NEW YORK CITY?A hurricane warning has been given for New York City．Forecasters say Hurricane Irene could cause widespread flooding, power failure and billions of dollars in damage．About 65 million Americans live in Hurricane Irene's projected path —many of whom have been evacuated．
In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the city's first-ever evacuation． Roughly 250,000 people have been told to leave their homes in low-lying areas, including the Wall Street financial district．
WASHINGTON D．C．—On Aug．24, 2011, Apple announced that Mr．Steve Jobs, who has battled cancer for several years, was stepping down as the CEO but would serve as chairman．
In January, he had announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence from Apple．In announcing his leave, he turned daily oversight of the company over to the chief operating officer, Timothy D．Cook, and it was Mr．Cook whom Apple named to succeed him as the next CEO of the company．
TRIPOLI—Opposition forces in Libya say they control more than 90 percent of the country．It is still not clear where Moammar Gadhafi is．The opposition has offered more than 1,600,000 dollars for his capture （逮捕）．The head of the opposition forces said his group supports a decision by local businessmen to provide the money in an effort to speed up the capture．Earlier Wednesday, government forces fired onto the former headquarters （总部） of Mr．Gadhafi, which is now controlled by opposition forces．Heavy fighting also continued near Tripoli's airport and in a town of Zuara．The underlined word "evacuated" probably means ________．
| A．sent away to safer places | B．gathered around to higher positions |
| C．flooded off to lower reaches | D．left behind to dangerous situations |
Who has been appointed as the new CEO of Apple?
A．Steve Jobs． B．Michael Bloomberg．
C．Moammar Gadhafi． D．Timothy D．Cook．From the news above, we know that in Libya _______．
| A．the local businessmen have offered money to catch hold of Gadhafi |
| B．the opposition forces suffered a thorough defeat near Tripoli's airport |
| C．the government forces are defending the headquarters of Mr．Gadhafi |
| D．the town of Zuara is the place where Moammar Gadhafi probably hides |
When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated(复杂的) .
My definition of happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment". The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our "right" to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.
Happiness isn't about what happens to us--it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.As people grow older, they ______.
| A．feel it harder to experience happiness |
| B．associate their happiness less with others |
| C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness |
| D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
| A．She cares little about her own health |
| B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling |
| C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life. |
| D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
| A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness |
| B．Psychologists’ opinion is well proved by Grandma's case. |
| C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings |
| D．Grandma's happiness came from modest expectations of life, |
People who equal happiness with wealth and success ______.
| A．consider pressure something blocking their way |
| B．stress their right to happiness too much |
| C．are at a loss to make correct choices |
| D．are more likely to be happy |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative. |
| B．Each man is the master of his own fate. |
| C．Success leads to happiness. |
| D．Happy is he who is content. |
George Gershwin, born in 1998, was one of America’s greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs.
Many of Gershwin’s songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way — from jazz to country.
In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular.
In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition (作曲)with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics (评论家)were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works.
George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty-nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written. Many of Gershwin’s musical works were ________.
| A．written about New Yorkers |
| B．Composed for Paul Whiteman |
| C．played mainly in the countryside |
| D．performed in various ways |
What do we know about the concert organized by Whiteman?
| A．It attracted more people to theatres. |
| B．It proved jazz could be serious music. |
| C．It made Gershwin leader of the orchestra. |
| D．It caused a debate among jazz musicians. |
What did Gershwin do during his stay in Paris?
| A．He created one of his best works | B．He studied with Nadia Boulanger |
| C．He argued with French critics | D．He changed his music style |
What do we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Many of Gershwin’s works were lost. |
| B．The death of Gershwin was widely reported. |
| C．A concert was held in memory of Gershwin. |
| D．Brain cancer research started after Gershwin’s death. |
Which of the following best describes Gershwin?
