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, lib
raries 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 interest
ed 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 is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Opera is famous for its long 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 means ______.
| A．breaking up the old rules | B．changing the formal suits |
| 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 Company employs student actors 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 operas are very expensive at present. |
| B．Operas are performed in a difficult language difficult to understand. |
C．Operas are not so popular an art form today. |
| D．Students enjoy performing operas very much. |
The traffic signals along Factoria Boulevard in Bellevue，Washington，generally don't flash the same length of green twice in a row，especially at rush hour．At 9：30am，the full red/yellow/green signal cycle might be 140 seconds．By 9：33am，a burst of additional traffic might push it to 145 seconds．Less traffic at 9：37am could push it down to 135．Just like the traffic itself，the timing of the signals changes．
Thatis by design．Bellevue，a fast﹣growing city just east of Seattle，uses a system that is gaining popularity around the US：intersection（十字路口）signals that can adjust in real time to traffic conditions．These lights，known as adaptive signals，have led to significant declines in both the trouble and cost of travels between work and home．
"Adaptive signals can make sure that the traffic demand that is there is being addressed，" says Alex Stevanovic，a researcher at Florida Atlantic University．
For all of Bellevue's success，adaptive signals are not a cure﹣all for jammed roadways．Kevin Balke，a research engineer at the Texas A&M University Transportation Institute，says that while smart lights can be particularly beneficial for some cities，others are so jammed that only a sharp reduction in the number of cars on the road will make a meaningful difference．"It's not going to fix everything，but adaptive signals have some benefits for smaller cities，" he says．
In Bellevue，the switch to adaptive signals has been a lesson in the value of welcoming new approaches．In the past，there was often an automatic reaction to increased traffic：just widen the roads，says Mark Poch，the Bellevue Transportation Department's traffic engineering manager．Now he hopes that other cities will consider making their streets run smarter instead of just making them bigger．
（1）What does the underlined word "that" in paragraph 2 refer to？
| A． |
Increased length of green lights． |
| B． |
Shortened traffic signal cycle． |
| C． |
Flexible timing of traffic signals． |
| D． |
Smooth traffic flow on the road． |
（2）What does Kevin Balke say about adaptive signals？
| A． |
They work better on broad roads． |
| B． |
They should be used in other cities． |
| C． |
They have greatly reduced traffic on the road． |
| D． |
They are less helpful in cities seriously jammed． |
（3）What can we learn from Bellevue's success？
| A． |
It is rewarding to try new things． |
| B． |
The old methods still work today． |
| C． |
It pays to put theory into practice． |
| D． |
The simplest way is the best way． |
I am an active playgoer and play﹣reader，and perhaps my best reason for editing this book is a hope of sharing my enthusiasm for the theater with others．To do this I have searched through dozens of plays to find the ones that I think best show the power and purpose of the short play．
Each play has a theme or central idea which the playwright（剧作家）hopes to get across through dialogue and action．A few characters are used to create a single impression growing out of the theme．It is not my intention to point out the central theme of each of the plays in this collection，for that would，indeed，ruin the pleasure of reading，discussing，and thinking about the plays and the effectiveness of the playwright．However，a variety of types is represented here．These include comedy，satire，poignant drama，historical and regional drama．To show the versatility（多面性）of the short play，I have included a guidance play，a radio play and a television play．
Among the writers of the plays in this collection，Paul Green，Susan Glaspell，Maxwell Anderson，Thornton Wilder，William Saroyan，and Tennessee Williams have all received Pulitzer Prizes for their contributions to the theater．More information about the playwrights will be found at the end of this book．
To get the most out of reading these plays，try to picture the play on stage，with you，the reader，in the audience．The houselights dim（变暗）．The curtains are about to open，and in a few minutes the action and dialogue will tell you the story．
（1）What do we know about the author from the first paragraph？
| A． |
He has written dozens of plays． |
| B． |
He has a deep love for the theater． |
| C． |
He is a professional stage actor． |
| D． |
He likes reading short plays to others． |
（2）What does the author avoid doing in his work？
| A． |
