全國(guó)中考英語(yǔ)閱讀沖刺(五)人物事件篇

全國(guó)中考英語(yǔ)閱讀沖刺（五）人物事件篇

SectionV人物事件篇

Passage42

BillClintontookoffice（就職）onJanuary20,1993andbecamethe42ndU.S.

President（總統(tǒng)）.HeisthefirstU.S.presidentwhowasbornafterWorldWar

II.HeisalsooneoftheyoungestofallU.S.presidents.

Clintonwasborninapoorfamily.Threemonthsbeforehewasborn,his

father,WilliamBlats,died.Whenhewassmall,hismotherremarried（再婚）

NorgerClinton,sotheboy'sfamilynamewaschanged.

Inthesummerof1963,ClintonwasaskedtovisitthecityofWashington.

Duringhisvisit,hemetPresidentKennedyintheWhiteHouse.Atthattime,

hewantedtobecomeapresident,andnowheis!

1.Clintonbecamethe42ndU.S.presidentwhenhewas.

A.thirtyB.aboutfortyC.forty-sevenD.37yearsold

2.Clinton,sfatherdied.

A.after1946B.beforeClintonwasbornC.beforeWorldWarIID.when

Clintonwasyoung

3.Whywastheboy'snamechanged?

A.BecausehebecameapresidentB.Becausehisfamilywasverypoor

C.BecausehisfatherwasdeadD.BecausehismotherremarriedNorger

Clinton

4.In1963ClintoncametothecityofWashington___.

A.totakepartinanexamB.forhisholidaysC.foravisitD.tohavea

meetingwithKennedy

5.WhichoneofthefollowingisNotright?

A.EverybodycanvisitthepresidentintheWhiteHouse

B.AlltheU?S?presidentsworkintheWhiteHorse

C.ClintonwantedtobecomeapresidentafterhesawPresidentKennedy

D.TheWhiteHouseisinthecityofWashingtonPassage43

EVERYTHINGhastwosides.OnesideofSARSisalreadyclear.Itisadeadly

disease,whichcausesfear.Therewere2,601cases（病例）recordedonthe

ChinesemainlandonApril24,accordingtogovernmentreport.115peoplehave

diedandnumberskeeprising.

But,thereisanotherside.

SARSisareminder（提醒）ofhowfragilelifecanbe.Suddenly,it'snot

justtheoldpeoplewhoarethinkingaboutdeath.Everyonenowrealizesthere

mightnotalwaysbeatomorrow.

WangXinying,astudentinTaiyuan,ShanxiProvincecameintocontact（接觸）

withasuspected（疑似）SARSpatientinmid-April.Hewastoldtostayathome

foratleasttwoweeks.uWatchingTVaboutmoreandmoreSARSpatientsdying,

Tneverknewthatdeathcouldbesoclose.Lifeisvaluable（珍貴的）andI'm

goingtotreasure（珍惜）everysingleday,“hesaid.

SARSteachespeopletobegrateful,bothfortheirownlivesandforothers.

Doctorsandnurses,forexample,havetospendalltheirtimewithinfected

（被感染的）patients.Asaresult,morethanonefifthofSARScasesinChina

aremedicalworkers.

XuBing,astudentofBeijingNo.5MiddleSchoolwantstobeadoctorin

thefuture.uAlthoughtheycertainlyknowthedangers,doctorsandnurses

keptworkinghardonsavingpeople?slives.I'mdeeplymovedbywhatthey

havedone.Ithinktheyarerealheroes."hesaid.

SARSalsoteachessympathy（同情）.Thepastfewweekshavebeenterriblefor

Chinesepeople.ButtherearefarworsethingsthanSARSinthisworld,such

aswar,earthquakesandrobberies.ThinkoftheIraqis,whohavebeenliving

terriblelivesfor20years.ThinkofhowtheAmericansfelton9.11.

Andfinally,SARSoffersthechancestogrow.Alldifferentkindsofpeople

andthegovernmentsarejoiningtogethertoworkinthisdifficulttime.When

thispasses,Chinaanditspeoplewi11havelearnedgreatlessons.

