When Kate’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon (丝带）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kate had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City, Kate suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven. Her spine (脊柱) became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kate taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kate’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kate’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.What does the underlined phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most probably mean?
| A．A far better artist. |
| B．A far more gifted artist. |
| C．A much stronger person. |
| D．A much more famous person. |
The terrible pain Kate suffered was caused by .
| A．polio | B．her bent spine |
| C．back injuries | D．the operations she had |
Kate’s style had become increasingly independent since the .
| A．1930s | B．1940s | C．1950s | D．1970s |
What is author’s attitude toward Kate?
| A．Devotion. | B．Sympathy. |
| C．Worry. | D．Encouragement. |
President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to a very important truth today — that business organizations have more prestige (威望) in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions still possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the idea of competition than other organizations in society. Since competition is seen as the main source of progress and development by most Americans, competitive business organizations are respected. Competition is not only good in itself; it is the means by which other basic American values, such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the individual freedom by making sure that there is no monopoly (垄断) of power. Compared with one and all-powerful government, many businesse
s compete against each other for benefit. If one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to the competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Since there are many businesses competing for the customers’ dollars, they cannot afford to treat them unfairly and the customers would lose nothing.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it gives more support for freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people while business leaders are not. Many Americans believe that competition is as important, or even more important, as democracy in protecting freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the idea of equal opportunities. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to any person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is
commonly seen as the American choice of the higher social position which is not based on one’s family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equal opportunities. Which of the following is discussed as the main topic in the passage?
| A．Competition in America’s business. | B．Freedom in America’s business. |
| C．Americans’ different values. | D．Business against government. |
Americans believe that they can realize their personal values ______.
| A．when given equal opportunities |
| B．through doing business |
| C．by protecting their individual freedom |
| D．by means of competition |
Who can benefit from business competition?
| A．Businessmen who compete. |
| B．Customers of those businesses. |
| C．People with the idea of equality and freedom. |
D．Both business organizations and government . |
It could be inferred from the passage that the author believes ______.
| A．business in other countries are not as competitive as those in the USA |
| B．business problems are very important to the American government |
| C．the competition in business plays a very important role in America |
| D．American business is the most powerful one in the whole world |
Some names have special meanings in popular American expressions. One day, an average Joe was walking down the street. An average Joe is a common person — either male or female. He did not know where he was going. So average Joe asked John Q. Public for directions to the nearest bank. John Q. Public is also a common person — male or female. “Jeez Louise,” said John Q. Public. This is an expression of surprise. “Don’t you know that all banks are closed today? It is Saturday.”
“For Pete’s sake.” said average Joe. This is also an expression used to show a feeling like surprise or disappointment. “I do not believe you,” said he. At that moment, Joe Blow was walking down the street with a woman. Joe Blow is also an expression for a common person. Now this Joe Blow was not walking next to a plain Jane. A plain Jane is a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty. The woman with Joe Blow was a real Sheila — a beautiful woman.
Average Joe asked the woman if all banks were closed on Saturday. “No way, Jose,” she answered. This is a way of saying “No.” “No way, Jose. Many banks are open on Saturdays.”
Average Joe did not know either of these two people from Adam. That is, he did not know them at all. But he followed their directions to the nearest bank.
When he arrived, he walked to the desk and said: “I am here to withdraw some money so I can pay my taxes to Uncle Sam”. This represents the United States government. The banker produced some papers and told him to sign his John Hancock at the bottom. A John Hancock is a person’s signed name — a signature. Historically, John Hancock was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Hancock had a beautiful signature and signed his name larger than all the others.The main idea of this text is that ______.
| A．some popular American names have special stories |
| B．some popular American expressions have some special names |
| C．some popular American names have special meanings |
| D．some popular American expressions are interesting |
Which of the following refers to an ordinary-looking woman
?
| A．An average Joe | B．John Q. Public | C．Joe Blow | D．A plain Jane |
The name “Jeez Louise” is ______.
| A．an expression of surprise | B．a feeling like disappointment |
| C．an expression for a common man | D．a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty |
When 47-year-old volunteer Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and “never been kissed, actually”, few in the audience would have wondered why. This Ms Boyle, looking unfashionable, from a village in Scotland, shocked the three judges and the audience with the song I dreamed a dream from the musical Les Miserables on a show of Britain’s Got Talent, one of the hottest reality shows in Britain.
She couldn’t hide the awkwardness when walking to the center of the stage in a housedress, and everyone — including the judges — seemed laughing at her when she said she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. As soon as she began singing, however, everyone in the auditorium fell silent, then rose within seconds to applaud her incredible voice as the celebrity judges sat open-mouthed, and remained standing to the end.
After her performance, one of the judges Piers Morgan said, “Without doubt that was the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years of this show. When you stood there everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing no
w. That was amazing.” Actress Amanda Holden followed, “I’m so thrilled because I know that we everybody were against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical (愤世嫉俗的) and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever.”
