People fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor in 1944, when she acted in the movie National Velvet — the story of Velvet Brown, a young girl who won first place in a famous horse race. At first, the producers of the movie told Elizabeth Taylor that she was too short to play the part of Velvet. However, they waited for four months until three inches (英寸) added to her height. Elizabeth Taylor’s acting in National Velvet is still considered to be the best and National Velvet became Elizabeth Taylor’s first success.
Elizabeth Taylor was born in London in 1932. Her parents, both Americans, had moved to London for business. When World War II started, the Taylors moved to California, where Elizabeth Taylor started acting in movies. After her success as a child star, Elizabeth Taylor had no trouble moving into adult roles and won the Academy Award twice for Best Actress for her performance in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1966).
Elizabeth Taylor is a legend (传奇人物) of our time. Like Velvet Brown in National Velvet, Elizabeth Taylor was very lucky, and she was hard-working, beautiful, famous and rich. When Elizabeth Taylor got older, she seldom acted in movies. Instead, she spent most of time on her business, and she often helped others. Several years ago, she raised more than $40 million for research and education. In March, 2011, Elizabeth Taylor died at the age of 79.The producers didn’t let Taylor play the part of Velvet at first because ______.
| A．she was not tall enough | B．she didn’t show interest |
| C．she was not beautiful enough | D．she did not play well enough |
Where did Elizabeth Taylor start acting in movies?
| A．In New York. | B．In Los Angeles. |
| C．In California. | D．In London |
When did Elizabeth Taylor win her first Academy Award for Best Actress?
| A．At the age of 12. | B．At the age of 28. |
| C．At the age of 31. | D．At the age of 34. |
What do you know about Velvet Brown in National Velvet?
| A．She was not rich. |
| B．She was a famous actress. |
| C．She was not well-known. |
| D．She won first place in a famous horse race. |
The writer wrote this article to _______.
| A．encourage us to help others |
| B．advise us to watch National Velvet |
| C．tell us how to be successful and famous |
| D．give us some information about a successful star |
任务型阅读。
Tourists from Korea! Attention, please! Welcome to England! The weather of England is very changeable. It can be rainy, sunny, cloudy, windy, warm, foggy or cold at any time of year. If it’s raining when you get up in the morning, it can be hot and dry by the afternoon. The west of England is wetter than the east, and the north is cooler than the south. Just be ready for any kind of weather. An umbrella is always necessary here.
In England, shops are usually open from 9:00 in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon. On Sundays some shops are open from 10:00 to 4:00. But a lot of shops are closed. Banks, museums or other places are open from 10:00 to 5:00. You can go to the parks at any time.
All the cities have buses, trains and taxis. People wait in line for buses and they are unhappy if you push in at the front. Don’t forget this, traffic here goes on the left. It’s dangerous to walk on the right, so make sure of it!
根据短文内容完成下列表格。
Notice (通知) to the from Korea
★ Just be ready for any kind of . It is changeable. You’d better take an
with you.
★ Shops are usually open for days a week. On Sundays most of them are
,but at any time you can go to the
.
★ Please in line when you are at the bus stop, you should never
in before others.
★ Make that you mustn’t walk on the right side of the road, or you’ll be in
.
任务型阅读
[1]A homeless man who wanders around in the streets of the Bronx singing soft R&B songs has become famous thanks to his talent and YouTube.
[2]James Percell, 49, was discovered by music manager, Kenneth Williams, who decided to help him get off the streets. In one video, Kenneth Williams speaks to the camera and explains ______________. "I went to the Bronx to visit my family, and I ran into this homeless brother," he says. "His voice is very beautiful."
[3]Mr. Percell has become famous on YouTube, where more than a million people have heard his golden voice, and many producers and filmmakers have already expressed their eagerness to work with him.
[4]Mr. Percell says he has been homeless for a few years and neglects everything for the love of music in an attempt to develop his career, he has cried out for The Voice and the X- Factor singing competitions. But the judges didn’t contact him after they found out that he was homeless.
[5]He now has a MySpace page and Facebook fan page, which are used to share his songs with his fans. He has written many songs, one of which is Everything Must Change, written for Michael Jackson. He hopes that his songs will help the world know his story and life struggle to make it as a singer, and also hopes that social media can give him a fighting chance to finally make his dream come true.What has made James Percell famous?(no more than 8 words)
______________________________________________________________________Fill in the blank with the appropriate words.(no more than 5 words)
In one video, Kenneth Williams speaks to the camera and explains _______________________________.What is the main idea of the third paragraph?(no more than 7 words)
_______________________________________________________________________Why did the judges from some singing competitions refuse to contact James Percell?
(no more than 5 words)
_________________________________________________________________________What does the word "which" probably refer to?(Line 2, Paragraph 5)
(no more than 6 words) _________ will be destroyed and land will be ruined by growing _________.