1.WhatdoesuEveryonenowrealizestheremightnotalwaysbeatomorroww

mean?Itmeanslifeiseasytoandwemustourlife.

2.HowlongwasWangXinyingtoldtostayathome?

Hewastoldtostayathomeforabouta.

3.Whycanmedicalworkersbeeasilyinfected?

Becausetheyhavetobewithinfectedpatientsand.

4.Whatdowelearninthedifficulttime?

Welearnnothingisdifficultifwe.

Passage44

MarcoPolowasborninVenicein1254.Hewasthemostfamouswesternerto

visitAsiaduringthemiddleAges.Hewroteabookabouthistravels.Inhis

bookhewroteal1thethingshesawandheard.Manypeoplereadthebookbut

fewbelievedwhatMarcoPolosaid.Hespokeofstrangepeopleandplacesthat

nobodyknewaboutatthattime.

Asayoungman,MarcoPolodecidedtotraveltogetherwithhisfather.It

tookthemmorethanthreeyearstotraveltoChina.HebecametheChinese

emperorsfriend.HelearnedtheChineselanguagewhenhetraveledaroundand

talkedtomanypeople.Beforehereachedtheageofthirtyhewasmadea

Chineseofficial.

Afternearlyseventeenyearsintheeast,Marcoandhisfatherpreparedto

returnhome.WhentheyfinallyarrivedinVenice,theirfamilyandfriends

weresurprisedtoseethemagain.Theyhadbeenawayforalmost25years.

1.WhatmadeMarcoPolofamousduringthemiddleAges?

A.HistraveltoAmerica.B.Histravelinthewest.C.HistravelinAsia.

D.HisvisittoVenice.

2.WhatdidMarcoPolowriteaboutinhisbook?

A.HowhetraveledtoChinawithhisfather.B.Somethingtoodifficultfor

peopletounderstand.

C.SomestrangepeopleandplacesD.Somethingthathadbeenknowntopeople

formanyyears.

3.MarcoPoloworkedasaChineseofficialin

A.1254B.1284C.1271D.1279

4.WhichofthefollowingistherightorderduringMarco'stravel?a.

traveledwithhisfatherb.wasmadeaChineseofficial

c.wroteabookabouthistraveld.becameChineseemperor*sfriende.

returnedtoVenice

A.c-a-d-b-eB.c-a-b-d-eC.a-b-d-e-cD.a-d-b-e-c

Passage45

Typhoons（臺(tái)風(fēng)）inthenorthernpartoftheworldhavegirls'names.

Sometimestheyhaveverybeautifulnames.Roseisaprettynamebuttherewas

nothingprettyaboutTyphoonRose.ItwastheworsttyphoontohitHongKong

intenyears.

ItbegantoraininthemorningofMonday,August16th,1971.Atten

o'clockinthemorning,TyphoonRosewasstill130milesawaybutalreadythe

windwasblowingpeople'sumbrellaaway.Thewindbecamestrongerand

stronger.Thetyphoonshelters（避風(fēng)港）weresoonfullofboats.Shipsthat

weretoobigtogoinsidethesheltersputdownmoreanchors（［黃）.Somevery

bigshopswentouttosea.Itissaferforabigshoptobeatseaina

typhoonbecauseitcannotbeblownontorocks.KaiTakAirportclosed.No

planeswereabletotakeofforland.At9:00intheevening,allthelights

wentout.

Noonesleptwellthatnight.Itisdifficulttosleepinsuchbadweather.

InTyphoonRose,morethanonehundredpeopledied.229peoplewerehurtand

66ofthesehadtogotohospital.1500losttheirhomes.ThepeopleofHong

KongwillnotquicklyforgetTyphoonRose!

1.What?strueaccordingtothepassage?

A.Typhoonsallovertheworldhavegirls'names.

B.Typhoonswithprettynamesareusuallybeautiful.

C.TyphoonRoseonlyhitHongKong.