Stating the plays' central ideas． |
| B． |
Selecting works by famous playwrights． |
| C． |
Including various types of plays． |
| D． |
Offering information on the playwrights． |
（3）What does the author suggest readers do while reading the plays？
| A． |
Control their feelings． |
| B． |
Apply their acting skills． |
| C． |
Use their imagination． |
| D． |
Keep their audience in mind． |
（4）What is this text？
| A． |
A short story． |
| B． |
An introduction to a book． |
| C． |
A play review． |
| D． |
An advertisement for a theater． |
I remember the day shyness took over my life．I was 14 and having a French lesson．The teacher told us to record ourselves speaking about a holiday．Perfect! I recorded myself with confidence．Then，I pressed "play" to listen back．All I heard was a little kid talking．My immediate reaction was to assume I was listening to someone else's recording．But that was my voice．I realised there was something strange about me．
My little voice has made me feel really shy．And my shyness has caused me to avoid attending events，not make important connections，and keep my ideas to myself．As a shy person，working from home，hiding behind my computer was brilliant．But the more time I spent hidden away，the more my comfort zone shrank（缩小）．Everyday interactions，like ordering a coffee，became increasingly awkward and uncomfortable．
And then，one day I was at a big conference and it suddenly hit me like lightning．All speakers were confident，comfortable with being seen．There were no quieter voices．But the trouble is，if the loud voices are the only ones you hear，we quiet people feel even more alienated（疏远的）．The world needs a mixture of personalities．Success is not just about who can shout the loudest．The world needs quieter people，too．That day I chose to stop hiding and embrace my shyness．No more feeling like I needed to change who I am in order to succeed．No more living a small life．
Then I created the Shy and Mighty Society，a space for shy people like me to shine，and in the process of helping others，I could also push myself forward，bit by bit．Now，I'm happy to tell people I feel shy．I'm not ashamed any more．And I know that I'm not alone．
（1）Why did the author feel strange about herself after listening to the recording？（no more than 10 words）
（2）What is the main idea of Para．2？（no more than 10 words）
（3）What does the underlined word in Para．3 mean？（1 word）
（4）Why did the author create the Shy and Mighty Society？ （no more than 10 words）
（5）Suppose you are in charge of the Shy and Mighty Society，what will you do to help other shy people？ And why？（no more than 20 words）
Studying a subject that you feel pointless is never a fun or easy task．If you're studying history，asking yourself the question "why is history important" is a very good first step．History is an essential part of human civilization．You will find something here that will arouse your interest，or get you thinking about the significance of history．
History grounds us in our roots．History is an important and interesting field of study，and learning the history of our home country can give us a deeper，more meaningful glimpse（一瞥） into our ancestral pasts，and how we got to where we are today．Many people feel like they need a sense of cultural belonging，which is something that studying your roots and being open﹣minded to the evolution of your culture can provide．
History enriches our experience．Reading history is an amazing experience because it enables us to reflect on the social and economic life of the people living long time ago．According to the experts， problems faced by people regardless of the past and present are the same．With the information about the ancestors，one can become more experienced in handling challenges of life．
History makes us more empathetic （具有共情能力的）．Studying history can give us insight（洞察力） into why our culture does certain things，and how the past has shaped it into what we know now．It also provides a rather strong foundation for empathy across cultures．Fear and hate for others is usually caused by ignorance（无知）．We're scared of the things that we don't understand．History has the potential to break down those boundaries by offering us insight into entire worlds that would otherwise be foreign to us．
History can inspire us to learn more．What's fantastic about history is the way it broadens our horizons．It's almost impossible to learn about one historical period without having dozens of questions about related concepts．Study the 19th century England，and you might catch a glimpse of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist．Look up Charles Dickens，and you might learn a thing or two about realism．Or maybe you end up switching your attention away from novels，and discover the history of romantic poets in England．It can go anywhere，and there is something in there for absolutely anybody．
The value of history cannot be underestimated．We don't have to live in the past，but we can definitely do better by learning from it and using the lessons learnt to lead more meaningful lives．
