1 . John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.

Luckily, he had strong-willed (意志坚强的), caring mother. John remembers that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you really want to be if you just believe. She told him not to be dependent on (依靠) others, including his mother. “You have to earn success,” said she. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”

These words came from a woman less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son—then 15—to Chicago.

Chicago in1933 was not the promised land (乐土、希望之地) that black southerners were looking for, John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But there John could go to school, and there he learned the power of words—as editor of the newspaper and yearbook of Du Stable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.

While others discouraged (阻止、使气馁) him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn (典当) her furniture (家具) to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.

It is natural the difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind. “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary.”

Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America—worth $150 million.

1. Why did John’s mother decide to move to Chicago? Because ________.

A．John’s father died in his hometown when he was very young

B．life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown, while life in Chicago would be better for blacks

C．there were no schools for blacks in their hometown

D．John needed more education and he could go to school there

2. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Chicago was the promised land for black southerners in 1933.

B．John’s mother worked hard as a writer to make their life better.

C．With the help of his mother, John got the money to start the Negro magazine.

D．Now John is the poorest man in America.

3. What kind of woman was John’s mother? She was a ________.

A．woman with little school education but knew a lot about life

B．woman who would not do anything for her son

C．strong woman with much knowledge

D．woman who didn’t know how to encourage her son

4. The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means ________.

A．if you try, you will succeed in the end

B．a failure is difficult to beat, even if you try

C．a try is always followed by failure

D．nothing but a try can help you out of failure

5. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．How John H. Johnson became somebody.

B．The mental support John’s mother gave him.

C．The importance of a good education.

D．The key to success for blacks.

2 . Darwin, the world-famous scientist, developed a habit in his later years that seldom changed, even when guests were present. The following shows his daily schedule during that time.

Time	Activities
7:00 a.m.	got up and took a short walk
7:45	a.m. had breakfast alone
8:00 a.m.—9:30 a.m.	worked in his study (He considered this period his best working time.)
9:30a.m.—10:30am.	went to the sitting room and read letters
12:00	had a walk, starting with a visit to the greenhouse, the number of times depending on his health, usually alone or with a dog
12:45 p.m.	had lunch with the family; read The Times and answered letters
3:00 p.m.	rested on the sofa in his bedroom and listened to a novel read by his wife
4:30 p.m.—5:30 p.m.	worked in his study, clearing up matters of the day
6:00 p.m.	rested again in the bedroom with his wife reading aloud
7:30 p.m.	had tea while the family were having dinner
10:00 p.m.	went to bed

1. According to Darwin, what was the best time to work?

A．8:00 a.m.—9:30 a.m.	B．9:30 a.m.—10:30 a.m.
C．10:30 a.m.—12:15 p.m.	D．4:30 p.m.—5:30 p.m.

2. How long did Darwin work in his study every day?

A．Four and a half hours.	B．Three hours.
C．Two and a half hours.	D．Two hours.

3. What can we learn about Darwin from this passage?

A．He was very ill.	B．He ate meals a day.
C．He disliked reading.	D．He lived regular (有规律的) life.