D.Fortenyears,peopleinHongKonghaven'tseenaworsetyphoonthan

TyphoonRose.

2.What,sthepossibleresultofTyphoonRose?

A.Lotsofbigshopswereblownontorocks.

B.Morethantwohundredpeoplelosttheirlivesandmanymorelosttheir

homes.

C.Peopledidn,tsleepwellinsuchbadweather.

D.Peopleturnedoffthe1ightsat9:00intheevening.

3.ThepeopleofHongKongwillnotquicklyforgetTyphoonRosebecause

A.itcausedtheterriblelossesB.theydidn'tsleepwellthatnight

C.TyphoonRosewasn'tasprettyasitsname

D.theycouldn,tfindtheirshipsafterthetyphoon

4.Somebigshopsdidn'tgoinsidethesheltersbecause.

A.theyhadmoreanchorsB.itissaferoutside

C.theywereoutatseaandtheyweren,tfastenoughtoreachtheshelters

whenTyphoonRosecame

D.itwastooexpensiveforbigshopstogoinsidetheshelters

5.Thispassageismainlyabout.

A.thenamesoftyphoonsB.typhoonsinHongKingC.TyphoonRoseD.the

typhoons

Passage46

TherewasonceamancalledMr.Flowers,andflowerswerehisonlyjoyin

life.Hespentallhisfreetimeinoneofhisfourglass-housesandgrew

flowersofeverycolor,withlonganddifficultnames,forcompetitions（比賽）.

Hetriedtogrowaroseofanewcolortowinthesilvercup（銀杯）forthe

RoseoftheYear.

Mr.Flowers'glass-houseswereveryneartoamiddleschool.Boysofaround

thirteenofagewereoftentempted（弓I誘）tothrowastoneortwoatoneofMr.

Flowers,glass-houses.SoMr.Flowersdidhisbesttobeinornearhis

glass-housesatthebeginningandendoftheschoolday.

Butitwasnotalwayspossibletobeonwatchatthosetimes.Mr.Flowers

hadtriedinmanywaystoprotecthisglass,butnothingthathehaddonehad

beenuseful.Hehadbeentoschooltoreporttotheheadmaster;butthishad

notdoneanygood.Hehadtriedtodriveawaytheboysthatthrewstonesinto

hisgarden;buttheboyscouldrunfasterthanhecould,andtheylaughedat

himfromfaraway.Hehadevenpickedupallthestonesthathecouldfind

aroundhisgarden,sothattheboyswouldhavenothingtothrow;buttheysoon

foundothers.

AtlastMr.Flowershadagoodidea.Heputupalargenotice（布告）madeof

good,strongwood,somemetersawayfromtheglass-houses.Onithehad

writtenthewords:DONOTTHROWSTONESATTHISNOTICE.Afterthis,Mr.Flowers

hadnofurthertrouble;theboysweremuchmoretemptedtothrowstonesatthe

noticethanattheglass-houses.

1.ItwasMr.Flowers'hopeto.

A.buildglass-housesinhisfreetimeB.growtheRoseoftheYearina

silvercup

C.winasilvercupforgrowingaroseofanewcolor

D.growarosewiththelongestname

2.Boyswereoftentemptedto.

A.throwstonesatMr.Flowers?glass-houseB.throwstonesatMr.Flowers

fromtheirschool

C.beinornearbyMr.Flowers*glass-housesD.playwithMr.Flowersnear

hisglass-houses

3.Mr.Flowersstayedinornearbyhisglass-houses.

A.attimeswhenschool-boyswerewalkingnearthem

B.alltheschooldaywhentherewerenoboysabout

C.wherehecouldnotbeseenbytheboyspassing

D.inhisfreetimeatthebeginningandendoftheschoolday

4.Mr.Flowershadtriedtotoprotecthisglass.

A.beonwatchinhisfreetimeB.asktheheadmasterforhelp

C.pickupallthestonesaroundhisgardenD.doalltheabove

5.Mr.Flowers,goodideawasto.

