No opera smells of the sea quite like Britten’s Peter Grimes. The music makes us constantly aware of the sea’s immensity, it’s potential for threat, and the play of light on its waves. But the sea isn’t just a special background, it weighs on the lives of the characters, offering them a living, but at a price. In the first act the laboured sound of the strings evokes (引起) the complete heaviness of the sailor’s work, as they haul(用力拉) the boats up the shingle (鹅卵石). Then a storm gathers which rages(肆虐) through the scene at the Inn, and stirs up an orchestral hurricane. Even when it’s calm and favorable, the sea is inescapable.
In the comfortable enclosed world of the opera house, this can only be suggested. In the production of Peter Grimes about to open at the Aldeburgh Festival, it will be really present, because the opera is taking place on the beach, the setting for much of the narrative of Britten’s opera, and also the poem by the Suffolk poet George Crabbe that inspired it.
This won’t be the first opera production to be set in the actual landscape in which the action takes place. There’s a well-known filmed production of Tosca shot in Castel Gandolfo in Rome, and a production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena was once mounted in the moat(护城河) surrounding the Tower of London. But those were manageable urban landscapes, with comfortingly solid buildings to act as wind shields and acoustic blocks.
On the Aldeburgh beach there’s actually nothing, apart from a few boats, some whole, some wrecked. Here anything more complicated than walking the dog is hard to solve. The wind blows away one’s words, so conversation is hard, and anything not tied down tends to blow away. The sliding shingle turns one’s steps into a drunken stagger.
The idea of performing an opera in these conditions seems quite barmy — an accusation Aldeburgh director Jonathan Reakie takes cheerfully on the chin. Why has he done it? “Well, Grimes is the opera of Britten’s that’s most associated with Aldeburgh, but it’s never been produced at the Festival which he founded. There just isn’t the space for it. In his anniversary year we wanted to focus on Britten’s connection with Suffolk, and this seemed the boldest way to do it.”
Having had the mad idea, Reakie found his colleagues were not just accepting, but enthusiastic. “We spent a long time thinking about ways to do it. One idea we had was to do all the scenes at the right time of day. There’s one scene at dawn, another at midday, and a lot of action at night, but that was too complicated. Then we thought about doing a few scenes on the beach. But in the end, we thought hell, let’s just do the whole thing.”Which of the following can best describe the sailor’s work in the first act?
| A．Pleasant. | B．Hard. |
| C．Comfortable. | D．Attractive. |
How is Paragraph 2 mainly developed?
| A．By giving descriptions. | B．By following time order. |
| C．By analyzing causes. | D．By making comparisons. |
What does Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?
| A．The benefits of the actual landscape. |
| B．The actual landscape of Aldeburgh beach. |
| C．The location of the Aldeburgh beach. |
| D．The hardship of performing opera in Aldeburgh beach. |
The underlined word “barmy” (in Paragraph 5) is closest in meaning to ____.
| A．crazy | B．impossible |
| C．wonderful | D．terrible |
Reakie’s partners’ attitude towards his opera on a beach is ____.
| A．eager | B．cautious |
| C．doubtful | D．unfavorable |
In recent years advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are being developed every day to extend life. However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of these life extending measures, and they argue that people should have the right to die when they want. They say that the quality of life is as important as life itself and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable. They say thatpeople should be allowed to die with dignity (尊严) and to decide when they want to die. Others argue that life under any conditions is better than death and that the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the battle goes on and on without a definite answer.The best title for this passage is _____.
| A．The Right to Live | B．The Right to Die |
| C．The Doctor’s Duty | D．Life Is Better Than Death |
In recent years, people can live longer than in the past. It’s because of _____ .
| A．the development of medical technology |
| B．big hospitals |
| C．good doctors |
| D．both B and C |
According to some people whether a dying patient has the right to die or not is up to _____ .
.
| A．the doctors | B．the surroundings |
| C．his or her family | D．the patient himself or herself |
In the writer’s opinion _____ .
| A．death is better than life |
| B．life is better that death |
| C．neither death nor life is good |
| D．none of the above |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Most of the medical workers join in the argument. |
| B．The argument has ended in favor of the patient. |
| C．The argument hasn’t ended yet. |
| D．The quality of life is not as important as life itself, so it is generally thought that people should not be allowed to die under any conditions. |
When did you last see a polar bear(北极熊）?On a trip to a zoo,perhaps?If you had attended a winter
activity in New York a few years ago,you would have seen a whole polar bear club.These "Polar Bears" are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water.That day,the air temperature was 3℃,and the water temperature was a little higher.The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island,New York 
are usually about the age of 60.Members must satisfy two requirements.First,they must get along well with everyone else in the group;this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club.Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November to February.
Dcotors don't agree about the medical effects of cold-winter swimming.Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body's temperature d
rops so low that finally the hea
rt stops.Other doctors,however,point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and water temperature is much greater in summer than in winter.
The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming.They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system(循环系统）because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm.Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water.A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and should not try cold-water swimming.
The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental.The Polar Bears love to swim all year round;they find it fun and relaxing.As one 70-year-old woman says,"When I go into water,I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away."
72.The members of the Polar Bear Club must meet the following requirements except that_____.
