When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship (奖学金) and gain entry to Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, “ Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story ” , shown in late April.
Liz Murray, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted (吸毒) parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it.
Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. “ What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society, ” she wrote in her book Breaking Night.
She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that “ next to nothing could hold me down ” . She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University . But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. “ I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time. ”
Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is “ as simple as making a decision ” . In which order did the following things happen to Liz?
a. Her mother died of AIDS.
b. She worked at a petrol station.
c. She got admitted into Harvard.
d. The movie about her life was put on.
e. She had trouble finding a place to sleep.
A.b, a, e, c, d | B.a, b, c, e, d | C.e, d, b, a, c | D.b, e, a, d, c |
The main idea of the passage is ________.
A.how Liz managed to enter Harvard University |
B.what a hard time Liz had in her childhood |
C.why Liz loved her parents so much |
D.how Liz struggled to change her life |
What actually made her go towards her goal?
A.Envy and encouragement. | B.Willpower and determination. |
C.Decisions and understanding. | D.Love and respect for her parents. |
When she wrote “ What drove me to live on...I had only experienced a small part of the society ” , she meant that ________.
A.she had little experience of social life |
B.she could hardly understand the society |
C.she would do something for her own life |
D.she needed to travel more around the world |
The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC has thousands of objects on display, including the 1903 Wright Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, and a lunar rock you can touch. In addition to our exhibition galleries, you may want to visit the Albert Einstein Planetarium, Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, and the Public Observatory on the east end. There are many things to do at the Museum in DC. We offer daily tours and educational activities for both children and adults. We also have scheduled lectures and events throughout the year.
Hours & Admission: Open every day except December 25. Admission is free.
Regular Hours: 10: 00 am to 5: 30 pm
Extended Hours: 10: 00 am to 7: 30 pm
December 26—30, 2014.
March 30—April 20, 2015.
Fridays and Saturdays, April 24—May 16, 2015.
May 17—September 7, 2015.
VISITING TIPS:
Limit the Number of Bags: All visitors are screened through metal detectors upon entry. The fewer items you bring inside the Museum, the faster your entry. Before you visit, please review the list of prohibited items, which include pocket knives and tripods (三脚架). Visitors carrying prohibited items will not be allowed inside the Museum, so please leave them at home or in your car.
No Food and Drink: Only bottled water is permitted in the Museum. You may only consume food and other drinks in the Food Court, not in the Museum. Groups who bring food are encouraged to picnic on the National Mall.
Please Take Photos: You are welcome to take photos for personal use. However, tripods and monopods (单脚架) are not permitted without approval.
First Aid: The Museum has a First Aid office and a nurse on duty. Please contact the nearest security officer or the Welcome Center for assistance.
Visit the Welcome Center:
At our Welcome Center in the South Lobby, staff and volunteers can answer any questions you have during your visit.
Open 10: 00 am to 5: 30 pm
Phone: 202-633-2214
E-mail: NASM-VisitorServices@ si. eduAccording to the passage, the National Air and Space Museum is a museum _______.
A.where only adults can take part in some educational activities |
B.everyone can pay a visit to without buying tickets |
C.where one can touch anything he likes |
D.everyone can visit without time limits all the year round |
If the Greens plan to visit the Museum at 6: 00 pm, it is accessible on _______.
A.December 24, 2014 (Wednesday) |
B.March 1, 2015 (Sunday) |
C.July 6, 2015 (Monday) |
D.September 15, 2015 (Tuesday) |
A visitor to the museum can _______.
A.eat and drink in the Museum or in the Food Court |
B.take photos with tripods for personal use |
C.bring fewer bags to go through metal detectors |
D.get some medical treatment if he suddenly falls ill |
The purpose of this passage is to _______.
A.make an advertisement for the museum |
B.attract people to explore the universe |
C.encourage adults to bring their children there |
D.show what is on display in the museum |
CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? Every one of us gets so used to punctuation marks that not many of us give them a second thought. Actually, the ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc. The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They • put • something • that • can • separate • words • in • a • sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a dot.
When the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The spaces separated words while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma (逗号).
Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark (感叹号) comes from the Latin word io. It means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word questio, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question.
Punctuation even keeps changing nowadays. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example the “interrobang”. This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what?” or “How much did you pay for that dress?” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized yet, but its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.From the first paragraph, we can know that _______.
A.good readers had trouble reading without punctuation marks |
B.a sentence always read from left to right in ancient Greece |
C.ancient Greeks switched the direction of punctuation marks |
D.the use of punctuation marks can date back to ancient times |
The passage is developed _______.
A.by time | B.by space |
C.by comparison | D.by importance |
We can learn from the passage that _______.
