The art of reading fiction is largely a matter of inferring meanings. To infer means to understand facts which are not directly stated---only suggested. Inference is one of the commonest ways of knowing things: a child holds his knee and cries; this action implies his feeling; an observer infers that the child is hurt. To infer accurately in everyday life requires caution in observing; to infer skillfully in fiction requires caution in reading; both require disciplined imagination.
The short-story reader can expect to find certain basic elements in any story. For example, all stories involve a person or persons, in a particular setting, faced with a demand for a response. The response called for may be a physical action, such as defeating an adversary(对手) or escaping from a danger; or it may be a mental action, such as adjusting to others or within oneself. In either case, the short story is a description in two ways: first, it shows the motives for a given human action; second, it makes a point about the general human situation. Such descriptions, however, rather than being stated directly, usually are implied by the elements of the story.
When the reader of a story understands all the facts and their interrelationships, he is ready to infer the significance of the story as a whole---its comment on the human situation. This comment, or theme, is the seed from which the story grew. It is also the idea by which all the separate elements of the story are governed, while these in turn further shape and modify the theme. In addition to action, character, and setting, these elements include structure, mood, tone, and point of view.
Fiction reading requires an awareness of all the ways in which a story communicates. It also requires attention to detail. What the author provides is a network of points which serve as clues to his meaning. He invites the reader to develop the meaning by inference, actually to create much of the story himself and so make it part of his own experience.According to the author, "infer" means ________ .
| A．knowingfactsbeyondthestatement |
| B．lookingformoreevidencesforthestatement |
| C．findingoutadifferentmeaningfromthestatement |
| D．addingsomefactstothestatement |
What is inferring in fiction based on?
| A．Readers’guessing. |
| B．Thebasicelementsofthestory. |
| C．Thesettingofthestory. |
| D．Theinterrelationshipsbetweenpeopleinthestory. |
What is the implied meaning of the last sentence?
| A．Inferringcanreallyhelpthereaderdevelopimaginationandenrichhimself. |
| B．Inferringcanhelpthereaderwriteastoryofhisown. |
| C．Thereadershouldlookforanexperiencedescribedinthestoryhereads. |
| D．Theexperiencedescribedinthestorywillleaveagreatimpactonitsreader. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Inferringisanartofwriting. |
| B．Inferringisaneedinfictionwriting. |
| C．Inferringisthebasicskillinreadingfiction. |
| D．Inferringiscommoninreading. |
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity (繁荣). Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which only values the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among those who are against competition are young people who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by them is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot.
Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to disappear can we discover a new meaning in competition.What is the best title of this passage?
| A．Competition! Why friends turn into enemies. |
| B．Competition! What self-respect depends on. |
| C．New meaning found in competition. |
| D．Two mistaken beliefs about competition. |
Why do some young people suffering from competitive pressures seek failure?
| A．Because they are aware that they will not succeed in competition. |
| B．Because they don’t think it worthwhile to compete with others. |
| C．Because they are afraid that they would not be valued if they lost. |
| D．Because they are fed up with the great efforts needed to compete with others. |
Which of the following will the author probably agree with?
| A．One should treat competition as a life-and-death affair. |
| B．One should make every endeavor to avoid competition. |
| C．One should get rid of the fear of failure in competition. |
| D．One should be given rewards after competing with others. |
The true competitors and those with a desire to fail both believe _______.
| A．one’s self-worth comes from how well he performs in comparison with others |
| B．one’s dream can be achieved if he has mastered good communication skills |
| C．one’s failure happens when he is suffering from emotional problems |
| D．one’s success is based on how hard he has tried |
TODAY, Friday, November 12
JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at The Derby Arms. Upper Richmond Road West, Sheen.
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort lake High St., from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m. Tel: 682—1158.
SATURDAY, November 13
JAZZ Lysis at The Bull’s Head, Barnes. Admission ￡60.
MUSICAL HALL at The Star and Garter, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company. Good food and entertainment fair price. Tel: 789—6749.
FAMILY night out? Join the sing-along at The Black Horse. Sheen Road, Richmond.
JAZZ The John Bennett Big Band at The Bull’s Head, Barnes. Admission ￡80.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion (手风琴). Tel: 789—4536.
SUNDAY, November 14
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort Lake High Street, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
FOLK MUSIC at The Derby Arms. The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio. Non-members ￡70. Tel: 688—4626.
HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at The Bull. Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion. If you want to enjoy the electric accordion on Saturday, you should ring _______ to find out at what time it starts.
| A．789—6749. | B．789—4536. |
| C．682—1158. | D．688—4626. |
You want to spend the Saturday by joining the entertainment with your family. Where should you go?
| A．Jazz at The Bull’s Head. |
| B．Disco at The Lord Napier. |
| C．The sing-along at The Black Horse. |
| D．The electric accordion at The Derby Arms. |
Where and when can you hear the Norman Chop Trio?
| A．At the Bull on Saturday. |
| B．At the Derby Arms on Sunday. |
| C．At the Bull’s Head on Sunday. |
| D．At the Black Horse on Saturday. |
A few years ago, pop poets such as Murray Lachlan Young began to set poetry to rock music with some surprising results. People thought that poetry was the new rock ‘n’ roll. However, despite the brief popularity of a few pop poets, poetry and pop music didn’t seem to mix. But are they really so different?
