What if you could fly like a bird just by thinking happy thoughts? Or you could disappear to a faraway land, never grow old and fight pirates every day? For Peter Pan and his friends, the Lost Boys, these dreams come true.
More than 100 years after this playful boy was “born”, Peter Pan and his friends are to continue their adventure in a sequel(续集)to J.M. Barrie’s original novel. “Peter Pan in Scarlet”(重返梦幻岛),written by British author Geraldine McCaughrean, was published earlier this month.
The sequel brings all the original characters back. Peter Pan’s friends, the Lost Boys, are now grown up and live in the real world. What’s more, at the end of the first book, Peter Pan thinks he has killed his enemy, Captain Hook. But ,new readers discover he is not so dead at all.
For those who are unfamiliar with the original story, Peter Pan lives in faraway Neverland with a group of orphans. But they are eager for a real mother and Peter Pan flies to London with a fairy(仙女), Tinkerbell, to find one. They visit a young girl, Wendy, who loves to read stories, and bring her and her two brothers back to Neverland to live with them. In Neverland, children never have to grow up, and there are no parents to tell them what to do.
Many teenagers dream of a world where they don’t have to grow old and take responsibility. But, the author explains such a world is not the paradise(乐园)when it first appears: adventures can be scary and often dangerous, and, though we all sometimes dream of running away, we all need someone to love and look after us too. The passage is written to ________.
| A．tell you about an unrealistic dream |
| B．introduce novels about Peter Pan |
| C．analyze the difficulties of growing up |
| D．explain why Peter Pan can’t grow old |
“Peter Pan in Scarlet” is about _________.
| A．how some children fought against the pirate–Captain Hook |
| B．the care–free life the children led in Neverland |
| C．how peter Pan looked for a real mother for the Lost Boys |
| D．how the Lost Boys return to Neverland for more adventures |
The stories of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys reflect that those at their age ________.
| A．are ready to shoulder responsibility |
| B．choose adventures in faraway places |
| C．long for independence but also need someone to love them |
| D．can’t wait to grow up |
The place Peter Pan and his friend stay is named Neverland probably because .
| A．they never have to grow up |
| B．they don’t have parents |
| C．they never have troubles |
| D．they never need to worry |
Peter Pan flies to London _________.
| A．to find a fairy |
| B．to visit a young girl |
| C．to find a real mother |
| D．to earn money |
In every school there is a “top” crowd that sets the pace, while the others follow their lead. Let’s say the top crowd decides that it is smart to wear bright red sweaters. Pretty soon everybody is wearing a bright red sweater.
There is nothing wrong with that, except the fact that on some people bright red sweater is extremely unbecoming. The situation can even become dangerous, if the top crowd decides that it is smart to drink or to drive cars at seventy miles an hour. Then the people who follow the lead are endangering their lives. They are like the sheep being led to the butcher.
Now, chances are that you have come across situations like these more than once in your life; chances are that one time or another you probably did something you knew to be wrong. You may have excused yourself by saying, “Gee, the crowd does it.” Well, let the crowd do it, but don’t do it yourself. Learn to say, “No.”
Develop your own standards and your own judgment. If you know the crowd is planning something you disagree to, have the courage to bow out mannerly. You’ll have the satisfaction of standing on your own two feet.Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．Follow the Lead. | B．Top Crowd. |
| C．Being Yourself. | D．Bright Red. |
The author doesn’t think it good wearing red sweaters if ________.
| A．the crowd does it | B．you can’t afford them |
| C．you don’t look good in red | D．the situation isn’t safe |
According to the passage, people who follow the crowd _______.
| A．sometimes do things against their better judgment |
| B．make mistakes blindly |
| C．are willing to put their lives in danger |
| D．will in the end become pace-setters |
If you are living in the city, have you ever thought of going to live in the country for a change? Many people want to move from the country to the city because they think life in the city is more exciting and better than that in rural (农村的) areas, especially young people who like new and modern things.
Often people feel that they can find the latest styles only in the city. Other people are interested in technological (科技的) things and high-tech jobs and think they can find them only in a big city. If they want to find a job, especially a good position in a company, they feel they have to live in a city. To get these jobs, they are willing to put up with many of the disadvantages (不利因素) of city life such as heavy traffic and pollution.
However, it is now possible to enjoy a higher quality of life in the countryside and still enjoy some of the advantages (好处) of living in the city.
Nowadays, travel is fast and information is available (可获得的) on the Internet, so many people are able to do their work in home offices.
Because they have e-mail and personal computers, they don't have to be in big cities to do their business. It is not important where they actually work because the results of their work can be sent everywhere with technology. Now they can enjoy life in the countryside and still be able to do good business and successful careers.The underlined phrase “put up with” (in Para. 3) probably means “_____”.
| A．change | B．stand |
| C．be angry with | D．be pleased with |
Now people can enjoy life in the countryside and still be able to do good business and successful careers _____.
| A．because of the Internet and fast travel |
| B．because of e-mail and personal computers |
| C．because travel is fast |
| D．because the rural areas are developing faster than cities |
What is the author's opinion?
| A．She / he prefers to live in the countryside rather than live in the city. |
| B．She / he prefers to live in the city rather than live in the countryside. |
| C．She / he likes both city life and countryside life. |
| D．It is not clear which life she / he prefers. |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Life in the city | B．Life in the country |
| C．Go and live in the city | D．Go and live in the country |
Midas was a powerful king, both rich and greedy. Once he did a great favor for Bacchus, the god of wine. Bacchus offered Midas his choice of a reward. Midas answered at once. He asked that whatever he touched be turned into gold. Bacchus agreed, though he was sorry that Midas had not made a wiser choice.
