Heather Mills McCartney lives an admirable life, attending celebrity pa
rties, meeting regularly with the rich and famous and doing meaningful work for charity. All who work with her admire and respect her. But Heather’s life hasn’t always been so easy. When Heather was only 9 years old, her mother abandoned her and her two brothers. At the age of 13, she ran away from home and ended up living on the streets in London. Eventually, however, her exceptional beauty led to a career in modeling. At that time, Heather also began helping with the war relief efforts in former Yugoslavia. Through her modeling and relief work, she soon became famous.
But in August 1993, at age 25 her life changed once again. She was crossing the street in London when a motorcycle crashed into her. She was so badly injured that the doctors had to cut off her left leg. After that, she discovered she frequently needed to change her artificial limbs. It was expensive and she felt it was a waste to just throw away the old one. It occurred to her to set up an organization that could deliver used artificial limbs to Yugoslavia and other war-torn countries. It was through her charity work that she met her husband Paul McCartney.
Throughout her life, Heather has risen above problems and focused on helping others. Her work with artificial limbs even earned her a nomination(提名) fo
r the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. Heather’s persistence and determination are what impresses anyone who knows her. Heather believes anyone can make a positive difference in the world. This passage is mainly about _________.
| A．Heather’s miserable life | B．Heather’s contributi on to the world |
| C．Heather’s success in her work | D．Heather’s belief in life |
Heather began her modeling career _________.
| A．due to her mother’s encouragement |
| B．after her brothers abandoned her |
| C．because of her excellent intelligence and performances |
| D．because she was especially beautiful |
Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
| A．Heather won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. |
| B．Heather began her charity work while working as a model. |
C．Her artificial limbs had to be re placed continuously. |
| D．Heather has never been defeated by her problems. |
From the passage we can infer that people admire and respect Heath
er because
_________.
| A．she had a lot of misfortunes during her childhood. |
| B．she was a world-famous model |
| C．she is determined and never gives in |
| D．she made a great difference in the world |
Beethoven, a famous musician in the world, was born in Germany in 1770.
In his childhood Beethoven didn’t have a happy life．His father was a singer. When he was only four, his father began to make him practise hour after hour on different musical instruments(乐器). If he did not put his heart into it, his father would beat him or make it hard on him.
Beethoven loved music and he learned so fast that he was able to go around to give concerts, when he was only a boy of eleven. At the age of seventeen, he won high praise from Mozart, the great musician at that time.
Beethoven was often poor and ill during his life. After one illness, he suddenly found himself deaf. At that time he was only thirty-one. It was a blow(打击)to him indeed.
But he still went on working and writing music pieces. To people’s surprise, some of his best pieces were written after he lost his hearing.
In 1827, leaving more than 300 pieces, the great musician died. But his name is still remembered to this day.Beethoven was a ______ musician.
| A．America | B．French |
| C．German | D．British |
What happened when he was thirty-one? ___________.
| A．He was blind | B．He was deaf |
| C．He gave concerts | D．He won high praise |
Why didn’t Beethoven have a happy life in his childhood? ___________.
| A．Because his family was poor |
| B．Because he had to practise a lot of musical instruments |
| C．Because his father was strict with him |
| D．Both B and C |
The great musician lived in the world for only ______ years.
| A．43 | B．70 | C．57 | D．60 |
When were some of his best pieces written? ____________.
| A．At the age of 11 |
| B．At the age of 17 |
| C．Before he was deaf |
| D．After he became deaf |
What did Beethoven do after he lost his hearing? ____________.
| A．He never gave in |
| B．He stopped writing music pieces |
| C．He lost his heart |
| D．He went to see a doctor |
The US will seek to expand its own oil production in an attempt to reduce dependence on imported oil and bring down fuel prices, President Obama says. New contracts for exploration will be signed in non-protected areas of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico.
In his weekly speech, the President insisted the US could reduce its need for imported oil and improve safety. Using his speech to tell Americans that he understood their concerns about rising prices, President Obama focused particularly on the price of fuel, which has risen in recent months.
