2019年中考英語備考名師精品資料――閱讀理解

 during the show, tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. he also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall.
 tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. by the time tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. he had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five.
 fortunately for tom, mr. barnum added more little people to his show, and tom became lucky in love as well. one of the little people was lavinia warren, a school teacher. tom was able to win her love, and they married.
 the ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. they were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests. crowds filled the streets of new york to have a look at their honeymoon, just before the couple would be going to live in tom’s house in connecticut.
 their wedding, which took place during the civil war, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored “tom thumb” weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
1. “talk of the town” means ________.
a. it was in the newspaper 
b. people spread rumors about it
c. it was the most popular thing happening  
d. it was discussed in a city meeting
2. what does the author think about tom thumb’s wedding?
a. people gave it too much of their attention.
b. it helped people cheer up in a dark time.
c. it was funny and ridiculous
d. tom and lavinia were stupid.
3. which of the following is the best clue to the fact that tom was smart?
a. he became a billionaire at twenty-five.
b. he learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age.
c. he met with president lincoln during his honeymoon.
d. he married a school teacher.
4. tome would dance on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because ______.
a. the wooden plate would make it sound as if tom were tap dancing
b. it made tome feel taller
c. the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person tom trusted
d. the difference between them would make tom look even smaller
5. what is the main idea of the last paragraph?
a. weddings always make people feel full of sunshine.
b. people are always disappointed during war time.
c. entertainment can serve an important purpose.
d. people should be married when they are small children.

(5)
pat brown went to her bank to ask for an atm (自動取款機) card. it looks like a credit card. a few weeks later, the bank posted her a card and a four-number personal identification number (pin). her pin is 1234.