Does Fame Drive You Crazy?
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s stars, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world’s attention. Paparazzi(狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids(小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature!
According to psychologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities—famous people—worry constantly about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. “Over time,” Villarreal says, “they feel separated and alone.”
The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B. C., painters followed Alexander the Great Into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain(抱怨) about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.
Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story’’ alive forever.
If fame is so troublesome, why aren’t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.
Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.It can be learned from the passage that stars today .
| A．are often misunderstood by the public |
| B．can no longer have their privacy protected |
| C．spend too much on their public appearance |
| D．care little about how they have come into fame |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?
| A．Great heroes of the past were generally admired. |
| B．The problem faced by celebrities has a long history. |
| C．Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids. |
| D．Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers. |
What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?
| A．Availability of modern media. |
| B．Inadequate(无法适应的) social recognition. |
| C．Lack of favorable chances. |
| D．Huge population of fans. |
What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?
| A．Sincere. | B．Sceptical. |
| C．Disapproving . | D．Sympathetic. |
Thanksgiving Day is a special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims (朝圣者) from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.
The first New England Thangksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.
In time, other colonies (殖民地) began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed (宣布) the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbors. But the Canadian Thanksgiving Day falls on the second Monday in October. The passage mainly tells us _______
| A．how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated |
| B．how to celebrate Thanksgiving Day |
| C．how Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places |
| D．why Thanksgiving Day is a harvest holiday |
Thanksgiving Day is celebrated _______.
| A．in spring | B．in summer | C．in autumn | D．in winter |
The first to celebrate thanksgiving were _______ .
| A．people in Canada | B．Governor Bradford |
| C．some people from England | D．the American Indians |
We can infer from the passage that New England must be ______ .
| A．in England | B．in Canada |
| C．on some island off the Atlantic | D．in America |
Which of the following statements is NOT ture?
| A．There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. |
| B．Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations. |
| C．Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest. |
| D．Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God. |
D
Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read the life story of a famous man, when a short television program can tell you all that you want to know?
Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbacks (平装本), which are quite cheap. A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book for ever and read it many times.
Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. A good encyclopedia (百科全书), though expensive, is usefull, too, because you can find information on any subject. Besides, you can have such books as history books, science textbooks, cookbooks, and collections of stories and peoms. Then from time to time you can take a book of peoms off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets.
67. It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
A. TV programs are a chief provider of knowledge.
B. cinemas are the best choice in getting information.
C. reading is a cheap way of learning and having fun.
D. newspapers are an expensive way to enjoy oneself.
68. What does the sentence “Television has not killed reading, however” underlined in the second paragraph suggest?
A. People only need reading, though. B. Reading is still necessary today.
C. Reading is more fun than television D. Watching television doesn’t help reading.
69. Which of the following is mainly discussed in the last paragraph?
A. Types of books B. Kinds of dictionaries.
C. Lists of history books D. Collections of stories and poems
70. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Fewer and fewer people will buy books.
B. A good dictionary should be kept in every home.
C. Books with hard covers sell better than paperbacks.
D. More people like TV programs about famous men.
C
Welcome to the Ambassador Hotel. To make your stay as enjoyable as possible, we hope you will use our facilities（设施）to the full.
Dining Room
Breakfast is served in the dining room from 8 to 9:30 a.m.. Alternatively, the room staff will bring a breakfast tray to your room at any time after 7 a.m., if you place an order for it by telephone. In this case, please fill out a card and hang it outside your door when you go to bed. Lunch: 12:00 to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Telephone:48752
Room Service
This operates 24 hours a day. Phone the Reception Desk, and your message will be passed on to the room staff.
Telephone:48759
Telephone
To make a telephone call, dial 0 for Reception and Laundry (洗衣店), and ask to be connected. We apologize for delays in putting calls through when the staff are very busy. There are also public telephone booths (电话亭) near the Reception Desk. Early calls should be booked with Reception.
Shop
The hotel shop is open for souvenirs（纪念品）, gifts and toiletries（化妆品）from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Telephone:48687
Laundry
We have a laundry on the premises（附属）and will wash, iron and return your clothes within 24 hours. Ask the room staff to phone the laundrymen to collect them.
Telephone:48867
Bar
The hotel bar is open from 12 to 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.. The Reception staff will cash cheques and exchange money in many foreign currencies（货币）.
64.The announcement mainly gives us information about ________.
A. facilities in the hotel B. providing passengers all kinds of service
C. the ways of serving D. carrying out the promise of the hotel
65.The card in a bedroom of the hotel is announced that _________.
A. you should keep silence when walking past the room
B. the passenger of the room is taking a rest
C. the waiters mustn’t enter the room
D. any visitors won’t bother the hotel guest
66.You have arrived to stay at the hotel at 2 a.m., and want a snack (快餐), What should you do ?
A. Go to the hotel shop. B. Go to the hotel bar.
C. Give a message to the waiter. D. Phone Reception
B
Sydney—Mobile phone has become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones during school hours.
Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the school this year. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts, and more students want them.
Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phone use is a distraction (分心的事) to students during school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.
She said some schools had tried to ban mobile phones. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t get in touch with their children.
Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good reason, they could leave their phones at school offices. They also said there were many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to lose and were a distraction from studies.
Many people say that they understand why parents would want their children to have phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.
60. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones________.
A. because they are students B. when they are free
C. when they are at school D. because they are young
61. We know from the passage that some children get mobile phones from________.
A. the makers and sellers B. some other strangers
C. their parents and friends D. some mobile phone users
62. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t _______ during school hours.
A. use their mobile phones B. leave their mobile phones
C. help the teachers with their work D. get in touch with their children
63. The underlined word “they” in the fifth paragraph refers to________.
A. many teachers B. some messages
C. mobile phones D. some students
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分；共30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
A man walks into a doctor’s office. He has a cucumber (黄瓜) up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. “What's the matter with me?” he asks the doctor. The doctor replies, “You’re not eating properly.”
This is a popular joke among British school children. It shows Britain's famous dry and satirical (讽刺的) way of seeing the funny side of life. People say this unique sense of humor is one of Britain's national characteristics.
The British sense of humor is different from other countries because it is often more negative. When it comes to making the British laugh, there is nothing that works better than a socially inappropriate (不恰当的) joke. It reflects the culture where mocking (嘲弄) is part of everyday life.
While most Britons don’t take these jokes too seriously, foreigners often don’t understand them. A recent survey found that most foreigners who visited Britain think the British are “unfriendly and have almost no sense of humor”.
Are the British just not as funny as they think they are? Leo McKinstry, a British journalist, thinks the British are funny. “Accusing the British of having no sense of humor is like telling Rolls-Royce (劳斯莱斯) that its cars are cheap and not good in quality,” he says.
56. What does the doctor actually mean by the remark “You’re not eating properly”?
A. What you have had is the cause of these problems. B. You are not having the right food.
C. You don’t eat the way people usually do. D. You eat with the wrong cutlery. ( 餐具 )
57. The word “dry” in Paragraph 2 means ________.
A. without water or liquid inside B. special and popular among school children
C. dull and meaningless D. funny and clever while seeming to be serious
58. Why do most visitors, who once visited Britain, think that the British are unfriendly?
A. Because the British always take things seriously.
B. Because the British have no sense of humor.
C. Because the British are cold and difficult to get along with.
D. Because the British have a different sense of humor.
59. Which of the following is NOT the characteristics of British humor?
A. dry and satirical B. negative and mocking
C. encouraging and gentle D. clever and witty