When he died in April of 1983, Dr. Joel Hildebrand was 101years old, who had been married for
seventy-five years,and had taught freshman chemistry to over 40,000 college students. For his life, he had
published a popular chemistry textbook and dozens of articles,had managed the U.S. Olympic ski team, and
discovered a way to allow deep-sea divers to stay underwater longer.In his own way,Dr. Hildebrand was
certainly a genius.
     Dr. Hildebrand's interest in chemistry began at an early age. In an interview, he once said that his interest
had to make his own decision about what to pay attention to.Even as a student in high school, Dr. Hildebrand
had the fame as the one who learned more chemistry than his teacher knew. As a result he was given the keys
to the high school chemistry lab, and there he discovered that the correct formula (公式) for a certain chemical compound was not the one given in his chemistry book but a totally different one. Dr. Hildebrand went on to
teach at the University of California at Berkeley and remained there for almost forty years.
     During that time, Dr, Hildebrand discovered that the gas helium (氦)could be combined with oxygen for use
as diving gas to allow divers to dive deeper and take the great pressure of the water without the physical
discomforts that had been experienced when that used another gas, nitrogen. The use of helium for deep-sea
diving is now standard practice.Dr. Hildebrand was also valuable to his country during both world wars. In
World War I he analyzed the poisonous gases used on the battlefield and helped develop a truck that could
clean and treat soldiers' clothes which had been contaminated (弄臟) by poisonous gases during fighting. In
World War II he helped develop a type of snowmobile,a vehicle used to carry the soldiers through the snow in
northern countries. Dr. Hildebrand's retirement (退休) from teaching at the age of seventy was required by
state law in California.
      He objected to this,joking he thought a teacher's time of retirement ought to be determined not by age but
by how many of that teacher's students were still awake after the first fifteen minutes of class!
     Dr. Hildebrand's writing career continued,however, and was still feeling strong at the age of 100,when he
published an article on the theory of chemical solutions. Dr. Hildebrand's love of life and his interest in it were
an inspirations to all who knew him. When asked once how he could have such ageless energy and vigor, he
said,"I chose my ancestors carefully."

1. In the eyes of Dr. Hildebrand,television was probably_____.

A.  powerful tool for knowledge learning.
B. A favourable means to encourage learning.
C. Something that was not helpful to people's attention
D. Something that man had to use in their daily life.

2. When Dr. Hildebrand was still a high school student, he was well known because ____.

A. he was good at chemistry.
B. Could use the chemistry as he liked.
C. His teachers were not so clever as he was.
D. Discovered the formula for some chemical compound(成分)

3. The use of helium in deep-sea diving ______.

A.  is now still regarded as standard practice for deep-sea diving.
B. was discovered with the help of Dr. Hildebrand's teachers.
C. was a great help to the invention of snowmobiles.
D. helped to make the divers love their job.

4. The best topic of the passage should be _____.

A. A Man Who Loved His country Deeply
B. A Well-know Professor of Chemistry
C. A Man Who Lived a Long and Valuable Life
D. The Greatest Discovery of the Century

     William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13,1865. His childhood
lacked the harmony (和睦) that was typical of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying
that he remembered "little of childhood but its pain". In fact, he inherited (繼承) excellent taste in art from
his family-both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama
(戲劇) and poetry.
     Yeats had strong faith in coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the fresh task in founding
an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments, however, were not received
favorably at the beginning. He didn't lose heart, and finally enjoyed success in his poetical drama.
     Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats's poems attract much admiring notice. The subject matter
includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very traditional forms, he
brought modern sensibility to them. As his literary life progressed, his poetry grew finer and richer, which
led him to worldwide recognition.
     He had not enjoyed a major public life since winning the Nobel Prize in 1923. Yet, he continued writing
almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would probably now his valued as a
manor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet who produces his greatest works
between the ages of 50 and 75. After Yeats's death in 1939, W.H. Auden wrote, among others, the following
lines:
     Earth, recive an honoured guest:
     William Yeats is laid to rest.
     Let the Irish vessel (船) lie
     Emptied of its poetry

1. Which of the following can describe Yeats's family?

A. It filled Yeats's childhood with laughter.
B. It had an artistic atmosphere.
C. It was shocked by Yeats's choice.
D. It was a typically wealthy family.

2. According to these passage, what do we know about Yeats's life?

A. Yeats founded the first Irish theater.
B. Yeats stuck to modern forms in his poetry.
C. Yeats began to produce his best works from the 1910s.
D. Yeats was not favored by the public until the 1923 Noble Prize.

