Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821, on the island of St. Helena off the coast of Africa. He was 51 years old at the time. When doctors examined Napoleon’s body, they said that the former emperor of France had died from cancer of the stomach. That was the cause of death recorded in the official report. However, other doctors disagreed. One doctor who was present during the examination of the body said that Napoleon died of hepatitis. Other historians and medical experts have suggested that Napoleon died of syphilis, tuberculosis, or perhaps malaria. Now, after careful research, a British chemist thinks that Napoleon might have been poisoned -- not by a person, but by his wallpaper.
Napoleon was sent to the island of St. Helena in 1815 after he lost the battle of Waterloo. He was a prisoner on the island. Although he had servants to attend to him, he had to live in one small building. St. Helena is a very wet island, so the walls of the building were always covered with mold. Napoleon became ill from spending too much time inside his house. Almost constantly he had a fever, chills, and felt sick to his stomach. He often felt pain in his shoulders and in his side. His skin turned yellow. He got frequent headaches, and he would become dizzy and vomit(吐). None of the medicine that the doctors gave Napoleon seemed to help. They were not sure what was the matter. Finally, Napoleon was too weak to leave the house. One night, while he was sleeping, he went into a coma and died.
Many doctors who later reviewed the reports of Napoleon’s illness found that the symptoms(症状) did not show a man who suffered from stomach cancer. It seemed obvious that Napoleon had died from some other cause. In 1961, a Swedish doctor examined some of Napoleon’s hair and found a high level of arsenic, a chemical poison. Was Napoleon murdered? It is doubtful. Arsenic was used in many types of medicine during Napoleon’s time, so he might have taken the arsenic as a cure for his illness. Then, in 1982, Dr. David Jones from England began to look into the mystery and suggested that Napoleon might have breathed in arsenic which was in the air of his house. In the 1700s and 1800s, arsenic was used to make a kind of green paint used on cloth and wallpaper. If the paint was used on a wet wall, the arsenic would go into the air. A person in the room might breathe that air. After studying the wallpaper in the room where Napoleon died, Dr. Jones found high levels of arsenic in the green paint on the walls.
【小题1】Why did Napoleon live on St. Helena?

In the 18th century, New York was smaller than Philadelphia and Boston. Today it is the largest city in America. How can the change in its size and importance be explained?

    To answer this question we must consider certain facts about geography, history, and economics. Together these three will explain the huge growth of America’s most famous city.

    The map of the Northeast shows that the four areas with the largest populations in this region are around seaports. At these points materials from across the sea enter the United States, and the products of the land are sent there for export across the sea.

     We know that places where transportation lines meet are good places for making raw materials into finished goods. That is why seaports often have cities nearby. But cities like New York needed more than their geographical location in order to become great industrial centers. Their development did not happen simply by chance.www.zxxk.com

     About 1815, when many Americans from the east had already moved toward the west, transportation routes from the seaports to the central regions of the country began to be a serious problem. The slow wagons of that time, usually drawn by horses, were too expensive for moving heavy freight (货物) very far. In New York State a canal seemed the best answer to the transportation problem. From the eastern end of Lake Erie all the way across the state to the Hudson River there is a long strip of low land. Here the Erie Canal was built, and after several years of work it was completed in 1825.

     The canal produced an immediate effect. Freight costs were cut to about one tenth of what they had been. New York City, which had been smaller than Philadelphia and Boston, quickly became the leading city of the coast. In the years that followed, transportation routes on the Great Lakes were joined to routes on the Mississippi River. Then New York City became the end point of a great inland shipping system that started from the Atlantic Ocean far up the western branches of the Mississippi.

1.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Development of Transportation in New York

B. Export and Import of New York

C. How New York Became America's Largest City

D. How New York Exchanged with Europe

2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The Erie Canal connected Lake Erie with the Hudson River.

B. Economists are of the opinion that places where farming is done are good for making raw materials into finished goods.

C. Wagons drawn by horses and oxen soon proved to be better and cheaper than canal transportation.

D. The seaports usually have less population but more business.

3.Freight costs were reduced to 10% of what they had been because of ________.

