Fast Reading Material for Senior (22)
I 完型填空
I know I should have told the headmaster at the time. That was my real 36 .
He had gone out of the study for some 37 , leaving me alone. In his absence I looked to see 38 was on his desk. In the 39 was a small piece of paper on which were written the 40 “English Writing Prize 1949. History Is a Serious of Biographies (人物传记)”.
A(n) 41 boy would have avoided looking at the title as soon as he saw the 42 . I did not. The subject of the English Writing Prize was kept a 43 until the start of the exam so I could not 44 reading it.
When the headmaster 45 , I was looking out of the window.
I should have told him what had 46 then. It would have been so 47 to say: “I’m sorry, but I 48 the title for the English Writing Prize on your desk. You’ll have to 49 it.”
The chance passed and I did not 50 it. I sat the exam the next day and I won. I didn’t_51 to cheat, but it was still cheating anyhow.
That was thirty-eight years 52 when I was fifteen. I have never told anyone about it before, 53 have I tried to explain to myself why not.
The obvious explanation is that I could not admit I had seen the title 54 admitting that I had been looking at the things on his desk. 55 there must have been more behind it. Whatever it was, it has become a good example of how a little mistake can trap (使陷入) you in a more serious moral corner (道德困境).
36. A. plan B. fault C. grade D. luck
37. A. reason B. course C. example D. vacation
38. A. this B. which C. that D. what
39. A. drawer B. corner C. middle D. box
40. A. names B. words C. ideas D. messages
41. A. honest B. handsome C. friendly D. active
42. A. desk B. paper C. book D. drawer
43. A. question B. key C. note D. secret
44. A. help B. consider C. practise D. forget
45. A. disappeared B. stayed C. returned D. went
46. A. existed B. remained C. happened D. continued
47. A. tiring B. easy C. important D. difficult
48. A. saw B. gave C. set D. made
49. A. repeat B. defend C. correct D. change
50. A. take B. have C. lose D. find
51. A. remember B. learn C. mean D. pretend
52. A. past B. ago C. then D. before
53. A. either B. never C. nor D. so
54. A. by B. besides C. through D. without
55. A. But B. Though C. Otherwise D. Therefore
II 阅读理解
A
The Marches were a happy family. Poverty, hard work, and even the fact that Father March was away with the Union armies could not down the spirits of Meg, Jo, Amy, and Marmee, as the March girls called their mother.
The March sisters tried to be good but had their share of faults. Pretty Meg was often displeased with the schoolchildren she taught; boyish Jo was easy to become angry; golden-haired schoolgirl Amy liked to show up; but Beth, who kept the house, was loving and gentle always.
The happy days passed and darkness came when a telegram arrived for Mrs. March. “Your husband is very ill,” it said, “come at once.” The girl tried to be brave when their mother left for the front. They waited and prayed. Little Beth got scarlet fever (猩红热) when she was taking care of the sick neighbor. She became very ill but began to recover by the time Marmee was back. When Father came home from the front and at that joyful Christmas dinner they were once more all together.
Three years later the March girls had grown into young womanhood. Meg became Mrs. Brooke, and after a few family troubles got used to her new state happily. Jo had found pleasure in her literary efforts. Amy had grown into a young lady with a talent for design and an even greater one for society. But Beth had never fully regained her health, and her family watched her with love and anxiety.
Amy was asked to go and stay in Europe with a relative of the Marches. Jo went to New York and became successful in her writing and had the satisfaction of seeing her work published there. But at home the bitterest blow was yet to fall. Beth had known for some time that she couldn’t live much longer to be with the family and in the spring time she died.
News came from Europe that Amy and Laurie, the grandson of a wealthy neighbor, had planned to be married soon. Now Jo became ever more successful in her writing and got married to Professor Bhaer and soon afterwards founded a school for boys.
And so the little women had grown up and lived happily with their children, enjoying the harvest of love and goodness that they had devoted all their lives to.
56. The members of the March family were Father March, Mrs. March and their _______.
A. four daughters B. five daughters
C. son and four daughters D. son and five daughters
57. Who was the most successful in career (事业) among the March girls?
A. Jo B. Beth C. Amy D. Meg
58. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. The march Family B. The March Parents
C. The March Girls D. The March Relatives
59. It can be inferred from the passage that the March family had ______.
A. both happiness and sadness B. wealthy neighbors
C. more girls than boys D. a lot of rich relatives
B
The first reality TV show in the world was called Expedition Robinson and it was shown in Sweden in 1997. Half the population of the country watched the final event and a new kind of TV program was born. Two years later in Holland, the first series of Big Brother was filmed. Again, it was a great success and the final program was watched by 15 million people. Now more than 20 countries around the world have Big Brother or Expedition Robinson on their TV screens. The ordinary people who take part in the programs are known by millions of people in their own countries and reality TV has become big, big business.
For the TV producers, reality TV is a dream come true because many of the programs cost nothing to make. At some point, the television viewers are asked to telephone the program to vote or to apply to take part in the show. It is the cost of these telephone calls that pays for the shows. One of the most popular shows is Pop Idol. In the show a group of attractive young people are made into pop stars. TV viewers vote for their favorite person on the show. The winner makes a record and millions of copies of the record are sold. His or her pictures are published on the covers of magazines or on the front pages of newspapers, and then, they are quickly forgotten.
