THE BRONTE FAMILY
Yorkshire, England was the setting for two great novels (小说) of the 19th century. These were Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. The youngest sister, Anne, was also a gifted novelist, and her books have the same extraordinary quality as her sisters’.
Their father was Patrick Bronte, born in Ireland. He moved with his wife, Maria Bronte, and their six small children to Haworth in Yorkshire in 1820. Soon after, Mrs. Bronte and the two eldest children died, leaving the father to care of the remaining three girls and a boy.
Charlotte was born in 1816. Emily was born in 1818 and Anne in 1820. Their brother Branwell was born in 1817. Left to themselves, the children wrote and told stories and walked over the hills. They grew up largely self-educated. Branwell showed a great interest in drawing. The girls were determined to earn money for his art education. They took positions as teachers or taught children in their homes.
As children they had all written many stories. Charlotte, as a young girl, alone wrote 22 books, each with 60 to 100 pages of small handwriting. Therefore, they turned to writing for income. By 1847, Charlotte had written The Professor; Emily, Wuthering Heights; and Anne, Agnes Grey. After much difficulty Anne and Emily found a publisher(出版商), but there was no interest shown in Charlotte’s book. (It was not published until 1859.) However, one publisher expressed an interest in seeing more of her works. Jane Eyre was already started, and she hurriedly finished it. It was accepted at once; thus each of the sisters had a book published in 1847.
Jane Eyre was immediately successful; the other two, however, did not do so well. People did not like Wuthering Heights. They said it was too wild, too animal-like. But gradually it came to be considered one of the finest novels in the English language. Emily lived only a short while after the publication of the book, and Anne died in 1849.
Charlotte published Shirley in 1849, and Villette in 1853. In 1854 she married Arthur Bell Nicholls. But only a year later, she died of tuberculosis(肺结核) as her sisters had.We know from the text that .
A.Jane Eyre was published in 1847 |
B.Charlotte Bronte wrote 22 books in all |
C.the Bronte sisters received good education |
D.Patrick Bronte helped his daughters with their writing |
The underlined words “the other two” in the 5 th paragraph refer to .
A.Shirley and Villette | B.The Professor and Agnes Grey |
C.Agnes Grey and Wutheriing Heights | D.The Professor and wuthering Heights |
What do we know about the Bronte sisters from the text?
A.Their novels interested few publishers. |
B.None of them had more than two books published. |
C.None of them lived longer than 40 years old. |
D.Emily was the least successful of the three. |
Language-learners who say they never or hardly ever use dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. So they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations (翻译) of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables (音节), they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.Students who never use dictionary speak well but write poor, because_______
A.They can’t remember words. |
B.They may make mistakes. |
C.They are not interested in writing. |
D.They are afraid of writing. |
According to the passage, which of the following is right?
A.Students who never use dictionary can speak well and write well. |
B.Whatever new words you meet while reading, just look them up in the dictionary. |
C.Small two-language dictionaries are bad for learning English. |
D.An English word only has one translation. |
When does the writer advise students to use a good dictionary in reading?
A.At the beginning of the reading |
B.At the end of the reading |
C.During the first reading |
D.After the first reading |
This passage mainly tells us .
A.that students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries |
B.what were the defects (缺点) of small two-language dictionaries |
C.why students should use large college edition dictionaries |
D.what dictionary students should choose and how to use it |
Which is not mentioned in this passage?
A.How to make good use of a dictionary. |
B.When to use a dictionary. |
C.How to improve spoken English. |
D.How to practice reading fast. |
“This is the BBC News at Eight O’ Clock.”
…
“Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year. This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan.”
“The children of Beijing No.2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20thanniversary. They had been sister schools since 1986. They spent about two weeks together in Beijing. They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park.”
“Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by Japanese company could be the answer. The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags. The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006. ”
“About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors(剪刀)” World Match in Canada. This event was founded in 1842. It is said playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people.”
…
“And now it’s time for Morning Music.”The students from Canada and Beijing No. 2 Middle School didn’t ________.
A.take photos |
B.visit the Great Wall |
C.visit the Summer Palace |
D.have a football match |
This year during the first three days of the May Golden Week, it cost Chinese people ___________ yuan more than that of last year.
A.260 billion | B.120 billion | C.140 billion | D.20 billion |
Which of the following is not talked about in the news?
A.The robot can help with shopping bags. |
B.A Japanese company invented the robot. |
C.The robot was tested at a shopping centre. |
D.There are such robots in people’s homes now. |
The underlined word “anniversary” means .
