Bobby Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a tough working-class neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side. But Hell's Kitchen lies right next door to Broadway, and the bright lights attracted Bobby from the time he was a teen. Being stage-struck was hardly what a street kid could admit to his partners. Fearing their ridicule, he told no one, not even his girlfriend, when he started taking acting lessons at age 17. If you were a kid from the neighborhood, you became a cop, construction worker, longshoreman or criminal. Not an actor.
Moresco struggled to make that long walk a few blocks east. He studied acting, turned out for all the cattle calls -- and during the decade of the 1970s made a total of $2,000. "I wasn't a good actor, but I had a driving need to do something different with my life," he says.
He moved to Hollywood, where he drove a cab and worked as a bartender. "My father said, 'Stop this craziness and get a job; you have a wife and daughter.' “But Moresco kept working at his chosen craft.
Then in 1983 his younger brother Thomas was murdered in a mob-linked killing. Moresco moved back to his old neighborhood and started writing as a way to explore the pain and the patrimony of Hell's Kitchen. Half-Deserted Streets, based on his brother's killing, opened at a small Off-Broadway theater in 1988. A Hollywood producer saw it and asked him to work on a screenplay.
His reputation grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood. By 2003, he was again out of work and out of cash when he got a call from Paul Haggis, a director who had befriended him. Haggis wanted help writing a film about the country after September 11. The two worked on the writing, but every studio in town turned it down. They kept pitching it. Studio executives, however, thought no one wanted to see a severe, honest vision of race and fear and lives in collision in modern America.
Moresco believed so strongly in the script that he borrowed money, sold his house. He and Haggis kept pushing. At last the writers found an independent film producer who would take a chance, but the upfront money was too little, Moresco delayed his salary.
Crash slipped into the theaters in May 2005, and quietly became both a hit and a critical success. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three -- Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Paul Haggis and the kid from Hell's Kitchen.
At age 54, Bobby Moresco became an overnight success. "If you have something you want to do in life, don't think about the problems," he says, "think about other ways to get it done." Rearrange the following statements in terms of time order:
a. His work Half-Deserted Streets drew attention as it opened at a small Off-Broadway theater
b. Unexpectedly Crash became both a hit and a huge success.
c. He moved to Hollywood to be a taxi driver and a waiter.
d. He started learn acting in spite of hardness with the belief of doing something diiferent.
e. His younger brother Thomas was killed in conflict among bullies.
A.d; c; e; a; b | B.d; e; c; b; a | C.c; d; e; a; b | D.c; e; d; b; a |
Why Bobby Moresco did not tell anyone that he started taking lessons at age 17?
A.He wnted to give his girlfriend a surprise. |
B.His girlfriend did not allow him to do this. |
C.He was afraid of being lau![]() |
D.He had no talent for acting. |
Which of the following sentences is NOT true?
A.His father did not support his work as a bartender. |
B.Before he became an overnight success, his life experienced ups and downs. |
C.His brother’s death inspired his writing Half-Deserted Streets. |
D.Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen which is a few blocks east of Broadway. |
The Studio executives turned the script Crash down because ______________.
A.they thought the script would not be popular. |
B.the script was not well written. |
C.they had no money to make the film based on the script. |
D.they thought Moresco was not famous. |
What’s the best title of the article?
A.The Road to Success | B.Try It a Different Way |
C.A Talented man—Moresco | D.Moresco’s Perseverance |
Which of the following can best describe Bobby Moresco?
A.initiative (主动) and persistent | B.shy but hardworking |
C.caring and brave | D.aggressive and modest |
My Left Foot (1989) Imagine being a prisoner of your own body, unable to make any movements except to move your left foot. The main character in My Left Foot,based on the real story of cerebral palsy (大脑性麻痹) sufferer Christy Brown, can barely move his mouth to speak, but by controlling his left foot, he’s able to express himself as an artist and poet. For his moving performance of Brown, Daniel Lewis won his first Academy Award for best actor. |
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Shine (1996) Do you have a talent you’re afraid to share with the world? David Helfgott seemed meant from childhood to be “one of the truly great pianists,” but the pressures of performing (and pleasing his father) resulted in a complete breakdown. Ten years in a mental institution didn’t weaken Helfgott’s musical gift: When he was rediscovered, he was playing concertos in a bar. Shine received seven Oscar nominations (提名), and Geoffrey Rush won best actor for his performance of Helfgott. |
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Life Is Beautiful (1997) Nothing’s more powerful than the love between a parent and a child. In this heartbreaking Italian film, a father (Roberto Benigni) makes an unbelievable sacrifice for his 4-year-old son: trapped in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, the Jewish man convinces his boy that they are playing a complicated game. He manages to spare him the horror of the terrible war, and even in his final moments of life, keeps his son smiling and hopeful. Benigni won the best actor Oscar. |
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Stand and Deliver (1988) Few people can inspire us more than a good teacher. Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos got Oscar nomination for best actor) is a great one. Employed at a high school where kids are expected to fail, Escalante challenges his math students to struggle for better things, like getting good grades in the AP exam. Despite the obstacles in their lives, the classmates accomplish their goals, thanks to Mr. Escalante’s support. The real Jaime Escalanteis, the Best Teacher in America, says that Stand and Deliver is “90% truth, 10% drama.” |
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The underlined part in the passage means _________.
