Mini Book Excerpts (节选)
Biography（自传）
When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land，the middleaged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it ... The towns people never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor.
J. D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski (Random House，$27)
Mystery (疑案小说)
“You're a smart boy. Benny's death was no accident, and you're the only one who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it? ”The boy was staring stubbornly at his lap again.
A thought suddenly occurred to Annika，“Did you ...You recognized the man in the car, didn't you？”
The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers，“Maybe，”he said quietly.
Red Wolf by Liza Marklund (Atria Books, $25.99)
Short Stories
She wants to say to him what she has learned，none of it in class: Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don't want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't. Some mothers love so their daughters won't.
You Are Free by Danzy Senna (Riverhead Books，$15)
Humor
Do your kids like to have fun? Come to Fun Times! Do you like to watch your kids having fun? Bring them to Fun Times! Fun Times's “amusement cycling” is the most fun you can have, legally, in the United States right now. Why spend thousands of dollars flying to Disney World when you can spend less than half of that within a day's drive of most cities?
Happy And Other Bad Thoughts by Larry Doyle (Ecco，$14.99)If the readers want to know about the life of Salinger, they should buy the book published by ________.
| A．Ecco | B．Random House |
| C．Riverhead Books | D．Atria Books |
The book Happy And Other Bad Thoughts is intended for ________.
| A．young children | B．Disney World workers |
| C．middle school teachers | D．parents with young children |
Which book describes women with characters of their own?
A．You Are Free B．J. D. Salinger: A Life
C．Happy And Other Bad Thoughts D．Red Wolf
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was one of the most popular of modern artists. The Pompidou Centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings and more. Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces, most importantly The Persistence of Memory. There is also L’Enigme sans Fin from 1938, works on paper, objects, and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist’s showman qualities.
The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning, the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.
The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities (无限). “From the infinity small to the infinity large, contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus: amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,” explains the Pompidou Centre.
The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration (合作)with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.Which of the following best describe Dali according to Paragraph 1?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Productive |
| C．Generous. | D．Traditional. |
What is Dali’s The Persistence of Memory considered to be?
| A．One of his masterworks. |
| B．A successful screen adaptation. |
| C．An artistic creation for the stage. |
| D．One of the beat TV programmes. |
How are the exhibits arranged at the World of Dali?
| A．By popularity. |
| B．By importance. |
| C．By size and shape. |
| D．By time and subject. |
What does the word “contributions” in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．Artworks. | B．Projects. |
| C．Donations. | D．Documents. |
The freezing Northeast hasn’t been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags were packed before you could say “sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C(维生素C), thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part- particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers’ market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.
The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m, rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries, the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.
Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise, I’ve refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they’re unfailingly dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown’s Grove Farm’s stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn’t be experiencing again for months.
Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown’s Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where- luckily for me- I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I’d be ordering every tomato on it.What did the author think of her winter life in New York?
| A．Exciting. | B．Boring. |
| C．Relaxing. | D．Annoying. |
What made the author’s getting up late early worthwhile?
| A．Having a swim. |
| B．Breathing in fresh air. |
| C．Walking in the morning sun. |
| D．Visiting a local farmer’s market. |
What can we learn about tomatoes sold in New York in winter?
| A．They are soft. |
| B．They look nice. |
| C．They taste great. |
| D．They are juicy. |
What was the author going to that evening?
| A．Go to a farm. |
| B．Check into a hotel. |
| C．Eat in a restaurant. |
| D．Buy fresh vegetable |
Monthly Talks at London Canal Museum
Our monthly talks start at 19:30 on the first Thursday of each month except August. Admission is at normal charges and you don't need to book. They end around 21:00.
November 7th
The Canal Pioneers, by Chris Lewis. James Brindley is recognized as one of the leading early canal engineers. He was also a major player in training others in the art of canal planning and building. Chris Lewis will explain how Brindley made such a positive contribution to the education of that group of early "civil engineers".
December 5th
Ice for the Metropolis, by Malcolm Tucker. Well before the arrival of freezers, there was a demand for ice for food preservation and catering, Malcolm will explain the history of importing natural ice and the technology of building ice wells, and how London's ice trade grew.
February 6th
An Update on the Cotsword Canals, by Liz Payne. The Stroudwater Canal is moving towards reopening. The Thames and Severn Canal will take a little longer. We will have a report on the present state of play.
March 6th
Eyots and Aits- Thames Islands, by Miranda Vickers. The Thames had many islands. Miranda has undertaken a review of all of them. She will tell us about those of greatest interest.
Online bookings:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/book
More into:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson
London Canal Museum
12-13 New Wharf Road, London NI 9RT
www.canalmuseum.org.ukwww.canalmuseum.mobi
Tel:020 77130836
| 1． |
When is the talk on James Brindley?
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| 2． |
What is the topic of the talk in February?
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| 3． |
Who will give the talk on the islands in the Thames.
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D
Once when I was facing a decision that involved high risk, I went to a friend. He looked at me for a moment, and then wrote a sentence containing the best advice I’ve ever had: Be bold and brave — and mighty (强大的) forces will come to your aid.
Those words made me see clearly that when I had fallen short in the past, it was seldom because I had tried and failed. It was usually because I had let fear of failure stop me from trying at all. On the other hand, whenever I had plunged into deep water, forced by courage or circumstance, I had always been able to swim until I got my feet on the ground again.
Boldness means a decision to bite off more than you can eat. And there is nothing mysterious about the mighty forces. They are potential powers we possess: energy, skill, sound judgment, creative ideas — even physical strength greater than most of us realize.
Admittedly, those mighty forces are spiritual ones. But they are more important than physical ones. A college classmate of mine, Tim, was an excellent football player, even though he weighed much less than the average player. “In one game I suddenly found myself confronting a huge player, who had nothing but me between him and our goal line,” said Tim. “I was so frightened that I closed my eyes and desperately threw myself at that guy like a bullet（子弹） — and stopped him cold.”
Boldness — a willingness to extend yourself to the extreme—is not one that can be acquired overnight. But it can be taught to children and developed in adults. Confidence builds up. Surely, there will be setbacks (挫折) and disappointments in life; boldness in itself is no guarantee of success. But the person who tries to do something and fails is a lot better off than the person who tries to do nothing and succeeds.
So, always try to live a little bit beyond your abilities—and you’ll find your abilities are greater than you ever dreamed.Why was the author sometimes unable to reach his goal in the past?
| A．He faced huge risks. |
| B．He lacked mighty forces. |
| C．Fear prevented him from trying. |
| D．Failure blocked his way to success. |
What is the implied meaning of the underlined part?
| A．Swallow more than you can digest. |
| B．Act slightly above your abilities. |
| C．Develop more mysterious powers. |
| D．Learn to make creative decisions. |
What was especially important for Tim’s successful defense in the football game?
| A．His physical strength. |
| B．His basic skill. |
| C．His real fear. |
| D．His spiritual force. |
What can be learned from Paragraph 5?
| A．Confidence grows more rapidly in adults. |
| B．Trying without success is meaningless. |
| C．Repeated failure creates a better life. |
| D．Boldness can be gained little by little. |
What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To encourage people to be courageous. |
| B．To advise people to build up physical power. |
| C．To tell people the ways to guarantee success. |
| D．To recommend people to develop more abilities. |
One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem - inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the "Children's Room." I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.
There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical（相同的） to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.
My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my "miraculous" (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
| 1． |
The author's mother told him to borrow a book in order to.
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| 2． |
The book caught the author's eye because.
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| 3． |
Why could the author manage to read the book through?
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| 4． |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
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| 5． |
Which one could be the best title of the passage?
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