________ for the free tickets, I would not have gone to see the films so often.

1. A.
   If it is not
2. B.
   Were it not
3. C.
   Had it not been
4. D.
   If they were not

_________ for the free tickets, I would not have gone to the films so often.

　　　A. If it is not　　 B. Were it not　　 C. Had it not been 　　D. If they were not

     For well over a thousand years，smallpox was a disease that everyone feared．The disease killed much of the native population in South America when the Spanish arrived there in the early sixteenth century．By the end of the eighteenth century，smallpox was responsible for about one in

ten deaths around the world．Those who survived the disease were left with ugly scars on their sjun．

      It had long been well known among farmers that people who worked with cows seldom caught smallpox；instead，they often caught a similar but much milder disease called cowpox (牛痘) ．A Bridsh doctor called Jenner was extremely interested in this，and so he studied cowpox He believed that，by vaccinating (給接種疫苗) people with the disease，he could protect them against the much worse disease smallpox．In 1796，he vaccinated a boy with cowpox and，two months later，with smallpox．The boy did not get smallpox．In the next two years，Jenner vaccinated several children in the same way，and none of them got the disease．

News of the success of Jenner’s work soon spread．Vaccination soon became a common method to protect people against other diseases caused by virus，such as rable (狂犬病)，and vaccines (疫苗) were sent across the world to the United States and India．

      It took nearly two centuries to achieve Jenner’s dream of getting free of smallpox from the whole world．In 1967，the world Health Organization (WHO) started a great vaccination program，and the last known case of smallpox was recorded in Somalia in 1977．The story of vaccinations does not end there，however．There are many other diseases that kill more and more people every year．Besides，many new diseases are being discovered．The challenge for medical researchers will，therefore，probably continue for several more centuries

Smallpox was so serious that        by the end of l8th century

A．its death rate was up to ten percent

      B．those who caught it were certain to die

      C．one in ten people in the world died of smallpox

      D．one in ten deaths in the world was caused by smallpox

Edward Jenner discovered that vaccination with cowpox could      

      A．make smallpox much milder

      B．stop people from getting smallpox

      C．protect people against any disease

      D．prevent people’s scars after smallpox

Which of the following statements is not true?

      A．The first experiment with cowpox was made by a British doctor

      B．After 1977 smallpox disappeared around the world according to WHO．

      C．Vaccination had existed among ordinary farmers before being discovered

      D．Vaccination can be used to protect people in the world against not only smallpox

The author of the passage thinks that      

      A．vaccinations bring many new problems

      B．vaccinations end the spread of diseases

      C．there is a long way to go to fight against diseases

      D．there is along way to go to discover new diseases

For a 400-year-old art form，opera(歌劇) had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain appearance in people's mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. Because young people don't or won't come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera's choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions(劇本) of child-friendly operas. This summer's production is Hansel ＆Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75^th anniversary(周年) this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists' Training Program.

     Which is the main idea of this passage？

A.    Opera is famous for its long history.

B.    Opera is only performed for rich people.

C.    Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.

D.    Young people are not interested in opera.

     The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means __________.

A.    breaking up the old rules

B.    changing the dresses

C.    making the audience at ease

D.    advertising themselves

     From the passage we can infer that __________.

A.    the tickets for operas are very expensive

B.    operas are performed in a difficult language

C.    operas are not so popular an art form today

D.    students enjoy performing operas very much

For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $ 145 a performance, opera goers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience. It needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or band-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (劇本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.   

Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?

       A．Opera is famous for is history.                                   

       B．Opera is only for rich people.

       C．Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.                            

       D．Young people are not interested in opera. 

The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means          .

       A．breaking up the old rules       B．changing the dresses

       C．making the audience at ease    D．a(chǎn)dvertising themselves

Opera companies prefer to perform smaller versions because         .

       A．they can be performed  in public libraries

       B．short versions are easy to perform

       C．it is hard to find long versions

       D．they can make people interested

The San Francisco Opera employs young students in order to        .

       A．a(chǎn)ttract young people               B．reduce the cost

       C．celebrate its 75^th anniversary   D．make Cinderella popular

What can you infer from the passage?

       A．The tickets for opera are very expensive at present.

       B．Opera is performed in a language difficult to understand.

       C．Opera is not so popular an art form today.

       D．Students enjoy performing operas very much.