he will return to his native land.

Prince Roman was a Polish nobleman, a captain in the army of Czar Nicholas of Russia. When his young wife died, the prince left the army and returned in sorrow to his native Poland.

In time, love for his country and its people took the place of his lost love. He joined a Polish rising against the Russians. The rising was crushed, and Prince Roman was taken prisoner. His relatives and friends begged the military court to have mercy on him.

The president of the court received these appeals kindly. He was a good Russian, but he was also a good-natured man. Russian hatred of Poles was not as fierce at that time as it became later; and the Russian felt sympathetic as soon as he saw the prince's thin, tired, sun-burnt face.

The court of three officers sat in a bare room, behind a long black table. Some clerks sat at the two ends, but no one else was there when the guards brought in the prince.

Those four walls shut out from Prince Roman all sights and sounds of freedom, all hopes of the future, all comforting thoughts. How much love for Poland remained in him then? How much love of life? He stood before his judges alone, having refused their permission to sit. He answered their first formal questions — his name and so on — clearly and politely although he felt too weary to talk.

Then the president of the court seemed to suggest how the young man could best help himself. He asked questions in a way that almost put the right answers in the prisoner's mouth.

“Didn't your wife's death drive you to despair? Wasn't your mind unbalanced by that sad event ?”

Prince Roman was silent.

"You were not fully responsible for you conduct, were you?"

Prince Roman was silent.

"You made a sudden blind decision to join the rising. You didn't realize that your actions were dangerous and dishonourable. Isn't that the truth of this unfortunate matter?"

The judges looked at the prisoner hopefully. In silence the prince reached for a pen and some paper. He wrote, "I joined the rising because I believe it was just." He pushed the paper towards the president, who took it and read it in silence.

Prince Roman was sentenced to hard work for life in the Siberian salt mines. It was a sentence of delayed death.

When Czar Nicholas read the report and sentence, he added in his own handwriting, "Make sure that this prisoner walks in chains every step of the way to Siberia."

1.What does the passage tell us of Poland at the time?

A．Polish officers in the Russian army had to return to Poland.

B．Russia was at war with Poland, so the Poles were enemies.

C．The Russians were very cruel rulers of Poland.

D．It was ruled by Russia, and Poles served in the Russian army.

2.How much love for Poland remained in the prince when he stood trial?

A．Not much, probably, after the failure of the rising.

B． More than he had ever felt before.

C．As much as he had ever felt.

D．The passage doesn't suggest an answer to the question.

3.The questions which the president asked show that ______.

A．he was trying to find excuse for the prince's conduct

B．the court wanted the prince to admit his own guilt

C．he wanted to learn the truth about the Polish rising

D．Prince Roman was a weak person

4.In the trial, Prince Roman ______.

A．was afraid to be responsible for his actions

B．blamed others for his actions

C．accepted responsibility for his actions

D．admitted his guilt

5.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．The judges were less sympathetic than Czar Nicholas.

B．Czar Nicholas was as kind as the judges.

C．Czar Nicholas was not as sympathetic as the judges.

D．The judges were as cruel as Czar Nicholas.

The Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday named Mo Yan winner of the Twenty-Twelve Nobel Prize in Literature.

The academy praised the Chinese writer for what it called his “hallucinatoty realism (魔幻现实主义)”. It noted his ability to combine folk stories, history and modern events in his works.

An academy official said Mister Mo was “overjoyed and sacred” when he learnt he had won the award. He will receive his Nobel diploma, a medal and more than one million dollars at the ceremony in Stockholm in December.

Mo Yan is a leading author of modern Chinese novels. He often writes from memories of his youth. He also sets many of his stories in the area where he was born—Shandong Province in northeastern China.

Mister Mo’s 1987 book Red Sorghum is an example. It is about the extreme violence in rural eastern China during the Communist Revolution in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The story describes the criminal culture of the time, Japan’s occupation and the terrible conditions faced by farm workers. Red Sorghum was later made into a movie.

Mo Yan’s other major works include Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Republic of Wine and Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out.

The Royal Swedish Academy compared him to two 20th century writers: American William Faulkner and Colombia Gabriel Marquez.

Mo Yan’s real name is Guan Moye. Mo Yan means “Don’t speak.” The writer said he chose the name to remember to stop his tongue from getting him in trouble.

China is celebrating the victory of his native son. Minutes after the award was announced, millions of Chinese expressed pleasure and pride for Mo Yan on social media websites.

1.How many books of Mo Yan are mentioned in this passage?

A．Three.            B．Four.             C．Five.             D．Six.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A．many people in China showed their respect for Mo Yan by letters.

B．Mo Yan is just a pen name.

C．he was very glad to win the Nobel Prize.

D．Red Sorghum was once made into a film.

3.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A．Mo Yan, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

B．The origin of Mo Yan’s work.

C．The true meaning of Mo Yan.

D．Bookstore created by Mo Yan.

One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文) showing how it was used.

This was a huge task. So Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as "Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire," 50 miles from Oxford.

Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the staff's most valued contributors.

But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline(拒绝) to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell（地窖） at the Broadmoor Asylum (精神病院) for the Criminally insane.

Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.

In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.

Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined（下定义） 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.

1.According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary           .

2.How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?

3. Prof. Murray and Dr. Minor became friends mainly because           .

4.What does the text mainly talk about?

B
Anthony Horowitz was miserable (痛苦的) as a child. He was, as he puts it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive (虐待的) boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded (恳求) with his parents year after year not to send him. “The thought was, ‘It’ll be good for him’,” Horowitz recalls (回忆).
It was not. Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied (欺负) for five years. “My teachers couldn’t have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn’t even smart enough to rebel (反抗). The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”
Now, at 55, Horowitz is one of the world’s most successful children’s book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month.
The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency MI6.
Horowitz said he doesn’t try to write for kids; it just comes out that way. “I have a feeling it’s to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.
That style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it’s all about entertaining people with a good story.
Now, Horowitz couldn’t be happier with his life. He sums up his success: “…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”
61. The text is mainly about _____.
A. Horowitz’s popular book – Alex Rider       B. Horowitz’s miserable childhood
C. Horowitz, a successful children’s writer        D. Horowitz’s special writing style
62 In his childhood, Anthony Horowitz _____.
A. was more intelligent than his brother       
B. was paid more attention by his parents
C. couldn’t understand why he was sent to the boarding school
D. led a miserable life because of poverty
63.In the boarding school, Horowitz’s teachers ______.
A. showed great concern for him                B. often abused and bullied him
C. taught him how to write stories               D. thought little of his ability
64. Which of the following is true of Anthony Horowitz?
A. He was the beloved child of his family.       
B. He benefited a lot from boarding school.
C. He emphasizes the plot rather than character in stories.
D. Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy.
65. What advice does Horowitz have for readers?
A. Confidence is the key to success.           B. Hardship teaches valuable lessons.
C. Interest is the best teacher.                D. Diligence is the parent of success.