Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy. He was the oldest of five children in his family. His father was a wool weaver. He helped his father with the weaving, but he always wanted to sail the seas.
He didn’t get to school very much, but he learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Some people thought he was trying to prove the world was round, but this is not true. He wanted to find a short way to get to the Indies by ship.
He was a Christian and wanted to tell the story of Christ to the people he would find in the far-away lands. He also wanted wealth for himself and for Spain, and he wanted to be famous. He tried for eight years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money.
They left Spain on August 3, 1492 and sailed toward the west. After many days, the sailors had covered a long distance on the sea and were ready to turn around for home when they saw land, an island Columbus named San Salvador. He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there “Indians”. When they got to Cuba, he thought he was in Japan. The world was a lot larger than he thought.
On Christmas Eve, the Santa Maria was wrecked near Haiti. Columbus built a fort(城堡) and left 40 men to hunt for gold. Then he returned to Spain on the Nina. The people of Spain welcomed him as a hero. He made three more voyages across the ocean. His 13-year-old son, Ferdinand, went with him on the fourth voyage.
Columbus did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and the queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关节炎). Columbus not only discovered a New World, but he led the way for other explorers.
1.Columbus taught himself Latin because _______.
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A． he wanted to prove the earth was round. |
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B．he wanted to find a short way to the Indies by sea. |
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C．he found Latin was very useful at that time. |
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D．he wanted to travel around the world. |
2.How was Columbus able to make his voyage to the west?
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A．He was supported by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. |
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B．He worked hard for eight for to save enough money for his voyage. |
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C．The king and the queen helped him with money and ships. |
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D．Many people supported him with money and food for his voyage. |
3.Why did Columbus call the local people in Salvador “Indians”?
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A．Because he thought he had arrived in Japan. |
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B．Because he thought he looked like in the Indies. |
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C．Because he thought it was a wealthy place. |
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D．Because he thought he had arrived in the Indies. |
4.From the fifth paragraph we can infer that “Santa Maria” and “Nina” must be the names of_________.
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A．trains |
B．ships |
C．cities |
D．women |
5.From the text we know that ________.
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A．Columbus lived a difficult life in his later life. |
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B．Columbus was considered as a hero all his life. |
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C．Columbus didn’t get the wealth as he had hoped for. |
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D．Columbus was the first person to travel round the world. |
At five he was collecting old newspapers to make money. And when he was 15 he signed his schoolmates up to start a baby-sitting circle.
Now 20, third-year Cambridge University student, Peter Blackburn is managing director of a company with a £ 30,000 plan. And he thinks it will make more than $15,000 by next summer. He set up Peter Blackburn Ltd last year to bring out a new, color term-planner that now students all over the UK are using.
"I felt that most of the planners going around were pretty unimaginative," he says, "I believed that I could do a better job and decided to have a go".
Blackburn admits that he is putting far more effort into business than his computer studies course at university. While fellow students are out with their friends, he keeps in touch with his business office in Lancashire by movable phone. Before he set up the company he spent one holiday preparing a plan that would persuade his bank to lend him money.
"Most students work hard for a good degree because they believe that will help them get a job to support themselves," he says "I work hard at my company, because that is what will support me next year, after I leave college."
Friends believe that Blackburn will make £ 1 million within 5 years. He is not quite so sure, however. "There's a lot to be done yet," he says.
1.Choose the right order of the facts given in the passage.
a. He spent his holiday preparing a plan. b. He collected newspapers.
c. He set up his own company. d. He asked the bank for money.
e. He set up a babysitting circle.
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A．e, b, c, a, d |
B．b, e, a, d, c |
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C．b, e, d, a, c |
D．b, e, c, a, d |
2.When he was quite young, Blackburn _______ .
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A．already made a lot of money |
B．already had a business brain |
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C．was already managing director of a company |
D．already set up his own business |
3.The underlined expression in the fourth paragraph "have a go," here means _______ .
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A．give up this job and have a new one |
B．leave the company |
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C．have a try |
D．develop my business quickly |
4.In spite of（尽管） a college student, Blackburn _______ .
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A．spends more time on his business than on his studies course |
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B．keeps in touch with his business office by movable phone |
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C．seldom goes out with his friends |
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D．often spends whole holiday preparing business plan |
5.Which of the following best explain why Blackburn works hard at his company?
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A．He wants to do more business practice before he leaves college. |
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B．He wants to make more money before he leaves college. |
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C．He wants to get a good job like most students after he leaves the college. |
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D．he depends on the company for his living in the future. |
Many years ago when the world was a simpler place there lived a shoemaker. He used __16__ silk and soft leather(皮革) to make the greatest shoes. Colorful shoes lined the shelves of his store.
One little girl, Rachel, often looked through the _17__ into the store. One day while Rachel was looking again, the shoemaker __18__ at her side. “Well, dear, which shoes would you take?” he said, smiling.
Rachel was __19__ as she hadn’t noticed the little man. “Oh! I …I was just __20__,” Rachel said. “I can’t afford them and I would never take anything that doesn't belong to me.”
The shoemaker said, “I meant to give you a pair as a(n) __21__ .” Rachel stared at the shoemaker. A small pointed(尖尖的) ear could be seen underneath(在…底下) his hat. The guy __22__ Rachel’s curious gaze(凝视) and fixed his hat tightly over his ear _23__.
“Why don't you wear a pair of your own beautiful shoes?” Rachel questioned him, smiling.
“I am always working and have no need of __24__ shoes,” he explained.
Rachel’s smile __25__. “I have no need of good shoes either,” Rachel said in a sad voice and limped (一瘸一拐地走) away.
A few days later, Rachel was walking past the shoe shop when the shoemaker waved her into the shop. Looking around, Rachel said, “You have every color of the rainbow here.”
The shoemaker said, “They are the colors of the rainbow, Rachel.” __26__ a drawer(抽屉), he took out the most beautiful pair of shoes Rachel had ever seen. The shoemaker placed the shoes onto her feet. “Take a __27__, Rachel,” he said.
“I …I can’t,” Rachel said with a tear.
“Yes, Rachel, you can,” the shoemaker __28__.
Rachel stood up staight. Deliberately(小心翼翼地) she took a __29__, followed by another and another. “I can do it. I can do it,” she said, walking easily across the floor, not limping at all.
The shoemaker laughed __30__ and said, “I told you they were magic shoes…”
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In the questionnaire, the subjects are questioned whether they____banning cars in the city centre．
A．agree B．comment C．advocate D．conduct
____ to give up smoking, he threw away his _____ cigarettes．
A．Determined; remained B．Determined; remaining
C．Determining; remaining D．Determining; remained
By the time he retires, professor Baker _____ for almost forty years．
A．will have taught B．had taught
C．has taught D．is teaching
