阅读专练
1.阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C和D中，选出最佳选项。
Some say every day miracles are predestined (注定的)---- All that’s necessary is readiness, the right circumstance for the appointed meeting. And it can happen anywhere.
In 1999, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother's Little League team in Lancaster, New York. It was an early evening in late July. Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game. Swinging his bat back and forth, and giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give, the boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest. His heart stopped.
When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid. Penny Brown hadn't planned to be there that day, but at the last minute,she had changed
her shift (轮班) at the hospital, and she was given the night off. Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving CPR, breathing into his mouth and giving chest compressions (按压). And he came to life.
After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid techniques that had saved his life. He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time.
Kevin, now 17, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion, employees rushing toward a table. He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat. She was choking .
Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands. Then, using skills he'd first learned in Scouts, the food that was trapped in the woman's throat was freed. The color began to return to her face.
“The food was stuck. I couldn't breathe,” she said. She thought she was dying. “I was very frightened.”
Who was the woman?
Penny Brown.
56. Kevin Stephan fell to the ground and fainted probably because ________. A. he stood close to the boy who was swinging his bat
B. he suffered from heart attack all of a sudden
C. he was too excited when watching the game
D. he swung the bat too hard to keep his balance
57. Which of the following statements is True of Kevin Stephan?
A. He was hit on the face by a boy and almost lost his life.
B. He was a volunteer junior firefighter, teaching the players first-aid skills.
C. He worked part-time in a local restaurant to save money for college.
D. He saved Penny Brown though he didn’t really know how to deal with food choke
58. Why did Penny Brown change her shift and was given the night off that night?
A. She was there to give her son directions.
B. She volunteered to give medical services.
C. She was a little worried about her son’s safety.
D. She came to watch her son’s game and cheered him .
2.
Happy Leap Day! Leap Day, you ask? Yes, it’s February 29. You may notice this date didn’t appear on last year’s calendar, or the year before that, or … That’s because Leap Day happens once every four years –and 2008 is a leap year. A leap year has 366 days instead of the usual 365 that an ordinary year has. An extra day is added to the calendar in a leap year, and here’s why:
The 365 days of the calendar are meant to match up with the solar year. A solar year is the time it takes the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun, about one year. But the Earth’s yearly trip around the Sun takes a bit longer than 365 days. The orbit takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds, to be exact. That time equals roughly one quarter of a day., so the calendar and the solar year don’t match accurately. After a few years, that extra time in the solar year begins to accumulate. After four years, for example, the four extra quarter days will make the calendar fall behind the solar year by about a day.
According to the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies—a club for people born on Leap Day—there are an estimated 4 million people whose birthdays come but once every four years. But who wants to wait four years to celebrate his/her birthday? Most celebrate yearly on February 28 or March 1.
There was a time when strict rules prevented women from proposing marriage to their beloved. In most cultures, that’s not the case anymore. In fact, female pioneers who thought this rule was clearly unfair managed to get Leap Year established as an acceptable time for women to pop the question to unmarried men. So on February 29, a man could be surprised with an offer he couldn’t refuse. The first documentation(文献的使用) of this day of ladies’ choice was in 1288 in Scotland. Officials then decided to pass a law that allowed women to propose marriage to men of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who said no to a proposal in a leap day had to pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.
72. According to the first two paragraphs, we can conclude that _________.
A. February 29 never appears on the calendar.
B. February 29 comes once every four years, every Leap Year
C. an ordinary year has one more day than a leap year
D. 2008 has 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds
73. What does the underlined phrase “pop the question” probably means _______.
A. Propose marriage
B. Refuse marriage
C. Ask questions
D. Give directions
74. In the last paragraph, the underlined “they” refers to _______.
A. unmarried men
B. single ladies
C. Officials
D. the Scottish
75. Which topic can best describe the last paragraph?
A. What Can Ladies Do With the Extra Day?
B. Respect Ladies in Leap Year.
C. It’s Unfair to Prevent Ladies From Offering Love.
D. Leap Year Is Ladies’ Choice.
3.
Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think that there would be any difficulty in getting it repaired, 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, the third and the fourth—so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
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? 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 the 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 said sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I’m 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 asked ‘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?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
68. 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
69. The underlined word “approach” in the second paragraph means __________.
A. plan to deal with things
B. decision to sell things
C. idea of repairing things
D. way of doing things
70. The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means that the shopkeeper ______.
A. changed his mind
B. saw the writer’s purpose
C. accepted the offer
D. decided to help the writer
71. From the text, we can learn that the write was a _____ person.
A. smart
B. tricky
C. cautious
D. humorous
4.
Many people say pennies are not worth saving. After all, a penny is only worth a cent. But one unusual penny turned out to be worth a lot more when a coin collector paid $1.7 million for it earlier this month.
