Reading poems is not exactly an everyday activity for most people. In fact, many people never read a poem once they get out of high school.

    It is worth reminding ourselves that this has not always been the case in America. In the nineteenth century, a usual American activity was to sit around the fireplace in the evening and read poems aloud. It is true that there was no television at the time, nor movie theatres, nor World Wide Web, to provide diversion. However, poems were a source of pleasure, of self-education, of connection to other people or to the world beyond one’s own community. Reading them was a social act as well as an individual one, and perhaps even more social than individual. Writing poems to share with friends and relations was, like reading poems by the fireside, another way in which poetry had a place in everyday life.

    How did things change? Why are most Americans no longer comfortable with poetry, and why do most people today think that a poem has nothing to tell them and they can do well without poems?

    There are, I believe, three culprits (肇事者): poets, teachers and we ourselves. Of these, the least important is the third: the world surrounding the poem has betrayed (背叛) us more than we have betrayed the poem. Early in the twentieth century, poetry in English headed into directions hostile (不利的) to the reading of poetry. Readers decided that poems were not for the fireside or the easy chair at night, that they belonged where other difficult-to-read things belonged.

    Poets failed the readers, so did the teachers. They want their students to know something about the craft (技巧) of a poem, and they want their students to see that poems mean something. Yet what usually occurs when teachers push these concerns on their high school students is that young people decide poems are unpleasant crossword puzzles.

Reading poems is thought to be a social act in the nineteenth century because _______.

A. it built a link among people             B. it helped unite a community

C. it was a source of self-education            D. it was a source of pleasure

The underlined word “diversion” in Paragraph 2 most probably means _______.

A. diversity        B. change           C. amusements       D. happiness

In the last paragraph, the writer questions _______.

A. the difficulty in studying poems                 

B. the way poems are taught in school

C. students’ wrong ideas about poetry                  

D. the techniques used in writing poems

According to the passage, what is the main cause of the great gap between readers and poetry?

A. Poems have become difficult to understand.                      

B. Students are poorly educated in high school.

C. TV and the Internet are more attractive than poetry.

D. Students are becoming less interested in poetry.

One day in January, my uncle, my cousin and I decided to go hunting．We left by car in the afternoon．It was a Range Rover with four-wheel drive．It took us three hours to get there．After we arrived at 5:15 p．m．, we fixed the tent, then made coffee and had a short rest．After that, we went hunting, using a falcon（獵鷹）．We spent two hours without finding anything．On our way back to the camp, my cousin saw a rabbit．I removed the falcon’s bead cover and let go of the aggressive falcon．When the rabbit saw the falcon, it ran fast, but my falcon was a professional hunter．He flew up and came down to trick the rabbit．After two minutes, the rabbit was caught．We took it back to the camp to cook our dinner．We ate the delicious food, drank Arabic coffee, and sat around the fire talking until 10:30 p．m．

We left the camp the next day at 7 o’clock in the morning．We went north．However, around 10:00 a．m．our car got stuck in the sand! We spent about three hours trying to pull out the car without any progress．Finally, we decided to walk．As it was hard for an old man or a young boy to walk more than 40km in the desert, I decided to get help myself．I took a bottle of water with me and started to walk south alone．I knew the way well, but it was a long way in the sand．I walked more than four hours without stopping．When I felt so tired and thirsty, I stopped to rest．I drank all the water and slept for around two hours．

When I got up, it was dark．I continued to walk south．I was worried about my uncle and cousin．Suddenly, I met a Bedouin man who was riding his camel．He took me to his house．When I had had enough rest, I asked him to take me to the road where I found a car．It took me to the city to get help．I had one day to get back to my uncle and cousin．When I got back to them, they were so happy because I had gotten help and they were able to see me again．

Which word can best describe the first evening of their hunting trip?

       A．Adventurous．     B．Enjoyable． 

       C．Stressful．            D．Exhausting．

How did the writer finally get out of the desert?

       A．He was picked up by a car．

       B．A camel took him to the road．

       C．A passer-by Bedouin helped him．

       D．His uncle and cousin found and rescued him．

What can be inferred from the story?

       A．It’s an easy job to walk 40km in the desert．

       B．The author loved to go hunting with his family．

       C．The hunting trip is much longer than expected．

       D．To hunt in the desert one must train a falcon well．

We were on tour a few summers ago, driving through Chicago, when right outside of the city, we got pulled over. A middle-aged policeman came up to the car and was really being troublesome at first. Lecturing us, he said, “You were speeding. Where are you going in such a hurry?” Our guitarist, Tim, told him that we were on our way to Wisconsin to play a show. His way towards us totally changed. He asked, “Oh, so you boys are in a band（樂隊）？” We told him that we were. He then asked all the usual band questions about the type of music we played, and how long we had been at it. Suddenly, he stopped and said, “Tim, you want to get out of this ticket, don’t you?” Tim said, “Yes.” So the officer asked him to step out of the car. The rest of us, inside the car, didn’t know what to think as we watched the policeman talk to Tim. Next thing we knew, the policeman was putting Tim in the back of the police car he had parked in front of us. With that, he threw the car into reverse（倒車），stopping a few feet in back of our car. Now we suddenly felt frightened. We didn’t know if we were all going to prison, or if the policeman was going to sell Tim on the black market or something. All of a sudden, the policeman’s voice came over his loudspeaker. He said, “Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, we have Tim here singing on Route 90.” Turns out, the policeman had told Tim that the only way he was getting out of the ticket was if he sang part of one of our songs over the loudspeaker in the police car. Seconds later, Tim started screaming into the receiver. The policeman enjoyed the performance, and sent us on our way without a ticket.

