In the 1880s, Mark Twain established and operated his own publishing firm. He also became interested in various investments, especially an elaborate typesetting machine. He lost almost $200,000 in investments in the machine between 1881 and 1894. Also, his publishing company declared bankruptcy (破产) in April 1894. Thus, in January 1895, Mark Twain found himself publicly shamed by his inability to pay his debts.
Mark Twain eventually recovered from his financial difficulties, through his continued writing and a successful lecture tour in 1895 and 1896. During this much-publicized tour, Twain lectured in such places as India, South Africa and Australia. By the time he returned, he had become an international hero. Twain enjoyed this attention, and his habits of smoking cigars or a pipe and wearing unconventional white suits contributed to his showy image. He also made use of his position as a public figure to criticize the US foreign policy.
Although he was recovering from his financial problems by 1898, Mark Twain had begun to experience tragedy in his personal life. Suzy, his oldest daughter, died of meningitis (脑膜炎) in 1896, while her parents and sister Clara were abroad. In 1903, Mark Twain sold the beloved house in Hartford, which had become too closely associated with Suzy’s death. His wife, Olivia, who had developed a heart condition, died on June 5, 1904. His youngest daughter, Jean, died on Dec. 24, 1909.
64. Which is not the reason why Mark Twain found himself in debt?
A.Because he devoted all his energy to his writings.
B.Because his publishing firm bankruptcy.
C.He lost almost $ 200 000 in investments in the machine between 1881 and 1894
D.Because he lost a large quantity of money in various investments.
65. How did Mark Twain pay off his debts?
A. By borrowing money from the bank.
B. By investing in foreign countries.
C.By writing articles and a successful lecture tour.
D.By printing his own articles and selling them for money.
66. It can be inferred that Mark Twain ________________.
A.hated smoking cigars
B.liked wearing black clothes
C.hated the US foreign policy at that time
D.hated giving lectures in the foreign countries
A.I. (人工智能) is just starting to become part of our lives, and books and movies have been talking about A.I. and robots for years. Mostly, in these books and movies, the computers and robots turn out to be the enemies of the human race. Here is a selection of some famous A.I. movies..
2001: A Space Odyssey
In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL is one of the first computers to talk like a human. HAL is very frightening because it speaks in a calm voice as it goes on a killing spree (疯狂杀戮). When the astronauts attempt to hide in a smaller spaceship and switch off the microphones, HAL uses a camera to read their lips and understand what the astronauts are saying.
The Terminator
In The Terminator, a computer thinks that its deadly enemies are human beings. As a result, the computer launches missiles (导弹) to start international wars and then builds killer robots to destroy the human race.
The Matr/x
In The Matrix, a computer takes over the world and uses human beings for energy. The computer keeps people alive by making them think that they are still living normal lives. A few brave rebels (叛逆者) decide to fight against the computer.
Star War movies
In the Star War movies, computerised robots are used as servants and soldiers. R2-D2, a small cylindrical (圆柱形的) robot, and C-3PO, a tall talking robot, help some humans defeat the evil ruler, Darth Vader, in a dangerous battle between the forces of good and evil.
1, In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the astronauts switch off the microphones to
A. prevent HAL hearing whom they axe calling
B. prevent HAL hearing what they are saying
C. force HAL to use a camera
D. force HAL to speak loudly
2. If you want to know how an intelligent computer uses human beings for energy, you should watch __
A. The Terminator.
B. 2001: A Space Odyssey'
C. Star War movies
D. The Matrix
3. R2-D2 and C-3PO stand for
A. the scientific forces
B. the natural forces
C. the good forces
D. the evil forces
4. What do the four movies have in common?
A. They all have the same ending.
B. They are about a similar theme.
C. They are all based on science fiction books.
D. They started heated discussions about A.I.
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题,;每小题2分,满分40分)
On Nov.18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert in the Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York City.
If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio (小儿麻痹症) as a child, and so he has braces (支架) on both legs and walks with the aid of a pair of crutches (拐杖).
He walks painfully until he reaches his chair. Then he sits down slowly, puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps (扣压环) on his legs, pushes one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and begins his play.
But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few notes, one of the strings on his violin broke — it went off like gunfire across the room. We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage — to either find another violin or else find another string for this one. But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again.
The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. When he finished, there was an extremely impressive silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and then he said in a quiet tone, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."
1. What does the author mean when he writes the underlined part in Paragraph 2?
A. It's very difficult for Perlman to get to the stage.
B. It's' hard for Perlman to play a violin with three strings.
C. It's not easy for Perlman to face such a large audience.
D. Pefiman plays the violin with three strings successfully.
2. The third paragraph describes .
A. how Perlman deals with his disability
B. Pefiman's attitude towards the concert
C. the various stages of Perlman' s performance
D. the difficulties Pefiman had before playing
3. What does the underlined word "one" in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. String. B. Crutch.
C. Violin. D. Orchestra.
4. Itzhak Pefiman can be best described as a man who is .
A. intelligent B. strong-willed
C. humourous D. highly skilled
Tamiflu(达菲-一种抗病毒药) does not kill but prevents H1N1 from further proliferation (繁衍) till the virus limits itself in about 1-2 weeks (its natural cycle).H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects the upper respiratory tract and proliferates (only) there.The only way of entry are the nostrils(鼻孔) and mouth/ throat.In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1.
Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.
While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, some very simple steps can be practiced:
1.Frequent hand-washing.
2."Hands-off-the-face" approach.Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe).
3.Gargle(漱口) twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt).H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms.Simple gargling prevents proliferation.In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one.Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4.Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrilsat least once every day with warm salt water,Which is very effective in bringing down viral population.
5.Strengthen your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C .If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6.Drink as much of warm liquids as you can.Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction.They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
7.All these are simple ways to prevent, within means of most households, and certainly much less painful than to wait in long queues outside public hospitals.
1.What part of a person’s body do H1N1flu viruses mainly infect?
A.one’s lungB.the upper respiratory tract
C.one’s heartD.one’s throat and lung
2.H1N1 flu viruses go into our bodies by ________.
A.touching B.dietC.breathing D.dirt
3.What does the underlined word “underestimate” mean ?
A.assign too low a value to
B.drop the cost of
C.pay more attention to
D.calculate the number of money
4.The author presents this passage by ______.
A.telling an interesting story
B.testing an idea by reasoning
C.introducing some practical methods
D.describing some activities in a natural order
People like to look in the mirror often when they have a young and beautiful face. However, when one grows old, nobody wants to see their wrinkled old face in the mirror any more.
So, many old people seldom look at their faces in the mirror. This is completely wrong.
According to Wu Zhenyun, a professor from the Psychological Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a person’s willingness to look in the mirror can reflect his or her mentality. When people don’t care too much about their age, they will try to carry themselves with ease and natural poise (姿态). They don’t mind looking in the mirror to see their own faces. Some people even love to look in the mirror from time to time to see whether they keep a good appearance. In this way, mirror becomes their best friend that help them to look confident.
On the other hand, some people are afraid of being old. They don’t want to see the wrinkles on their face and their hair turning grey. So they don’t want to look in the mirror. This actually reflects a negative attitude they hold towards life. In the long term, they might suffer from psychological pressure or some sort of depression, which is actually not a wise act.
“ Everyone can make themselves look charming at every age stage. If one is confident, one will always look beautiful, it shows that they accept themselves.” professor Wu said.
Mirror cannot only give confidence to one. By looking in the mirror, one can even find the traces of some diseases from one’s own face.
1.Why does the mirror become the best friend for some people?
A. Because it brings much confidence to them.
B. Because it makes them more beautiful.
C. Because it tells whether they are clean or not.
D. Because it helps them find their own faults.
2.The fact that some people are afraid of looking in the mirror reflects that______.
A. they suffer from metal disease
B. they treat life in a negative way
C. they are too ugly
D. they can’t bear the pressure of being old
3. The text tells us that______.
A. if you are willing to look in the mirror you are getting old
B. everyone can become attractive at any age
C. confidence can make a person look beautiful
D. old people will accept the reality when they are old
4. The writer wrote this passage to______.
A. advise people to look in the mirror constantly
B. reflect different attitude towards looking into a mirror
C. introduce a way of finding signs of disease from one’s face
D. analyze why people like and dislike to look in the mirror
You may surf the internet to choose some films for the long holidays. Read the following introductions for movies that are showing at the moment. And then answer questions.
Happiness (Romance) ★★★★
Happiness tells the story of two people (Lisa Turbot and Danny Roy) who work for different advertising companies. They talk on the phone all the time and don’t like each other. But then they correspond by e-mail and fall in love. This movie will be very popular with teenagers and people who like romances. It also has beautiful music.
I scream (Thriller ) ★★
In I scream, Paul (Colin Jacks) is a young man who joins a thriller club. Each of the members tries to frighten the others. Paul is told to stay in an old house for the night. Everyone who has tried to stay in the house before has died. This movie is very frightening but also quite silly. It doesn’t make sense for Paul to stay in the house when things start to go wrong. Only for people who like thrillers.
Paul’s Heroes (Comedy) ★★★
This is very funny war movie set in World War Two. Six soldiers (including Sammy Turblow) have to get to Italy to take secret messages to the American army there. During the movie, they dress up as women and fight with Italian workers. You can guess the ending, but it’s great fun getting there.
(Drama ) ★★★★
This is a very good drama with Jack Ross, who plays a hard-working truck driver. His wife becomes ill and he has to find a doctor who can help her. In his travels he meets Dr Lloyd (Phidl Driver) who has found the cure for the illness, but Jack Ross has only twelve hours to get the medicine back to his wife on the other side of America. This is an excellent movie, which is very exciting.
1. The purpose of writing this article is to _____________
A. advertise the four films to attract more audience
B. compare the different advantages of each film
C. introduce different films to vacationers.
D. persuade people to go to the cinema
2. The underlined word “correspond” can be replaced by ________.
A. communicate B. match C. write D. exchange
3. Which of the following is the best title for the fourth film?
A .A Hard-working Truck Driver B. Medicine
C. A Strange Illness D. Twelve Hours