2 . “Could you see the whites of their eyes?” said the man, who was seated on a soap box.

“Nothing of the kind,” replied old Henry warmly. “Just a lot of figures running towards us, and I let go at where there appeared to be most. Bang!”

“Mr. Fleming, ” said the grocer — his respectful voice expressed somehow the old man’s exact social weight — “Mr. Fleming, you never were frightened much in those battles, were you?”

The veteran (老兵) looked down and smiled. Observing his manner, the entire group laughed a little. “Well, I guess I was,” he answered finally, “Pretty well scared, sometimes. Why, in my first battle, I thought the sky was falling down. I thought the world was coming to an end. You bet I was scared.”

Everyone laughed. Perhaps it seemed strange and rather wonderful to them that a man should admit the thing, and in the tone of their laughter there was probably more admiration than if old Fleming had declared that he had always been a lion. Moreover, they knew that he had ranked as an orderly sergeant (中士), and so their opinion of heroism was fixed. None, to be sure, knew how an orderly sergeant ranked, but then it was understood to be somewhere just shy of a major-general’s stars. So, when old Henry admitted that he had been frightened, there was a laugh.

“The trouble was,” said the old man, “I thought they were all shooting at me. Yes, sir, I thought every man in the other army was aiming at me in particular, and only me. And it seemed so unreasonable, you know. I wanted to explain to them what an almighty good fellow I was, because I thought then they might quit all trying to hit me. But I couldn’t explain, and they kept on being unreasonable. Blim! Blam! Bang! So, I ran!”

Two little triangles of wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. Evidently he appreciated some comedy in this storytelling. Down near his feet, however, little Jim, his grandson, was obviously horror-stricken. His hands were clasped nervously, and his eyes were wide with astonishment at this terrible scandal (丑闻), his most magnificent grandfather telling such a thing.

“That was at Chancellorsville. Of course, afterwards I got kind of used to it. A man does. Lots of men, though, seem to feel all right from the start. I did, as soon as ‘I got on to it,’ as they say now; but at first I was pretty well scared. Now, there was young Jim Conklin, old Si Conklin’s son—that used to keep the leather factory—you none of you recall him―well, he went into it from the start just as if he was born to it. But with me it was different. I had to get used to it.”

When little Jim walked with his grandfather, he was in the habit of skipping along on the stone pavement, in front of the three stores and the hotel of the town, and betting that he could avoid the cracks. But upon this day he walked calmly, with his hand gripping two of his grandfather’s fingers. Sometimes he kicked abstractedly at dandelions that curved over the walk. Anyone could see that he was much troubled.

“Um,” said the boy, with a strange lack of interest. He continued his reflections. Then finally he asked: “Grandpa—now—was that true what you were telling those men?”

“What?” asked the grandfather. “What was I telling them?”

“Oh, about your running.”

“Why, yes, that was true enough, Jimmie. It was my first fight, and there was an awful lot of noise, you know.”

Jimmie seemed a bit confused that this idol (偶像), of its own will, should be so weak. His stout boyish idealism was injured and then lapsed into a moody silence.

1. What was the old man talking about at the very beginning of the story?

A．A brave hero.	B．A funny joke.
C．A terrible scandal.	D．A battlefield experience.

2. What can be inferred from everyone’s laugh when Fleming admitted he was scared sometimes?

A．They didn’t expect a man like Fleming should admit his fright.

B．They thought that he was just making some kind of joke.

C．They were scared of his social weight and could do nothing else.

D．They teased him for his not being ashamed of his escape from the battlefield.

3. Why was little Jim astonished when Fleming told his story?

A．Because people laughed at his grandfather.

B．Because his grandfather failed to keep the secret.

C．Because his grandfather disappointed him.

D．Because people knew how an orderly sergeant ranked.

4. Which of the following can best describe Henry Fleming?

A．Shy but brave.	B．Smart and admirable.
C．Honest and courageous.	D．Frightened but heroic.

5. How does the author expose the character of Henry Fleming?

A．In a way of Romanticism.

B．By a means of Impressionism.

C．With a method of Symbolism.

D．In a stytle of Naturalism.

6. Which of the following can be served as the best title for the story?

A．The scandal

B．The veteran

C．The war

D．The lion

3 . Our first welcome to the UK wasn’t from the staff of Heathrow Airport or the coach driver who entered into our lives to take us to our new city and new home for the next three weeks.It was, in fact, the noisy and energetic seagulls(海鸥) full of songs that flew down to us. When left from the planes’ exits passage, we still could hear their loud and clear songs through the glasses. It was amazing that they lifted our spirits and cheered us up after our stupidly long and awful journey.

These seagulls welcomed my Chinese people into their home with open wings and if they could speak instead of merely squawk(鸟叫), I’m sure we would’ve struck up some bright and harmonious relationship. They liked to hover(盘旋) overhead around with childlike greetings they sang or just simply walk fearlessly close to our feet. Some of us saved bread our host family prepared in the lunchboxes for these friends. And lovely, we would like to share what we have for the rest of eternity(永恒).

But Julie，the mother of my host family，who then I stayed with，does not think so. Strangely as well, she could not give any reasons. The closed and squawk-proof double-glazing explains. Perhaps she prefers to sleep with her windows open but she always fails to do that, because those birds seemed to like staying up till next morning, wholly screaming for her on and on. And they decide to keep doing so every single night. Furthermore, every time she has to wash the marble floor of the gardens, Julie would look up around and swear to the droppings(鸟粪) shortly followed by a smile on her face towards me and said: “They are friendly to you.”

