encouraged Jules Verne to write more stories?

A．The success of Five Weeks in a Balloon.

B．The encouragement from his father.

C．The plays he wrote for the theater.

3．Why were Jules Verne’s books very popular in the19th century?

A．Because his books made him rich and famous.

B．Because his books have been the subjects for many movies.

C．Because many people were interested in science and inventions.

4．Which of the following has the main character called Phileas Fogg?

A．From the Earth to the Moon

B．Around the World in Eighty Days.

C．A Journey to the Center of the Earth.

5．20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a ______.

   A．cartoon movie

B．movie to use real actors

C．book written by Walt Disney

Science fiction is a popular kind of writing，and many people think of Jules Verne as the father of science fiction．

    He was born in France in 1828．His father wanted him to become a lawyer，but from his early twenties Verne decided to become a writer．At first he wrote plays for the theater．Then，in 1863，he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Ballon．The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories such as A Journey to the Center of the Earth(1864)and From the Earth to the Moon(1865)．

    In the 19th century，many people were interested in science and inventions．Jules Verne wrote about scientific subjects in his stories and，as a result，they were very popular．Verne’s writing included many predictions(预言)for the 20th century and many of them came true．He described space flight，movies，and air conditioning，a long time before they appeared．These books were very successful and they made Verne rich．

    Jules Verne’s books have been the subjects for many movies．20，000 Leagues Under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney．It was the first Disney movie to use real science instead of cartoon drawings．Around the World in Eighty Days is another famous movie based on one of Verne’s books．The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg．For him，the most important thing is to be always on time!

1．What does the phrase“the father of science fiction”mean?

  A．The father who has several children．

  B．The man who loves science and inventions．

  C．The writer whose father wrote science fiction．

  D．The man who first started writing science fiction successfully．

2．What encourages Jules Verne to write more stories?

  A．The plays he wrote for the theater．

  B．The encouragement from his father．

  C．The success of Five Weeks in a Balloon．

  D．The scientific subjects in his stories．

3．Why were Jules Verne’s books very popular in the 19th century?

  A．Because his books made him rich and famous．

  B．Because he wrote many plays for the theater at that time．

  C．Because his books have been the subjects for many movies．

  D．Because many people were interested in science and inventions．

4．Which of the following has the main character called Phileas Fogg?

  A．Five Weeks in the Balloon．

  B．Around the World in Eighty Days．

  C．A Journey to the Center of the Earth．

  D．From the Earth to the Moon．

5．According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?

  A．Jules Verne only wrote plays in the 19th century．

  B．Many of the predictions in Verne’s stories came true．

  C．The main characters in Verne’s books are always on time．

  D．The space flight Verne described was different from others．

　　A married couple were very worried about their son. Though normal（正常）in other way, he seemed to be dumb（哑的）. Not once had he spoken and now he was six years old. They had tried everything to get him to speak, but with no success.

　　The finest doctors in the country had examined him, but could find nothing wrong with his throat（喉）, and he seemed to be a very clever child. It was just that he never spoke.

　　“It's possible,” one of the doctors said. “There is something wrong with his mind, and he does not understand that he is capable of speech.”

　　“But he can read and write,” the boy's father said. “Perhaps he will grow out of his silence one day.”

　　The years passed. The boy left primary school and went to secondary school. He left secondary school and went to university. But he did not speak a single word.

　　Then one day, during a summer vacation, he was sitting at the dining table having a meal with his parents. Without any warning, he looked up from his meal and said, “Pass me the salt, please.” His parents were overjoyed.

　　“You spoke! You spoke!” they cried. “Why have you waited so long to speak?”

　　The young man looked at them and said, “I didn't have anything to say, until now everything has been perfect. But you obviously（明显地）forgot to put salt in these potatoes.”

(1) The couple was worried because their son ________.

[　　]

(2) They had great ________.

[　　]

A．success in getting him to speak

B．trouble in getting him to speak

C．fun listening to their son

D．problems listening to their son

(3) The doctors decided that ________.

[　　]

A．there was something wrong with the boy

B．they could help the boy

C．the boy was unable to say anything

D．the parents should write to their son

(4) Although the boy didn't speak ________.

[　　]

(5) The boy spoke because ________.

[　　]

A．he had a complaint about his food

B．everything was perfect

C．his parents were surprised

D．he wanted to eat

In 1961 Obama was born in Hawaii, US. His father is an African and his mother is a white American. He grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii.
When Obama was 10 years old, he was one of only three black students at his school in Hawaii. He felt very different from most other students. White girls wanted to touch his hair. A white boy even asked him what his father was.
“I lied to them that my father was a Kenyan prince（王子）. But I kept asking myself who I am,” said Obama.
However, 37 years later, the boy made history. Obama became the first black president（总统） in US history.
This unusual background（背景） made him wonder who he was. He once turned to alcohol (酒) to help forget this question.
With the help of his friends, Obama finally turned his life around at college. His hard work made him a star at Harvard. Later, he became only the third black senator (参议员) in US history.
“Obama’s success has made Martin Luther King’s dream come true. That is: A man should not be judged （判断）by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character,” wrote ABC news.
【小题1】Obama was born in _______________.
A Britain       B America      C Kenya        D Indonesia
【小题2】There was/were _______black students besides Obama at the school where he studied when he was ten.
A no           B one              C two          D three
【小题3】Obama became the first black president in US history when he was ______.
A 37            B 40               C 47           D 50
【小题4】Which of the following is true?
A Obama’s father was a Kenyan prince.
B Obama once forgot who his father was with the help of alcohol.
C Obama was so dishonest when he was young that nobody believed him.
D Obama changed his college life because of his friends’ help and his hard work
【小题5】From the passage we can see that____________.

A．we could judge a person by the colour of his skin

B．we could not judge a person by the content of his character

C．we should not judge a person by the color of his skin

D．we should judge a person by what he did when he was young