When the shooting of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was complete, it was much more than a movie wrap-up (结束).
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, told The Sunday Times that he’s happy to have the time for romance now filming is over. Emma Watson, who is Hermione Granger in the movies, said she looked forward to “finally being free, being my own person” – a change signaled by her new haircut.
Daniel Radcliffe, who has been the face of the boy wizard since 2001, said that he “did cry like a little girl” when the last movie finished.
“It’s like the ending of a relationship,” he told The Vancouver Sun. “There’s a sense of, ‘God, what am I going to do now?’” He said he was eager to see “what life holds for him beyond Hogwarts”.
Along with the three actors, Harry Potter fans, now in their late teens, came of age with J.K. Rowling’s characters. For them, the last film isn’t just a goodbye to a decade of magic, but the close of their childhoods.
“We are the Harry Potter generation,” Canadian Andrea Hill, 19, told The Vancouver Sun. “We started in elementary school, reading about a boy our age who was going through the same things we were going through. We grew up, so did he.”
For Emily Chahal, an 18-year-old student, the series has been an inspiring journey. “That first book was what started my love of literature. It was the inspiration for everything – really teaching me to appreciate my friends, and to face difficulties with a sense of courage,” she said. “I have a sense of sadness. The end of the movies is kind of the end of my childhood, too.”
Fortunately, to the delight of die-hard fans, there are many things that keep the boy wizard alive. For example, in June this year, a Harry Potter theme park opened in Florida, US.
Some schools in the US and UK also have Quidditch teams – players ride broomsticks. “We’re not waiting anymore to see what happens to Harry next,” Hill told The Vancouver Sun. She founded a Quidditch club at Carleton University in Canada. “We’re still engaged in that magical world.”
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How did Emma Watson feel when she finished the shooting of the Harry Potter series?
A.She cried like a little girl. |
B.She was ready to move onto something new. |
C.She was happy to have the time for romance. |
D.She felt it was like the end of a relationship. |
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. What did Daniel Radcliffe mean by saying he was eager to see “what life holds for him beyond Hogwarts”?
A.He was bored with life in Hogwarts. |
B.He couldn’t wait to graduate from Hogwarts. |
C.He missed life in Hogwarts now he had left. |
D.He was looking forward to new life out of Hogwarts. |
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. The series has brought Emily Chahal all the following EXCEPT _______.
A.the chance to live in a magical world |
B.the courage to face difficulties |
C.the appreciation of her friends |
D.encouragement to love literature |
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What is the main focus of the article?
A.Celebration of the close of childhood. |
B.Fans’ love for the Harry Potter series. |
C.Mixed feelings about the end of the series. |
D.Excited anticipation of the opening of the Harry Potter theme park. |
I moved to this area seven years ago. For years I have had noisy neighbours. Ever since I moved into this flat, I’ve had to put up with noise during the night. I decided I’d had enough and I’ve been looking for a new flat since the beginning of the year. I haven’t found anything till now. Every week I go to the estate agent’s(当地房地产代理人的)office, but it’s the same story. “I might have something by the end of the week” he says, or, “Wait till next week. I think I might have a few flats by then.” I’ve seen a few flats during my search, but I don’t like any of them. One flat I saw has been empty for two years. “It’s got a busy road on one side and a railway on the other!” I said loudly, “I want peace and quiet.” Last week I visited the agent again. “I won’t leave till you show me something,” I said. “I’ve got just the flat for you.” I went to see it and I was frightened. “But it’s next to a cemetery!” I cried. “But you won’t have noisy neighbours,” my agent said. “It’s exactly right for peace and quiet!”The writer has had to bear the noise in this area for years.
A.about seven | B.six | C.nine | D.four |
The writer decided to move away because .
A.he had been looking for a new flat | B.his neighbours were not friendly |
C.he could no longer stand the noise | D.he wanted to sell his old flat |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.The writer would like a quiet place to live in. |
B.The agent didn’t want to help the writer at all. |
C.The writer has seen several flats already. |
D.It seemed rather difficult to rind a fight flat. |
The main idea of the passage is .
