Anthony was sad. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Anthony was sent away to a boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded with(恳求)his parents year after year not to send
him. “The thought was ,it would be good for me,” he recalled.
It was not. Anthony did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied for five years. “My teachers couldn’t have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn’t even smart enough to rebel. The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was the desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”
Now, at 55, Anthony is one of the world’s most successful children’s book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies,and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, has come out.
The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.
Anthony says he doesn’t try to write for kids; it just comes out that way.“ I have a feeling that it has something to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.
The style has also made Anthony a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it’s all about entertaining people with a good story.
Now, Anthony couldn’t be happier with his life. He sums up his success:“…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”Which of the following is true of Anthony?
A.He was the beloved child of his family. |
B.Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy. |
C.He places more emphasis on the characters’ behavior in his stories. |
D.Studying in a boarding school proved a good choice for him. |
At boarding school , Anthony’s teachers_____________.
A.often criticized him. | B.showed great concern for him. |
C.encouraged him to be a writer. | D.thought little of his ability. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Anthony’s popular books—Alex Rider series |
B.Alex Rider, a popular character |
C.Anthony, a successful children’s book author |
D.Special writing style |
What advice does Anthony give to readers?
A.Confidence is the key to success. | B.Hardship teaches valuable lessons. |
C.Internet is the best teacher. | D.Failure is the mother of success. |
Jonny Jones was a nice and popular boy, who everyone loved.He was so much fun, so good and so kind to everyone that they treated him wonderfully. But as everything he needed was given to him without asking, Jonny became a weed. He was so spoiled by everyone that he couldn’t stand any hardship.
One day Johnny heard a mother saying to her son “Come on, my boy, get up and stop crying. You are behaving like Johnny Jones.” That made Johnny feel very ashamed. But he was sure that he would prefer to be known as a good boy rather than a fool. Worried, he spoke to his father about all this, though he was afraid that maybe he would be laughed at for having such worries. His father, far from laughing at Johnny, told him that a teacher had taught him a secret trick to turn him into the toughest boy off all. “Eat a candy less, study a minute more, and count to five before crying.” Johnny asked, “Just that? ” “Yes, just that,” said his father, “It’s very simple, but I warn you that it won’t be easy.”
Johnny was happy like a bird, ready to follow the advice. He went to see his mother, and she noticed how happy he was when she offered him candies. “One candy less”, thought Johnny, so he only took one. That afternoon he had another chance to put it into practice by studying one minute more. The result was that he missed the first minute of his favorite program! But having achieved this gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. The same happened when he ran up against the corner of the kitchen table. He only managed to count to four before crying, but that was left deeply in his mother’s memory.
Over the following days Johnny kept using the motto in his life as his father told him. And the more he put this into practice ,the easier it got. Before long he realized that he could also do things that would seem impossible before.The underlined word "weed" in the first paragraph refers to ____.
A.a person with a strong v/ill |
B.a person with a weak character |
C.a person who isn't popular with everyone |
D.a person who changes his behavior according to the situation |
What made Jonny Jones decide to change himself?
A.A mother's words. B.Others' attitude to him.
C.His father's advice. C.His teacher's warning.What is the key point of the advice from Jonny's father?
A.Eat fewer candies than before. |
B.Count to five before crying. |
C.Talk with parents and follow their advice. |
D.Learn to control oneself and keep using the motto in life. |
What message does the writer want to convey through the story?
A.One should be brave to face his mistakes. |
B.Nothing is difficult as long as you set your mind on it. |
C.Spoilinga child too much may result in his selfish behaviors. |
D.A strong will can be developed by small but consistent efforts. |
Angry Birds is a video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mohile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple’s mobile operating system in December 2009.Since then, over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from Apple’s App Store.
