出自:河南师范大学-人力资源管理（专科）-大学英语Ⅰ
Shortly after the war, my brother and I were invited to spend a few days with an uncle who had just returned from abroad. He had rented a cottage in the country, although he rarely spent much time there. We understood the reason for this after our arrival: the cottage had no comfortable furniture in it, many of the windows were broken and the roof leaked, making the whole house damp. On our first evening, we sat around the fire after supper listening to the stories which our uncle had to tell of his many adventures in distant countries. I was so tired after the long train journey that I would have preferred to go to bed; but I could not bear to miss any of my uncle’s exciting tales. He was just in the middle of describing a rather terrifying experience he had once had when there was a loud crash from the bedroom above, the one where my brother and I were going to sleep. “It sounds as if the roof has fallen in!” exclaimed my uncle, with a loud laugh. When we got to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom door, we could see nothing at first because of the thick clouds of dust which filled the room. When the dust began to clear, a strange sight met our eyes. A large part of the ceiling had collapsed, falling right on to the pillow of my bed. I was glad that I had stayed up late to listen to my uncle’s stories, otherwise I should certainly have been seriously injured, perhaps killed. That night we all slept on the floor to the sitting room downstairs, not wishing to risk our lives by sleeping under a roof which might at any moment collapse on our heads. We left for London the very next morning and my uncle gave up his cottage in the country. This was not the kind of adventure he cared for either!
1.The uncle seldom spent much time in the country cottage because ______.
the roof of the cottage was falling
the cottage was in a bad condition
he was used to living abroad
there was no furniture in it
2.The word “crash” (Line 2, Paragraph 3) most probably refers to ______.
a cry of terror
a sudden ring
a sound of storm
a sudden noise
3.When they opened the bedroom door, they could see nothing at first because ______.
it was completely dark inside
dust was blown into their eyes
something strange blinded them
there was too much dust in the air
4.The narrator felt glad that he had stayed up late because ______.
he did not miss the exciting stories
he spent more time with his uncle
he had a lucky escape
he saw a strange sight
5.Which of the following can best describe the narrator’s uncle?
Adventurous and good at storytelling.
Humorous and good at making jokes.
Good-tempered and sensible.
Hospitable and wealthy.
Many people who work in London prefer to live outside of it and to go into their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening. One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own. Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings. One can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward( 回报,奖赏) of one who has shared the secret of Nature. Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional (偶尔的) walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
People who like country things prefer to live outside the city.
People who work in London prefer to live in the country.
Because of certain disadvantages of living outside London, some people who work in London prefer to live inside London.
Because of certain advantages of living outside London, many people who work in London prefer to live outside London.
2.One can use the same money for _____ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.
getting a small flat with a garden
having a small flat with a garden
renting a small flat without a garden
buying a small flat without a garden
3.When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those ____ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
who live in the country
who have spent time working in the garden
who have a garden of their own
who have been digging, planting and watering
4.People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that ____ if they had to live it outside London.
their life was meaningless
their life was invaluable
they didn’tdeserve a happy life
they were not worthy of their happy life
5. The underlined word “rest” in the last paragraph refers to _____.
the rest time
the rest people
the rest of the country
the rest of the parks and of the sea
The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle （步枪） and some Burmans（缅甸人） .
He told us that the elephant was in the rice fields below ,only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me .They had seen the rifle and were all shouting that I was going to shoot the elephant
.It was fun to them ,as it would be to an English crowd ;besides ,they wanted the meat .It made me a little uneasy .I had no intention of shooting the elephant —had I merely sent for the rifle to
defend myself — and it is always uneasy to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill
,looking and feeling a fool ,with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people
knocking and pushing at my heels .Beyond the huts there was a rice field a thousand yards across
,muddy from the first rains. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road .He took not the
slightest notice of the crowd .He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees
to clean them and feeding them into his mouth.
As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It
is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant —it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly
piece of machinery. There, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of “ must ”was already passing off; in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him.
But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. I looked at the sea of the faces above the colorful clothes —faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a magician about to perform a trick. They did not like me. But with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward. And it was at this moment that I first felt the hollowness （空洞） , the uselessness of the white man’ s control in the East. Here was I, standing in front of the unarmed crowd —seemingly the leading actor; but in reality only a puppet （傀儡） . I understood in this moment that when the white man turns ruler of complete power it is his own freedom that he destroys.
1． The people were glad to think the elephant was to be shot mainly because _________.
A． it had damaged their homes and crops
B．it would provide them with meat
C．it would make them feel entertained
D．it was spoiling their rice fields
2． When the writer saw the elephant he felt _______.
A． foolish
B．afraid
C．pitiful
D．confident
3． The writer realized that he had to shoot the elephant because _________.
A． shooting elephants is a serious problem
B．everybody expected it of him
C．he did not wish to disappoint the rulers
D． he had to show how guns are fired
4． What does the writer intend to tells us when he tells the story?
A． Leading actors are sometimes foolish puppets.
B．Government for white people are useless.
C．Power can sometimes turn people imprisoned.
D． Unarmed crowds are in control of everything.