阅读理解

　　“It is over! Thank goodness!”

　　School was over and I was both mentally and physically tired. I sat at the very front of the bus because of my anxiety to get home. Sitting at the front makes you stand out like a shiny coin in a pile of dull pennies.

　　Janie, the driver, tries to break the uncomfortable atmosphere by striking the match of conversation. I try to mind my manners and politely listen, but usually I am too busy thinking about my day. On this day, however, her conversation was worth listening to. “My father's sick. ”she said to no one in particular. I could see the anxiety and fear in her eyes. It frightened me. I had never seen her like this before. She always greeted students with a smile.

　　With a sudden change of attitude and interest, I asked, “What's wrong with him?”

　　With her eyes wet and her voice tight from fighting the tears, she responded, “Heart trouble. ”Her eyes lowered as she continued. “I've already lost my mum, so I don't think I can stand losing him. ”

　　I couldn't respond. I was in shock. My heart ached for her.

　　I sat on the old, smelly seat thinking of the great pain my own mother was thrown into when her father died. I saw how hard it was, and still is, for her. I wouldn't want anyone to go through that.

　　Suddenly I realized Janie wasn't only a bus driver, that was just her job. She had a whole world of family and concerns too. I had never thought of her as anything but a driver.

　　I suddenly felt very selfish. I realized I had only thought of people as far as what their purposes were in my life. I had never thought of them as people with lives and events of their own. I paid no attention to Janie because she was a bus driver. I had judged her by her job and brushed her off as unimportant.

　　For all I know, I'm just another person in someone else's world, and may not even be important. I shouldn't have been so selfish and self-centered. Everyone has places to go, people to see and appointments to keep. Understanding people is an art.

1．The driver talked to the writer because ________.

[　　]

A．she knew the writer was tired

B．she wanted the writer to share her sorrow

C．the writer sat very near her

D．she wanted to make the writer happy

2．The writer was probably ________.

[　　]

A．a polite student

B．a warm-hearted student

C．a good listener

D．a very selfish person

3．It was ________ that made the writer changed the attitude.

[　　]

A．the topic

B．her father's illness

C．her feelings

D．her voice

4．We can infer that it is the first time for the writer ________.

[　　]

A．talk to people face to face

B．to have a heart-to-heart talk

C．think of herself

D．to think of others

5．The short talk taught the writer to ________.

[　　]

A．how to talk with other people

B．look deeper into the people around

C．share with other people

D．understand people's sorrow

George and Carol were medical students at the same college and like many other college students, they enjoyed playing jokes on people. Both of them smoked, but they knew that their professor was strongly against it, because smoking was dangerous to one's health. One day they decided to play a joke on their professor.

At one of their medical lectures（讲座）there was always a skeleton（骨架模型）in the room so that the professor could show the students the different bones in the human body.

That afternoon. Carol and George put a cigarette（香烟）in the mouth of the skeleton that was to be used for their next lecture.

When the professor came in. he began talking and then noticed the cigarette. He went up to the skeleton, took the cigarette out of its mouth and said. “You really should give them up, old boy. Look what they're doing to you!”

56. What do the professor's words mean__________.

A. It's only a joke to put a cigarette into a skeleton's mouth.

B. He would persuade the skeleton to give up smoking.

C. Smoking is really dangerous. It may even cause death.

D. Students should not learn from the skeleton to smoke.

57. To whom did the professor really say these words？

A. To George and Carol only.

B. To the skeleton which he called “old boy”.

C. Only to himself.

D. To all the students who attended his lecture.

58. The underlined word “they” in the passage means_________.

A. George and Carol                                 B. the students

C. the bones                                            D. cigarettes

59. What do you think of the professor?

A. Serious but humorous.                   B. Honest and foolish.

C. Kind and polite.                             D. Hard to get along with.

Canada's culture is a funny thing．Many people in Canada think that Canada doesn't really have its own culture，but borrows heavily from French，British and American cultures．It is hard to describe our culture or to say that something is part of Canadian culture，but there are many things in our society that we can say are uniquely（独一无二地）Canadian，such as hockey or our entertainment scene．

There are characters that are not unique to Canadians，but they certainly seem to be more prevalent here than anywhere else．Canadians are generally considered very polite．We also have a reputation for being wise thinkers，and we certainly love peace and would prefer to argue than fight physically．

We don't really have an internationally famous dish，like blood pudding，pasta or sauerkraut，unless it's maple syrup．What we do have is multiculturalism（多元文化主义）．We are willing to take in any culture and make it part of our own．We are a country of immigrants（移民）and that is our culture．In Canada，just about every language in the world is spoken．We have television channels and newspapers for any cultural group that has a large enough market to support them．

In a city like Toronto，Vancouver or Montreal，you could have world-class dim sum for breakfast，kimchi for lunch and butter chicken for dinner and the next day have Belgian waffles and crepes for breakfast，Yorkshire pudding for lunch and jerk chicken or kitfo for dinner．The possibilities are endless．

We've told you a little about Canadian culture．You Call click www.studyincanada.com for more information．But we think the best way to experience Canada's culture is to come to Canada and experience it for yourself．

1．From this passage，we mainly learn ________．

A．why Canada doesn't have its own culture

B．why Canada's culture is a funny thing

C．that people know Canada very well

D．something about Canada's culture

2．What does the underlined word “prevalent” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Interesting．           B．Common．          C．Important．            D．Useful．

3．It is implied in the passage that ________．

A．Canada is most famous for its maple syrup

B．immigrants have introduced many different cultures to Canada

C．Canada doesn’t have any of its own sports

D．Canada has never been at war with other countries

4．What can we learn from the passage?

A．Canada has the most television channels in the world．

B．Every Canadian can speak several languages．

C．Canadians get angry easily when talking with others．

D．People can enjoy various kinds of food in Canada．

5．This passage is most probably taken from a ________．

A．newspaper             B．magazine              C．website                  D．radio program

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery（公墓）. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism (批评) of President Lincoln at the time. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The other speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman (政治家) and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.

It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Later that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. His speech lasted an hour and 57 minutes and it was a perfect example of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause（掌声）. Lincoln turned to a friend and said, “I have failed again.”

Some newspapers at first criticized (批评) the speech. But little by little, as people read the speech, they began to like its simplicity（简洁）and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.

Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was __________________ in Gettysburg.

A. warmly welcomed       B. unpopular      C. greatly praised            D. very polite

Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was __________.

       A. a famous speaker of the day              B. very handsome and polite

       C. President of the United States at the time    D. a popular statesman

It can be inferred from the text that __________________________________.

       A. Lincoln had prepared his speech very carefully before he went to Gettysburg

       B. Lincoln was very busy at the time and didn’t have much time to prepare his speech

       C. Lincoln’s speech seemed to be a failure for the first time

       D. Lincoln’s speech was a little shorter than Everett’s one

Lincoln’s speech was __________________.

       A. an immediate success                          B. not accepted at all

       C. a total failure                                     D. not well-received at first

Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

       A. Lincoln’s speech has deep meaning though it is simple in style.

       B. Neither Lincoln’s speech nor Everett’s was popular then.

       C. Lincoln’s speech proved to be a great success later.

       D. Everett’s speech was thought to be perfect at that time.