With its fast-growing popularity worldwide, the game and its characters---angry birds and their enemy pigs---have appeared in television programs throughout the world. The Israeli comedy A Wonderful Country ,one of the nation’s most popular TV programs, satirized(讽刺) recent failed Israeli-Palestinian peace attempts by featuring the Angry Birds in peace negotiations with the pigs. Clips of the segment (片段)went viral, getting viewers from all around the world. American television hosts Conan O’Brien ,Jon Steward ,and Daniel Tosh have referenced the game in comedy sketches for their programs, Conan, The Daily Show, and Dash. O. Some of the game’s more famous fans include Prime Minister David Cameron of UK, who plays the iPad version of the game, and author Salman Rushdie, who is believed to be “something of a master at Angry Birds.”
Angry Birds and its characters have also been featured in advertisements in different forms. In March 2011,the characters began appearing in a series of advertisements for Microsoft’s Bing search engine. In the same year, Nokin produced an advertisement in Austin, Texas that included the game’s characters on a downtown building for its new mobile phone. Later, a T-Mobile advertisement filmed in Spain included a real-life mock-up(实物模拟)of the game in a city center .Nokin also used the game in Malaysia to promote an attempt to set a world record for the largest number of people playing a single mobile game.
Angry Birds has even inspired works of philosophical analogy(哲学类比).A five-part essay with the title“ Angry Birds Yoga(瑜伽)---How to Eliminate the Green Pigs in Your Life” was written by Giridhari Dasar in Brazil ,utilizing the characters and game play mechanics to interpret various concepts of yoga philosophy. The piece attracted much media attention for its unique method of philosophical presentation.What is the purpose of the passage?
A.To explain how the video game Angry Birds was devised. |
B.To investigated why Angry Birds has quickly become well-liked. |
C.To introduce Angry Birds characters in TV programs and advertisements. |
D.To report on the spread of Angry Birds in different media around the world . |
Which of the following is closed in meaning to the word “viral “in Paragraph 2?
A.apparent | B.popular | C.exciting | D.disgusting |
According to the text, Which of the following persons is good at playing Angry Birds?
A.Salman Rushdie | B.Conan O’Brien | C.Giridhari Dasar | D.Daniel Tosh |
Which of the following is TRUE about the use of Angry Birds according to the text?
A.It has been used by UK Prime Minister to explain political issues. |
B.Its characters are used in advertisements mainly for Apple’s products. |
C.It has been developed into a film about the life of a Brazilian yoga master. |
D.Its real-life mock-up has appeared in an advertisement for mobile phones. |
It’s good to make mistakes, and here is why.
First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? The simple answer is “You can’t”. Look around you. With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your physical world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new.
Another good thing about mistakes is this: When you are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how it felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work.
Finally, when you make a mistake you are much closer to success. Why?
Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some number of things before you succeeded. Every time you make a mistake you eliminate one of those things and are one step closer.
But this all doesn’t mean that you should go ahead without considering the consequences of a mistake. Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again.
We all have limited resources in the form of time and money so don’t blow them all on one approach to a problem. Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and allocate (分配) these resources appropriately so you can learn, make corrections, and try it again. Only by accepting and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your business and your career.
There is an old saying that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”
So go forth and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And prosper(成功).From the second paragraph, we can conclude that _______.
A.mistakes are unnecessary for development |
B.we are afraid of trying new things |
C.it’s common for people to make mistakes |
D.mistakes are better than not trying |
The underlined word “eliminate” means _______.
A.avoid | B.remove | C.accept | D.solve |
According to the article, one thing you should pay attention to about making mistakes is.
A.avoiding making the same mistakes |
B.accepting the punishment willingly |
C.taking consequences into account |
D.trying things out one by one |
What would the writer probably suggest we say to ourselves when we make a mistake?
A.Never mind, I can always try again. |
B.I’d better stay out of trouble. |
C.Ok! Now I can learn something. |
D.Look at this mess. Anyone would be upset. |
The following are introductions to some programs that BBC I London will show on TV.
