Mrs. Strickland did not talk much, but she had a pleasant gift for keeping the conversation general. And when there was a pause she threw in just the right remark to set it going once more.
“Why do nice women marry dull men?”
“Because intelligent men won’t marry nice women.”
Mrs. Strickland had the gift of sympathy.
There was another thing I liked in Mrs. Strickland. She managed her surroundings with elegance (优雅). Her flat was always neat and cheerful with flowers. The meals in the little dining room were pleasant; the table looked nice; the food was well cooked. It was impossible not to see that Mrs. Strickland was an excellent housekeeper. And you felt sure that she was an admirable mother. There were photographs in the drawing room of her son and daughter. The son—his name was Robert—was a boy of sixteen at Rugby. He had his mother’s fine eyes. He looked clean, healthy, and normal.
“I don’t know that he’s very clever,” she said one day, when I was looking at the photograph, “but I know he’s good. He has a charming character.”
The daughter was fourteen. Her hair, thick and dark like her mother’s, fell over her shoulders, and she had the same kindly expression and untroubled eyes.
“They both look like you,” I said.
“Yes, I think they are more like me than their father.”
“Why have you never let me meet him?” I asked.
“Would you like to?” she smiled and her smile was really very sweet.
“You know, he’s not at all literary,” she said. “He has no interest in literature.”
“He’s on the Stock Exchange (证券交易所), and he’s a typical broker (经纪人). I think he’d bore you to death.”
“Does he bore you?” I asked.
“You see, I happen to be his wife. I’m very fond of him.” She smiled to cover her shyness, and her eyes grew tender.
“He doesn’t pretend to be a talent. He doesn’t even make much money on the Stock Exchange. But he’s awfully good and kind.”
“I think I should like him very much.”
“I’ll ask you to dine with us quietly some time, but mind, you come at your own risk; don’t blame me if you have a very dull evening.”
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Mrs. Strickland is a very good housekeeper.
B.Her daughter looks more like her than her husband.
C.Her son, clever or not, has a pleasant character.
D.Mrs. Strickland doesn’t love her husband because of his dullness.
2.What does the sentence “I think he’d bore you to death” in paragraph 13 imply?
A.Mrs. Strickland doesn’t think her husband is a dull man.
B.It must be boring for the guest to talk with Mr. Strickland because of different interests.
C.Mrs. Strickland fears that her husband will make the guest die.
D.The guest will finally find Mr. Strickland is a humorous host.
3.Which is the closest meaning to the underlined word “awfully”?
A.Personally. B.Gradually.
C.Extremely. D.Eventually.
4.What does the author think of Mrs. Strickland in this passage?
A.Elegant and attractive. B.Dull and unconfident.
C.Beautiful and unlucky. D.Bitter and foolish.
It may seem as if Mother's Day was invented by a company named Hallmark, but people have been taking time on the calendar to give a shout-out to Mom for a long time. The Greeks and Romans had mother goddess festivals — although their celebrations didn't involve the menfolk taking their underappreciated mothers out to dinner. A more recent tradition wasMothering Sunday, which developed in the British Isles during the 16th century. On the fourth Sunday in April, young men and women who were living and working apart from their families were advised to return to their mothers’ houses.
Mother's Day as it is observed in the United States started in the 1850s with Ann Jarvis, a West Virginia woman who held “Mothers' Work Days” to promote health and hygiene(卫生) at home and in the workplace. During the Civil War, Jarvis organized women to improve sanitary conditions for soldiers on both sides, and after the war she became a peacemaker, furthering the cause by bringing together mothers of Union and Confederate soldiers and promoting a Mother's Day holiday.
Jarvis's work inspired another 19th-century woman, Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe published her “Mother's Day Proclamation”, which envisioned the day not as appreciation of mothers by their children but as an opportunity for women to exercise their collective power for peace. Howe started holding annual Mother's Day celebrations in Boston, her hometown, but after about a decade she stopped footing the bill and the tradition faded away.
It was Jarvis's daughter Anna who succeeded in getting Mother’s Day recognized as a national holiday. After her mother died, in May 1905, Anna started holding yearly ceremony on the anniversary and conducting a tireless PR campaign to have the day made a holiday. In 1908 she succeeded in enlisting the support of John W anamaker, the Philadelphia department store magnate and advertising pioneer, and by 1912 West Virginia and a few other states had adopted Mother's Day. Two years later, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution declaring the second Sunday in May a national holiday.
It wasn't long, though, before whatever ideals the day was supposed to celebrate were buried under an amount of greeting cards and candy. By the 1920s Anna Jarvis was campaigning against the holiday she had been instrumental in creating. “I wanted it to be a day of emotionalism, not profit,” she said.
1.The first paragraph suggests that .
A.mothers didn't get enough appreciation
B.Mother's Day was invented by Hallmark
C.young people returned to their mothers' houses
D.Greeks and Romans were the first to celebrate Mother's Day
2.Who plays the most important role in creating Mother's Day?
A.Ann Jarvis. B.Julia Ward Howe.
C.Woodrow Wilson. D.Anna Jarvis.
3.Why did Anna Jarvis object to Mother's Day at last?
A.Because it was an emotional day.
B.Because the festival was not profitable.
C.Because the celebrations went against the original spirit.
D.Because the day was buried under greeting cards and candy.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.The Objection to Mother’s Day
B.The Argument on Celebrating Mother's Day
C.The Story Behind the Creation of Mother's Day
D.Different Form of Celebrations on Mother's Day
There it was. A test of will power. I was on a special diet with foods carefully selected for balanced nutrition and caloric value. A piece of cheese cake was not a good choice. So here was my dilemma: Should I not eat the cheese cake, feel dissatisfied and take out my disappointment on the annoyingly skinny physical instructor at the gym? Or should I eat the cheese cake and work off the calories?
