Millions of girls grow up with the hope of becoming a famous singer. Some even win local talent competitions as children, but only a few such early successes and dreams turn into reality. Jessica Andrews is one of the few whose dreams have come true.
Andrews, first taste of success came at the age of 10. She won a talent competition in her home town of Huntingdon, Tennessee, singing I Will Always Love You, originally sung by Whitney Houston. Houston's version of the song appeared on The Bodyguard sound track, which happened to be the first album Andrews ever bought.
Within two years, talk of Andrews had spread to Nashville and caught the attention of producer Byron Gallimore, whose credits include work with Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Jo Dee Messina. With Gallimore signed on to produce, Andrews soon had a recording contract (合同)with Dream Works' Nashville label.
Andrews' professional career was launched with 1999's Heart Shaped World, recorded when she was 14 years old. The album included the country hit I Will Be There For You, which also appeared on The Prince Of Egypt . She followed up the release of the album by touring as a support act for such country superstars as Faith Hill and Trisha Yearwood.
With the release of 2001’s， Who I Am, Andrews became a star in her own right. The album was certified (证明）gold for sales of 500,000 copies. Andrews returned in April 2003 with Now，an album that she promised would show a new side of the young artist. "This album has a very different feeling for me," she said. "It's a lot more personal and there's a confidence that wasn't quite there on the first two. I feel especially connected to this group of songs."According to the passage, who mostly helped Andrews to achieve success ?
| A．Tim McGraw | B．Whitney Houston | C．Faith Hill | D．Byron Gallimore |
What's the meaning of the underlined word “launched，，in the fourth paragraph?
| A．Started. | B．Sent. | C．Aimed. | D．Set. |
Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?
| A．The Bodyguard was the first album Andrews ever bought. |
| B．After Andrews sang Who I Am，she became a star in her own right. |
| C．I Will Always Love You was originally sung by Whitney Houston. |
| D．Now expresses a new feeling of Andrews. |
Which of the following may NOT be Andrews' album?
| A．Now. | B．Heart Shaped World. | C．The Prince of Egypt. | D．Who IAm |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Jessica Andrews' Life | B．Jessica Andrews' Dream |
| C．Jessica Andrews' Songs | D．Jessica Andrews' Success as a Singer |
三、阅读理解（每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party. The time printed on the invitation was 7:30pm. Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song.
By 9:45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared. Jane and David were restless. Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving. But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear. By 11:00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads. Jane and David left hungry and angry.
Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer. Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently. Most of us would agree that 6:30 -8:30pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8:00pm or 8:30pm means possible dinner, but 9:30pm and any time there after means no food, eat beforehand, roll up late.
But this is not always the case. If asked to a students' party at 6.30pm, it is normal for guests not to appear before midnight, if at all, and no one cares. Being the first to arrive - looking eager - is social death. When my mother is asked to a party for 6.30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven. My age group (late thirties) falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we'reyoung, we're probably closer to student-time than grown-up time.
The accepted custom at present is confusing (混乱的), sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element (成分) of surprise.
