阅读理解

　　When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.

　　He gave the two - foot - tall Charles name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up(激起)great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.

　　During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall.

　　Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five.

　　Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Torn became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.

　　The ceremony (庆典) and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2,000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut.

　　Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade(浅谈), communities throughout the country sponsored (主持)“Tom Thumb”weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.

1．“Talk of the town”means ________.

[　　]

A．it was in the newspaper

B．people spread mean rumors(谣言) about it

C．it was the most popular happening

D．it was discussed in a city meeting

2．What does the author think about Tom Thumb's wedding?

[　　]

A．People gave it too much of their attention.

B．It helped people cheer up in a dark time.

C．It was funny and ridiculous(荒谬可笑的).

D．Tom and Lavinia were stupid.

3．Which of the following is the best clue to the fact that Tom was smart?

[　　]

A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five.

B．He learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age.

C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon.

D．He married a school teacher.

4．Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because ________.

[　　]

A．the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was tap dancing

B．it made Tom feel taller

C．the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted

D．die difference between them would make Tom look even smaller

5．What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

[　　]

A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.

B．People are always disappointed during war time.

C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose.

D．People should be married when they are small children.

Amanda Clement grew up in Hudson，South Dakota．Baseball was always her fa—

vorite sport．Once in a while her brother Hank and his friends would let her play first

base in their games．More often，however，they asked her to umpire(裁判)for them，

because they knew her calls would be fair and there would be no arguing．

One day in 1904，Amanda and her mother traveled to Hawarden，Iowa，to watch

Hank play for the home team against Hawarden．When they arrived at the ball field，

two local teams were waiting to play a preliminary(预备)game．The umpire hadn’t ar—

rived，so Hank argued that the teams should let his sister serve as umpire．The players

finally agreed．

Amanda，then sixteen and standing five feet，ten inches tall，made perfect calls．

She was so good that players for the main game asked her 10 umpire for them and even

offered to pay her．Thus，at sixteen，Amanda Clement became the first paid female

baseball umpire on record．She is honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown，

New York．

61．Hank and his friends often asked Amanda to umpire for them because      

　A．they wanted to make her happy

　B．she called them brothers

　 C．no one else wanted to do it for them

　 D．she knew the rules well and was fair

62．Amanda went to Hawarden in order to      

A．serve as umpire

C．make money

B．watch her brother play

D．help the local teams

63．Amanda most probably learned how to umpire a baseball game       .

　A．in her P．E．classes at school    B．in an umpire training school

　 C．by watching and playing the games D．from her mother，a baseball umpire

64．Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

　 A．Amanda Clement．First Female Umpire

　 B．A Family of Baseball Fans

　 C．Baseball Games in Hawarden，Iowa

　 D．The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown