Do you know what the White House is? Perhaps some of you do，while others don't.

　The White House is a house in Washington. The president of the U.S.A. lives in it. It's really white. But do you know why the White House is white? The story happened in 1812. That year England was at war with America. The British army got to Washington and set the president's house on fire. In 1814，in order to hide the marks of the fire，the stone walls of the president's house were painted white and it has been the “White House”ever since.

1. White House is a house for ___________.

　　  A. the American people.　　  B. the soldiers of U.S.A.   C. the presidents of U.S.A.　 

2.England fought with America in ____________.

　　  A. 1810　　　　　　       B. 1812　　　 C. 1814　　　  　　 

3. The house is called “White House” because ____________.

　　  A. it's covered with snow      B. the house is very clean

 C. the stone walls of the house were painted white

4.The White House was painted white because ____________.

　　  A. the house is old　　  B. the house is new  C. it was once on fire and was with marks

5. “ever since” means ___________.

　　  A. never　　               B. once　　   C. from then on　　

Several years ago, a television reporter was interviewing three of the most important people from local businesses. One was a very rich banker, another owned one of the largest companies in the world, and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.

　　The reporter was talking to them about being important.

　　“How do we know if someone is really important?” the reporter asked the banker.

　　The banker thought for a few moments and then said, “I think anybody who is invited to the White House to meet the President is really important.”

　　The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that?” she asked.

　　The man shook his head, “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You’d only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the president of another country, and the President said he was too busy to answer it.”

　　The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so?”

　　“No, I don’t.” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”

　　“Then what would make the visitor important?” the reporter and the other two men asked.

　　“Oh, I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang, and the President picked up the receiver, listened and then said, ‘it’s for you.’”

1.This story happened in ________.

A. U.N.                         B. U.S.A.                              C. U.K.         D. P.R.C.

2.There are________in this passage.

A. three men        B. three women and one man　

C. four men       D. three men and one woman

3.The banker and the owner of one of the largest companies in the world ________.

A. had similar opinions about the reporter’s question　　        

B. disagreed with each other  

C. had been invited to the White House many times      

D. didn’t reply to the reporter

4.The owner of one of the largest companies thought ________.

A. he himself was really important because he owned one of the largest companies in the world

B. the President was really important because the president of another country called him

C. the visitor was really important if the President would rather treat him than answer an important phone call from another country

D. none of them was really important

5.The underlined word you in the last paragraph refers to (指的是) ________.

A. the television reporter　　                    B. the owner of many buildings

C. the President                   D. the visitor to the White House

Several years ago,a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker, another owned one of the largest companies(公司) in the world, and the third one had many buildings in the center of New York.

The reporter was talking to them about being important.

“How do we know if someone is really important？” the reporter asked the banker. 　

The banker thought for a few moments and then said,“I think anybody who is invited to the White House to meet the President（总统） of the United States is really important.”　

　  The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that？” she asked.

The man shook his head,“No,I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You’d only be important if when you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the president of another country, and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.”　　

The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so？”　

　  “No，I don’t.” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”　

“Then what would make the visitor important？” the reporter and the other two men asked. 　　

"Oh,I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang，and the President picked up the receiver,listened and then said,“It’s for you.”　　

66. This story happened in _______. 　　

A. England            B. America　　 C. Japan              D. Australia

67. There are _______ in this passage. 　　

A. two men and two women　  　 B. three men and one woman　　

C. three women and one man　　  D. four women　　

68. The banker thought _______. 　　

A. he was really important because he was a rich banker　　

B. the visitor to the White House was really important　　

C. the visitor who met the President of the United States in the White House was really important.　

D. the reporter was really important.　

69. The owner of the very large company thought _______. 　　

A. she was really important because he had one of the largest companies in the world.　

B. the banker was really important.　　

C. the owner of many buildings in the center of New York was really important　　

D. the visitor would be really important if while he was visiting the President，the President would not answer any phone call

70. The owner of many buildings thought _______. 　　

A. he was really important because he had many buildings in the center of New York　　

B. the owner of the very large company was really important　　

C. the visitor was really important if he talked to the President and the President received a telephone call for the visitor　　

D. the person who worked in the White House was really important

The year was 1932, Amelia Earhart was flying alone from North America to England in a small one-engine airplane. At midnight, several hours after she had left Newfoundland, she ran into bad weather. To make things worse, her altimeter failed to work. (The altimeter shows the height of the plane above the ground.) At night, and in a storm, a pilot is in great difficulty without an altimeter. At times, her plane nearly plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. Just before daylight, there was further trouble. Amelia noticed flames coming from the engine. Would she be able to reach land? There was nothing to do except to keep going and to hope.

　 Amelia Earhart did reach Ireland, and for the courage she had shown, she was warmly welcomed in England and Europe. When she returned to the United States, she was honored by President Hoover at a special dinner in the White House. From that time on, Amelia Earhart was famous.

　 What was so important about her flight? Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean alone, and she had set a record of fourteen hours and fifty-six minutes.

40. Amelia was ____________.

　A. an American　 　B. an Englishwoman　　 C. a European　　 D. living near the Atlantic

41. She ran into bad weather. Here "ran into" means ____________.

　 A. rushed into　　 　B. raced into　　　　　　　 　 C. met into　　　　　 　 D. met

42. Amelia's successful flight has proved that ______________.

　 A. women can do everything　　　

　 B. women can do things, as men have done

　 C. men and women are equal now　

　 D. women pilots are more successful than men pilots

43. The title for this passage would be ____________.

　 A. Amelia Earhart　　 　B. A Pilot　　　　 C. A Flight　　　　　　　 D. A Woman