高中英语阅读理解【6】

 

 

Passage 6

A lot of us lose life’s tough battles by starting a frontal attack—when a touch of humor might well enable us to win．Consider the case of a young friend of mine，who hit a traffic jam on his way to work shortly after receiving an ultimatum about being late on the job．Although there was a good reason for Sam’s a being late—serious illness at home—he decided that this by-now-familiar excuse wouldn’t work any longer．His supervisor was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal speech．

 

Yes，the boss was．Sam entered the office at 9：35．The place was as quiet as a locker room；everyone was hard at work．Sam’s supervisor came up to him．Suddenly，Sam forced a grin and stretched out his hand．“How do you do！” he said．“I’m Sam Maynard．I’m applying for a job，which，I understand，became available just 35 minutes ago．Does the early bird get the worm？”

 

The room exploded in laughter．The supervisor clamped off a smile and walked back to his office．Sam Maynard had saved his job—with the only tool that could win，a laugh．

 

Humor is a most effective，yet frequently neglected，means of handling the difficult situations in our lives．It can be used for patching up differences，apologizing，saying “no”，criticizing，getting the other fellow to do what you want without his losing face．For some jobs，it’s the only tool that can succeed．It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialog may start a quarrel．For example，many believe that comedians on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than people in any other forum．

 

1．Why was Sam late for his job？

A．Because he was ill．                 

B．Because he got up late．

C．Because he was caught in a traffic jam．

D．He was busy applying for a new job．

2．The main idea of this passage is ________．

A．Sam Maynard saved his job with humor

B．humor is important in our lives

C．early bird gets the worm

D．humor can solve racial discriminations

3．The phrase “clamped off” in Paragraph 3 means ________．

A．tried to hold back      B．tried to set      C．charged      D．gave out

4．Which of the following statements can we infer from the passage？

A．Many lose life’s battles for they are lacking in a sense of humor．

B．It wasn’t the first time that Sam came late for his work．

C．Sam was supposed to come to his office at 8：30．

D．Humor is the most effective way of solving problems．

 

 

 

Passage 1

Up，Up，and Away！

 

An adventurer who became the first person to fly across the English Channel on a cluster of balloons has launched a house into the sky just like in the hit movie Up-in reparation for a more ambitious journey and a new record．

 

Fearless Trappe，from North Carolina，stepped into the cartoon themed home before flying above the Leon International Balloon Festival in Mexico more than a week ago．

 

The 38-year-old Trappe was using the event as a warm-up for his planned trans-Atlantic flight scheduled for next summer．He aims to complete the 2，500-mile journey in a seven-foot lifeboat carried by 365 huge helium balloons．

 

The brave man is learning to sail a lifeboat，in case he needs to ditch into the ocean during the danger-filled adventure．

He sill fly at between 18，000 feet and 25，000 feet，beating his previous world altitude record of 21，600 feet，and must fly uninterrupted a distance ten times longer than his previous world record of 230 miles in order to succeed．

 

The adventurer Trappe，who holds records for crossing the Alps，flying the most cluster balloons，and the longest distance，has spent his entire career，building up to this ambitious plan．

 

“I didn’t wake up one day and think：‘I’ going to fly across the Atlantic，’”he said．“Every attempt before this was prepared for this fight，I’ve been training for a long time”．

 

1．The adventurer flew across the English Channel to__________．

A．test the balloons          B．launch a house

C．shoot a hit movie         D．prepare for breaking a record

2．To finish the journey，he will fly a distance of__________．

A．2500 miles     B．18，000 feet     C．25，000 feet     D．230 miles

3．About the ambitious journey，which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．When he will fly  B．How high he sill fly  C．How far he will fly   D．How long it will take him

4．How many world records does Jonathan hold?

A．Two           B．Three        C．Four         D．Five

5．What does he last paragraph imply?

A．Trappe can’t sleep worrying about the adventure

B．Trappe was born to set world records

C．Trappe always keeps his ambition in mind

D．Trappe never thought of crossing the Atlantic before