I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone,
“Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah, who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth….?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room--- if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go.”
Then she turned to me. Kissed me and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control.” With that, she left the room.
After watching crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood(情绪) had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was mad at the telephone. | B．He was angry with his agent. |
| C．He was anxious about his wife. | D．He was impatient with the secretary. |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She said nothing. | B．She shouted at him |
| C．She called the agent. | D．She threw the phone away. |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His own behavior. | B．His wife’s suggestion. |
| C．His changeable feelings. | D．His wife’s sweet kiss. |
What dose the underlined word “antics” refer to ?
| A．Smart words | B．Unusual actions | C．Surprising looks | D．Anxious feelings |
Most parents and teachers would get angry when they hear that teenagers listen to their iPods while preparing for exams. But pupils who listen to music when doing their homework may be, in fact, working hard.
Thirty three schools have downloaded specially written pop and rock songs for their 10,000 pupils who are studying for GCSE (初级毕业证书). The professionally recorded music, based on texts in English literature, teaches teenagers about themes in the GCSE curriculum (课程). Two young men set up “Revise”, the company that produced the songs, and worked with teachers to make sure the lyrics (歌词) reflected the curriculum. Some of the songs were written by Geraint Brown, a director, and they are performed by professional singers and musicians.
Songs for the GCSE science and maths lessons are also being developed in 36 schools. They have also started using the program, called, “LearnThruMusic”.
Dave Matthews, the head of Hawthorn High School in the South Wales valleys, said the program aimed at helping teenagers who are unwilling to study. He said, “There are lots of pupils who don’t have a high level of home support. It’s almost cool to say you have no need to find a support and we have got to change that. With this, they don’t have to be sitting at their desk at home. They can be outside, walking around or even listening to it on the bus, which is very convenient for them.” Everyone has a phone, MP3 or CD player, and they’re more likely to listen to these than pick up a book. “I think everyone would agree that music had an important influence on us when growing up. Both boys and girls are very good at remembering the words and dancing to the music in the charts. There’s no one thing that will successfully engage (使…产生兴趣) every child, and some of them will make little or no use of this. But the fact that they don’t have to do any extra work makes this a very good deal for a kid,” Dave Matthews added.The pop and rock songs used in 36 schools ________.
| A．were written for the students to relax themselves |
| B．made most parents and teachers angry |
| C．were specially written for hardworking students |
| D．were closely related to the curriculum |
Which benefit of the program is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．It saves students much extra work. |
| B．It offers different ways of learning. |
| C．It makes remembering easier. |
| D．It improves family support to kids. |
Which of the following can be inferred in the passage?
| A．The program is not expected to have equal effect on every student. |
| B．Some students used the song as an excuse for not reading textbooks. |
| C．It’s more difficult to create songs for science and maths lessons. |
| D．Students involved in the program needn’t go to school every day. |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Special-written Songs — A Reason Why Students Should Listen to IPods. |
| B．Special-written Songs — A New Way to Learn the Curriculum. |
| C．Special-written Songs — A Substitution for Textbooks. |
| D．Special-written Songs — Mothers’ New Concern. |
I got up and dressed, stuck my violin under my jacket, and went out into the street. I wandered about for an hour, looking for a likely place, feeling as if I were about to commit a crime. Then I stopped at last under a bridge near the station and decided to have a go.
I felt tense and shaking. I drew my violin from under my coat like a gun. It was here, in Southampton, with trains passing overhead, that I was about to prove myself.
The first notes I played were loud and raw, and then they settled down and began to run more smoothly and to stay more or less in tune. To my surprise I was neither arrested nor told to shut up. Indeed, nobody took any notice at all.
I walked the streets of Southampton for several days, gradually knowing how to try and get money by being a street artist. It was not a good thing, for instance, to let the hat fill up with money — the sight could discourage the people; nor was it wise to empty it completely, which could also confuse them, giving them no hint as to where to drop his money. Placing a couple of pennies in the hat to start the thing going soon became a good idea. Before I played another tune, I took off the big money, but always left two pennies behind.
Old ladies were most generous, and so were women with children, shop girls, and typists. As for the men: Heavy drinkers were always generous too and so were big young with muscles. But never a man with a hat, briefcase or dog; respectable types were the meanest of all, except retired army officers, who would bark “Why aren’t you working, young man?” and then threw much money into the hat to hide their confusion.The underlined phrase “have a go” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
| A．have a try | B．run away |
| C．change a place | D．commit a crime |
When the writer began to play the violin, he thought that ________.
| A．he could make a lot of money | B．he had chosen the wrong place |
| C．he would get into trouble | D．people would stop and listen to him |
According to the passage, the writer thought the best way of encouraging people to give a street-violinist money was to ________.
| A．let the hat fill up with money first |
| B．leave a small amount of money in the hat |
| C．make sure that the hat was always empty |
| D．choose the best place to play more smooth tunes |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Most of the ladies were willing to give him money. |
| B．Retired army officers seldom gave him money. |
| C．Drinkers were generous with their money. |
| D．Not all the people would feel pity for street-violinists. |
If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing(短暂的) thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy（哲学）. Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is. The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________
| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．attract the readers’ interest in the subject |
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students______
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
The passage is likely to appear in ___________.
| A．a biography | B．a history paper | C．a newspaper | D．a philosophy textbook |
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy．After all，you probably sing or whistle when you are happy．
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy．However，they sing most of the time for a very different reason．Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory
Do you know what a“territory”is? A territory is an area that an animal，usually the male，claims(声称)as its own．Only he and his family are welcome there．No other families of the same species(物种)are welcome．Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome．If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you，you might shout．Probably this would be enough to frighten him away．
If so，you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him．A bird does the same thing．But he expects an outsider almost any time，especially at nesting(筑巢) season．So he is screaming all the time，whether he can see an outsider or not . This screaming is what we call a bird’s song，and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away．
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs．
You can see that birds have a language all their own．Most of it has something to do with attracting mates and setting up territories．Some scientists believe that most of the time birds’singing is actually．
| A．a way of warning | B．an expression of happiness |
| C．an expression of anger | D．a way of greeting |
What is a bird’s“territory”?
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted． |
| B．An area which a bird considers to be its own． |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other． |
| D．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its Voice． |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because they want to invite more friends |
| B．Because they want to find outsiders around． |
| C．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away． |
| D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears． |
How does the writer explain birds’ singing?
| A．By comparing birds with human beings． |
| B．By reporting experiment results． |
| C．By describing birds’ daily fife． |
| D．By telling a bird's story． |
King's College Summer School
King's College Summer School is an annual（ 每年的） training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King's College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized．This year's summer school will be from July 25 to August 15. More information is as follows:
| Application （申请） date Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2007. Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2007. Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2007. |
Courses English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours American History: 16 hours American Culture: 16 hours |
| Steps A letter of self-introduction A letter of recommendation（推荐） ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
Cost Daily lessons: $200 Sports and activities: $100 Travels: $200 Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
| Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King' s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com |
You can most probably read the text in ________.
| A．a travel guide | B．a newspaper |
| C．a textbook | D．a telephone book |
Which of the following is true about King' s College Summer School?
| A．Only top students can take part in the program. |
| B．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program. |
| C．King' s College Summer School is run every other year. |
| D．Only the teachers of King' s College give courses. |
If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school ____
| A．$200 | B．$400 | C．$900 | D．$500 |
What information can you get from the text?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2007. |
| C．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone. |