A.writesomewordsontheglassB.putupalargenoticetocoverhisglass-

houses

C.givetheboyssomethingelsetothrowstonesatD.sendforpolicemen

Passage47

Peopleoftensay,wChildrencan'tdomathproblem,it'sbecauseparents

can'tdotheirchildren'shomework."Here'sanexampletoshowwhatImean.

Theotherdaymydaughterbroughthomehermathhomework."Ihavetosubtract

（減）179from202,”shesaid.

"It'squiteeasy,"Isaid."Youputthe202overthe179.”

"Butweneeda10here.Whereisthe10?”

"Idon'tknowwherethe10is.Let'sjustsubtract179from202.Nine

fromtwoisthree.Youcarryoneandaddittoseven.Eightfromzeroistwo.

Theansweris23.”

“Wecan,tdoitthatway.Wehavetousethe10.”

uWell,I'mgoingtocallyourteachertoseehowshesubtracts179from

202.v

Overthetelephone,IsaidthatIwashavingabitoftroublewiththe

homeworkshehadgiventomydaughter.Theteachersaid,“Intheright-hand

column（欄）wehaveunitsofone.Thetwointhatcolumncountsfortwoones.

Thezerointhecentercountsforzerotens.Thetwointheleft-handcolumn

countsforhundreds.Areyouclear?”But1didn,tthinkIwasclear.

Ihungupandfoundmywaytothemedicinebox.Myheadwasnowhurting.I

startedputtingpillsofmedicineintomymouth."Howmanydidyoutake?”my

wifeasked."ItookoneandthenItookanother,,!knowoneandonewastwo,

butdon'taskmewhatitisnow."1.Thedaughterwanted______theotherday.

A.togiveherfatheralessonB.toshowhowdifficultmathwas

C.herfathertophoneherteacherD.herfathertohelpherwithher

homework

2.Whichofthefollowingsentencesisnottrue?

A.Thefatherhadadifferentwaytodothemathproblem.

B.Thefathercouldn,tdohisdaughter?shomework.

C.Thedaughtercouldn,tunderstandherfatherysway.

D.Thedaughterhadsometroubledoingthemathproblem.

3.Fromwhattheteachersaid,weknowthattheword“units“means

here.

A.wholenumberslessthan10B.wholethings

C.groupsoflessonsD.thesmallestnumbers

4.Whattheteachersaidmadethefather.

A.angryB.worriedC.sadD.tired

5.Canyouguesswhatwouldhappennextinthestory?

A.Thefatherwouldgotoschoolandbegintolearnmath.

B.Thefatherwouldbecomeveryillandhavetotakemoremedicine.

C.Thefatherwouldneverdohisdaughter'smathproblemsagain.

D.Thefatherwouldgototheschoolandfightwiththeteacher.

Passage48

Almosteveryonelikesdogs,andalmosteveryonelikestoreadaboutdogs.I

haveafriend.HehasabigpolicedogwiththenameJack.Policedogsare

veryclever.EverySundayafternoonmyfriendtakesJackforalongwalkin

thepark.Jacklikestheselongwalksverymuch.

OneSundayafternoonayoungmancametovisitmyfriend.Hestayedalong

time.Hetalkedandtalked.SoonitwastimeformyfriendtotakeJackfora

walk.Butthevisitorstillstayed.Jackbecamemuchworried.Hewalkedaround

theroomseveraltimesandthensatdowninfrontofthevisitorandlookedat

him.Butthevisitorpaidnoattention（注意）toJack.Hewentontalking.At

lastJackgotangry.Hewentoutoftheroomandcamebackafewminuteslater.

Hesatdownagaininfrontofthevisitor,butthistimehetookthe

visitor'scapinhismouth.

1.Theyoungvisitorstayedalongtimeinmyfriend'shouse,didn,the?

A.Yes,hewas.B.Yes,hedid.C.No,hewasn?t.D.No,hedidn't.

2.Jackbecameworriedbecause_______.

