初中英语阅读理解练习
(一)
Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice (临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter (计价器). For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At dawn, she suddenly said,” I’m tired. Let’s go now.” We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”
1. The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ________.
A. show she was familiar with the city
B. see some places for the last time
C. let the driver earn more money
D. reach the destination(目的地) on time
2. The taxi driver did not charge(收费) the old woman because he ________.
A. wanted to give her a hand
B. shut off the meter by mistake
C. had received her payment ahead of time
D. was in a hurry to take other passengers
3. According to the underlined sentence, the old woman did so because________.
A. she was tired
B. she may be lost in her memories
C. she was frightened
D. she was excited
4. What does the underlined word “remark” mean?
A. 标记
B. 话语
C. 记号
D. 评论
5. What can we learn from the story?
A. Giving is always a pleasure.
B. People should respect each other.
C. An act of kindness can bring people great joy.
D. People should learn to appreciate(感激) others’ concern(关心).
(二)
Everyone has got two personalities（性格）-the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You won’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control your behavior, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their positions. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to displease people. So you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t quite sure of yourself.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you’re
always easily upset. Y ou always stick to your own opinions or judgment, but you don’t raise your hopes too much. You usually live for today not tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up（蜷缩）, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You’re shy and you don’t normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You’re easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well—balanced（平衡的）personality. You know yo ur strengths and weakness. You’re usually careful. You believe in yourself. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get sad. You always say what you think even if it makes people rather angry
1. You may find the passage in .
A. a science magazine B．A guide book C. a sports newspaper D. a story book
2. When does the sleeping position best show your secret personality?
A. In the daytime
B. At the beginning of sleep
C. At night
D. During the deep sleep
3. Tina hardly tells her secrets to her friends. She probably goes to sleep .
A. on curled up
B. on her stomach
C. on her back
D. on her side
4. What does the underlined word “defensive” mean in the passage?
A.易怒的
B.攻击性的
C.外向的
D.有戒心的
5. What does the passage tell us?
A. Sleeping on your side is the best way of sleeping
B. Changing positions will cause sleeping problems.
C. Sleeping positions show people’s secret personalities.
D. Enough sleep makes people look better and healthier.
(三)
NBA star Yao Ming has a restaurant in the USA. The restaurant sells many famous dishes. But one dish could never be made there---shark fin soup(鱼翅汤). Yao has given up shark fin soup since he joined a program for saving endangered animals in 2006. “Animals are our friends,” he
said.：How much do you know about these endangered animals?
Sharks, the king of the ocean, are in danger. Each year about 75 million sharks are killed for their fins, 8 kinds of shark have died out.
In some Asian countries, people get bile(胆汁) from Asian black bears’ stomachs and use it as traditional Chinese medicine. The animal’s population has decreased(下降) by 30% to 49% during the past 30 years.
The shahtoosh shawl(沙图什披肩) is thought to be the softest and most beautiful in the world. It is popular in Europe and the US. However, one has to kill three to five Tibetan antelopes(藏羚羊) to make just one shahtoosh. About 20,000 antelopes were killed every year during the 1980s.
One day, if animals all disappeared, the world we live in would come to an end. Saving them now means saving ourselves. Maybe you think that only scientists or famous people can save animals. In fact, everyone can do something. Here are some useful tips for students.
Don’t eat foods that are made of endangered animals, such as shark fin soup. Ask your parents and friends to do so, too.
Don’t buy or use something that is made out of endangered animals, like clothes with antelope fur or necklaces made of ivory(象牙). You should also tell your parents not to buy these things, either.
You can become a volunteer to help build the habitats(栖息地) of endangered animals. There is a lot of information on the Internet about these volunteer jobs.
You can hold a photo show at your school to tell people the situation of endangered animals and what people can do to help save them.
