Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, announced the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday．The win makes Mo Yan the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel in its 111-year history．Informed of his win today, the author, who was having dinner at home, was “overjoyed and scared"．
Born in 1955 to parents who were farmers, Mo Yan－a pen name for Guan Moye, grew up in Gaomi in Shandong province in eastern China． At the age of 12, he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976, he joined the army and during this time began to study literature and writing．
He published his first book in 1981, but found literary success in 1987 with Hong Gaoliang Jiazu, which was successfully filmed in the same year, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth and his works show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs．Mo Yan is known as a prolific（多产的）writer．In addition to his novels, he has published many short stories and essays on various topics. Despite his social criticism, he is seen in his homeland as one of the most famous contemporary authors．Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French, Japanese and many other languages．
The awarding ceremony will be held on December 10．The winner will win a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of about $l million．Mo Yan developed his ability for writing when he was _ .
| A．on a farm | B．in a factory | C．in the army | D．in a school |
One of Mo Yan's characteristics of writing is that he ________.
| A．explains difficult matters in simple words |
| B．focuses on social problems in the country |
| C．describes his characters in a unique way |
| D．writes about topics he is familiar with |
What's the best title for this passage?
| A．How Mo Yan Gets Nobel Prize |
| B．Mo Yan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature |
| C．An Introduction to Nobel Prize |
| D．A World Famous Writer, Mo Yan |
Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer．But there is one question that has millions of current answers．That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct．
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents．Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used．Some parents choose the name of a well-known person．A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones．
Some people give their children names that mean good things．Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”．
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names．A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near a brook；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road．The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest．
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations．The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals．In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village．Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter — a person who made pots and pans．
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village．The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture．
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities．When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray．Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman．John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer．
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name．English-speaking people added–s or–son．The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert．Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O．Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the McDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell．Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
| A．Places where people lived． | B．People’s characters． |
| C．Talents that people possessed． | D．People’s occupations． |
According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably ________．
| A．owned or drove a cart | B．made things with metals |
| C．made kitchen tools or containers | D．built houses and furniture |
Suppose an English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named ________．
| A．Beatrice Smith | B．Leonard Carter | C．George Longstreet | D．Donald Greenwood |
The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s ________．
| A．later generations | B．friends and relatives |
| C．colleagues and partners | D．later sponsors |
Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast．Diagnosed with diabetes（糖尿病）, Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin（胰岛素） three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death．And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance．
After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back．He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones — a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources．
Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six．Father and son visit the online children's forums（论坛） together most evenings．"Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. “They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone.”
Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases．And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages．
These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people — 225 to date — who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses．Fight-it．org has raised about $23,000 — in products and in cash．In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean．
Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables．"Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar's original members. “But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now.”Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?
| A．He needs to go to the doctor every day． |
| B．He studies the leading cause of diabetes. |
| C．He has a positive attitude to this disease． |
| D．He encourages diabetics by writing articles． |
Diabeticrockstar.com was created for ________．
| A．diabetics to communicate | B．volunteers to find jobs |
| C．children to amuse themselves | D．rock stars to share resources． |
According to the text, Kody ________．
| A．feel lonely because of his illness | B．benefits from diabeticrockstar.com |
| C．helps create the online kid’s forums | D．writes children’s stories online |
What can we learn about Fight It?
| A．It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties． |
| B．It organizes parties for volunteer once a year． |
| C．It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics． |
| D．It owns a well-known medical website． |
The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ________．
| A．works full-time in a diabetes charity | B．employs 22 people for his website |
| C．helps diabetics in his own way | D．tries to find a cure for diabetes |
任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
It all began with ...
Orlando Bloom was not a “good” student in school. Because of dyslexia, a reading and writing disorder (障碍), he struggled in many courses.
But Bloom says the dyslexia gave him the encouragement to overcome (克服) his difficulties.
In an interview with the Telegraph, the 32-year-old said the condition turned him into an ambitious person. “Because of the dyslexia, I always thought I had to work twice as hard as everyone else just to go the same distance,” he said. “That gave me a real kick as a kid and a lot of encouragement later on. In one sense, I guess that I'm grateful (感激的).”
Bloom is always preparing it thoroughly(充分地) when it comes to an audition (试镜) for a part. Perhaps this is what won him his role in the Lord of the Rings, a highly successful film trilogy (三部曲). “I really prepared it thoroughly for the audition and it's paid off,” he said.
It was the beginning of a fame that led to even greater success as a movie actor. But unlike some young people who aim for fame and fortune, Bloom believed an acting career “has been fulfilling (实现) his childhood fantasies”.
“Aged 9, I had this girlfriend and we used to have running races in the park to see who would be her boyfriend for the day. I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her. Once I realized Superman was an actor, I thought, ‘That's for me''.”
Bloom has always played special characters, like a knight (骑士) and a prince. It's difficult to picture him in everyman roles.
In October, Bloom was named Goodwill Ambassador (亲善大使) for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). His first task will be to film a documentary about the importance of clean water supplies.
