In the Middle Ages in Europe, theater was an important part of civic, economic and religious life. During this period after the fall of Roman civilization, many cities were destroyed. Southern and Western Europe, famous for its agriculture, became increasingly more agricultural. After several hundred years, many towns appeared again. The Roman Catholic Church took over religion, education and politics. What remained of theater was mostly on the Greek and Roman performing arts.
Theater was reborn as liturgical(礼拜式的) dramas. It was written in Latin and dealing with biblical(圣经) stories which would be performed by church members. Then there came local dramas spoken in common language not Latin. They were more wonderful one-act dramas taking place in town squares or other parts of the city. There were three types of local dramas. Mystery or cycle plays were short dramas based on biblical stories organized into historical cycles. Miracle plays dealt with the lives of the great. Morality(道德的) plays taught a lesson through characters standing for good or bad qualities. Secular plays in this period existed, but religious drama in the Middle Ages is mostly remembered today. As the Middle Ages ended, the number of religious theatres became small as the church weakened and more secular qualities won over religious theaters.The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means that _____.
| A．people got away from the cities |
| B．people liked to live in the country |
| C．agriculture was more developed at that time |
| D．people thought less of city life |
According to the passage, what does "secular plays"mean here?
| A．Plays that deal with the lives of the great. |
| B．Plays that taught a lesson. |
| C．Plays based on biblical stories. |
| D．Plays that are not connected with thechurch. |
Why did religious theatres become less important as the Middle Ages came to an end?
| A．People were not interested in them any longer. |
| B．The church was not as important as what it had been. |
| C．People liked new plays. |
| D．The stories of religious theatres were outdated. |
According to the passage, why did religious theatres take over in the Middle Ages?
| A．People preferred religious theatres to other ones. |
| B．There were no other types of theatres. |
| C．The church played an important part in people’s life. |
| D．The quality of religious theatres was better than that of other theatres. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．European dramas |
| B．Religious dramas |
| C．Religious theatres in the Middle Ages |
| D．Secular dramas in the Middle Ages |
I had worried myself sick over Simon's mother coming to see me. I was a new teacher, and I gave an honest account of the students' work. In Simon's case，the grades were awfully low. He couldn't read his own handwriting. But he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his abilities.
So when Simon's mother entered the room, my palms (手掌心) were sweating. I was completely unprepared for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you,” she said, surprising me beyond speech. Because of me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he loved me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had recently spent an afternoon at a friend's house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the self-respect I had developed in her son. She kissed me again and left.
I sat, stunned, for about half an hour，wondering what had just happened. How did I make such a life changing difference to that boy without even knowing it？What I finally came to remember was one day, several months before，when some students were giving reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke quietly，and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, “Speak up. Simon's the expert on this. He is the only one you have to convince, and he can't hear you in the back of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, smiled more，and became happy. And it was all because he happened to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed praise was the one who took the last seat that day.
It taught me the most valuable lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I'm thankful that it came early and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.We can infer that when Simon’s mother entered the room, the writer felt _______.
| A．nervous | B．satisfied | C．happy | D．surprised |
Why did Simon’s mother come to visit the writer?
| A．Because she worried about her son’s poor work. |
| B．Because Simon asked her to do so. |
| C．Because she wanted to show her gratitude to the writer. |
| D．Because she wanted to know her son’s performance in the school. |
The following words can be used to describe Simon before he met the writer EXCEPT _____.
| A．unconfident | B．lonely | C．clever | D．outgoing |
The purpose of the passage is to ________.
| A．share a valuable lesson with readers |
| B．tell teachers how to be kind to students |
| C．advise the readers to be kind to others |
| D．tell the story of Simon |
Young women who take part in beauty contests (比赛) are helping to keep alive an outdated opinion of women that a woman’s most important value is how she looks.
