Does Fame Drive You Crazy?
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s star, 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 Villareal, 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,” Villareal 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 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. |
Kristy, 28, a cook in La Gross, often wondered what she’d do in a life-threatening situation. On August 29, she got her answer. While she was driving on a road, a big truck hit its head on a pickup car. The pickup car burst into flames. Kristy rushed out and ran to the pickup. Two farmers, Dean Berhard, 51, and his brother Donald, 44, were inside.
When she got close, Kristy could see the unconscious driver. The other man was under the passenger seat. Kristy says, “The smells were sickening. I was afraid the truck would blow up and kill us all.”
The driver of the big truck was struggling to open the passenger door, so Kristy rushed to the driver’s side. Finally they opened the door. She reached in, seized the driver and , to her horror, felt her hands sink into his chest. She quickly dragged the man to safety on the roadside, then hurried back. As Kristy stared down the ditch (水沟) with the passenger, the pickup blew up. She jumped on top of him and they both rolled to safety.
When the police arrived a while later, Kristy started crying, “I want my mum.” In fact she cried for the next three months.
Today the two farmers, each the father of two children, are good friends with Kristy. To show their deep appreciation, they bought her a ring with nine diamonds —one for each member of their immediate families, and ninth for her.In which order did Kristy do the following things?
a. Carried Dean and Donald to safety
b. Rushed to the pickup
c. Surprised herself
d. Saw the truck hit on the pickup
e. Got out of her car
f. Wondered what she’d do in danger
| A．e, d, b, a, c, f | B．d, e, b, a, f, c |
| C．f, d, e, b, a, c | D．f, c, e, d, b, a |
When coming to save Donald and Dean Bernard, Kristy never thought that she ________.
| A．could have any help from others |
| B．would fail to save both of them |
| C．might be killed |
| D．would be tested in a dangerous situation |
Which of the following best shows Kristy’s true heroism(英雄行为)?
| A．She remained calm during and after the accident. |
| B．She protected herself as well as the two brothers from harm. |
| C．She put her life “on the line” to save others. |
| D．She was regarded as a member of Dean’s and Donald’s families. |
This sentence “The pickup burst into flames.” in the first paragraph means “_____.”
| A．The pickup was on fire |
| B．The pickup started smoking badly |
| C．A terrifying cry came out of the pickup |
| D．The pickup was broken into pieces |
Kristy cried because she _________.
| A．was badly wounded |
| B．had never experienced such a situation |
| C．was too excited at the result |
| D．regretted not putting out the fire |
Speak, speak, speak!
Practise speaking as often as you can. Speaking to yourself is good practice.
Try recording yourself whenever you can.
Compare your pronunciation with the master version（原版）to see how you can do better and have another go. If you do this several times, you will find that each time is better than last.
Why not learn with someone else?
It helps if you can learn with someone else. If you can persuade a friend or family member to study with you, it will make you keep working.
Don't get stuck by a word you don't know.
Practise improving ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously（本能地），even if you don't know the exact words or phrases. Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time. Use facial expressions, hand movements, anything to make yourself understood.
Language learning is also about intuition（直觉）．
Guesswork is an important way to learn a new language. When listening to recorded material, you aren't expected to understand everything first time round. If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time.
Build up your vocabulary.
A wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning but don’t try to learn too much at once. It’s best to study frequently, for short periods of time. Take at most six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them. Put them into sentences to fix them in your mind, and then come back to them later.
And above all, have fun! What’s the purpose of this passage?
| A．To tell us the importance of practicing speaking as often as we can. |
| B．To tell us a few tips to help us learn a new language well. |
| C．To tell us that guesswork is an important way to learn a new language. |
| D．To tell us that a wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase in the first part?
| A．Have another try or attempt. |
| B．Move away from a place to another. |
| C．Enter a certain state or condition. |
| D．Follow or take a certain course. |
To learn English well, we shouldn’t _______ according to the passage.
| A．practice speaking as often as possible |
| B．study frequently, for short periods of time to build up our vocabulary |
| C．try to understand everything and stop when we meet a new word |
| D．try to persuade a friend or family member to study with us |
According to the passage, to learn a new language well, the most important thing is ______.
| A．speaking as much as possible | B．having fun |
| C．a wide vocabulary | D．guesswork |
There is a wonderful story about a young girl who had no family and no one to love her.