1. In Yao Ming’s restaurant, shark fin soup couldn’t be made because_________________.
A. many sharks died, and that makes it difficult to find shark fins
B. he wants to save endangered animals
C. shark fin soup is not popular now
D. shark fin soup is not a traditional Chinese food
2. The underlined word “endangered” means _________________in Chinese.
A. 危险的
B. 濒临灭绝的
C. 有害的
D. 凶猛的
3. Students can help save the endangered animals in many ways EXCEPT________.
A. asking their parents and friends not to eat foods made of endangered animals
B. becoming a volunteer to help build the habitats
C. holding a photo show at school to tell people what they can do
D. using something that is made out of endangered animals
4. The best title of this article may be_______________.
A. Help Save Endangered Animals
B. What Can Students Do
C. Yao Ming’s Restaurant
D. Animals Are Our Friends
(四)
“How many common English words were invented by Shakespeare?”
How long did it take people to find the answer to this question 15 years ago? And now! You can google it and find the answer immediately!
Google is the most popular Internet search engine（搜索引擎）in the world. It was invented by two students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They met in 1993, when they were studying computer science at Stanford University, USA. They dreamed of producing something that could also answer any question in seconds.
Internet search engines at that time were slow and gave many websites that weren’t useful. In January 1996, Page and Brin decided to make a better and faster search engine. They thought the results should be based on the most popular websites.
Nobody would give them money for their project, so they used their own money. They also borrowed money from family and friends. Then, in 1998, they were given a cheque for $100,000, and they started their own company(公司). Their first office was in a friend’s garage(车库).The company name is Google, a word which comes from mathematics. A “google” is a very high number — 1 followed by a hundred zeros.
The Google search engine was soon used by thousands of people worldwide because it was fast, easy and correct. By 2002 it was the biggest search engine on the Internet. Now, more questions have been answered by Google than any other Internet service, from sport to science, and from music to medicine. Google hopes that in the future all the world’s information will be put on the Internet, so that everybody can find everything.
1. Why did the writer begin this passage by asking you a question?
A. Because he or she liked to begin this passage by asking readers a question.
B. Because he or she was afraid that the readers didn’t know this question.
C. Because he or she wanted to make the readers interested in this passage.
D. Because Shakespeare is one of the most famous people in the world.
2. The underlined word “cheque” in the fifth paragraph means _______.
A. 楼房
B. 账单
C. 订单
D. 支票
3. From the passage we know that at the beginning of their project, _______.
A. there was not any search engine on the Internet
B. nobody supported them except their family and friends
C. Larry Page and Sergey Brin dreamed to answer any question
D. one of the most popular websites gave them a cheque for $100,000
4. Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Now the Google search engine is widely used in the world.
B. The Google search engine was not the biggest one before 2002.
C. Larry Page and Sergey Brin named google after a hundred zeros.
D. The service of the Google search engine is very popular.
5. The passage mainly tells us _______.
A. the development of the Google search engine
B. about Larry Page and Sergey Brin
C. how to find information on the Internet
D. how to use the Google search engine
(五)
Mrs. Thompson, a school teacher, told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same. But that was a lie. There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. He didn’t get along well with the other children and he always needed a bath. She did not like him.
Then Mrs. Thompson got to know that Teddy was a very good boy before the death of his mother. Mrs. Thompson was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when, like all her other students, Teddy bought her a present, too. It was his mother’s perfume(香水).
Teddy said, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smell just like my mom used to.” After the children left she cried for an hour. On that very day, she stopped being busy teaching reading, writing and math. Instead, she began to care more about the childre n.
Mrs. Thompson paid more attention to Teddy. The more she encouraged him, the faster he improved. By the end of Grade 6, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class.
Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy. He wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he had ever had in his whole life. He went to college. Mrs. Thompson got two mor e letters from him with the last one signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.(医学博士).
The story doesn’t end there. On his wedding day, Dr. Stoddard said, “Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, for believing in me. You made me feel good about myself and showed me that I could make a difference.”