A.ancient Romans didn’t use any punctuation marks |
B.exclamation and question marks came from Latin |
C.spaces and slashes were already used before the 5th century |
D.Aldus Manutius first started to use commas |
What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
A.The combination of two marks will not work. |
B.It takes time for people to accept new punctuation marks. |
C.Old punctuation marks need to be standardized. |
D.Punctuation marks are still changing today. |
To most people, noise pollution is a jet flying over their head. For one Spanish woman, it is a neighbor playing the piano. The woman has taken her neighbor to court. Now she wants to send her neighbor to prison for over seven years on the charges of psychological damage and noise pollution.
In a country known for its noisiness, the case has raised eyebrows. Neighbors often complain about street noise in Spain, but people seeking prison time for someone practicing the piano is unheard of. At the trial, Sonia Bosom says she has been suffering noise pollution up to now due to the practice sessions of Laia Martin, who lives below her. Martin, 27, didn’t admit that she played at home that often, saying she took regular classes in other towns and mostly practiced at home on the weekends.
On the first day of the trial, the newspaper reported that Bosom told the court she now hated pianos so much that she couldn’t even stand seeing them in a film.
Bosom says years of hearing constant playing has caused her “psychological injury”. Medical reports show she has suffered from a variety of problems, including insomnia (失眠), anxiety, and panic attacks.
She says tests by local authorities have found that the sound levels made by the piano are up to 10 decibels (分贝) higher than the limit. City authorities have asked the family several times to either stop the piano playing or soundproof (隔音) the room. The family told the court they carried out soundproofing work twice but the complaints continued.
The court hasn’t made a final decision. A spokeswoman says the trial will end before May.Bosom wants to send Martin to prison because _______.
A.Martin’s playing the piano damaged her health |
B.Bosom suffered from heart attack |
C.Martin refused to take regular classes in other towns |
D.Martin flew a jet over her head |
How did Laia Martin respond to the complaints?
A.She stopped playing the piano. |
B.She soundproofed the room. |
C.She didn’t admit she played at home. |
D.She took her neighbor to court. |
Which of the following may probably be the best title for the passage?
A.A 7-year Sentence Caused by the Piano |
B.Pianist Charged with Noise Pollution |
C.Health Problems of a Spanish Woman |
D.Actions Against Noise by Local Authority |
How do you know if your home is an easy aim for thefts ? Around the holidays, many families don't consider taking proper measures to prevent their homes from suffering holiday thefts. With just a few simple steps, you can better make sure of the safety of your home during all of the holiday celebrations. Here are a few tips for making it difficult to tell you are away from home.
● Either have a trusted neighbor pick up your mail and newspapers, or tell your mailperson to hold your mail until you return. Nothing says "Hey, we are not home!" like when your postbox is filled with all kinds of mails and you have many different newspapers in your driveway.
● Set several different lights in your house on random timers (随机定时器). Don't leave your outdoor lights on all the time. Instead, put your outside lights on timers to be on during the nights. If an outdoor light remains on for days at a time, it means that nobody is home to turn it off.
● If you have pets that you are not taking with you on vacation, leave them with a friend, rather than having someone come into your house every day to take care of them. When thefts see a neighbor or friend entering your house every day, they will know you are not home.
● Close all your curtains when you leave town. This is effective to deter possible thefts, as no one can see what is in your house. If they don't know what there is to take, then the risk is even greater for them to break in.
● This article just has suggested a few tips to help you keep your house safe while you are on holiday. Nothing can truly protect your home unless you have it monitored by a professional home security system.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.to tell you to have your neighbor go to your house to take care of your pet. |
B.to let the outdoor lights on all the time. |
C.to tell us many families suffering from the thefts while they are on holiday. |
D.to tell us how to prevent the thefts around the holidays. |
Most of the tips mentioned in the text seem to _____.
A.be very popular with families |
B.have no effect on preventing thefts |
C.give a false impression on thefts |
D.be a little hard to be brought into effect |
The underlined word "deter" probably means "_____".
A.discover | B.discourage |
C.surprise | D.attract |
Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as Mumbet or Mum Bett.
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashleys wife tried to strike Mumbets sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious(狂怒的), she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbets tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?
A.She was born a slave |
B.She was a slaveholder |
C.She had a famous sister |
D.She was born into a rich family |
What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new consititution?
A.She should always obey her owners’ orders |
B.How to apply for a job |
C.How to be a good servant |
D.She should be as free and equal as whites |
What did Mumbet do after the trial?
A.She chose to work for a lawyer |
B.She found the NAACP |
C.She continued to serve the Ashleys |
D.She went to live with her grandchildren |
What is the test mainly about?
A.A story of a famous writer and spokesperson |
B.The friendship between a lawyer and a slave |
C.A trial that shocked the whole world |
D.The life of a brave African American woman |