President Bush’s dogs often play on the White House lawn（草坪）, but did you know that he also has cows and a cat? His cat is named India. India, also called “Willie”, has lived with the Bush family for more than ten years! On his farm in Crawford, Texas, he keeps a cow called Ofelia named after a person who worked with him when he worked in Texas.

Past Presidents brought many interesting animals to the White House. The wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President, had silkworms. Herbert Hoover, the 31^st President, had an opossum（负鼠）. And Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President, had a raccoon（浣熊）named Rebecca.

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26^th President, was famous for his many pets. His six kids had snakes, dogs, cats, a badger, birds, guinea pigs, and more. Once, Roosevelt’s son Quentin borrowed some snakes from a pet store. Running to show his father, Quentin interrupted an important meeting and dropped the snakes all over his father’s desk!

During World War Ⅰ, Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th President, kept some sheep on the White House lawn. He did this so the First Family would appear to be supporting the war effort. The sheep’s help was great. They ate the lawn and the sheep’s wool was auctioned （拍卖）to raise money for the American Red Cross.

Some of the more unusual U.S. Presidents’ pets have been gifts from other world leaders. James Buchanan received some elephants from Thailand. The Sultan of Oman gave Martin Van Buren a pair of tigers.

But even the more common pets have had an unusual time at the White House. Warren Harding, the 29^th President, and his family had a birthday party for their dog Laddie Boy. They invited other dogs and served a dog biscuit cake.

What’s next? A White House zoo?

60. 1.What do we know about President Bush’s pets?

A. A horse is his favorite pet.

B. Willie was named after a person.

C. India has lived with him for a long time.

D. Ofelia was raised on the White House lawn.

61. 2.Who raised an interesting animal called Rebecca in the White House?

A. Herbert Hoover            B. Woodrow Wilson

C. Calvin Coolidge           D. James Buchanan

62. 3.According to the passage, what happened to President Theodore Roosevelt?

A. His pets were a great help to the American Red Cross.

B. He was once disturbed by his son when he was working

C. His wife once sent him an opossum in order to please him.

D. He received a pair of tigers as a gift from Oman’s leader.

63. 4. According to the passage, who held a party for his pet dog?

A. The 6^th President           B. The 31^st President

C. The 26^th President.         D. The 29^th President.

 

Dr Asim Syed, 32, has performed more than 100 operations at London’s Hammersmith Hospital in the country’s busiest transplant unit, but never imagined that he would one day become a donor himself.
He stepped forward when was told his 64-year-old mother might be dead within months unless she got a new kidney (肾). The worried surgeon brought her to London to be cared for at his hospital. However, it was not all plain sailing. Tests showed Dr Syed was the wrong blood group, so the only way was to go through a special blood-washing process. He consulted colleagues about that, but they didn’t agree, because the risk of rejection is still too high. Dr Syed and his mother were then advised to consider a new way of donating and receiving, called an organ-paired. That is, Dr Syed donated his kidney to an unknown person and another donor in the chain was a successful match for his mother. The chain of three transplants took place at the same time on July 31 with Dr Syed’s kidney going to a recipient in the Midlands and Mrs. Syed receiving her kidney from a person in the south of England.
Just hours after donating his own kidney, Dr Syed found himself recovering in bed next to his mother. Mrs Syed said, “When I came round from my operation Asim was in the next bed and the first thing he said was, ‘Mum now all your worries are over.’ Tears fell down.”
Now mother and son are recovering well with Dr Syed already back at work. Mrs. Syed is staying with him for several months while the hospital monitors her progress.
He said, “I did what anyone would do when they see a relative suffering disease. Although I wasn’t able to help mum directly, by agreeing to be part of a chain, I was also very happy.”
【小题1】 Why isn’t it a plain sailing?

A．No one can treat his mother well.

B．Dr Syed was the wrong blood group.

C．They didn’t have money to be in hospital.

D．Mrs. Syed was unwilling to receive the operation.

【小题2】Why didn’t his colleagues agree to the method of blood-washing?

A．It is very dangerous.	B．It costs too much.
C．They didn’t know how to do it at all.	D．They didn’t have the relative equipment.

【小题3】 What can we learn about Mrs. Syed?

A．She was touched by his son’s deed.

B．She has already recovered completely.

C．After operation, she went her own home.

D．She was in hospital in London for many years.

【小题4】What can be inferred from the text?

A．The hospital still needs improving.

B．Dr Syed has love and devotion to his parents.

C．The expense in the hospital is too high to afford.

D．Dr Syed donated his kidney to his mother directly.