A.hewantedtogooutforawalkB.hewantedtoplaywithhim

C.hedidn,tknowtheyoungmanD.hewantedtoeatsomething

3.Jacksatdowninfrontofthevisitorbecausehewanted.

A.thevisitortotalkwithhimB.tojointhetalk

C.toshowthevisitorhowcleverhewasD.thevisitortoleavethehouse

soon

4.Thevisitorwentontalkingand.

A.hepaidnoattentiontohiscapB.hedidn,tlikeJack

C.hedidn,tknowthathiscapwastakenawaybyJackD.hepaidno

attentiontoJack

5.AtlastJacktookinhismouth.

A.foodB.nothingC.thevisitor,scapD.thevisitor'sbag

Passage49

WatsonwonhismostimportantgameandbecameSouthernChessMaster（大師）

in1977.Hewasgiventhesilvercup.

“Itisn'trightlymine,“hesaid,whenhewasholdingthecup.”“Itwas

wontwoyearsagowhenIwasonholidayin,,“

“Afamilywasstayingatmyhotelatthattime.Mrs.Prig,themother,was

toldthatIplayedchess;andshebeggedmetogiveheryoungsonagame.

‘He'sonlyten.'shesaid,‘I'vebeentoldthatheplaysquite

well.'"Well,asyoucanguess,Iwasn'ttoohappy.Aplayerlikesthe

opponent（對(duì)手）toplayaswellashedoes.ButitwasholidaytimeandI

agreedtoplay.Weplacedtheboard（棋盤）inthegarden.Thegamebegan.I

hopeditwouldbequick----andsoitwas.

IsoonknewthatDavidPrigwasnolearner.Aftertenminuteshissister

cameoutsideandbegantoplaytennisagainstawall.Theboyseemedtolose

interestinourgame.Hemovedapiece（棋子）withoutcare.Igavemy

attentiontotheboard.

“Callmewhenyouareready,Mr.Watson,hesaid.

WhenIwasready?Ilookedup.Hehadgoneofftoplaywithhissister.I

studiedtheboard,andfoundIwasdrivenintocorner.Soitwentonwith

David:aquickmove,thentennis,backtotheboard,thenbacktohissister.

Mydifficultconditionbecameimpossibletochange.Iwasbeaten.Oh,so

easily,byaten-year-oldchessplayer.Hewasthewinner----intwenty-eight

minutes.

“DavidPrig,anametoremember.Ihadachancetousehisgametoday,and

itwonthiscupforme.Tohim,ofcourse,itisonlyoneofahundred,or

perhapsathousand,winninggames.”

1.WhenMr.Watsonsaid,“Itisn'trightlymine.Itwaswon””,hemeant

twoyearsbefore.

A.hehadplayedchesswithalittleboyfortwenty-eightminutes

B.hehadhadachancetotakepartinanimportantgame

C.hehadlearnedhowtoplaychessfromachild

D.hehadlearnedagoodgamefromachild

2.Beforethegame,Mr.Watsonwasquitesurethat.

A.theboyplayedaswellashedidB.hewouldbeSouthernChessMastertwo

yearslater

C.hecouldwinthegameeasilyD.theboywouldwinthegamequickly

3.WhydidDavidplaytenniswhilehewasplayingchesswithWatson?Because

he.

A.hadnointerestinplayingchesswithadults（成年人）B.wasnotgoodat

playingchess

C.likedplayingtennismuchbetterthanplayingchess

D.playedchessmuchbetterthanWatson

4.Fromthestory,weknowthat.

A.DavidPrigwastherealwinnerB.Mr.Watsonwastherealwinner

C.neitherofthemwastherealwinnerD.bothofthemweretherealwinners

5.WhichofthefollowingisNOTtrue?

A.Sometimesyoungchildrencanbeatadultsinplayingchess.

B.Watsonthoughthecouldwinthegamequickly,andsohedid.

C.WatsonlearnedsomethingfromDavidandwonthesilvercup.

D.Watsonwouldneverforgetthenameoftheboy.

