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

On August 26, 1999, New York City experienced a torrential downpour. The merciless rain caused the streets to flood. New York City' s subway system came to a screeching stop as the subway stations were drowned in water. Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour.
Many people who were going to work were trapped and forced to go home. Some battled with fellow New Yorkers to hail a cab or to get on a bus. Still others braved the storm, walking miles to get to work.
I happened to be one of the people on their way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most service had stopped. After running around like crazy and making my way through crowds of people, I finally found a subway line that was operating. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to board the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the platform. Determined to get to work, I decided to take the train uptown several stops and then switch back to the downtown train. It was annoyance, but it paid off. However, the train got more packed at each stop. People pushed and shoved. I was constantly hit with elbows and bags. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (no end),the train reached my stop.
But the journey was not over yet. I would still have to walk several blocks to get to my office. When I finally got to work, I was completely soaked and left a puddle of water everywhere I sat. I was also exhausted (tired out)and discouraged from my commute.
My co-workers and I spent most of the day drying off. When 5:00 rolled around,I was ready to go home. I was about to log off my computer when I received an email from Garth, my Deputy Director:
I would like to thank all those who made the effort and eventually reported to work. It is always reassuring, at times like these, when employees so clearly show their devotion to their jobs. Thank you.
His email was short,but I learned more from that brief message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of appreciation can make a big difference.The rainstorm and the transit troubles had made me miserable.But Garth's words immediately invigorated me and put a smile back on my face.As a matter of fact,his email made the whole subway painful experience all worthwhile.
August 26,1999 may have been one of the darkest days in New York City history,but it was one of the brightest days in my life thanks to Garth.
65.The subway system in NY came to a sudden stop because_______.
A. most of its service had stopped        B. it was flooded by busy travelers
C. it was during a morning rush hour      D. its stations were covered with water
66.How did the writer get to her office?
A. By pushing in the stairs to the platform.        B. By switching trains in a roundabout way
C. By battling with people to hail a taxi.   D. By walking miles to get to the office.
67.The underlined word "invigorated" probably means_______.
A. inspired             B. expected      C. liberated            D. convinced
68.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. A downpour in mid-summer          B. A lesson from a rainy day
C. An appreciation of a misery           D. A dark day in New York history

B

   I had never seen sand dunes（沙丘）before. If you go to the seaside in Britain, you may see some small hills of sand, but nothing very impressive. Of course, Africa is home to many beautiful “sandscapes”, but I was in China, so I went to Dunhuang.

   I had spent my first day looking at the beautiful Mogao caves. Now I wanted to experience something very different.

   I have been walking in Asia, Europe and America, but nothing prepared me for walking over hills of sand. Whenever I took a step up a hill, my feet would sink into the sand and move backwards. Sometimes it seemed as if I were moving in the wrong direction.

   I wanted to see the sunset so I had to climb to the top of the highest sand dune. The sun was beating down upon my back as I walked slowly over the sand. Some plants had managed to survive in the dry ground but not many.

   As I climbed higher, the hills of sand became steeper and my feet started to slip further backwards. I ended up with my hands and knees, crawling (爬行)upwards through the top. I just let go if I would fall the way down. But I refused to give up: inch by inch, I made my way to the top of the sand dune.

   When I got there I was amazed by what I saw. The sand formed a very sharp point, just like a knife-edge. One side of the dune was bathed in sunshine, the other covered by shade. As I looked into the distance, the same pattern was repeated on all of the hilltops, and the difference between dark and light was beautiful.

   As the sun began to sink, the shadows grew longer and the light became warm and orange. The wind had come to life and sand was blown against my legs as I walked along the dunes. Soon it was getting dark and I could only just make out the line of footprints that marked my journey to the top of the hill. I slowly made my way down to the bottom, my path lit by the dying sun.

65 The author probably went to climb the sand dunes __________ after he arrived at Dunhuang.

  A. on the afternoon of the first day       B. on the afternoon of the second day

  C. on the evening of the second day      D. on the evening of the first day

66. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

  A. Africa has many beautiful sand dunes.

  B. The author could see nothing but his own footprints on his way back.

  C. The author had seen some kinds of sand dunes before he visited Dunhuang

  D. What attracted the author most was that the sand formed a very sharp point.

67. The author got to the top of the highest hill of sand _____________.

  A. on his hands and knees all the way

  B. with falls to the bottom many times

  C. on his hands and knees in the last leg (一段旅程)

D. with a few rests all the way                

68. The author mainly wants to tell readers about_____________.

  A. the beautiful sunset         B. his experience of climbing the sand hills

  C. the joy of traveling in nature  D. the difficulty of climbing the sand dunes

A thief entered the bedroom of the 30^th President of the United States, who met him and helped him escape punishment.

The event happened in the early morning hours in one of the first days when Calvin Coolidge came into power, late in August, 1923. He and his family were living in the same third-floor suite(套房) at the Willard Hotel in Washington that had occupied several years before. The former President’s wife was still living in the White House.

Coolidge awoke to see a stranger go through his clothes, remove a wallet and a watch chain.

Coolidge spoke, “ I wish you wouldn’t take that.”

The thief, gaining his voice, said, “ Why?”

“ I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm(表坠). Take it near the window and read what is impressed on its back,” the president said.

The thief read, “ Presented to Calvin Coolidge.”

“ Are you President Coolidge?” he asked.

The president answered, “ Yes, and the House of Representatives（众议院）gave me the watch charm. I’m fond of it. It would do you no good. You want money. Let’s talk this over.”

Holding up the wallet, the young man said in a low voice, “ I’ll take this and leave everything else.”

Coolidge, knowing there was 80 dollars in it, persuaded the young man to sit down and talk. He told the President he and his college roommate had overspent during their holiday and did not have enough money to pay their hotel bill.

Coolidge added up the roommate and two rail tickets back to the college. Then he counted out 32 dollars and said it was a loan(借款).

He then told the young man, “ There is a guard in the corridor.” The young man nodded and left through the same window as he had entered.

1.What caused the thief to meet the President

A. He knew the president had lots of money.  B. He knew the president lived in the suite.

C. He wanted to be a rich businessman.      D. He wanted to steal some money.

2.Why did Calvin Coolidge live at the Willard Hotel in those days?

A. Because the former president was still in the White House.

B. Because the former First Lady hadn’t left the White House.

C. Because the First lady liked to live there.

D. Because he liked there.

3. Coolidge counted out 32 dollars______.

A. in order not to be killed by the thief

B. in order to be out of danger

C. so as to help the young student overcome his difficulty.

D. because he had no more money.

4.The young man’s roommate went back to college _____.

A. by air           B. by water         C. by bus           D. by train

5.Which of the following might happen afterwards?

A. The young man repaid the 32 dollars.

B. The thief was put into prison.

C. The President told many reporters the thief’s name.

D. The President ordered the young man to repay the money.

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?