This year the US will honour(纪念) one of the country’s most famous writers—Mark Twain (1835-1910). Most readers know that his real name was Samuel Longhome Clemens, but how many know where the pen name “Mark Twain” came from?
The answer shows Clemens’ colorful early life before he became a writer. “Mark Twain” was the cry shouted on a ship when the ship entered a part of a river that was two fathoms (6 feet) deep. “Twain” is an old-fashioned way of saying “two”. Twain trained as a ship pilot on the Mississippi river for two years, a time that he wrote about in the humourousLife on the Mississippi (1883).
The famous river would become an important theme in many of his works—who could forget the journey of the Huck and Jim along it in his most famous book. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)?
With little education, he had to teach himself how to write stories. Whenever possible, he would go to public libraries. There he spent much time reading and thinking, which greatly helped him with his writing.
On the other hand, his life experiences gave him wonderful material to write about and attract readers. Twain wrote in a style that has been called “local colour” because it shows great knowledge of local people and their customs.
This gift is very clear in the two books for which Twain is still celebrated today. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its follow-up The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which many people call “The Great American Novel”.
The most amazing invention in the book is the voice of Huck himself. Huck did not enjoy schooling. It shows in the way he uses language, in a spoken style. Only a master like Twain could copy the way a young southern boy talked so well.
1. What does the underlined word “gift” mean in the passage?
A. Twain’s talent for self-teaching.
B. Twain’s “local colour” writing style.
C. Twain’s good sense of humour.
D. Twain’s experiences as a ship pilot
2.According to the passage, what is the best part of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
A. The deep social meaning.
B. The exciting life experiences.
C. The special way that Huck talks.
D. The nice view of the Mississippi.
3. Which is the most suitable place in the passage for the sentence. “Twain did not come from the writer’s background you might expect”?
A. At the beginning of Paragraph 2.
B. At the beginning of Paragraph 3.
C. At the beginning of Paragraph 4.
D. At the beginning of Paragraph 5.
4. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Mark Twain’s career as a great writer.
B. Mark Twain’s interest in describing local life.
C. Mark Twain’s achievements in American literature field.
D. Mark Twain’s life experiences which influenced his writing.
There are lots of dangerous and terrible insects in Northeastern India, but the tree-bees are the most terrible. They are killers. Unlike most bees which will sting (叮咬) you only if they are disturbed (打扰), tree-bees will attack you in thousands for no reason. And they will chase (追赶) you for your life.
Walking along a dusty road while I was on holiday there last year. I found myself, without the least warning, the centre of such an attack. The air above me suddenly became thick with bees. Though it was hot, I went cold all over. Until then I had never heard of Indian tree-bees, but I had recently seen a film called “The Angry Swarm”, which was about killer-bees.
I began running to the village about half a mile away, but I was soon covered from head to foot with bees. I drove them away with my hands, only to make room for others. Each time I opened my mouth for breath, more bees entered my mouth, until it was stung to twice its usual size and I could hardly breathe.
When I reached the village, I found some workers building a house. I ran towards them for help. But as soon as the workers saw the bees with me, they ran for safety at top speed.
Soon my eyes had completely closed. I fell into a pile of brick dust. I pushed myself wildly down into it until my head and shoulders were covered. And then I tried hard to get out of the dust, the angry bees made a new attack on me. I was tired out and ran weakly about in circles. Soon I lost my consciousness (意识).
Later I learned that two quick-minded villagers ran to a pile of dry grass and quickly surrounded (包围) me with a thick wall of fire and smoke until the bees were driven away. They stayed with me, taking stings out of my body for the next three hours until a doctor came and gave me further treatment.
1. What can we infer (推断) from the second paragraph?
A. The temperature went down at that time.
B. The air suddenly became thick because of the dust.
C. The writer knew Indian tree-bees were the most dangerous.
D. The writer felt scared when he was surrounded by tree-bees.
2.In which order did the following things happen to the writer?
a. He tried to drive away the bees but failed.
b. He was surrounded with a thick wall of fire and smoke.
c. He was tired out and lost consciousness later.
d. He watched a film named “The Angry Swarm”.
e. He was attacked by tree-bees while taking a walk.
A. e-a-c-b-d B. d-e-a-c-b C. e-b-a-d-c D. d-e-a-b-c
3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Tree-bees often attack people in large numbers.
B. Tree-bees can be driven away by fire and smoke.
C. Tree-bees do not give up easily when they attack people.
D. Tree-bees will not attack people unless they are disturbed.
Do you know that November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? You can find the NaNoWriMo
Young Writer’s programme at ywp.nanowrimo.org. It is a challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in one month.