3. What kind of feeling is expressed in W.H. Auden's lines?

A. Envy
B. Sympathy
C. Emptiness
D. Admiration

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Yeats's literary achievements
B. Yeats's historical influence
C. Yeats's artistic ambition
D. Yeats's national honor

     Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of
120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986
at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
     Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people's home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and
her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describe
s her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also
remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
     So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three
important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she
used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two
glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke(now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have
got very good genes (基因) from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
      A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money
every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at
least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:
Sorry, I'm still alive!

1. How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?

A. She is miserable and unhappy.
B. She is cheerful and humorous.
C. She would like to live much longer.
D. She feels she is going to die very soon.

2. Jeanne Calment owes her good health and long life to ______.

A. smoking only a little every day
B. her giving up smoking and drinking
C. drinking two glasses of strong red wine every day
D. the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercises

3. Why does Jeanne Calment say"Sorry, I'm still alive" to the local lawyer every year on her birthday?

A. Because she had an agreement at 80 with the lawyer which was to her advantage.
B. Because she has asked the lawyer to pay her more rent than they first agreed.
C. Because the lawyer has paid her much more money than the value of the house.
D. Because the house she sold to the lawyer isn't worth the money he has already paid.

     "The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's remarkable musical talent was apparent even before most
children can sing a simple nursery rhyme. Wolfgang's older sister Maria Anna (who the family called Nannerl)
was learning the clavier, an early keyboard instrument, when her three-year-old brother took an interest in
playing. As Nannerl later recalled, Wolfgang"often spent much time at the clavier picking out thirds (三度音),
which he was always striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good." Their father Leopold, an assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg Court, recognized his children's unique gifts and soon devoted himself to their
musical education.
      Born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756, Wolfgang had composed his first original work by age
five. Leopold planned to take Nannerl and Wolfgang on tour to play before the European courts. Their first
venture was to nearby Munich where the children played for Maximillian III Joseph, elector of Bavaria.
Leopold soon set his sights on the capital of the Hapsburg Empire, Vienna. On their way to Vienna, the family
stopped in Linz, where Wolfgang gave his first public concert. By this time, Wolfgang was not only a skilled
harpsichord player, but he had also mastered the violin. The audience at Linz was amazed by the six-year-old,
and word of his genius soon traveled to Vienna. In a much attended concert, the Mozart children appeared at
the Schonbrunn Palace on October 13, 1762. They completely attracted the emperor and empress.
      Following this success, Leopold received a lot of invitations for the children to play, for a fee. Leopold
seized the opportunity and booked as many concerts as possible at courts throughout Europe. A concert could
last three hours, and the children played at least two per day. Today, Leopold might be considered the worst
kind of stage parent, but at the time, it was not uncommon for talented people to make extensive concert tours. Even so, it was an exhausting schedule for a child who was just past the age of needing an afternoon nap.

1. A good title for this passage would be ________.

A. Classical Music in the Eighteenth Century: An Overview.
B. Stage Parents: A Historical Point of View.
C. Mozart: The Early Life of a Musical Genius.
D. Mozart: The Short Career of a Musical Genius.

2.What was the consequence of Wolfgang's first public appearance?

A. He attracted the emperor and empress of Hapsburg.
B. Word of Wolfgang's genius spread to the capital.
C. Leopold set his sights on Vienna.
D. Invitations for the miracle children to play poured in.

3. Each of the following statements about Wolfgang Mozart is directly supported by the passage
except ________.

A. Mozart's father made full use of his children's talent
B. Maria Anna was also talented in music
C. Wolfgang's childhood was devoted to his musical career
D. Wolfgang preferred the violin to other instruments

     Yang Yang( A) Wins China' s First-ever Winter Olympic Gold
     Five-time world overall short-track speed skating champion Yang Yang( A) won China' s first-ever Winter
Olympic gold medal with a runaway victory in the 500m final on Saturday.
     Yang Yang, putting behind her a dismal fourth place finish in the 1,500 meters three days ago, got off to a
sparking lead and never looked back to cross the line in 44. 187 seconds. World-record holder and four-time
European champion Evgenia Radanova followed her 0.065 seconds behind.
     Another Chinese, Wang Chunju, the world champion in the shortest distance came in third, two-hundredths
of second further behind.
     Yang,25,whose name is tagged with the letter A to distinguish her from her younger teammate and
namesake, Yang Yang ( S),is the overall World Cup winner in this season, with the top points in the 1,000m
and 1,500m.
     In the 1,500m, the younger Yang,24, who won two silver medals in Nagano four years ago, crashed out
while chasing hard after two South Korean teenagers, Ko Gi-Hyun and Choi Eun-Kyung, who eventually
finished first and second. Yang Yang( A) ended up fourth.
     Yang Yang( S) did not compete in the 500 meters.

