In December, 2010, many American newspapers publish a list of the best books of the year. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is one of the most repeatedly praised books on this year's list of favorites. It tells about the ups and downs of the Berglund family over many years. Mr. Franzen fills the book with sharp observations about American politics, culture and society.
Jennifer Egan's book A Visit from the Goon Squad takes place in 13 chapters over 40 years. The story moves back and forth in time, from different viewpoints. One main character is former rock musician Bennie Salazar who works for a record company. The other main character is a troubled young woman named Sasha who works for Bennie. The reader learns about their pasts and those of their friends.
The main character in The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman is a failing English Language newspaper published in Rome, Italy. Each chapter of the book tells about a reporter or editor working for this paper. Their stories are filled with intelligence and great personality.
Two of the most popular nonfiction books of 2010 were about rock and roll stars. Just Kids is by rock singer Patti Smith. It tells about her friendship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe in the 1960s and 1970s before they became famous. Life is the autobiography of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. It is an honest and exciting look at the development of rock and roll and the wild times this famous band has experienced.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand tells about a man named Louis Zamperini. She tells about his extraordinary survival story after his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean during World War Two.
Stacy Schiff has received great praise for her book Cleopatra: A Life. It tells about one of the most misrepresented and famous women in his story, Cleopatra. She ruled ancient Egypt about 2,000 years ago. One critic said Ms. Schiff has brought Cleopatra to life again by unearthing her story from centuries of lies.The following books are related to music EXCEPT________.
| A．The Imperfectionists | B．A Visit from the Goon Squad |
| C．Just Kids | D．Life |
If your major is the history of ancient Africa, you may pay attention to ________.
| A．Freedom by Jonathan Franzen |
| B．Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand |
| C．The Imperfections by Tom Rachman |
| D．Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff |
Which book will give you a practical understanding of the USA?
| A．Life | B．Cleopatra: A Life |
| C．Freedom | D．A Visit from the Goon Squad |
The last sentence of the passage implies that ________.
| A．Stacy Schiff is an archaeologist |
| B．the critic finds the character in the book very real |
| C．the critic speaks highly of Cleopatra in history |
| D．Stacy Schiff tells a story about an imaginary Egyptian queen |
Future history books might record that we were robbed of the use of our eyes ,In our hurry to get from one place to another, we fail to see anything on the way, Air travel gives you a bird’s –eye view of the world ---or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way, When you travel by car or train , you are moving so quickly that you do not see the countryside clearly , Car drivers are forever thinking about going on and on; they never want to stop, Is it the great motorways ,that attract them, or what? And as for sea travel ,it hardly deserves mention ,It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song：’I joined the navy to see the world ,and what did I see? I saw the sea’. You mention the place names in the world like EI Dorado, Kabul and someone is sure to say‘I’ve been there’meaning ,‘I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.’
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing :you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place, But actual arrival ,when it is achieved , is meaningless , You want to move on again . By traveling like this, you suspend （中止）all experience; the present stops being a reality：you might just as well be dead.
The traveler on foot, on the other hand , lives constantly in the present, For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes, He experiences, the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body, At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness, Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travelers.The underlined words “get in your way”in Paragraph I can be replaced, by .
| A．block your sights |
| B．expend your range of vision |
| C．prevent you from going out of the plane halfway |
| D．make your travel continue |
What does the author think of the travelers mentioned in Paragraph 1?
| A．They get a good view of the landscape |
| B．They make full use of their eyes |
| C．They fail to see the scenery with their heart |
| D．They are eager to see everything on the way. |
Why does “the present”mean “nothing ”when we travel at high speeds?
| A．Because we change our aims all the time |
| B．Because we are eager to go to another place |
| C．Because we are looking forward to the future life |
| D．Because we cannot enjoy the experience we have had |
What will the author most probably advise us to do?
| A．To go hiking in the mountain | B．To travel at a high speed |
| C．To travel by car or train | D．To go around the world |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Different travelers | B．The use of eyes |
| C．Ways of traveling | D．True traveling |
B
The above posts center on a blog passage written by ________.
| A．Wendy | B．Julie | C．Anne | D．Nancy |
How many people have joined in the discussion?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．5 | D．7 |
Nancy and Anne share the opinion that _________.
| A．work can bring joy to people |
| B．creativity may help reduce depression |
| C．beauty is the most important in life |
| D．different people handle things differently |
Which of the following about Julie is NOT true?
| A．Julie is the CEO of a company. |
| B．Julie was once attracted to artwork. |
| C．Julie has never been attacked publicly. |
| D．Julie was honest about her past experiences. |
When I put a foot in the school for the first time, the thing that I will never forget is a big smile coming from the people of the reception. This is the kind of things that means a lot to you when you are feeling like a strange person in a country that you have never been, as it was in my case.
In the classes, I don’t know if I’m a lucky person, but the teachers that I have had, in my opinion, are excellent, very professional in their jobs, and they just seem to enjoy teaching, and make the lessons useful and classes amusing.
Another fact that I’ve really enjoyed is that the school is not only aimed at the English language knowledge. You can also find every kind of activity intended to entertain the students in their free time, with things like going to museums and galleries, visiting special places in the city or going to the very famous pub night to have a few beers with your friends. So here you have the opportunity to enjoy the stay in London, to meet new friends, and also to learn everything about the city and the British culture.
Personally, there are some facts that have not been easy for me since I arrived, like being so far away from my family, the differences between English food and the food I used to eat, and the high prices for everything. However, I am impressed about a very developed and multicultural city, with people aware of the sense of living in community, with a public transport amazingly thorough, with outstanding tourist places, with opportunities for work and with food from every part of the world that you can imagine.
