Many artists late in the last century were in search of a means to express their individuality. Modern dance was one of the ways some of these people sought to free their creative spirit. The beginnings of modem dance were happening before Isadora Duncan, but she was the first person to bring the new dance to general audiences and see it accepted and acclaimed.
Her search for a natural movement form sent her to nature. She believed movement should be as natural as the swaying of the trees and the rolling waves of the sea. Her great contributions are in three areas.
First, she began the expansion of the kinds of movements that could be used in dance. Before Duncan danced, ballet was the only type of dance performed in concerts. In the ballet the feet and legs were emphasized, with virtuosity (技巧高超) shown by complicated, codified positions and movements. Duncan performed dance by using all her body in the freest possible way. Her dance stemmed from (源自) her soul and spirit. She was one of the pioneers who broke tradition so others might be able to develop the art.
Her second contribution lies in dance costumes (服装). She discarded corset, ballet shoes, and stiff costumes. These were replaced with flowing clothes, bare feet, and unlimited hair. She believed in the natural body being allowed to move freely, and her dress displayed this ideal.
Her third contribution was in the use of music. In her performances she used the symphonies (交响乐) of great masters, including Beethoven and Wagner, which was not the usual custom.
She was as exciting and eccentric in her personal life as in her dance.. The best title for the passage would be“_________”.
| A．Dance in the Twentieth Century |
| B．Artists of the Last Century |
| C．Natural Movement in Dance |
| D．A Pioneer in Modern Dance |
According to the passage, nature meant_________ to Duncan.
| A．something to conquer | B．a model for movement |
| C．a place to find peace | D．a symbol of disorder |
The paragraph following the passage most probably discusses_________.
| A．Duncan’s further contribution to modern dance |
| B．The music customarily used in ballet |
| C．other aspects of Duncan’s life |
| D．audience acceptance of the new form of dance |
The English language was first introduced to the Americas by British colonization, beginning in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia. Similarly, the language spread to numerous other parts of the world as a result of British trade and colonization elsewhere and the spread of the former British Empire, which, by 1921, held sway over a population of 470–570 million people, approximately a quarter of the world's population at that time.
Over the past 400 years the form of the language used in the Americas—especially in the United States—and that used in the United Kingdom have diverged in a few minor ways, leading to the versions now occasionally referred to as American English and British English. Differences between the two include pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, idioms, and formatting of dates and numbers. A small number of words have completely different meanings in the two versions or are even unknown or not used in one of the versions. One particular contribution towards formalizing these differences came from Noah Webster, who wrote the first American dictionary (published 1828) with the intention of showing that people in the United States spoke a different dialect from Britain, much like a regional accent.
It may be the case that increased worldwide communication through radio, television, the Internet and globalization has reduced the tendency towards regional variation. This can result either in some variations becoming extinct (for instance, the wireless, being progressively superseded by the radio) or in the acceptance of wide variations as "perfectly good English" everywhere.
Chief among other native English dialects are Canadian English and Australian English, which rank third and fourth in the number of native speakers. For the most part, Canadian English, while featuring numerous British forms alongside native Canadianisms, shares vocabulary, phonology and syntax with American English, leading many to recognize North American English as an organic grouping of dialects. Australian English likewise shares many American and British English usages alongside plentiful features unique to Australia, and retains a significantly higher degree of distinctiveness from both the larger varieties than does Canadian English. South African English, New Zealand English and the Hiberno-English of Ireland are also distinctive and rank fifth, sixth and seventh in the number of native speakers.Which of the following native English dialects ranks fifth in the number of native speakers?
| A．Canadian English |
| B．South African English |
| C．the Hiberno-English of Ireland |
| D．Australian English |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why the English language spread to numerous parts of the world?
| A．British colonization |
| B．the spread of the former English Empire |
| C．British trade around the world |
| D．a large British population |
It can be inferred from the passage that_____
| A．Australian English has developed more characteristics of its own than Canadian English. |
| B．it is obvious that some variations will become extinct due to worldwide communication. |
| C．everyone will be speaking “perfectly good English” in the future. |
| D．almost a quarter of the world’s population spoke British English in 1921. |
This passage is intended __________________
| A．to persuade us to speak perfectly good English in the future. |
| B．to draw people’s attention to the extinction of different English dialects. |
| C．to give the readers some useful information on variation of the English language. |
| D．to do a research on how the English language has influenced the world. |
Many years ago there was a huge oil refinery fire in a small town. Flames shot hundreds of feet into the air. The sky was thick with grimy black smoke. The heat was intense—so intense that firefighters had to park their trucks a block away and waited for the heat to die down before they could begin to fight the fire. However, it was about to rage out of control.