1. What day was the day when Yang Yang ( A) competed in the 1,500 meters?

A. Saturday.
B. Friday.
C. Thursday.
D. Wednesday.

2. How long did Evgenia Radanova take to finish the 500m final?

A. 44. 252 seconds.
B. 44. 187 seconds.
C. 44.122 seconds.
D. None of the above.

3. Why did not Yang Yang( S) compete in the 500 meters?

A. She did not want to.
B. She was wounded.
C. She was not qualified.
D. It was not mentioned.

     Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great 19th century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father
ran heavily into debt and when he was 12, he had to go to work in a factory for making boot polish. The only
formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach
himself all he knew. He worked for a time as a junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a
reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction
began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers
made him the most popular author at his time in England.
     He was a observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in the mid-
nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture
of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice
and inhumanity of the bourgeoisie (資本主義).
     Many of his novels like Olive Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of
Two Cities drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over 100 years ago.
     Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeoisie humanism. He wished to see
improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.

1. Dickens only received a little formal education because _____.

[     ]

A. He wanted to teach himself
B. He wanted to work and made a lot of money
C. He was too poor to afford any more formal education
D. He wanted some working experiences to be a novelist

2. According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was _____.

[     ]

A. just
B. poor
C. comfortable
D. unsatisfying

3. Which of the following novels made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

[     ]

A. Olive Twist
B. The Pickwick Papers
C. A Tale of Two Cities
D. Great Expectations

4. According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

[     ]

A. He didn't go to school at all.
B. He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.
C. He began to write fictions when he was 21 years old.
D. He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

5. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

[     ]

A. Dickens had a painful childhood
B. Dickens did the same job before he became a professional writer
C. Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular
D. Dickens criticized capitalist society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor

     Barack Obama was born in Hawaii with a Kenyan father and an American mother. His father, Barack
Obama Sir, married his mother, Ann Dunbar, while studying at the University of Hawaii. The couple
separated two years after Obama was born. His father ultimately returned to Kenya, where he became a
noted economist. He died in a car accident in 1982.
     Obama's mother's second marriage was to an Indonesian man named Lolo Soetoro. The family moved
to Indonesia and Obama remained there until he was 10 when he moved back to Hawaii and lived with his
grandparents, while studying on a scholarship at the elite Punahou Academy.
     He has seven half-brothers and sisters in Kenya from his father's other marriages, and a half-sister,
Maya Soetoro-Ng, from his mother's second marriage.
     After finishing college in 1983, Obama worked for a New York financial consultant and a consumer
organization. He landed a job in Chicago in 1985 as an organizer for Developing Communities Project, a
church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods.
     Three years later, Obama went to Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of
the law review. He worked as a summer associate at the Sidley Austin law firm in Chicago, where he met
his future wife. After graduation from Harvard in 1991, Obama practiced civil rights law at a small firm
in Chicago. He became a lecture in constitutional law at the University of Chicago in 1993.
     Obama won a seat in the Illiao state Senate in 1996. During this time in the legislature he worked on
welfare and ethics legislation, as well as a measure requiring electronic recording of police interrogations
and confessions in homicide investigations.
     Obama won a heavily contested US Senate seat in 2004, carrying 53 percent of the Democratic primary
vote in an eight-candidate race. He easily won the general election, In the Senate he compiled (編輯) a liberal
voting record, but was one of the few Democrats to back a measure on class-action lawsuits. He opposed
the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court.
     The nonpartisan (無黨派的) National Journal ranked him as the most liberal member of the Senate early
this year, based on his voting record in 2007. He was ranked 10th most liberal in 2006 and 16th most liberal
in 2005.

