Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality of life.
In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.
The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling(四脚朝天).
When it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.
Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.
Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out to do .”
【小题1】What does the underlined part “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．A happy thing.	B．A difficult task.
C．A big dream.	D．A beautiful scene.

【小题2】Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?

A．This passage is a description of giraffes’ living habits.

B．Baby giraffes can’t stand up until three months old.

C．Irving Stone spent a lifetime studying and writing stories about great people.

D．The great people can’t stand up after they’re knocked down for years.

【小题3】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to keep a baby giraffe.

B．Learning to Get Back Up.

C．Stories about the great people.

D．A mother giraffe and its baby giraffe.

Paris—French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would clear over 300 Roma camps in France. He will send more than 700 Roma back to their native countries, including Romania (罗马尼亚) and Bulgaria (保加利亚) in the next three months.
Many French people disagree with Sarkozy’s move. Some European countries don’t agree with the move, either. They say it goes against human rights. However, Sarkozy has made up his mind. Police have been clearing Roma camps.
Roma are also called gypsies (吉普赛人). They came from India. They left their homeland sometime during the 11th century and entered Europe in the 14th century. Today there are 2-5 million gypsies. Most of them live in Eastern Europe.
They traveled everywhere and made a living as actors, actresses, workers, and by selling goods from faraway lands. Most gypsies are very poor and their children don’t go to school. Some gypsies can’t find work so they make a living begging (乞讨) or stealing. The French government thinks gypsies bring a lot of social problems. That’s why Sarkozy wants them out of France.
Sarkozy’s move, however, won’t solve the gypsy problems in France for the long term. According to EU (欧盟) laws, the gypsies of EU member countries are free to go to another EU member country, like France. They can stay there for up to three months. Many of the gypsies will probably come back to France in the future.
【小题1】How many Roma will be sent from France to their native countries in the next three months?

A．Over 300

B．Over 700

C．2 million

D．5 million

【小题2】According to the news, most of the Roma live in _________.

A．France

B．India

C．America

D．Eastern Europe

【小题3】Why does Sarkozy want to send the Roma out of France?

A．They traveled everywhere around Europe and India.

B．The gypsies are free to go to another EU member country.

C．Most gypsies are very poor and their children don’t go to school.

D．The French government thinks gypsies bring a lot of social problems.

【小题4】How long can the gypsies of EU member countries stay in another EU member country?

A．They can stay there all life long.

B．They can stay for up to three months.

C．They stayed from 11th century to 14th century.

D．They can travel to the country and stay for a few days.

【小题5】Which is Not True according to the text?

A．Police have been clearing Roma camps.

B．All the French people agree with Sarkozy’s move.

C．Some European countries say the move goes against human rights.

D．Sarkozy’s move won’t solve the gypsy problems in France for the long term.

One day Mozart saw an old blind street-performer playing the violin in the street corner  26  a hat in front of him . He found out the old man was  27  one of his compositions . The old man played for  28  but still nobody put any money into his hat . Mozart asked the old man , “Do you often play compositions by Mozart ?” “Yes,  29 _ ,” answered the old man . “now, everybody knows Mozart and likes his music .” “Do you  30  a living by playing the violin ?” The old man said he  31 . Mozart took over the violin from the old man and began to play .

He played so well  32  all the passerby stopped to listen to the wonderful music and soon the old man felt very  33  that the man could play so well . He asked Mozart , “Who are you , sir ?” “Your colleague（同行） , a poor  34  like you .”

Then Mozart gave the  35  back to the old man and went away .

1.A. on             B. by            C. with           D. to

2.A. writing        B. playing       C. reading        D. listening

3.A. sometime       B. sometimes     C. some time      D. some times

4.A. you            B. it is         C. Mr.            D. Sir

5.A. make           B. buy           C. give           D. take

6.A. certainly      B. did           C. yes            D. sorry

7.A. which          B. how           C. that           D. what

8.A. happy          B. worried       C. disappointed   D. surprised

9.A. musician       B. artist        C. scientist      D. writer

10.A. money         B. violin        C. food           D. hat

 

Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality of life.

In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.

The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling(四脚朝天).

When it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.

Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.

Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out to do .”

1.What does the underlined part “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．A happy thing.                          B．A difficult task.

C．A big dream.                           D．A beautiful scene.

2.Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?

A．This passage is a description of giraffes’ living habits.

B．Baby giraffes can’t stand up until three months old.

C．Irving Stone spent a lifetime studying and writing stories about great people.

D．The great people can’t stand up after they’re knocked down for years.

3.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to keep a baby giraffe.

B．Learning to Get Back Up.

C．Stories about the great people.

D．A mother giraffe and its baby giraffe.