（1）The underlined part "where we are today" in Para.2 probably means ．
A．the turning point in our history
B．the present state of our nation
C．the location of our homeland
D．the total area of our country
（2）According to the experts，why is history useful for people to handle challenges of life？
A．The problems at present are similar to those in the past．
B．Ancient people laid economic foundations for people today．
C．The current challenges of life were predicted by the ancestors．
D．People living long time ago knew more about how to solve problems．
（3）What can be concluded from Para.4？
A．It is difficult to get rid of cultural barriers．
B．People are willing to accept foreign cultures．
C．Cultural conflicts in history are difficult to ignore．
D．History helps us improve our cross﹣cultural awareness．
（4）With the example in Para.5，the writer intends to show that ．
A．Charles Dickens contributes much to British literature
B．Oliver Twist can satisfy our curiosity for romantic poets
C．reading novels is a way to learn about a historical period
D．studying history can arouse people's interest in other fields
（5）What could be the best title for the passage？
A．How to Build Cultural Identity
B．Why Studying History Matters
C．Know the Past，Know the Present
D．History：a Way to Broaden Horizons
Transport has a lot to answer for when it comes to harming the planet．While cars and trains are moving towards greener，electric power，emissions from air travel are expected to increase massively by 2050．If we want big green sky solutions，we need blue sky thinking．Fortunately，there's plenty of that happening right now，particularly the short﹣haul flights powered by batteries．
Harbour Air is the largest seaplane airline in North America，flying 30，000 commercial flights in 40 seaplanes each year．Significantly，all Harbour Air routes last less than 30 minutes，making it perfectly fit for electric engines．"As an airline，we're currently in the process of turning all our planes into electric airplanes．" says CEO Greg McDougall．To make this happen，the airline has partnered up with MagniX to create the world's first commercial flight with an electric engine．
Making the skies electric isn't just good for the environment，it also makes sound financial sense：a small aircraft uses ﹩400 on conventional fuel for a 100﹣mile flight，while an electric one costs ﹩8﹣ 12 for the same distance，and that's before you factor in the higher maintenance costs of a traditional engine．There's also the added bonus that electric planes are just much more pleasant to fly in．No loud engine noise，no smell of fuel，just environmentally friendly peace and quiet．
While there has been real progress in the e﹣plane industry，the technical challenges that remain are keeping everyone's feet firmly on the ground．A battery，even a lithium one，only provides 250 watt﹣hours per kilogram；compare this to liquid fuel，which has a specific energy of 11，890 watt﹣hours per kilogram．Carrying adequate batteries， however，would make the plane too heavy to get off the ground．In aircraft，where every bit of weight counts，this can't just be ignored．
The transition（过渡） from gas to electric in the automobile industry has been made easier by hybrids﹣ vehicles powered by both fuel and electricity．Many believe the same pattern could be followed in the air．Fuel consumption could be reduced as the electric component is switched on at key parts of the journey，especially on take﹣off and landing．
It's certainly an exciting time for electric flying．With companies like Harbour Air taking the lead，battery﹣powered planes，especially on short﹣haul journeys，are set to become a reality in the next few years．
（1）According to Para.1， what is happening in air transport？
A．New explorations of the sky are being launched．
B．Pollution caused by batteries is being controlled．
C．Efforts are being made to make air travel greener．
D．Demand for short﹣haul flights is increasing massively．
（2）Why is Harbour Air fit for electric flights？
A．It runs short routes．
B．It has a strong partner．
C．Its planes can land on the sea．
D．It has planes with powerful engines．
（3）The expression "added bonus" refers to the fact that electric planes ．
A．give passengers more pleasant views
B．bring airlines more financial benefits
C．offer more enjoyable flying experiences
D．cost less in maintenance than traditional ones
（4）What might be the biggest challenge of electric flying？
A．To improve the ground service for e﹣planes．
B．To find qualified technicians for e﹣plane industry．
C．To calculate the energy needed to power e﹣planes．
D．To balance power and weight of batteries in e﹣planes．
（5）What could be done during the transition from gas to electric in air flight？
A．To produce new electric components．
B．To increase battery consumption．
C．To use mixed﹣power technology．
D．To expand the landing field．
（6）What is the author's attitude towards the prospect of electric flying？
A．Short﹣sighted．
B．Wait﹣and﹣see．
C．Optimistic．
D．Skeptical．