Tony Bennett, the American singer recently touring Britain, can’t remember how many times he has sung his standard hit “I left My Heart in San Fransisco”. He sang it again to his audience at the London Palladium last night.
“I never get tired of singing it.” He said. “I like it too much . It’s a great city and it’s a good song.”
Bennett is to record a TV program with American singer Lens Home while he is here. And a new LP recorded by him in London for Philips titled “Listen Easy” will be published in June.. “I like it here.” He added quietly over whiskey. “I would like to live here so many months of the year.”
He already keeps a large flat in Grosenor Square, where he is staying with his actress wife Sandie Grant and their three-year-old daughter Joanna. It has a studio where he likes to paint. Tony plans to have his first exhibition later in the year and he has already sold one picture for $4000. At the end of the year Tony is to star in a musical film , which has been specially written for him called “Two Bits”, an informal expression for 50 cents. It’s about an Italian immigrant who goes to America , but he becomes a failure.
“In many ways it’s very close to my life the way the story has been written,” said Bennett. “My father, an Italian ,was ill and died when I was nine. He always wanted me to sing, but he never lived long enough to be a part of my success. The underlined phrase “standard hit” most nearly means______
| A．Bennett’s favourite song but it’s not very popular. |
| B．a song that is always popular |
| C．a song which makes him standard |
| D．a song which is like a heavy blow to his audience |
What does Tony Bennett want to do?
| A．Buy a house and live in England. |
| B．Stay with his wife and daughter in England. |
| C．Live part of each year in England |
| D．Leave American and settle in England |
What’s Tony’s hobby?
| A．Singing | B．Drinking | C．Playing | D．Painting |
What can we learn about Tony’s father from this passage?
| A．He liked his son’s singing. |
| B．He was born in Italy and died when Tony Bennett was a small boy |
| C．He was a part of Bennett’s achievement |
| D．He was glad that his son became famous. |
What kind of man is Tony Bennett？
| A．hardworking and humorous |
| B．family-centered and hardworking |
| C．outgoing and kind |
| D．ambitious and trustworthy |
Apple Inc co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 56, after a-year-long and highly public battle with cancer. Jobs' death was announced by Apple in a statement late on Wednesday. The Apple.com homepage featured a black-and-white picture of him with the words "Steve Jobs, 1955-2011".
A message on the site read, "Apple has lost an imaginary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring leader."
"His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."
"Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple." The Silicon Valley hero who gave the world the iPod and the iPhone had resigned as CEO of the world's largest technology corporation in August, handing the position to current chief executive Tim Cook.
Two years before the iPhone that forever transformed the way people around the world access and use the Internet, Jobs talked about how a sense of his death was a major driver behind that vision.
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever got to help me make the big choices in life," Jobs said during a Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005. "Because almost everything－all others' expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure－these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."
"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."According to the passage, which statement of Steve Jobs is RIGHT?
| A．Steve Jobs was the present CEO of Apple. |
| B．Steve Jobs was thought to have great talent. |
| C．Steve Jobs had no idea about his death before. |
| D．Steve Jobs fought against cancer for a year secretly. |
What can we learn about iPhone from the passage?
| A．People can use it to do anything they want. |
| B．It can teach people how to surf the Internet. |
| C．People can learn the spirit of Apple from it. |
| D．It can change the way people use the Internet. |
In Jobs's speech in Stanford, we can learn that .
| A．to make great achievements, you must lose everything |
| B．people should try to achieve everything regardless of death |
| C．people who will be dead soon must make big choices in life |
| D．in the face of death, nothing is truly important except to follow your dream |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Steve Jobs changed the world. |
| B．Steve Jobs died on Wednesday. |
| C．Who will be the next Steve Jobs? |
| D．Steve Jobs, the greatest American CEO. |
Pets provide an unconditional love that requires very little on the part of the human.
Animals are so special to those of us who love them. We miss them when they are no longer with us. We grieve (哀悼) for them in ways which are just the same as grieving for a human loved one.
Whether the end comes through old age, illness, or sudden death, the death of a pet can cause enormous feelings of sorrow, guilt, and loneliness for children and adults alike, as the animal was considered a family member, a child’s favoured playmate, or an older person’s loyal and faithful companion.
Some people don’t want a pet because they do die! It’s understandable to be unwilling to expose yourself to death but, at the same time, we become immeasurably more human because our animals die. When we live with animals we’re more in step with the rhythms of the planet from day to night and from season to season because our companions make us more aware of the changes around us. Our companion animals teach us about the simple gifts of a beautiful day, a good meal and a gentle touch.
The death of a pet can make us struggle with our belief structure－a natural part of the grieving period. Whether grieving an animal or human, we question our beliefs and many people find their belief structure becomes stronger when they ask themselves hard questions. Others find a new way of acceptance.
And we learn from our animals. Animals aren’t afraid to die; they show us that the end of life can be faced without fear. They can teach us to accept death as an opening for love and wonder.
