阅读理解2

Passage 11It had been said that Lincoln was always ready to join in a laugh at himself. There is one particular story that he always told with great delight.In his early days as a lawyer, Lincoln went from town to town to hear and judge legal cases. During one of these trips, he was sitting in a train when a strange man came up to him. The stranger looked at the tall clumsy lawyer and said that he had something he believed belonged (属于) to Lincoln. Lincoln was a bit puzzled. He had never seen the man before. He didn’t see how a total stranger could have something of his. Lincoln asked him how this could be such a case. The stranger pulled out a pencil knife and began to explain. Many years before, he had been given the pencil knife. He had been told to keep it until he was able to find a man uglier (更加丑陋的) than himself.Lincoln’s eyes always sparkled (闪烁) when he reached this part of the story. The story always brought smiles to the faces of those who heard it. The tale itself was funny. But even more delightful was the fact that a man as great as Lincoln could still laugh at himself.1. What was Lincoln in his early days?A. The president of the United States.B. A lawyer.C. A peasant.D. A school teacher.2. Why did Lincoln feel a bit puzzled when told by a stranger that he had something of Lincoln?A. He had never met the stranger before.B. He didn’t like to communicate with the stranger.C. He didn’t remember how the stranger owned something of him.D. The stranger wasn’t his relative or his friend.3. What’s the reason for the stranger’s giving the statement?A. He had known Lincoln for a long time.B. He admired Lincoln so much.C. Lincoln was uglier than him.D. Lincoln gave him something in the past.4. The word “clumsy” in the passage might mean“_________”.A. awkwardB. handsomeC. skillfulD. attractive5. What can be inferred from the last sentence?A. Lincoln felt sad when the story brought smiles to others.B. Lincoln also felt happy when the story brought smiles to others.C. Lincoln had no motion when the story brought smiles to others.D. Lincoln had no emotion when the story brought smiles to others.Passage 12Computer programmer David Jones earns ￡35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a cheque (支票) card. Instead, he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18.The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David’s firm releases two new games for the expanding home computer market each month.But David’s biggest headache (头疼的事) is what to do with his money. Despite his salary, earned by inventing new programs, with bonus (奖金) payments and profit-sharing, he cannot drivea car, take out a mortgage (抵押) to buy a house, or obtain credit cards.He lives with his parents in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His company has to pay ￡150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who ran the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.“I suppose ￡35,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother ￡20 a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.“Unfortunately, computing (计算) was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.” David added: “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement (退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”1. No bank would like to let David Jones have a cheque card because of his _________.A. ageB. heightC. healthD. wealth2. According to the passage, most young people of his age are faced with _________.A. the problem of marriageB. the problem of buying a houseC. the problem of employmentD. the problem of obtaining credit cards3. David’s greatest problem is _________.A. opening an accountB. spending his salaryC. inventing more computer gamesD. having a license to drive a car4. He was employed by the company because ________.A. he had finished his school with six O-levelsB. he had succeeded in writing some computer programsC. the company did not need to solve his housing problemD. He had worked in a computer shop5. Why does David think he might retire early?A. Because one has to be young to write computer programs.B. Because he is content to stop working when he is a millionaire.C. Because he thinks computer programs might not always sell sowell.D. Because he thinks his company might go bankrupt.Passage 13Two years ago, my husband bought me a bike. If you live in a town, it is often faster than a car and you don’t have to worry about parking. You can leave it anywhere. As it has a seat at the back and a basket at the front, I can take my little daughter to school, to the library, to the shops, to anywhere.I use it most in summer when the weather is warm and dry. It can be very unpleasant in winter when it is cold and the rain is heavy.You must, of course, be careful on a bicycle. Accidents are not the only problem, though. One day I went shopping and came back to find my front wheel missing. It was a long walk to the bicycle shop. Now I have three strong locks.My husband uses my bicycle sometimes for short journeys. He says it is better than waiting for a bus. He still uses his car for longer journey, but I think that all this sitting down is making him fat and lazy. On my bicycle I get a lot of exercises and fresh air, and this makes me feel a lot younger.1. Why is it better to have a bike than to have a car in a townaccording to the passage?A. Because it has fewer accidents to ride a bike.B. Because a bike is faster and it’s more convenient to park it.C. Because a bike is less likely to be stolen.D. Because a bike has a seat at the back and a basket at the front.2. What measure did the narrator take to avoid her bike being stolenagain?A. She became more careful.B. She parked the bike in safe places.C. She used it less.D. She used more locks.3. Driving a car makes the narrator’s husband _______.A. fat and lazyB. be able to get to work more convenientlyC. get a lot of fresh airD. feel a lot younger4. What was the narrator most likely to do when she found her front wheel was stolen?A. She bought a new bike and three locks.B. She repaired it herself quickly on the spot.C. She walked a long way to buy a new wheel.D. She went to a nearby police station to report the case.5. We can infer from the passage that the narrator’s view on bike is ______.A. negativeB. praisefulC. indifferentD. criticalPassage 14Basketball is still a young game. In the winter of 1891, a certain college was having trouble with its boy students. The weather was so terrible that the students had to stay indoors. Since they could not enjoy their sports outside as usual, they were unhappy, and some of them often got into fights from time to time.Finally, one of the teachers at the college, J.E.Naismith, was asked to invent a new game for the students. It was not an easy job because such a game had to be played indoors, and the court was not very large.Naismith thought for a few days and invented a kind of ball game. It was a fast, exciting game with much moving and passing of the ball. It was played between two teams. To make score, the ball had to be thrown into a basket ten feet high above the floor on the wall. At each end of the court there was such a basket. At first, Naismith had planned to have the ball thrown intoa box. As he could not find boxes of the right size, he had to use fruit basket instead. That is how the game got its name.1. What does the author mean by saying “Basketball is still a young game”?A. It came into being not a long time ago.B. It was originally designed for young people.C. The inventor of the game was very young at that time.D. It’s only played by young people.2. What was the key problem with the boy students of the college?A. The weather was terrible.B. They couldn’t play their usual sports outside.C. Some of them got into fights.D. They were unhappy.3. When J. E. Naismith was asked to invent a new game, he found itdifficult mainly because ______.A. the weather was terribleB. the boys often fought each otherC. there was not a very large court indoorsD. he couldn’t find a box4. Naismith used fruit basket because ________.A. he failed to find proper boxesB. it was strong and not easy to be damagedC. he planned to use itD. he considered it the best choice5. Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?A. A College StoryB. The Origin of Basketball’s Name.C. J.E.Naismith and His InventionD. Box and Fruit Basket。