Atameeting,awellknownspeakerli-优题课

Paul Zindel’s death on March 27,2003 ended the brilliant life of a famous writer. Not only did Paul Zindel win a Pulitzer Prize as well as an Obie Prize for his 1970 play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, but be was one of the earliest writers in the field of contemporary（当代的） literature for young adults（成人）. The Pigman, published in 1968, is still one of the most well-known and widely-taught novels in the genre. The American Library Association has named it one of the 100 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults published between 1967 and 1992, and Zindel’s autobiography, The Pigman and Me, was among the 100 Best of the Best Books published for teenagers during the last part of the twentieth century. Six of Zindel’s books, in fact, have been voted the Best Books for Young Adults, and most of his recent horror books-such as The Doom Stone and Rats－have been chosen as Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Clearly, he was a writer who knew how to interest contemporary children. Recognizing that, the American Library Association in 2002 honored Paul Zindel with the Margaret A. Edwards Prize for his lifetime achievements, and later that same year he was presented with the ALAN Prize for his contributions to Young Adult Literature. With his passing, young readers, teachers, and librarians have lost a great friend.
56．Which of Paul Zindel’s books was the most popular with young adults in the 20th century?
A．The Pigman. B．The Doom Stone.
C．The Pigman and Me. D．The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.
57．Why was Paul Zindel honored with the Margaret A. Edwards Prize?
A．His books were widely read by children.
B．His books were interesting and helpful to adults.
C．He made great contributions to contemporary literature.
D．He wrote a number of horror books for young adults.
58．When did Paul Zindel win the ALAN Prize?
A．In 2002. B．In 2003.
C．Between 1967 and 1992. D．Between 2002 and 2003.
59．Choose the correct statements from the following according to the passage.
a.The Pigman and Me was one of the Best Books for teenagers.
b.Zindel was one of the earliest writers who wrote for adults only.
c.The Doom Stone and Rats are not popular with young adults.
d.Zindel was given four prizes for literature before he died.
e.At least eight of Zindel’s books were very popular in his times.
A．c, d, e B．a, b, c C．a, b, d D．a, d, e

When Lew Alcindor was 13, and obviously still growing, a group of schools began offering him scholarships（奖学金）. The Alcindors decided to send their only child to Power Memorial Academy, a small school on Manhattan’s West Side.
At Power. Alcindor came under the control of Coach Jack Donohue, a strict young man who already gained his fame as one of the best coaches in the city. Donohue brought Alcindor along slowly. As a first-year student, the boy was not able to do much but wave his long skinny arms and shoot a basket now and then. But by the second year, when he was 15 years old and nearly 7 feet tall, Alcindor was quick and skillful enough to make the high school All American team and to lead Power to an undefeated season.
From then on be simply got better. Some rival coaches（对方教练）used to take their teams quickly away from the floor before Power warmed up so that their players would not see him any sooner than they had to. Wearing size 16D shoes and sucking a lollipop（棒棒糖）, Alcindor would loosen up by starting his leaping lay-ups（擦板球）. Then he would casually shoot the ball with either hand, to the delight of the fans.
When reporters and photographers began to follow Alcindor closely, Donohue protected his boy firmly. He simply ordered Lew to talk to no member of the press, and this suited Lew fine. He was not comfortable talking to grownups, perhaps because he towered over them. Discouraged photographers began following him in secret as though he were an easily-frightened giraffe. “People want you not for yourself,” Donohue warned him, “but because you’re a basketball player. Don’t forget that.”
57. Many schools offered Alcindor scholarships because_______.
A. he was young B. he was hardworking
C. he was tall for his age D. he was skillful at playing basketball
58. Which of the following best describes Donohue as a young coach?
A. serious, popular and slow B. tall, skillful and successful
C. kind, powerful and undefeated D. well-known, strict and experienced
59. Why did some rival coaches take their teams away from the floor before Power warmed up?
A. Their teams refused to play Power. B. Their teams feared to see Alcindor.
C. Their teams would lose courage. D. Their teams would lose interest.
60. What does the last paragraph mainly discuss?
A. How Donohue protected Alcindor from the press.
B. How Alcindor disliked meeting reporters.
C. Why the press followed Alcindor closely. D. Why the public wanted Alcindor badly.

Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16,1775, and died on July 18, 1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously ( 匿名 ).
But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806, Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced (增强)by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.
The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy.
You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen's Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.
56. Jane Austen paid two long visits to Bath________.
A. in her early twenties B. in her early teens
C. in her late twenties D. in her late teens
57. What can we learn about Bath from the passage?
A. Bath has greatly changed since Jane Austen's death.
B. The city has changed as much as Jane Austen knew it.
C. Bath remains almost the same as in Jane Austen's time.
D. No changes have taken place in Bath since Jane Austen's time.
58.The author（作者）writes this passage in order to________.
A. attract readers to visit the city of Bath B. ask readers to buy Austen's books
C. tell readers about Jane Austen's experience
D. give a brief introduction to the Jane Austen Society
59. It takes you about one and a half hours________.
A. to get to the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street
B. to buy Jane Austen related books, cards and gifts
C. to find a guide to take you to the Centre D. to look around the city of Bath on foot

When Babbage was working at Cambridge, a new idea occurred to him. He wanted to construct a calculating machine to work out the solutions（解法）to maths problems not only with correctness but also with a speed beyond the power of any human mind. His machine could solve problems involving（涉及）long rows of figures in one continuous operation（运算）.
In 1822 Babbage exhibited his invention and won a prize from the government. After that, he immediately started to work on a larger machine designed to solve more difficult problems. Although he received some money left by his father, the money was not enough to support his design. He wrote to the government about his plan and was given ￡2500 to start with, a sum worth much more in those days than it is now.
Babbage continued his work in London for four years. Then his health broke down, and he had to take a long holiday abroad. When he returned to London in 1828, he was at the end of his resources. Many bills remained unpaid. His chief assistant and co-workers quarreled with him and left with many expensive tools. For one year no work was done. During this period, Babbage, whose mind was always active, suddenly thought of a completely new idea for the machine. He rushed to meet the government officials to explain his new idea. But this time, they were unwilling to help him. For eight years, they refused to say whether they wanted the machine or not, and their final answer was “No.”
From 1828 to 1839, Babbage held the position of professor at Cambridge very successfully. But his greatest work was the unfinished calculating machine which stood covered in dust in his house. It was the beginning of the modern computer.
60．The machine Babbage designed would solve difficult maths problems _________.
A．in one operation with few mistakes
B．in more than one operation without any mistakes
C．in more than one operation with slight mistakes
D．in one operation without any mistakes
61．Babbage failed to continue his research work in 1828 mainly because _______.
A．he was in poor health B．he almost ran out of money
C．his co-workers argued with him D．he spent all his money on his bills
62．Babage explained his new idea to the government officials, expecting that _________.
A．they would agree to his plan B．they would pay for his new idea
C．they would support him with money D．they would exhibit his new design
63．From the passage, we can infer that __________.
A．Babbage failed to be a famous scientist at Cambridge
B．Babbage always had new ideas but gave them up easily
C．Babbage always needed support from the government officials
D．Babbage was the first designer of the modern computer

People fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor in 1944, when she starred in National Velvet-the story of Velvet Brown, a young girl who wins first place in a famous horse race. At first, the producers of the movie told Taylor that she was too small to play the part of Velvet. However, they waited for her for a few months as she exercised and trained—and added three inches to her height in four months! Her acting in National Velvet is still considered the best by a child actress.
Elizabeth Taylor was born in London in 1932. Her parents, both Americans, had moved there for business reasons. When World war II started, the Taylor moved to Beverly Hills, California, and there Elizabeth started acting in movies. After her success as a child star, Taylor had no trouble moving into adult(成人)roles and won twice for Best Actress: Butterfield 8(1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? (1966)
Taylor’s fame(名声)and popularity gave her a lot of power with the movie industry, so she was able to demand very high pay for her movies. In 1963, she received $1 million for her part in Cleopatra—the highest pay received by any star up to that time.
Elizabeth Taylor is a legend (传奇人物) of our time. Like Velvet Brown in National Velvet, she has been lucky, she has beauty, fame and wealth. But she is also a hard worker. Taylor seldom acts in movies any more. Instead, she puts her time and efforts into her businesses, and into helping others — several years ago, she founded an organization that has raised more than $40 million for research and education.
60. The producers didn’t let Taylor play the part of Velvet at first because they thought she .
A. was small in size B. was too young
C. did not play well enough D. did not show much interest
61. What Elizabeth Taylor and Velvet Brown had in common was that they were both .
A. popular all their lives B. famous actresses
C. successful when very young D. rich and kind-hearted
62. Taylor became Best Actress at the age of .
A. 12 B. 28 C. 31 D. 34
63. In her later life , Elizabeth Taylor devoted herself to .
A. doing business and helping others B. turning herself into a legend
C. collecting money for the poor D. going about research and education work

A．broken	B．having small lines or folds in it
C．flat	D．having holes on it