Then, all of a sudden, from several blocks away came a fire truck racing down the street. With its brakes screeching, it hit the curb in front of the fire. The firefighters jumped out and began to battle the blaze. All the firefighters who were parked a block away saw this, and they jumped into their trucks, drove down the block and began to fight the fire, too. As a result of that cooperative effort, they were just barely able to bring the fire under control.
The people who saw this teamwork thought, “My goodness, the man who drove that lead fire truck—what an act of bravery!” They decided to give him a special award to recognize him for his bravery in leading the charge.
At the ceremony the mayor said, “Captain, we want to honor you for a fantastic act of bravery in leading the charge. You prevented the loss of property, perhaps even the loss of life. If there is one special thing you could have—just about anything—what would it be?”
Without hesitation, the captain replied, “Your Honor, a new set of brakes of my truck would be great!” How was the captain probably feeling when his truck charged down the street to the fire?
| A．enthusiastic | B．encouraged |
| C．embarrassed | D．upset |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The captain was driving his truck fast because he was in a hurry to fight the fire. |
| B．There was something wrong with the brakes of the truck. |
| C．The mayor praised the captain for his honesty. |
| D．The people decided to honor the captain because he fought the fire bravely. |
Why did all the firefighters park their trucks a block away from the fire?
| A．Because they were waiting for the captain to arrive. |
| B．Because the smoke was too thick to see anything. |
| C．Because the fire was about to go out of control. |
| D．Because they had to wait for the intense heat to die down a bit. |
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. 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 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 values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters 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 themselves 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 the 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 dissolve（消失）can we discover a new meaning in competition. What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect. |
| B．Competition is harmful to personal quality development. |
| C．Opinions about competition are different among people. |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition. |
The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means ______.
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who rely on others most for success |
| D．those who are against competition most strongly |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?
| A．One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others. |
| B．One’s success in competition needs great efforts. |
| C．One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills. |
| D．One’s success is based on how hard he has tried. |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back. |
| B．Competition should be encouraged. |
| C．Fear of failure should be removed in competition. |
| D．Winning should be a life-and-death matter. |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending（延伸）sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality（好客）easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they treat us warmly, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires much time. But in China ,we are usually generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full ,warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for pure business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage mustbe ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese |
| C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
| D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality |
| D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
We all know, especially for me who like travelling very much, travelling can be a way to gain life experiences, especially during Spring Break----a week long school vacation in the United States. But what if you’re a student and don’t have enough money for a trip? Don’t worry. Here are some useful suggestions.
Save: this probably is the most important preparation for travelling. Cut expenses to fatten your wallet so you’ll have more choices about where to go and how to get there.
Plant ahead: Don’t wait until the last minute to plan your trip. Tickets may cost more when bought on short notice. Giving yourself several months to get ready can mean security(安全) and saving.
Do your homework : No matter where you go, research the places you will visit. Decide what to see. Travel books will provide information on the cheapest hotels and restaurants.
Plan sensibly, Write down what you expect to spend for food and hotels. Stick to your plan or you may not have enough money to cover everything.
Travel in groups: Find someone who is interested in visiting the same places. By traveling with others you can share costs and experiences.
Work as you go: Need more money to support your trip? Look for work in the places you visit.
Go off the beaten path: Tourist cities may be expensive. You may want to rethink your trip and go to a lesser-known area. Smaller towns can have many interesting activities and sights.
Pack necessary things: The most important things to take are not always clothes: Remember to take medicine in case you get sick and snacks in case you cannot find a cheap restaurant.
Use the Internet: The Net can help to save money. Some useful websites include www.Travelocity.com.; WWW. Bargains-lowestfare.com and www.Ecoomictravel.com. By planning sensibly, even students can enjoy the travel. Your travel experiences will be remembered for a lifetime.This passage is about______.
| A．how to plan your travel |
| B．how to travel with enough money |
| C．how to make your travel interesting |
| D．how to get life experience |
Before your trip , the first thing you should do is ____.
| A．to make a plan for the route |
| B．to get information on the Internet |
| C．to save money by spending less |
| D．to buy tickets in advance |
During your trip,_______.
| A．you need more shoes than clothes |
| B．you shouldn’t look for work all the way |
| C．you can gain valuable life experience |
| D．you should forget to do your homework |