A long time ago, in an Italian city, the people there built a tower which was admired by everyone passing through. A little further down the road, in a neighboring city, they had built a tower of similar beauty. The two towers were equally well known. The people of the second city, envious (妒忌的) and filled with pride, planned to destroy the neighboring tower so it wouldn’t take attention away from their own. One night, they came to the tower and began to quietly undermine its foundations(地基).
The next morning, the tower was leaning(倾斜) slightly ,but nobody noticed. The same happened for the following few days, until a little girl who was passing by pointed up at the tower and said: “ I think the tower is going to fall down.” And everyone around looked closely, and could see that she was right .Nervousness spread through the city. And they tried many methods to try to straighten the tower, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until one day when the same little girl was walking up again, and she put her arm on the side of the tower to rest. She felt the tower shaking slightly. When she took her hand off it, the movement stopped. And when she put it back on again, the same thing happened. The girl spent a while doing this, until she was completely certain of what she had discovered: “ The tower is ticklish ( 怕痒的) ！” She ran to get some plants, and she planted them right next to the tower. Now if the tower leant over any further it would be tickled by the leaves of those plants. Being a ticklish tower, it would then return to where it had been. In this way, the girl managed to make sure that the tower didn’t fall down, but still kept it leaning a little.
The fact that it was leaning made it even more famous, and this taught a fine lesson to the envious people of the neighboring city.
【小题1】Why did the people of the second city plan to destroy the neighboring tower?

A．Because the tower blocked the way of their tourists.

B．Because the tower had the same building style as theirs.

C．Because they hoped that the tower could lean slightly.

D．Because they hoped that visitors just liked their own tower.

【小题2】The underlined word“undermine”（in Paragraph1）probably mean “_________”．

A．test

B．raise

C．damage

D．strengthen

【小题3】When local people heard the news that their tower was going to fall down, they were _________.

A．very anxious

B．very happy

C．very ashamed of themselves

D．angry at the people in the neighboring city

【小题4】What lesson can we learn from the practice of the envious people in the neighboring city?

A．All that ends well is well.

B．Every dog has his day.

C．A bad beginning makes a bad ending.

D．A friend is never known till a man has need.

A long time ago, in an Italian city, the people there built a tower which was admired by everyone passing through. A little further down the road, in a neighboring city, they had built a tower of similar beauty. The two towers were equally well known. The people of the second city, envious (妒忌的) and filled with pride, planned to destroy the neighboring tower so it wouldn’t take attention away from their own. One night, they came to the tower and began to quietly undermine its foundations(地基).

The next morning, the tower was leaning(倾斜) slightly ,but nobody noticed. The same happened for the following few days, until a little girl who was passing by pointed up at the tower and said: “ I think the tower is going to fall down.” And everyone around looked closely, and could see that she was right .Nervousness spread through the city. And they tried many methods to try to straighten the tower, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until one day when the same little girl was walking up again, and she put her arm on the side of the tower to rest. She felt the tower shaking slightly. When she took her hand off it, the movement stopped. And when she put it back on again, the same thing happened. The girl spent a while doing this, until she was completely certain of what she had discovered: “ The tower is ticklish ( 怕痒的) ！” She ran to get some plants, and she planted them right next to the tower. Now if the tower leant over any further it would be tickled by the leaves of those plants. Being a ticklish tower, it would then return to where it had been. In this way, the girl managed to make sure that the tower didn’t fall down, but still kept it leaning a little.

The fact that it was leaning made it even more famous, and this taught a fine lesson to the envious people of the neighboring city.

1.Why did the people of the second city plan to destroy the neighboring tower?

A．Because the tower blocked the way of their tourists.

B．Because the tower had the same building style as theirs.

C．Because they hoped that the tower could lean slightly.

D．Because they hoped that visitors just liked their own tower.

2.The underlined word“undermine”（in Paragraph1）probably mean “_________”．

A．test

B．raise

C．damage

D．strengthen

3.When local people heard the news that their tower was going to fall down, they were _________.

A．very anxious

B．very happy

C．very ashamed of themselves

D．angry at the people in the neighboring city

4.What lesson can we learn from the practice of the envious people in the neighboring city?

A．All that ends well is well.

B．Every dog has his day.

C．A bad beginning makes a bad ending.

D．A friend is never known till a man has need.

 

A 24-year-old Los Angeles man was taken to a hospital and then to county prison after leading police on a one-hour freeway chase （追赶） in a stolen SUV. The chase  1   in downtown Los Angeles in front of the Spring Hotel. Most of the chase was  2   , except for an empty   3    of wine that the driver threw at one police vehicle.

When the driver got into downtown,  4    started to happen. He ran over a fire hydrant（水龙头）. The water poured out of the hydrant,  5    all the books in several carts （手推车） that a seller had put outside to   6    customers into his bookstore. The driver   7    turned west onto Grand Avenue and managed to knock into three   8    cars on one side of that street and two cars on the other side. The driver also tried to run over   9   , who was standing in the   10    ordering him to stop.

Turning north, the driver caused a bus to hit its   11   to avoid a crash. The bus was empty, and the bus driver was uninjured．  12   , two police cars that were chasing the SUV   13    different directions were not so   14   . One of them ran into the front of the bus, and the other into the back.  15    the drivers had braked early enough, the damage to their cars was   16   . Both officers continued the chase.

They only went two   17    north to find that the SUV had come to a full stop because it had   8    into a newspaper stand in front of the Spring Hotel. The driver   19    heavily behind the steering wheel（方向盘）. The police   20   the driver with failure to give in to a police officer.

