E
“The Lord of the Rings”, one of the best sellers in the new millennium (千年), was made up of three parts —— “The Fellowship of the Ring”, “Two Towers”, and “The Return of the King”. Millions upon millions of people have read it in over 25 different languages, but fewer know about the author and the history of the composition of the creative masterwork.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892. His parents died when he was a child. Living in England with his aunt, Tolkien and his cousins made up play languages, a hobby that led to Tolkien’s becoming skilled in Welsh, Greek, Gothic, Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon.
After graduating from Oxford, Tolkien served in World War I. In 1917, while recovering from trench fever, he began composing the mythology (神话) for The Rings. As a professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1930s at Oxford, Tolkien was part of an informal discussion group called the Inklings, which included several writers. The group was soon listening to chapters of Tolkien’s imaginative work “The Hobbit”.
Hobbit was a name Tolkien created for a local people that could best be described as half-sized members of the English rural (乡村的) class. Hobbits live in hillside holes. One of them, Bilbo Baggins, looks for treasures with a group of dwarves (侏儒). On the way, he meets the twisted, pitiful creature Gollum, from whom he sees a golden ring that makes the holder invisible.
One of Tolkien’s students persuaded her employer, publisher Allen & Unwin, to look at a draft (草稿). The chairman of the firm, Stanley Unwin, thought that the best judge for a children’s book would be his ten-year-old son. The boy earned a shilling for reporting back that the adventure was exciting, and “The Hobbit” was published in 1937.
It sold so well that Unwin asked for a continuation. Over a dozen years later, in 1954, Tolkien produced “The Lord of the Rings”, a series of books so creative that they hold readers — new and old — after their publication.
57. What can we learn from the text?
A. “The Lord of the Rings” didn’t sell well in the last millennium.
B. People know better about Tolkien himself than about his works.
C. Tolkien was quite familiar with Old English.
D. Tolkien knew very well about different kinds of local languages in Africa.
58. Which of the following helped most in making “The Hobbit” published?
A. One of Tolkien’s students. B. Stanley Unwin’s son.
C. Allen & Unwin. D. Bilbo Baggins.
59. What is mainly discussed in the text?
A. “The Lord of the Rings” and its writer.
B. A completely new masterwork in the new millennium.
C. A famous professor at Oxford University. D. The power of the magic ring.
60. Which of the following shows the right order of Mr. J.R.R.Tolkien’s life experience?
a. He had his “The Hobbit” published. b. He became a member of the Inklings.
c. He served in World WarⅠ d. He became an undergraduate at Oxford.
e. His work “The Lord of the Rings” came to the world.
f. He moved to England to live with his aunt.
A. f-d-b-c-a-e B. f-d-c-b-a-e C. f-c-d-b-e-a D. d-f-c-a-b-e
Taylor sings with heart
The music industry is never short of teen pop stars with wonderful looks, but it doesn’t often find one like US singer Taylor Swift. “Beneath Taylor Swift’s not-a-girl, not-yet-a-woman sweetness hides a very skillful songwriting technique (技巧),” writes Leah Greenblatt with Entertainment Weekly.
Songwriting, the country singer explains, is “how I deal with problems. I am used to writing about things that really influences me most.” So in her songs, there is always something true and honest. They seem like stories from a diary. And that certainly helps Swift attract her audience.
She’s sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first two albums, 2006’s self-titled debut (首张专辑) and 2008’s Fearless. She’s the youngest artist ever to be named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Not surprisingly, there were great expectations for her third album, Speak Now, which came out late last month, where she again returned to her own life for material. The 14 songs “are all about the last two years... when life was a little bit bigger and crazier,” says Swift. “So I’ve written about the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18, 19 and 20.”What led to Taylor’s fame?
| A．Her wonderful looks. | B．Her songwriting skills together with her looks. |
| C．Her beautiful voice. | D．Her special life experience in her teenage years. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Taylor is now in her twenties. |
| B．Taylor’s the youngest Artist of the Year at the Academy Awards |
| C．Taylor has produced three albums up till now. |
| D．Taylor has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide. |
What may be written in the album, Speak Now?
| A．Her unhappy experience with her boyfriend. |
| B．Her concern for her popularity. |
| C．Her happy childhood. |
| D．Her worries for environmental pollution. |
Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned .Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man. “The rat population is on the rise and soon it’ll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat,” said group Director, Sue Nelson. The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin—with young men the worst group—was behind the rise. According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain’s rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population. On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year. Around 200 people a year get Weil’s Disease –an infection which can lead to liver or kidney（肝肾）failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats’ waste. To attract people’s attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title “How close do you want them to get?” The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert’s classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans.Where did the rats use to search for food?
| A．In the street | B．Under the ground |
| C．From the dustbins | D．In burger shops |
What was the rat population in Britain in 2000 according to the writer?
| A．Around 60 million | B．Around 45 million |
| C．Around 38 million | D．Around 2 million |
We may infer from the passage that ______________.
| A．Weil’s Disease will finally end the world |
| B．pizzas and crisps will become unpopular |
| C．rats will put human beings’ life in danger |
| D．young people should take the responsibility for the rat population |
By writing the passage, the author tries to _____________.
| A．close some of the burger and pizza restaurants |
| B．draw the public attention to the problem of rats |
| C．prevent the rats from growing up |
| D．making an advertisement for the classic horror tale The Rats |
The creation of a Chinese Green Card in 2004 was a milestone in the country’s immigration law. Five years on, the card is an increasingly sought-after document.
On August 15, 2004, the Regulations on Examination and Approval of Permanent Residence
oAliens in China created a Green Card system granting qualified foreigners the right to live in
China permanently.