Midas was eager to put his newly gained power to the test. He pulled a branch from a tree. The branch became gold in his hand. He picked up a stone; it turned to gold. He touched the grass, it, too, turned to gold.
Midas was overjoyed. Returning home, he ordered his servants to prepare a magnificent meal. But when he picked up some bread, it turned to gold. He lifted a glass of wine to his lips. But before he could taste it, it turned to gold.
Midas wished to free himself of his power. He hated the gift he had so recently hoped for. He raised his arms and begged and prayed for Bacchus to take away his deadly gift.
Bacchus showed pity. “Go,” he said. “to the River Pactolus. There dip yourself in. Wash away your greed and its punishment. ”Midas did so. Hardly had he touched the waters, before the gold-making powers passed into them. The river sands changed into gold. And they remain golden to this day.What is the moral of this story?
| A．There is more to life than riches. | B．Gold is more important than food. |
| C．You can’t trust your friends. | D．You must make a wiser choice. |
When everything he touched turned to gold, Midas felt ______
| A．happy and joyful | B．sad and disappointed |
| C．excited and angry | D．powerful and satisfied |
What was Midas’ wish after he could have nothing to eat?
| A．To have a big meal. | B．To gain power to turn things to gold. |
| C．To have his power taken away. | D．To wash himself in the water. |
Today when we say that a person has the “Midas Touch”, we mean that ______
| A．the person is very poor |
| B．gold is the most important thing to that person |
| C．everything that the person does makes money |
| D．the person has the power to do everything |
Sam, a dog, was left behind in Colorado while his owners, Mr. And Mrs. Green moved to Southern California. They did not give the dog up. They found him a very nice home before they moved. They would have let Sam accompany them, but they were afraid the dog’s presence would make it difficult for them to rent a house when they reached their destination.
The Green family lived in Colorado for less than a year. Before that, they had lived in the same neighborhood in California to which they returned. So Sam had been there before, but only for a short time when he was young.
Several months after the Greens left Colorado, after they were comfortably settled back in California, they heard a scratch at the door. They couldn’t imagine who might be there. It never occurred to them that it might be Sam, because they were sure he was happily set up with his new family back in Colorado. When they opened the door, the Greens saw a dirty, tired dog with very hurting feet. The animal looked a little bit like Sam, but no one could believe that Sam could have walked 840 miles on his own. The tired dog spent the night under the family car. The next day, when he was more rested, he performed some of his old tricks. The Greens knew they had their own dog back. The story suggests that _______ .
| A．dog owners have trouble renting |
| B．many people treat their pets badly |
| C．keeping a dog is easy |
| D．dogs are too much trouble |
Which is the right order of the following events according to the passage?
a. Sam walked to California.
b. The Greens moved to Colorado.
c. The Greens left Sam.
d. The Greens returned to California.
e. Sam spent the night under the family car.
| A．b, d, c, e, a | B．b, c, d, a, e |
| C．a, c, b, e, d | D．c, e, d, a, b |
The underlined word “destination” in the first paragraph means _________.
| A．the cost of living | B．the country of one’s birth |
| C．the damage to oneself | D．the place to which one is going |
The Greens knew the dog was Sam ________.
| A．because of his hurting feet | B．from the color and the markings |
| C．by the way he walked | D．after he did some tricks |
Minimalism (简约主义) is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features.
As for me, minimalism functions well not in art or design, but in my daily life.
When I was packing for university, I found it extremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned. I knew I couldn’t take everything with me, but I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throw this away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of the memories?” Now that I’ve moved, and left that stuff behind, I don’t even miss it. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to me now.
I’ve learned that over time people forget, or their need for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it away or they get rid of it.
You might think nostalgically（怀旧的） about the toys you cared about when you were a child, but what is making you smile now is not the thing itself but the memory of it. I’ve heard it a hundred times, “you don’t need things to make you happy.” It takes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize how true this is.
Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism is about able to move. It’s about being able to go almost anywhere at any time because you don’t have many possessions to carry. When you keep things you don’t need they become a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to university was a good time to let go of a lot of stuff. And when I visit for the holidays, I’ll probably get rid of even more, to lighten the burden.
Of course there are exceptions. There are some things that are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans. But after we keep those, how much is left that we don’t really need?
Hence, minimalism. And why does minimalism bring happiness? That was a bit of a roundabout way of saying that, it’s because what really makes me happy is freedom. And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our attachment to things.
Attachment to too many objects creates a great mess and can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want, while minimalism helps us start new projects, move, travel, learn new things, work, expand, be debt-free, be healthy – really living life to our full potential.
I left the nest to fly onwards and upwards, I can’t do it with old things weighing me down. And that is why I have adopted minimalism with open arms. In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition of minimalism to
| A．introduce a topic | B．present his own background |
| C．describe a scene | D．offer an argument |
Many people don’t want to let go of some of their belongings because
| A．they haven’t had any life-changing experiences |
| B．they fear their memories will be gone with the thrown-away stuff |
| C．they hope to live life to their full potential by storing things away |
| D．they may have to change their lifestyle because of the loss of them |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why the writer favors “minimalism” in life?
| A．It takes the burden off her while she is moving. |
| B．It reduces her attachment to her personal things. |
| C．It enables her to gain the freedom that she desires. |
| D．It helps her to realize how true life is. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Minimalism brings happiness. |
| B．Minimalism is applied in many fields. |
| C．Minimalism makes people think nostalgically. |
| D．Minimalism is about able to move. |