Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big obstacle lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套设备） and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?
| A．Because she didn't want others to hear her play. |
| B．Because she didn't mean to disturb others. |
| C．Because she didn't have her own room. |
| D．Because she didn’t like her neighbors. |
Brenda started to give concerts _______.
| A．after she practiced in her space bubble |
| B．when she became part of the unique space journey |
| C．after she became a real musicalastronaut |
| D．when people came to see her in the space bubble |
Brenda became famous because _______.
| A．she was good at music and science | B．she became a real musical astronaut |
| C．she invented a special way of practice | D．she played well and had a talent |
Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?
| A．Kind, hardworking and clever. | B．Brave, kind and hardworking. |
| C．Lovely, brave and kind. | D．Nervous, kind and clever. |
It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".
| A．He laughs best who laughs last | B．It's never too old to learn |
| C．Two heads are better than one | D．One good turn deserves another |
Johnny Appleseed was the name given to John Chapman. He planted large numbers of apple trees in what was the American wilderness two hundred years ago. Chapman grew trees and supplied apple seeds to settlers in the middle western Great Lakes area. Two centuries later, some of those trees still produce fruit.
Chapman planted with thoughts about future markets for his crops. His trees often grew in land near settlements. He often sold his apple seeds to settlers. Sometimes, he gave away trees to needy settlers.
Johnny Appleseed looked like someone who was poor and had no home. Yet he was a successful businessman. He used his money to improve his apple business and help other people. He was famous for his gentleness and bravery. Both settlers and native Americans liked him. Everywhere he traveled, he was welcomed.
During his travels, some families asked Johnny to join them for a meal. He would never sit down until he was sure that their children had enough to eat. He believed that it was wrong to kill and eat any creature for food. He believed that the soil produced everything necessary for humans.
Another time, he was trapped in the wilderness during a severe snowstorm. He found shelter in an old tree that had fallen to the ground. In the tree, he discovered a mother bear and her cubs. He did not interfere with the animals, and left before they knew he was there.
It is estimated that, during his lifetime, he planted enough trees to cover an area of about two hundred sixty thousand square kilometers. Over time, some adults said they remembered receiving presents from Johnny Appleseed when they were children.
In 1845, John Chapman became sick and developed pneumonia during a visit to Fort Wayne. He died in the home of a friend, William Worth. Chapman was seventy years old. He was buried near Fort Wayne. The marker(碑文)over his burial place reads, “ ”
For what purpose did Chapman plant the apple trees?
| A．To sell apples as a business. |
| B．To provide food for settlers. |
| C．To take up land for himself. |
| D．To show how to grow trees. |
【改编】What was John Chapman famous for ?
| A．Selling apple seeds. |
| B．Gentleness and bravery. |
| C．Travelling and exploring. |
| D．Offering help to people in trouble. |
How was Chapman’s money used according to the text?
| A．Given to other people. |
| B．Spent developing other business. |
| C．Devoted to improving apple business. |
| D．Used on his career and helping others. |
Which can be the proper marker in the blank?
| A．He lived for the poor. | B．He lived for animals. |
| C．He lived for his business. | D．He lived for others. |
Once, the Paiter-Surui tribe(部落)lived a happy life in the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. But after the tribe’s first meeting with Westerners several decades ago, they were nearly wiped out; diseases brought by outsiders reduced the Surui’s numbers from 5, 000 to about 250.
Today, some 1, 300 tribe people live in 23 villages across 600, 000 acres. Though they are as likely to wear T-shirts and jeans as feathered headdresses, the Surui are determined to preserve and protect the tribal culture of their homeland. Now they are under threat again, from illegal logging and deforestation(滥伐), but this time it’s different. The Surui have put aside their bows and arrows and taken up a new weapon: the Internet.
The tribe people learned to use the Web from their leader, Chief Almir Narayamoga. “We decided to use computers and technology to bring attention to our situation, ”says Narayamoga, 36. The first in his tribe to attend college, Chief Narayamoga learned how to use computers at the Federal University of Goiás in Goiânia, a city of 1. 2 million. In 2007, he fled the Surui homeland after his fight against loggers who placed a $100, 000 reward on his head. He traveled to the United States and paid a visit to Google headquarters in California. He came armed with a big idea.
