“Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move,” said David Belle, the founder of parkour (跑酷).
Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what about making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond's wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.
Yes, that's parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.
Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.
Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back from them in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, "I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything."
Another philosophy we've learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself that you earn energy and confidence. Parkour has become popular throughout the world because of________.
| A．its founder, David Belle | B．the film, Casino Royale |
| C．its risks and tricks | D．the varieties of participants |
The underlined word "obstacles" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “_______”.
| A．streets | B．objects | C．barriers | D．roofs |
Which of the following statements is TRUE of parkour?
| A．It challenges human abilities. | B．It is a good but boring sport. |
| C．It needs special training. | D．It is a team sport.. |
As its participants move around a city, they tend to __________.
| A．reach the destination as soon as possible |
| B．choose the easiest way |
| C．challenge extremes |
| D．consider safety first |
Book now to see Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss star in The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre in London．
Dates: 22 January 2011 to 31 January 2011
Times: 22 Jan 2011 6:30 PM; 24—29 Jan 2011 7:30 PM; 29 Jan 2011 2:30 PM; 31 Jan 2011 7:30 PM．
Place: Comedy Theatre
The Children’s Hour
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman is a striking play about the power of a lie． Karen Wright （Keira Knightley） and Martha Dobie （Elisabeth Moss） run a girls’ boarding school in the 1930s New England． When an angry student starts a rumour that the two headmistresses are having a lesbian （女同性恋者） affair, it gradually destroys the women’s careers, relationships and lives． The Children’s Hour is an upsetting story of cheat, shame and courage．
Banned in London and several cities across America, The Children’s Hour received its world opening on Broadway in 1934． Generations on, its exploration of a culture of fear remains remarkably relevant．
Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss Star
Keira Knightley, nominee （被提名者） for Best Actress 2010 Evening Standard Awards for The Misanthrope, returns to the London stage． Knightley starred in Love Actually, The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, Pride and Prejudice．
Elisabeth Moss, best-known for playing Peggy Olson in Mad Men, made her Broadway stage debut （首映） in David Mamet’s Speed the Plow in 2008． The Children’s Hour will be her West End debut．
Book The Children’s Hour Tickets
Book theatre tickets to see The Children’s Hour at London’s Comedy Theatre today． With two big stars in the leading roles, The Children’s Hour tickets are sure to sell fast． Book yours online now with Visit London’s secure ticket booking partner on this wetsite． Just click the green book button to buy your The Children’s Hour tickets． If you visit London in January, at which time can you see the play?
| A．21 Jan 2011 6:30 PM． | B．23 Jan 2011 2:30 PM． |
| C．26 Jan 2011 2:30 PM． | D．31 Jan 2011 7:30 PM． |
We can learn from the passage that The Children’s Hour____________．
| A．used to be forbidden | B．is about the power of love |
| C．was set in England in the 1930s | D．is not popular these days |
Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?
| A．Keira Knightley was awarded Best Actress 2010 Evening Standard Awards． |
| B．Elisabeth Moss ever performed on the Broadway stage． |
| C．Without the two big stars, people would not buy the play’s tickets． |
| D．You can only buy a ticket with Visit London’s secure ticket booking partner． |
Where shall we probably read this passage?