Liu Lili, who works in the Exit and Entry Administration of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, has watched the Green Card system develop since its inception. She said nearly all applications received by the Bureau are approved. So far, 323 people have been granted a “Green Card” qualifying them for permanent residence in Beijing. Another 15 are awaiting final approval. It takes around 6 months to process each application.
Of the 323 Green Card holders, 94 are wives or husbands of Chinese citizens; 50 are minors dependent on their parents; 20 are senior citizens returning to live with relatives; 114 are individuals who have made outstanding contributions or are of special importance to China (another 7 are their family members); and 23 are high-level foreign personnel who hold posts in businesses (another 15 are their family members).
Liu said the authorities had been granting residence to returning senior citizens for some time before the Green Card system was formally launched .The government has approved permanent residence for over 3,000 foreigners since the implementation of the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens which was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in November 1985.
Four groups of people are eligible for permanent residence: high-level foreign personnel who hold posts in businesses that promote China’s economic, scientific and technological development or social progress; foreign citizens who make large direct investments in China; persons who have made outstanding contributions or are of special importance to China; and people who come to China to be with family, such as husbands and wives, minors dependent on their parents, and senior citizens dependent on their relatives.
Liu said that most applications she dealt with were from American citizens.
Why do overseas citizens apply for permanent residence status in China? The main concern, aid Liu, is the political factor. Once people have a “Green Card”, they feel they are accepted and trusted by the Chinese government. The “Green Card” also facilitates entry and exit. With permanent residence status, visas are no longer needed and people can enter and leave the country using only a valid passport. China offers outstanding career opportunities and is seen by many as safer and more secure than many other countries, said Liu.
Liu said that Green Card holders have the same rights and responsibilities as Chinese citizens. However the card is not equivalent to Chinese nationality and holders are not allowed to vote in elections, hold political office, or serve in the military.
Obtaining a Green Card is not easy. The qualifying conditions are tough. Unless you are a close relative of a Chinese citizen，you will either have to invest a substantial amount of money in the country or make a genuinely outstanding contribution to the country’s development.
To meet increasing demand, he authorities are considering making the Green Card more available by broadening the range of applicants without lowering the requirements, aid Liu, but she gave no further details.Which of the following can’t get a green card?
| A．A foreigner whose wife of husband is of Chinese nationality. |
| B．A foreign child whose parents are Chinese citizens. |
| C．A foreigner who invests large sum of money in China. |
| D．A foreigner who works in China for a long time. |
If a foreign gets a Green Card in China, he /she_________.
| A．has the right to vote in China. | B．can be a high official in China |
| C．can enter or leave China without a visa | D．becomes a citizen of Chinese nationality |
From the article we can see foreigners apply for Green Cards mainly to ________.
| A．show that they are important | B．be accepted and trusted by the Chinese |
| C．make entry and exit easier | D．make more money. |
Which of the following is not the reason for foreigners to work or live permanently in China?
| A．They can find satisfactory jobs. |
| B．China is more secure country than many. |
| C．They have their professions, families and investments in China. |
| D．The weather, working conditions are better than better than their own countries. |
People are talking about the “new economy.” It’s very different from the “old economy”.
In the old economy, people travel to walk. They buy things in stores. They use the post office, the fax and the telephone to send information. They see people face-to-face at their jobs or in stores. People get information from newspapers, radio, television, books and libraries.
In the new economy, people do business through the “net,” which is a connection of millions of computers everywhere in the world. In the new economy, workers often work at home. They can get information online. They can communicate with employers and co-workers by e-mail. Businesses have “virtual stores”. They are websites on which customers can see the products. Businesses can sell to customers anywhere in the world.
In the new economy, people live a fast paced, convenient and colorful life. The whole world develops more quickly than before. But the new economy is a double-edge sword. Its disadvantage is also obvious. For example, the Internet has led to a huge increase in credit card cheating. Some illegal websites offer some cheap or banned goods or services. Online shoppers who enter their credit card information may never receive the goods they want to buy and their card information could even be for sale in an illegal website. So people in the new economy should be smarter and knowledgeable.The cause of the differences between the new economy and the old economy is ____.
| A．the change of people’s idea | B．the business people do |
| C．the use of the Internet | D．the change of people’s life |
In the old economy, people can do the following things EXCEPT____.
| A．getting information from books |
| B．communicating with friends by telephone |
| C．meeting people face to face |
| D．shopping online |
“But the new economy is a double-edge sword ” in the last passage means_____.
| A．The new economy is as sharp as a sword |
| B．The new economy has advantages and disadvantages |
| C．The new economy is better than the old economy |
| D．Both the new economy and the old economy have disadvantages |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People can get all kinds of information on the Internet. |
| B．Telephone, radio, television, newspapers and so on will disappear in the new economy. |
| C．People in the new economy should have high quality. |
| D．Life in the new economy is more comfortable than the one in the old economy. |
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York, I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was seated on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼示意). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful, largest smile I have ever seen
All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy college student, into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth.
That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.What was the writer a decade ago?
| A．A worker working in a university. |
| B．A teacher teaching in a college. |
| C．A clerk working in a museum. |
| D．A university student who had not yet taken a degree. |
What does the underlined world “handicap” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Life difficulty. | B．Troublesome problem. |
| C．Failure in work. | D．Physical disability. |
How did the writer probably feel before meeting the disabled girl?
| A．She felt full of hope. |
| B．She was filled with confidence. |
| C．She felt unhappy because of poverty. |
| D．She felt life was beautiful. |
Which of the following title suits this passage best?
| A．A Disabled Girl. |
| B．A Disabled Girl’s Smile. |
| C．Full of Hope. |
| D．Full of Confidence. |