US consumers have historically enjoyed cheap fuel, but have seen prices rise in recent months even though US oil production in 2010 reached its highest level for seven years.
Although the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was serious, Mr. Obama said the Gulf remained a key part of the country’s future energy supply.
The President’s proposals (议案) come after Republicans (共和党人) introduced a series of proposals that would expand and speed up oil and gas production.
The White House has criticized the Republican proposals for safety reasons, but Mr. Obama was clear in his speech that he felt safety and environmental standards could be maintained even though production might rise.
“I believe that we should continue to expand oil production in America — even as we increase safety and environmental standards,” he said.
“As a nation, we should be investing in the clean, renewable sources of energy that are the solution to high gas prices.”
Mr. Obama has previously called for a step-change in energy policy, saying the US must move towards getting 80% of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.Which of the following is NOT included in Mr. Obama’s speech?
| A．The dependence on imported oil. |
| B．Improving safety standards. |
| C．The reason for the rising oil prices. |
| D．Expanding oil production. |
Mr. Obama thinks the Republican proposals are ______.
| A．not safe enough |
| B．not environmentally friendly |
| C．practical |
| D．clear |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．The US has got most of its electricity from clean energy. |
| B．US oil production is too small to keep the present low fuel prices. |
| C．The US produced the most oil in 2010 in its history. |
| D．The Gulf is still important in energy supply in spite of the oil spill in 2010. |
Which of the following can serve as the title?
| A．Obama: US will seek oil in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico |
| B．Obama: US will import less oil to improve safety and environmental standards |
| C．Obama: the time of high fuel prices will be gone |
| D．Obama: clean, renewable sources of energy are the solution to high gas price. |
(Reuters) — A group of Chinese scientists and explorers are looking for international help to organize a new search for the country’s answer to Bigfoot, known locally as the “Yeren”, or “wild man”.
Over the years, more than 400 people have said they saw the half-man, half-ape (半猿) Yeren in a remote, mountainous area of the central province of Hubei, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday.
Expeditions (探险) in the 1970s and 1980s found hair, a footprint, and a sleeping nest suspected of belonging to the Yeren, but there has been no conclusive proof, the report added.
Witnesses describe a creature that walks upright and is more than 2 meters tall with grey, red or black hair all over its body, Xinhua said.
Now the Hubei Wild Man Research Association is looking for volunteers from around the world to join them on another expedition to look for the Yeren.
“We want the team members to be devoted, as there will be a lot of hard work in the process,” Luo Baosheng, vice president of the group, told Xinhua.
But the team will have to come up with about 10 million yuan ($1.50 million) first, and is talking to companies and other bodies to secure the money, so there is no timetable yet for when they may start, the report added.
China is no stranger to cryptozoology. There are many tales about mysterious, monster-like creatures in remote parts of the country. For example, Tibetans have long talked about the existence of the Yeti (喜马拉雅雪人), or “Abominable Snowman”, in the high mountains of their snowy homeland.What the volunteers for this expedition need most is _____.
| A．experience | B．enthusiasm |
| C．confidence | D．devotion |
The timetable for starting the trip depends on _____.
| A．the number of explorers |
| B．government’s support |
| C．the finance |
| D．local people’s guiding |
According to the text, the underlined word “cryptozoology” in the last paragraph probably refers to _____.
| A．the study of mysterious animals |
| B．the study of human beings |
| C．dangerous expeditions |
| D．tourism industry |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Volunteers for an expedition needed |
| B．Scientists to look for China’s Bigfoot |
| C．International cooperation in finding wild man |
| D．Yeren appeared in Hubei again |
Australia’s koalas could be wiped out within 30 years unless urgent action is taken to stop the losing in population, according to researchers They say development, climate change and bushfires have all combined to reduce the number of wild koalas sharply. The Australian Koala Foundation said a recent survey showed the population could have dropped by more than half in the past six years. Previous estimates (估计) put the number of koalas at more than 100,000, but the latest calculations (计算) suggest there could now be as few as 43,000.