The latter seemed like a win-win solution. Not only would I get to enjoy the cheese cake, but I’d get an exercise session (训练时段). And then it hit me: a delicate plan to use my cheese cake as an exercise incentive. I plated a thin slice of cheese cake and carefully walked it up the stairs and set it on my bedside table with a small fork. I put on my exercise outfit (全套服装) and went downstairs.
The appeal of the cheese cake got stronger so I launched my plan: I would run up and down the stairs and then back up again. My reward: one small bite of cheese cake. If I wanted another, I’d have to run down and up and down and up again. Off I went. Ah, creamy vanilla (香草) goodness without guilt. I wanted another bite so I quickly sprinted (冲刺) through another stair climbing run.
Admittedly, it was harder to enjoy the creaminess of the cheese cake when my tongue was dry from over-breathing. I placed a bottle of water next to the cake. Down and up and down and up again. When I struggled over to the cheese cake, my hand bypassed the plate and went for the water instead. I didn’t want the cake any more. I wanted all this sweat and effort to do more than cancel the calories from cheese cake. I was exhausted and sure the cheese cake tasted fine but just not good enough to make me run up and down the stairs one more time.
My plan worked. Now, any time I felt tempted to enjoy a former favorite, I remembered my stairs trick.
1.What can we infer about the author from paragraph 1?
A.She had weak will power.
B.She was bad-tempered and very critical.
C.She needed assistance with making the choice.
D.She hesitated over eating something against her diet.
2.What does the underlined word “incentive” in paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.Reason. B.Hesitation.
C.Replacement. D.Companion.
3.What do we learn about the author’s plan?
A.It involved much energy consumption (消耗).
B.It rid the cake of the pleasant taste.
C.It changed the author’s preference for food.
D.It was tiring and caused suffering.
4.What may be the best title for the passage?
A.A costly dilemma.
B.An evil cheese cake.
C.A trick that worked.
D.A sweating experience.
Broken Hill was recently awarded one of Australia’s rare National Heritage (遗产) listings, but is that reason enough to make the journey?
Broken Hill, in western New South Wales, is hardly up there as a tourist attraction of international reputation (名声). It’s miles from anywhere, boiling hot and lacks the more attractive elements that often make a place popular---for example, high-end restaurants, beautiful beaches, great accommodation (膳宿). But Broken Hill’s reputation is growing with its recent National Heritage Listing Award.
We asked Broken Hill mayor to tell us what makes Broken Hill so great. These are some reasons he gave us to visit.
Perfect light
Broken Hill offers breathtaking scenery to discover and explore. The lively colours and perfect light have attracted film-makers and artists here for decades. From the wonders of the day comes an amazing light show at night.
The locals
We are always happy to greet people from “away”. In fact we love it when people come to town to visit. We are a friendly people who make you feel welcome. And we are pretty proud of our city.
The Palace Hotel
The home of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and just a great Broken Hill iconic (标志性的) pub. You can star in your own movie in the centre of town. It is a world-famous landmark and a good water hole for those nice warm days.
The living desert and sculptures
Located 9 km from the city, Broken Hill features 12 sandstone sculptures by artists from around the world as well as local artist Badger Bates. It displays the breathtaking beauty of the real outback (内地).
1.What is the real purpose of writing this passage?
A.To encourage readers to pay a visit to Broken Hill.
B.To explain the causes of awarding Broken Hill.
C.To list the reasons for Broken Hill’s greatness.
D.To express the author’s pride for Broken Hill’s award.
2.Which of the following factor is making Broken Hill better known to the world?
A.Its friendly local people.
B.Its Palace Hotel.
C.Its National Heritage Listing Award.
D.Its sandstone sculptures.
3.Which of the following topics of Broken Hill are mentioned in the passage?
A.Traditional food and friendly locals.
B.Pleasant climate and perfect light.
C.Beautiful beaches and lively sculptures.
D.Splendid Hotel and friendly locals.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
It was a rainy November morning. Overcome with anger I knew if I didn’t leave the house soon I would lose my temper with my husband, Joe. As rain came down in sheets, Joe offered to take me to work. I struggled into my jacket, seized my bag and teaching plans and ignored him.
He insisted and reached for his boots. I looked at the piles of newspapers and the dirty dishes still on the table. “Don’t you have enough to do？I can take care of myself.” I stormed out, not even kissing him good-bye. Joe shouted after me not to take the shortcut.
Joe and I had been eagerly looking forward to our retirement when heart a attack that past spring forced him to leave his job earlier than we had planned. As the medical bills mounted we realized I would have to continue working full-time while Joe stayed home and took over the housework.
The new arrangement was a disaster. Exhausted after a day of full work, all I wanted was hot homecooked meal and a good night’s sleep. However, what greeted me at the table was a microwave package. Sometimes he would serve oatmeal for several nights in a row. One night when I dragged myself to bed, I was terrified to discover Joe had turned our white sheets blue: He told me he had found out how to save on water, soap and electricity. He patted his blue trousers and announced proudly washing everything together was just the secret.
Ten minutes later, ignoring Joe’s warning I turned off the main route. I thought it hadn’t rained enough to flood the road, but as I rounded the corner water rushed across my path. After a few feet, the car got stuck. I opened the door and water poured in. I hurriedly closed the door. I couldn’t risk walking in this. Almost 20 minutes passed. The car began to shake. I got frightened to death when I heard three long honks.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Looking over my shoulder, I stared into the flashing lights of a truck.
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Paragraph 2:
I screamed that I couldn’t make it.
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假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Gary学习汉语时碰到困难，写信请你推荐相关学习资源，帮助解决问题。请你回信，内容包括：
1.资源名称；
2.推荐理由。
注意：
1.词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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