A.how the agent tried to help the writer find a flat |
B.why the writer was satisfied with the agent’s service |
C.how difficult it was to find a new flat |
D.you can depend on the estate agents for a nice flat |
The Writers’ Strike:Making the Best of the Worst
By now you are probably feeling the effects of the TV writers’ strike-the decision of television writers to stop working. With few new TV shows, I present to you a list of shows available on DVD worth your viewing time to keep you going during this painful period.
Arrested Development is one of the funniest and most clever shows ever to have appeared on network TV. With a most perfect cast, the show sets out to cover the daily happenings of the Bluth family, a group of selfish staff who manage to still put family first.
For more comedy goodness, I recommend one of the sharpest comedies to have ever aired-30 Rock. Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, two stars with impressive comic timing,the show gives you a glimpse into the making of a sketch show(幽默短剧), similar to Saturday Night Live, from the funny writers to the selfcentered cast all the way up to the boss.
If you are looking for something more serious, or perhaps more juicy, Friday Night Lights might be more to your liking. If you are a fan of football, this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of great drama,both soapy and serious,this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of goodlooking people, this show is definitely for you.
If those shows were not enough for you, might I recommend a show with a more heartpounding excitement? The Amazing Race, after twelve seasons, still remains one of the most exciting shows on TV. Teams of two travel the globe with little to no money and experience farout adventures in an attempt to remain the last team standing.If you are fond of soapy TV shows, you will probably choose to watch________.
A.Friday Night Lights |
B.30 Rock |
C.The Amazing Race |
D.Saturday Night Live |
From the DVD shows listed above, we can learn that________.
A.two teams won the amazing race |
B.football fans enjoy The Amazing Race |
C.the Bluths care about their family though selfish |
D.30 Rock and Saturday Night Live have nothing in common |
The author writes the passage to tell us that________.
A.the effects of the TV writers’ strike are great |
B.the strike puts TV shows in the worst situation |
C.watching DVD is a good choice during the strike |
D.we should choose DVD shows according to our tastes |
The passage is most probably taken from
A.a book review | B.a newspaper | C.a film poster | D.a DVD menu |
When Callie Rogers won almost 1.9 million pounds on the lottery(彩票) at 16, she hoped it would help her put her troubles behind her. The teenager came from a broken home, had dropped out of school and was living in local authority care.
Rogers, from Cumbria, England, won the National Lottery in 2003. Then she began spending her money wildlly, buying four homes for her family, flash cars and designer clothes, partying and having some cosmetic (整容的) surgery. Two weeks after her win, she married and had two children. But then she spent 250, 000 pounds on cocaine (可卡因) and suffered depression. Earlier this year she lost the right to take care of her children because of her mental state.
She became addicted to drugs and attempted suicide three times as her life unraveled. She says the money brought her only misery. Now she is down to her last 100 000 pounds, but she has never been happier.
Now 22, she said:“Just a few months ago I was taking too many drugs and hated myself. I simply did not want to live any more. But now I have a new man and am finally becoming the woman I want to be. And it's only after I've spent most of my fortune that this has finally happened.”
“I need to get my act together and make my kids proud, and for the first time I really do think that's possible.” She credits her new boyfriend with giving her the stable home life she has always longed for and she now hopes to go to college and eventually become a counselor. “After all I've experienced, I think I have a lot of advice to offer,” she said.Why was Rogers not allowed to look after her children?
A.She was in a bad mental state. | B.She was addicted to using drugs. |
C.She was not responsible for them. | D.She was too poor to support them. |
What can we learn about Rogers from Paragraph 3?
A.Being addicted to drugs cost her everything. |
B.Money didn't bring her happiness as expected. |
C.Rogers felt much happier with her money gone. |
D.Too much money allowed her to do what she wanted. |
What caused Rogers to change and start a new life?
A.The loss of money. | B.Her bitter past. |
C.Her husband and children. | D.Her new boyfriend. |
Why does Rogers hope to go to college?
