People who speak or perform before the public sometimes may suffer from “Stage Fright. ” Stage fright makes a person nervous. In the worst case(情况) it can make one's mind go back and forget what one ought to say, or to act. Actors, musicians, dancers, lawyers, even radio show hosts(节目主持人) have suffered from stage fright at one time or another.
Diana Nichols is an expert in helping people free from stage fright at a medical centre in New York City. She helps actors learn to control themselves. Miss Nichols says some people have always been afraid to perform before the audience. Others, she says, develop stage fright after a fearful experience.
She offers them ways to control the fear. One way is to smile before going onto the stage. Taking two deep breaths also helps. Deep breathing helps you get control of your body.
Miss Nichols persuades her patients to tell themselves that their speech or performance does not have to the perfect. It's all right to make a mistake. She tells them they should not be too cautions(谨慎的) while they are performing. It is important that they should continue to perform while she is helping them. After each performance, they discuss what happened and find out what advice helped and what did not. As they perform more and more, they will fear less and less as much as 50%. Miss Nichols says the aim is only to reduce stage fright, not to eliminate it completely. This is because a little stage fright makes a person more cautious, and improves the performance.
1 One who is suffering stage fright may .
A. forget one's part before the audience
B. smile all the time on the stage
C. make a speech fast than ever
D. be cautious to improve his performance
2 The underlined word “eliminate” in the last paragraph means .
A. keep B. reduce C. change D. get rid of
3 The wrong way to overcome stage fright is .
A. to smile before going to the stage.
B. to take two deep breaths to calm oneself
C. to pay less attention to one's mistakes in performance
D. to perform less and to watch more
4 Which of the following statements is right?
A. We can get rid of stage fright completely.
B. A little stage fright can make actors perform better.
C. We can reduce stage fright as much as one third.
D. A little stage fright leads to complete failure.
However urban life strikes you, cities worldwide have been growing ever more rapidly. Some of this growth has happened in the developed world, but the most dramatic increase has been in the Third World. Almost all the world’s population growth over the next 30 years will take place in the cities of developing countries.
By the year 2030, for the first time in history, 60 percent of the world’s people will be living in cities.
This is actually good news in some ways. “Cities are the fundamental building blocks of prosperity(繁荣),” says Marc Weiss, chairman of the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development, “both for the nation and for families.” Industrial and commercial activities in urban areas account for between 50 and 80 percent of the GDP(国内生产总值) in most countries of the world. “There’s the crazy idea that the way to deal with a city’s problems is to keep people out of them.” Weiss continued. “But the problems of the rural life are even more serious than those of the city.” For better or worse, urban-watchers are clear on one point: The quality of life for most people in the future will be determined by the quality of cities. Those cities will be bigger than ever. And yet, population numbers by themselves don’t determine a city’s prospects; after all, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Hamburg, Germany, have the same population. Nor is explosive growth necessarily the determining factor. “City problems,” one authority points out, “mostly have to do with weak, ineffective, and usually unrepresentative city governments.”According to the passage, in the year of 2030 _______.
| A．there will be many cities having a population of more than 10 million. |
| B．rural area will be extinct (灭绝). |
| C．most people will live in cities. |
| D．the third world will keep up with the developed world. |
In the author’s opinion, _________.
| A．better city, better life |
| B．both urban and rural areas will have a large population |
| C．the larger the population is, the faster a city develops |
| D．both urban and rural areas have larger GDP |
The last paragraph implies that ____________.
| A．Public services are ineffective. |
| B．Cities are increasing too fast. |
| C．Population is not linked with development. |
| D．Government should be responsible for the problems in the cities. |
Museums in Germany
Germany is one of the most important countries in Europe. You can visit many museums in Germany and learn about the country, its culture and people.
If you are interested in learning about the history of the country, then you can have a look at the displays in the wonderful museum in the Roman Open Air Museum in Hechingen Stein. This museum, with its large numbers of artifacts (手工艺品) like paintings, pieces of pottery, tools, jewelry and other items, provides a complete picture of Roman history in Germany. The museum is built inside an ancient Roman house called “Villa Rustica”.
Apart from this, another German museum that is worth visiting is the DB Museum, or the German Railway Museum. It is the oldest railway museum in the country, and it offers a comprehensive insight into the history of the railways in Germany. Here, you can see models of trains and engines from an ancient era. If this interests you, you can also visit the Museum of Communication, where you can learn a lot about the transport in Germany. It is a great place to visit with your family.
Another famous museum in Germany, where you can learn a lot about the culture, is the Gutenberg Museum. This museum is filled with ancient memorabilia and artifacts that deal with the history of printing, not only of Germany, but of the whole world. This, in fact, is the oldest printing museum in the world. Amongst the many displays of interesting objects, the most famous is the second Gutenberg Bible. Apart from the museums mentioned above, other museums that are worth visiting include the German Leather Museum, Kingspor Museum, Optical Museum Jena, Deutsches Museums and others. Each of the museums in Germany deals with a different theme.
You can visit the museums in Germany with your family and have a good time looking at the displays.Which of the following is not displayed in the Roman Open Air Museum?
| A．Pieces of pottery. | B．Jewelry. | C．Paintings. | D．Models of trains. |
What can we learn about the German Railway Museum?
| A．It is the oldest railway museum in Europe. |
| B．It covers the history of the railways in Germany. |
| C．It offers information about the transport in Germany. |
| D．It is built inside an ancient Roman house. |
If you want to learn about the history of Germany, you can go to the _______.
| A．Roman Open Air Museum | B．Kingspor Museum |
| C．Optical Museum Jena | D．Deutsches Museums |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To attract more visitors to the museums. |
| B．To act as an introduction to the history of Germany. |
| C．To make Germany more popular. |
| D．To call on people to do something for the museums. |
A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.”
