三、阅读理解

　　Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn't have any other luggage. Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round­trip ticket and a small package.

　　"Give this package to Jean­Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily, "Tony said."You don't have any luggage, right?"

　　"Only this backpack," Brian answered."You said I could bring one carry­on bag."

　　"That's right. One carry­on bag is fine. Have a good trip."

　　"Thanks."

　　Is Brian a criminal(犯罪)? Not at all. He is an air courier. And he paid only $110 for the round­trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick.

　　Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as air­couriers. The number of tickets for the air­courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air­courier travel isn't for everyone. But if you have very little money, can be flexible(灵活的) about your travel plans, and don't mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!

1. Why was Brian wearing so many clothes for his travel?

A. Because they were the uniforms for air­couriers.

B. Because that made him easier to be recognized.

C. Because his backpack had no room for his clothes.

D. Because he did not have any luggage with him.

2. An air­courier is a person who ________.

A. manages a business company in foreign countries

B. organizes international flights for tourists

C. travels around the world with cheap tickets

D. delivers papers and packages to foreign countries

3. One of the disadvantages of traveling as an air­courier is that he ________.

A. cannot decide when and where to travel

B. cannot take any luggage with him

C. has to wear two pairs of jeans

D. saves little money from the travel

4. The author of the text mainly ________.

A. describes the activities of a law­breaker

B. suggests an ideal way to travel

C. argues against the air­courier travel

D. tells us about a developing business

答案：1. C 2. D　3. A　4. D　

　　Almost no young people today know who the cartoon character Oswald the Rabbit is, but they certainly recognize his successor, Bugs Bunny. Oswald, Bugs, and hundreds of other characters were created by Walt Disney, perhaps the most famous cartoonist in history.

Born in Chicago in 1901, Walt Disney always wanted to be an artist. After returning from World War Ⅰ, in which he drove an ambulance, Disney worked as a commercial artist. He enjoyed drawing cartoons more than anything else, and decided to try his hand at a technology that was new at the time, moving pictures.