Too Much Happiness was written by Alice Munro，winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature，one of our greatest contemporary writers of fiction and the owner of the Man Booker Price for Fiction．Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker，The Atlantic Monthly，and other publications，and her collections have been translated into thirteen languages．
The main character is Sophia Kovalevsky，a great Russian mathematician，writer and advocator拥护者）of women’s rights in the late nineteenth century. After visiting her lover Maxsim Kovalevsky in Riviera，she travels in Europe，ending up in Sweden，where she teaches at the only university in Europe willing to employ a female mathematician．The book writes about her journey from Riviera to Sweden．
The story tells the typical struggle of an intellectual（知识分子）woman to achieve success and happiness．However，when she is going to die，Sophia says“too much happiness”．I think it’s irony（讽*11的）．As reading the story，she has too many mental problems·First，as a woman mathematician，she was born in a wrong time ．She was married to Vladimir Kovalevsky without love，called“a white marriage”．She explained that“no a young Russian woman who was unmarried could leave the country．”She satisfied her marriage to seek her career．
Furthermore，when she sees a man look like Maxsim in the station，she says to herself，“of course，it would not be Maxsim，what could he be doing in Paris？”She doesn’t want to face the fact because she doesn’t want to lose her hope．She believes they will marry in spring．And in her letter to Julia she says：“it is to be happiness after all，happiness after all．Happiness．”She is cheating herself. In fact，the man does not want to marry her，and the happiness she expected doesn’t take place at all．
Finally, I conclude that the end must be a tragedy（悲剧）．From the very first pages the atmosphere is gloomy黯淡的）and threatening.“One of us will die this year.”“Because we have gone walking in a graveyard（墓地）on the first day of the New Year.”Some pages further，“a black cat across their path”all reflect it will be a bad ending．Not because she had some problems with her lung，but because her life does not bring her happiness，and because of these disharmony things that happen in her life．We can infer from the passage that＿＿·
| A．Sophia was born in a wrong time and was mentally ill |
| B．women were not fairly treated in Europe in Sophia’s time |
| C．Sophia loved travelling around Europe to meet `different people |
| D．unmarried women were forbidden to learn mathematics at that time |
The underlined phrase“the fact”in Paragraph 4 most probably refers to the fact that
| A．her husband refuses to divorce | B．she can’t teach in university |
| C．she falls in love with Maxsim | D．Maxsim doesn’t want to marry her |
Why does the author name this book Too Much Happiness？
| A．It is used to suggest that the story must be a comedy． |
| B．It’s a phrase repeatedly used by Sophia herself to her friend． |
| C．It’s used in an ironic way to show that Sophia isn’t happy at all． |
| D．It’s to show Sophia is very happy to achieve success in her career． |
What can we conclude from Sophia’s experience？
| A．It’s hard for an educated woman to achieve success in Europe at that time． |
| B．Russian women were not allowed to go abroad without a white marriage． |
| C．Married women could travel freely across Europe in the late nineteenth century． |
| D．Seeing a black cat across the path would bring people to death in the end． |
In a newspaper，this passage is most probably in the section of____．
| A．Entertainment | B．Travel | C．Career | D．Culture |
In many cultures white is often associated with something positive．A white-collar job, for instance, is the kind of job many people look for, working with your brain and not your hands．
White has a clean and pure image．That is why doctors, dentists, and nurses usually wear white uniforms．Babies are dressed in white at baptisms（洗礼）and brides wear white wedding gowns at weddings．White in these cases is the symbol of innocence or purity．
Sometimes white is used in expressions that are not good．“Whitewash” is one such expression．At first, “whitewash” meant to paint over something with white paint to make it look better．However, it means something different today: to hide or to cover up mistakes or failures．
A “white elephant” is another example of white used in a negative way．In ancient Thailand, a white elephant was regarded as a sacred animal, but it was very expensive to keep．The kings of those days presented a white elephant to the people they wanted to ruin．Once they received this holy, royal animal as a gift, they were not allowed to sell or kill it．Today, a “white elephant” means something that is big, useless, and unwanted．In America, when people want to get rid of their furniture or clothes, they often have a “white elephant sale”．
The text is mainly about________．
| A．the meanings of white in English culture | B．the history of some English idioms |
| C．some interesting customs in English culture | D．some useful English words and expressions |
Which expression has an historical background ?
| A．White-wash． | B．White-collar． |
| C．White elephant． | D．White elephant sale． |
In which statement does “white” have a negative meaning?
| A．A boy is dressed in white at baptisms． | B．A bride wears a white wedding gown． |
| C．A man whitewashes his crime． | D．A girl finds a white collar job． |
The author develops the text mainly by ______．
| A．analyzing its cause and effect | B．providing typical examples |
| C．comparing different ideas | D．following the time order |
For a writer, there is hardly any greater honor than winning the Nobel Prize for literature.
And for a woman writer, claiming the prize is even harder, for only eight women once won it. Austria’s Elfriede Jelinek is the ninth and the first since 1996.
The Stockholm-based Swedish Academy announced last Thursday that Jelinek won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature. She is recognized for her socially critical(批判的) novels and plays.
Jelinek, 57, made her literary debut (初次露面) in 1967. She has written plays, novels and poetry. She is best known for her autobiographical 1983 novel “The Piano Teacher”, made into a movie in 2001.
The basic theme of her work is the inability of women to live as people beyond the roles and personalities traditionally expected of them. Her characters struggle to lead lives not normally acceptable in society. “The nature of Jelinek’s texts is often hard to define. They shift between prose(散文) and poetry and songs, they contain theatrical scenes and film script,” said the academy.