Passage50

閱讀下面短文，把A—E五個(gè)句子填入文中空缺處，使短文內(nèi)容完整正確。

Inthe13thcentury,thefamousItaliantraveler,MarcoPolo,traveleda

longwaytoChina.DuringhisstayinChina,hesawmanywonderfulthings.One

ofthethingshediscoveredwasthattheChineseusedpapermoney.Inwestern

countries,peopledidnotusepapermoneyuntilthe15thcentury.(1)

AChinesemancalledCaiLuninventedpaperalmost2,000yearsago.Hemade

itfromwood.(2)____Hethenputthesepiecesofpapertogetherandmadethem

intoabook.

(3)Weusealotofpapereveryday.Ifwekeeponwastingsomuchpaper,

therewillnotbeanytreesleftontheearth.Iftherearenotrees,there

willbenopaper.Everyday,peoplethrowawayabout2,800tonsofpaper.It

takes17treestomakeonetonofpaper.Thismeansthatwearecuttingnearly

48,000treeseveryday.

SinceittakesmorethanlOyearsforatreetogrow,wemuststartusing

lesspapernow.Ifwedon，t,wewillnothaveenoughtimetogrowmoretrees

totaketheplaceofthoseweuseforpaper.

(4)Wecanusebothsidesofeverypieceofpaper,especiallywhenwe

aremakingnotes.Wecanchoosedrinksinbottlesinsteadofthoseinpaper

packets.Wecanalsousecottonhandkerchiefs(手帕)andnotpaperones.Whenwe

goshopping,wecanusefewerpaperbags.Iftheshopassistantdoesgiveusa

paperbag,wecansaveitandreuseitlater.

(5)Ifweallthinkcarefully,wecanhelpprotecttrees.Butweshould

doitnow,beforeitistoolate.

A.Nowpaperstillcomesfromtrees.B.Everyonecanhelptosavepaper.

C.However,peopleinChinabegantousepapermoneyinthe7thcentury.

D.Hetookthewoodfromtreesandmadeitintopaper.

E.Sohowcanwesavepaper?

Passage51

OnNovember18th,1908,threemenwentupinaballoon,Theystartedearly

inLondon.TheheadmanwasAugusteGaudron,andtheothertwomenwereTannar

andMaitland.Theyhadabigballoon,andtheywerereadyforalongway.

Soontheyheardtheseabelowthem.Theywerecarryingtheusualrope,and

itwashangingdownfromthebasketoftheballoon.Attheendoftherope

theyhadtiedametalbox.Thiscouldholdwater.Oritcouldbeempty.So

theywereabletochangeitsweight.Theywerealsocarryingsomebagsofsand.

Afterthesunrose,theballoonwenthigher.Itwentupto3,000meters,and

theairwasverycold.Thewaterintheballoonbecameice.Snowfellpastthe

men,sbasket,andtheycouldseemoresnowontheground.Therewasalsosome

snowontheballoon,andthatmadeitveryheavy.Itbegantogodowntowards

theground.Thementriedtothrowoutsomemoresand;butitwashard.They

triedtobreaktheicysandwiththeirknives,butitwasnoteasy.Thework

wasslowandtheywerestillfalling;sotheyhadtodropsomewholebagsof

sand.Oneofthemfellonanicylakebelowandmadeablackholeintheice.

Atlasttheypulledtheboxintothebasket.Itwasstillsnowing;sothey

climbedtogetawayfromthesnow.Theyroseto5,100meters!Everything

becameicy.Theyweresocoldthattheydecidedtoland.Theycamedownin

Polandheavilybutsafely.Theyhadtraveled1,797kilometersfromLondon!

1.Threemenflewinaballoon.

A.morethanacenturyagoB.tovisitPolandC.fornearly1,800kilometers

D.toanothercity

2.Themetalboxwasusedfor______.

