O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.

1.In which order did O. Henry do the following things?

a. Lived in New York.   b. Worked in a bank.        c. Travelled to Texas.

d. Was put in prison.    e. Had a newspaper Job.      f. Learned to write stories.

A. c. e. b. d. f. a    B. e. c. f. b. d. a       C. e. b. d. c. a. f.   D. c. b. e. d. a f.

2.People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because

A. they had surprise endings    B. they were easy to understand

C. they showed his love for the poor          D. they were about New York City

3.O. Henry went to prison because        .

A. people thought he had stolen money that was not his

B. he broke the law by not using his own name

C. he wanted to write stories about prisoners

D. people thought he had taken money from the newspaper

4.What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?

A. He was well-educated.  B. He was not serious about his work.

C. He was devoted to the poor. D. He was very good at learning.

5.Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?

A. His life inside the prison.       B. The newspaper articles he wrote.

C. The city and people of New York.  D. His exciting early life as a boy.

On the day of a big event, many people came to Big Bend Mountain to watch. John Henry and the salesman stood side by side. Even early in the day, the sun was burning hot.

The competition began. John Henry kissed his hammer and started working. At first, the steam-powered drill worked two times faster than he did. Then, he started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. In the mountain, the heat and dust were so thick that most men would have had trouble breathing. The crowd shouted as clouds of dust came from inside the mountain.

The salesman was afraid when he heard what sounded like the mountain breaking. However, it was only the sound of John Henry at work. Polly Ann and her son cheered when the machine was pulled from the tunnel of the mountain. It had broken down. Polly Ann urged John Henry to come out. But he kept working, faster and faster. He dug deep into the darkness, hitting the steel so hard that his body began to fail him. He became weak, and his heart burst.

John Henry fell to the ground. There was a terrible silence. Polly Ann did not move because she knew what had happened. John Henry’s blood spilled over the ground. But he still held one of the hammers. “I beat them,” he said. His wife cried out, “Don’t go, John Henry.”“Bring me a cool drink of water,”he said. Then he took his last breath.

His friends carried his body from the mountain. They buried him near the house where he was born. Crowds went there after they heard about John Henry’s death.

Soon, the steam drill and other machines replaced the steel-drivers. Many laborers left their families to look for work. They took the only jobs they could find. As they worked, some sang about John Henry.

1.What does the big event mentioned in Paragraph 1 refer to?

2.The underlined word “tunnel ”in Paragraph 3 probably means “          ”.

3. What happened to John Henry when he fell to the ground?

4.What do we know about John Henry?

5.What can we infer from the passage?

O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the readers’ surprise.
【小题1】   In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York.
b. Worked in a bank.
c. Traveled to Texas.
d. Was put in prison.
e. Had a newspaper job.
f. Learned to write stories.

On the day of a big event, many people came to Big Bend Mountain to watch. John Henry and the salesman stood side by side. Even early in the day, the sun was burning hot.

The competition began. John Henry kissed his hammer and started working. At first, the steam-powered drill worked two times faster than he did. Then, he started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. In the mountain, the heat and dust were so thick that most men would have had trouble breathing. The crowd shouted as clouds of dust came from inside the mountain.

The salesman was afraid when he heard what sounded like the mountain breaking. However, it was only the sound of John Henry at work. Polly Ann and her son cheered when the machine was pulled from the tunnel of the mountain. It had broken down. Polly Ann urged John Henry to come out. But he kept working, faster and faster. He dug deep into the darkness, hitting the steel so hard that his body began to fail him. He became weak, and his heart burst.

John Henry fell to the ground. There was a terrible silence. Polly Ann did not move because she knew what had happened. John Henry’s blood spilled over the ground. But he still held one of the hammers. “I beat them,” he said. His wife cried out, “Don’t go, John Henry.”“Bring me a cool drink of water,”he said. Then he took his last breath.

His friends carried his body from the mountain. They buried him near the house where he was born. Crowds went there after they heard about John Henry’s death.

