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

 

阅读短文，根据短文内容和已给出的首字母，在空白处填入适当的单词。将完整的单词写在短文后面的横线上。

Big Ben is not the name of a man. It is the name of a huge c  1  in London. London is the capital of England. This clock has four f  2  . So, no matter w  3  you stand, you can r  4 

the time on the face of Big Ben. Each face is about the s  5  of a double-decker(双层)　bus. The hands are about four meters l  6  . It is about the size of two people standing on top of each other. I  7   you go to London, you may want to visit the Houses of Parliament（议会大厦）. In that place, you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower. In the Houses of Parliament, you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower. In the Houses of Parliament, you will probably hear it as w  8  as you see it. The giant clock m  9  such a loud noise, “Ding dong, ding dong” that the whole city can hear it. It sounds every quarter of an hour.

The clock was n  10  after a big man. He was Sir Benjamin Hall. This man did much building work in London many years ago.

1.           2.           3.            4.           5.       

6.           7.           8.           9.            10.       

Claude Monet(莫奈) was born in 1840 in Paris, France. When he was five, his family moved to a place on the coast where he spent a lot of time on the beaches. It was here that he started to understand novels(小说)．

As a boy he __21__friends and family by drawing caricatures(漫画)．They were all pleased with his paintings. But at 18 his way of painting changed when he  __22__friends with Eugene Boudin who encouraged him to paint pictures out of doors. This is when his life as a(n)  __23__began. His family was  __24__ that he refused to go to art school. Instead Monet worked with other artists in their workrooms in Paris. In 1862 he became part of a group of impressionist(印象主义的) painters. During the 1860s he sold almost  __25__paintings but this didn’t stop him painting even though he always had problems with money.

Monet married his first wife in 1870 and had two sons. His second wife Alice, who had six children with her, lived with Monet and Monet’s children. After __26__houses several times, Monet found a house to rent(租) for his large family in a small village called Giverny in 1883, about 84 kilometers from Paris. He fell in love  __27__the place and it became his home for the rest of his life.

At last Monet began to  __28__his paintings and in 1890 he bought the house at Giverny. Monet was a loving gardener and created beautiful gardens there. His gardens inspired over 500 of his greatest paintings. Monet’s large paintings of the water lilies in his water garden, painted between 1916 and 1926, are some of his most famous. Monet gave these paintings to the people of  __29__. You can see them in Paris.

Towards the end of his life, Monet started to lose his __30__. This was the worst thing that could happen to a painter. It happened slowly over 16 years and by 1923 he was nearly blind. When Monet was very old and had bad health, he kept painting until a few months before his death in December 1926. 

(　　)46.A. had    B. loved    C. kept  D. pleased

(　　)47.A. met    B. made    C. fought  D. found

(　　)48.A. writer  B. painter  C. actor  D. teacher

(　　)49.A. glad    B. helpful  C. angry  D. satisfied

(　　)50.A. no      B. all     C. little  D. any

(　　)51.A. buying  B. building  C. moving  D. repairing

(　　)52.A. with    B. in      C. around  D. at

(　　)53.A. draw    B. sell    C. watch  D. collect

(　　)54.A. France  B. Britain  C. America  D. Australia

(　　)55.A. taste  B. weight  C. money  D. eyesight

 

Steven Jobs, the designer of Apple Computer, was not clever when he was in school. At that time, he was not a good student and he always made troubles with his schoolmates. When he went into college, he didn’t change a lot. Then he dropped out（退学）. But he was full of new ideas.
　　After he left college, Steven Jobs worked as a video game designer. He worked there for only several months and then he went to India. He hoped that the trip would give him some new ideas and give him a change in his life.
　　Steven Jobs lived on a farm in California for a year after he returned from India.
　　In 1975, he began to make a new type of computer. He designed the Apple Computer with his friend in his garage. He chose the name “Apple” just because it could help him to remember a happy summer he once spent in an apple tree garden.
His Apple Computer was so successful that Steven Jobs soon became famous all over the world.
He often said, “I live in order to change the world, there aren’t any other reasons. The only way to have a great achievement is to love your own career. If you can’t find your  favorite career ,go on looking for it and never give up.”
This is Steven Jobs, though he is dead, his spirit and achievements still influence our lives.
【小题1】Steven Jobs was not a good student in school because he ________.

A．never did his lessons

B．dropped out

C．always made troubles with his schoolmates

D．he was full of new ideas

【小题2】Why did Steven Jobs go to India?

A．Because he wanted to be a video game designer.

B．Because he wanted to get some new ideas.

C．Because he wanted to make a new type of computer.

D．Because he wanted to have a happy summer.

【小题3】Steven Jobs was famous for his ________ all over the world.

A．new ideas

B．Apple Computer

C．video games

D．saying

【小题4】From this passage we know Steven Jobs ________.

A．didn’t finish his studies in the college because he hated his schoolmates

B．liked traveling in India and California

C．liked trying new things and making his new ideas come true

D．thought he had many reasons to live in the world

【小题5】Which of the following sentences is NOT true according to this passage?

A．The only way to have a great achievement is to love your career.

B．The name “Apple” helped Jobs to remember a happy summer in an apple tree garden.

C．If you can’t find the career you love, give it up and try another one.

D．People remember Jobs because of his achievements.