The slavery drama “12 Years a Slave” won the Academy Award for best picture on Sunday, making history as the first movie from a black director to win the film industry's highest honor in 86 years of the Oscars．Can anyone tell me your ideas about this movie? —— GreatMartin
“12 Years a Slave is a surprisingly underwhelming movie．It is more of a string of picture about several heartless and evil white men(and women)who are just mean without the motivation of running a plantation on their minds．There is very little character development and most of the film relies on what the audience already knows and feels about slavery．” 一一GeminiJef
‘‘Never have I been stunned into an emotional silence after watching a film in the theater．I've come out of films before thinking” My god，that was unbelievable”，like when I saw The Lord of the Rings for the first time，but this film just hits you on another level entirely．You sit there after it’s over，wondering if what you’d just experienced was real．The day after．you feel the same．”一一Pauljohnson
“This movie is just an average movie about slavery．Are you kidding me，segregation movies are a dime a dozen and this movie beat out Gravity for Golden Globes? Gravity has never been done before．12 Years a Slave I watched once and will never watch again．I watched Gravity 5 times and still love it．’’一一Dominionator
“This movie was realistic and engaging at every second．Even the dramatic pauses were worthwhile and definitely not a waste of time．The script inferred and hinted at events rather than just plain saying them，and that was genius．Outstanding photography，amazing special effects and the acting is top notch．There were a few people that walked out during some scenes．What a shame!” 一一ApolsThe main purpose of GreatMartin’s writing is __________ .
| A．to give a brief introduction of the movie |
| B．to share his own opinions with others |
| C．to invite answers to his question |
| D．to explain why he asks the question |
The underlined word “stunned’’ in the third paragraph probably means __________ .
| A．puzzled | B．shocked | C．disappointed | D．concerned |
Among the four speakers，who made positive comments on the movie?
| A．GeminiJef and Pauljohnson | B．Pauljohnson and Dominionator |
| C．GeminiJef and Dominionator | D．Pauljohnson and Apols |
Which of the following best states Pauljotmson’s ideas about l2 Years a Slave?
| A．It leaves little room for character development． |
| B．It reaches the height of The Lord of the Rings． |
| C．It doesn’t deserve such high praise． |
| D．It amazes the audience with its special effects． |
I was small for my age. I was shy and sometimes it was hard for me to make friends with the others. However, learning came fairly easy for me. I was the best in most of my classes, but PE class was my nightmare (恶梦) and made me feel that I was not as good as the others.
Miss Forsythe was our PE teacher. She was young and energetic. Everyone liked her. She said that we all had to come to her classes. No one could hide from Miss Forsythe!
One day she told me that she wanted me to play a game with another girl in a PE show. I was rather worried that I wouldn’t do a good job when she explained her idea, but she was excited. With her encouragement, I had no choice but to agree. It was a "boy meets girl" game. I played the boy and my classmate, Margaret Ann, played the girl. We were dressed in evening clothes and danced around the floor. According to Miss Forsythe, I had to pick up Margaret Ann when we finished the dance. Since I was not strong enough to pick the tallest girl up, it was she who picked me up. I suddenly felt ten feet tall!
It was a huge success and everybody applauded (鼓掌) for our excellent performance. What a wonderful ending! Afterwards, I smiled confidently (自信地).
Miss Forsythe’s understanding and willingness to create a place for me in her show (which certainly did not need me) gave me some much needed confidence. She was and always will be my favorite teacher.What do we know about Miss Forsythe?
| A．She was good at dancing. |
| B．She was a strict teacher. |
| C．She liked to play games with the students after class. |
| D．She taught students how to dance. |
How did the author feel about the game at first?
| A．She was excited. | B．She thought it would be fun. |
| C．She was disappointed. | D．She was nervous. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Our PE Teacher—Miss Forsythe | B．My School Life |
| C．A Forgettable Experience | D．A Game with My Classmate |
The price of milk may be going up. There was not enough rain in some parts of the country last year and the bad weather may mean that a gallon (加仑) of milk will cost 41 cents more after October 1st.
California already has high milk prices and the California court does not want the price to go any higher. High milk prices will be very hard for some people. Families with many children will have to spend more money to buy milk. The poor and older people without much money will also be hurt by higher prices.
The court said that more milk from other states should be sold in California as the price of milk from other states is not as high. Some states got enough rain so their costs did not go up. People will then be able to buy the cheaper milk, meaning that unless milk producers bring their milk prices down, their milk will not sell.
The drought (干旱) around the country has meant market forces are likely to push milk prices up by as much as 41-cent a gallon by October 1st. Experts said this decision by the Californian court could reduce (减少) the effect of the price rise here.
