Ask any student to say one thing they know about Charles Dickens, and it is very likely they will say Oliver Twist. His classic tale of a poor orphan boy strikes at the heart of all those who have ever wanted "more", as Oliver did.
And now, Dickens' classic scenes of the lives of the Victorian British poor will appear in a big screen movie, "Oliver Twist," an adaptation of his classic tale directed by Roman Polanski.
The new film is not meant for younger viewers, and is meant for children over 13. For those old enough to enjoy it, however, the film shows just how long people have been enjoying Dickens' remarkable literature. His short stories and essays began appearing in magazines in 1833. "Oliver Twist" was published in 1837 - more than 165 years ago.
"Oliver Twist" tells the story of an orphan forced to live in a workhouse headed by the awful Mr Bumble, who cheats the boys who work there out of their already low pay. Oliver decides to escape to the streets of London, where he meets a thief called Fagin, played by Sir Ben Kingsley, who leads him into a world of crime. Several of Dickens' books have been made into films and television series, including 2002's "Nicholas Nickleby" and 2000's "David Copperfield." And several versions of "A Christmas Carol" have entertained audiences for years.
In his novels, Dickens wrote about several important issues. He talked about the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1824 in "Oliver Twist"; the French Revolution in "A Tale of Two Cities"; and helping the poor in "Hard Times.” One of Dickens' best-known books is the first Christmas book he wrote - "A Christmas Carol" (1843), about a mean man.
We thought this would be a good time to take a look at the man behind the words and see what kind of experiences helped shape and affect one of the best — known writers of all time.The “workhouse” in paragraph 4 should be ___
| A．a building where people are kept as a punishment for a crime they have committed |
| B．a place where dancing is taught or trained for international performance |
| C．a building where very poor people were sent to live and given work to do |
| D．a place where films are made or music is recorded |
How many works are mentioned in the passage?
A. 3 B. 4 C 5 D. 6The passage show many things about Oliver except that____
| A．he is forced to live in a workhouse by Roman Polanski |
| B．he meets a thief, Fagin, in the streets of London |
| C．he lives a hard life in his childhood |
| D．Fagin trains and forces Oliver to do some crimes |
The fifth paragraph mainly tells us ___
| A．Dickens’s birth and schooling |
| B．Dickens’s work experience |
| C．Dickens’s works and themes |
| D．Dickens’s influence and contribution |
A young father was visiting an old neighbor．They were standing in the old man's garden，talking about children. The young man said，“How strict should parents be with their children？”
The old man pointed to a string（绳子）between a big strong tree and a thin young one． “Please untie（解开）that string，” he said．The young man untied it，and the young tree bent over to one side．“Now tie it again， please，” said the old man，“but first pull the string tight so that the young tree is straight again．”
The young man did so．Then the old man said，“There，it is the same with children．You must be strict with them，but sometimes you must untie the string to know how they are getting on．If they are not yet able to stand alone，you must tie the string tight again．But when you find that they are ready to stand alone，you can take the string away．”The story is about ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．how to take care of young trees |
| B．how strict parents should be with their children |
| C．how the young father should get on with his old neighbor |
| D．how to tie and untie the string |
The young man untied the string ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．in order to throw it away |
| B．so that both of the trees would grow straight |
| C．only to find that the thinner one bent over to one side |
| D．in order to let the old man teach him |
When can the string be taken away？＿＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．When the old man has left |
| B．After you have untied it |
| C．When the young man has untied it next time |
| D．When the young tree grows strong enough |
At last the old man told the young man ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．that he should be strict with his children if they could not yet stand alone |
| B．that he should always be strict with his children |
| C．that he should be hard on them |
| D．that he should tie his children until they are ready to stand alone |
Chinese people are now living happier and longer than before. According to the latest study, the number of people over 60 years old is 130 million, making up 10 percent of the whole population, and increases at a rate of 3 percent per year. This marks that China has stepped into the aged society. It is the Chinese tradition to respect, love, support, and help old people, and the aging problem has received more and more attention from the society.
China has built the system to protect and serve old people’s legal (法律的) rights and interests, gradually developed social insurance, public health services and social welfare (福利) projects for old people, and als
o applied the minimum living standard protection (最低生活保障) system for the aged who are unable to work and receive no supports. Now, China is bringing the aging problem into the work of sustainable (持续的) development according to China’s conditions, to build and develop a social security system for old people, set up a system combined with the state, collectives (集体) and families to solve the problem of “the elderly should be provided for”. The life of China’s old people is more colorful along with the fast and sound economic development of the country.
Old people in today’s China who don’t have to consider their food and clothing hope to live more colorfully. The happy psychology (心态) of the aged makes them thir
sty for knowledge. Strong and healthy old people can be seen everywhere of the country. They learn new knowledge, surf the Internet, practice handwriting and drawing, and take part in fashion shows, exercises and entertainments. Their active and sound living attitude encourages the youth around and they are in fact an important role in ensuring a stable and peaceful society.The underlined part “thirsty for” (in the last paragraph) means “________”.
| A．want to drink water | B．feel hungry | C．want to learn | D．want to teach |
Which of the following is NOT the author’s idea?
| A．China has entered an aged society. |
| B．All people in the society should care for the old. |
| C．Old people’s active living ways have a good effect on the young. |
| D．The society hasn’t done enough for old people. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How to respect old people | B．Old people’s life in China |
| C．Old people’s problem | D．Old people’s wishes |
From the passage we can know that the author is ________ about the aging problem in China.
| A．disappointed | B．hopeful | C．worried | D．doubtful |
根据短文内容，从下框的A~F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余项。
A. Bollywood pays great attention to traditional values.
B. Bollywood is lees famous than Hollywood, and yet it produces the most films in the world.
C. Bollywood films are full of ideal things and free of daily worries.
D. Bollywood is a decent refreshing replacement for those over-stimulating Hollywood films.
E. Bollywood has gradually won its reputation on the world stage.
F. Bollywood films are mostly comic romances with light-hearted incidental music.
Hollywood movies 
are regularly filled with sex and violence. They can be exciting films but sometimes all you want is a little light-hearted entertainment.____ Have you heard of Bollywood? All singing, all dancing and unrealistic, it is the perfect alternative to normal Hollywood movies. Bollywood is the Indian film industry, based in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. Most Chinese school kids have probably never seen an Indian film. Yet Bollywood is the largest producer of films in the world. This year the Indian Filmgare Awards, Bollywood's Oscrs, turn 50 years old.