Women have been working very hard through the years to change their image. They have been trying to prove that the value of a woman does not lie only in her beauty. The world is just beginning to recognize that women are as smart, wise and strong in personality as men are, and that there are qualities more important than looks when judging people. When women take part in beauty contests for top prizes, they encourage people to value them for their beauty alone. It is unfair to say that beauty alone determines one’s worth.
Beauty contests not only encourage spectators (观众) to judge women by their appearance, but they encourage this idea in the contestants as well. These young women spend months losing weight to be the “right” size and learning how to dress, wear makeup, and walk just right so that some judges will consider them beautiful. I think it’s great for a woman to feel good about her appearance, but looks shouldn’t be sought after in an extreme or unreasonable way. There are too many other, more important, things in a young woman’s life: learning, developing friendships and preparing for their future work and perhaps a family.
As long as there are beauty contests, women won’t be fully recognized as well-rounded human beings.According to the text, women have tried to change their image by .
| A．proving they are as good as men |
| B．paying attention to their clothes |
| C．winning more beauty contests |
| D．encouraging people to value their beauty |
What do women usually do in preparation for beauty contests?
| A．Learn about their personality. |
| B．Do everything for their bodies. |
| C．Choose the right size dresses. |
| D．Develop friendship with spectators. |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Looks determine everything. |
| B．Wisdom carries much weight. |
| C．Spectators should have their voices heard. |
| D．Qualities other than looks are more important. |
According to the author, beauty contests are .
| A．disrespectful to women |
| B．unpleasant to contestants |
| C．necessary for modern society |
| D．helpful in improving women’s image |
Greenheart Travel Correspondent Scholarship
Greenheart Travel offers the opportunity for high school students to broaden their perspective through studying abroad.
Greenheart Travel Correspondent Scholarship Opportunities:
US $3,000 scholarship award for a High School Study Abroad program in China
US $1,000 scholarship award for a Teen Summer Language Camp in France
US $1,000 scholarship award for a Teen Summer Language Camp in Germany
US $1,000 scholarship award for a Teen Summer Language Camp in Italy
※Applicants are only able to apply for ONE scholarship opportunity
Deadline for Application: April 1, 2015
Summary of Submission Requirements of the Scholarship:
In addition to completing the teen program online application, applicants must also submit the following:
Official High School Transcript:
Applicants must have a minimum academic standing of a 3.2 GPA to be eligible.
Teacher/Coach Referral:
Applicants must provide the name and phone number of an educator or coach that will be able to recommend the student as a good candidate for the scholarship award. Greenheart Travel will contact this referral prior to announcing the scholarship winner.
Written essay:
In a 500-to 800-word essay, please explain how this cultural exchange experience will benefit both you and your local community.
Summary of Participant Requirements:
Pre-program
Submit one blog or video 2 weeks BEFORE your program Start Date introducing yourself and why you are excited to travel on your program and what you hope to learn while abroad.
During Program
For study abroad programs: submit a written blog post and 3-5 photos or a video, once every 2 weeks by discussed deadlines.
For language camp programs: submit weekly written blog post and 3-5 photos or a video, by discussed deadline.
After Program
Submit one blog or video 2 weeks AFTER your program End Date reflecting on what you learned, your favorite part of the program and tips for anyone wanting to travel abroad.The underlined word “eligible” probably means .
| A．flexible | B．qualified |
| C．energetic | D．attractive |
What should you submit when you apply for the scholarship?
a. A blog
b. Official High School Transcript.
c. A video
d. An essay
e. An application
f. Teacher/Coach Referral.
| A．bdef | B．abcb | C．acef | D．bcde |
What do participants need to do during the program?
| A．They need to write an essay about their exchange experience. |
| B．They need to submit a blog about their situation. |
| C．They need to submit 3-5 photos once a week for language camp programs. |
| D．They need to submit 3-5 photos once a week for study abroad programs. |
Studies over the past decade at the University of Utah show that hands-free cellphones are just as harmful to drivers as hand-held ones because it is the conversation, not the phone, that is distracting(分散) their attention. “Even though your eyes are looking right at something, when you are on the cellphone, you are not as likely to see it,” says Professor David Strayer. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, it's not that critical(危急的), but that l% could be the time a child runs into the street,” he adds.
