When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying: “We have to go to work now,” you’re left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all, this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is, until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre.
Stage schools often act as agencies（代理机构）to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education.
A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all, what lively children wouldn’t settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?
Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year; those over 13 to 80 days.
The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who don’t make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case.
People would stop feeling uneasy when realizing that the children they’re talking to________.
| A．attend a stage school | B．are going to the theatre |
C．have got some work to do | D．love singing and dancing |
In the writer’s opinion, a good stage school should ________.
| A．produce star performers |
B．help pupils improve their study skills |
C．train pupils in language and performing arts |
D．provide a general education and stage training. |
“Professional work” as used in the text means ________.
| A．ordinary school work | B．money-making performances |
C．stage training at school | D．acting, singing or dancing after class |
Which of the following best describes how the writer feels about stage schools?
| A．He thinks highly of what they have to offer. |
B．He favours an early start in the training of performing arts. |
C．He feels uncomfortable about children putting on night shows. |
D．He doubts the standard of ordinary education they have reached. |
Putting Movies on Mobiles
Movies in the theater get their recognition at awards ceremonies such as the Oscars．But how about movies for phones? They are getting their turn at MoFilm — the first mobile film festival.
The first MoFilm competition received 250 entries from more than 100 countries．Entries were restricted to films that were five minutes or less in length — ideal for viewing and sharing on mobile phones．An independent jury then selected a shortlist of five film-makers．The winner was chosen from the shortlist by an audience voting using their phones.
New Platforms
The awards highlight the increasing impact that mobile phones are making in the entertainment industry．Many grassroots filmmakers start out with short films．They are thwarted by the lack of opportunities to screen their work．Therefore, mobile phones are increasingly being seen as a new platform for these short works.
It is a good place for anyone who wants to express themselves and find a way to have that expression be seen by a wide audience．Just think about how many people have mobile phones in the world!
New Technology Advances
MoFilm is pioneering content for mobile and online services that is a world away from Hollywood．The majority of films made for mobiles are now short in length, taking into account the screen size．However this could be overcome as technology advances.
In the near future, longer films will likely be seen on the mobile phone．And there are mobile companies creating phones where users can watch movies at higher quality．
Wherever you see movies, one thing is certain: the quality of work, the simple ability at story telling, and the thing that inspires someone to tell a story can really come from anywhere.
60．At the first MoFilm, ________．
A．movies in the theater got their recognition
B．more than 100 countries took part in the competition
C．ideal films were five minutes or less in length
D．the winner was chosen by experts’ voting
61．They are thwarted by the lack of opportunities to screen their work．The underlined word means “________”．
A．disappointedB．surprised C．frightened D．encouraged
62．Nowadays the majority of films made for mobiles are short in length because of ________．
A．online services B．the mobile phone C．technology advances D．the screen size
The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when 1 ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
“My God, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry. I walked to my seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington.
“Take that seat，” Mr. McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos，pointing to the only empty one，in the back of the room.
Carlos grinned,“But I need a couple of dictionaries.”Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos，not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president. “How come?”I kept asking myself,“How come this shrimp who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”
So that morning，I stopped Carlos and said，“It doesn’t seem to bother you — being short.”He looked up at me , “Of course I mind being short. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin，I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,”I admitted, “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
56．The author was angry because ________.
A．the class made fun of her B．Carlos was too rude to her
C．she had to carry many books D．Reed Harrington didn’t date her
57．Which of the following about Carlos is NOT TRUE?
A．He was popular. B．He was new in the school.
C．He was shorter than the author. D．He was chosen president in the school elections.
58．We can infer from the passage that ________.
A．Carlos and the author have become good friends
B．the author will be more confident
C．Carlos always encouraged the author
D．the author was tall
59．What’s the best title of the passage?
A．How to be popular B．A tall girl
C．Be yourself D．Something about Carlos
New York Times-The already crazed competition for admission to the nation’s most famous universities and colleges became even more intense (激烈的) this year, with many recording the lowest acceptance rates.
Harvard College, for example, offered admission to only 7.1 percent of the 27,462 high school seniors who applied — or, put another way, it rejected 93 of every 100 applicants, many with extraordinary achievements, like a perfect score on one of the SAT exams. Yale College accepted 8.3 percent of its 22,813 applicants. Both rates were records.
