Passage 1
Although Beethoven could sit down and make up music easily, his really GREat compositions did not come easily at all. They cost him a great deal of hard work. We know now often he rewrote and corrected his work because his notebooks are still kept in museums and libraries. He always found it hard to satisfy himself.
When he was 28, the worst difficulty of all came to him. He began to notice a strange humming in his ears. At first he paid little attention; but it GREw worse, and at last he consulted doctors. They gave him the worst news any musician can hear: he was gradually going deaf. Beethoven was in despair; he was sure that he was going to die.
He went away to the country, to a place called Heiligenstadt, and from there he wrote a long farewell letter to his brothers. In this he told them how depressed and lonely his deafness had made him. "It was impossible for me to ask men to speak louder or shout, for I am deaf," he wrote. "How could I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense (hearing) which should have been more perfect in me than in others...? I must live like an exile." He longed to die, and said to death, "Come when you will, I shall meet you bravely."
In fact, Beethoven did something braver than dying. He gathered his courage and went on writing music, though he could hear what he wrote only more and more faintly. He wrote his best music, the music we remember him for, after he became deaf. The music he wrote was very different from any that had been composed before. Instead of the elegant and stately music that earlier musicians had written for their wealthy listeners, Beethoven wrote stormy, exciting, revolutionary music, which reminds us of his troubled and courageous life. He GREw to admire courage more than anything, and he called one of his symphonies the Eroica or Heroic Symphony, to celebrate the memory of a great man. Describing the dramatic opening notes of his famous Fifth Symphony, he said, "Thus fate knocks on the door."
In time Beethoven went completely deaf, so deaf that he could not hear even the stormiest parts of his exciting music. But in those years he wrote more gloriously than ever. He could "hear" his music with his mind, if not with his ears. His friends had to write down what they wanted to say to him. He was lonely and often unhappy, but in spite of this, he often wrote joyful music. In his last symphony, the Ninth, a choir sings a wonderful Hymn of Joy. Because of his courage and determination to overcome his terrible disaster, his music has given joy and inspiration to millions of people.
1. In the first paragraph we are told that Beethoven found that writing GREat music ______ .
A. was easy B. was difficult
C. was straightforward D. easily satisfied him
2. Beethoven knew that he was going deaf ______ .
A. when he could not hear himself humming a tune
B. when he heard a humming noise
C. when the humming noise GREw louder
D. when the doctor told him
3. After he wrote a long farewell letter to his brothers, Beethoven ______ .
A. died bravely B. wrote more faintly
C. courageously continued to write music
D. regained his hearing
4. Which of these words best describes Beethoven's music when his hearing began to fail?
A. stately B. turbulent
C. elegant D. loud
5. Which of the following titles best sums up the whole passage?
A. The story of Beethoven's life
B. Beethoven becomes deaf
C. The music of Beethoven
D. Beethoven's courageous triumph over tragedy
Passage 2
Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contest encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the tragic incident involving the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by minor national contests.
One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation after the hockey (曲棍球) final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decisions. They were convinced that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents' victory was unfair. Their manager was in a rage when he said: "This wasn't hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished. " The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension of the team for at least three years.
The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their contest. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player popped it into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.
Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages agGREssive patriotism.
1. According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ________.
A. created goodwill between the nations
B. bred only false national pride
C. barely showed any international friendship
D. led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred
2. What did the manager mean by saying, "Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished"？(para. 2)
A. His team would no longer take part in international games.
B. Hockey and the Federation are both ruined by the unfair decisions.
C. There should be no more hockey matches organized by the Federation.
D. The Federation should be dissolved.
3. The basketball example implied that _______.
A. too much patriotism was displayed in the incident
B. the announcement to prolong the match was wrong
C. the appeal jury was too hesitant in making the decision
D. the American team was right in rejecting the silver medals
4. The author gives the two examples in paragraphs 2 and 3 to show _______.
A. how false national pride led to undesirable incidents in international games
B. that sportsmen have been more obedient than they used to be
C. that competitiveness in the games discourages international friendship
D. that unfair decisions are common in Olympic Games
5. What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?
A. The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved.
B. Athletes should compete as individuals in the Olympic Games.
C. Sport should be played competitively rather than for the love of the game.
D. International contests are liable for misunderstanding between nations.
Passage 3
Drunken driving-sometimes called America's socially accepted form of murder-has become a national epidemic. Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past decade.
A drunken driver is usually defined as one with a 0.10 blood alcohol content or roughly three beers, glasses of wine or shots of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manliness and judges were lenient in most courts, but the drunken slaughter has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving
young children, that public opinion is no longer tolerant.
Twenty states have risen the legal drinking age to 21,reversing a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18,the number of people killed by 18-20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.
Reformers, however, fear rising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programmes to help young people to develop "responsible attitudes" about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.
Tough new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and, in many areas already, to a marked decline in fatalities. Some states are also penalizing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A tavern in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who was "obviously intoxicated" and later drove off the road, killing a nine-year-old boy.
As the fatalities continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years of national prohibition of alcohol that began in 1919, what President Hoover called the "noble experiment". They forget that legal prohibition didn't stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.
1. Drunken driving had become a major problem in American because ______ .
A. most Americans are heavy drinkers
B. Americans are now less shocked by road accidents
C. accidents attract so much publicity
D. drinking is a socially accepted habit in America
2. Why has public opinion regarding drunken driving changed?
A. Because detailed statistics are now available.
B. Because the news media have highlighted the problem.
C. Because judges are giving more severe sentences. D. Because drivers are more conscious of their image.
3. Statistics issued in New Jersey suggested that ______ .
A. many drivers were not of legal age
B. young drivers were often bad drivers
C. the level of drinking increased in the 1960s
D. the legal drinking age should be raised
4. Laws recently introduced in some states have ______ .
A. reduced the number of convictions
B. resulted in fewer serious accidents
C. prevented bars from serving drunken customers
D. specified the amount of drivers can drink
5. Why is the problem of drinking and driving difficult to solve?
A. Because alcohol is easily obtained.
B. Because drinking is linked to organized crime.
C. Because legal prohibition has already failed.
D. Because legislation alone is not sufficient.
Answers：Passage 1: 1. B 2. D 3. C 4. B 5. D Passage 2: 1. C 2. B 3. A 4. C 5. APassage 3: 1. C 2. B 3. D 4. B 5. D
