For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $ 145 a performance, opera goers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience. It needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or band-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program. Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Opera is famous for is history. |
| B．Opera is only for rich people. |
| C．Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive. |
| D．Young people are not interested in opera. |
The underlined part in Paragraph 2
most probably means .
| A．breaking up the old rules | B．changing the dresses |
| C．making the audience at ease | D．advertising themselves |
Opera companies prefer to perform smaller versions because .
| A．they can be performed in public libraries |
| B．short versions are easy to perform |
| C．it is hard to find long versions |
| D．they can make people interested |
The San Francisco Opera employs young students in order to .
| A．attract young people | B．reduce the cost |
| C．celebrate its 75th anniversary | D．make Cinderella popular |
What can you infer from the passage?
| A．The tickets for opera are very expensive at present. |
| B．Opera is performed in a language difficult to understand. |
| C．Opera is not so popular an art form today. |
| D．Students enjoy performing operas very much. |
Most people agree that the direct, assertive(过分自信的) American personality is a virtue, but it sometimes surprises foreigners. In many cultures, respect for older people or those in positions of authority keeps others from expressing their true feelings. But in the U.S, children often argue with their parents, students may disagree with their teachers, and citizens may express opposition to the actions of the government. If the soup has a fly in it or the meat is too tough to chew, the diner can complain to the waiter, if the boss makes a mistake, an employee will politely point it out.
Some straight talk about the American character must include the admission that Americans have their faults. The extremely competitive nature of Americans is probably their worst fault. Of course, competition isn’t always bad. As a matter of fact, it promotes excellence by encouraging individuals and businesses to try to do their best. But the desire to get ahead of others sometimes causes people to do things that are unkind and even dishonest. Also, Americans admire what is practical, fast, efficient, and fresh. Sometimes they fail to understand and appreciate practices that have greater respect for more traditional, leisurely ways of doing things. On the other hand, people from other cultures may dislike the practical, challenging American lifestyle.
Despite culture differences, most foreigners give Americans credit for their virtues. Americans are generally viewed as friendly, adaptable, energetic, and kindhearted. Most newcomers to the U.S. like Americans, and the feeling is usually mutual. Perhaps the greatest American virtue is a deep interest in new ideas and new people. In a nation of immigrants, the foreigner does not remain an outsider for long.
1.In order to show the respect for older people,. .
A.people from some other cultures will always express their true feeling
B.people from some other cultures may sometimes hide their true feeling
C.Americans always show their true feelings
D.Americans usually argue with them
2.Why is the extremely competitive nature considered as one of American faults?
A.Because people from other cultures fear competition.
B.Because only American people own it.
C.Because it will make people forget leisure.
D.Because it may sometimes urge people to do something bad.
3.It can be inferred from the passage that . .
A.American people are more critical of everything than people from other cultures
B.the author believes that American character has more faults than virtues
C.the author admires American virtues as they are viewed as competitive and anti traditional
D.it is difficult for newcomers to get on with Americans
4.The passage mainly talks about . .
A.American virtues B.American characters C.American faults D.American lifestyles
Who are these people rushing by you in the street? More than 215 million people now call America “home”, but most of them can trace their families back to other parts of the world. If you look at the names on shop windows, you will see that Americans come from many different lands. The idea that these people, who once were strangers to the United States, have lost the customs and cultures of their original countries and have become “American” is really not true. In fact, what exists in America is more often a kind of “side-by-side” living in which groups of people from other countries often have kept many of their customs and habits. They join the general American society only in certain areas of their lives—such as in schools, business, and sports—but they keep many of their own native customs and manners socially and at home. This living “side-by-side” has both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes it may cause disagreements to develop between groups whose ways of life are very different from one another. However, there are also great advantages that come from the variety of cultures brought by settlers from other lands. There is great freedom of choice among ideas and dress, food, and social customs in America. Everyone can find some part of his or her familiar world in the United States, in churches, music, food, national groups, or newspapers.
6. More than 215 million people call America “home” because_______.
A. they buy their houses there B. they settle there now
C. they get married there D. they were born there
7. “Side-by-side” living style means _______.
A. making friends with native people
B. keeping their own customs while sharing American ones in certain areas
C. the groups of people who live nearby
D. that they get closer to American society
8. According to the passage, people in the USA ________.
A. share American customs and culture
B. live in a kind of “side-by-side” society
C. keep their own customs and habits firmly
D. make no choice to accept American customs
9. Which of the following statements is true?
A. They always stick to their own customs and habits.
B. “Side-by-side” living style is not suitable.
C. They face the society they are not familiar with.
D. The advantages coming from the variety of cultures make life in America colorful.
10. Which title of the following can best take the place of “Different Cultures in America”?
A. Advantages and Disadvantages. B. Different Customs and Habits.
C. Home for the People. D. “Side-by-side” Living Style in America.
Last July, my 12-year-old car died on California’s Santa Ana Freeway. It was an hour before sunset, and I was 25 miles from home. I couldn’t reach anyone to pick me up, so I decided to take a bus. Not knowing the routes, I figured I’d just head east.
A bus pulled up, and I asked the driver how far she was going. “Four more lights,” she said. There was another bus I could take from there. This clearly was going to be a long night.