Columbia College admitted 8.7 percent of its applicants, Brown University and Dartmouth College about 13 percent, and Bowdoin College and Georgetown University 18 percent — also records.
“We love the people we admitted, but we also love a very large number of the people who we were not able to admit,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean (主任) of admissions and financial aid at Harvard College.
Some colleges said they placed more students on their waiting lists than in recent years, in part because of uncertainty over how many admitted students would decide to enroll （登记入学）. Harvard and Princeton stopped accepting students through early admission this academic year; that meant that more than 1,500 students who would have been admitted in December were likely to have applied to many famous schools in the regular round.
Many factors contributed to the tightening of the competition at the most selective colleges, admissions deans said. The number of high school graduates in the nation has grown each year over the last decade and a half, experts estimate that the figure will reach the highest point this year or next, which might reduce the competition a little.
Other factors were the ease of online applications, expanded financial aid packages, an ambitious students’ applying to ever more colleges.
48．What’s the passage mainly about?
A．Harvard has the lowest admission rate this year.
B．Many factors have led to the intense competition.
C．Famous universities prefer to have more students on their waiting lists.
D．Admission to famous universities became even more difficult this year.
49．Which of the following has the highest acceptance rate this year?
A．Yale College. B．Georgetown University.
C．Columbia College. D．Dartmouth College.
50．How many of the 20,000 applicants would be rejected by Columbia College this year?
A．18,260 B．1,740 C．18,350 D．1,950
A well-dressed man came into a famous jeweler shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl (珍珠) for his wife's birthday and that the price didn't matter since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a number of beautiful and valuable pearls, he chose a nice black one that cost $ 5,000. He paid for the pearl, shook hands with the jeweler and left.
A few days later the man returned and said his wife had liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality(质地) as she wanted a pair of earrings (耳环) made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler replied, "I would say it's nearly impossible to find an exact one like that pearl.”
The rich man asked the jeweler to advertise(登广告) in the newspapers, and offered $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the ad(广告), but nobody had a pearl that was just right. Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came in. To his surprise, she pulled the wonderful pearl from her handbag. "I don't like to sell it," she said sadly. "I inherited(继承) it from my mother, and my mother inherited from hers. But now I really need the money. "
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The rich man, however, was nowhere to be found.
44. From the first paragraph we can guess that the jeweler considered the well-dressed man as_____________.
A. an honest jeweler to make friends with B. a clever cheat (骗子) with a 1ol
C. a rich businessman and good husband D. a poor gentleman who spent mc
45. He paid$ 5,000 for the pearl without bargaining(讨价还价)______________.
A. because he loved his wife very much
B. in order to get it as quickly as possible
C. since his business had been successful
D. so as to make the jeweler believe him
46. Which of the following is true?
A. The people who answered the ad wanted to sell their pearls at a high price.
B. The woman was the well-dressed man's wife.
C. The jeweler was lucky enough to buy the little old lady's pearl.
D. The rich man didn't know the little old lady.
47. The jeweler could not find the rich man anywhere because he__________.
A. had moved to another hotel B. was busy doing business with others
C. had escaped with $ 20,000 D. had told the wrong telephone number
Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction.(拍卖) I named him Cowboy.
Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was broken. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.
The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks(得意的笑) made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted. All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.
My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line. As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!
I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.
40. The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 3) most probably means ______.
A. told how to enter the arena
B. shown how to make the horse beautiful
C. removed from the competition early
D. told to enter the timed-speed events
41. When the final race finished, nobody cheered because .
A. the audience didn’t like Cowboy B. people envied the writer
C. the win was unexpected D. the writer bad run out of time
42. Why was the writer not confident of victory?
A. He was an inexperienced rider.
B. He had not practiced enough.
C. He believed he was unpopular with the crowd.
D. He thought his horse wasn’t as good as the others.
43. What did the writer learn from his experience?
A. Life can sometimes be unfair.
B. Anything is possible if one tries hard enough.
C. A positive attitude will bring success.
D. One should not make judgments based on appearance.