But not everyone is happy about reality TV. In Portugal, two TV channels got into trouble because they showed too much of the personal lives of the people in the shows. In France, reality TV is called “rubbish TV” and the TV studios of Big Brother were attacked three times in one week. In Greece, Big Brother was described as “ against human rights and civilization”.
61. Those who take part in the reality TV shows are usually _____.
A. common people B. pop TV stars C. attractive people D. famous film stars
62. Who would pay for the cost of the reality TV shows according to the passage?
A. TV producers who make reality TV shows
B. TV actors who take part in reality TV shows.
C. TV viewers who telephone reality TV shows
D. TV companies which broadcast reality TV shows
63. It can be concluded from the passage that ______.
A. everyone is happy about reality TV.
B. reality TV will do well in many countries.
C. all the people in Europe are in favor of reality TV
D. reality TV will not be broadcast in any countries.
C
I II
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64. According to Advertisement 1, the famous yearly competition is ______.
A. a music competition B. an eating competition
C. a cooking competition D. a pleasure-taking competition
65. People who come to watch the competition earliest may _______.
A. get the best watching position B. get the best food.
C. watch whatever they want to D. take good pictures
66. The best title for Advertisement 2 would be _______.
A. The Vikings B. Reliving of the Vikings
C. Frojel D. A Viking Reliving Society
67. From the advertisement we know that Frojel used to be ______.
A. a Viking club. B. a family-based society
C. a European island D. a trading center
D
In a recently published book, I came across some exercises with interesting names such as fishbone diagrams, lotus flowers and clustering. As I used these exercises in my classes, I noticed that students were interested. They said more and wrote more. They enjoyed expressing their ideas and sharing them in groups. They were no longer passively waiting for the bell , but actively taking part in the lesson. I find that creativity can act as a way to increase participation and improve fluency.
Creativity has become a popular word in recent years. Scholars in arts, psychology, business, education and science are all working to get a deeper understanding of it. Robert J. Stemberg is a creativity specialist and Yale professor of psychology. He defines creativity as “the ability to produce work that is both new (original) and appropriate(applicable to the situation ) ”. this definition is useful, as we want our students to use language in a new way and to use it correctly and properly. Mot scholars say there are two types of creativity: big “C” creativity and small “c” creativity. Big “C” creativity refers to genius level thinking that results in artistic masterpieces and scientific breakthroughs. Small “c” creativity refers to everyday level thinking that can be used in any situation our emphasis is on the latter. While it goes without saying that any of our students could go on to be the next Picasso or Edison, our aim is to help students produce more ideas and use language in a new way.
68. The underlined words“waiting for the bell” in the first paragraph probably means______.
A. longing for a phone call B. hoping to have a bell
C. expecting the end of the class D. waiting to speak in the class
69. It can be inferred from the passage that the author thinks the exercises in the book were _____.
A. popular B. useful C. scientific D. creative
70. When you use a familiar word in a new way, you are ________.
A. creative in the sense of big “C” creativity.
B. creative in the sense of small “c” creativity..
C. not creative in the sense of big “C” creativity..
D. not creative in the sense of small “c” creativity.
71. The main purpose of the passage is to _________.
A. show how useful the book is. B, explain what creativity
C. discuss how one can be creative D. tell what reaching aims at
E
A new eight-kilometer road is under construction that links the port area with motorway system. It is expected to carry 20,000 trucks and cars a day, which greatly reduces the overcrowded traffic in the center of the city. As part of the project, two four-kilometer road tunnels are being built below the central area of the city, one for traffic to the north and the other for the traffic to the south. The two tunnels are about 20 meters below the surface and are 12 meters wide, providing for two lanes of traffic in each direction.
In the upper part of the tunnel two air-conditioning pipes remove the waste gas of trucks and cars and keep the quality of air inside the tunnel. The lighting is at the top of the tunnel, practically at its highest point. There will also be electric signs at frequent intervals. They show traffic conditions ahead and can be seen clearly by drivers. The wall is made up of four main elements, which include a waterproofing covering and, on the inside of the tunnel, a concrete lining.
Each tunnel is roughly round and the
lower part of the tunnel is somewhat flat. The surface of the road lies on the
base, which is made of concrete and steel. The drainage system, just below the
road surface on one side, removes any extra liquid, particularly water. In the
event of fire, the fire main, which is made of steel, pipes water to many fire
hydrant stations at regular intervals along the length of the tunnel. The fire
main is at the side of the tunnel and at the level of the road surface. Other
systems in the tunnel will include emergency phones.
72. Each of the tunnels under construction is _____.
A. eight kilometers long and twenty meters wide
B. eight kilometers long and six meters wide
C. four kilometers long and twenty meters wide
D. four kilometers long and six meters wide
73. Which part of the tunnel in the diagram is used to pipe out extra water?
A. 1 B. 3 C. 5 D 6
74. Driving in the tunnel, one can know the traffic conditions ahead through______.
A. the lights B. the electric signs
C. the trucks and the cars D. the emergency phones
75. The passage is mainly about _____.
A. the construction of a road B. the design of a road
C. the construction of two tunnels D. the design of two tunnels