The programmebagan in 1999 in San Francisco with only 21 members. Last year, more than 400,000 took up the challenge. The writers can choose what they want to write about. On November 1st, writers visit the website and start to update (更新) their word count. They can communicate with other writers there as well. All the writers have to stop writing on November 30th.
Itis okay if you have never written a book before. The website provides lesson plans and workbooks for beginners. You can use them to improve writing skills in your novel. Then you can start planning what your novel will be about.
Are there any books published from the NaNoWriMoprogramme? Here are a few:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Water for Elephants by SaraGruen
Entrychats by Cecile Duquenne
Are there any young readers who want to join in this programme? If you want, we hope you can write the best novel. If you have not heard of NaNoWriMo, but you have a good story in mind, join us!
1.What can you do in the writing month if you join in the programme?
① We can visit ywp.nanowrimo.org.
②We can update the word count.
③ We can publish the new novel.
④ We can choose what to write about.
A. ①②④ B. ①②③ C. ①③④ D. ②③④
2. According to the passage, Entrychats by Cecile Duquenne _______________.
A. will be published
B. has already come out
C. is the most attractive
D. gets the most attention
3. This passage is most probably written to _____________.
A. encourage more young people to join in the programme
B. invite more famous writers to visit ywp.nanowrimo.org.
C. publish more wonderful books written by young writers
D. encourage more people to communicate with other writers
阅读理解
How time flies! The 9th graders are going to graduate soon. We invite them to write about their school memories.
Let’s share some of them. —Ms. Rosen
Name:Brita Favourite memory: Moving to this school last year and meeting new friends. Unpleasant memory: Being the “new girl”. Favourite teacher: Ms. Rosen. I like her interesting classes. Advice: School can be fun if you do your best. |
Name:Jay Favourite memory: School trips. Singing competitions. Unpleasant memory: Project homework. Favourite teacher: Ms. Williams. She treats every student equally. Advice: Work hard and fun will come. |
Name:Rocky Favourite memory: Meeting new friends. The weekends. Unpleasant memory: Tests. Favourite teacher: Mr. Taylor. He helps me with my lessons. Advice: Once you fall behind, keep trying till you catch up. |
Name:Angel Favourite memory: Being with new people. Fun classes. Unpleasant memory: The loss of a new watch. Favourite teacher: Ms. Rosen. She helped me through hard times. Advice: Hard work brings success. |
1.Who dislikes tests among the four students?
A. Brita B. Jay C. Rocky D. Angel
2.How many of the four students mentioned Ms. Rosen?
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
3. What can we learn from the given information above?
A. The four students will be in Grade 9 next term.
B. The four students do not enjoy school very much.
C. The four students all think it’s important to work hard.
D. Their favourite memories are all about trips.
完形填空 先通读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后在每小题所给的四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was always busy and had too many things to do. Whenever my daughter caused me to change my plans, I thought to myself, “We don’t have time for this.” So the two words I always said to her were: ___ ___.
The other day, the two of us rode to a __ ___ near our home. After shopping I bought her an ice cream, and she sat down at a table happily admiring the ice cream in her hand. Suddenly a ___ ___ look appeared on her face. “Do I have to eat it up in a hurry, Mum?”
I nearly cried when hearing this—the pains of a hurried life influenced my poor girl so deeply! As she looked at me waiting to know if she could ____ ___ her time. I knew I had to make a ___ ___. I thought of the times when I rushed (催促) my child through life, I began ___ ____what really matters in life….
“You don’t have to hurry. Just enjoy it.” I said gently. Her whole face brightened and her shoulders ___ ____. We sat side by side talking about things that interested us.
When she got to the last bite (一口), she held it out to me, “ I ___ ____ the last bite for you, Mum,” she said ___ ____. As the icy taste put out my thirst, I realized I just got the present of a lifetime. I gave my child a little time… and in return, she gave me her last bite and ____ ___ me that things taste sweeter and love is easier to get when you stop rushing through life.
1.A. Keep quiet B. Take care C. Hurry up D. Work hard
2.A. station B. school C. office D. supermarket
3.A. worried B. tired C. satisfied D. surprised
4.A. waste B. take C. spend D. spare
5.A. mark B. plan C. wish D. choice
6.A. explaining B. forgetting C. discussing D. wondering
7.A. lifted B. relaxed C. turned D. raised
8.A. bought B. carried C. saved D. tasted
9.A. cheerfully B. calmly C. sadly D. wisely
10.A. supported B. promised C. reminded D. thanked
—So you gave her your mobile phone?
—_________. She said she’d return it to me after she had hers fixed.
A. My pleasure B. Not exactly
C. With pleasure D. No problem