The coin is one of a kind. It is the only penny that the Denver mint(铸币厂) made out of copper, instead of steel, in 1943. Because it is unique, it is also very valuable. No penny has ever sold for so much money.
The Changing Penny
The Lincoln penny first appeared in 1909. For 34 years, the one-cent coin was made out of copper. Then, in 1943, the penny changed. World War II was going on, and copper was needed for equipment. So for one year, pennies were made out of steel instead. At least most of them were.
Only a few coins were made out of unused copper. There are three main mints, or places where coins are made, in the United States. Of the known copper pennies from 1943, twelve were made in the Philadephia mint, and five were made in the San Francisco mint. Only one was made in the Denver mint.
Nobody knows for sure why a copper penny was made at the Denver mint in 1943, coin dealers Andy Skrabalak told Time for Kids. “There is a rumor that a mint employee made the coin in the middle of the night.”
A Special Set
The coin collector who bought the $1.7 million penny wants to remain unknown. But the reason for the trade is known. He already had two copper pennies from 1943 – one from the San Francisco mint and one from the Philadephia mint. To complete the set, he needed the Denver penny. The three coins will go on display at a coin exhibition in Tampa, Florida.
The collector who sold the penny is also keeping his name a secret. It took four years to convince him to give up the rare coin. Now that he has finally donating all of the money to charity.
64. Why is the Lincoln penny worth over one million dollars?
A. Because it has a history of thirty-four years.
B. Because it was made out of a rare material.
C. Because it was made on one night of 1943 by the Denver mint.
D, Because it was the only coin Denver mint made out of copper in 1943.
65. Before the Lincoln penny was sold, people thought one-cent coins __________.
A. were worth collecting for selling later
B. were surely valuable if not made out of steel
C. wouldn’t be sold for large amounts of money
D. were only useful for some coin museums
66. At least how many copper coins were made in 1943?
A. Five
B. Twelve
C. Seventeen
D. Eighteen
67. What can we learn about the collector who sold the penny?
A. He already had two copper pennies from 1943.
B. He wanted to complete the set of copper pennies.
C. He didn’t want to sell his penny in the beginning.
D. He was a well-known coin dealer in Tampa, Horida.
5.
Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago.
My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were our in our front yards, watching seven children of age six and under ride their bikes up and down. “I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie. Then we worked out a plan. When Christie takes one of her children out alone, I’ll watch her other three. And when she watched two of mine, I will take someone out.
The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time. Christie’s daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions. McKenzie was smiling broadly. Christie looked refreshed and happy. “She is like a different kid when there’s no one else around,” Christie shared with me quietly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn’t have to make any effort to gain attention.
Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children during our alone times. For example, I’m always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering(口吃的) son, Tom, doesn’t stutter once during our activities since he doesn’t have to struggle for a chance to speak. And the other son, Sam, who is always a follower when around other children, shines a leader during our times together.
The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child—talking, sharing and laughing, which has been the biggest gain. Every child deserves an only child at least once in a while.
60. What’s the text mainly about?
A. The basic needs of children.
B. The happy life of two families.
C. The experience of the only child being with mother.
D. The advantage of spending time with one child at a time.
61. Right after McKenzie came back, the other children were ________.
A. excited
B. curious
C. worried
D. happy
62. What’s one of the changes the author finds in her children?
A. Tom has less difficulty in speaking.
B. The daughter acts like a leader.
C. Sam holds her hand more often.
D. The boys become better followers
63. The author seems to believe that _________.
A. Having brothers and sisters is fun
B. it’s tiring to look after three children
C. every kid needs parents’ full attention
D. parents should watch others’ kids
6.
One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn’t or couldn’t sleep, I tried everything I could think of—a warm bottle, songs and gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him. Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill off the hours till dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right down, his little eyes focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then walked softly out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi’s forty-fifth birthday. My wife and I heard no more of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room again, I found him still watching TV himself.
I found in my baby’s behavior a symbol of the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don’t read, and that they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. After this experience with the baby, I have reached a conclusion—Let them watch it! If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we figure about it? Let them watch as they want.
56. Why did the author bring a TV into his baby son’s room?
A. To make his son become quiet.
B. To make his son go to sleep as soon as possible.
C. To spend the night by watching TV program.
D. In order not to let his baby feel lonely.
57. The baby’s reaction(反应) to the TV program is _________.
A. calm
B. exciting
C. encouraging
D. unexpected
58. The underlined phrase “fight about” in the passage probably means ________.
A. quarrel about B. think of
C. care for
D. talk over
59. From the passage, we know that the author is _________.
A. an editor
B. a teacher
C. a writer
D. a scholar(学者)
1.ACD
2.BACD
3.DCBA
4.DCDC
5.DBAC
6.CDAB