The Taj Mahal (泰姬陵) is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest example of the late style of Indian architecture (建筑). It is at Agra in northern India. It lies beside the River Jumna in the middle of gardens with quiet pools.
　　The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor (皇帝) Shah Jehan, who ruled India in the seventeenth century. It is in memory of his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Bagam, known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. The building, which was completed between 1632 and 1638, was designed by a local Muslim architect (建筑师), Ustad Ahmad Lahori. The whole building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643. The Taj Mahal stands at one end of the garden tomb with marble (大理石) path. The room is softly lighted by the light that passes through double screens of carved marble set high in the walls. The building now is kept in good condition.
　　The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build. Shah Jehan planned a similar building, but in black instead of white, to lie on the other side of the river. But before it could be built, Shah Jehan was imprisoned (监禁) by his son and buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal.
【小题1】The Taj Mahal was built for____ .

A．Mumtaz

B．Shah

C．Either Mumtaz or Shah

D．Both Mumtaz and Shah

【小题2】 Why do you think Shah Jehan was buried next to his wife?

A．His own tomb hadn’t been built.	B．He hoped to be buried there.
C．King and Queen should be buried together	D．He liked Mumtaz all his life.

【小题3】The passage mainly tells us____ .

A．why the Taj Mahal was built

B．the love story between Shah and Mumtaz

C．some information about the Taj Mahal

D．the Taj Mahal—the pride of Indians

【小题4】Form the passage we can learn that____ .

A．the Taj Mahal looks more beautiful than before .

B．the Taj Mahal doesn’t exist now.

C．the Taj Mahal has completely changed.

D．the Taj Mahal has become a place of interest.

阅读下面文章，回答问题。

(A)

  The Taj Mahal is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest example of the late style of Indian architecture (建筑). It is at Agra in northern India. It lies beside the River Jumna in the middle of gardens with quiet pools.

　 　The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor (皇帝) Shah Jehan, who ruled India in the seventeenth century. It is in memory of his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Bagam, known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. The building, which was completed between 1632 and 1638, was designed by a local Muslim architect (建筑师), Ustad Ahmad Lahori. The whole building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643. The Taj Mahal stands at one end of the garden tomb with marble (大理石) path. The room is softly lighted by the light that passes through double screens of carved marble set high in the walls. The building now is kept in good condition.

　 　The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build. Shah Jehan planned a similar building, but in black instead of white, to lie on the other side of the river. But before it could be built, Shah Jehan was imprisoned (监禁) by his son and buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal. 

1. The Taj Mahal was built for____ .

A. Mumtaz                     　B. Shah

C. Either Mumtaz or Shah        　D. Both Mumtaz and Shah

2. The passage mainly tells us____ .

A. why the Taj Mahal was built

B. the love story between Shah and Mumtaz

C. some information about the Taj Mahal

D. the Taj Mahal—the pride of Indians

3. Form the passage we can learn that____ .

A. the Taj Mahal looks more beautiful than before.

B. the Taj Mahal doesn't exist now.

C. the Taj Mahal has completely changed.

D. the Taj Mahal has become a place of interest.

(B)

Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing. Three years ago, few people would go swimming in the icy waters. But now there is a Winter-swimming Enthusiasts’ Club（冬泳爱好者协会）and it has more than 2 000 members. The oldest is 84 years old and the youngest is only 7. The members are from all walks of life. They may be workers, peasants, soldiers, teachers, students…

Though it is now the coldest part of the season and the water temperature in the city’s lakes is around 0℃, many winter-swimmers still swim in the icy waters, even when it is snowing. They enjoy themselves in the lake, while the people by the side of the lake are wearing heavy clothes.

Why are so many people interested in winter-swimming? Because winter-swimming can be good for one’s health.

Bei Sha is a good example. He is 69, and he once suffered from heart trouble for 26 years. After ten years of winter-swimming he is now in good health. Scientists are now studying the effects of winter-swimming on health.

4. What does the underlined sentence “The members are from all walks of life” mean?  

A. The members do different jobs at different places.

B. They come from all parts of Beijing.

C. They are persons of different ages.

  D. They are men and women, old and young.

5. The winter-swimmers are able to swim in the icy waters, even on snowy days because       .

  A. they are not afraid of coldness

  B. they often swim in the icy waters

  C. they know that they can benefit（得益）from it

  D. winter-swimming can make people healthy

6. Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing because       .

  A. more and more people like to swim in Beijing

  B. it is more interesting than swimming in summer

  C. winter-swimmers are brave men

  D. winter-swimming does a lot of good to one’s health

7. What’s the best title for this passage?

  A. People in Beijing Like Swimming in Winter

  B. Winter-swimming—A Craze（狂热）in Beijing

  C. People Benefit from Winter-swimming

  D. Winter-swimmers Are Brave Men