A.they must swim outdoors at least 8 times in the four cold months
B.they must reach the age of 60
C.they should be easy to make friends with
D.they must agree to swim outdoors from November to February
73.According to the passage,some doctors believe it is true that_____.
A.Polar Bears are bears swimming in freezing water
B.cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high
C.you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue
D.cold-water swimming causes more heart attacks in summer than in winter
74.The Polar Bears like to swim year-round,for_____.
A.it is an easy way ot keep the body warm in winter
B.they can remain young
C.they find it enjoyable and interesting
D.they might meet fewer troubles in life
75.The passage is mainly about_____.
A.the requirements of the Polar Bear Club
B.a group of cold-water-swimming livers
C.the Polar Bears' life in New York
D.doctors' ideas about cold-water swimming
The following is a timetable in Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
| Airline |
Flight Number |
Destination |
Departure |
Gate |
| Air Canada |
137 |
Beijing |
10:12 a. m. |
24 |
| Japanese Airlines |
320 |
Tokyo |
10:30 a. m. |
18 |
| British Airways |
405 |
Paris |
11:00 a. m. |
20 |
| Pan American |
226 |
London |
11:20 a. m. |
12 |
| Pan American |
12 |
Beijing |
11:43 a. m. |
15 |
| Air Canada |
178 |
Tokyo |
12:32 a. m. |
21 |
| CAAC |
289 |
Hong Kong |
12:32 a. m. |
14 |
| CAAC |
314 |
Moscow |
12:45 a. m. |
18 |
| British Airways |
230 |
New York |
12:55 a. m. |
23 |
69. A man wants to take Flight 178 to Tokyo. Which gate should he go to?
A. 14 B. 28 C. 21 D. 18
70. Now it’s 11:40. Mary is at gate 20. Which airline’s plane will she take?
A. British Airways B. Japanese Airlines
C. Pan American D. Air Canada
71. Gate _______ is the busiest among all these
gates.
A. 23 B. 18 C. 24 D. 15
A Narrow Escape
Shortly after the war, my brother and I were invited to spend a few days’ holiday with an uncle who had just returned from abroad. He had rented （租） a cottage in the country, although he hardly spent much time there. We understood the reason for this after our arrival: the cottage had no comfortable furniture in it. Many of the windows were broken and the roof leaked （漏水）, Cwet.
On our first evening, we sat around the fire after supper listening to the stories our uncle told of his many adventures in distant countries. I was so tired after the long train journey that I would have preferred to go to bed; but I could not bear to miss any of my uncle’s exciting stories, He was just in the middle of describing a rather terrifying experience he had once had when there was a loud crash（倒塌声） from the bedroo
m above, the one where my brother and I were going to sleep.
When we got to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom door, a strange sight met our eyes. A large part of the ceiling had fallen right on to the pillow（枕头）of my bed.
66. The uncle disliked the rented cottage for the reason that _____.
A. there were no beds in it
B. the windows were broken and the roof leaked
C. it was too old for him to live in
D. it was very rainy in the area
67. On the first evening, the writer was very sleepy, _____.
A. but he did his best not to miss any stories
B. so he had to go to bed early
C. because he was tired of his uncle’s stories
D. and he was gradually falling asleep while listening
68. A narrow escape means ___.
A. A person runs away from a danger through a narrow door.
B. A person escapes a danger by luck.
C. A person escapes a danger easily.
D. A person runs away from a danger easily.
 |
B
A sign is another kind of language. Here are some of them that you see on the roads.
Number one is a sign with the number thirty on it. When drivers see this sign, they must not go at more than thirty kilometers an hour. We see this sign when we are getting near a town. Number two is a sign that we’re near a crossing. We must drive carefully. Number three is a sign that there is a bend in the road. Again, we must drive slowly and carefully. It is not safe to go round a bend very fast. Number four is a sign that there is another road coming in from the right. There is a junction at this place. Number five is a sign that there is a hill and number six is a sign that the road gets narrow. Drivers must go slowly and carefully. Number seven has the word “SCHOOL” on it. This is a sign that there is a school at the side of the street or the road. Perhaps there are children going to or leaving school. So drivers must look carefully and go slowly. Number eight is a sign with the letter “P” on it. The letter “P” means “Parking”. At some places, there’re the signs “No parking” or “No waiting”. If a driver leaves his c
ar near one of these signs, a policeman may come and write down the number of his car.
61. At the places where you see Sign 1, ________.
A. you are already out of a town
B. you still have thirty kilometers to go
C. there must be a town thirty kilometers away
D. there must be many houses and buildings not far away
62. There stands Sign 2 near a place where________.
A. two roads cross B. people can cross the road
C. the roads get narrow D. there are no traffic lights
63. You have to drive not only slowly but also carefully when you find________.
A. each of the eight signs B. either of Signs 2 and 3
C. all of Signs 3, 5, 6 and 7D. any of Signs 3, 5, 6 and 7
64. A driver can leave his car________.
A. near Sign 8 at any time
B. near a sign with “No parkin
g” on it
C. near a sign with “No waiting” if there’re no police there
D. near a sign with “P” on it in the daytime
65. People put these signs on the roads to________.
A. show drivers the way B. stop cars going too fast
C. make driving even safer D. learn another kind of language