Material Girl no more? Madonna says writing children’s books is more satisfying than being a movie star.
Her book, The English Roses, wen t on sale on September 15th, appearing in 100 countries and in 30 languages as the first in her series of tales for children. The pop diva (女歌唱家), whose only book until now was the 1992 photo essay titled “Sex”, said she wrote the books to teach children some of the life lessons she’s learned over the years.
“The most fun that I’ve had of all the things I’ve done successfully has been to write these books. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m not doing it to become more famous, and I’m not doing it to become richer. I’m doing it because I want to share something I know with children.”
Hours after its release, the 43page book was already No. 3 on Amazon, com’s sales list. The first print is 1 million copies worldwide, with more than 750,000 in the United States. The English Roses is about a friendship shared by four girls and their mutual (共同的) envy of a beautiful classmate, with illustrations (插图) by fashion artist Jeffrey Fulvimari.
“There is one lifegiving force in the world,” Madonna declared. “When we disconnect from this lifegiving force, that’s when we bring pain and suffering into our lives. Each of the stories has to do with different ways you disconnect from God. ”Madonna also said she was deeply affected by the experience of raising two children, Lourdes, 6, and Rocco, 3. The English Roses is the latest among a growing number of celebritywritten children’s books.
The next book in the series, “Mr Peabody’s Apples,”will be out in November.Each tale is set in a different time and place and has new characters and different illustrators.
1.How many books does Madonna’s series of tales include?
A.At least 3. B.4. C.At least 2. D.6.
2.According to the idea of Madonna, the underlined phrase “life-giving force”in Paragraph 5 refers to .
A.The English Roses. B.God C.Mr Peabody’s Apples. D.her life
3.When Madonna said writing children’s books was more satisfying than being a movie star,she meant that .
A.she was more satisfied with her writing children’s books
B.she was more satisfied as a movie star C.being a movie star was not really successful
D.she was not a Material Girl any more
4.According to the passage,Madonna wrote the book The English Roses in order to .
A.provide children with fun B.teach children some life lessons
C.teach children how to become famous D.share her success with children
D
Japanese students work very hard but many are unhappy．They feel heavy pressures from their parents to do well in school．Most students are always being told by their parents to study harder so that they can have a wonderful life．Though this may be good ideas for those very bright students，it can have very bad results for many students who are not quick enough at learning．
Unfortunately，a number of students killed themselves．Others are after comfort in using drugs．Some do bad things with trouble-makers and turn to crime．Many of them have tried very hard at school but have failed in the exams and have disappointed their parents．Such students feel that they are less important and leave school before they have finished their study．
It is surprising that though most Japanese parents are worried about their children, they do not help them in any way．Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it is the teachers' work to help their children．To make matters worse, a lot of parents send their children to special school called juku-cram schools．These schools are open during the evening and on weekends, and their only purpose is to prepare students to pass exams, they do not try to educate students in any real sense of the real world. It thus comes as a shock to realize that almost three quarters of the junior or high school population attend these cram schools．
Ordinary Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from fhe students' hair to their clothes and things in their school bag．Child psychologists now think that such strict rules often lead to a feeling of being unsafe and being unable to fit into society．They regard the rules as being harmful to the development of each student．They believe that no sense of moral values is developed and that students are given neither guidance nor training in becoming good citizens．
67．A lot of Japanese students are unhappy at school because
A．they work very hard B．they find they can't do well at school
C．they feel unimportantD．they are under too much pressure
68．Because of their failure at school, some students take drugs to
A．kill themselves B．seek comfort
C．disappoint their parentsD．make trouble
69．What should be the best title of the passage?
A．Students' Pressure
B．Students' Problems
C．The Negative Impact(影响) of Japanese Education
D．The Trouble in Japanese Schools
70．In juku-cram schools students_______．
A．are taken good care of by the teachersB．feel no pressure
C．are trained to pass exams D．can learn a lot of useful things
71．In ordinary Japanese schools，________．
A．there are strict rules B．students feel safe
C．students can do anything D．learning is not important
C
TWENTY-FIVE years ago director Stephen Spielberg captured the hearts of Western audiences with his family classic．E．T．Now his Hong Kong director Stephen Chow is trying to do the same trick in China．
Chow's latest movie CJ7(《长江七号》)，in cinemas now，is a heart-warming story about a poor migrant worker(外来务工者) and his son．When a strange alien enters their lives，father and son learn a lesson about the value of family．Chow hopes his movie will help to make family films more popular in China．
Family films have been the main part of the Hollywood market for the last 40 years．They have given audiences movies like E．T．, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park．However, there are few of these movies in China, where expensive history films are more popular．
A family film is not simply a children's movie．It is a film that is not only suitable for children, but appeals to the whole family．
According to Raymound Zhou，a famous film critic，these films are rare in China because“very few families go to the cinema together”．Because of this，there is little demand for movies that appeal to the whole family．
However, in the West，it is common for the family to sit down and watch a movie together．Tim Bridges, from London，says：“I love it at Christmas when I sit down and watch a movie with my family．”
All family films contain similar messages about being honest、remaining positive and learning there is more to life than money．According to the American movie reviewer，Dave Johnson, this is because “When parents watch a movie，they want their children to be learning good values”．
Just like when the alien in Spielberg's E．T．phones home to make contact with his family, Chow will hope Chinese audiences are tuned in and ready to receive his family movie message．
63．Which of the following can replace the underlined part in the last paragraph?
A．understand what others are thinking B．make telephones
C．go to the cinema D．sing songs
64．What is the family film，according to the passage?