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, said, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”
1. What did Mrs. T hompson do on the first day of school?
A. She made Teddy feel sad.
B. She told the class something untrue about herself.
C. She changed Teddy’s seat to the front row.
D. She asked the children to play with Teddy.
2. Why didn’t Teddy get alo ng well with the other children?
A. He always needed a bath.
B. Mrs. Thompson did not like him.
C. He felt lonely without his mother.
D. He didn’t enjoy playing with others.
3. What does underlined sentence “Mrs. Thompson was ashamed of herself” mean in the passage?
A. Mrs. Thompson was pleased with what she had done.
B. Mrs. Thompson was angry with the boy’s mother.
C. Mrs. Thompson was surprised that the boy’s motherwas gone.
D. Mrs. Thompson was very sorry because she didn’t like the child before.
4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the reading?
A. Mrs. Thompson gave Teddy Stoddard motherly care and encouragement.
B. Teddy had probably become a doctor before he got married.
C. Mrs. Thompson agreed with Teddy that she had made a difference in his life.
D. Teddy thought Mrs. Thompson was the best teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
5. Which of the following can be the best title for the reading?
A. Making a Difference.
B. Not a Really Good Teacher
C. A Clever Student
D. Friendship between Students and Teachers.
(六)
Do you consider failure as an ending? Do you often feel after a failure that you are good for nothing? Then be careful, you are one of them who have bad relationship with failure. And this is the only reason why people often keep themselves away from their success. The power of failure is that it helps us to learn fro our mistakes and missteps and we must consider a failure as an opportunity to grow rather than giving up.
Let's discover the reasons why successful people believe that opportunity lies in every failure.
Disappointment or failure shows that you are trying
The best way to gauge（衡量）your progress at something is to see how many times you failed. In case you haven't failed yet, chances are that you haven't tried hard yet.
Look at all successful men and women throughout our history, they all had one thing in common. That's to say they failed not once but several times before they achieved success. Let's take an example of Thomas Edison: he failed a lot of times to find right filament（灯丝）for his light bulb. Henry Ford had a stronger relationship with failure, which inspired him to quote this unforgettable saying “failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.”
Achievement lies in looking at failure as an opportunity
Just like every successful person had one thing in common, similarly all unsuccessful persons throughout our history had one thing in common --- their inability to use failure as an opportunity and a tool. If you feel your one failure is your ultimate （终极的）failure, and that feeling of sinking down is known as an ultimate failure, you are pushing yourself away from your expected success. Achievement is all about finding out what mistakes you made, what is the main cause of that failure, and how you are going to make up for it.
Success requires willpower, passion, hard work, intelligence, determination, but all of the above, success requires failure. Use your failure as an opportunity to learn, to become wiser and to reconsider your relationship with failure, the true key to success.
1. According to the writer, why do people keep themselves away from their success?
A. Because they don't set long-term goals.
B. Because they haven't got enough time.
C. Because they can't deal with failure properly.
D. Because they are disappointed in themselves.
2. Why does the writer take the example of Thomas Edison?
A. To explain the reasons for failure.
B. To prove the importance of failure.
C. To take pride in Thomas Edison.
D. To introduce the process of making a light bulb.
3. What can you learn from the passage?
A. Failure can build up your confidence.
B. Successful people seldom failed.
C. Failure is more important than success.
D. Successful people use failure as a tool.
(七)
None of us is quite as healthy in mind as we seem, but neither is every unusual thing we do means we’re unhealthy. How to tell the difference? Start by reading the letters below, which have been analyzed by our experts.
Lately, after I read an unusual word, I often can’t get it out of my head for days, sometimes weeks. I silently repeat it to myself, often spell it, and even wake up in the night with it ringing in my head. What’s wrong with my brain?
That sounds like a little obsession (着迷). Your brain feels that for some reason it must repeat this word. Unless it is taking up more than an hour of your day or really influencing your life, it is not serious. To stop it, leave it alone. If you really want to stop the repetition, set aside ten minutes a day to repeat the word over and over again. Do it so many times that you finally get sick of it.
I sometimes have strange dreams when taking a short sleep, and I think they’re real when I wake up. Then, as I come around, I realize they aren’t. Is there something wro ng with me?