| A．In a movie magazine． | B．In the newspaper． |
| C．On the website． | D．In an academic journal． |
Despite being tall, Michelle Obama is much smaller than she appears on television． And she seemed a little short by her surroundings in the great hall of Christchurch College as she spoke quietly without a microphone because of a technical mistake． Her audience were 40 young girls from a London state school where 50 languages are spoken．
“I remember how well-meaning but misguided people questioned whether someone with my background could succeed at an elite （精英） university,” she said． “When I was accepted, I had all kinds of worries and doubts． I wouldn’t be as well prepared as students from privileged families and I wouldn’t fit in． But you are just as capable and have just as much to offer as anyone else．”
This was Mrs． Obama’s only solo outing during the state visit and part two of an unusual relationship which she has struck up with Anderson College in Islington． Two years ago on her first visit to the UK she visited the school．
Yesterday she returned to meet the pupils but this time at Christchurch College where they were taking part in an open day run to improve Oxford’s still poor record on diversifying student intake．
Mrs． Obama was asked why she married her husband, what it was like being First Lady and when there would be a female President in the White House． Her message—which she repeated time and again—was work hard, have self-belief, and don’t be afraid to fail． It was very un-British, but rather effective． Afterwards there were hugs for everyone and a photo with her．
And watching the group of multicultural young Britons surround her among the splendor of the college building one thought stood out． Had Mrs． Obama been born in Britain, she would almost certainly not have made it to Oxford as she did to Harvard． But now—thanks in part to her—some of these children just might．According to the passage, Michelle Obama ____________．
| A．graduated from Anderson College |
| B．paid her first visit to the UK this time |
| C．was confident when she entered the college |
| D．came from a family without good background |
It is implied in the passage that these 40 young girls ____________．
| A．were all from the United States |
| B．were students of Oxford University |
| C．came from different cultural backgrounds |
| D．stayed with Mrs． Obama because of hard work |
Michelle Obama thinks success may come from the following EXCEPT ____________．
| A．working hard | B．believing in yourself |
| C．good opportunities | D．facing failure without fear |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
| A．The British pupils couldn’t understand her message． |
| B．Her message reached the British pupils successfully． |
| C．Repetition is not the British way to give a message． |
| D．All effective messages are not conveyed in British． |
Last year, around Labor Day, I read a “Happy Ad” in our local newspaper． There was a lady in a local nursing home, who was celebrating her 90th birthday and her family wanted everyone to know about it． It said that if you wanted to drop her a line, here was her address． So I did． I found a birthday card and dropped her a short note, wishing her a happy birthday．
A week or so later, someone knocked at my front door． I opened the door and found a middle-aged man standing on my doorstep． He introduced himself as the son of this woman to whom I had sent the card． He explained that he just wanted to drop by in person and thank me for sending such a nice card to his mom． Apparently, like many older folks, she did not receive much mail and was quite excited to receive mine． I just didn’t know what to say． I told him it was my pleasure and that I hoped his mom had enjoyed her birthday．
That year, I did not send out any Christmas cards, except to this lovely old lady in the nursing home． I just told her that I was thinking about her and hoped that she had a nice holiday． I sent her a Valentine and also a couple of notes in between． I just thought she might like to have someone write to her, to get some mail．
She passed away a couple of months ago． I never met this lady, but I did keep her and her family in my thoughts． I dropped them a line of sympathy． I hope that my few little notes were enough to brighten a couple of her days here on earth．The old lady’s address was given because ____________．
| A．her family wanted to make her well-known |
| B．the old lady wanted to receive a birthday card |
| C．the son of the old lady wanted to meet the author |
| D．her family wanted to give her a happy birthday |
Which of the following best describes the author?
| A．Brave． | B．Polite． | C．Caring． | D．Faithful． |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Kind Act | B．An Old Lady | C．A Happy Ad | D．A Considerate Son |
Language-learners who say they never or hardly ever use dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. So they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations (翻译) of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables (音节), they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.According to the passage, which of the following is right?
| A．Students who never use dictionary can speak well and write well. |
| B．Whatever new words you meet while reading, just look them up in the dictionary. |
| C．Small two-language dictionaries are bad for learning English. |
| D．An English word only has one translation. |
This passage mainly tells us .
| A．that students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries |
| B．what were the defects (缺点) of small two-language dictionaries |
| C．why students should use large college edition dictionaries |
| D．what dictionary students should choose and how to use it |
Which is not mentioned in this passage?
| A．How to make good use of a dictionary. |
| B．When to use a dictionary. |
| C．How to improve spoken English. |
| D．How to practice reading fast. |
At present time, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments (工具). In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll (滚动). Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.
Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.The first paragraph tells us that people began to skate on wheels from 1750 because _______.
| A．it is very easy |
| B．it is very exciting |
| C．Joseph Merlin’s instruments |
| D．it is very popular |
People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________. .
| A．he slept and dreamed a lot |
| B．he was full of different ideas and dreams |
| C．he invented the first roller skates |
| D．he always made people’s dreams come true |
___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
| A．Merlin’s work | B．Merlin’s violin |
| C．A huge mirror | D．An important party |
What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
| A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. |
| B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
| C．Everyone was surprised at him. |
| D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Joseph Merlin’s Story |
| B．How Roller Skating Was Invented |
| C．A Surprising Entrance to the Party |
| D．Violin and roller skating |