1．A．began                   B．happened             C．ended                  D．resulted

2．A．pleasant                B．common              C．surprising            D．unusual

3．A．tank                      B．box                     C．case                    D．bottle

4．A．things                  B．objects                C．fights                  D．kills

5．A．ruining                 B．separating            C．softening             D．boring

6．A．please                   B．attract                 C．fill                      D．admit

7．A．slowly                  B．carefully              C．hurriedly             D．suddenly

8．A．hidden                  B．broken                C．passing               D．parked

9．A．another driver        B．a passer-by          C．the seller             D．a police officer

10．A．crosswalk           B．police box            C．shop nearby         D．police vehicle

11．A．lights                   B．brakes                 C．engines               D．wheels

12．A．Besides               B．Instead                C．However             D．Therefore

13．A．from                  B．into                     C．under                  D．toward

14．A．proud                  B．lucky                  C．regretful              D．sorry

15．A．Before                 B．Although             C．Because              D．When

16．A．effective              B．serious                C．normal                D．slight

17．A．steps                   B．shops                  C．meters                D．blocks

18．A．rushed                B．entered                C．came                  D．backed

19．A．flew                    B．fell                      C．flowed                D．fled

20．A．provided              B．impressed            C．charged               D．marked

A long time ago, in an Italian city, the people there built a tower which was admired by everyone passing through. A little further down the road, in a neighboring city, they had built a tower of similar beauty. The two towers were equally well known. The people of the second city, envious (妒忌的) and filled with pride, planned to destroy the neighboring tower so it wouldn’t take attention away from their own. One night, they came to the tower and began to quietly undermine its foundations(地基).

The next morning, the tower was leaning(倾斜) slightly ,but nobody noticed. The same happened for the following few days, until a little girl who was passing by pointed up at the tower and said: “ I think the tower is going to fall down.” And everyone around looked closely, and could see that she was right .Nervousness spread through the city. And they tried many methods to try to straighten the tower, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until one day when the same little girl was walking up again, and she put her arm on the side of the tower to rest. She felt the tower shaking slightly. When she took her hand off it, the movement stopped. And when she put it back on again, the same thing happened. The girl spent a while doing this, until she was completely certain of what she had discovered: “ The tower is ticklish ( 怕痒的) ！” She ran to get some plants, and she planted them right next to the tower. Now if the tower leant over any further it would be tickled by the leaves of those plants. Being a ticklish tower, it would then return to where it had been. In this way, the girl managed to make sure that the tower didn’t fall down, but still kept it leaning a little.

The fact that it was leaning made it even more famous, and this taught a fine lesson to the envious people of the neighboring city.

63. Why did the people of the second city plan to destroy the neighboring tower?

A. Because the tower blocked the way of their tourists.

B. Because the tower had the same building style as theirs.

C. Because they hoped that the tower could lean slightly.

D. Because they hoped that visitors just liked their own tower.

64. The underlined word“undermine”（in Paragraph1）probably mean “_________”．

A. test　 B. raise　 C. damage　 D. strengthen

65. When local people heard the news that their tower was going to fall down, they were _________.

A. very anxious

B. very happy

C. very ashamed of themselves

D. angry at the people in the neighboring city

66. What lesson can we learn from the practice of the envious people in the neighboring city?

A. All that ends well is well.

B. Every dog has his day.

C. A bad beginning makes a bad ending.

D. A friend is never known till a man has need.

　　　　　　　　　　

Peter Ball was at a college when the war broke out. He was astute （精明的）and was afraid to lose his life in the fights. So he tried his best to escape joining the army. But he failed and as soon as he left it, he was forced to be a soldier and was flown to Europe. There he made friends with an officer and he was told to manage a shop which supplied daily necessities to the army. And he got some money and was rich. When the war finished, he returned to his homeland. He found a job at a police station. And about ten years later he became a head of the station. So he often used his head and tried to get more money.

   The streets in the town where Mr. Ball worked were narrow and the drivers often broke the traffic regulations（规则）. The police often fined them before. But It seemed the drivers weren’t afraid of it at all, and the accidents weren’t contained（遏制）and some people were killed for it every year.

   Mr. Ball thought and thought and at last he had a way. He advised stopping fining the drivers  who broke the traffic regulations. Instead, he told his policemen to take the drivers to the village about thirty kilometers away from the town by car. And then they were forced to go back on foot. It was hard for the drivers who seldom walked and few could reach the town in a day. They had to eat something in the restaurants and stay at the hotels between the village and the town. But they didn’t know all the restaurants and hotels belonged to Mr. Ball!

59. Peter Ball tried to escape joining the army because________.

   A. he wouldn’t stop studying 

B. he liked to lead a quiet life

   C. he hoped to receive a doctor’s degree

D. he was afraid to be killed in the fights

60. Peter got rich______.

   A. when he left college                   B. after he left the army

   C. when he managed the shop in the army    D. before the war broke out

61. The accidents often happened in the town because_______.

A. the drivers were all careless  

B. the drivers hated the policemen

   C. the streets were very narrow

   D. the drivers weren’t afraid to be fined

62. Which one is true according to the passage?

   A. Mr. Ball was friendly to the drivers.

   B. Mr. Ball hoped to get more money in his restaurant and hotel.

   C. Mr. Ball forced the drivers to practice walking.

   D. Mr. Ball wanted to contain the traffic accidents.