题干

   For years considered as a foxy politician, Thomas Cromwell has been greatly rehabilitated (恢复……的名誉) by Hilary Mantel’s prize-winning novels, Wolf Hall (2009) and Bring Up the Bodies (2012). It’s true that he planned Anne Boleyn’s fall, and made a large fortune in a dishonest way, but he was also a good husband and father, charming and modest, a self-made man.

Certainly, he is one of the outstanding figures from Henry VIII’s court. Extremely hard-working, he was a productive reporter. It was not unusual for him to start work as early as 5 am and finish well after midnight.

Yet in researching the biography of Cromwell, I have discovered frustrating gaps in sources, particularly in relation to his early life.

The man who would one day become the most powerful in England was raised from such humble (卑微的) origins that nobody knows when or where he was born. As the son of a blacksmith, he suffered a miserable childhood.

I had the portrait (肖像), which now hangs in the Frick Collection in New York, of a thoughtful but rather bad-tempered official in mind. It seems to describe a cruel man of business, which was what I thought before I read Wolf Hall. But Mantel’s portrait of a rude but intelligent man who was as loyal to his family and friends as he was cruel to his enemies is really convincing.

His last letter to Henry VIII, written from the Tower in June 1540, is desperately moving. “Most gracious Prince,” he wrote with his trembling hand, “I cry for mercy, mercy, mercy !” Henry was said to have read the letter three times. But it was not enough to save Cromwell from the axe.

Within weeks of Cromwell’s death, his royal master was regretting the loss of “the most faithful servant”. But Henry’s daughter Mary destroyed all of that. Debate has taken place ever since — among historians, novelists and film-makers alike — as to who was the real Cromwell.

【小题1】Why are there few sources of Cromwell’s early life according to the passage?
A.He was a mysterious man.B.He wanted to be a dark horse.
C.He was a man of humble birth.D.He was misunderstood by the public.
【小题2】Before reading Wolf Hall, the author ________.
A.had only a limited understanding of Cromwell
B.had his doubts about Mantel’s portrait of Cromwell
C.thought highly of the portrait hanging in the Frick Collection
D.considered Cromwell a popular guy among his family and friends
【小题3】It can be concluded that Henry VIII ________.
A.felt great sympathy for Cromwell
B.blamed Mary for Cromwell’s death
C.seemed a bit hesitant about killing Cromwell
D.was the main reason for the debate about Cromwell
【小题4】What’s the best title for the passage?
A.Why Cromwell got successful in his careerB.How people debate on Cromwell
C.What the book Wolf Hall is aboutD.What sort of man Cromwell really was
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同类题1

   Blind people can read. They do so by running their fingers along a line of raised points or dots on paper. Of course, they first have to learn the code(代码). Here are some examples of it. One dot stands for the letter “A”. Two dots side by side mean “C”. Four dots arranged to look like a box(::) stand for the letter “G”. By placing the dots in special patterns, all the letters of the alphabet can be formed.

This code was made up by a Frenchman called Louis Braille. Though he could see at birth, he became sightless when he was only three. Braille was cutting leather in his father’s shop. His knife slipped and cut his eye. Infection(感染)spread to both eyes, and he became blind.

At 10, he was placed in a home for the blind. But young Braille had great talent. He became a skilled musician and soon got a job as a church organist(风琴弹奏者)in Paris.

Because he had talent and was quick, he became a teacher at a school for the blind. While there, he heard that a captain had sent messages to his soldiers that they could read at night without light. His messages were in the simple form of raised dots and dashes. This was the clue Braille needed. At the age of 15, he worked out his own six-dot code. Each group of dots is called a cell. The cells are three dots high and two dots wide. For the rest of his life, Braille taught his young flock to read both written and musical works using his code.

For the last 17 years of his life, Braille was ill with tuberculosis. He died at the age of 43.

【小题1】What is the text mainly about?
A.Different reading methods.B.Blind people around the world.
C.How blind people communicate.D.Louis Braille and his six-dot code.
【小题2】Louis Braille developed an alphabet for blind people after he __________.
A.worked as an organistB.became blind as a young child
C.became a skilled musician in a churchD.was inspired by a captain’s messages
【小题3】The underlined word “flock” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to “____________”.
A.soldiersB.blind students
C.famous teachersD.skilled musicians
【小题4】The text is developed ______________.
A.in time orderB.in space order
C.by listing examplesD.by making comparisons

同类题2

   Clara Barton,founder of the American Red Cross , gained worldwide honour for her devotion to easing human suffering and earned the nickname“Angel of the Battlefield”.

Barton was born into a freethinking family in 1821. Her elder brothers and sisters happily educated her in math and reading, so when she entered school at three years old, she could read and spell three-syllable words. 【小题1】

Concerned about Barton's difficulty in making friends, her parents sent her to a boarding school,hoping it would make her more comfortable with her peers. 【小题2】 Barton lost her appetite(食欲)and cried constantly. After only one term, she had to be brought home. Then, Barton stayed out of school to nurse her brother through a serious injury and also volunteered to care for poor families during a smallpox (天花)outbreak.

In 1861, the Civil War broke out. The sight of wounded soldiers touched Barton deeply. She began to collect and give away food , bandages, medicines, and other supplies to the Union Army.

 【小题3】 There, with little concern for her own safety, she cooked meals, assisted surgeons, and comforted wounded soldiers.

Eventually, because of working too hard , Barton broke down finally. 【小题4】 It was there that she learned of an organization based in Switzerland called the International Committee of the Red Cross , whose work mirrored her own.

