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 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 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．can no longer have their privacy protected |
| B．are often misunderstood by the public |
| 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．Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids. |
| C．The problem faced by celebrities has a long history. |
| D．Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers. |
What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?
| A．Inadequate social recognition. |
| B．Availability of modern media. |
| C．Lack of favorable chances. |
| D．Huge population of fans. |
What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?
| A．Sincere | B．Skeptical(怀疑的) |
| C．Sympathetic | D．Disapproving |
Two traveling angels(天使) stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied: “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor but very hospitable(好客的) farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could this happen?” Why did you not watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help.”
“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune, I asked God if I could seal(封口) the wall so he couldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.” Why did the older angel repair the hole for the rich family?
| A．Because she didn’t like the greedy owner. |
| B．Because she wanted to save the gold for the poor. |
| C．Because the basement was too cold to stay in. |
| D．Because she believed that one should always be ready to offer help. |
In paragraph two, “the pair” refers to_____________.
| A．The poor couple | B．the rich couple |
| C．the guests | D．the angels |
The story tries to tell the reader that_________________.
| A．angels are always ready to help the poor |
| B．sometimes things are not what they seem |
| C．angels are always ready to help the rich |
| D．the young should always learn from the old. |
The lower East Side is neither rich nor beautiful, but it can be a good place to shop.
On Sundays, its streets are crowded with visitors and shoppers like these. They are trying to find a coat or a pair of shoes at a good price.
Most people prefer to shop in the big department stores like Macy’s, Gimbel’s, or Bloomingdale’s because there they can find clothing, furniture, toys, and food in one store.
Some people like the smaller stores of Greenwich Village or other areas when they are looking for an unusual present.
Some streets have only one kind of stores. Bracelets (手镯) and rings shine in the windows of Canal Street, and wedding dresses fill the stores of Grant Street. There are streets for furs(皮大衣), and, in one area, there are 600 shops for antiques (古玩)! Fifth Avenue is the most famous place to shop, and it is usually the most expensive. There you can find the latest styles from Paris, Italy, or New York. You can spend thousands of dollars on Fifth Avenue, or you can just window shop and admire the sights for free.How many kinds of shops or stores on the lower East Side are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Six. | D．Seven. |
If you want to buy something fashionable to wear, you’d better go to .
| A．Grant Street |
| B．the big department stores |
| C．Fifth Avenue |
| D．the smaller stores of Greenwich Village |
Why does the writer say that the lower East Side can be a good place to shop?
| A．Because its streets are crowded with visitors. |
| B．Because there are latest style from Paris, Italy, or New York. |
| C．Because there are different goods in different stores they can meet the needs of the visitors and shoppers. |
| D．Because women want very much to go there and buy bracelets and rings. |
The underlined words window shop in the sentence means “ ”.
| A．put all one’s goods in the shop-window |
| B．look at goods displayed in shop-windows |
| C．not only look at goods displayed in shop-window but also want to buy something |
| D．take much interest in the goods and have the idea of buying something |
The last five words “admire the sights for free” of the passage means “ ”.
| A．get pleasure from the sight at no cost |
| B．buy and sell goods freely |
| C．look at the sights as much as you like |
| D．look at the sight with pleasure and buy something as you like |
Our daughter Kerrin, a student at Boston University, had been home for a week-end visit, and I dropped her off at the bus station just in time for her back to college. After Kerrin’s bus had gone and I was driving away, I noticed that she had left her purse on the passenger seat. Worried that she would arrive in Boston without money or keys to her room, I called my wife, Bette Jean, on the car phone, explaining why I would be late. As I was following the bus, Bette Jean phoned me back to say she had phoned the bus dispatcher（调度员）on the other line and he, in return, had phoned the bus driver on yet another phone. The driver asked me to wave out of my window to show where I was. Then he pulled over at a rest stop, and I did the same. Kerrin jumped off the bus, and I handed her the purse and went on my way.The writer saw his daughter’s purse right after .
| A．seeing her off at the bus station |
| B．starting his car again |
| C．she got off the car |
| D．she got on the bus |
Kerrin didn’t find her purse missing until .
| A．the bus started off |
| B．her mother told her |
| C．the bus stopped again |
| D．she returned to the university |
In which order did the following persons know about the loss of the purse?
| A．driver—writer—Better Jean—Kerrin |
| B．Kerrin—writer—Better Jean—driver |
| C．writer—driver—Kerrin—Better Jean |
| D．writer—Bette—Jean—driver—Kerrin |
Which of the following is not true?
| A．The bus was too fast for the car to catch up with in no time. |
| B．The writer had tried to phone the dispatcher but failed. |
| C．The writer couldn’t get in touch with the driver by the phone. |
| D．Both the writer and the bus driver could use the car phone. |
Which of the following seems the most necessary in helping the writer?
a. his car b. phone c. the bus driver
d. the dispatcher e. his wife f. his daughter
| A．a, b, d and e | B．c, d, e and f |
| C．a, b, c and d | D．b, c, d and e |
Customs are social habits. They have been handed down through generations (代) among groups, social classes, etc. Customs can be described as ways of doing things. They are particularly (特别) strong in social practices on the occasions (场合) of births, marriages and deaths.
In China, these days, some people in cities are learning from Western customs. For example, some brides dress in the long white dress that is usual bridal wear in many Western countries.
Every people (民族) has special customs for New Year. The Han people have many interesting Spring Festival customs. And now, quite a number of people living in the cities have followed the Western customs of sending New Year greeting cards for January 1st.
One interesting custom in China is that mothers wrap (包) up their babies tightly (紧紧的).This is not the custom in Western countries, where babies are usually dressed in loose garments.It is true that customs .
| A．have been formed during a short time |
| B．have been formed little by little |
| C．have been quickly formed and changed |
| D．have never been changed |
In this passage, the word “garment” is .
| A．a kind of food | B．a bed |
| C．a sort of clothes | D．a room |
How do the Chinese young people learn from Western countries at their marriages?
| A．The brides（新娘）have on the white clothes. |
| B．Men wear the white coats. |
| C．Their parents all have attended their marriages. |
| D．Their marriages are only held in the men’s homes. |
From this passage we know .
| A．the people all over China spend New Year in the same way |
| B．people in the villages and cities send New Year greeting cards to each other |
| C．each people has his special custom for New Year |
| D．most of Chinese people take Spring Festival seriously |
The difference about clothing between Chinese and Western babies is that .
| A．Chinese babies are usually dressed in new clothes |
| B．Chinese mothers are used to dressing their babies in colourful clothes |
| C．Western babies are dressed in bigger clothes while Chinese babies are usually wrapped |
| D．Western babies have more clothes than Chinese babies |
Thanksgiving Day is 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 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 Thanksgiving 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（盛宴）. 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 thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.Thanksgiving Day is celebrated .
| A．in spring | B．summer |
| C．in autumn | D．in winter |
The first to celebrate thanksgiving were .
| A．some people from England | B．the American Indians |
| C．Sarah Josepha Hale | D．Governor Bradford |
We can infer from the passage that New England must be .
A. in the U. S. A. B. in Great Britain
C. in Canada D. on some island off the AtlanticWhich of the following is NOT true?
| A．Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest. |
| B．Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations. |
| C．Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God. |
| D．There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. |
The passage mainly tells us .
A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.
B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated
C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday
D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places