Prince Roman was a Polish nobleman, a captain in the army of Czar Nicholas of Russia. When his young wife died, the prince left the army and returned in sorrow to his native Poland.
In time, love for his country and its people took the place of his lost love. He joined a Polish rising against the Russians. The rising was crushed, and Prince Roman was taken prisoner. His relatives and friends begged the military court to have mercy on him.
The president of the court received these appeals kindly. He was a good Russian, but he was also a good-natured man. Russian hatred of Poles was not as fierce at that time as it became later; and the Russian felt sympathetic as soon as he saw the prince's thin, tired, sun-burnt face.
The court of three officers sat in a bare room, behind a long black table. Some clerks sat at the two ends, but no one else was there when the guards brought in the prince.
Those four walls shut out from Prince Roman all sights and sounds of freedom, all hopes of the future, all comforting thoughts. How much love for Poland remained in him then? How much love of life? He stood before his judges alone, having refused their permission to sit. He answered their first formal questions — his name and so on — clearly and politely although he felt too weary to talk.
Then the president of the court seemed to suggest how the young man could best help himself. He asked questions in a way that almost put the right answers in the prisoner's mouth.
“Didn't your wife's death drive you to despair? Wasn't your mind unbalanced by that sad event ?”
Prince Roman was silent.
"You were not fully responsible for you conduct, were you?"
Prince Roman was silent.
"You made a sudden blind decision to join the rising. You didn't realize that your actions were dangerous and dishonourable. Isn't that the truth of this unfortunate matter?"
The judges looked at the prisoner hopefully. In silence the prince reached for a pen and some paper. He wrote, "I joined the rising because I believe it was just." He pushed the paper towards the president, who took it and read it in silence.
Prince Roman was sentenced to hard work for life in the Siberian salt mines. It was a sentence of delayed death.
When Czar Nicholas read the report and sentence, he added in his own handwriting, "Make sure that this prisoner walks in chains every step of the way to Siberia."
1.What does the passage tell us of Poland at the time?
A．Polish officers in the Russian army had to return to Poland.
B．Russia was at war with Poland, so the Poles were enemies.
C．The Russians were very cruel rulers of Poland.
D．It was ruled by Russia, and Poles served in the Russian army.
2.How much love for Poland remained in the prince when he stood trial?
A．Not much, probably, after the failure of the rising.
B． More than he had ever felt before.
C．As much as he had ever felt.
D．The passage doesn't suggest an answer to the question.
3.The questions which the president asked show that ______.
A．he was trying to find excuse for the prince's conduct
B．the court wanted the prince to admit his own guilt
C．he wanted to learn the truth about the Polish rising
D．Prince Roman was a weak person
4.In the trial, Prince Roman ______.
A．was afraid to be responsible for his actions
B．blamed others for his actions
C．accepted responsibility for his actions
D．admitted his guilt
5.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A．The judges were less sympathetic than Czar Nicholas.
B．Czar Nicholas was as kind as the judges.
C．Czar Nicholas was not as sympathetic as the judges.
D．The judges were as cruel as Czar Nicholas.
In a mountainous area of Brazil, there is a kind of beautiful butterfly which can kill men. If people meet them, they will come down in great quantities to bite and kill, sucking blood and flesh through the wounds they cause.
In June, 1966, a boy named Marl Andre who went into the mountains in search of butterfly specimens (标本) was killed by these butterflies. A country boy saw him when he was just about to catch a butterfly. Suddenly thousands of butterflies came down upon him, covering him all over. The boy struggled and cried as he tried to free himself from their attack. Finally he fell senseless to the ground. Police examined his body and proved that he had died of bites by butterflies.
In New Guinea, there is a kind of needlefish which also kills men. Needlefish likes light. At night, it will swim near the lights of fishing boats, then suddenly shoot out of water like an arrow to its target, and force its 3-inch sharp mouth into a human body. Of-ten people are thrust in the eye, or through the chest or stomach, resulting in death. Sometimes it will even attack the people in a fishing boat in broad daylight.
About 10 persons in the world are killed by sharks every year, yet more than 240 people are killed by needlefish every year.
1.From the passage, we know that ______.
A．butterflies are living in the mountains
B．all butterflies like sucking blood and eating fish
C．the butterflies in a certain part of Brazil can kill men
D．the more beautiful a butterfly is, the more dangerous it is
2.Mari Andre was killed when he ______.
A．went to Brazil B．tried to catch a butterfly
C． entered the mountains D．raised a net
3.Needlefish comes out ______.
A．sometimes at night B．both at night and in the daytime
C．only when boats appear D．usually in the daytime
4.According to the story, each year needlefish kills ______.
A．twice more than sharks do
B．about 10 more persons than sharks do
C．24 times more persons than sharks do
D．fewer persons than sharks do
5.The best title for the passage is ______.
A．Brazil Home of Dangerous Butterflies
B．Killer Butterflies and Needlefish
C．New Guinea—No Fit to Live in
D．Deaths Caused by Butterflies and Needlefish
Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth, so I decided that my approach must be wrong, and I should try another way.
I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,” “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it’s nothing.”
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “ You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, “Would you mend this chair for me?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver(五英镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer _________.