Narayamoga’s visit to Google was considered a great success. And Google sent teams to the Amazon to train the Surui in using computers, cameras, and smart phones to photograph logging sites, which could be pinpointed using GPS technology and then uploaded to Google Earth. The Surui have now mapped the entire reserve and recorded the biodiversity and the rainforest within it.【改编】Why are the Surui under threat again ?
| A．The population were reduced greatly by diseases from outsiders. |
| B．They want to preserve and protect their tribal culture. |
| C．The rainforest where they are living are suffering from wildly illegal logging and deforestation. |
| D．Chief Narayamoga fled the Surui homeland. |
Chief Narayamoga fled his homeland because .
| A．he owed a large debt |
| B．the loggers wanted to kill him |
| C．he wanted to learn computers |
| D．he failed to fight against logging |
What kind of idea did Chief Narayamoga have after he returned to his homeland?
| A．He could ask the US government for help. |
| B．He could negotiate with the loggers. |
| C．He could save their land with the Internet. |
| D．He could make a map of their land. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Deforestation has been stopped in Amazon. |
| B．Narayamoga’s efforts are paying off. |
| C．The Internet is still something new to the tribe people. |
| D．Logging has been stopped due to the use of GPS technology. |
My parents were in a huge argument, and I was really upset about it. I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was in the middle of packing up my things when suddenly the power went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.
I was really disappointed because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored. He was quite happy and said, “Great opportunity.”
“What is?” I asked.
“To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a private little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves now that we’re in the situation we are in.”
“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was
And that’s how the most unbelievable friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feeling and fears of life---from how fast things change, to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talked about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.
Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “ I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!”I wished to get out of the house because ________.
| A．I was angry about my parents’ quarrel |
| B．I found nobody to share my feelings with |
| C．I wanted to escape from the dark house |
| D．I planned to tell my friend about my trouble |
Grandpa was happy to see me because___________.
| A．he could discuss the problem with me |
| B．he had not seem me for a long time |
| C．he was afraid of darkness |
| D．he felt quite lonely |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The grandchild was eager to leave. |
| B．They would have more chats. |
| C．The lights would go our again. |
| D．It would no longer be dark. |
The National Gallery
Description:
①The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples. European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. ②The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance
Layout:
The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th-to15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.
The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titan and Veronese.
The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Claude and Vermeer.
The East Wing houses 18th- to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.
Opening Hours:
The Gallery is open every day from 10am to 6pm（Fridays 10am to 9pm）and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.
Getting There:
Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).In which century’s collection can you see religious paintings?
| A．The 13th. |
| B．The 17th. |
| C．The 18th. |
| D．The 20th. |
Where are Leonardo da Vinci’s works shown?
| A．In the East Wing. |
| B．In the main West Wing. |
| C．In the Sainsbury Wing. |
| D．In the North Wing. |
Which underground station is closest to the National Gallery?
| A．Piccadilly Circus. |
| B．Leicester Square. |
| C．Embankment. |
| D．Charing Cross. |
It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was, in his words, “a brilliantly（精彩地）written book”. ①However, he then went on to talk about Mr Obamain a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.
And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out ), I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten. ②But I am pleased to saythat, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s really brilliant.
The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky (I haven’t read him, but haven’t lied about it either) and Herman Melville.
Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in-depth!
But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story (I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so). How did the author find his friend a book liar?
| A．By judging his manner of speaking. |
| B．By looking into his background. |
| C．By mentioning a famous name. |
| D．By discussing the book itself. |
Which of the following is a “guilty secret” according to the World Book Day report?
| A．Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list. |
| B．42% of people pretended to have read 1984. |
| C．The author admitted having read 9 books. |
| D．Dreams From My Father is hardly read. |
By lying about reading, a person hopes to __________.
| A．control the conversation |
| B．appear knowledgeable |
| C．learn about the book |
| D．make more friends |
What is the author’s attitude to 58% of readers?
| A．Favorable. |
| B．Uncaring |
| C．Doubtful. |
| D．Friendly. |