Dr. Strayer’s studies have also found that talking on a cellphone is far more distracting than talking with a passenger. Listening to the radio, to music or to a book on tape also isn’t as distracting, because it doesn’t require the same level of interaction as a conversation. But even drivers may miss some details of a book on tape if their attention is focused on driving tasks. Some people can train themselves to pay extra attention to things that are important—like police officers learn to search faces in crowds.
And the Utah researchers have found a rare group of “super-taskers”—about 2.5% of the population—who seem able to attend to more than one thing with ease.
Many more people think they can effectively do several things at the same time, but they are really turning their attention rapidly between two things and not getting the full effect of either. Clearly, it is easier to put some tasks together than others.” Not all distractions are the same,’’ says Dr. Strayer. Things like cleaning and working out can be done automatically while the mind is focused elsewhere. But doing homework and texting at the same time isn’t possible. Even talking and watching TV is difficult. “Just try talking with your wife while watching football. It’s impossible,” jokes Dr. Strayer.What is the first paragraph mainly about?
| A．The harm in using phones while driving. |
| B．The advantages of hand-held phones. |
| C．The danger of running in the street. |
| D．The causes of road accidents. |
What does the example of police officers in Paragraph 2 show?
| A．Searching for faces requires more attention than driving. |
| B．Talking to a crowd calls for a high level of attention. |
| C．One’s attention can be easily distracted in crowds. |
| D．The ability to attend to two tasks can be trained. |
“Super-taskers” can be best described as people who can .
| A．do several things effectively at the same time |
| B．turn their attention rapidly to two things |
| C．handle all difficult tasks with ease |
| D．pay full attention to one task |
Which of the following can you do while talking on the phone?
| A．Doing homework. | B．Writing a letter. |
| C．Working out. | D．Watching TV. |
The first time I heard the actual London Bridge was in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, I thought it was a joke. A stupid joke at that. I mean, what sort of moron would take a perfectly good, perfectly famous bridge and move it halfway around the world to some no-name town in northwest Arizona? Back in 1962 when all this started, Lake Havasu City was nothing. A couple of shops, a couple of homes, and no tourism at all.
It turns out Robert McCulloch is the moron in question, and he wasn’t quite the moron I thought he was. His 2.45 million dollar investment in the 130-year-old bridge—which the British government was selling because it was about to fall into the Thames—ended up being the investment of a lifetime. You see McCulloch was a real businessman, among other things, and his money paid off big. He turned Lake Havasu into one of the most visited tourist attractions in Arizona.
It took nine long years to take down the bridge, ship it brick by brick to the middle of nowhere, and build it up again. When it finally did open up in 1971, it was a huge deal covered by the international press.
The bridge is now a popular tourist attraction, and there’s even a mini “English Village” at the foot of the bridge with souvenirs and real British food so you can have a good old time.
Nowadays Lake Havasu is a busy town with a population of about 56,000 citizens and another2.5 million visitors each year. Most of that is during spring break when the town overflows with energetic boys and girls. Even MTV and the Girls Gone Wild people get in on the action. All thanks to that little bridge.
I don’t know about you, but I’m saving my pennies. When the French get sick of that Eiffel Tower, I’ll be the first to put money on it. It’ll look great in my backyard.The underlined word "moron" in the first paragraph means .
| A．a brave person | B．a foolish person |
| C．a famous person | D．a strange person |
Why did the British government put the London Bridge up for sale?
| A．It polluted the Thames. |
| B．It was no longer popular. |
| C．It was going to fall down. |
| D．It could bring them the needed money. |
What was Lake Havasu City like before 1962?
| A．It was a good place for investment. |
| B．It was known for its English Village. |
| C．It was a small town with no tourism. |
| D．It had a population of 56,000 citizens. |
In the last paragraph, the author tries to be .
| A．polite | B．friendly | C．practical | D．Humorous |