A. cheap and fast wagons                          B. the new sea routes

C. the construction of the Erie Canal       D. the development of industry

E
Would you believe that the first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman? His name was Laurent Clerc. He became a friend of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and together they founded America' s first school for the deaf,
Laurent Clerc was born in a small village near Lyons, France, on December 26, 1785. When he Was one year old, he fell into a fire, losing both his hearing and his sense of smell.
At 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris where he excelled in his studies. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher.
Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallandet was studying to be a minister. He was very concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the deaf. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London, England to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. While he was there, he met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to go to Paris to spend three months learning at the Royal Institution for the Deaf, the school where Laurent Clerc was teaching. Gallaudet accepted the offer. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return, he asked Clerc to come with him. Clerc accepted on one condition: that he would stay in America only a short time.
The two men set sail on June 18, 1816. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. Clerc studied English, and Gallaudet studied sign language. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut.
At the school, Clerc led a busy life. He taught signs to Principal Gallaudet; he taught the pupils; and he taught hearing men who came to the school to study deaf education.
In 1819, Clerc married Eliza Crocker Boardman, one of his pupils. They had six children. He retired from teaching in 1858. Although he had intended to return to France, he never did. He died on July 18, 1869 in the United States.
72. Why did Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sail to London?
A. He needed to finish his studies to become a minister.
B. It was the easiest way to get to France.
C. He wanted to study their system of deaf education.
D. He wanted to marry Alice Cogswell.
73. From the information in this passage we can infer that ________.
A. Laurent Clerc was an intelligent man
B. Clerc had difficulties learning language
C. Clerc married Eliza in order to get his Green Card
D. Clerc was paid well because he made such important contributions to society
74. On their trip from Paris to America, Clerc and Gallaudet ________.
A. played cards and socialized
B. studied and discussed their plans for a deaf school
C. founded a school for the deaf
D. Gallaudet studied English and Clere studied Sign Language
75. Which is the right order of the things Clerc did?
A. Met Gallaudet, moved to America, got married, went to school in Paris.
B. Met Gallaudet, went to school in Paris, moved to America, got married,
C. Went to school in Paris, met Gallaudet, moved to America, got married.
D. Got married went to school in Paris met Gallaudet moved to America.

Would you believe that the first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman? His name was Laurent Clerc. He became a friend of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and together they founded America's first school for the deaf.
Laurent Clerc was born in a small village near Lyons, France, on December 26, 1785. When he was one year old, he fell into a fire, losing both his hearing and his sense of smell.
At 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris where he did well in his studies. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher.
Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister. He was very concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the deaf. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London, England to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. While he was there, he met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to go to Paris to spend three months learning at the Royal Institution for the Deaf, the school where Laurent Clerc was teaching. Gallaudet accepted the offer. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return, he asked Clerc to come with him. Clerc accepted on one condition: that he would stay in America only a short time.
The two men set sail on June 18, 1816. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. Clerc studied English, and Gallaudet studied sign language. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut.
At the school, Clerc led a busy life. He taught signs to Principal Gallaudet; he taught the pupils; and he taught hearing men who came to the school to study deaf education.
In 1819, Clerc married Eliza Crocker Boardman, one of his pupils. They had six children. He retired from teaching in 1858. Although he had intended to return to France, he never did. He died on July 18, 1869 in the United States.
【小题1】Why did Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sail to London?

Would you believe that the first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman? His name was Laurent Clerc. He became a friend of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and together they founded America's first school for the deaf.

Laurent Clerc was born in a small village near Lyons, France, on December 26, 1785. When he was one year old, he fell into a fire, losing both his hearing and his sense of smell.

At 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris where he did well in his studies. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher.

Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister. He was very concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the deaf. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London, England to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. While he was there, he met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to go to Paris to spend three months learning at the Royal Institution for the Deaf, the school where Laurent Clerc was teaching. Gallaudet accepted the offer. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return, he asked Clerc to come with him. Clerc accepted on one condition: that he would stay in America only a short time.

The two men set sail on June 18, 1816. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. Clerc studied English, and Gallaudet studied sign language. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut.

At the school, Clerc led a busy life. He taught signs to Principal Gallaudet; he taught the pupils; and he taught hearing men who came to the school to study deaf education.

In 1819, Clerc married Eliza Crocker Boardman, one of his pupils. They had six children. He retired from teaching in 1858. Although he had intended to return to France, he never did. He died on July 18, 1869 in the United States.

1.Why did Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sail to London?

A. He needed to finish his studies to become a minister.

B. It was the easiest way to get to France.

C. He wanted to study their system of deaf education.

D. He wanted to marry Alice Cogswell.

2.From the information in this passage we can infer that__________.

A. Laurent Clerc was an intelligent man

B. Clerc had difficulties learning language

C. Clerc married Eliza in order to get his Green Card

D. Clerc was paid well because he made such important contributions to society

3.On their trip from Paris to America, Clerc and Gallaudet ___________.

A. played cards and socialized

B. studied and discussed their plans for a deaf school

C. founded a school for the deaf

D. Gallaudet studied English and Clerc studied Sign Language

4.Which is the right order of the things Clerc did？

A. met Gallaudet, moved to America, got married, went to school in Paris.

B. met Gallaudet, went to school in Paris, moved to America, got married.

C. went to school in Paris, met Gallaudet, moved to America, got married.

D. got married, went to school in Paris, met Gallaudet, moved to America.

5.The main idea of this passage could best be stated as_________.

A. Clerc managed his time well, succeeding in his career.

B. Thomas Gallaudet was indebted to Clerc for all that he taught him.

C. Clerc preferred teaching deaf students to hearing students.

D. Clerc, an educated Frenchman, had a great impact on American Deaf Education.