But stop thinking that she hates the creatures and never plans to have a change. Because there is another side to her evident feelings towards the birds. We will do some shopping at weekends and every time there Julie doesn’t forget to put a big bag of wild birdseed(鸟食) into her carriage which costs quite more than milks or juices for one week. I can see what it goes for since she refills the wild bird feeder(喂食器) before a big hurry to drive to work every morning and when working she knows what is happening back at home — seagulls are enjoying the seed and leaving for next morning.

I’m leaving soon and not likely, I guess, though I hope not, to get back to see my friends here in England in the future. I said I would miss all friends living here including the seagulls. And when Julie was refilling the feeder again, she said: “They’re nice but they are not my friends.”

1. According to the first paragraph, we can know that _____.

A．they felt disappointed at not being welcomed by any local people as they landed

B．they felt surprised to find seagulls there shortly after they landed

C．they didn’t like to be welcomed by the seagulls because they were noisy and stupid

D．those birds were more energetic and friendly than the local people

2. What does “squawk-proof double-glazing” underlined in Paragraph 3 refer to？

A．a shotgun used for fowling(捕鸟)

B．a cage used for keeping birds

C．birdseed used to feed the seagulls

D．a window used to keep noise out

3. Julie said the seagulls were nice but not her friends for the following reasons EXCEPT that _____.

A．the seagulls disturbed her every night

B．the seagulls dirtied her garden

C．the birdseeds were not cheap

D．the seagulls were friendly to her guests

4. What’s the best title for this passage？

A．Birds Can Welcome	B．Birds in London
C．Bite the Hand that Feed You	D．Feed What You Want to Kill

5. The passage is most possibly taken from _____.

A．a magazine about birds	B．a book about London
C．an advertisement attracting visitors to London	D．a magazine about travelling

4 . 阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。

Haze Mabry, who has worked as a school keeper for thirteen years, walks into the school building every day and empties garbage cans, wipes down bathrooms and mops wet messes in the hallways.

Last Friday, after he arrived at the school, instead of finding garbage to clean up, he found almost 800 students lining the hallways with handmade cards, blowing noisemakers and singing a full-throated happy birthday to him. It was his 80th. As he walked the long hallway, some popped out of line to hug him. They handed him so many cards that they filled several large boxes. Touched by their enthusiastic expression of affection, Mabry thanked them all. “They’re like my children,” Mabry said.

On a regular day, students at the school sometimes come up to him to say they’re not feeling well or other times to tell him about something that happened at break. He knows most of the kids at the school, but can’t name each one. Some of them make him know them. Like Faith, who often forgets her backpack in the cafeteria, and Lucy, who just wants a hug.

“He won’t brag(夸耀) on himself, but it doesn’t matter what he’s doing or where he is, he will always stop what he’s doing to take care of a child if that child is having a bad day. If a child approaches him, he will pause to give that child his undivided attention. He’s the most loved one in this building,” said Lori Gilreath, a reading teacher.

Mabry works circles around all the students, cleaning up messes others don’t want to touch. He doesn’t expect a lot. Mabry said he hadn’t planned to do much for his milestone birthday, so he was happy the students had prepared the surprise celebration.

Over the weekend, he worked through the piles of handmade cards at his house. One card from a student stood out to him. It read: “Mr. Haze, you are my sunshine.”

1. What is Mabry’s daily work as a school keeper？（no more than 5 words）
2. How did the students celebrate Mabry’s birthday？（no more than 15 words）
3. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 probably mean？（1 word）
4. Why is Mabry’s presence at the school important？（no more than 10 words）
5. Who is the “sunshine” in your life？Please explain. （no more than 20 words）

5 . I found out one time that doing a favor for someone could get you into a lot of trouble. I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn’t: understand. So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen. She showed me that: hers was out of ink and would not write. I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk.

Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed(解散). As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up；she talked about how important it was to stand on your own two feet and be responsible (负责任) for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized(强调) the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating(欺骗) themselves. She made me promise that I would think seriously(认真地) about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave. I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.

Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers from the girl’s test paper. I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test. Even if I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued(继续) to believe that I had cheated on the test.

1. The story took place(发生) exactly ________.

A．in the teacher’s office

B．in an exam room

C．in the school

D．in the language lab

2. The girl wanted to borrow a pen, because ________.

A．she had not brought a pen with her

B．she had lost her own on her way to school

C．there was something wrong with her own

D．her own had been taken away by someone

3. The teacher saw all this, so she asked the boy ________.

A．to go on writing his paper

B．to stop whispering

C．to leave the room immediately

D．to stay behind after the exam

4. The thing(s) emphasized in her talk was (were) ________.

A．honesty	B．sense of duty
C．seriousness	D．all of the above

5. The boy knew everything ________.

A．the moment he was asked to stay behind

B．when the teacher started talking about honesty

C．only some time later

D．when he was walking out of the room

6 . I don’t want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated (controlled) by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space, time and the nature of black holes.

At 19, when I began studying astrophysics (天体物理学), it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement — jobs, research papers, awards — was viewed through the lens (镜片) of gender (性别) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相对于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.

Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations (挑衅): I don’t talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.

Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Still, I don’t tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.

1. Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?

A．She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination (歧视).

B．She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields.

C．She is not good at telling stories of the kind.

D．She finds space research more important.

2. From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute (把……归因于) the author’s failures to ________.

A．the burden she bears in a male-dominated society

B．her involvement in gender politics

C．her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist

D．the very fact that she is a woman

3. What did the author constantly fight against while doing her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research?

A．Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.

B．Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle.

C．People’s fixed attitude toward female scientists.

D．Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurtured.

4. What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?

A．Women students needn’t have the concerns of her generation.

B．Women can balance a career in science and having a family.

C．Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.

D．Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career.