The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.”
“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And he who doesn’t exist cannot have the job. ”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and returned late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers(零售商) in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker(保险业经纪人) and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail.”
The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire(帝国). Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”Why can’t the man have the job at Microsoft?
| A．Because he was lazy. | B．Because he didn’t pass the test. |
| C．Because he didn’t have an e-mail. | D．Because he didn’t have a computer. |
The underlined word “triple” can be replaced by ______.
| A．become large | B．become 3 times | C．increase quickly | D．decrease quickly |
The man can be described as _______.
| A．helpful and grateful | B．positive and generous |
| C．smart and hardworking | D．stubborn and unselfish |
Which proverb can best describe the story?
| A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing. | B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．Accidents will happen. | D．No pains , no gains. |
Public schools in Washington, D.C. provide students with musical instruments for free. When something goes wrong with an instrument, Charles West and Larry Jernigan do the repairs. Both men approach their work with a passion(激情). For them, it’s important that students have a joyful experience with music.
The two have worked together for almost 20 years. This year alone, they’ve fixed about 450 instruments. Both men are musicians and music lovers, so learning to do repairs came naturally.
“I have been a musician all my life.” says West. “I played in an orchestra here in the city. I majored in music in college. I played in an army band.”
Jernigan’s musical interests are varied. “I was formerly trained in the piano and guitar. The alto sax, and the flute, I picked up while working here.”
In addition to fixing instruments, the two also go to schools to instruct teachers and students on how to make minor repairs on their own.
West believes if children start early and stay concerned with music, it enriches other areas of their lives. “I see that in other kids. I see it in myself. I have seen it hundreds of times and it works,” he says. “They learn teamwork. They learn patience and respect.”
But West has concerns about the future of music in the electronic age.
“This instant age has taken away from the sit-down, the patience. And to learn to play an instrument, it takes patience, it takes diligence, it takes time.”
Being able to enjoy music on the job is one of the benefits of the job. Both men agree their best rewards are the students’ performances. What’s the job of West and Jernigan at school?
| A．Teaching music. | B．Writing music. |
| C．Making musical instruments. | D．Repairing musical instruments. |
They love the job because they can .
| A．earn more money | B．learn repair skills |
| C．enjoy music | D．watch performances |
Which of the following is true of the two men?
| A．They have fixed 450 instruments in the past 20 years. |
| B．They can play and repair musical instruments. |
| C．Jernigan used to play in an army band. |
| D．West was trained to play the piano. |
According to West, what can people learn from music?
| A．Teamwork and patience. | B．The value of time. |
| C．The truth of society. | D．Diligence and confidence. |
What is mainly talked about in the text?
| A．How to repair musical instruments. |
| B．Learning experiences of two repairmen. |
| C．How to prepare a musical performance. |
| D．The enjoyable job of two music lovers. |
International students in Christine Rhodes’ English class in Australia share their favorite places they have visited in Australia.
Canberra, the nicest city in Australia.
Siggi Siebold from Germany
I went for a short holiday to Canberra because my son lives there. It’s the nicest city in Australia, a little bit similar to Cairns. There’re lots of big rivers and trees around the city. The small city of Mount Isa
Indra Ekanayake from Malaysia
I came to Mount Isa six months ago. It’s a long way from Brisbane-about 2,000 km .It’s a small city, with a population of 21,000, but it has all the basic facilities(设施)such as a hospital, six schools and supermarkets. It’s a mining city. It’s hot and gets little rain. There’re two big lakes to keep the rainwater for drinking for the city.Lake Moondarra and a mine
Ida Robb from Indonesia
In Mount Isa, there’s a dam called Lake Moondarra. On the weekend you can go there with your friends. People go fishing and even catch a crocodile. There’s a big mine in Mount Isa. Many people come to work in the mine and earn much money. It isn’t a beautiful green place, but many people love it.My impression(印象)of Sydney
Namfon Pitaxsin from Thailand
The fist time I came to Australia, I was happy. I traveled to Sydney. Four million people live there ,and many are Asians. I saw the harbor (港口)，Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House and I went to see the koalas and kangaroos in Taronga Park Zoo. After that I went to the Thai restaurants. There is a revolving (旋转的) restaurant, so you can eat and see the city.Why did Siggi Siebold go to Canberra?
| A．Because it’s the nicest city in Australia. |
| B．Because her son lives there |
| C．Because it is similar to her hometown |
| D．Because there’re lots of rivers |
According to Indra Ekanayake, Mount Isa______
| A．is a famous harbor in Ausralia |
| B．has a large population |
| C．probably doesn’t have enough drinking water |
| D．doesn’t have enough basic facilities |
Where is Lake Moondarra?
| A．In Canberra. | B．In Mount Isa. | C．In Brisbane. | D．In Sydney |
The first time Namfon Pitaxsin went to Australia, she________
| A．saw some special Australian animals |
| B．met more Americans than Asians |
| C．ate in a revolving restaurant |
| D．enjoyed the music in the Opera House |
How many cities does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four. | D．Five |