A. carrying　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. take

C. put　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. getting

On Nov.18th,1908,three men went up in a balloon（气球）.They started early in London. The headman was Augusta Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way.

Soon they heard the sea. They were carrying the usual rope（绳子）,and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight（重量）.It was for use over the sea. They were also carrying some bags of sand.

After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 metres, and the air was very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men's basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice.

At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing; so they　climbed to get away from the snow. They rose to 5,100 metres! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland　heavily but safely. They had travelled 1,797 kilometers from London!

33. The metal box was used for ________.

A. carrying the bags of sand      B. keeping drinking-water

C. carrying ropes of the basket    D. changing weight

34. When the balloon went up higher, ________.

A. the temperature of the balloon began to fall

B. They saw the sun go down

C. They made a hole in the basket with their knives

D. They could see a black hole on the ground

35. The balloon landed ________.

A. in London　　B. on the sea 　　C. on a lake 　　D. in a foreign country

36. Which of the following is NOT true?________

A. The three men started their journey before the sun rose.

B. The balloon began to go up when they threw bags of sand out of the basket.

C. When they pulled the box into the basket, the balloon began to climb up.

D. The three men had to land because they felt cold.

Tom walked into a shop . It had a sign outside : "Second-hand (旧的) clothes bought and sold . "He was carrying an old pair of trousers and asked the owner of the shop, "How much will you give me for these?" The man looked at them and then said: "Two dollars."

　　"What !" said Tom. "I had guessed they were worth at least five dollars."

　　"No," said the man, "they aren't worth a cent more than two dollars."

　　"Well," said Tom, taking two dollars out of his pocket. "Here's your money. These trousers were hanging outside your shop. The list price (标价)of them was six dollars and a half. But I thought that was too much money, so I wanted to find out how much they were really worth."

　　Then he walked out of the shop with the pair of trousers and disappeared before the shop owner could think of anything to say .

1.At first the owner of the shop thought that Tom __________.

A. wanted to steal the trousers　 　　  B. wanted to sell the trousers

C. wanted to fool him　　　　　　   D. wanted to buy the trousers 

2.The owner of the shop_______ 　for the old trousers.

A. would give Tom two dollars　  

B. would pay three dollars

C. would pay five dollars　　　  　　 

D. would give Tom six dollars and a half 

3.The shop owner insisted（坚持） that the trousers were worth only two dollars because ____.

A. he wanted to sell them cheaply   　 

B. he wanted to buy them cheaply

C. he didn't like the trousers    　　 

D. they were old and dirty 

4.In fact, the trousers _________.

A. were hanging inside the shop　  　　 

B. were stolen by Tom from the shop

C. had been the shop owner's　　 　　 

D. had been Tom's 

5.From the story we know that _________ cheaper than the list price.

A. the owner sold the trousers two dollars

B. Tom sold the trousers one dollar and a half

C. the owner bought the trousers three dollars

D. Tom bought the trousers four dollars and a half

Have you ever thought of taking a train and having an adventure (奇遇)？Riding the train can be a real adventure.That is how I feel every time I take Amtrak.I often take a four?hour trip to visit my children.Every time I take this trip I never know what will happen.

Last week when I was on the train and over an hour into the train ride，there was a man sitting by himself in the back of the train carrying on a mobile phone conversation— in another language.It was loud and disturbed most of the people on the train.I think it was annoying.

Fortunately I sat next to a wonderful old lady who was taking a two?day trip by train.She said her two daughters were distraught at the thought of her driving for three days to reach her home，although she had no trouble driving.The train ride was the only choice for her.She loved to look out of the window and watch the world go by on the train.

She was fun to talk to and asked me when my children started being parents.That is a very good question.Both of us are old and have children.She asked that same question from time to time.

There are always many people on the train from all walks of life，different countries，and many languages.Riding the train is a great way to increase your knowledge and take in all kinds of cultures.If you get hungry，you can buy food in the food car at any time.If you need to use the restroom there is always one available.

It sure beats driving the car，which has to stop for food and restrooms.And it is better than taking the bus.

1．According to the passage，the purpose of the author’s train ride was________.

A．to do business　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．to see her children

C．to visit places of interest 　　　　　　　　　 D．to see her old friends

2．Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “distraught” in Paragraph 3?

A．Disappointed. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．Satisfied.

C．Worried. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Pleased.

3．Which of the following is TRUE about the old lady sitting next to the author?

A．She is too old to drive now.

B．She does not like to take trains.

C．Although she is old，she has a good memory.

D．Her daughters live far away from her home.

4．In the author’s opinion，on the train Amtrak________.

A．the services are quite good

B．the food is terribly expensive

C．all the passengers are polite

D．all the passengers are American

5．What is the best title for this passage?

A．Train ride—a cultural experience

B．A painful experience on the train

C．The history of Amtrak

D．A wonderful lady