12:25 a.m. Tuesday |
The Real Swiss Robinson Family Laura worried that her children have had their life too easy due to her husband’s career in big business, so she decides to take her teenagers to the Cook Islands to experience the simple life.They face storms and a lack of food, but Laura is happy as their local guide shows them the island’s wealth of rare fruits and foods. |
11:00 a.m. Wednesday |
Orangutan Diary A team have come across an armed man who is holding two baby apes who were captures. One of them, David, is sent to a medical emergency in the forest.Later a center director, Nielsen, finds a suitable place to set free more rescued animals. |
7:50 p.m. Thursday |
Lost Buildings of Britain Simon Thurley visits the ruins of Glastonbruy Abbey(修道院),which , before its destruction by Henry VIII, was famous for some of the most amazing stained-glass of its age.It also had a great deal of financial power, acting as the center of an influential business empire.Eventually, it was the king’s envy of the abbey’s wealth that changed the abbey’s fate. |
10:35 p.m. Thursday |
Nigella Express Nigella presents ideas for impromptu(即兴的)cooking, from new recipes and suggestions for taking advantage of the food you have to make quick, simple and impressive meals. |
Why is Laura worried?
A.Life on the Cook Islands is too simple. |
B.Her husband faces difficulties in his business. |
C.Storms are approaching her hometown. |
D.Her children may not know how to cherish life. |
Jim enjoys TV programmes of people or organizations that take care of animals. He should probably watch TV at.
A.10:35 p.m. on Thursday | B.7:50 p.m. on Thursday |
C.11.00 a.m. on Wednesday | D.12:25 a.m. on Tuesday |
We can learn from the text that.
A.David is a farmer |
B.Henry VIII set up a business empire in the Abbey |
C.Nielsen is an animal-lover |
D.Glastonbury Abbey is famous today for its stained-glass |
In 490 B.C. the Greek messenger, Pheidippides , ran about 40 kilometers from the town of “Marathon”to Athens to announce the victory of Athens over Macedon . Since then ,the 42–kilometer“Marathon”race has become a great test for athletes. However, for many years , only men were allowed to run this race , because the distance was said to be unbearable for women. In 1966, an American women named Roberta Gibb proved that idea wrong.
Gibb had always enjoyed running .One day in 1964 , she saw the Boston Marathon happening as she was running in the woods. Since running meant a lot to her, she began training harder , hoping to join the marathon some day.
Gibb finally applied to run in the 1966 Boston Marathon, but she was not given entrance because the Boston Marathon Association considered that women were not strong enough to run 42 kilometers . Yet, this was no obstacle to Gibb, for she knew she had the physical and mental strength to complete the race .On the day the 1966 Boston Marathon was held , Gibb hid in the bushes and jumped into the race when it began. She finished the race in 3 hours and 21 minutes, defeating two thirds of the men in the race and proving that women could run the marathon.
Although what Gibb did was only to realize her dream, in doing so she showed the world that women could accomplish greater things than many people believed they could.why were women forbidden to run the 42–km marathon ?
A.Training was only provided for men . |
B.Women could not work as messengers. |
C.Women were believed too weak to finish it. |
D.It was a race held only for professional athletes |
What did Roberta Gibb do to prepare herself for the Boston Marathon ?
A.She dressed herself as a man. |
B.She trained herself harder than before. |
C.She found a job in the Boston Marathon Association . |
D.She hid in the bushes, waiting for the end of the race. |
What happened to Gibb in the 1966 Boston Marathon?
A.Her application wasn’t accepted. |
B.She was asked to train harder . |
C.Her determination amazed people. |
D.She was welcome to run the race. |
According to the text ,what can we learn from Roberta Gibb’s story?
A.Most women ran slower than men in marathons. |
B.Joining marathons is the best way to prove one’s strength. |
C.It takes at least two years to train to become a marathon runner. |
D.Women may be able to achieve greater things than they’re expected. |