Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare. He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which remain very popular today.
During earlier times, people would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays. It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works. For example, in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors" Shakespeare borrowed certain details from the ancient Roman writer Plautus. For his play "Macbeth", Shakespeare most likely used a work on Scottish history by Raphael Holinshed for information. Shakespeare might have borrowed from other writers, but the intensity（强度）of his imagination and language made the plays his own. While many plays by other writers of his time have been forgotten, Shakespeare and his art live on.
Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him. He described the sights and sounds of London in his plays. His works include observations about political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city’s tradesmen. Shakespeare's knowledge of the English countryside is also clear. His works include descriptions of deep forests, local flowers, and the ancient popular traditions of rural people.
It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which Shakespeare’s works have influenced the world culture. But the first and greatest example would be his great influence on the English language. During his time, the English language was changing. Many new words from other languages were being added. Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and rework old ones. For example, he created the noun forms of "critic", "mountaineer” and "eyeball". Many common expressions in English come from his plays, including "pomp and circumstance（装腔作势）"from "Othello", "full circle（绕圈子地）" from "King Lear", etc. The list of cultural creations influenced by Shakespeare is almost endless. From paintings to television to music and dance, Shakespeare was well represented. Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major language in the world.
Shakespeare became a well­known writer during a golden age of theater. His years of hard work paid off.
【小题1】What can we infer from the passage？

A．Many of Shakespeare's works were influenced by earlier writings.

B．Shakespeare was hard­working when he was a student.

C．The experience of living in London helped a lot with Shakespeare's works.

D．Shakespeare became rich later because of the popularity of his works.

【小题2】Shakespeare might have learnt some information from ancient Roman works in　　　　.

A．"King Lear"

B．"The Comedy of Errors"

C．"Macbeth"

D．"Othello"

【小题3】Why could Shakespeare's works survive his time？

A．Because there were so few people writing plays in his time.

B．Because he produced too many works that nobody else could do.

C．Because he was a rich and influential person of his time.

D．Because his works were rich in imagination and language.

【小题4】Shakespeare's greatest influence should be on　　　　.

A．the English language

B．paintings

C．television

D．music and dance

【小题5】The passage is mainly about 　　　　.

A．an introduction to Shakespeare’s life and his works

B．the main features and styles of Shakespeare's plays

C．how culture influenced Shakespeare and he influenced culture.

D．Shakespeare’s greatest influence on the world culture.

阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

        One day before Christmas, all of us children from the Children's Home Society Orphanage(孤儿院) were taken to the Mayflower Hotel in downtown to attend a Christmas party.

After the man on the stage said a prayer       （祈祷）, we were told to  　36　 . Within minutes we were   37    a meal which was fit for a king. I ate   38  I could eat no more. As we ate, Santa Clause came walking out onto the  39  . The kids cheered with  40  . Everyone began clapping their hands and yelling as   41  as they could.

I too was excited   42   but I knew better than to yell（叫喊）out loud or to jump up and scream. Mrs. Winters, the head matron, sat only three seats from me. She had   43   it very clear to everyone that we were to behave ourselves in "a proper manner" and that there was to be "no yelling or shouting".

One orphan   44  was led up onto the stage and each kid was handed a   45   by Santa Claus himself.

As the line became shorter and shorter my   46   finally came. He smiled at me. Then he reached over and handed me a   47   box which had two gold ribbons(丝带) on it. As I leaned(向前倾) to take the box I tripped and I   48  to my knees. Santa reached over and helped me to my feet.

"Move  49   Kiser." called out Mrs. Winters.

I was now leaning against Santa Claus' leg and I was looking   50   into his eyes. His face was less than an inch from mine.

"Can I   51   you Santa?" I asked him.

The next thing I knew Mrs. Winters had caught me up by my shirt collar and was  52   me away from the line of children.

I sat down in my chair just crying. Once in a while I would  53   at the stage to see if my gift was still sitting by Santa Claus.

When we all lined up waiting, I  54  "HO HO HO" coming from behind me.

As I   55  , there stood Santa Claus holding my large box. Then he knelt down and he hugged my neck as hard as he could.

36. A. stand up            B. go out               C. sit down            D. keep silent

37. A. taken                B. served               C. brought             D. supplied

38. A. until                  B. unless               C. before               D. after

39. A. table                   B. hotel                 C. seat                   D. stage

40. A. encouragement  B. excitement        C. disappointment D. astonishment

41. A. loud                  B. big                   C. high                  D. low

42. A. outside               B. beside              C. aside                 D. inside

43. A. took                  B. made             C. demanded         D. warned

44. A. at a time           B. at one time        C. at time’s            D. at time

45. A. favor                       B. box                 C. gift                  D. medal

46. A. turn                   B. way                 C. chance              D. gift

47. A. golden                      B. yellow              C. small                D. large

48. A. sat                     B. fell                  C. dropped            D. turned

49. A. by                     B. on                  C. in                    D. out

50. A. quickly             B. directly            C. immediately      D. finally

51. A. tell                            B. call                  C. hug                  D. leave

52. A. pushing              B. keeping             C. stopping            D. pulling

53. A. look                  B. jump               C. put                  D. stand

54. A. watched            B. found               C. heard                      D. observed

55. A. turned around      B. turned up          C. turned away       D. turned down

阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

        One day before Christmas, all of us children from the Children's Home Society Orphanage(孤儿院) were taken to the Mayflower Hotel in downtown to attend a Christmas party.

After the man on the stage said a prayer        （祈祷）, we were told to  　36　 . Within minutes we were   37    a meal which was fit for a king. I ate   38  I could eat no more. As we ate, Santa Clause came walking out onto the  39  . The kids cheered with  40  . Everyone began clapping their hands and yelling as   41  as they could.