1. What happened to Obama when he was a child?

A. His father died in a car accident
B. His mother married a Kenyan father
C. His parents separated and his mother remarried an Indonesian man
D. He studied at the University of Hawaii

2. In which year did Obama go to Harvard Law School?

A. In 1983
B. In 1985
C. In 1988
D. In 1991

3. Which of the following sentences in right?

A. His mother was divorced from his father when he was two years old
B. Obama moved back to Hawaii and lived with his grandparents until he was 10
C. The nonpartisan (無黨派的) National Journal ranked him as the most liberal member of the Senate because
     he won the general election
D. He met his future wife in Chicago while studying on a scholarship at the elite Punahou Academy

4. How many sisters and brothers does Obama have?

A. 7
B. 8
C. 0
D. 9

     Joseph Pulitzer (April 10, 1847-October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American publisher best known for
establishing the Pulitzer Prizes after death.
     Pulitzer was born in Mako, Hungary. At 17, Pulitzer attempted to join the Austrian army, but was turned
down due to age, bad health and poor eyesight. Disappointed but still with hope, he traveled first to Paris and
then to London, hoping to join the amy there. And he was rejected for the same reasons. Finally, he moved
to the United States in 1864 and served in the Lincoln Amy when he was just 18 until the end of the American
Civil War. After the war he settled in St. Louis Missouri, where in l868 he started working as a reporter for
a Geman-language daily newspaper, the Westliche Post. He joined the Republican Party and was elected to the
Missouri State Assembly in 1869. 
     In 1872, Pulitzer bought the Westliche Post for $3 000. Then, in 1879, he bought the St. Louis Dispatch
for $2 700 and merged (合并) the two papers as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which remained St. Louis'daily
newspaper. He bought the New York World in 1883, which turned out to be a successful decision, and which
made Pulitzer wealthy. In 1885, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, but resigned after a few
months'service. In 1895 the New York World introduced the first newspaper comlc printed with color. Under
Pulitzer's leadership circulation (發(fā)行量) grew from 15 000 t0 600 000, making it the largest newspaper in the
country. But unfortunately from 1890, Pulitze's already failing health worsened rapidly and he withdrew from
direct rnanagement of the newspaper, and simply gave some instructions from his vacation houses in Maine or
in New York. At the age of forty, he was struck blind, but he still continued to run his press empire for twenty-
two rnore years.
     In 1892, Pulitzer offered Columbia University's president money to set up the world's first school of
journalism. But the university turned down the offer. In 1902, Columbia's new president willingly accepted the
plan for a school and prizes, but it would not be until after Pulitzer's death that this dream would come' true.
Pulitzer left the university $ 2 million in his will, which led to the creation in 1912 0f the Columbia University
Graduate School of Journalism And up till now, Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism still remams one
of the most famous in the world.
     Joseph Pulitzer died aboard his sailing boat in 1911. He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The
Bronx, New York. In 1917, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded, as Pulitzer wished to.
     In 1989, in honor of his great achievements and contributions, Pulitzer was included in the St. Louis Walk
of Fame.

1______2______3______4______5______6______7______8______9______10______

     Jean Francis Grander was perhaps the most daring man who ever lived and perhaps the craziest. His
greatest desire was to entertain and amaze people. He measured his success by the number of people who
fainted dead away after witnessing his death-defying (極其驚險的) feats.
     Grander, a blond Frenchman, toured North America in 1850, billing himself as "Blondin". Blondin's gift
was excellent balance. This talent coupled with a great desire to surprise and shock his audiences, made
Blondin an incomparable performer.
     His most famous feat was walking across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Blondin's "stage" consisted of a
rope tied 1,100 feet across the falls. The rope hung some 160 feet above the rocks and boiling water below
the falls.
     Simply walking across the falls was not exciting enough for Blondin; he later had to ride across on a
bicycle. Then, in another performance, he calmly walked across blindfolded (被蒙住的眼睛). At still another
time, he carried his terrified manager on his back and walked over the falls before thousands of breathless
audience.
     But Blondin was undoubtedly his own worst critic. He was never satisfied with hfs act and always tried
to attract his audience with his balancing feat. One of his most daring walks was made in the darkness of
night. Blondin became so famous on his tour through North America that his last performance was attended
by an admiring Prince of Wales.

1. Why does the author think that Grander may be the craziest man in the world?

A. Because he enjoyed entertaining people by terrifying them.
B. Because many people died after seeing his feats.
C. Because his greatest desire was to entertain people.
D. Because he was an incomparable performer.

2. What does the underlined word "feat" in this passage mean?

A. excellent performance
B. tour
C. famous event
D. victory

3. What can we infer from the first sentence in the last paragraph?

A. Blondin was very content with his own performance.
B. Blondin was not very good at criticism.
C. Blondin never thought that his performance was satisfy.
D. Blondin didn't like criticism.

4. The author's attitude towards "Blondin" is _____.

A. critical
B. admiring
C. negative
D. depressed

5. Which of the following can NOT be drawn from the passage?

A. Blondin's success had something to do with his character.
B. In order to be Successful,one should be a critic of himself.
C. Blondin conquered his audience simply by his talent.
D. People can get pleasure from a terrifying experience.