In spite of the uncertainty of the economy, the movie industry has been stricken by a box-office outburst. Suddenly it seems as if everyone is going to the movies, with ticket sales this year up 17.5 percent, to $1.7 billion.
And it is not just because ticket prices are higher. Attendance has also jumped, by nearly 16 percent. If that pace continues through the year, it would amount to the biggest box-office increase in at least two decades.
Americans, for the moment, just want to hide in a very dark place. People want to forget their troubles, and they want to be with other people. Helping feed the outburst is the mix of movies, which have been more audience-friendly in recent months as the studios have tried to adjust after the discouraging sales of more serious films.
As she stood in line at the 18-screen Bridge theater complex here on Thursday to buy weekend tickets for “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” Angel Hernandez was not thinking much about escaping reality. Instead, Ms. Hernandez, a Los Angeles parking lot attendant and mother of four young girls, was focused on one very specific reality: her wallet.
“Spending hundreds of dollars to take them to Disneyland is ridiculous right now,” she said. “For $60 and some candy money I can still be a good mom and give them a little fun.”
A lot of parents may have been thinking the same thing Friday, as “Jonas Brothers” sold out more than 800 theaters, and was expected to sell a powerful $25 million or more in tickets.
The film industry appears to have had a hand in its recent good luck. Over the last year or two, studios have released movies that are happier, scarier or just less
depressing than what came before. After poor results for a rush of serious dramas built around the Middle East, Hollywood got back to comedies.Which of the following is not a reason for the improvement of the movie industry?
| A．A growing number of people are going to the cinema. |
| B．People are richer with the development of economy. |
| C．More comedies are made than serious films. |
| D．People have to pay more to watch a movie. |
Ms. Hernandez purchased the movie tickets because ________.
| A．she tried to escape reality |
| B．she was a crazy movie fan |
| C．she was fond of Disneyland |
| D．she wanted to please her kids |
According to the text, which of the following number is not used to describe the shooting up of the movie industry?
| A．17.5% | B．$1.7 billion | C．$60 | D．$25 million |
The passage is developed mainly by ________.
| A．presenting the effect and analyzing the causes |
| B．following the order of time |
| C．describing problems and drawing a conclusion |
| D．making comparison of ideas |
Here I must put in a few words about my experience here in China. If I have ___36__ with a Chinese host, he always presses(硬塞给)___37__ food onto my plate as soon as I have emptied the previous helping(份额). That often makes me ___38___awkward(尴尬). I have to eat the food even if I don’t ___39___ it, because it is ___40___ manners in the West to _41__ one’s food on the plate. I have also ___42__ that when a Chinese sits at an American’s dinner party, he often ___43___ the offer of food or drink though he is in fact still hungry or ___44___. This might be good manners in China, but it is
certainly__45___ in the West. In the United States, it is___46___ to keep asking someone again and again or press something on him. Americans are very ___47___. If they want something, they will ask for it. If not, they will say, “__48__” Here’s an example: When an American is offered ___49_ by the host, and he doesn’t feel like beer, he will probably say, “No, thanks. I just don’t feel like it. I’ll ___50___ some Pepsi-Cola （百事可乐）if you have it.” That is ___51__ an American will do. ___52___are taught that “Honesty is the best policy”. But in some countries, courtesy(谦虚) might be more important than ___53___. So when I am here in China, I have to observe（遵循） the __54__ here. But when you go to ___55___, you had better “Do as the Romans do.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on January 8, 1942. At the age of 17, he entered University College, Oxford. He wanted to study mathematics, but took up the study of physics when math was unavailable. He received a Ph.D. in physics despite being diagnosed (诊断) with Ameliotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化症) while at Oxford in 1963. In 1985 he became ill with pneumonia (肺炎), and since then has required 24-hour nursing. Dr. Hawking’s determination, along with the help of his family and associates, has allowed him to continue to work. In 1970 he began studying black holes. His research led him to predict that black holes send out radiation in the X-ray to gamma-ray(伽马射线) range of the spectrum (光谱). In the 1980s he returned to an earlier interest, the origins of the universe. He has co-authored many publications, such as 300 Years of Gravity and The Large Scale Structure of Space time. Dr. Hawking has also written books such as A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and other Essays, The Universe in a Nutshell and others. He continues to give lectures, despite having been unable to speak since 1985, with the aid of a speech synthesizer (合成器) and a portable computer. He currently holds Isaac Newton’s chair as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University in England.Hawking went to University College, Oxford, in order to _____.
