III. 阅读理解
William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright (剧作家). Although he died in 1616, people still go to see his plays. Among the most popular are Ｒｏｍｅｏ ａｎｄ Ｊｕｌｉｅｔ, Ａ Ｍｉｄｓｕｍｍｅｒ Ｎｉｇｈｔ’ｓ Ｄｒｅａｍ and Ｈａｍｌｅｔ — the story of a prince who struggles to respond to the crimes around him.
Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, was an actor as well as a writer. Most of his ideas for plays were taken from history, people’s conversation, ancient stories, and also from other writers. He wrote not only about kings and queens and princes, but also about friends and ordinary people. He wrote about the cruelty of war and the bravery of heroes, as well as about jealousy, joy, hate, ambition and love. His stories live on. The tragedy Ｒｏｍｅｏ ａｎｄ Ｊｕｌｉｅｔ was reborn as the musical Ｗｅｓｔ Ｓｉｄｅ Ｓｔｏｒｙ and more recently as the movie Ｒｏｍｅｏ ａｎｄ Ｊｕｌｉｅｔ with the wonderful performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
He invented a number of great characters: powerful magicians, thrilling witches, smart women and both wise and wicked men. He also invented some great phrases. If you’ve ever said, “Oh, for goodness sake!” you can thank Shakespeare for that. Other examples of common phrases adapted from Shakespeare: “as luck would have it”, “your own flesh and blood”, “too much of a good thing”, “good riddance”, “in one fell swoop”, and “in the twinkling of an eye”. “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” Hamlet says. “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it is morrow,” says Juliet to her Romeo.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand everything when reading Shakespeare or watching one of his plays because the meanings of many words have changed over the years. And Shakespeare’s characters speak in poetry, so their speeches can be complicated.
It does help to find out a little bit about the story before reading a Shakespeare play. It’s worth the effort. As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world is a stage.” And in his plays you’ll find that an entire world is waiting for you.
1. Shakespeare created the following characters EXCEPT ________.
A. Juliet B. Hamlet C. Claire Danes D. Romeo
2. From Paragraph 3 we can learn that ________.
A. most of the characters created by Shakespeare were negative ones
B. most of the phrases used today were invented by Shakespeare
C. “Oh, for goodness sake!” is what Juliet says to Romeo
D. Shakespeare contributed greatly to the development of English
3. Which of the following is a reason why it’s difficult to understand some of Shakespeare’s plays?
A. There are many new words in his plays.
B. He wrote his plays using uncommon words.
C. The characters in his plays speak in poetry.
D. Most of the words in his plays are outdated.
4. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. most of Shakespeare’s plays have been made into films
B. language changes with the development of society
C. Shakespeare made lots of money from his works
D. it is more useful to read Shakespeare’s works than to watch them
II. 完形填空
Sometimes a small thing during your childhood can leave a lasting impression. The event happened one day when we were having 16 after shopping. I was glad to see there were so many 17 dishes on the table except for a plate of peas.
I can’t 18 why so many people like to eat peas. But I do not like peas at all.
“Eat your peas,” my grandmother said. “Mother,” said my mother in her 19 voice, “he doesn’t like peas.” My grandmother did not 20 , but there was something in her eyes that 21 she was not going to 22 . She said slowly but firmly, “I’ll pay you five dollars if you eat those peas.” I didn’t know what to do then. I only knew that five dollars was a good amount of money. I began to 23 the awful things down my throat.
With a 24 smile on her face, Grandmother said, “I can do what I want to, Ellen, and you can’t 25 me.” My mother glared at me. No one can glare like my mother. The glares made me nervous, and every single pea made me want to 26 . Finally I swallowed the last pea. My grandmother 27 me the five dollars with a smile. 28 , my mother continued to glare 29 .
That night, at dinner, my mother 30 two of my all-time favorite dishes, beef and potatoes. Along with them 31 a big, steaming bowl of peas. She offered me some peas, and I 32 ， “Mum, I don’t like peas,” I said.
“You ate them for 33 ,” she said. “You can also eat them for love.” “But, I ...” What could I say to refuse my mother? There was 34 . I had no choice but to eat the peas. The five dollars were quickly 35 . But the story of the peas lives on to this day.
16. A. tea B. lunch C. coffee D. supper
17. A. delicious B. perfect C. expensive D. colorful
18. A. believe B. agree C. understand D. forgive
19. A. violent B. angry C. unattractive D. warning
20. A. analyze B. reply C. insist D. resist
21. A. proved B. suggested C. wondered D. advised
22. A. give up B. give in C. allow for D. leave alone
23. A. conduct B. digest C. absorb D. force
44. A. greedy B. disappointed C. satisfied D. sensitive
25. A. prevent B. master C. scare D. arrange
26. A. put forward B. set out C. throw up D.break through
27. A. spared B. borrowed C. showed D. handed
28. A. But B. However C. So D. Though
29. A. in silence B. with excitement
C. in surprise D.with doubt
30. A. chose B. gathered C. served D. ordered
31. A. arrived B. appeared C. came D. went
32. A. smiled B. refused C. accepted D. admitted
33. A. Grandmother B. lunch C. Mother D. money
34. A. no one B. nothing C. anything D. everything
35. A. saved B. used C. spent D. lost
_______ enough is quite necessary for your health, so you shouldn’t stay up too late every day.
A. Sleep B. Sleeping C. To sleep D. Having slept
.Most of the citizens didn’t know what had________just now.
A.come through B.come into C.come along D.come about
Out _____, with a stick in his hand.
A. did he rush B. rushed he C. he rushed D. he did rush
— Did you miss your football match yesterday?
— No, I didn’t. Hardly had I turned up at the sports field _______ the match began.
A. when B. than C. before D. since
