Once there was a man who liked to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.
So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.
Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived – a well-known sage who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.
He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.
Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout, “What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?” The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was very angry, “If I could just come down, I would show you!”
That’s what everybody wanted – that he came down. But how? Now everybody was tense, as to what would happen next! Some wanted to chastise the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was enraged and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge（复仇）.
He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.
However, the rescued man found the sage gone. He stood there, realizing that the man really saved him because he induced（引诱）him to try his best and save himself.
“I should be thankful and not angry.”
| A．on the very top of the tree |
| B．hidden in the middle of a tree |
| C．on the tree for the longest time |
| D．exposed to sunlight less often |
| A．He slipped and fell to the ground suddenly. |
| B．He was climbing down quickly but carefully. |
| C．He remained hanging helplessly on the tree. |
| D．He shouted loudly for help but no one helped. |
| A．He was nervous. | B．He kept silent. |
| C．He felt surprised. | D．He was angry. |
| A．Courage. | B．Revenge. |
| C．Carefulness. | D．Assistance. |
| A．Anger saves one’s life. |
| B．Wisdom does count. |
| C．Skill and strength count. |
| D．Anger is the biggest enemy. |
Have you ever complained why life is so tiring? Does the sky sometimes seem dark to you? Are your studies sometimes not successful? Well, friends, cheer up and smile all the time. If you see the world with your warm heart, you’ll find that the whole world smiles to you.
While in school, sometimes you are tired of your lessons, but have you ever noticed the happy smile on your teacher’s face when you did a good job?
One day it is fine. Just before you go out, it suddenly starts to rain. Maybe you would feel very sad and start to complain about the weather. But dear friends, why don’t you sit down and listen to the free concerts that the nature offers you? And with the timely rain, crops in the fields will grow better and better and farmers will have a good harvest.
Although everyone wants to succeed in what he tries to do, sometimes failure can’t be avoided. I think failure is not terrible, and the terrible thing is that we are afraid of it and give up hope. When we face failure, we must be confident in ourselves, draw a useful lesson from it and try our best to finish what we have decided to do. As a popular saying goes, “Failure is the mother of success”.
Attitude decides everything. With an optimistic attitude life is easy and pleasant. Let’s smile to whatever we meet and the whole world will smile to us.People sometimes complain _________.
| A．the sky is always dark |
| B．their studies are successful |
| C．they see the world with their heart |
| D．life is tiring |
When we face failure, we ___________.
| A．must be confident in ourselves |
| B．shouldn’t be afraid of it |
| C．shouldn’t give up hope |
| D．All of the above |
The best title for the passage is_______.
| A．Smile and the World Smiles to You |
| B．Complaining about Life |
| C．Failure is the Mother of Success |
| D．It is Very Hard to Succeed |
Liu Huan is a professor at the University of International Business and Economics. He is also a noted musician and popular singer in the Chinese mainland.
Born on Aug. 26, 1963 in to a teacher’s family in Tianjin, Liu enrolled at the University of International Relations in Beijing in 1981, majoring in French literature. He was retained at the university as a faculty member(教职工)after graduation in 1985. He won two first prizes in Beijing’s first-ever university English and French singing contests in 1985. To help promote local education by teaching music, he lived in Shizuishan, a remote area in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, in 1985~1986. He was appointed a professor at the University of International Business and Economics to teach the history of Western music in 1991, and has been working at the university for more than 20 years.
As a professor, Liu is invited every year to colleges and universities in Beijing to teach music courses. As a famous musician, when asked if his classes differ from other teachers’, Liu simply said, “Nothing different. While standing on the platform, I am just a teacher. Everything outside has nothing to do with me at that moment. ”
Since becoming a professional singer in 1985, Liu’s singing has been widely welcomed across the country. He won many national awards, including the Top 10 Film and TV Singers in the Country in 1988, in 1990 and in 1992. On Aug. 8, 2008, Liu sang a duet “You and Me” with Sarah Brightman at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, reaching the top of his singing career. In addition to singing, Liu Huan also creates original scores for film and TV. His works have been well received by both audiences and his peers in the industry.
Therefore, Liu is chosen to act as one of the four judges on “The Voice of China” , a surprisingly popular singing talent show which has been aired on Zhejiang Satellite TV since July 13, 2012. At the same time, his fellow judges are Na Ying, Yang Kun, and Harlem Yu.
What does the underlined word “noted” in the first paragraph mean?
| A．Famous. | B．Skilled. | C．Gifted. | D．Important. |
Liu Huan used to live in Shizuishan, a remote area in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to_____
| A．learn about their customs and cultures |
| B．improve his ability of composing music by living in the village |
| C．help promote local education by teaching music |
| D．find some talented students in music |
When he reached the top of his singing career, he was .
| A．45 | B．22 | C．28 | D．49 |
Which is NOT true of the description about his musical achievements?
| A．He has won the Top 10 Film and TV Singers in the Country three times. |
| B．He succeeded in singing a duet “You and Me” with Sarah Brightman at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. |
| C．He creates many original scores for film and TV. |
| D．He is the only one who acts as a judge on “The Voice of China”. |
Pat O’Burke was a poor Irishman with a large family, and one morning, waking up very early from cold and hunger, he decided to go shooting in a wood near his cottage. The wood belonged to Lord Northwood, a rich gentleman, Pat had no right to go there, but in it there were swarms of rabbits and flocks of birds that were good to eat, and Pat determined to take the risk. Suddenly he saw the owner, with a group of friends, coming towards him in the wood. There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face as he caught sight of the gun in Pat's hands. Pat's heart sank with fear, but he saw there was no hope of escape, so he walked boldly(大胆) up to the company and said to Lord Northwood, “Good morning, sir, and what has brought you out so early this morning?” Lord Northwood, rather surprised, said he and his Mends were taking a little exercise to get an appetite(食欲) for their breakfast. Then, looking at Pat with suspicion(怀疑), he said, “but why are you out so early in the morning?” “Well, sir” said Pat, “I just came out to see if I could get a breakfast for my appetite.” The whole crowed burst into laughter at Pat's ready wit(机智，风趣), and with a smile Lord Northwood walked on, leaving Pat to try his luck with the rabbits.This is a story about _____.