The Nobel Prize was founded by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Nobel died in 1896 and left his fortune of about US $920 million to a fund to honor people who have helped other human beings. This year each prize is worth US $13 million. The underlined word “them” in the last second paragraph refers to _______.
| A．roles | B．people | C．texts | D．women |
Elfrede Jelinek won the Nobel Prize just because _______.
| A．she was an Austrian woman writer |
| B．she wrote socially critical novels and plays |
| C．her novel “The Piano Teacher” was made into a movie |
| D．the nature of her texts is hard to define. |
Which of the following about the Nobel Prize is TRUE?
| A．It is harder for a woman writer to win than a man writer. |
| B．The total prize every year was $920 million. |
| C．Women writers were not awarded until 1996. |
| D．Only eight women writers won the prize since 1996. |
This passage is most likely taken from _______.
| A．a travel magazine | B．a history book | C．a newspaper | D．an advertisement |
A few days ago my wife sent me out to buy something. When I came home, I handed(交给) her a paper bag and said, “Here are the apples you wanted.” She looked in the bag, and then she looked at me. “I told you,” she said slowly, “to buy some eggs.”
I felt worried about my absent-mindedness, so I went to see a doctor. He was a very kind man. “I have seen many people like you. It’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “If you know you are absent-minded, you are all right. But if you do not know you’re absent-minded, you may be really in trouble.”
“Many famous people were absent-minded,” the doctor told me. “Thomas Edison(爱迪生)was standing in line(排队) one day to pay his taxes(税). When he arrived at the window, he found that he had forgotten his own name. He had to ask the man who was behind him to tell him who he was.”
I felt much better and got up to leave. “Thank you, doctor,” I said. “How much do I have to pay you?”
“Ten dollars for the check-up(检查),” the doctor said.
“But doctor, I did not have a check-up!”
For a moment the doctor looked puzzled. Then he said, “Oh, yes, it was the patient before you who had a check-up. How absent-minded I am!”It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that when the author’s wife heard what her husband told her, she was ______.
| A．excited | B．surprised | C．sad | D．proud |
The doctor took Edison’s story for example ______.
| A．to show absent-mindedness is common among people |
| B．because he liked telling stories |
| C．to make the author laugh |
| D．to make fun of Edison |
The underlined word “absent-mindedness” in the second paragraph probably means ______.
| A．a feeling of anger |
| B．a feeling of sadness |
| C．an emotion (情绪) of excitement |
| D．a trouble in which people often forget this or that |
According to the passage, who was (were) absent-minded?
| A．Only the author. | B．The author’s wife. |
| C．The author and the doctor. | D．The doctor alone. |
The world is filled with many interesting sounds. Some are very pleasant to hear; others are unpleasant to our ears. In a day, you probably hear hundre
ds of different sounds.
All sounds are different. Some may be soft; others may be loud. Some sounds are high; others are low.
Some sounds are useful. Without sound we c
annot talk or listen to one another. The ringing alarm clock (闹钟)makes people wake up. The hooting of a horn (喇叭声) on the road warns careless people of danger.
We make sounds by making things move to and fro(来回地). This to-and-fro movement is called vibration (振动). It means moving up and down or forwards(向前地) and backwards(向后的) very fast. This makes sound waves(波).
We can make sounds in many ways, for example, by shouting, clapping our hands and striking the table. We can make sounds only by making things vibrate. We can talk because we can make our vocal cords (声带) vibrate. Our vocal cords are in a sound box or voice box. Two vocal cords vibrate when our lungs(肺) force the air through them. We can make sounds ______.
| A．by making things still |
| B．by making things vibrate |
| C．by making things jump up and down |
| D．by changing the positions of things |
Some sounds are useful because ______.
| A．they can wake people up |
| B．they can warn people to be careful when they are crossing the road |
| C．they make it possible for people to talk or listen to each other |
| D．all of the above |
When the air is through our vocal cords, it can make them ______.
| A．vibrate | B．breathe the air |
| C．talk to each other | D．move forward and backward |
Sounds are different because ______.
| A．different sounds have different vibrations |
| B．different sounds have different sound waves |
| C．different sounds have different vocal cords |
| D．both A and B |
Surtsey was born in 1963.Scientists saw the birth of this island. It began at 7.30 a.m. on 14th November. A fishing boat was near Iceland. The boat moved under the captain's（船长）feet. He noti
ced a strange smell. He saw some black smoke. A volcano（火山）was breaking out. Red-hot rocks, fire and smoke were rushing up from the bottom（底部）of the sea. The island grew quickly. It was 10 meters high the next day and 60 meters high on 18th November.
Scientists flew there to watch. It was exciting. Smoke and fire were still rushing up. Pieces of red-hot rock were flying into the air and falling into the sea. The sea was boiling and there was a strange light in the sky. Surtsey grew and grew. Then it stopped in June 1967.It was 175 meters high and 2 kilometers long. And life was already coming to Surtsey. Plants grew. Birds came. Some scientists built a house. They want to learn about this young island. A new island is like a new world.Surtsey is ______.
| A．an island not far from Iceland | B．a new volcano |
| C．a fishing boat | D．a place in Iceland |
When did scientist fly there to watch?
| A．Before the volcano broke out. | B．As soon as the volcano broke out. |
| C．About four days after the volcano broke out. | |
| D．After the volcano stopped rushing up. |
Put the following sentences in correct order.
a. The captain found the boat was moving. b. A new island appeared in the sea.
c. Fire, smoke and rocks were seen rushing up. d. A fishing boat was near Iceland.
e. The island grew quickly.
| A．d-a-c-b-e | B．a-b-c-d-e | C．a-b-e-c-d | D．b-e-d-a-c |
When was Surtsey born?
| A．1964 | B．1963 | C．1962 | D．1965 |