The Earth has warmed by about half a degree(0.50℃)over the last 100 years. It could be getting warmer on its own, but many scientists think that people are making the Earth warmer by making a greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is important. Without it, the Earth would not be warm enough for us to live on. But just a little warmer than it is now could cause problems for humans, plants and animals.
Many of the things we do every day can change the Earth’s temperature by sending greenhouse gases into the air. We send greenhouse gases into the air when we watch TV, turn on lights, dry hair, play video games, wash or dry our clothes or drive cars. The rubbish from factories and homes also produces greenhouse gases.
Even a small change in temperature can affect our weather. This can cause changes in the sea levels, the air, flooding, and our fresh water.
The change in the temperature can also cause changes in the living places for animals and plants, endangering many animals.
Global warming is a big problem, and every little bit we do can help. We can save electricity. We can save energy in other ways such as by taking buses or walking rather than driving cars. We can recycle to reduce the rubbish and save natural resources such as trees, oil and metals. We can buy products that don’t do bad to the environment and we can turn to solar energy. Remember the little bit that you do will bring a better world.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。Which of the following does not send greenhouse gases into the air?
| A．Watching TV. | B．Turning on a light. |
| C．Driving a car. | D．Walking to school. |
In this passage, the scientists are mainly trying to make the readers realize___________ .
| A．the greenhouse effect is important |
| B．humans are making the earth warmer |
| C．the earth is getting warmer in 100 years |
| D．the earth could be getting warmer by itself |
Without the greenhouse effect，we would _____________ .
| A．be safer |
| B．not be able to live |
| C．have a cleaner earth |
| D．have a better world |
The writer gives us advice on how to save energy in __________ .
| A．Paragraph 2 | B．Paragraph 3 |
| C．Paragraph 4 | D．Paragraph 5 |
Global warming is a big problem but ___________ .
| A．we can't do anything to help |
| B．we don't need to do anything |
| C．we can do something to help |
| D．we can do something to stop it |
James shook his money box again.
Nothing! He carefully counted the coins that lay on the bed. All that he had was $24.52 (about 153 yuan). The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! How on earth (究竟) was he going to get the rest of the money?
He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was hard to hang out with people when you were the only one without a bicycle. He thought about what he could do. There was no point asking his parents, for he knew they had no extra money.
There was only one way to get money, and that was to earn (挣) it. He would have to find a job. He decided to ask Mr Clay for advice.
“Well, you can start right here,” said Mr Clay. “You see, my windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”
That was the beginning of James’ part-time job.
For the next three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He took dogs for walks, cleaned out cupboards and repaired books.
The day finally came when James counted his money and found $ 94.32. He wasted no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode home proudly, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard working for the money, but James knew that he valued (珍惜) his bicycle far more because he had bought it with his own money. He had achieved what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.Why didn’t James ask his parents for help?
| A．Because they didn’t love him. |
| B．Because they didn’t have extra money. |
| C．Because they lived far away from him. |
| D．Because they didn’t need a bike. |
In order to buy a bicycle, James .
| A．found a job |
| B．borrowed money from his classmates |
| C．sold his old books |
| D．asked his grandfather for some money |
James did the following jobs EXCEPT
| A．walking dogs | B．cleaning out cupboards |
| C．cooking meals | D．repairing books |
How much money did James earn?
| A．$24.52 | B．$90 | C．$94.32 | D．$69.80 |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．We should buy everything we want. |
| B．We should get what we want through hard work. |
| C．Parents shouldn’t give children any money. |
| D．We shouldn’t show off new things to poor children. |
| Welcome to City Library City Library is open to everyone every day and the library card is free. You can borrow five books, one CD and as many videos as you want at a time—three weeks for books, one week for CDs and videos. |
||
| BOOKS picture books for children books in 36 languages stories of all kinds You can enjoy newspapers and magazines in the reading room. You can’t take them out of the library. |
VIDEO all kinds of video films TV plays Music videos You can’t watch videos here. You can borrow a video for a week for $1. |
AUDIO music (rock, pop, jazz…) languages tapes (42 main languages in the world) You can enjoy listening in the special rooms here. All the CDs can be borrowed- Free! |
根据表格内容，选择正确答案。If you want to get a library card, you __________.
A. needn’t pay for it
B. have to pay one dollar for it
C. need to borrow five books firstYou can borrow ___________ at a time.
A. only one video B. two CDs C. five booksAt the library, you can______________.
A. buy CDs
B. read magazines
C. watch the videosAccording to the library rules, you CAN’T_____________.
A. take newspapers home
B. listen to music at the library
C. borrow CDs from the libraryThe library has ___________.
A. special rooms for listening
B. no language tapes
C. books in 42 languages