Allow yourself to grieve in whatever way is appropriate for you. The loss of a pet is real grief and causes us to travel through the stages of grief－denial, anger, depression, guilt, and acceptance. These stages must be lived through for the mourning to allow full healing. According to the passage, the reason why some people don’t want a pet may be that .
| A．animals may change our belief structure |
| B．animals are so special for those who love them |
| C．pets can never escape from death which makes people sad |
| D．pets only provide people with love but never ask for return |
The underlined sentence in paragraph 4 probably means .
| A．the animals’ death is unacceptable for their owners |
| B．the animals’ death may arouse their true feelings inside |
| C．the animals’ death may expose people to the changes in life |
| D．the animals’ death is more understandable than human’s death |
According to the passage, we can infer that .
| A．pets can give us some gifts when they have a good meal |
| B．pets are so selfless and brave that all the people love them |
| C．people can never accept the death of pets or the one they love |
| D．people may go through several stages before they can accept the death of a pet |
What’s the attitude of the author towards grieving a pet?
| A．Neutral. | B．Negative. | C．Positive. | D．Critical. |
There are 70,000 pubs in England and Wales have several thousand more in Scotland.
Every country has its drinking shop, but none has an institution quite like the British pub. The most important feature of a good pub (which modern buildings hardly ever achieve) is a feeling of something private. It must have nooks and crannies, corners and snugs, where conversations and assignations can take place without the whole world listening in.
Most pubs have at least two separate bars. The “public bar” which is for ordinary and women is the basic drinking shop. The “lounge bar” (or saloon bar) which is for traveling salesmen and “ladies” probably has a carpet on the floor and rather more comfortable decoration. There may be a difference of a few pence in the drink prices, although all pubs are required by law to put their price lists easily seen on display.
Pubs have been changing over the past few decades. More and more of them sell good, inexpensive food and are competing strongly with restaurants. Tea and coffee are often on offer and children are being made more welcome. The law says that no one under 14 may enter a pub, and between 14 and 18 they must be accompanied by an adult and may not buy or consume alcoholic drink. In reality some pubs, especially in country districts, welcome whole families. Some set aside special rooms for children and where there are gardens they are almost always welcome.
The most basic change, however, came about in the 1938 licensing laws which allowed pubs in England and Wales to open not just at lunch time and in the evening, but all day, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Scottish laws already permitted all day opening.) Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．Pubs’ history | B．Pubs in Britain |
| C．Changes of pubs | D．Features of a good pub |
According to the British people, what kind of pub is a good one?
| A．The one with all day opening time. |
| B．The one with good and inexpensive food. |
| C．The one with all kinds of people enjoying themselves. |
| D．The one with different parts where people can have a private conversation. |
In paragraph 4, we can learn that .
| A．pubs allow people above 14 to enter alone |
| B．pubs never allow people under 18 to enter |
| C．pubs don’t sell more expensive food than restaurants |
| D．pubs often sell alcoholic drinks as well as tea and coffee |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The law requires all the pubs have slightly different prices of drinks. |
| B．Ordinary people and women are often having fun in the “public pub”. |
| C．In some country pubs, children accompanied by their parents are always welcome. |
| D．Scottish laws allow pubs to open not just at lunch time and in the evening, but all day. |
Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. To this end, we walk the dog, play golf, go fishing, sit in the garden, drink outside rather than inside the pub, have a picnic, live in the suburbs, go to the seaside, buy a weekend place in the country. The most popular free time activity in Britain is going for a walk. And when joggers (慢跑者) jog, they don’t run the streets. Every one of them automatical
ly heads to the park or the river. It is my firm belief that not only do we all need nature, but we all seek nature, whether we know we are doing so or not.
But despite this, our children are growing up nature-deprived (丧失). I spent my boyhood climbing trees. These days, children are robbed of these ancient freedoms, due to problems like crime, traffic, the loss of the open spaces and strange new ideas about what is best for children, that is to say, things that can be bought, rather than things that can be found.
The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the US: families had moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD (多动症). Those whose housing had more natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.
A study in Sweden indicated that kindergarten children who could play in a natural environment had less illness and greater physical ability than children used only to a normal playground. A US study suggested that when a school gave children access to a natural environment, the entire school would do better in studies.
Another study found that children play differently in a natural environment. In playgrounds, children create a hierarchy (等级) based on physical abilities, with the tough ones taking the lead. But when a grassy area was planted with bushes, the children got much more into fantasy play, and the social hierarc
hy was now based on imagination and creativity.
Most bullying (恃强凌弱) is found in schools w
here there is a tarmac (柏油碎石) playground; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are encouraged to explore. This reminds me unpleasantly of Sunnyhill School, with its hard tarmac, where I used to hang about in corners dreaming about wildlife.
But children are frequently discouraged from involvement with natural spaces, for health and safety reasons, for fear that they might get dirty or that they might cause damage. So, instead, the damage is done to the children themselves: not to their bodies but to their souls.