She dropped me off at the end of her route and told me which bus to look for. After waiting 30 minutes, I began to think about a very expensive taxi ride home. Then a bus pulled up. There was no lighted number above its windshield(挡风玻璃). It was out of service. But the door opened, and I was surprised to find that it was the same driver.
“I just can’t leave you here,” she said. “This isn’t the nicest place. I’ll give you a ride home.”
“You’ll drive me home in the bus?” I asked, perplexed(困惑).
“No, I’ll take you in my car,” she said.
“It’s a long way,” I protested.
“Come on, ” she said. “I have nothing else to do.”
As we drove from the station in her car, she began telling me a story. A few days earlier, her brother had run out of gas. A good Samaritan picked him up, took him to a service station and then back to his car. “I’m just passing the favor along, ” she said.
When I offered her money as a thank-you, she wouldn’t hear of it. “That wouldn’t make it a favor, ” she said. “Just do something nice for somebody. Pass it along.”
1. Why did the writer say that he would have a long night?
A. He wondered how long he had to wait for the next bus.
B. No driver would give him a ride.
C. He didn’t know the routes.
D. He perhaps would have to take a taxi.
2. Judging from its context, the place where the writer waited for the second bus was _______.
A. very quiet and peaceful B. dark without street lights
C. neither clean nor beautiful D. a little unsafe
3. Why did the writer change his mind after waiting for 30 minutes at the end of the route?
A. No bus would come at the time.
B. A taxi ride would be more comfortable.
C. He became impatient and a bit worried.
D. He knew the driver would never return.
4. The bus driver drove the writer home later because ________.
A. she happened to go in the same direction
B. she wanted to do something good for other people
C. her brother told her to do so
D. she wanted to earn more money
5. The bus driver hoped that the writer ________.
A. would do as she did B. would keep her in memory
C. would give the money to others D. would do her a favor
Thousands of years ago people guessed the time of day by watching the sun.
Later，they found it was easier to tell the exact time by looking at the shadows.Thus， the sundial(日晷) was invented.
The sundial proved a useful timepiece in sunny weather. However，another typc of timepiece was necessary for cloudy weather and nigh time.A sand glass was another common measurer of time.Two glass bottles were connected by a very small opening. The top bottle was filled with sand，which dropped slowly into the botton one in a certain period of time.Hour glasses were widely used then.Three—minute sand glasses are still used in many homes to time the boiling of eggs.
The real ancestor of modern clocks was the water clock.In China ,an early water clock was made up of several bowls. Water trickled(滴) from one bowl to another to keep the clock going. Visitors to the Beijing Palace Museum can still see the old water clocks showing the time there.
In the Middle Ages a wateless clock was invented which worked by means of weights. To keep the weight falling at the same speed，a system of wheels was invented. The pendulum(钟摆) was soon developed to control the speed of the wheels. Thus the modern form of clock came into being.
9.Which of the following is the correct picturr of a sand glass?
A. B. C. D.
10.Three minute sand glasses are still used in many homes .
A.to boil eggs B.to measure the time of boiling eggs
C.to hold the boiled eggs D.to have eggs boiled
11.If you visit Beijing Palace Museum, you .
A.will see the old water clocks broken
B.will find the time shown by the old water clocks is wrong
C.can find the old water clocks still telling the time there
D.will find the old water clocks have gone
12.In the Middle Ages the weight falling speed of a clock was kept by .
A.several bowlsB.a system of wheels
C.a system of pendulum D.several springs
Net Libray is a library that lends out digitalbooks. It treats a digital like a paperback copy. It charges libraries per book per copy and gives publishers a cut of the total income.
From the consumer’s point of view，this means that if more than，Say, five people want the latest Danielle Steel romance novel，other people who request that book will get a message saying the title can’t be found.
It’s a model many publishers seem to have embraced. More than 350 gave the company rights to hand out their digital works，and McGraw-Hill Corporation and Houghton Mifflin Corporation have put money in the company. The California public libraries and about 1，800 others across the US are trying out the Net Library service.
Some librarians criticize the New Library model. Stanford University librarian Michael Keller argues that the company is creating an unnatural fear of digital woks, which is contrary to the ideas of the Internet.
Kelle and some other librarians argue for the e-book vision set forth by E-Brary. E-Brary is starting a service that lets us users read books for free.
But it will charge about 25 cents a page when a person tries to print out material or copy and paste it into a different file or tries to download copy onto a computer.
Christopher Warnock，chief executive of E-Brarw, believes most consumers won’t want to buy entire books，only the parts that interest them.
“There’s not really a lot of good in owning an electronic file and having to store it and manage it.It doesn't make sense.”he said.
5.How do publishers get money from the Net Library?
A.They get money from selling their books to the Net Libary.
B.They share the money with the Net Library.
C.They get money by cutting the cost of the books.
D.They get the money from the readers.
6.The underlined word“embraced”in the 3rd paragraph means .
A.taken something willingly B.held something tightly
C.disliked something badlyD.tried out something hard
7.From the 2nd paragraph we can see consumers .
A.don’t care if they are charged money
B.enjoy the service of the Net Library
C.don’t like other people borrowing books
D.complain about the limited number of the new books
8.What does the last paragraph mean?
A.Net Library is not a good way for the consumers.
B.There is no need for consumers to have a whole book.
C.EBrary is not a good library for the consumers.
D.It’s reasonable to charge the consumers money for copying some pages.