1.The policeman stopped the boys to      .

A．put them into prison	B．give them a ticket
C．enjoy their performance	D．a(chǎn)sk some band questions

2.The policeman became friendly to the boys when he knew they       .

A．had long been at the band	B．played the music he loved
C．were driving for a show	D．promised him a performance

3.The boys probably felt        when they drove off.

A．joyful

B．calm

C．nervous

D．frightened

 

Kate said“Hello” to Mr.Pater as she entered. She picked up a wire basket and walked towards the back of the store 　1　 the rice was kept.The room was quite large and divided by three long aisles(過道),with rows of shelves full of 　2　.Besides her and Mr.Pater there were only two boys in the store.They were both wearing 　3　 overcoats.They looked rather 　4　?because the overcoats were too big for them.　5　 she heard one of them whisper to 　6　.She walked on to the next aisle and found the 　7　 she was looking for.Then she heard something else.It 　8　 like a box dropping on the floor.She looked through the small open space 　9　 goods on the shelf and saw one of the boys picking up a box.But 　10　 putting it in the basket,he dropped 　11　 into the inside pocket of his overcoat.Kate looked back and 　12　 see Mr.Pater at the door checking through a list.Then she looked through the 　13　 in the shelf again,the boys still had their backs to her.They were putting something ?　14　? into their inside pockets and then one of them said,“Let?s get out of here.” They moved away from her.

When she got to the door the two boys were 　15　 her.She watched them 　16　 for the few things in their 　17　.They had both ?　18　? their overcoats.Mr.Pater did not seem to know what they had done.He even 　19　 at them as they were about to 　20　.Now, Kate decided to stop them.

A. which B. that   C. there D. where

A. books B. baskets   C. goods D. magazines

A. dirty B. long   C. grey D. tight

A. strange B. young   C. nervous  D. excited

A. Look up B. Listen to me  C. Watch out D. Put it down

A. him B. her  C. the boy D. the other

A. book B. rice   C. bag D. magazine

A. looked B. heard C. showed D. sounded

A. between B. of   C. around D. at

A. instead of B. before   C. without D. as if

A. something B. it   C. one D. that

A. would B. should   C. might D. could

A. spot B. space  C. goods D. books

A. important B. new  C. else D. extra

A. looking at B. talking to C. in front of D. behind

A. paying B. looking  C. asking D. reaching

A. hands B. pockets C. box D. basket

A. thrown out B. put on C. buttoned D. hidden

A. shouted B. smiled  C. looked D. laughed

A. leave B. pay    C. speak D. apologize

One weekend afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting．I was looking forward to a quiet   36   of the splendid artwork．

         A young  37  viewing the paintings ahead of me  38  nonstop between themselves．I watched them a moment and decided the lady was doing all the talking．I admired the man's   39   for putting up with her  40   stream of words．  41   by their noise, I moved on．

         I met them several times as I moved   42   the various rooms of art．Each time I heard her continuous flow of words, I moved away  43   .

         I was standing at the counter of the museum gift shop making a   44   when the couple approached the   45  ．Before they left, the man   46   into his pocket and pulled out a white object．He   47   it into a long stick and then   48   his way into the coatroom to get his wife's jacket．

         "He's a   49   man, " the clerk at the counter said．" Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age．During his recovery, he made a promise his life wouldn't change．So, as before, he and his wife come in   50   there is a new art show．"

         "But what does he get out of the art?" I asked．"He can't see．"

         "Can't see! You're   51  ．He sees a lot．More than you and I do," the clerk said．"His wife   52      each painting so he can see it in his head．"

         I learned something about patience,   53   and love that day．I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without   54   and the courage of a'' husband who would not  55   blindness to change his life．And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away, their arms intertwined．

1.A．view        　　B．touch                     C．wander       　　　　D．stare

2.A．lady    　　 B．couple  　         C．man            　　　　D．clerk

3.A．yelled           B．a(chǎn)rgued    C．screamed    　　      D．chatted

4.A．a(chǎn)ttempt         B．independence   C．patience    　　        D．wisdom

5.A．constant        B．vivid         　　C．casual            D．vague

6.A．Adopted        B．Adapted           C．Disturbed   　　       D．Conducted

7.A．from            B．to             　　C．towards    　    D．through

8.A．a(chǎn)nxiously       B．quickly    C．urgently    　　        D．sensibly

9.A．comment              B．purchase  C．decision  　　　        D．profit

10.A．exit          B．entrance    　　C．front   　　　 D．queue

11.A．plugged              B．reached    　　C．held    　　　           D．bent

12.A．lengthened          B．made          　　C．brought    　　          D．broadened

13.A．led           B．found         　　C．tapped    　　  D．forced

14.A．generous             B．rough     C．smart         　　　　D．brave

15.A．wherever 　 B．whatever 　　C．whenever         D．whichever

16.A．unique        B．silly    　　      C．equal            D．wrong

17.A．decorates   B．draws       C．shoves            　　D．describes

18.A．kindness      B．pride       C．courage         D．enthusiasm

19.A．sight          B．support             C．expectation    D．confidence

20.A．get        　　　　B．a(chǎn)llow         　　C．hope 　　　　D．cause