A.The main character in My Left Foot is a prisoner |
B.The main character in My Left Foot is trapped by others |
C.The main character in My Left Foot is a disabled person |
D.The main character in My Left Foot can’t control his whole body |
If you want to watch a movie about wars, which may be one of your choices?
A.My Left Foot. | B.Shine. |
C.Life Is Beautiful. | D.Stand and Deliver. |
Jaime Escalante has a talent for _________.
A.teaching | B.drawing and writing |
C.making stories | D.playing the piano |
What do the four movies have in common?
A.They are all based on real stories. |
B.They are all inspiring stories that make a difference. |
C.The main characters all won Academy Award for Best Actor. |
D.The main characters are all sick to some degree but succeed. |
July 21st. 2007 was a typical English summer’s day—it rained for 24 hours! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was amiss. By the time I left work at 5p.m., however, the road into our village was flooded. Our house had never been flooded but, as I opened the front door, a wave of waters greeted me. Thank God! The kids weren’t with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs. And the plaster had to be torn off the wall’s ceilings pulled down.
At first we tried to push on through. We didn’t want to move the children out of home. So we camped upstairs. We put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we move to a wooden house in a park. The house was small, but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months. The life there was inconvenient. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community(社区). We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbors, and I’d never thought how much I’d miss that.
Although our situation was very bad, it’s difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what’s happening elsewhere. I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought. “We didn’t have a straw hut(茅草房)that was for Christmas. But I can’t wait—I’m going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year, I won’t need any gifts—living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions. Although we are replacing things, there’s really no rush—we have our home back. And that’s the main thing.What does the underlined word “amiss” in the first paragraph mean?
A.Found. | B.Missing. | C.Right. | D.Wrong. |
It can be inferred from the text that the author _________.
A.cared much about her children |
B.was sick of staying upstairs alone |
C.could not stand living in a wooden house |
D.did not deal well with her family affairs during the flood |
Why does the author say that they were lucky in the third paragraph?
A.Because her situation was not serious. |
B.Because some others suffered even more. |
C.Because she had ever been to Northern India. |
D.Because very few other places were also flooded. |
What does the author mainly want to express by telling her story?
A.She realized she needed no more possession. |
B.She valued human feelings more than before. |
C.She found Christmas gifts no longer badly needed. |
D.She thought her own home was the most important of all. |
China may be the world’s largest market for e-bikes, but Europe is fast catching up. The EU’s official statistics agency says the figure reached the one million e-bike mark two years ago, and sales have sharply increased since then.
When working errands (差事) around Berlin, Lutz, who usually works with horses, uses the company’s new e-bike that charges easily and has a range of 140 kilometers. “We found there was no parking spot problem or other worries. And on top of all this, we don’t pollute the environment. Petrol is also saved,” said Lutz Baddack, owner of Reitsport Baddack.
Unlike many other parts of the world, the EU does not require registration (登记) for e-bikes. Nearly half a million are expected to be sold in Germany this year, in all shapes and sizes.
It’s not just bike fans buying them. People who usually drive cars also use them occasionally,” said Stefan Gelbhaar.
Dealers say the elderly are also big customers. Sales of ordinary bicycles fell in Germany last year, but sales of e-bikes rose by eight percent. Sales figures are expected to keep rising. “In five years we will have the market share of 20 percent, maybe more,” said Marcus Kendler, owner of E-Motion. In the hillier parts, that figure has already been beyond it.
The sales of e-bikes in Germany have been much larger than those in any other country in Europe. But other countries are fast catching up. In Europe, with the various brands at the market and falling prices, e-bikes are here to stay and not just a repeated trend.In Germany the sales of e-bikes _________.
A.have been the biggest in Europe |
B.have been larger than in China |
C.reached one million two years ago |
D.have taken up 20% of the market |
Which of the following is NOT the benefit of using e-bikes?