Shortly after Barton arrived back home in 1873,her sister died. 【小题5】 When recuperating(康复)at a health facility in New York, she began planning for the establishment of an American wing of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Although at first the government opposed it, her efforts finally paid off. The American Red Cross was officially organized on May 21, 1881. Her influence lives on today in the work of the organization she founded.

A.Barton fell into a deep depression.
B.Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.
C.Many people felt sorry  for the loss of her sister and her own health.
D.When she recovered, her doctors suggested a long, restful trip to Europe.
E.Barton spent the  following several months learning basics of the Swiss Red Cross.
F.She easily kept up with the older children academically but did not fit in socially.
G.Barton risked her life to transport plenty of supplies to the front lines.

同类题3

About 70 scientists were working on a very busy project. All of them felt really desperate due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting their job.
One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him, “Sir, I’ve promised to take my children to the exhibition going on in our township so I want to leave at 5:30 p. m.” His boss replied, “OK. You’re permitted to leave the office early today.”
The scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual, he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch only when he felt he was close to completion. The time was 8:30 p. m. suddenly he remembered his promise to the children. He looked for his boss but he was not there. Having told him in the morning himself, he closed everything and left for home. Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. The children were not there. His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines. The situation was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him, “Would you like to have coffee or shall I straight away serve dinner if you are hungry?” The man replied, “If you would like to have coffee, I too will have but what about the children?” His wife replied, “You don’t know? Your boss came here at 5:15 p. m. and has taken them to the exhibition.”
What had really happened was the boss who gave him permission was observing him working seriously at 5:00 p. m. He thought to himself: this person will not leave the work, but he’s promised to take his children to the exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them there. The boss does not have to do it every time. But once it’s done, loyalty is established.
That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss even though the stress was extraordinarily huge. By the way, can you boldly guess who the boss was? He was none other than the mastermind behind India’s successful nuclear weapons program, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India.
【小题1】The scientist asked for an early leave because ________.
A.he felt increasingly desperate about his work
B.he’d promised to take his kids to a show
C.the task at hand was close to completion
D.he meant to accompany his wife at dinner
【小题2】The underlined sentence implies that the scientist thought his wife was ________.
A.ready to serve dinner for himB.dissatisfied with his coming home late
C.grateful to his kind- hearted bossD.delighted to see him back home
【小题3】The boss took children to the exhibition ________.
A.when it was too late for the scientist to do so
B.when the man’s wife asked him to do so
C.because the scientist was absorbed in his work
D.because he also wanted to see what was on show
【小题4】All the scientists stayed loyal to their boss ________.
A.because he had power over them
B.to learn how to live under pressure
C.out of gratefulness for his thoughtfulness
D.every time he took the children to the show

同类题4

   When John Gurdon was 15, he ranked last out of the 250 boys in his grade at biology. He also came in last for every other science subject. His teacher wrote in a _____ , "I believe he has ideas about becoming a _____; form his present performance this is quite foolish. "

Luckily the teacher's words didn't _____ Gurdon's love for science. He kept working hard. He went to labs earlier and left _____ than anyone else. Finally he realized his dream.

On Oct. 8, 2012, 64 years later, the British professor _____ the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka had contributed to the research and therefore _____ the award.

Gurdon got the honor _____ his research into cells and cloning. When he was studying at Oxford, he did some _____ on cells. He took a cell from an adult frog, moved its genes _____ , and put them into an egg cell. The egg cell then ______ into a clone of the adult frog. His research ______ for the first time that every cell in the body contains the same genes.

At that time, many people couldn't ______ Gurdon's idea. But later it helped to ______ Dolly the sheep in 1996, the first cloned mammal in history. It also led to important findings in the ______ use of cells. For example, cells from someone's skin can ______ into any type of tissue in the body. This is good news for those ____ who have diseased or damaged tissue.

Gurdon always remembers the ______ he had when he was 15. He even puts the report on his desk as a daily ______ to himself.

"When you have problems, like an experiment which doesn't work, it's ______ to remind yourself that perhaps you are not so good at your job and the teacher may be ______ ," he said.

However, the facts suggest Gurdon is pretty good indeed.

【小题1】
A.reportB.letterC.passageD.program
【小题2】
A.musicianB.scientistC.managerD.millionaire
【小题3】
A.stopB.condemnC.inspireD.reunite
【小题4】
A.soonerB.laterC.more hurriedlyD.more happily
【小题5】
A.wonB.foundedC.dreamed ofD.applied for
【小题6】
A.receivedB.refusedC.collectedD.shared
【小题7】
A.instead ofB.in spite ofC.because ofD.in place of
【小题8】
A.readingB.writingC.operationD.research
【小题9】
A.suddenlyB.secretlyC.carefullyD.casually
【小题10】
A.cutB.grewC.changedD.formed
【小题11】
A.predictedB.studiedC.provedD.presented
【小题12】
A.acceptB.admitC.avoidD.ignore
【小题13】
A.saveB.discoverC.feedD.create
【小题14】
A.commercialB.medicalC.physicalD.illegal
【小题15】
A.turnB.disappearC.breakD.send
【小题16】
A.researchersB.scientistsC.patientsD.doctors
【小题17】
A.friendB.teacherC.classmateD.neighbor
【小题18】
A.regulationB.routineC.reminderD.reward
【小题19】
A.potentialB.complicatedC.roughD.nice
【小题20】
A.rightB.wrongC.wiseD.silly