Reading Comprehension

Read the following passages, and choose the best answer that can answer the question.

Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day－to－day life of the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music”.

　　When someone says, “Well, I guess I'll have to face the music,” it does not mean he's planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you didn't do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At sometime or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father's angry voice, “I want to talk to you,” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

　　The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young or old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Cooper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue to go on, they often said, “Well, it's time to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did－facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” came to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice”

　　Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean, shinny enough to pass inspection? Still the men had to go on and face the music of the band as well as the inspection. What else could they do?

　　Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As, for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.

1．According to the passage how many ways does the phrase “to face the music” come from?

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2．What's the meaning of “to face the music?”

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A．To face something far less pleasant.

B．To face the stage.

C．To face the back of one's horse.

D．To face one's leader.

3．In which condition would we face the music?

[　　]

A．When we are playing basketball.

B．When we are making a speech in public.

C．When we are having a party.

D．When we are talking with somebody.

4．The underlined word in the third paragraph means ________.

[　　]

5．Which of the following sentences is not true according to the passage ________.

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A．The explanation to the phrase “to face the music” is closely related with the army life.

B．When a man is forced out of the army, the band doesn't play.

C．The first explanation to the phrase “to face the music” comes from an American novelist.

D．You will feel good if you have to face the music.

A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea.
“Hey! Would you like to play a game?” he asked the woman. “No, thank you. I just want to take a nap (打盹),” the woman answered. “It’s really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don’t know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don’t know the answer to your question, then I’ll give you five dollars.” “No,” the woman still refused. “OK. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?” the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game.
“OK. How many moons does Jupiter (木星) have?” asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill. “What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?” the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman.
After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, “What is the answer to your question?” The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill.
【小题1】Why did the man ask the woman to play a game?

A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea.

“Hey! Would you like to play a game?” he asked the woman. “No, thank you. I just want to take a nap (打盹),” the woman answered.

“It’s really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don’t know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don’t know the answer to your question, then I’ll give you five dollars.”

“No,” the woman still refused.

“OK. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?” the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game.

“OK. How many moons does Jupiter (木星) have?” asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill.

“What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?” the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman.

After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, “What is the answer to your question?” The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill.

1.Why did the man ask the woman to play a game?

A. He wanted to show his kindness.

B. He wanted to have a pleasant journey.

C. He wanted to earn some money from it.

D. He wanted to make friends with the woman.

2.How much did the woman get at the end of the story?

A. $ 500.        B. $ 5.       C. $ 10.          D. $ 490.

3.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. The woman told the man the answer to her question.

B. The woman gave the man’s money back to him.

C. The woman asked the man another question.

D. The woman didn’t know the answer, either.

4.We can learn from the story that the woman is ______.

A. clever            B. friendly           C. polite           D. honest

A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea.

“Hey! Would you like to play a game?” he asked the woman. “No, thank you. I just want to take a nap (打盹),” the woman answered. “It’s really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don’t know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don’t know the answer to your question, then I’ll give you five dollars.” “No,” the woman still refused. “OK. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?” the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game.

“OK. How many moons does Jupiter (木星) have?” asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill. “What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?” the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman.

After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, “What is the answer to your question?” The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill.

1.Why did the man ask the woman to play a game?

A. He wanted to show his kindness.   

B. He wanted to have a pleasant journey.

C. He wanted to earn some money from it.

D. He wanted to make friends with the woman.

2.How much did the woman get at the end of the story?

A. $ 500.                             B. $ 5.                     C. $ 10.                     D. $ 490.

3.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. The woman told the man the answer to her question.

B. The woman gave the man’s money back to him.

C. The woman asked the man another question.

D. The woman didn’t know the answer, either.

4.We can learn from the story that the woman is ______.

A. clever                             B. friendly                 C. polite            D. honest

四：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，共30分）。
阅读下列短文，从短文后各题的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea.
“Hey! Would you like to play a game?” he asked the woman. “No, thank you. I just want to take a nap (打盹),” the woman answered. “It’s really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don’t know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don’t know the answer to your question, then I’ll give you five dollars.” “No,” the woman still refused. “OK. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?” the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game.
“OK. How many moons does Jupiter (木星) have?” asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill. “What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?” the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman.
After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, “What is the answer to your question?” The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill.
46. Why did the man ask the woman to play a game?
A. He wanted to show his kindness.     
B. He wanted to have a pleasant journey.
C. He wanted to earn some money from it.
D. He wanted to make friends with the woman.
47. How much did the woman get at the end of the story?
A. $ 500.        B. $ 5.         C. $ 10.                    D. $ 490.
48. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The woman told the man the answer to her question.
B. The woman gave the man’s money back to him.
C. The woman asked the man another question.
D. The woman didn’t know the answer, either.
49. We can learn from the story that the woman is ______.
A. clever        B. friendly                    C. polite         D. Honest