The report came to the British on May 21, 1941. The German battleship Bismarck , the most powerful warship in the world , was moving out into the Atlantic Ocean . Her task : to destroy the ships carrying supplies from the United States to war-torn England .
The British had feared such a task . No warship they had could match the Bismarck in speed or in firepower . The Bismarck had eight 15-inch guns and 81 smaller guns . She could move at 30 nautical miles （海里）an hour . She was believed to be unsinkable .
However , the British had to sink her . They sent out a task force headed by their best battleship Hood to hunt down the Bismarck . On May 24 , the Hood found the Bismarck .
It was a meeting that the German commander Luetjens did not want to see . His orders were to destroy the British ships that were carrying supplies , but to stay away from a fight with British warships .
The battle didn’t last long . The Bismarck’s first torpedo （鱼雷）hit the Hood , which went down taking all but three of her 1419 men with her .
But in the fight , the Bismarck was slightly damaged . Her commander decided to run for repairs to France , which had at that time been taken by the Germans . The British force followed her . However , because of the Bismarck’s speed and the heavy fog , they lost sight of her .
For two days , every British ship in the Atlantic tried to find the Bismarck , but with no success . Finally , she was sighted by a plane from Ireland , Trying to slow the Bismarck down so that their ships could catch up with her , the British fired at her from the air . The Bismarck was hit .
On the morning of May 27 , the last battle was fought . Four British ships fired on the Bismarck , and she was finally sunk .
1．The Bismarck sailed into the Atlantic Ocean______________.
A．to sink the Hood
B．to gain control of France
C．to cut off American supplies to Britain
D．to stop British warships reaching Germany
2．Many people believed that the Bismarck could not be defeated because she______________ .
A．was fast and powerful
B．had more men on board
C．was under Luetjens’ command
D．had bigger guns than other ships
3．We learn from the text that on 24 May______________.
A．the British won the battle against the Bismarck
B．the Bismarck won the battle against the British
C．the British gunfire damaged the Bismarck seriously
D．the Bismarck succeeded in keeping away from the British
4．Luetjens tried to sail to France in order to______________.
A．have the ship repaired B．join the other Germans
C．get help from the French D．get away from the British
At Harton College—an English boarding school for boys —there are many rules . 15-year-old Bob Sanders often breaks them .
The boys can go into the town in the afternoon after class . But they must return to the school at six o’clock . One afternoon Bob walked to the town . He looked at the shops and then went to the cinema . After the film , he looked at his watch . It was after eight o’clock . He was a little worried . He walked back to Harton College as fast as possible .
When he arrived , he ran quickly to the main entrance . It was locked . He went round the school building to another door , which was locked too . He looked up at the window of his dormitory on the third floor . The window was open . But it was quite dark , and he could not climb up the wall easily . Then he saw another open window on the ground floor . It was the window of the headmaster’s study .
He looked into the room —no one was there . Bob quickly climbed on to the window sill（窗台）and jumped into the room . Just then he heard a noise . Then someone turned on a light in the corridor（走廊）. Bob looked around and then hid under the sofa . One minute later , Mr. Mannering , the headmaster , came in . He turned on the light on his desk , and sat down on the sofa . Then he opened a book and began to read .
Bob lay under the sofa as quietly as possible . He couldn’t move . The floor was cold and uncomfortable . He looked at the headmaster’s shoes and socks for an hour .
“Why doesn’t he get up and go to bed ?” Bob thought .
Mr. Mannering read his book for another hour . Finally , the headmaster closed his book and stood up .He put the book on a shelf and walked towards the door .
“Thanks heavens , he didn’t find me under the sofa ,” thought Bob .
Then Mr. Mannering stopped and spoke towards the sofa . “ Would you turn off the light when you leave ?” He said , and left the study .
1．Bob didn’t go to his dormitory because______________.
A．its door was locked
B．the window was shut
C．it was quite dark
D．the wall was too high for him to climb up
2．Who had turned on a light in the corridor ?
A．Bob himself B．Another pupil C．An office clerk D．Mr. Mannering
3．When the headmaster came in , Bob______________.
A．was sitting on the sofa
B．was lying under the sofa
C．hid himself behind the bookshelf
D．hid himself under the sofa
4．It can be inferred that Mr . Mannering ______________.
A．knew that Bob was still at the cinema
B．knew that Bob was in the dormitory
C．knew exactly where Bob was
D．didn’t know clearly where Bob was
When someone says , “Well , I guess I’ll have to go to face the music,” It doesn’t mean he is planning to go to a concert . It is something far less pleasant , like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this or that , and why you did not do this or that . Sour （刺耳）music , indeed , but it has to be faced .
The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American , young and old . It is at least 100 years old . Where did the expression come from ?
The first information comes from the American writer James Fenimore Cooper . He said—in 1851—that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings （侧）to go on stage . After they got their clue（暗示）to go on , they often said , “It’s time to go to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did —face the orchestra（管弦乐队）which was just below the stage .