__ The typical Bollywood movie usually has the following ingredients: a cup of romance, a tea-spoon of comedy, a dash of international sight-seeing, served with a huge slice of singing and dancing. There will also be one brave hero, one beautiful heroine and one baddie. The result is a fun-filled musical.
__ There is never any mention of politics, poverty or war. The actors change clothes and locations within a single song. But the audience don't mind. To Indian movie lovers, especially the poor, such films are a gateway to heaven and the stars are their gods. The films take them to a magical world away from their everyday troubles. The films tell them the impossible is possible and that true love conquers all.
___ But, behind the beautiful scenes, Bollywood still emphasizes traditional family values. In most films, if two lovers want to break an arranged marriage, they can't just run away. They must win over their parents.
__ So if you're tired of all that Hollywood actions, check out the following Bollywood films. They will take you to a brighter, cheerier and more colourful world, where it's still cool to dance around a tree and sing a love song.
By choosing to let go of the past, we sweep out all the ashes that weigh us down and affect every aspect of our health, and our peace of mind.
My friend Jean was divorced after a thirty-year marriage that produced three daughters, one son and eight grandchildren. Because she actually raised them single-handedly, Jean was hurt and angry that the children didn't take her part after the divorce. For months she refused to attend any family celebration to which her former husband Jim was invited. When I reasoned that her children’s understanding of the relationship with and between the parents was probably altogether different from hers, she stuck to the belief that she was right.
One day Jean called in tears. “Saturday is my granddaughter
's birthday, and I want to be with her, but I can’t bring myself to face my former husband.” “Jim isn't the problem,” I said gently, “it's false pride. Instead of holding on to the painful past, which is over and done, let the feelings go and get on with your life. You're depriving yourself of the joy of sharing in these important occasions, while Jim feels free to experience them. Tell me, would you rather be right, or be happy?”
That must have done the trick because when Saturday arrived, Jean appeared at her daughter's home carrying her famous chocolate-chip cookies and a beautiful birthday
cake.
How great it feels to let go! And the more we practice the art of letting go of all negativity, the better able we become to devote our thoughts, our time, and our energy to living joyfully in the present, what ever age we happen to be. It can be inferred that ____.
| A．Jim did very little to bring up the children during their marriage. |
| B．The writer thought Jean and Jim shouldn't have divorced. |
| C．The children were on their father's side and didn't invite Jean to any family celebration. |
| D．Jean had been too tough on Jim before they divorced. |
The underlined phrase “depriving yourself of” is closest in meaning to ____ .
| A．persuading yourself to get | B．taking away from yourself |
| C．taking false pride of yourself | D．talking yourself into showing |
In the writer's opinion, ____.
| A．Jean and Jim should be remarried |
| B．a broken family could live together in peace |
| C．to be happy is more meaningful than to be right |
| D．everyone should look into the future |
For computer users, there is no bigger excitement than tossing out your old PC and upgrading to a newer, faster and cleaner machine. With hardware designers like Intel, pushing newer, faster products every year, and new software requiring even more powerful machines, companies and consumers have little choice but to go along.
But this rapid turnover is having a serious effect on the planet. Producing a personal computer consumes large quantities of natural resources. A recent study by the United Nations estimates the energy required to produce a single new computer is equivalent to nearly two barrels of oil. And that doesn't include the 22 kg of chemicals or the 1,500 kg of water used in the manufacturing process.
In fact, pound for poun
d（均等地）, the 
process for making a car is about 500% more efficient than that for making a computer. That doesn't matter so much 20 years ago when personal computers were few and far between, but times have changed. These days, computers are found nearly everywhere and sales continue to grow. The number of PCs in use topped one billion in 2002.
Waste in production is only half the problem. Old computers, especially the monitors, are full of dangerous substances, which need to be carefully recycled. The problem is sure to expand over the coming years as users replace their boxy CRT monitors with LCD flat displays.
Europe now requires that 70% of parts from old computers be recycled, but the study’s authors say that’s also part of the problem. The solution, they insist, is for governments and companies to encourage people to use their computers longer, and upgrade rather than replace. But considering that much of the world’s recent economic growth has come from spending on computers and information technology, that advice may sound like wishful thinking.What do computer users have to do every few years according to the passage?
A. Push newer, faster products.
B. Produce more powerful machines.
C
. Consume large quantities of natural resources.
D. Upgrade to a newer, faster computer.What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．The pound. | B．The process. |
| C．The car. | D．The computer. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that ____.
| A．governments and companies will surely encourage people to use their computers longer |
| B．governments and companies will probably encourage people to replace their personal computers |
| C．the world's economic has been growing without people's spending on computers and information technology |
| D．all parts from old computers are now recycled in Europe |
The purpose of writing this passage is ____
| A．to encourage companies to push newer, faster personal computers |
| B．to encourage people to design more new software |
| C．to encourage people to save their personal computers |
| D．to encourage people to spend more money on computers and information technology |