What’s wrong is that you take short sleeps and most of us don’t! But are you mad? No. We all have strange dreams, and it’s normal, upon waking, to be fuzzy (模糊) for a little while or even not to remember where we are. What is not normal is if y ou don’t have these dreams.
When people are eating, I can’t stand the sound of a fork or spoon knocking on a plate or bowl. I begin shaking and having a headache. I’m also sickened by the sound of people chewing with their mouths open. Is there something wrong with me?
It seems that there is something wrong with everyone else you know. How come they don’t eat with their mouths closed? At the least, you’re over sensitive (敏感) to little noise. You may also be troubled by a disorder in mind called misophonia. Try drawing your attention away from the noise. Pay attention to something else as hard as you can when you eat with your friends: the music in the background, the scene out the window, even what they’re talking about. You can train yourself to be less troubled by the noise.
When I’m driving and have to cross a bridge, my heart starts racing and I feel light-headed. The fear that I’m going to pass out makes the whole situation worse. Am I crazy?
This sounds like an anxiety (忧虑), which can bring on heart illness and a real sense that you’re going to die. This kind of feeling is the body’s reaction to the possible danger in near future. To keep your anxiety from progressing, try the old method: breathing. When you feel your heart starting to race, take a deep breath in three or four times, and then let it out five or six times until you start to feel comfortable. You can also make a tape of your favourite song, and sing along as you cross the bridge.
1. What does the word analyzed mean in the first paragraph?
A. Divided into parts.
B. Examined carefully.
C. Discussed in groups.
D. Treated scientifically.
2. Which person described in the four letters has got something wrong?
A. The first two.
B. No. 1 and No. 3.
C. The last two.
D. No. 2 and No. 4.
3. What can we do when we have strange dreams after a short sleep?
A. It’s not necessary for us to do anything.
B. We can think about the dreams once again.
C. It’s a good idea to pay attention to other things.
D. We’d better go to see a doctor as early as possible.
4. From the passage, we can infer that ______.
A. we don’t need to worry about anything in mind
B. disorders in mind can be treated by ourselves
C. one must face all kinds of problems in life
D. if you are brave, nothing can trouble you
(八)
New rules and behavio r standards(行为规范)for middle school students came out in March. Middle School is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won’t only have high marks. They will also be kids who don’t dye(染) their hair. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else’s work on an exam? Don’t do it again! That’s not something an honest student should do. If you have played comput er games for two hours in your room, don’t tell your parents you have done homework.
Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird-loving month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate? You should join! That way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. When more people work together, it makes it more fun for everyone.
Have you ever quarreled with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others, not only yourself.
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Maybe you’ll discover Earth Ⅱsomeday. Don’t look down on new ideas. Everyone’s ideas are important. You should welcome them, because new ideas make life better for everyone.
Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don’t let it happen to you. If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren’t for kids, so try to look at Web page s that are good for you. You can use the Web for run or homework. Can’t you find any good! Web sites for children? Here are some: Http:// https://www.doczj.com/doc/848657099.html, Http ://www. China kids. https://www.doczj.com/doc/848657099.html, http:https://www.doczj.com/doc/848657099.html,
1. The new school rules will help kids by telling them .
A. how they can study well
B. what they should do at school
C. what is right and what is wrong
D. how they can protect themselves
2. According to the passage, which of the following is not true?
A. Take care of yourself when you are out.
B. Tell the truth, even when you are wrong.
C. Keep some animals to protect them.
D. Use the Internet, but keep away from bad things.
3. The main idea of the fourth paragraph is about .
A. making the team stronger
B. helping with each other
C. being a good friend to others
D. getting on well with others
4. Good Web sites for children can .
A. be a waste of time
B. help them with their studies
C. do homework for them
D. make life easier
5. The passage tells us how to ________ .
A. be top students
B. do more at school
C. care for others
D. use the Internet
(九)
Stonehenge, a rock circle, is not only one of Britain’s most famous historical places but also