A．A kind of film that is about history．
B．A kind of film in which the characters are animals．
C．A kind of film that is meant for both children and adults
D．A kind of film that is about families
65．What is implied but not stated directly in the passage?
A．Families in China should go to the cinema at Christmas．
B．It's good for children to watch family films．
C．Chinese families don't like family films．
D．The movie CJ7 has nothing in common with E．T．
66．It can be inferred that in the future，_______．
A．Chinese families will go to the cinema together
B．there may be more family films in China
C．making family films in China is not easy
D．family films are about love
B
When I was small and my grandmother died I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.
So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that crying does so, too.
Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to be helpful. Study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.
Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and more friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don’t even know we’re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them.
Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical health. Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don’t fight it. It’s a natural — and healthy — emotional response (反应).
59. Why didn’t the author cry when her grandmother died?
A. Because her father did not want her to feel too sad.
B. Because she did not love her grandmother.
C. Because she was too shy to cry at that time.
D. The author doesn’t give the explanation.
60. It can be inferred from the text that ______.
A. there are two ways to keep healthy
B. crying does more good to health than laughing
C. crying and laughing play the same roles
D. emotional health has a close relationship to physical health
61. According to the author, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Crying is the best way to get help from others.
B. Fighting back tears may cause some health problems.
C. We will never know our deep feelings unless we cry.
D. We must cry if we want to reduce pressure.
62. What might be the most suitable title for the text?
A. Power of Tears B. How to Keep Healthy
C. Why Do We CryD. A New Scientific Discovery
第三部分：阅读理解(共20小题．每小题3分，满分60分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项( A, B，C，和D)中，进出最佳答案．并将答案写在答题卡上。
A
Ticket price increases at HK Disney
Source：Xinhua | 02—05—2009 11：39
Hong Kong Disneyland announced on Tuesday it will raise weekday admission prices for mainland and overseas tourists by about 19 percent．But Hong Kong residents and tourists who purchase tickets through travel agents can still enjoy the old prices until June 30．
A one-day admission will cost HK $350($45)for adults and HK $250 for children aged up to 11 from Monday, the previous charges for weekends．Adults were previously admitted for HK $295 and children HK $210．
A Hong Kong Disneyland spokesman said the park does not expect the new pricing structure to have an immediate impact on attendances, as research shows guests choose when to visit the attraction based on time available rather than ticket prices．But the hikes(the rise of prices)drew immediate criticism from the industry．The greater tourism industry fears it may harm mainlanders willingness to visit Hong Kong．
Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said the decision was unwise in the current financial climate．He also urged the company to rethink its decision, during an interview with Southern Metropolis Daily．
56．On September 10 of 2009(weekday), Hong Kong residents and tourists will have to spend__________buying three children tickets．
A．HK $360 B．$ 360 C ．HK $750 D．HK $885
57．There is a family with five people, John，his father，mother，grandfather and grandmother．They are from America, John is eleven years old．If they visit the place on June 30 2009(weekday)，they will spend about________in total．
A．$212B．$ 1650 C ．HK $1400 D．$1390
58．What can we infer from the passage?
A．Joseph Tung Yao-chung disagreed about the ticket price increase at HK Disney．
B．Hong Kong Disneyland will make a lot of money by raising weekday admission prices for mainland tourists．
C．The Hong Kong Disneyland spokesman didn't like the new pricing structure．
D．Only tourists from mainland visit Hong Kong Disneyland．
C
“Regardless of social class, race, age, men say they hate to shop,” says Zukin, City University of New York sociology professor. “Yet when you ask them deeper questions, it turns out that they like to shop. Men generally like to shop for books, music and hardware. But if you ask them about the shopping they do for books or music, they’ll say, ‘Well, that’s not shopping. That’s research.’”
In other words, what men and women call “buying things” and how they approach that task are different.
Women will wander through several 1,000-square-meter stores in search of the perfect party dress. Men will wander through 100 Internet sites in search of the perfect digital camcorder(摄录像一体机).
Women see shopping as a social event. Men see it as a special task or a game to be won.
“Men are frequently shopping to win,” says Ann, a marketing professor at Loyola University of Chicago. “They want to get the best deal. They want to get the best one, the latest one and if they do that it makes them happy.”
When women shop, “They’re doing it in a way that they want everybody to be very happy,” says Ann. “They’re kind of shopping for love.”
“Teenage girls learn to shop from their moms and older sisters, but they also learn to shop by examining articles in magazines like Seventeen,” City University Zukin says.
“And although men’s magazines such as GQ and Esquire have long had shopping articles, it’s TV that has the eye of young male shoppers,” says Ann and Zukin.
“Television shows are used by young men in the same way Seventeen magazine or Lucky are used by girls,” says Zukin, “to help make clothing and toiletry(化妆品) choices.”
“Of course, there are men who love to shop and are proud of it,” Loyola’s Ann says.
And that is important no matter whether you buy a car or a frying pan. All men love to buy but don’t want to get cheated.
Ann adds, “There actually are men who are interested, for example, in cooking or shopping or chinaware or things around the home --- they become kind of girl magnets. Women like it.”
78. From the first paragraph we can find that ______.
A. men are all dishonest B. men are all book lovers
C. men hate to shop actually D. men like to shop in fact
79. Compared to women men usually treat shopping ______.
A. honestly B. seriously C. frequently D. foolishly
80. The underlined word “magnets” in the last paragraph means ______.
A. magazines that attract young women B. persons that have a powerful attraction
C. tools that can help housewives much D. vegetables that make women beautiful