1. The underlined words "off their heads" probably mean______.
A. tiredB. crazyC. curiousD. hopeless
2. Jane and David' s story is used to show that______ .
A. party-goers usually get hungry at parties
B. party invitations can be confusing
C. people should ask for food at parties
D. birthday parties for middle-aged people are dull
3. For some young people, arriving on time for a students' party will probably be considered_______.
A. very difficult B. particularly thoughtful
C. friendly and politeD. socially unacceptable
4. According to the writer, people in their late thirties_______.
A. are likely to arrive late for a party
B. care little about the party time
C. haven' t really grown up yet
D. like surprises at parties
5. What is the general idea of the text?
A. It' s safe to arrive late just when food is served.
B. It' s wise to eat something before going to a party.
C. It' s important to follow social rules of party-going.
D. It' s necessary to read invitations carefully.
Wrting artieles about films for The Front Page was my first proper job. Before then I had done bits of reviewing --- novels for other newspapers, films for a magazine and anything I was asked to do for the radio．That was how I met Tom Seaton, the first arts editor of The Front Page, who had also written for television．He hired me, but Tom was not primarily a journalist, or he would certainly have been more careful in choosing his staff．
At first, his idea was that a team of critics should take care of the art forms that didn’t require specialized knowledge: books, TV, theatre, film and radio．There would be a weekly lunch at which we would make our choices from the artistic material that Tom had decided we should cover, though there would also be guests to make the atmosphere sociable．
It all felt like a bit of dream at that time: a new newspaper and I was one of the team．It seemed so unlikely that a paper could be introduced into a crowded market．It seemed just as likely that a millionaire wanted to help me personally, and was pretending to employ me．Such was my lack of self-confidence．
Tom’s original scheme for a team of critics for the arts never took off．It was a good idea, but we didn’t get together as planned and so everything was done by phone．It turned out, too, that the general public out there preferred to associate a reviewer with a single subject area, and so I chose film．Without Tom’s initial push, though, we would hardly have come up with the present arrangement, by which I write an extended weekly piece, usually on one film．
The space I am given allows me to broaden my argument --- or forces me, in an uninteresting week, to make something out of nothing．But what is my role in the public arena? I assume that people choose what films to go to on the basis of the stars, the publicity or the director．So if a film review isn’t really a consumer guide, what is it? I certainly don’t feel I have a responsibility to be ‘right’ about a movie．Nor do I think there should be a certain number of ‘great’ and ‘bad’ films each year．All I have to do is put forward an argument．I’m not a judge, and nor would I want to be．
1．What do we learn about Tom Seaton from the first paragraph?
A．He encouraged Mark to become a writer．
B．He had worked in various areas of the media．
C．He met Mark when working for television．
D．He prefers to employ people that he knows．
2．The weekly lunches were planned in order to_________.
A．help the writers get to know each other
B．provide an informal information session
C．distribute the work that had to be done
D．entertain important visitors from the arts
3．What does the author mean when he says that Tom’s plan ‘never took off’ in Paragraph 4?
A．It was unpopular.
B．It wasted too much time.
C．It wasn’t planned properly.
D．It wasn’t put into practice.
4．Which of the following best describes what Mark says about his work?
A．His success varies from year to year．
B．He prefers to write about films he likes．
C．He can freely express his opinion．
D．He writes according to accepted rules．
At present, in many American cities expecially, many teachers in the public schools say they are underpaid. They point to jobs such as secretary or truck driver, which often pay more to start than that of a teacher. In many other fields, such as law, medicine, computer science, a beginning worker may make more than a teacher who has taught for several years.
Teaching has never been a profession that attracted people interested in high salaries. It is by history a profession that has provided rewards in addition to money—the satisfaction of sharing knowledge, of influencing others, of guiding young people. But in the past several years, there are more difficulties in teaching, for many, than there are rewards.
Unruly students, especially in big cities, large classes and a lack of support from the public in terms of money and understanding have led many public school teachers to leave the profession.
As a result, many of the best students, who would have chosen teaching as their life career in the past, are going into other fields.
Another reason for this change in teacher candidates is the changing status of women in the United States. Until the late 1960s and 1970s, one of the most popular choices for women was teaching. But as other professions, such as law and medicine opened up to women, women stopped pouring into teacher training programs. Thus, a major pool of excellent candidates for the teaching profession dwindled.
Bit by bit government officials and others realized that the status of the teacher had suffered. They talked about change. But the change in a vast society like the United States is not easy. People’s attitudes have formed over many years, and sometimes change takes many years.
1．The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refers to “_________”.
A．money B．job C．secretary D．truck driver
2．What is the present situation of the teaching?
A．Teachers work harder and get underpaid.
B．Teahcers have no opportunities to work in other fields.
C．Teaching can attract best students to work as a teacher.
D．Teaching can provide rewards as well as high salaries.
3．Many public school teachers turn to other professions because_________.
A．the government doesn’t finacially support them
B．they have to work longer hours than a lawyer
C．their students refuse to listen to them
D．they are not fairly treated
4．The author believes that change in teachers’ status in the United States_________.
A．is not great B．is impossible
C．influences people’s attitude D．needs time
At the middle school level, there are many academic clubs in which students can participate. Students can choose clubs that focus on an area of interest.
