Isuddenlyheardanelephantcrying-优题课

Few of us haven’t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams．Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone’s heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity （默默无闻）．
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too．Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school．
Mary is shy but loves to dance．Compared with other girls, she is invisible．However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears．
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable．Mary and Joey’s paths cross at a ball．They meet and fall in love with each other．But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams．Of course, there is a wicked stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies．Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn’t get into the top dance school．Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her．
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale．Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful．There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies．
“The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point,” writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson．“Yet the focus is firmly on following your dream．”
The first paragraph is mainly to _________．

A．inform us of the importance to marry a prince

B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years

C．build interest and lead us to Mary’s secret dream

D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is

In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who _________．

A．is badly treated by the stepmother

B．is brave in expressing her love

C．has a dream of meeting a prince

D．is embarrassed by the pop singer

What can we infer from the passage?

A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary’s class．

B．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary．

C．Not many people have a dream to be realized．

D．Mary’s mother influences her a lot in singing．

What does movie critic Amber Wilkinson mean by his words about Another Cinderella Story?

A．The movie is exactly another copy of the Cinderella fairytale．

B．The movie is as good as the story Cinderella．

C．The movie and Cinderella both focus on following your dream．

D．The movie is based on the story Cinderella while a little different from it．

The passage is mainly about _________．

A．an introduction to Mary Santiago

B．a review about a film

C．an essay about dreams

D．an advertisement of Cinderella

To Whom It May Concern:
Your address was forwarded to us by How to Magazine．All of us here think The International Institute of Not Doing Much is the best organization in the world．You know how to avoid unnecessary activities!
As a matter of fact, we closely followed the advice in your article．First, we replaced all our telephones with carrier pigeons．Simply removing the jingle of telephones and replacing them with the pleasant sounds of birds has had a remarkable effect on everyone．Besides, birds are cheaper than telephone service．After all, we are a business．We have to think of the bottom line．As a side benefit, the birds also fertilize the lawn outside the new employees’ sauna（桑拿房）．
Next, we sold the computers off to Stab, Grab, Grit, and Nasty, a firm of lawyers nearby．Our electricity bill went way down．Big savings! The boss is impressed．We have completely embraced paper technology．Now that we all use pencils, doodling is on the increase, and the quality of pencil woman ship is impressive, as you can tell from my handwriting in this letter．By the way, if you can, please send this letter back to us．We can erase and reuse it．Just tie it to Maggie’s leg and she’ll know where to take it．
Now it’s very calm and quiet here．You can notice the difference．No more loud chatter on the telephones! All we hear is the scratching of pencil on paper, the sound of pigeons, and the delivery of inter-office correspondence by paper airplane．
Wonderful! I’ve always wanted to work for an insurance company ever since I was a little girl．Now it’s perfect．
Sincerely yours,
Eleanor Lightly
Spokeswoman and Company Hair Stylist
ABC Activity Insurance: insure against overdoing it
Which of the following best describes the life the author is leading?

A．A simple, slow-paced life．

B．A life of hard work and security．

C．A religious, peasant-like life．

D．A life away from paper and pencils．

Where is Eleanor’s letter sent to?

A．How To Magazine．

B．ABC Activity Insurance Company．

C．Stab, Grab, Grit, and Nasty Law Firm．

D．The International Institute of Not Doing Much．

Which of the following is practiced in the author’s company?

A．Replacing the manual work system with modern technology．

B．Turning off lights in the daytime to save electricity．

C．Recycling paper resources whenever possible．

D．Buying birds and pets as company for the staff．

What is true about Maggie?

A．She works as a manager in the author’s company．

B．She sometimes helps fertilize the lawn outside the sauna．

C．She often helps with inter-office correspondence using e-mail．

D．Her handwriting has improved a lot after entering the company．

What is the purpose for the person to write this letter?

A．to show his dissatisfaction with the new environment．

B．to complain about the bad working condition．

C．to persuade people to live a simple life．

D．to express his gratitude for the good advice．

Can eating a chocolate bar every day really prevent age-related memory loss? No. But a new research shows that large amounts of flavones, substances found in cocoa, tea and some kinds of vegetables, may improve age-related memory failure.
Dr. Scott Small is a professor of neurology at Columbia University in new York City He is the lead writer of a research paper describing the effects of cocoa flavones on brain activity His study involved 37 volunteers aged between 50 and 69. Researchers gave them a high-level flavones drink made from cocoa beans or a low-level flavones drink. For a period of three months, some subjects got 900 milligrams of flavones a day. The others got 10 milligrams of flavones each day. Brain imaging and memory tests were given to each study subject before and after the study Dr. Small says that the subjects who had the high-level flavones drink showed much improvement on memorytests.
The researchers warn that more work is needed to be done because this study was performed only on a small group. Dr. Joann Manson is the lead researcher of a four .year study involving 18,000 adults. This study will use flavones capsules(胶囊) The study subjects will be divided into two groups and will take two pills per day. The capsules used will all Look the same. But one group's capsules will contain flavones, while the other group will take capsules made of an inactive substance, or placebo
Dr. Manson says it's not necessary for people to start eating more chocolate, because 3 person would have to eat a huge amount of chocolate to get the same level of flavones given to the Lest subjects. He adds many manufacturers have planned to remove the flavones from their chocolate products. Similarity, Dr. says a cocoa-based flavones extract（提取）may be developed in the future But he says that more studies are needed to see how much flavones is good for our health
What was done to the subjects alter Dr. Small's study?