A．was rather impolite
B．was warmly received
C．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair
D．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair
2.The underlined word “approach” in the second paragraph means _________.
A．plan for dealing with things B．way of doing things
C．idea of repairing things D．decision to sell things
3.The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper _______.
A． saw the writer’s purpose B．accepted the offer
C． changed his mind D．decided to help the writer
4.How much did the writer pay?
A．￡ 5. B．￡ 7. C．￡ 20. D．￡ 27.
5.From the text, we can learn that the writer was _________.
A．honest B．careful C． funny D．clever
We live in a dangerous world. The figures for crime go up year by year. If you were attacked in the street, would you be able to defend yourself? Not very well probably, especially if someone was pointing a gun at you. We all see a lot of violence of films, but recently some programs on television showed how people can defend themselves without guns. For example, in one film a woman was attacked from behind. She threw the man, who was heavier and stronger than she was, over her head. Then she held him tightly on the ground. How? She knew Judo.
Jiu-jitsu, as judo is sometimes called, means "muscle science" in Japanese. The student of judo needs to learn a lot about the body, its bones and muscles. Judo uses a number of "falls", "holds" and "throws". Someone who does not know judo cannot defend himself against them. If you know judo you can defend yourself against a person who is stronger than you. You had better not practice judo on your friends unless they can fall without hurting themselves! Being strong is one thing, but using the body wisely is another. In judo, you use the other person's body to help you. You "throw" him to the ground and "hold" him there, so that he cannot move. Of course, it takes time and practice, but knowing judo is useful. In a violent world you ought to be able to defend yourself.
1.According to passage, in fact "judo" is ______.
A．the same as "Jiu-jitsu" B．a kind of fighting
C． a kind of muscle science D．is helpful to a strong man
2.Why does the writer say the world is dangerous?
A． The number of violence and crime is increasing every year.
B．Because many people carry guns.
C．Because there too many films.
D．Because people are not able to defend themselves.
3.Which of the following statement is true about the woman in the passage?
A．The woman held the man over her head.
B．The woman was heavier than the man.
C．The woman was able to defend herself.
D．The woman attacked the man from behind.
4.If a man knows judo, he ______.
A．will be good at muscle science.
B．will be able to avoid being attacked from his back.
C．may defeat any strong person.
D．can help himself by using the other person's body
5.What's the best title for this short passage?
A．How to defend oneself B．Violence in films
C．How to practise judo D．Something about judo
A father is very worried about his son, 1._____acts like a coward. So his father paid a visit to the master and 2._____(ask) him to train his son.
The master said, “I promise I’ll be able to train your child into a real man in three months.”
Three months later, his father came 3.______(pick) the child. The master arranged a match 4._______the child and his coach to show the three-month training result.
At Round One, the child 5._________ (knock) down and fell to the ground. He stood up to meet the challenge. But he was knocked down again, and once again he stood up to fight... this was repeated six times.
The master asked his father, “Do you think your child’s performance is6. ____of a man?” The father said, “I feel ashamed for 7. ____! I never expected that he would be so weak after three8.______ (month) training.” The master said, “I don’t agree with you, and I regret that you only see 9. ___ surface of things. You have not seen the courage and perseverance 10.__ your son. This is the very spirit of a man!”
Failing doesn’t make a failure. True failures are those who don’t learn from their 1 .
Smart persons not only learn from their own mistakes—they pay 2 to the mistakes of others, equate error with opportunity, and learn valuable 3 as well, as this story illustrates (说明).
A lion, a fox, and a wild pig went 4 for rabbits together. By the end of the day, they had a large pile of rabbits to 5 .
The lion said to the wild pig, “Pig, you divide the rabbits up among the three of us in a 6 that you think is fair.” The pig divided the rabbits up into three 7 piles, and said to the lion, “There we are. One 8 for each of us. How’s that?” The lion 9 sprang at the wild pig and 10 him.
Then, the lion threw all the rabbits into one big pile again.
He 11 to the fox. “Well now, Mr. Fox, why don’t you 12 the rabbits between the two of us in a way that you think is fair?”
The fox walked over to the pile of rabbits, took the 13 one for himself, and left the rest in a big pile. “This rabbit is for me, Mr. Lion, and that big pile is for you.” said the fox.
At that point, the lion laughed, “Where did you learn to divide so 14 , Mr. Fox?” And Mr. Fox replied, “The wild pig 15 me.”
1. A．teachers B．mistakes C．failures D．experiences
2. A．respect B．tribute C．court D．attention
3. A．experience B．skills C．lessons D．service
4. A．hunting B．searching C．hiking D．fishing
5. A．share B．eat C．attack D．enjoy
6. A．case B．situation C．mood D．way
7. A．same B．equal C．big D．different
8. A．rabbit B． animal C．pile D．group
9. A．gradually B．curiously C．immediately D．seriously
10. A．killed B．punished C．praised D．sold
11. A．came B．ran C．returned D．turned
12. A．part B．divide C．raise D．separate
13.A largest B. narrowest C. smallest D. worst
14. A．unfairly B．fairly C．hurriedly D．badly
15. A．informed B．told C．reminded D．taught