| A．Talented and productive | B．Serious and boring |
| C．popular and unhappy | D．Friendly and honest |
Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back, a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs, catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras. To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years. The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Ban University. The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli. They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to the right side. When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right, but with somewhat less enthusiasm. The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag, although with less intensity again. The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog, similar to a German shepherd, changed the direction of tail wagging to the left. Researchers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back. When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left, suggesting they preferred company. While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video, it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood of dogs. Computer and video systems, for example, could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach. .The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ responses because ___________ .
| A．it was easier to catch the dogs’response changes in the tail wagging |
| B．the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time. |
| C．they enabled the dogs’owners to know about their dogs’habit |
| D．the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods |
The underlined word “intensity” in the passage means .
| A．surprise | B．worry | C．excitement | D．interest |
When there are no stimuli, a dog will ___________ .
| A．wag to the left | B．wag to the right |
| C．not wag at all | D．wag to the left and then to the right |
The underlined word “they” refers to _____.
| A．the dogs | B．the trainers | C．the systems | D．the rescarchers |
The purpose of doing the experiment is _____________ .
| A．to train dogs for their owners | B．to help people judge the mood of dogs |
| C．to help dogs find company | D．to help people choose their pet dogs |
Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with God. She did it her way.
I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception.
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables. The place was simple, with no indoor pipes or heating. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the rhythm and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk. She loved to tell there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle(喧闹) of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.
Now, I sat back in the silence and turned on an old radio. Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there shocked, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.
Then the radio announcer of this old station came on. "Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves "Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower…".The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons Except that ________.
| A．it was too cold and quiet |
| B．she could only sing one song in the small farm |
| C．there was nothing more that could make her excited |
| D．it had no indoor pipes or heating |
From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
| A．passed away four years ago | B．left the small farm |
| C．left to live her own way | D．preferred to be with God |
The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.
| A．remembered | B．comforted | C．shouted | D．sighed |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The writer was able to sing before she could speak. |
| B．The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city. |
| C．The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower". |
| D．The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse. |
Which would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Cherish life | B．My happy childhood |
| C．Our small farmhouse | D．Mom’s music |
In the winter of 1964, the Beatles, a British musical, packed up their electric guitars, drum kits, and rebellious ways and set off for America.
Two days later, more than seventy million people watched the group perform four of their hit songs on the Ed Sullivan Show. This was sixty percent of the American television audience. Here the Beatles sing one of those songs, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
The Beatles soon had the top five hit songs on the Billboard singles chart. Millions of fans became infected with Beatlemania. They rushed to stores to buy Beatles albums, wigs, clothes, dolls and lunch boxes.
The Beatles recorded more than twenty number one hits in America. A Beatles song was almost always at the top of the charts until the group's next hit replaced it. They played to more than fifty thousand fans at large sports stadiums. And they filmed several movies that made millions of dollars.
The Beatles were influenced by American singers including Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. Yet the group's music sounded completely new and different. The Beatles wrote more than two hundred songs that revolutionized American popular music.
In addition, young people saw the Beatles as spokesmen for their generation. They copied the band members' long hair and free-spirited ways. The band became so popular that in 1966 John Lennon said they were more popular than Jesus Christ.
Soon other musicians began writing their own music the way John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the Beatles songs.
Many other British groups followed the Beatles to America. This was known as the "British Invasion." They included the Dave Clark Five, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones.
The Rolling Stones called themselves the "World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band." The Stones first performed across America in 1964. This song was the group's first Top 40 hit in the United States.
In the spring of 1970, the Beatles released "Let it Be." But their fans were not celebrating. This was the last studio album the Beatles recorded as a group. It tells the story of the band's break up.
| British |
|
| Time and Place |
Events |
| 1964 |
Get everything |
| After arriving in USA |
Over half of American TV audience watched their |
| In America |
1. They 2. They played a lot to many fans; 3. They filmed movies. |
1966 |
Although American singers had |
| 1970 |
The last group album “Let it be” was |