If you look back at the origins of poetry, there is a strong connection between poems and popular music. In Greek mythology, for example, the muse (女神) Erato is pictured with a lyre (里拉琴) in her hand, and looks just like the ancestor of the modern rock star with his electric guitar. In addition, the poets Shelley and Byron were as famous in the nineteenth century as the pop stars of today.
But despite their common origins, there are many differences between poetry and pop music. Pop songs are always written for a public performance, whereas poetry often isn’t. And the lyrics in pop songs sometimes have less rhythm than those in poetry. This is because the music provides the rhythm rather than the words. Pop lyrics are also simpler and often keep on saying the same thing. This repetition works well in a performance and means that pop songs are easier for people to sing and learn by heart.
Both songs and poems tell a story or talk about feelings. Songs in particular deal with the different stages in a relationship, such as falling in love or breaking up. The words and ideas in songs are usually easier to understand than those in “serious” poetry. However, talented performers like Paul McCartney, or newer stars like Robbe Williams, often give simple songs more expression when they perform them. And some of the best lines from pop lyrics are as beautiful as poetry.
So although pop music and poetry have many differences, they do have one important thing in common: the power to make us think about how we feel.What did Murray Lachlan Young do a few years ago?
| A．He had poems and rock music combined. |
| B．He surprised people with his beautiful style of writing. |
| C．He wrote beautiful music for some famous poems. |
| D．He invented a new kind of poem for his fans. |
According to the article, the difference between poetry and pop songs is that _______.
| A．there is more rhythm in pop songs than poetry |
| B．pop songs are more difficult to understand than poetry |
| C．some words in pop songs are repeated over and over again |
| D．pop songs are not always performed before audience |
According to Paragraph 4, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Songs and poems are equally beautiful. |
| B．The main theme of songs is about relationship. |
| C．Songs tell stories but poems tell about feelings. |
| D．Songs and poems express a similar message. |
What does the writer say about talented performers today?
| A．They look at poetry to find ideas for their songs. |
| B．They think their songs are more serious than poetry. |
| C．They give songs more meaning when they sing them. |
| D．They consider themselves to be more popular than poets. |
WHAT can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough. A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school, the more money you’ll earn later.
The idea that popularity could have a serious influence on one’s earning potential shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work.
“If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds of different situations,” said Xu Yanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with the recent finding. “Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you are occasionally in low spirits,” said Xu. She believed that all this helps you “earn a higher salary.”
Maybe that’s why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendalholism (交友狂症). A woman even complained that the networking website Facebook’s 5,000-friend limit was too low for her large reserve of social contacts.
But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency?
“Call me uncool, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom I enjoy actually seeing. It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition of friend”, said Meghan Daum, who works with The Los Angeles Times in the US.
Daum dislikes the idea that quantity trumps quality in the age of Friendaholism. She thought the idea of friendship, at least among the growing population of Internet social networkers, was to get as many of not-really-friends as possible. For example, a friend might be someone you might know personally but who could just as easily be the friend of a friend of some other Facebook friend you don’t actually know. Although she agreed that social ties grease (润滑) the wheels of life, she also warned. “Too bad one thing money can’t buy is a real friend.”What will be needed if you are to achieve success according to the researchers?
| A．Social skills, friends, good mood and fortune. |
| B．Social skills, networking, talent and hard work. |
| C．Social skills, networking, potential and fortune. |
| D．Social skills, talent, hard work and the facebook. |
What can friends do in the eyes of Xu Yanchun?
| A．They can help you with your schoolwork. |
| B．They teach you how to make more money. |
| C．They help you get rid of sadness and cheer up. |
| D．They always get on well with you. |
We learn that Meghan Daum’s attitude towards friends is somewhat _______.
| A．up-to-date | B．optimistic |
| C．confused | D．traditional |
What does the word “trumps” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．is better than | B．is equal to |
| C．is worse than | D．is similar to |
高三（14）班同学开展了一场“司机醉驾是否应该处罚乘客”的讨论。请你根据下表提供的信息, 给报社写一封信, 介绍讨论的情况, 并发表你的看法。
［写作内容］
| 少数同学赞成处罚乘客 |
大多数同学反对处罚乘客 |
| 1. 减少交通事故,促进交通安全 2. 不乘坐醉酒司机的车,不仅是对自己负责, 也是对司机和路人负责 |
1.乘客难以判断司机是否醉酒 2. 即使乘客知道司机饮酒, 如果司机不听从乘客的劝诫, 处罚乘客是不公平的 |
| 你的看法：…… |
［写作要求］只能使用5个句子表达全部内容；开头已为你写好，不计入句子总数。
［评分标准］句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章结构连贯。
Dear Editor，
I’m writing to tell you about the discussion we’ve had about whether passengers who ride in a car driven by a drunken driver should be punished.
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Yours sincerely，
Li yan