In fact, Bloom started work for the UNICEF in 2007. On his first visit to Nepal, he was asked by students to take a small part in a play they were performing on local radio.
| Personal record of Orlando Bloom |
|
| When he was nine years old |
He wanted to be like Superman and fly in and _____ (1) his girlfriend. That's why he became an _____ (2). |
| When he was a student at school |
_____ (3) of dyslexia, Bloom _____ (4) in many courses, which _____ (5) him to work twice as hard as everyone else. In a sense, dyslexia _____ (6) him overcome his difficulties. |
| When he chose to be an actor |
Bloom is always well _____ (7) for auditions. Perhaps this is _____ (8) won him his role in the Lord of the Rings. |
| In 2007 |
Bloom started work for the UNICEF. |
| In this October |
Bloom was _____ (9) Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. His first task will be to _____ (10) a documentary about the importance of clean water supplies. |
By the time a student starts to apply (申请) for a US university, much of his or her record, including grades and after-school activities, has been set in stone. For this reason, the student must in his or her first year of high school start getting ready for college. He or she also has to decide on the non-academic (非学业的) tasks, which are important to improve the student’s chances of getting in.
1. After-school activities
When it comes to high school activities, quality is better than quantity (数量). Admissions (录取) officers do not want to see a student who has joined dozens of organizations (组织) for a short period of time.
Many students try to do this towards the end of their high school. But schools want to see a student who has been with one organization for all or most of high school. A student who can do this shows maturity (成熟). It is the quality that admissions officers look for as it is one of the markers of future success.
2. Leadership
Schools want to see a student who has taken on a leadership role in an organization. A student can show leadership by taking on any role that needs extra commitment (奉献) and responsibility.
If you do not have a great title (头衔) such as president, be sure to explain any leadership roles you have taken. This kind of involvement (参与) in school activities shows you a
re the responsible person that admissions officers look for.
3. Consistency (一致性)
Admissions officers like an application (申请) to be consistent. For example if there is a high school activity you particularly (特别地) love, it would help if that activity matches your future academic and career interest.
Of course not everything needs to be consistent. Otherwise (否则) the student would be narrow and this is not what schools are looking for. However, you cannot have different parts of your application saying conflicting (矛盾的) things.Who was the article written for?
| A．US college students hoping to study in China. |
| B．Chinese college students hoping to study in the US. |
| C．Third year high school students hoping to study in the US. |
| D．Teenagers hoping to study in the US. |
The underlined phrase "set in stone" in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.
| A．made clear | B．something unchangeable |
| C．become obvious | D．at the right level(水平) |
The author’s suggestion is to ______.
| A．try as many different organizations as possible |
| B．start planning for college at the beginning of high school |
| C．make everything in an application consistent |
| D．put non-academic tasks before academic tasks |
According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Students should choose after-school activities they have great interest in. |
| B．It’s already too late for first year students to apply for a US university. |
| C．It is necessary for a student to be a president if he/she is to apply for a US university. |
| D．Students should concentrate on just one activity in high school. |
As many as one in five US teenagers have some degree of hearing loss, according to researchers.
They say the problem is growing.
Teenagers really don’t pay attention to how much noise they are exposed (暴露) to, Josef Shargorodsky of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston told Reuters. “Often people won’t notice it, but even slight hearing loss may affect language development,” said Shargorodsky, one of the researchers.
The study compared surveys from the early 1990s and the mid-2000s. Each included a few thousand teenagers. In the first survey, about 15 percent of teenagers had some degree of hearing loss. Some 15 years later, that number had risen by a third, to nearly 20 percent.
“This certainly is big news,” said Alison Grimes, an ear doctor. Hearing loss is very common in old people, Grimes said, but she added that it was worrying to see it happen in the younger age group.
In babies and young children, hearing problems are known to slow language development. The science is less clear for teenagers, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could affect learning, said Grimes,.
The reasons for the rise are still unclear. When researchers asked teenagers about noise exposure – on the job, at school or from activities, for example – the teenagers didn’t report any change. But Shargorodsky said that might not be true. “We knew from before that it is difficult to ask this age group about noise exposure – they underestimate (低估) it.” Few people would call it noise when they listen to music on their MP3 player, for example. “There is a difference between what we think is loud and what is harmful to the ear,” said Grimes.
Although it’s not clear that the MP3 players cause teenagers’ hearing loss, Grimes said it was still a good idea to turn down the sound and take short breaks from listening. According to the researchers, in a US class of 40 students, about ____ students have some degree of hearing loss.
| A．one | B．five | C．six | D．eight |
Which of the following statements is true according to the article?
| A．Slight hearing loss does not influence learning. |
| B．Only a few old people have hearing problems. |
| C．Hearing problems can slow language development. |
| D．Noise exposure is clearly noticed by teenagers. |
About hearing loss, it can be inferred that ________.
| A．the reasons for the rise have been found | B．MP3 players are to blame |
C．listening to loud music may be a cause |
D．noise is the main reason |
The article was written to ______.
| A．warn teenagers that loud music might be harmful |
| B．explain what kinds of noises might affect studies |
| C．suggest that teenagers shouldn’t listen to loud music |
| D．show how important hearing can be for learning |