I’ve experienced something priceless with my friends in London. Every time I made contact with my friends from another country, I learn about their culture. I was lucky to have such good friends. I think that time was a present for me.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The author’s learning experience in London. |
| B．The friends the author made while in London. |
| C．The author’s progress in learning English. |
| D．The poor memories in a foreign country. |
When setting foot in the new country, the author ________.
| A．felt the great pressure from foreigners |
| B．was uneasy in the unfamiliar environment |
| C．missed everything and everyone in his back home |
| D．had difficulty dealing with different cultures and customs |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The author’s experience in London is worthless. |
| B．Schools in London focus on no activities. |
| C．The author had some difficulty in adapting to the life in London. |
| D．The teachers are easily confused by the international students. |
What did the author do besides his studies while in London?
| A．He learned the differences between languages. |
| B．He got to know the city with different cultures. |
| C．He served at many outstanding tourists places. |
| D．He made contact with friends from his home. |
At age 11, Ghulam was married off to 40-year-old Jaiz in a rural Afghan village, making her only one of more than 10 million young girls who are being forced to wed men old enough to be their fathers of grandfather every year.
In an effort to start a global conversation about the devastating effects of early marriages, which are currently practiced in more than 50 developing countries, the United Nations designed October 11 as International Day of the Girl Child this year.
Although child marriage is against the law in many countries, and international treaties forbid the practice, it is estimated that about 51 million girls below age 18 are currently married, often under the cover of darkness and in secret. In Afghanistan alone, it is believed that approximately 57 percent of girls wed before the legal age of 16.
Various factors drive parents of child bridges to marry off their daughters, from the community’s pressure to confirm to age-old cultural customs to economic considerations. In poor, developing nations, it is not uncommon for families to settle debts by offering their daughters as payment.
Experts agree that early marriage denies the girl education and robs them of their childhood because most young wives, burdened by grownup responsibilities, do not get a chance to interact with their peers or carry on friendships outside the household. In many cases, the girls are lorded over by their husbands and in-laws, leaving them vulnerable(易受伤害的) to domestic violence as well as physical, sexual and verbal abuse. Underage wives who are lucky enough to escape from their husbands end up living in poverty, or worse. Most girls who enter early marriages are expected to get pregnant right away, which often leads to tragedy for both the mothers, who are still children themselves, and their babies.
Unless international organizations take steps to reverse the troubling trend, it is estimated that over the next decade, 100 million more girls—or about 25,000 girls a day ---will marry before they turn 18.
To learn more about campaign to end the practice of early marriages, please click: Too Young To Wed.The purpose of the first paragraph is to _________.
| A．attract readers’ attention |
| B．introduce the following topic |
| C．list the countries practicing early marriages |
| D．give readers an example of early marriages |
The fifth paragraph mainly talks about __________.
| A．the number of girls involved in early marriages |
| B．the causes of early marriages in developing counties |
| C．the tragic effects of early marriages |
| D．the countries that allow early marriages |
The UN made October 11 as International Day of the Girl Child in order to __
| A．urge parents to treat girls equally as boy |
| B．call on people to pay more attention to girls’ education |
| C．call on people to pay more attention to girls in poor countries or areas |
| D．start a global campaign against early marriages |
Which of the following is a cause of early marriages?
| A．The present girls develop much earlier than before |
| B．Some poor parents marry off their young girls for economic problems. |
| C．Many young girls receive little or no education for different reasons. |
| D．Most girls suffer from domestic violence and have babies too early. |
Travelling abroad for leisure is becoming more and more popular for Chinese. The UK is high up in the list of places that the Chinese want to visit. There is a sense of mystery about the UK; it’s often the images of England’s green parks, countryside and Victorian houses that people point to as an alternative to polluted, overcrowded cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou.
The capital is viewed as modern and dynamic, while being filled deep with history. When asked what other images are thought of by the UK, the reply is often “the Queen, tea and Oxbridge”. So what’s stopping them actually coming? Sebastian Wood ,the British ambassador in Beijing, has described the UK as a “fortress”, and while this is perhaps an exaggeration(夸张)，Britain does have a reputation as a country that is harder to access.
The main problem for Chinese tourists is obvious. Although visa applications are now completed online, visitors are still required to visit one of 12 UK centers across the country for a face-to-face interview and fingerprinting. If you don’t live near one of these enters already, you’d have to travel some distance to get there.
Another problem is also to be mentioned. If travelers from China visit the UK, they also want to cover as much ground as possible. But the UK is not included in the Schengen visa, which allows access to a host of 26 European countries such as France and Germany. So it makes the former seem a less worth it.
There is also the issue of cost: £47 for a Schengen visa, £82 for the UK. On top of this, the UK is viewed as stricter in its handing of visas compared with the rest of Europe, fed by urban legends of rejected applications. In the end, the decision comes down to one question: Is Britain worth a visit? The underlined word “fortress ” in paragraph2 is something similar to ______.
| A．temple | B．apartment | C．castle | D．market |
Which of the following statements is NOT true for the UK visa?
| A．One can apply for a visa online. |
| B．One must have a face-to-face interview. |
| C．No one can get a visa without a fingerprinting. |
| D．No one needs to travel a long distance to get a center. |
What can a visitor do if he gets a Schengen visa?
| A．He can only visit the UK. |
| B．He can only visit 26 European countries. |
| C．He can visit the UK and France. |
| D．He can travel to any country he likes. |
What is the writer’s attitude towards visiting the UK?
| A．He really supports Chinese people to visit the UK. |
| B．He suggests Chinese people visit London strongly. |
| C．He thinks it is troublesome to visit the UK. |
| D．He believes everyone should go to see the Queen and Oxbridge. |