The 41-cent increase would add to California’s already high milk prices so California must allow more milk producers from outside the state to sell their products there. This would then lead to increased supplies (供应), which would, as a result, stop milk prices from increasing.Who will be hurt by high milk prices?
| A．Young people. | B．Milk producers from outside California. |
| C．Rich people. | D．Families with lots of children. |
What caused milk prices in California to increase?
| A．Short supplies from other states. | B．Being short of rain. |
| C．The California court. | D．Children’s need for milk. |
What will California do to keep milk prices down?
| A．Force milk producers to lower their price. |
| B．Encourage people to drink less milk. |
| C．Get men to produce more rain. |
| D．Increase the supply of milk in the state. |
The other day I heard a few local musicians talking, "I hate all the pianos in this town and I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They cannot even understand rhythm (韵律).""Nobody wants to pay musicians anything. I’m sick of all the people who want you to play without paying you.” One younger musician said, "There are a couple of clubs who want me to play for a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also planning to join in several summer festivals this year." I really liked what the younger musician said so I made friends with him.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative (消极的), they’re all rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who are always complaining(抱怨) or blaming (责备) others, it is possible that you will start doing the same as well. If you spend lots of time with people who don’t support your dreams, it is time to take a look at the people you call "friends".
There is an easy exercise you can try. Make a list of the people who you often stay with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard. The choice is always yours to make. Of course, this exercise is entirely different from making friends only for the good of oneself. We really should try to help and spend time with those who are working towards a goal or dream.The musicians’ conversation at the beginning is to show that ______.
| A．musicians’ living conditions are not good |
| B．people in that town have poor taste in music |
| C．different people have different attitudes |
| D．young people are more likely to succeed |
The underlined part "they’re rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 2 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead | B．they’ll have an influence on you |
| C．they’ll keep you from moving on | D．they’ll help you realize your dreams |
Why did the author want to make friends with the younger musician?
| A．He is more active than the others. |
| B．He can earn more than the others. |
| C．He has more things to do than the others. |
| D．His attitude is more positive than the others. |
By doing the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 3, you can ______.
| A．make the right kind of friends |
| B．improve your ability to make friends |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．make some new friends with the same interests as you |
We can get the following information from the passage EXCEPT ______.
| A．the younger musician is a positive person and would be a good friend |
| B．one will start complaining if one spends too much time with negative people |
| C．the exercise can help you keep close to really helpful friends |
| D．one should avoid making friends with people who have lots of difficulties |
Recently, a scientist did some experiments．He left a group of 4-year-olds in a room with a bell and a candy．If they rang the bell, he would come back and they could eat the candy．If, however, they didn't ring the bell and waited for him to come back on his own, they could then have two candies.
In videos of the experiment, he can see the children kicking, hiding their eyes--trying to exercise self-control so they can wait and get two candies．The results are different．Some broke down and rang the bell within a minute．Others lasted 15 minutes.
The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores．They got into better colleges and had better adult success．The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to have received worse teacher and parental evaluations （评价） 10 years later and were more likely to have drug problems at age 32.
The experiments are worth noting because people spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve education, how to become rich．But when the result is not good, they will come back to ask "how do we get people to get the sort of self-control that leads to success?" This is to enter the world of human nature.
So these experiments along with everyday experience, tell us that self-control is most important．Young people who can sit through sometimes boring classes to get a degree can work hard in order to learn a language well．They can avoid drugs and alcohol．For people without self-control skills, however, school is a series of failed ordeals（煎熬）．No wonder they drop out and their later life is a group of foolish ideas, such as drug use, stealing and so on.The scientist did some experiments to .
| A．test children's self control and later success |
| B．test children's intelligence of ringing the bell |
| C．find good ways of training children to learn |
| D．prove that children's education is important |
We can learn from the experiment that
| A．all children tried to ring the bell for more candies |
| B．some children didn't get any candy in the end |
| C．the children have different self- control |
| D．the last one to ring the bell is most successful |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Ways of self-control training |
| B．Experiments on children's ringing the bell |
| C．Higher score, better achievements |
| D．Self-control is the key to success |
Do other countries’ students also have so much homework? What do they usually do in their free time? You may feel curious about them.
On April 8, a report came out on the lives of high school students in China, Japan, South Korea and the US. It surveyed around 6,200 students from the four countries last year. You will find the answers to many of your questions in this report.
Who studies hardest?
Chinese students spend the most time studying. Nearly half of Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework every day. That’s much more than students of the US (26.4%), Japan (8.2%) and South Korea (5.2%).
Who sleeps most often in class?
Japanese students fall asleep in class most often. About 45% of them said they sometimes doze offin class. In South Korea, it’s 32%; in the US, 21%; and 5% in China.
South Korean students don’t like taking notes. About 70% said they write down what the teacher says in class, many fewer than in Japan (93%), China (90%) and the US (89%).
Who is the most distracted (分心的)?
American students are the most active in class, but also the most distracted: 64.2% said they chat with friends in class; 46.9% said they eat snacks in class; and 38.9% said they send e-mails or read unrelated books in class.
What do they do after school?
In their spare time, most Chinese students study or surf the Internet. Most American students hang out with their friends. Most Japanese students do physical exercise. Most Korean students watch TV.The report is about ___________.
| A．the countries | B．the subjects | C．the students’ lives | D．the high schools |
What country isn’t mentioned in the report?
| A．The US | B．South Korea | C．Japan | D．India |
__________ of the Chinese students spend more than two hours on their homework.
| A．26.4% | B．8.2% | C．5.2% | D．48.6% |
The phrase doze off means ___________.
| A．be half asleep | B．get up | C．eat snacks | D．send emails |