When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.

He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.

During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.

Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.

The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.

Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored (发起) “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.

56. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Charles’ parents supported him and performed together with him.

B. Charles was found and hired by the famous showman.

C. Charles put lots of advertisements to arouse interest.

D. Charles’ success was largely due to Mr. Barnum’s help.

57. Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by an eight-foot-tall person probably because ______________.

A. the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was dancing

B. it made Tom look taller

C. the eight–foot–tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted

D. the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller

58. The underlined words “talk of the town” in the second paragraph from the bottom means ______________.

A. it was in the newspaper                       B. people spread bad rumors about it

C. it was the most popular topic                    D. it was discussed in a city meeting

59. What does the author think about Tom’s wedding?

A. It helped people cheer up in a dark time.              B. People gave it too much of their attention.

C. It was funny and ridiculous.                         D. Tom and Lavinia were stupid.

 

根据首字母提示写出句中所缺单词，注意使用正确形式：(每个小题1分，共8分)

1. We should f_________ the habit of keeping everything tidy and clean.

2.This book c__________ all the information you need.

3.I’m sure if you work hard you will s____________ in life.

4.Many people a___________ importance to becoming rich and famous.

5. Some bands may give p___ in pubs or clubs to get enough experience and get paid.

6. In Beijing house prices has d____________ by 10% in the past two years.

7. Tom is very f______ with the computer software and we often ask him for help.

8.We're not allowed to camp here without the farmer's p____________.

 

“Be nice to people.” This sounds like a platitude（老生常谈）,but I’ll never forget my father’s words. I was 10, and I had been mean to someone. He said, “There is no point in being mean to anyone at any time. You never know who you’re going to meet later in life. And by the way, you don’t change anything by being mean. Usually you don’t get anywhere.”
“Remember you can do anything you want to do. Don’t let anyone say, ‘You’re not smart enough, it’s too hard, it’s a foolish idea, no one has done that before, girls don’t do that.’ ”My mom gave me that advice in 1973. And it allowed me to never worry what others were saying about my career direction.
“Always do the best job you can do at whatever you’re assigned（分派）,even if you think it’s boring.” Jerry Parkinson, my boss at P&G, told me this in 1979. Here I was fresh out of Harvard Business School(HBS), and I was assigned to determine how big the hole in the Ivory shampoo bottle should be: 3/8 of an inch or 1/8 of an inch. I did research, focus groups and I would come home at night wondering how I had gone from HBS to this. But later I realized any job you’re given is an opportunity to prove yourself.
“Don’t be a credit hog. If you’re constantly in the neighborhood of good things, good things will happen to you.” Tom Tierney, who was my boss at Bain in 1981 and is now on the eBay board, told me this. It’s true that you get ahead by praising other people.
Finally, in 1998, I was in New York watching the ticker as eBay went public. My husband is a surgeon（外科医生）.I called him and told him the great news. And he said, “That’s nice. But Meg, remember that it’s not brain surgery.”
【小题1】 We can learn that ______ from the passage.

A．“Be nice to people” is the topic that people like

B．it’s not necessary for us all to be too mean at any time

C．I never forget any word that father spoke to me

D．we won’t be successful if we are too mean to others

【小题2】 How many pieces of advice were given by her family?

A．Two.

B．Four.

C．Three.

D．One.

【小题3】This passage was written by _____ order.

A．story development

B．time

C．working conditions

D．ideas

【小题4】 The author’s husband is more concerned _____ than eBay’s going public.

A．his success	B．opportunity to prove himself
C．brain surgery	D．his career

【小题5】 What’s the main idea of the whole passage?

A．Advice in life really made a difference to us.

B．We should be nice to people around us.

C．People can succeed by praising others.

D．Too mean persons will get nothing from life.

单词拼写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）请根据首字母或汉语提示完成句子。

1.I would a__________ it if you could do me a favor.

2.Our car had a b________ on the motorway, so we walked a mile to look for help.

3.It is mine; you mustn’t use it without my p_________.

4.Tom gave Helen an apple in e__________ for a piece of cake.

5.Having a big family to support, he cannot a__________ to take a holiday.

6.There are over four million __________(失业的) workers in this country.

7.The room suddenly fell into silence with the __________(靠近) of the footsteps.

8.According to the _________(调查) conducted by this university, only 18% are for the idea.

9.It is advisable to take an open-minded _________(态度) to new creation.

10.Children should be encouraged to think __________(独立自主地)

 

 Wendy ,Carol, Jenny, Tom 和Mark 想观看演出或参加培训.阅读下列材料, 从所给的6个选项中,选出符合各自要求的最佳选项。其中一项是多余的。(5分)

1.Wendy, a student who is interested comedy and acting,will be free on Oct.12th .She wants to relax herself by enjoying some performances, but she has no more than $4.

2.Carol is expected to be free on October 15th. She plans to enjoy some

performances while having a cup of coffee.

3.Jenny, a student who majors in art, is interested in Italian art as well as Chinese art. She will be free after school at 4:30.

4.Tom will go to study in the USA for a master’s degree. He wants to have a full-time special training for several months to improve his oral English.

5.Mark , a worker of an export company, needs to improve his writing and oral English. He can only go to the training class after work every day.

A.ENGLISH  LANGUAGE  CENTER

Classes for beginners for 3 months.

Focus on grammar as well as writing and oral English.

3:00 p.m to 9:30 p.m

Small classes with a maximum of 8 students

Course fee: $300 (10% discount for the first to enroll)

B.HALIFAX  PLAYHOUSE

Ring’s Cross Street, Halifax.

Oct.10th--- Oct 17th on Golden Pond by Emest Thompson.

This is a magical comedy about real people. A well-acted play for everyone.

Don’t miss it.

Time: 7:30 p.m

Price: $3

Tel:36599988

C.LONDON COLLEGE OF ENGLISH

Classes for foreign students of all levels.

3 months, 6 months,9 months and 1 years course.

Focus on spoken language.

Open through all year from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Small class with a maximum of 12 students.

Course fee for English for one year: ;$1,200

Discount at shorter period of study.

Tel:22342381

D.EXHIBITIONS OF OIL PAINTINGS

Gallery of the Central Academy of Fine Art

A combination of Eastern and Western Art 8:00 a.m.

Price: $2 for adults, $1 for students

Tel: 33569875

E.WESTERN ART SHOW

China National Art Museum

European modern art, Chinese art and African ancient art

Open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m from Oct. 6th to 20th

Price : $3 for adults, $1.5 for middle school students.

Tel:25545569

F.GRAND THEATRE

Oxford Street, Leeds

Restaurant and Cafe.

Sep.1st—19th

Admission:Tues.--Thurs. $2-6; Fri.& Sat.$4-8

Sue Townsend’s musical play.

Time: Evenings 7:45. Oct 10th—17th, at 2:30 p.m.

No Monday performance.

All kinds of drinks offered

Tel :52011611