An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps unfriendly , especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out .
So, “to face the music” came to mean : having to go through something , no matter how unpleasant the experience might be , because you knew you had no choice .
The other explanation comes from the army . Men had to face inspection（检阅）by their leader . The soldiers worried about how well they looked . Was their equipment clean—shiny enough to pass inspection ? Still , the men had to go out , and face the music of the band , as well as the inspection . What else could they do ?
1．The phrase “to face the music” was first used by______________.
A．all the Americans
B．the American writer James Fenimore Cooper
C．American actors
D．the American orchestra
2．An actor might feel frightened or nervous when going on stage .One of the reasons is that ______________.
A．his performance might not satisfy most of the audience
B．he might not remember what he should say on stage
C．he had to face the unfriendly audience
D．the audience might be mostly his friends
3． “To face the music” is also used to mean that soldiers were not willing______________.
A．to be examined about their equipment
B．to be found weak
C．to show themselves by their leader
D．to be inspected by their leader
4．This passage is mainly about______________.
A．the meaning of the phrase “to face the music”
B．how to deal with something unpleasant
C．the origin（起源）of the phrase
D．how to go through difficulty
三、阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
In one way of thinking , failure is a part of life . In another way , failure may be a way towards success . The “ spider story” often told , Robert Bruce , leader of the Scots in the 13th century , was hiding in a cave from the English . He watched a spider spinning a web . The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock . He tried six times without success . On the seventh time he made it and went on to spin his web . Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English …Edison , the inventor of the light bulb , made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one .
So what ? First , always think about your failure . What caused it ?Were conditions right ? Were you in top form yourself ? What can you change so things will go right next time ?
Second , is the goal(目标)you’re trying to reach the right one ? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be . Think about this question .“ If I do succeed in this , where will it get me ?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway .
The third thing is to bear in mind that failure is a part of life . Learn to “ live with yourself” even though you may have failed . Remember , “You can’t win them all .”
1．This passage deals with two sides of failure . In paragraph 1 , the author talks mainly about
_____________
A．the value of failure B．how people would fail
C．famous failures D．the cause of failure
2．The lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce seems_______________.
A．productive B．straight forward C．sad D．deep
3．The author tells you to do all things except______________.
A．to think about the cause of your failure
B．to check out whether your goals are right for you
C．to consider failure as a part of life
D．to bear in mind that you will never fail in your life
4．Which of the following is NOT true ?
A．Bruce and Edison were successful examples .
B．Failure may be regarded as a way towards success .
C．Edison learned a lot from the lesson the spider taught Robert Bruce .
D．One may often raise a question whether his goals are worth trying .
第二节 完形填空（共20小题，每题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。
When I lived in South America , I could speak Spanish very well .When I came back to the United States I couldn’t 36 many opportunities to speak 37 . One of my friends gave me some 38 . She said that I could go back to school to 39 Spanish or that I could get a job 40 I would meet some Spanish speaking people . I was very 41 . I did both !
I signed up 42 a Spanish course at the community college . 43 I couldn’t understand Mr Garcia , the Spanish teacher , but 44 a few weeks I could
45 most of what he said . But I still needed help with my 46 ——I couldn’t speak Spanish without a strong American 47 . When I spoke to Mr Garcia about my
48 , he said that I could go to the language lab 49 my pronunciation and that I would 50 him and his family at the weekend . They could really help me 51 my pronunciation , he said .
Well , I went to the Garcia’s 52 one Sunday afternoon and met Mrs Garcia and the three Garcia’s children . Mrs Garcia asked me 53 I could help her with the children in the afternoon after school . I was 54 !This was just what I needed ! I would be able to study Spanish in school 55 improve my pronunciation with the Garcia children every afternoon .
36．A．find B．give C．look D．hope
37．A．English B．French C．Spanish D．Chinese
38．A．plans B．questions C．answers D．advice
39．A．teach B．study C．speak D．work
40．A．where B．which C．when D．that
41．A．worried B．lucky C．unlucky D．afraid
42．A．in B．at C．for D．on
43．A．As a result B．As usual C．At last D．At first
44．A．before B．soon C．after D．later
45．A．understand B．speak C．tell D．say
46．A．homework B．lessons C．grammar D．pronunciation
47．A．sound B．accent C．voice D．noise
48．A．problem B．question C．worry D．mistake
49．A．to practiceB．practicing C．to practise D． practising
50．A．visit B．tell C．telephone D．invite
51．A．develop B．improve C．exploit D．examine
52．A．office B．school C．shop D．house
53．A．that B．if C．what D．why
54．A．satisfied B．surprised C．worried D．disappointed
55．A．otherwise B．but C．and D．or
．Did you have trouble_________the entrance to the hill ?
A．in finding B．to find C．with finding D．find