The foundation collected field data from 1,800 sites and 80,000 trees to calculate the numbers. In one area in northern Queensland estimated to have 20,000 koalas a decade ago, a team of eight people could not find a single animal in four days of searching.
The foundation said besides problems caused by cutting down forests, hotter and drier conditions because of global warming had reduced the nutritional (营养的) value of their staple food, eucalyptus leaves, leading to poor nutrition for them.
Koalas, which live in the forests in Australia’s east and south, are very fussy (爱挑剔的) about what types of the leaves they eat.
Foundation chief Deborah Tabart said: “The koalas are missing everywhere we look. It’s really no tree, no me. If you keep cutting down trees you don’t have any koalas.”
She is hoping the new figures will persuade the government’s Threatened Species Steering Committee (TSSC) to list the koala as threatened. But committee chairman Bob Beeton said a decision was not likely recently and the koala’s status as one of the country’s favourite animals would not be a factor. “There’s a number of species which are attractive and people have special feelings towards them. We don’t consider that,” Mr Beeton was reported as saying by the AFP agency.The writer gives the example of the area in northern Queensland in Paragraph 3 to show that _____.
| A．the forests are being damaged heavily |
| B．the environment is being polluted seriously |
| C．the number of koalas is dropping quickly |
| D．koalas usually live in wild mountainous areas |
Global warming is an important cause of koalas’ reduction because _____.
| A．koalas can hardly stand the hot weather |
| B．koalas cannot get enough water to drink |
| C．the leaves koalas eat are losing nutritional value |
| D．the leaves koalas eat cannot grow in hot weather |
According to Bob Beeton, _____.
| A．koalas are his favourite animals |
| B．a decision will be made to protect koalas |
| C．they needn’t pay special attention to koalas |
| D．koalas needn’t be protected at all |
One day, a train was approaching the small town of Cheekyville. On the train was a young man with a big suitcase. He was called William Warbler, and he looked very common indeed. What made him most unusual, though, was the fact that whenever he needed to communicate he did it by singing opera (歌剧). It didn’t matter to William whether it was simply a matter of answering a brief greeting, like “good day”. He would clear his voice and respond, “Gooood dayyy to youuuuuuuu... toooooo!”
No one could get a normal spoken word out of him and no one knew how he made his living. As he lived quite simply, always wearing his same old second-hand suit, people often looked down on him.
William had been in Cheekyville for some years, when, one day, word spread round town like wildfire: William had played a role in a very important opera in the nation’s capital. Everyone in the capital went to see it, and it was a great success. Everyone in Cheekyville felt it was a surprise. But something more surprising was, when William was being interviewed by reporters, he answered their questions by speaking rather than singing. And he did it with great manners, and with a clear and pleasant voice.
From that day, William gave up singing at all hours. Now he did it only during his stage appearances and world tours. Some people suspected why he had changed, but others continued believing him to be somewhat mad. They wouldn’t have thought so if they had seen what William kept in his big suitcase. It was a large stone, with a hand-carved (手工雕刻的) message on it. The message said: “Practice, my boy. Practice every second, for you never know when your chance will come.”
Little did people realize that he only got the role in the opera because the director had heard William singing while out buying a newspaper.Why did people in Cheekyville consider William strange?
| A．He always carried a big suitcase. |
| B．He always spoke by singing opera. |
| C．He always greeted people gladly. |
| D．He always wore an old suit. |
Hearing the news about William, people in Cheekyville felt it was _____.
| A．unbelievable | B．satisfying |
| C．disappointing | D．interesting |
According to the text, William _____.
| A．had no idea whether he should continue doing something mad |
| B．was nervous and didn’t know how to sing when he was interviewed |
| C．was selling newspapers when the opera director heard him singing |
| D．practiced singing whenever possible before he became famous |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Live and learn. |
| B．Better late than never. |
| C．Practice makes the master. |
| D．Experience is the best teacher. |