One of the great problems of modern childhood is ADHD, now increasingly and expensively treated with drugs. Yet one study after another indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However, we spend money on drugs rather than on green places.
The life of old people is much better when they have access to nature. The most important for the growing population of old people is in quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden is the single most important thing in finding that quality.
In wider and more difficult areas of life, there is evidence to indicate that natural surroundings improve all kinds of things. Even problems with crime and aggressive behaviour are reduced when there is contact with the natural world.
Dr William Bird, researcher from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, states in his study, “A natural environment can reduce violent behaviour because its process helps reduce anger and behavior that people might regret later.” Wild places need encouraging for this reason
, no matter how small their contribution.
We tend to think human beings are doing nature some kind of favor when we are protecting nature. The error here is far too deep: not only do humans need nature for themselves, but the very idea that humanity and the natural world are separable things is damaging.
Human beings are a species of animals. For seven million years we lived on the planet as part of nature. So we miss the natural world and long for contact with non-human life. Anyone who has patted a dog, stroked a cat, sat under a tree with a glass of beer, given or received a bunch of flowers or chosen to walk through the park on a nice day, understands that.
We need the wild world.
It is necessary to our well-being, our health, our happiness. Without other living things around us we are less than human.What is the author’s firm belief?
| A．People seek nature in different ways. |
| B．People should spend most of their lives in the wild. |
| C．People have quite different ideas of nature. |
| D．People must make more efforts to study nature. |
What does the author say people prefer for their children nowadays?
| A．Personal freedom. | B．Things that are natural. |
| C．Urban surroundings. | D．Things that are purchased. |
What does a study in Sweden show?
A. The natural environment can help children learn better.
B. More access to nature makes children less likely to fall ill.
C. A good playground helps kids develop their physical abilities.
D. Natural views can prevent children from developing ADHD.Children who have chances to explore natural areas ________.
| A．tend to develop a strong love for science |
| B．are more likely to dream about wildlife |
| C．tend to be physically tougher in adulthood |
| D．are less likely to be involved in bullying |
What does the author suggest we do to help children with ADHD?
| A．Find more effective drugs for them. |
B．Provide more green spaces for them. |
| C．Place them under more personal care. |
| D．Engage them in more meaningful activities |
In what way do elderly people benefit from their contact with nature?
A．They lo ok on life optimistically. |
B．They enjoy a life of better quality. |
| C．They are able to live longer. | D．T hey become good-humored |
Anne Whitney, a sophomore(二年级学生) at Colorado State University, first had a problem taking tests when she began college. "I was always well prepared for my tests. Sometimes I studied for weeks before a test. Yet I would go in to take the test, only to find I could not answer the questions correctly. I would blank out because of nervousness and fear. I couldn’t think of the answer. My low grades on the tests did not show what I knew to the teacher ." Another student in microbiology and similar experiences. He said ,"My first chemistry test was very difficult. Then, on the second test, I sat down to take it, and I was so nervous that I was shaking. My hands were moving up and down so quickly that it was hard to hold my pencil. I knew the material and I knew the answers. Yet I couldn’t even write them down!"
These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety. Because a student worries and it uneasy about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student can’t write or think clearly because of the extreme tension and nervousness. Although poor grades are often a result of poor study habits, sometimes test anxiety causes the low grades. Recently, test anxiety had been recognized as a real problem, not just an excuse or a false explanation of lazy students.
Special university counseling courses try to help students. In these courses, counselors try to help students by teaching them how to manage test anxiety .At some universities, students take tests to measure their anxiety. If the tests show their anxiety is high, the students can take short courses to help them deal with their tension. These courses teach students how to relax their bodies .Students are trained to become calm in very tense situations. By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work at ease .Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test.
An expert at the University of California explains. "With almost all students, relaxation and less stress are felt after taking out program .Most of then experience better control during their tests. Almost all have some improvement. With some, the improvement is very great."To "blank out" is probably______.
| A．to be like a blanket | B．to be sure of an answer |
| C．to be unable to think clearly | D．to show knowledge to the teacher |
Poor grades are usually the result of _______.
| A．poor hygienic(卫生的) habits | B．laziness |
| C．lack of sleep | D．being unable to form good study habits |
Test anxiety has been recognized as _______.
| A．an excuse for laziness | B．the result of poor habits |
| C．a real problem | D．something that can’t be changed |
To deal with this problem, students say they want to ______.
A .take a short course on anxiety
B read about anxiety
C. be able to manage or understand their anxiety
D take test to prove they are not anxietyA University of California counselor said_______.
| A．all students could overcome the anxiety after taking a special test anxiety program |
| B．almost all students felt less stress after taking a University of California counseling course |
| C．students found it difficult to improve even though they had taken a special test anxiety course |
| D．students found it easy to relax as soon as they entered a University of California counseling course |