A.She intends to find a good job. | B.She expects to become a professor. |
C.She longs to improve her situation. | D.She wants to offer advice for others. |
My wife passed away a few years ago, and I went through the worst time in my life. I even wanted to kill myself. Just for my kids, I had to continue to live and work as a small town doctor at my medical clinic in Hawaii. My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone. Then they asked me to have a family trip.
On our trip, we turned on the TV at the motel and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. Seeing it falling down, I said to my kids:“ I'm going to Afghanistan.”And a few weeks later, International Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in provinces where people had no health care. In these field clinics surrounded by frightening shoots or deadly bombs ,we were eventually serving 27,000 patients a month in a very busy schedule.Tired and nervous, I gradually had a sense of achievement, a sense of purpose, and my depression went away.
In the years to follow, I went to Indonesia after the tsunami (海啸), Pakistan after the earthquakes, Sudan after the civil war, and Iraq after more and more bombs. Each time after disasters one after another, hundreds of people were killed, wounded and many more had to flee. We once set up movable clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees,_and it was supposed to hold 13,000 originally. Flu broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire. Water and food were also serious problems. “Adventure or not?”I often asked myself.
When my wife passed away, I thought my life was gone. But in reality, it was just getting started. At the end of her life, she went unconscious. I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit and the exciting adventures we would have.
I thought about the moment many times during my“adventures”. I didn't know how predictive those words would be,but I knew that she was still with me.Where has the doctor been in the past few years?
A.Some countries where he could set up clinics. |
B.Some African countries where flu broke out. |
C.The places where the earthquakes happened. |
D.The places that the horrible disasters struck. |
How would the doctor describe his life after he had worked in Afghanistan?
A.Tired and troublesome. | B.Busy and risky. |
C.Meaningful and helpful. | D.Frightening and depressing. |
The underlined word“ refugees” means people________.
A.who are robbed, killed, or wounded | B.who suffer from flu in movable clinics |
C.who like to take adventures | D.who have lost homes because of disasters |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The doctor's wife encouraged him to work in foreign countries. |
B.What the doctor said to his wife before her death became reality. |
C.The doctor's adventures made him understand the love of his wife. |
D.With the true love of his wife, the doctor started to change his life. |
Pregnancy(妊娠) and childbirth kill more than 536,000 women a year. More than half of the cases happened in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. In fact, most of the deaths are preventable with basic medical care.
The five leading causes are bleeding, infection, high blood pressure, longtime labor and bad abortions (流产). Mothers' deaths from such causes were largely reduced nearly a century ago in developed countries.
Experts say that what kill many women are “the three delays”— the woman's delay in deciding to go to the hospital, the time she loses traveling there and the hospital's delay in starting treatment. Only about 15 percent of births have dangerous complications(并发症).
Women lack education and information about birth control. Husbands and inlaws, may decide where a woman gives birth and insist that she stay at home to save money. However, there is no single solution to a problem with so many factors—shortages of doctors, nurses, drugs, equipment, roads and transportation—though hospital officials are trying many things now.
One stopgap measure to solve the problem for the present has been to train assistant medical officers, to perform certain operations. Some African countries are now struggling to train more assistants and midwives (接生婆) , and provide places for pregnant women to stay near hospitals.
But there is a long way to go. Only 20 percent of women in the continent give birth at the hospital. More than 50 percent stay at home to give birth, and the rest go to local clinics that cannot handle emergencies.Which is not included in the five leading causes of women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth?
A.Infection. | B.High blood pressure. |
C.Traveling long distances. | D.Bleeding. |
The underlined word “stopgap” probably means “________ ”in the passage.
A.final | B.temporary | C.effective | D.instant |
What can we learn from this passage?
A.The governments of African countries have to take more effective measures to save pregnant women. |
B.Developed countries should help African countries reduce mothers'deaths. |
C.The husbands in poor countries should take responsibility for their wives'deaths. |
D.Most problems that cause women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth can be treated or prevented. |
What is the author's attitude towards the future of preventing women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth?
A.Positive. | B.Negative. | C.Objective. | D.Subjective. |