| A．a rich man who owned a big wood |
| B．a poor Irishman who lived all by himself |
| C．a clever man who tried to get something to eat |
| D．an Irish hunter with a large family |
There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face. Why?
| A．He was not expecting Pat at this early hour. |
| B．He knew Pat was coming for shooting. |
| C．He didn't like the poor Irishman at all. |
| D．Pat had not told him he would come. |
Why was Lord Northwood surprised?
| A．He had not expected such a bold question from Pat. |
| B．He wondered why Pat didn't run away. |
| C．Pat wasn't afraid of him. |
| D．Pat had a gun in his hands. |
What made the whole crowd burst into laughter?
| A．Pat's funny looks |
| B．Pat's interesting remarks |
| C．Pat's quick and humorous response |
| D．Pat's promise to leave fight away |
Hi, everybody !
Welcome to our newly-opened Richards Cinema Bookstore!
Now let me introduce to you some of the new film books in our store.
Are you Chinese film fans? OK, here comes the latest 25 New Takes about Chinese films. It is a collection of 25 fresh readings of different Chinese films from the 1930s to the present. In recent years, Chinese films are very popular in the States, such as Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Flowers of Shanghai.
Do you like French films? Well, here is The French Cinema Book. It covers French films from the 1890s to the beginning of the 21st century. It is written for all lovers of French cinema: students and teachers, specialists and fans, and so on.
Maybe you are Indian film fans and star-chasers. Then here is Encyclopedia ( 百科全书 ) of Indian Cinema. The book is a complete introduction to all the best Indian films. It also offers a full list of names of the famous and successful film stars in the past ten years. You know, the Indian film industry is the largest in the world after our Hollywood.
If you like British films, we have The British Cinema Book. It is a good review of British cinema. This book contains a good many nice pictures.
In our bookstore, you can also find books about Mexican, Japanese, Australian, German and Italian films.
Well, please help yourselves to some coffee or tea, and have a good time here!The speaker of the passage is most probably _______
| A．the author of 25 New Takes |
| B．a tourist in the cinema bookstore |
| C．the manager of the cinema bookstore |
| D．a reader of Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema |
How many Asian countries does the speaker refer to when he talks about the film books?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Nine. |
Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage？
| A．Indian cinema is second only to Hollywood. |
| B．The British Cinema Book includes a complete list of names of stars. |
| C．Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon is well received in the States. |
| D．The French Cinema Book covers over a century's French films. |
The purpose of the speaker is_______.
| A．to satisfy the customers' various tastes |
| B．to keep the authors in the cinema bookstore |
| C．to offer the tourists chances to meet the film stars |
| D．to take the readers into film producers |
Typhoons (台风) in the northern part of the world have girls’ names.Sometimes they have very beautiful names.Rose is a pretty name but there was nothing pretty about Typhoon Rose.It was the worst typhoon to hit Hong Kong in ten years.
It began to rain in the morning of Monday, August 16th, 1971.At ten o’clock in the morning, Typhoon Rose was still 130 miles away but already the wind was blowing people’s umbrella away.The wind became stronger and stronger.The typhoon shelters (避风港) were soon full of boats.Ships that were too big to go inside the shelters put down more anchors (锚).Some very big ships went out to sea.It is safer for a big ship to be at sea in a typhoon because it cannot be blown onto rocks.Kai Tak Airport closed.No planes were able to take off or land.At 9:00 in the evening, all the lights went out.
No one slept well that night.It is difficult to sleep in such bad weather.
In Typhoon Rose, more than one hundred people died.229 people were hurt and 66 of these had to go to hospital.1500 lost their homes.The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose!What’s true according to the passage?
| A．Typhoons all over the world have girls’ names. |
| B．Typhoons with pretty names are usually beautiful. |
| C．Typhoon Rose only hit Hong Kong. |
| D．For ten years, people in Hong Kong haven’t seen a worse typhoon than Typhoon Rose. |
What’s the possible result of Typhoon Rose?
| A．Lots of big shops were blown onto rocks. |
| B．More than two hundred people lost their lives and many more lost their homes. |
| C．People didn’t sleep well in such bad weather. |
| D．People turned off the lights at 9:00 in the evening. |
The people of Hong Kong will not quickly forget Typhoon Rose because ____________.
| A．it caused the terrible losses(损失) |
| B．they didn’t sleep well that night |
| C．Typhoon Rose wasn’t as pretty as its name |
| D．they couldn’t find their ships after the typhoon |
Some big ships didn’t go inside the shelters because _______.
| A．they had more anchors |
| B．it is safer outside |
| C．they were out at sea and they weren’t fast enough to reach the shelters when Typhoon Rose came |
| D．it was too expensive for big ships to go inside the shelters |
This passage is mainly about ______.
| A．the names of typhoons |
| B．typhoons in Hong King |
| C．Typhoon Rose |
| D．the typhoons |