Soon, the steam drill and other machines replaced the steel-drivers. Many laborers left their families to look for work. They took the only jobs they could find. As they worked, some sang about John Henry.

What does the big event mentioned in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A.John Henry’s work on a machine.

B.A competition between John Henry and a salesman.

C.John Henry’s work with his hammer and the steel.

D.A competition between John Henry and a drill.

The underlined word “tunnel ”in Paragraph 3 probably means “           ”.

A.flat ground                B.big rock             C.underground passage         D.hard metal

What happened to John Henry when he fell to the ground?

A.He was tired and had to have a rest.

B.He had heart trouble and was dying.

C.He was thirsty and wanted to drink some water.

D.He was injured slightly and was bleeding.

What do we know about John Henry?

A.He won the competition finally.        B.He was buried under the mountain.

C.He loved his work very much.          D.He said nothing before his death.

What can we infer from the passage?

A.Humans can never beat machines.            B.John Henry was regarded as a hero.

C.Laborers hated machines very much.        D.It was easy for laborers to find work.

第二节 完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Growing up on a remote Michigan farm, Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, knew little of farming. Like most pioneer farmers, his father, William, hoped that his eldest son would   36  him on the farm, enable it to expand, and eventually take it  37  . But Henry proved a   38  . He hated farm work and did everything he could to   39   it. It was not that he was lazy.   40   from it! Give him a mechanical job to do, from mending a gate to sharpening tools,  41  he would set to work eagerly. It was the daily life of the farm, with its dull tasks, 42  upset him.
Henry was excited by the development in technology that could __43  farmers like his father from wasteful and   44  labor. But these developments, in Henry’s boyhood, had touched farming   45  at all and farmers went on doing things in the way they had always done. So Henry   46   his attention elsewhere. When he was twelve, he became 47  in clocks and watches. Soon he was repairing them for friends, working at a bench he built in his bedroom.
In 1876, Henry suffered a serious   48 . His mother died in childbirth.  49   was no reason for him to stay on the farm, and he 50   to get away as soon as he could. Three years later, he took a job as a mechanic in Detroit.  51 this time steam engines had joined clocks and watches as objects of Henry’s fascination. Making and installing them was the business of the Detroit workshop that he joined at the age of sixteen.
A chance meeting with an old co-worker    52   a job for Henry as an engineer at the Edison Detroit Electricity Company. When he quickly learned the ropes of his new job, his interest in fuel engines had come to control his life.
Henry learned  53   a slow, painstaking business it was to build an engine by hand. Every piece of every part had to be made individually, checked and rechecked, and tested.  54   the burden, he joined forces with another mechanic, Jim Bishop. Even so, it was two years  55   they succeeded in building a working car. Henry called it “Quadricycle.”(四轮驱动脚踏车)
36. A. learn                       B. find                               C. Work        D. join
37. A. away                        B. down                             C. Over        D. off
38. A. success                     B. discouragement               C. Surprise     D. disappointment
39. A. do                         B. avoid                             C. Work        D. make
40. A. Apart                        B. Far                                C. Free         D. Aside
41. A. and                       B. or                                  C. Otherwise    D. so
42. A. that                        B. which                            C. what        D. where
43. A. prevent                     B. free                               C. Take         D. bring
44. A. boring                      B. exciting                          C. Funny        D. inspiring
45. A. almost                      B. sometimes                      C. Hardly        D. always
46. A. drew                        B. caught                            C. turned       D. attracted
47. A. worried                    B. interested                       C. Upset        D. bored
48. A. disease                      B. blow                           C. Beat          D. defeat
49. A. It                             B. There                             C. This          D. That
50. A. decided                     B. avoided                          C. Stuck         D. took
51. A. At                            B. After                              C. In           D. By
52. A.attended to                 B. related to                        C. turned to       D. led to
53. A. how                         B. what                        C. why          D. where
54. A. To reduce                 B.To bear                         C. To carry        D. To place
55. A. when                        B. before                            C. After           D. unless