I too was excited   42   but I knew better than to yell（叫喊）out loud or to jump up and scream. Mrs. Winters, the head matron, sat only three seats from me. She had   43   it very clear to everyone that we were to behave ourselves in "a proper manner" and that there was to be "no yelling or shouting".

One orphan   44  was led up onto the stage and each kid was handed a   45   by Santa Claus himself.

As the line became shorter and shorter my   46   finally came. He smiled at me. Then he reached over and handed me a   47   box which had two gold ribbons(丝带) on it. As I leaned(向前倾) to take the box I tripped and I   48  to my knees. Santa reached over and helped me to my feet.

"Move  49   Kiser." called out Mrs. Winters.

I was now leaning against Santa Claus' leg and I was looking   50   into his eyes. His face was less than an inch from mine.

"Can I   51   you Santa?" I asked him.

The next thing I knew Mrs. Winters had caught me up by my shirt collar and was  52   me away from the line of children.

I sat down in my chair just crying. Once in a while I would  53   at the stage to see if my gift was still sitting by Santa Claus.

When we all lined up waiting, I  54  "HO HO HO" coming from behind me.

As I   55  , there stood Santa Claus holding my large box. Then he knelt down and he hugged my neck as hard as he could.

36. A. stand up                B. go out                    C. sit down                D. keep silent

37. A. taken                     B. served                    C. brought                 D. supplied

38. A. until                         B. unless                    C. before                    D. after

39. A. table                         B. hotel                       C. seat                        D. stage

40. A. encouragement           B. excitement          C. disappointment           D. astonishment

41. A. loud                         B. big                           C. high                        D. low

42. A. outside                   B. beside                   C. aside                      D. inside

43. A. took                         B. made               C. demanded           D. warned

44. A. at a time               B. at one time           C. at time’s                D. at time

45. A. favor                      B. box                       C. gift                         D. medal

46. A. turn                         B. way                       C. chance                  D. gift

47. A. golden                     B. yellow                   C. small                     D. large

48. A. sat                           B. fell                         C. dropped               D. turned

49. A. by                             B. on                        C. in                            D. out

50. A. quickly                  B. directly                 C. immediately        D. finally

51. A. tell                             B. call                         C. hug                        D. leave

52. A. pushing                   B. keeping                  C. stopping                D. pulling

53. A. look                        B. jump                    C. put                       D. stand

54. A. watched                B. found           C. heard                             D. observed

55. A. turned around        B. turned up              C. turned away         D. turned down

 

I used to be ashamed of my grandma. I know that's a　 36　 thing to say, but it was true until today, so I have to　 37　 it.

The　 38　 started when my friend Katy found Grandma's false teeth floating in a glass on the bathroom sink. I was so used to seeing them that I　 39　 took notice of them. But Katy shouted, laughing and　 40　 to talk to them. I had to get down on my knees and　 41　 her to shut up so my grandma wouldn't　 42　 and get hurt.

After that happened, I　 43　 there were a million things about Grandma that were embarrassing（令人窘迫）.

Once she took Jill and me out to Burger King.　 44　 ordering our hamburgers well-done, she told the person behind the counter, "They'll have two Whoppers (巨无霸) well-to-do. " Jill burst out laughing, but I almost　 45　.

After a while, I started wishing I could　 46　 Grandma in a closet. I even complained to my parents. Both my parents said I had to be careful not to make Grandma feel　 47　 in our home.

Then last Wednesday, something happened that　 48　 everything completely. My teacher told us to help find interesting old people and　 49　 them about their　 50　 for a big Oral History project. I was trying to think of someone when Angie pushed me gently.

"Volunteer your grandmother," she whispered. "She's　 51　 and rich in experience."

That was the last thing I ever thought Angie would say about my grandma.

This is how I ended up on　 52　 today interviewing my own grandmother before the whole school assembly (集合). All my friends and teachers were listening to her　 53　 she was a great heroine. I was　 54　 of my grandma and hoped she would　 55　 know that I had been ashamed of her.

36. A. funny　　　　 B. common　　　　C. terrible　　 　D. clear

37. A. admit　　　　 B. receive　　　  C. refuse　　　　 D. show

38. A. quarrel　　　  B. accident　　　 C. trouble　　 　  D. adventure

39. A. already　　　  B. always　　　　C. simply　　　 　D. hardly

40. A. enjoying　　　 B. pretending　 　C. imagining　 　 D. continuing

41. A. warn　　　　　B. demand　　　　C. advise　　　  D. beg

42. A. mind　　　　　B. hear　　　　　C. see　　　　　 D. fall

43. A. expected　　 　B. declared　　　 C. realized　　 　D. doubted

44. A. Because of　　 B. Except for 　  C. Such as 　　 　D. Instead of

45. A. died 　　　　  B. cheered 　　　C. disappeared　　D. suffered

46. A. meet 　　　　 B. avoid　　　　 C. arrange 　　 　D. hide

47. A. independent　  B. inconvenient　 C. unwelcome　　 D. unfamiliar

48. A. changed 　　　B. finished　　　 C. stopped　　　　D. Prepared

49. A. interview 　　 B. report 　　　  C. tell 　　　　　 D. write

50. A. news 　　　　 B. lives　　　　 C. advantages　　  D. achievements

51. A. free　　　　 　B. popular　　　 C. interesting　　  D. embarrassing

52. A. show 　　　　 B. stage　　　　 C. duty　　　　　 D. time

53. A. and then 　　  B. even if　　　  C. so that　　　　 D. as if

54. A. sure　　　　 　B. proud　　　　 C. ashamed　　　 D. afraid

55. A. never　　　　  B. even　　　　　C. still　　　　　 D. once