A.The users needn’t worry about parking spots. |
B.It’s environmentally friendly and saves petrol. |
C.The users are not required to register worldwide. |
D.It charges easily and runs far without charging. |
From the passage we know that e-bikes are preferred by those _________.
A.who work with horses |
B.who usually drive cars |
C.who are out on business |
D.who live in the hillier parts |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
A.the popularity of e-bikes in Europe will be lasting |
B.in Europe there are various brands of e-bikes on sale |
C.e-bikes will replace ordinary bicycles in only five years |
D.Europe will become the world’s largest market of e-bikes |
San Francisco(People's Daily Online)-- Apple Inc. Tuesday introduced its mobile payment service Apple Pay alongside the company's iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California.
What apple does is to replace consumers' wallet with its cell phone. Apple said it hopes to speed up the checkout process, make credit-card payments more secure and ultimately, to replace physical wallets.
With the near-field communication technology, Apple's gadgets like iPhone and Apple watch can transmit a radio signal between the device and a receiver when the two are in an inch apart. "To pay, just hold your iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID. You don’t even have to look at the screen to know your payment information was successfully sent," Apple says on its official website.
Apple said that each transaction (交易)would be authorized(授权) with a one-time, unique number, creating a security code that it said is more secure than the one on the back of your credit card because cashiers won’t see your name, card number or security code. The service will work with the three major payment networks — American Express, MasterCard and Visa — and Apple said that there are 220,000 merchant locations that accept these contactless payments.
When some applaud this disrupted service that will compete with Paypal and endanger other online payment companies, some others concern about its safety, especially when another retailer Home Depot confirmed a data opening yesterday and iCloud was reported exposing nude (裸体)pictures of celebrities (名人) a week ago.
Leo Zheng, a technology reporter in Silicon Valley said: "When Apple attracts consumers to put all their cards into one iPhone and promised the security, Jennifer Lawrence should say something."Which can be the best title for the passage?
A.Apple announces mobile payment service to replace consumers' wallet. |
B.Consumers can pay in cash through mobile phones. |
C.Apple Inc. will introduce new models to the market. |
D.Mobile payment will be popular soon. |
After reading the third paragraph, we know.
A.Apple’s new products are popular |
B.Apple can be used as an ID |
C.Apple's gadgets can receive message easily |
D.how Apple's gadgets work |
The attitude of the writer towards the mobile payment is .
A.indifferent (冷漠的) | B.objective |
C.skeptical | D.positive |
What could have happened to Jennifer Lawrence?
A.She made great contributions to Apple. |
B.She put all her cards into her iPhone. |
C.Her nude pictures were spread online. |
D.Her iPhone often broke down. |
A Bite of China, featuring delicious Chinese food, has attracted countless viewers, and moved many to tears.
A Bite of China is a serious documentary providing a unique view of Chinese as well as the relations between people and food and between people and society from the view of food. The touching documentary reminds some people of their mother, and makes some realize that every grain comes from hard and laborious work. Some people see patriotism(爱国精神) in the documentary, and some consider it a great cultural export.
How did this documentary achieve a great influence beyond its subject matter in such a short time?
“It is not empty propaganda(宣传) about China’s splendid food culture. Instead, it shows the techniques used in making food and their production process as well as the lives of ordinary people, thus striking a chord(共鸣) with the audience,” an Internet user said. The success of the documentary should be owed to sincerity and reality. Nowadays, many works of art that have high investment, high technology, and magnificent scenes lack nothing but sincerity and reality.
A Bite of China shows that a commercial documentary promoting patriotism can be full of touching details, that the emotions of ordinary Chinese people should be exhibited even in publicizing(宣传) China overseas, and that even a completely commercial program can achieve both artistic and commercial success.
“We made this documentary with our respect and love for food,” said director Chen Xiaoqing. Being sincere is the most important thing for artists because they cannot move others unless they themselves are first moved, and cannot convince others unless they themselves are first convinced. Sincerity is the “secret” for making this documentary so popular, and every cultural creator should learn from its success.According to the passage, A Bite of China is _______.
A.a book | B.a film |
C.a newspaper | D.a TV program |
What can you find in A Bite of China?
A.Relations between people and food. |
B.Real lives of all Chinese people. |
C.Patriotic stories of Chinese people. |
D.processes of preparing food. |
From the passage, it can be inferred that ________.
A.The documentary is so successful that no one can surpass (超越) it. |
B.Different people can get different messages from the documentary. |
C.The documentary should have shown China’s splendid food culture. |
D.Many art works fail to reflect (反映) reality and high technology. |
The main idea of the last paragraph is that ________.
A.Director’s respect and love for food. |
B.The secret of the documentary’s success. |
C.The influence of the documentary. |
D.The popularity of the documentary. |