A.founding |
B.yearly return of the date of an event |
C.university |
D.the new beginning of something important |
Which of the following is a game?
A.Rock Paper Scissors | B.May Golden Week |
C.Shopping assistant robot | D.A visit to the school |
At present time, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments (工具). In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll (滚动). Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.
Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.The first paragraph tells us that people began to skate on wheels from 1750 because _______.
A.it is very easy |
B.it is very exciting |
C.Joseph Merlin’s instruments |
D.it is very popular |
People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________. .
A.he slept and dreamed a lot |
B.he was full of different ideas and dreams |
C.he invented the first roller skates |
D.he always made people’s dreams come true |
___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
A.Merlin’s work | B.Merlin’s violin |
C.A huge mirror | D.An important party |
What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
A.He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. |
B.He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
C.Everyone was surprised at him. |
D.He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
A.Joseph Merlin’s Story |
B.How Roller Skating Was Invented |
C.A Surprising Entrance to the Party |
D.Violin and roller skating |
When he was a boy, Tim was much influenced(影响) by the books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result, Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic (诊所) of a local doctor where he was supposed to help to wrap up medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.
During the war Tim served in the Navy (海军) as a surgeon (外科医生). “That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it.” In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus, while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was saving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside, working under an old doctor who was popular in the area, but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the young man many opportunities to go on working as a life-saver.Tim decided to be a doctor when he was________.
A.fourteen | B.fifteen |
C.serving in the Navy | D.working in clinic |
Tim decided to become a doctor mainly because________
A.his father wanted him to be so. |
B.his father was a surgeon. |
C.he had read many books about medicine. |
D.he had chances to know many doctors and know about what doctors did. |
Which of the following is not true?
A.during the war, Tim was a surgeon in the Navy. |
B.he taught the country people simple facts about medicine in California. |
C.after the war, he married the old doctors’ daughter. |
D.Tim worked as a life-saver after war. |
From the passage we can infer(推出) that Tim_________.
A.was sent to Europe during the war. |
B.was not afraid of blood. |
C.decided to give up his doctor career. |
D.regarded himself as a life-saver. |
The passage is mainly about________
A.Tim’s life story | B.Tim’ dreams | C.Tim’s marriage | D.Tim’s patients |
Facebook means never having to say goodbye. The social media website has earned a reputation for reconnecting old friends. Last week,a guy whom I hadn't seen since my bachelor party five years ago sent me a friend request. I accepted and waited for “Easy E” to send me a greeting of some kind. He had sought me out,after all.
I learned from his profile that he was in a relationship and had a son. However,I'm pretty sure we won't ever write wall-to-wall,let alone email each other. But he'll remain a friend of online until one of us makes a point of removing the other from his official list.
My pool of friends consists of family members,college buddies,coworkers from past and present,and friends of friends. There are 35 in all. If I spent some time uploading old email addresses,I'm confident that I could increase my friend count actually.
A person could make a mission out of reconnecting with childhood friends,former classmates,distant cousins, and those one would like to get to know better. And some people can even handle hundreds of onscreen relationships,keeping up with the daily happenings of their small army of companions. After all,there are worse fates than having too many friends.
Thanks to email,the inability to schedule face-to-face meetings no longer means a friendship must come to a close. But even with email,people will lose touch if one or both parties stop writing back. That’s normal. People move from school to school,job to job,city to city. You never have to feel guilty for breaking away.
Every day,the masterminds of Web 2.0 find new ways of making human communication easier. However,convenience can be a crutch(拐杖).Some things shouldn't be simplified. When it comes to friendship,there can be no shortcuts.According to Paragraph 1,the website is famous because ________.
A.it has an interesting name of “Facebook” |
B.it helps people get in touch with old friends |
C.it can send people a greeting of some kind |
D.it reminds people of events in the past |
From the second paragraph we can learn that the writer ________.
A.would write to the friend quite often |
B.asked the friend to email him |
C.did get some information about the friend |
D.would keep in touch with the friend forever |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.There are 35 people in the author's list of friends right now. |
B.The author communicates with all the 35 friends by emails. |
C.The list of 35 friends doesn't include the old email addresses. |
D.It is not difficult for the author to increase his friend count. |
What does the author think of the convenience of communicating online?
A.The technology could not keep true friendship forever. |
B.The social website of Facebook means nothing at all. |
C.There will be no ways of making real friends online. |
D.People will not lose friends with the help of the Facebook. |