A.changingweightB.carryingropesofthebasket

C.keepingdrinkingwaterD.carryingthebagsofsand

3.Whentheballoonwentuphigher,

A.theysawthesungodownB.thetemperatureoftheballoonbegantofall

C.theycouldseeablackholeonthegroundD.theymadeaholeinthe

basketwiththeirknives

4.Theballoonlanded.

A.inaforeigncountryB.onalakeC.inLondonD.onthesea

5.Thethreemenhadtolandbecause.

A.theywereveryhungryB.theyhadnotenoughsand

C.theypulledtheboxintothebasketD.theyfelttoocold

Passage52

InasmallvillageinEnglandabout150yearsago,amailcoach（郵車）was

standingonthestreet.Aroundthecoachmanypeopleweretalkingtoone

anotheraboutit.

Mailcoachdidnotcometothatvillagesoofteninthosedays.Peoplehad

topayalotofmoneytogetaletter.Thepersonwhosenttheletterdidnot

havetopay.Thepersonwhogottheletterhadtopaythepostage（郵資）.

“Here'saletterforMissAliceBrown,“saidthemailman.Everyoneturned

toagirlofabouteighteenwhowasstandingbythecoach.’TmAlice

Brown,“shesaidinalowvoice.Themailmangavehertheletter.

Alicelookedattheenvelopeforaminute,andthenhandeditbacktothe

mailman.

'TmsorryIcan'ttakeit,“shesaid."Idon'thaveenoughmoneyto

paythepostage.”

Thepeoplestandingaroundwereverysorryforthegirl.Theyweresilent

forawhile.Thenagentlemancameuptothemailmanandpaidthepostagefor

Alice'sletter.

Whenthegentlemangavehertheletter,shesaidwithasmile,“Oh,thank

youverymuch,sir.ThisletterisfromtheyoungmanI'mgoingtomarry.His

nameisTom.HewenttoLondontolookforwork.Hehastogetenoughmoney

forourmarriage（結(jié)婚）.I'vewaitedalongtimeforthisletter,butnow

don,tneedit.Idon'thavetoopentheenvelopebecausethereisnothing

inside.”“Really?”thegentlemansaidinsurprise."Howdoyouknow

that?”“Hetoldmethathewouldputsomesignsontheenvelope.Look,sir,

thiscrossinthecornermeansthatheiswell,andthiscirclemeanshehas

foundwork.That?sverygoodnews.”

ThegentlemanwasSirRowlandHill.HedidnotforgetAliceandherletter,

“Thepostagetobepaidbythereceiverhastobechanged,hesaidto

himself.Hethoughtandthoughtformanyyears.Atlasthehadagoodplan.

“Thepostagehastobemuchlower,“hesaid."Whataboutapenny（便士）

foraletter?Andthepersonwhosendstheletterpaysthepostage.Hehasto

buyastampandputitontheenvelope.”

“Agoodidea!”peoplesaidwhentheyheardofhisplan.

TheGovernmentdecidedtoadopt（采納）theplan.Thefirstpostagestampwas

putoutin1840.Itwascalledthe“PennyBlack”.Ithadapictureofthe

Queenonit.

1.Thefirstpostagestampwasmade.

A.inEnglandB.inAmericaC.byAliceD.in1910

2.Thegirlhandedtheletterbacktothemailmanbecause.

A.shedidnotknowwhoseletteritwas

B.theletterhadalreadytoldherwhatshewantedtoknow

C.shecouldnotpaythepostage

D.thegentlemanpromisedtopaythepostageforher

3.Whenthegirlreturnedthelettertothemailman.

A.thepeoplearoundherfeltsorryforherB.thepeoplethoughtthatthe

girlwastoopoor

C.noneofthemwantedtopaythepostageforherD.thepeoplewasangrywith

thegirl

4.AliceknewhowTomwasgettingfromthesignsontheenvelopebecause

A.TomhadtoldherwhatthesignsmeantbeforeleavingforLondon

B.Alicewascleverandcouldguessthemeaningofthesigns

C.Alicehadputthesignsontheenvelopeherself

D.TomhadputthesignsasAlicehadtol