A．They were asked to take a high-level flavones drink

B． They were given capsules containing flavones

C． They were given brain imaging and memory tests

D． They were asked to take two pills of flavones capsules per day

What's the similarity of the 2 experiments?

A．Both use high-level flavones capsules

B．The number of the subjects is the same

C．Drinks and placebos are used in both experiments

D．The subjects are divided into two groups in both experiments

Why will Dr. Manson carry out the four-year study?

A．To prove the first experiment is wrong

B．To carry out the experiment further

C．To test how much flavones can improve our memory.

D．To show eating chocolate is better to improve memory.

What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．It's not necessary for us to eat chocolate

B．The more we eat flavones, the better our health will be

C．In the future we can get flavones without eating chocolate

D． It's easy for people to get the same level of flavones given to the test subjects

People in the western state of California who are in the United States illegally can now request a driver's license. The law went into effect on January l. California is not the first American state with such a law, but it has the largest number of illegal immigrants. More than a million people began to request licenses shortly after the new state law went into effect. Among them was Christian Alvarado. Mr. Alvarado entered the United States from El Salvador eight years ago without permission from the U.S. government. Some call such people "illegal immigrants." Others call them "undocumented immigrants "
Mr. Alvarado thinks is so exciting, for be has been waiting for the license for a long time. But some are worried that their personal information will be used to find them and deport them. Armando Botello is a spokesman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV. He says people should not be afraid, for such information will not be shared.
The new licenses are the same as licenses given to citizens except that they have the words "Federal Limits Apply". That means the license cannot be used to travel on an airplane or enter a federal building. Ana Garcia, working at the Central American Resource Center, says some illegal immigrants fear those words will be used to abuse them. Civil rights groups say the police and others
Dan Schnur , a political scientist at the University of Southern California, said that the main argument against the new law is that it rewards illegal behavior. But Professor Schnur argued that young, white Americans generally support immigration reform, including giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants
"It's simply because they grew up a much more multicultural society than their parents or their grandparents did:" Professor Schnur says he believes the changes in beliefs about illegal immigrants that have taken place in California will spread throughout the United States.
Why did the new law make Mr. Alvarado excited?

A．Because he can request a driver's license.

B．Because he became a legal immigrant of California.

C．Because he got his driving license as an illegal immigrant.

D．Because a law went into effect for the new immigrants.

What is the difference of the new licenses compared to those given to citizens'?

A．The words “Federal Limits Apply” will abuse illegal immigrants

B．They can't be used to travel on an airplane or enter a federal building.

C．They can be used to act against the police and other people.

D．With the words "Federal Limits Apply", immigrants can enjoy special rights.

What's the public's attitude towards the new law released on January l in California?

A．supportive	B．negative
C．neutral	D．Controversial

The 115m Christmas Bird Count is officially underway. The count is an annual investigation of local and migratory(迁徙的)birds and it's organized by the National Audubon Society. From December 14 to January 5, volunteers will gather in more than 2,000 locations in North, Central and South America to count the birds in their area.
Each count takes place in a circle about 24 kilometers wide. The volunteers follow specific routes within the circle and record the number of individual birds and the different species they see there in a single day. The results are sent to the National Audubon Society and later published on Audubon's Christmas Bird Count website. The data collected during the bird count is a key source Of information for ornithologists, scientists who study birds.
This information is used to develop conservation programs to protect bird habitats and the environment /n general. Data from the bird count was also used to determine that three species-the Western screech owl, the rusty blackbird and the Newfoundland red crossbill - should be added to Canada's list of species at risk.
The annual bird count was created to protest another Christmas tradition at the very beginning .in the United States in the 19th century, people would often hold "side hunts" on Christmas Day.
Teams of hunters would compete to see who could kill the most birds or other animals that day. In December 1900, Frank Chapman, an American ornithologist, suggested that instead of hunting birds, people should count them.
Twenty-seven people in 25 locations joined in the first Christmas bird count Last year, more than 70,000 volunteers took part. This year, counts are scheduled to take place in 17 countries, ranging from the Arctic to the Antarctic, with most located in Canada and the United States .instead of taking place only on Christmas day, counts are now held on different days for different areas.
How long will the 115th Christmas Bird Count last?

A．About 3 weeks.	B．A single day.
C．About a month.	D．About 2 weeks.

What can we know about the Christmas Bird Count from the passage?

A．It was organized monthly by the National Audubon Society.

B．It was launched by Frank Chapman, a Canadian ornithologist.

C．Its results can be seen on Audubon's Christmas Bird Count website.

D．Only 25 people in 27 locations took part in the first Christmas Bird Count.

Why was the Christmas Bird Count established at first?
A. To help the scientists who study birds carry out their study.
B To protest the Christmas tradition "side hunts" on Christmas Day.
C. To determine whether the rusty blackbirds are endangered animals.
D To protect bird habitats and the environment from being destroyed
What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 5?

A．The brief introduction to the Christmas Bird Count

B．The origin of the Christmas Bird Count.

C．The purpose of the Christmas Bird Count.

D．The rapid development of the Christmas Bird Count.

A．By putting it on a safe spot.	B．By pressing it against her body.
C．By taking it away with her.	D．By carrying it on her back.

A．It was a great comfort.	B．It was a sign of danger.
C．It was a call for help.	D．It was a musical note.

A．A Mother's Love	B．A Brave Act
C．A Deadly River	D．A Matter of Life and Death