The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. Over one hundred people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包师）in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window into the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o’ clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Pauls and the Guildhall among them.
Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, write about the fire, “People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the mew St Pauls.
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.
1.The fire began in_________ .
A. a hotel B. the palace C. Pudding Lane D. Thames Street
2.The underlined word “family” in the second paragraph means_________ .
A. home B. children C. wife and husband D. wife and children
3.Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?
A. Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire.
B. Because Pepys also wrote about the fire.
C. To show that poor people suffered most.
D. To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire.
4.How was the fire put out according to the text?
A. The soldiers came to help.
B. All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed.
C. People managed to get enough water from the river.
D. Houses standing in the path of the fire were destroyed according to the King’s order.
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. He was famous because of the books he wrote for children. They combine funny words, pictures, and social opinions.
Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. A number of publishers refused to publish it. They said it was too different. A friend finally published it. Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty children’s books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with serious subjects.
By the middle 1940s, Dr Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful writers of children’s books. He liked helping children. In 1954, Life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said that many children’s books weren’t interesting. Dr Seuss decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read.
In 1957, Dr Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 225 words to write the book. This was about the number of words a six-year-old should be able to read.
The story is about a cat who tries to entertain two children on a rainy day while their mother is away from home. The cat is not like normal cats. It talks. The book was an immediate success. It was an interesting story and was easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today many adults say it is still one of the stories they like best.
1.What’s the best title for this passage?
A. Some of Dr Seuss’ books for children.
B. What are Dr Seuss’s books mainly about?
C. Dr Seuss — a famous writer of children’s books.
D. Why are Dr Seuss’ books different?
2.What do we know about Dr Seuss’s first book for children?
A. It was Dr Seuss’ worst book.
B. It dealt with a very serious subject.
C. Neither children nor adults like it.
D. Many publishers didn’t accept his book at first.
3.How did Dr Seuss help children according to Paragraph 3?
A. By asking others to help them in magazines.
B. By writing interesting and simple books.
C. By changing his old books into simpler ones.
D. By giving them books for free.
4.Adults most probably think that Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat is _________
A. interesting B. serious C. difficult D. boring
1.Why does the writer introduce so many animals from different places to us?
A. To frighten us in the zoo.
B. To make us lovely in the zoo.
C. To attract us to the zoo.
D. To show that animals can do everything.
2.How much does Mr. Smith have to pay if he visits the zoo with his two-year-old son?
A. ￥3. B. ￥4. C. ￥5. D. ￥6.
3.At which of the following time can we visit the zoo?
A. 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. B. 9:30 a.m. Friday.
C. 3:00 p.m. Sunday. D. 5:00 p.m. Tuesday.
A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist(拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s.
1.The Frenchman went to a small Italian town _______.
A. alone B. with his wife C. with his friend D. with an Italian
2.One night he went out for _______ alone.
A. a ride B. a walk C. a drink D. rest
3.Suddenly he found his_______ was gone.
A. watch B. money C. book D. ring
4.Who was robbed of the watch?
A. The Frenchman was. B. The Italian was.
C. Both of them was. D. Neither of them was.
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
I’d been proud that I’d never lost my cellphone until my husband Jack got a call one evening.
We went to visit a friend in hospital last year. When Jack’s rang, it was my mother calling from my . She asked if I had my mobile. I checked my purse. It was ! I used Jack’s phone to call my number. Then a boy, whom I’ll call Rhys, it. “I found your phone!” he said, excitedly. “I have been trying to find you, but it was getting late, I decided to leave.” He gave me the address of a near his home.
Later that evening, I went to him there. I didn’t dare to go , worrying this was some cheater. So Jack came along. After 10 km, we got to the coffee shop which Rhys .
My were gone. Rhys was just a young boy. “How did you my mum?” I asked. He that when he found my mobile by the roadside, he started calling people in my list of contacts (联系人). But all they was my mobile phone number — which didn’t . He’d called many names, starting with the letter A. Finally he got Adam, one of my friends, who my house.
I was to get my phone back with all the contacts, messages and photos I could have lost forever. I was so to Rhys and offered him some money, but he .
As we drove back, we praised Rhys for his honesty.
1.A. electric car B. mobile phone C. radio D. doorbell
2.A. hospital B. company C. school D. home
3.A. found B. changed C. lost D. bought
4.A. gone B. new C. busy D. broken
5.A. accepted B. returned C. got D. answered
6.A. before B. because C. after D. if
7.A. coffee shop B. post office C. hotel D. supermarket
8.A. follow B. meet C. catch D. punish
9.A. slowly B. back C. alone D. finally
10.A. driving B. running C. walking D. riding
11.A. talked about B. looked for C. heard of D. knew about
12.A. difficulties B. fears C. diseases D. hopes
13.A. remember B. know C. tell D. understand
14.A. realized B. repeated C. explained D. believed
15.A. had B. noticed C. expected D. finished
16.A. happen B. matter C. help D. fit
17.A. called B. visited C. shared D. sold
18.A. sorry B. glad C. sad D. proud
19.A. useful B. strange C. grateful D. polite
20.A. missed B. appeared C. agreed D. refused
We’ll call on a man ________ I believe can give us very good advice.
A. which B. who C. whom D. Whomever
