May: Happenings form the Past
May 5, 1884
Isaac Murphy, son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history, rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby. He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times.
May 9, 1754
Benijamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon(漫画)，showing a snake cut in pieces with the words “John or Die ” printed under the picture.
May 11, 1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, the result of years of drought(干旱)，blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington, D.C.
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, form first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s, died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64.
May 24,1844
Samuel F.B. Morse taps out the first message, “What hath God wrought,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington,D.C., to Baltimore, Md.
1.We know from the text that Buchanan is ____________ .
A. Isaac’s father B. a winning horse
C. a slave taking care of horse D. the first racing horse in Kentucky
2.What is the title of the first American political cartoon? _________
A. Join or Die B. Pennsylvania Gazette
C. What Hath God Wrought D. Kentucky Derby
3.In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die? ________
A. 1934 B.1960 C. 1964 D. 1994
4.Which of the following places has to do with the first telegram in history? ______
A. Washing, D.C. B. New York City.
C. Kentucky. D. Pennsylvania.
My friends, Emma Daniels, spent the summer of 1974 traveling in Israel. During her monthlong stay in Jerusalem she often went to a café called Chocolate Soup. It was run by two men, one of whom – Alex – used to live in Montreal. One morning when Emma went in for coffee, while chatting with her new friend Alex, she mentioned that she had just finished the book she was reading and had nothing else to read. Alex said he had a wonderful book she might like, and that he’d be happy to lend it to her. As he lived just above the café, he quickly ran up to get it. The book he handed to Emma just minutes later was Markings, a book by a former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).
Emma had never read it, nor had she ever bought a copy. But, when she opened it up, she was floored to see her own name and address inside the cover in her own handwriting（笔迹）.It turned out that the summer before, at a concert back in Montreal, Emma had met a Californian who was in town visiting friends. They decided to exchange（交换）addresses, but neither of them had any paper. The man opened up a book he was carrying in his backpack(背包) and asked Emma to write her name and address inside. When he returned to California, he left the book behind in Montreal, and his friend Alex kept it. When Alex later moved to Jerusalcm, he took the book along.
1.Alex lent Emma the book, Markings, _______ .
A. to show his friendliness to her
B. to show his interest in reading
C. to tell her about the importance of UN
D. to let her write her name and address inside
2.How did Emma feel the moment she opened the book?________
A. Pleased. B. Satisfied.
C. Worried. D. Surprised.
3.We can learn from the text the Californian ________ .
A. met Emma at a concert
B. invited Emma to a concert
C. introduced Emma to his friend
D. left Emma his backpack
4.Who was supposed to be the first owner of the book? ___________
A. An official of the UN.
B. A coffee shop owner.
C. A friend of the author’s.
D. Alex’s friend form California.
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The year I went to college was a very difficult transition(过渡期) for me. 1is probably true with many people， I got quite homesick and 2thought about going home.
Although the 3time for many students is getting 4from home, my mailbox was frequently 5. One day when I went to the mailbox, there was a postcard 6out at me. I sat down to read it, 7a note from someone back home. 8I became increasingly puzzled(困惑) as 9postcards were like this; It was a full news report about a woman named Mabel and her new born baby. I took the card back to my room and 10about it.
Several days later I 11another postcard, this one 12news about Maybel line, Mabel’s cousin. Soon after, another card arrived and then another, 13full of news of different people. I began to 14look forward to the next one, 15to see what this author would come up with 16. I was never 17.
Finally, the cards 18coming, right about the time I had begun to feel 19about college life. They had been such a happy distraction(调剂) that, I have 20all the postcards and still bring them out to read whenever I need a lift.
1.A. If B. So C. As D. What
2.A. often B. carefully C. seldom D. merely
3.A. hard B. last C. busiest D. happiest
4.A. visitors B. letters C. calls D. directions
5.A. empty B. full C. closed D. open
6.A. pouring B. reaching C. staring D. rolling
7.A. describing B. considering C. enjoying D. expecting
8.A. But B. Thus C. Also D. Even
9.A. any B. no C. some D. such
10.A. joked B. talked C. forgot D. cared
11.A. mailed B. accepted C. worte D. received
12.A. delivering B. demanding C. discovering D. developing
13.A. one B. each C. either D. both
14.A. nearly B. possibly C. usually D. really
15.A. promising B. surprised C. interested D. pretending
16.A. below B. lately C. next D. behind
17.A. frightened B. disappointed C. excited D. pleased
18.A. continued B. stopped C. started D. avoided
19.A. easy B. safe C. tired D. anxious
20.A. lost B. collected C. torn D. saved
As you can see, the number of cars on roads _______ rising these days.
A. we keeping B. keep C. keeps D. were keeping
I know you don’t like _______ music very much. But what do you think of _______ music in the film we saw yesterday?
A. /; / B. the; the C. the; / D. /; the
There were a lot of people standing at the door and the small girl couldn’t get _______.
A. between B. through C. across D. beyond
