Irving's background provides little to explain his literary achievements. A gifted but delicate child, he had little schooling. He studied law, but without zeal, and never did practice seriously. He was immune to his strict Presbyterian home environment, frequenting both social gatherings and the theater.
The main point of the first paragraph is that Washington Irving was ______
A.America' s first man of letters
B.a writer who had great success both in and outside his own country
C.a man who was able to move from literature to politics
D.a man whose personal charm enabled him to get by with basically inferior work
Passage One
One of the well-known of American writers is Samuel Clemens, whose pen name is Mark Twain. Bom in 1835, Twain grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri. As did many other boys of his day,
Twain dreamed of traveling on river boats and of someday becoming a riverboat pilot. Twain used his memories of the life of a river town in his two most famous books, Huckleberry Finn and Torn Sawyer.
As a young man, Twain held many jobs. He was a printer, a good miner, and, for a time, he was a riverboat pilot. During his pilot days, he adopted the name Mark Twain. This was a term used by the boatmen to mean that the water measured two fathoms, or twelve feet, which was deep enough for safe passage.
Finally Twain became a successful writer. He traveled a great deal, writing and speaking, and became very popular both in the United States and in Europe.
Twain's style. of writing was simple and direct. Among the things he wrote about were superstitious (迷信的) people and people who were easily fooled. He used his unusual gift for humor to write about many things of importance.
36. Generally speaking, this article is about______.
A. a riverboat pilot
B. a printer
C. a gold miner
D. a famous writer
Passage Three
People enjoy talking about "firsts." They like to remember their first love or their first car. But not all firsts
are happy ones. Few people enjoy recalling the firsts that are bad.
One of history's bad but important firsts was the first car accident. Autos were still young when it happened. The crash took place in New York City. The year was 1896. The month was May. A man from Massachusetts was visiting the city in his new car. At the time, bicycle riders were still trying to get used to the new set of wheels on the road. No one is sure who was at fault. In any case, the bike and the car collided. The man on the bike was injured. The driver of the car had to stay in jail and wait for the hospital report on the bicycle rider. Luckily, the rider was not killed.
Three years later, another automobile first took place. The scene was again New York City, a real estate broker named Henry Bliss stepped off a streetcar. He was hit by a passing car. Once again, no one is sure just how it happened or whose fault it was. The driver of the car was put in jail. Poor Mr. Bliss became the first person to die in a car accident.
44. In each accident the driver was ______.
A. found guilty
B. set free
C. laughed at
D. put in jail for a while
Valentine's Day may come from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. (1)_____ the fierce wolves roamed nearby, the old Romans called (2)_____ the god Lupercus to help them. A festival in his (3)_____ was held February 15th. On the eve of the festival the (4)_____ of the girls were written on (5)_____ paper and placed in jars. Each young man (6)_____ a slip. The girl whose name was (7)_____ was to be his sweetheart for the year.
Legend (8)_____ it that the holiday became Valentine's Day (9)_____ a roman priest named Valentine. Emperor Claudius II (10)_____ the Roman soldiers not to marry or become engaged. Claudius felt married soldiers would (11)_____ stay home than fight. When Valentine (12)_____ the Emperor and secretly married the young couples, he was put to death on February 14th, the (13)_____ of Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine became a (14)_____. Christian priests moved the holiday from the 15th to the 14th—Valentine's Day. Now the holiday honors Valentine (15)_____ of Lupercus.
Valentine's Day has become a major (16)_____ of love and romance in the modem world. The ancient god Cupid and his (17)_____ into a lover's heart may still be used to (18)_____ falling in love or being in love. But we also use cards and gifts, such as flowers or jewelry, to do this. (19)_____ to give flower to a wife or sweetheart on Valentine's Day can sometimes be as (20)_____ as forgetting a birthday or a wedding anniversary.
A.While
B.when
C.Though
D.Unless
As a young man, Twain held many jobs. He was a printer, a good miner, and, for a time, he was a riverboat pilot. During his pilot days, he adopted the name Mark Twain. This was a term used by the boatmen to mean that the water measured two fathoms, or twelve feet, which was deep enough for safe passage.
Finally Twain became a successful writer. He traveled a great deal, writing and speaking, and became very popular both in the United States and in Europe.
Twain's style. of writing was simple and direct. Among the things he wrote about were superstitious(迷信的)people and people who were easily fooled. He used his unusual gift for humor to write about many things of importance.
Generally speaking, this article is about ______.
A.a riverboat pilot
B.a printer
C.a gold miner
D.a famous writer
The man whose cart got__________ in the mud preyed to God for help instead of getting it out himself.
A. engaged
B. stuck
C. marked
D. plunged
A.any
B.no
C.none
D.not any
From the passage we know ______.
A.Roger liked his hairstyle. cut by the young man last time
B.the young man could cut hair in different styles
C.the young man was good at cutting hair
D.Roger wanted the young man to know how badly he did last time
The boss thought that young man was well ______ to do the job.
A.able
B.qualified
C.skillful
D.capable
The young man has to wait until he gets the ______ of the committee to his application. (approve)