Mathcounts Club
Mathcounts tries to increase excitement towards mathematic achievement. It hopes to provide students with the foundation for success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. Schools select individuals and teams to participate in competitions. Local competitions are held in February with winners progressing to state competitions and then on to the national level. Mathcounts works to challenge student math skills, develop self-confidence and give rewards for their achievements.
Envirothon
The Envirothon program focuses on natural resources knowledge and exposes students to diverse environmental issues, ecosystems, and topography. The ecology field competition for five-member middle school teams offers competitions in wildlife, soils, forestry, current environmental issues and aquatics. Students work and learn in middle school clubs and can compete at the local and state level.
Future Problem Solvers
Future Problem Solvers is an academic club that uses a six-step process to solve problems that may happen in the future. Students who are in the talented and gifted program, who like to “think out of the box,” or who enjoy thinking about futuristic problems may like this club. Teams comprised of four students read future scenes and write up solutions in a booklet using the six-step process. Teams that score high enough can go to the state competition and then to the international competition.
Builders Club
Builders Club is open to any middle school student who wishes to perform community service. Each Builders Club is co-sponsored by a Kiwanis club and the middle school. The members learn by doing, and they learn organization, teamwork, and leadership. Builders Clubs can sponsor a "Teacher of the Year" program, provide a recycling collection point, organize canned food and clothing drives to support local shelters, adopt a resident at a local senior citizens home, adopt a highway, tutor, etc.
Middle school academic clubs offer students a place to explore interests or talents. The clubs they join in middle school can help guide choices in high school and beyond.
1．The students who are not interested in competitions woudld like to choose_________.
A．Mathecounts Club B．Builders Club
C．Future Problem Solvers D．Envirothon
2．Why do some of the students choose Mathcounts Club?
A．To be successful in science careers.
B．To enjoy solving future problems.
C．To perform community service.
D．To study wildlife and soils.
3．What is the common feature of the four clubs?
A．Competitions. B．Sponsorship.
C．Scientific researches. D．Teamwork.
4．The passage mainly talks about_________.
A．the state academic competitions B．middle school clubs
C．extra – curricular activities D．the gifted students
三、阅读理解（共两节，40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
One warm May day, two eighteen – year – old students from San Francisco State College decided to cool off with a swim at Bakers’ Beach. The two students were named Robert Kogler and Shirley O’Neill. They headed out to sea for a distance of 50 metres. Robert was in front.
“Suddenly, I heard him scream,” Shirley recalls. “I looked round and saw this great grey thing going up in the air. The water seemed to be alive.”
Robert sereamed again. “It’s a shark! Get out of here!”
An eye – witness, Army Sergeant Leo P. Day was on guard at the nearby army post. He saw exactly what happened next. “I could see this boy struggling with the shark in the water,” he said. “The sea was red with blood. He was shouting and signalling someone to go back, go back. Then I saw the girl. She was swimming towards him. She completely ignored his warning.”
Shirley reached Robert, and tried to take his hand.
“When I pulled, all I could see was his arm, handing by a thread,” she said.
So she put her arm about Robert’s back, and started to swim towards the shore. She kept praying “Don't’ let it attack again!” That journey to the shore seemed to last for hours. At last, as they neared the shore, a fisherman threw them a line, and pulled them both the rest of the way.
The young man had lost a lot of blood, and died two and a half hours later, From the teeth marks, experts identified the attacker as a Great White Shark.
For what Sergeant Day called “the greatest exhibition of bravery I have ever seen,” the President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.
1．When Albert was attacked by a shark Shirley_________.
A．was swimming in the sea
B．was watching him on the shore
C．was on guard at the nearby army post
D．was shouting and struggling with a shark, too
2．Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.
a. Army Sergeant saw the girl swimming to the boy.
b. Shirley saw a great grey thing.
c. They headed out to sea.
d. Robert died.
e. A fisherman threw them a line.
f. He saw a boy struggling with a shark.
A．b,c,e,d,f,a B．c,a,f,d,e,b C．b,c,f,a,d,e D．c,b,f,a,e, d
3．We can learn from the passage that_________ .
A．the two students were brave and considerate
B．the fisherman was adventurous and helpful
C．the experts didn’t do much research on sharks
D．the Sergeant cared too much about his own life