One day, feeling very sad and lonely, she was walking through a grassland when she noticed a small butterfly caught in a thorn（荆棘）bush. The young girl carefully released the butterfly. Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy. The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
“For your wonderful kindness,” the good fairy said to the girl, “I will give you any wish you would like.” The little girl thought for a moment and then replied, “I want to be happy.”
The fairy leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the fairy disappeared.
As the little girl grew up, there was no one in the land as happy as she. Everyone asked her secret of happiness. She would only smile and answer, “The secret of my happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl.”
When she was very old and on her deathbed, the neighbors all gathered around her， that her unbelievable secret of happiness would die with her. “Tell us, please,” they begged, “Tell us what the good fairy said.” The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, “She told me that everyone, no matter how secure they seemed, no matter how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me.” ______ the girl felt sad and lonely.
| A．There were many friends but |
| B．There was nobody to love her so |
| C．There was nothing to do |
| D．Seeing the butterfly was caught |
Noticing the butterfly was caught by the thorn, the orphan girl ______.
| A．helped the butterfly escaped from the thorn |
| B．felt sorrow, but she didn ‘t go up to help it |
| C．fell down on it too |
| D．failed to help it release from the thorn |
The only thing that the little girl wanted was________.
| A．to be rich |
| B．to have her own parents |
| C．to have a lot of friends |
| D．happiness |
The neighbors all gathered around the old happy woman when she was dying, because ______.
| A．they loved this woman deeply and they didn‘t wanted her to die |
| B．the woman had lots of money to be shared as soon as she died |
| C．they wanted to know the secret of her lifetime happiness |
| D．they wanted to pray for her after her death |
If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak. When you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows this. Yet there are many people who do not seem to know that one’s memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by exercising it regularly. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.
If a friend complains that his arms are weak, we know that it is his own fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame, or that he is just unlucky, and few of us realize that it is really his own fault. Not all of us can become very strong or very clever, but all of us can improve our memory by the same means — practice.
Have you ever noticed that people who cannot read or write usually have a better memory than those who can? Why is this? Of course, because people who can’t read or write have to remember things: they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember dates, prices, names, songs and stories, so their memory is exercised all the time.
So if you want a good memory, learn from those who cannot read or write: practise remembering. According to the passage, few people know that _____.
| A．arms or legs become weak if they are not used for some time |
| B．when they start using their arms or legs again, they slowly become strong again |
| C．a person’s memory becomes weak if he does not practise remembering things |
| D．it is their own fault if their arms or legs are weak |
The author thinks that if a person has a poor memory, _________.
| A．it is his own fault |
| B．his parents are to blame |
| C．he is just unlucky |
| D．his arms must be weak |
From Paragraph 3, we can learn that _________.
| A．people who can’t read are cleverer than those who can |
| B．people who can’t write are cleverer than those who can |
| C．a little notebook helps people who cannot read or write get a better memory |
| D．people who practise remembering regularly have a better memory |
The passage mainly tells us ____________.
| A．how to get our arms and legs stronger |
| B．how to improve our memory |
| C．how to read and write |
| D．how to remember dates and prices |
On the River Thames there are a number of boat races every year and these have become very popular with the public. Perhaps the best–known of these races is the University Boat Race. This takes place just before Easter every year and is a competition between teams from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. They row from Putney to Mertlake, a distance of about four and a quarter miles. This race has been taking place almost every year since 1829. The best – known of these races is __________.
| A．the Boat Race of the University of Oxford. |
| B．the Boat Race of the University of Cambridge |
| C．the Boat Race of the Olympic Games |
| D．the University Boat Race |
Generally, the Boat Race takes place _________.
| A．once a year | B．twice a year |
| C．every three years | D．every other year |
The words “Putney” and “Mertlake” are _________.
| A．names of places | B．names of teams |
| C．names of boat races | D．names of universities |