A. get a Ph.D. in physics
B. study mathematics
C. study the universe and black holes
D. seek help from the Lucasian ProfessorBefore Hawking started researching black holes, _____.
| A．he gave lectures with the help of a speech synthesizer |
| B．he finished his book The Universe in a Nutshell |
| C．he was made the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics |
| D．he was diagnosed with Ameliotrophic Lateral Sclerosis |
Which of the following books was NOT written by Dr. Hawking alone?
| A．300 Years of Gravity |
| B．A Brief History of Time |
| C．The Universe in a Nutshell |
| D．Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays. |
When did Hawking enter University College, Oxford?
| A．in 1942 | B．in 1970 | C．in 1959 | D．in 1963 |
Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday. Today, more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small houses or inns(客栈)instead of hotels. They get a room for the night and the breakfast the next morning.
Rooms for the night in private(私人的)homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years. In the past five to ten years, these bed-and-breakfast places have become popular in the United States. Many of these America’s bed-and-breakfast inns have only a few rooms; others are much larger. Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms, others do.
Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel. Usually the cost is much less. Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone’s home. The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit. Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families.Americans take a holiday trip_________.
| A．all the year round | B．for years |
| C．every year | D．every other year |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Some Americans like to stay at bed-and-breakfast homes instead of at hotels. |
| B．The bed-and-breakfast inns are private homes open to vacationers. |
| C．The bed-and-breakfast inns have been popular in America for a long time. |
| D．The bed-and-breakfast inn owners provide a morning meal for their visitors and a room for the night. |
Staying at the bed-and-breakfast inns, __________.
| A．the travelers needn’t pay anything |
| B．the travelers don’t have to pay for the telephone or television |
| C．the travelers can meet and talk with the local people |
| D．the owners will show the travelers around the area |
Which is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．European and American vacationers like staying at bed-and-breakfast inns. |
| B．All Americans enjoy traveling. |
| C．These bed-and-breakfast inns are all old historic buildings. |
| D．Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is just like at the traveler’s home. |
Bringing Art into Hospitals
The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play an important role in helping patients to get better.
As part of nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the museums and into public places, some of the country’s best artists have been called in to change older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2500 national health service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have very valuable collections of present art in passages, waiting areas and treatment rooms.
These recent movements first started by one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970s.He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience(观众).
A common hospital waiting room might have as many as 5 000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the out—patient’s waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975.Believed to be Britain’s first hospital artist. Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.
The effect is striking. Now in the passages and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colours, playful images(形象)and restful courtyards.
The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto gardens needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at. Some best artists of Britain have been called in to__________.
| A．set up new hospitals |
| B．make the corners of the hospital collect paintings |
| C．bring art into hospitals |
| D．help patients recover from serious illnesses |
After the improvement of the hospital environment,__________.
| A．patients no longer take drugs to kill their pains |
| B．patients don’t have to stay long in hospital |
| C．patients need fewer pain killers when they suffer from an illness |
| D．patients feel happy in hospital |
It can inferred from the passage that__________.
| A．the role of hospital environment is important. |
| B．hospital artists have done more than doctors |
| C．exhibitions attract more audience in hospitals than in museums |
| D．the hospital is a better place for people. |
Last year, I met a little boy to whom my heart went out. He would talk to me every single day, and always seemed to have a smile on his face. His problem was that he stuttered (口吃) extremely badly when he tried to talk. It was really hard to understand what he was saying, although he loved to tell big tales!
One morning, I was talking to the teachers who ran the school store. The boy stopped by and said hello to all of us. Afterwards they told me that the boy would stop every day to ask if they would be there the next day. But of course, he never had money to buy anything.
I decided that I would get him a little something just as a surprise. So I picked out a pencil, a rubber, and a small notebook for just $1.00. I cannot describe the look on his face when I gave him the three little things. Then, without a stutter, he loudly said, "Thank you so much!" and just kept repeating, "Thank you! Thank you!" He gave me a big hug before going off to class.
I was touched to see someone appreciate something that much. As he walked off, he was showing his new stuff to other kids walking to class. I have to say that I have never spent a dollar that would mean so much to me.Why did the boy never buy anything from the store?
| A．Because he couldn’t make himself understood. |
| B．Because the teachers were unwilling to sell him anything. |
| C．Because he couldn’t afford anything. |
| D．Because he could never decide what to buy. |
What do we learn from the third paragraph?
| A．Actually the boy had no stutter at all. |
| B．The boy was too excited to stutter at the moment. |
| C．What the author had bought helped the boy speak normally. |
| D．The author wanted to find out whether the boy really had a stutter. |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Stuttering Boy |
| B．Kindness Can Do Wonders |
| C．One Dollar Can Buy Anything |
| D．The Best Dollar I Have Spent |
What is the boy’s attitude to his life?
| A．active | B．passive | C．disappointed | D．fearful |