Susan obviously won over the hearts of millions around the world with sensation spreading across the Atlantic. Hollywood actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore — who between them have nearly 1.5 million followers — speak highly of her. Kutcher posted a link to the video clip (片段). The Scottish talent made her live American debut via satellite connection on CBS’s The Early Show, doing an interview and singing live from her room. And she already accepted an invitation from talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Now Boyle has become one of the world’s hottest celebrities. The video clip of her performance has been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube, becoming a hit on the Internet. We learn from the passage that Susan Boyle ______.
| A．rose from a low social class |
| B．had an unhappy marriage |
| C．lived with a dog alone on a farm |
| D．won the championship in the Britain’s Got Talent show |
At the beginning of the show, almost everybody ______.
| A．looked forward to her wonderful performance |
| B．was attracted by her beautiful dress |
| C．looked down upon her |
| D．placed great hope on her |
We can infer that ______ contributed most to her global popularity.
| A．the judges | B．the Internet | C．the newspaper | D．the advertisement |
The 4th paragraph intends to tell us ______.
| A．how Susan Boyle achieved her success |
| B．the comment made by American actor Ashton Kutcher |
| C．Susan Boyle’s influence in the USA |
| D．Oprah Winfrey’s invitation to Susan Boyle |
On a Friday night, a poor young artist stood at the gate of the New York railway station, playing his violin. The music was so great that many people stopped to put some money into the hat of the young man.
The next day, the young artist came to the same place, and put his hat on the ground gracefully. Different from the day before, he took out a large piece of paper and laid it under his hat. Then he began to play the violin. It sounded more pleasant than ever.
Soon he was surrounded with people who were attracted by the words on that paper. It said, “Last night, a gentleman named George Sang put an important thing into my hat by mistake. Please come to claim (认领) it soon.”
After about half an hour, a middle-aged man rushed through the crowd to the violinist and said, “Yes, it’s you. I knew that you were an honest man and would certainly come here.” The young violinist asked calmly, “Are you Mr George Sang?” The man nodded. The violinist asked, “Did you lose something?” “It’s a lottery ticket,” said the man. The violinist took out a lottery ticket on which George Sang’s name was seen. “Is it?” he asked. George nodded and took the lottery ticket and kissed it, then danced with the violinist.
The violinist was a student at an arts college and had planned to attend advanced studies in Vienna. Later his classmate asked the violinist, “At that time you needed money to pay the tuition （学费）and you had to play the violin in the railway station every day to make money. Why didn’t you keep the lottery ticket for yourself?”
The violinist said, “Although I don’t have much money, I live happily. But if I lose honesty I won’t be happy forever.” Through our lives, we can gain a lot and lose so much. But being honest should always be with us. What did the young artist do at the railway station on Friday?
| A．He played the violin to make some money. |
| B．He waited for the train to Vienna. |
| C．He came to buy a train ticket to Vienna. |
| D．He walked around the New York railway station. |
According to the words on the paper, which sentence below is TRUE?
| A．It asked a gentleman named George Sang to claim his hat. |
| B．It asked a gentleman named George Sang to claim his important thing. |
| C．It was a lottery ticket and he needed to find the owner. |
| D．It was a lottery ticket and the owner is unknown. |
From this article, we can learn that ____.
| A．we should share with others if we find something valuable |
| B．we should know the importance of honesty and lead a happy life |
| C．keep the lottery if you find one |
| D．playing the violin could make you feel happy |
“Hey, Jenna, do you think we’ ll still be friends when we’re eighty-two?” I asked my friend.
Losing Jenna would be like losing a very close sister.
“Of course, we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty-two,” Jenna announced loudly
The next year, in Grade Four, we met Jamie. The three of us soon became close friends. We played together almost every day. I thought even time couldn’t pull us apart, but I was sadly mistaken.
The three of us started fighting a lot. Before Christmas, We had a really big fight, and Jamie and Jenna were against me, both saying I was bossy (专横的). I felt helpless and lonely. I thought Christmas would be horrible!
I was surprised when Jenna came to my house and gave me a terrible Christmas card she had made for me. I was so sure that she was still disappointed with me.
“Wow,” I said, breaking the silence as we stood on either side of my front door. “Thanks.”
“Okay…well… I have to go,” she said softly.
“Okay. See you later then…” and I closed the door.
“Who was that at the door?” my mom asked.
“It was Jenna, my classmate.” I said.
The card started off with “Merry Christmas”, but then it said, “I am so glad we’re friends. I am sorry about what I said when we were fighting. A fight won’t stop us from being friends. Besides, we said we were going to be friends even when we’re eighty-two.”
I stopped reading and started laughing. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten what she said that day in the backyard. I couldn’t believe I had been so selfish in trying to make my friends feel sorry for me.The best title for this passage would be______________.
| A．Jenna and I |
| B．Friends Forever |
| C．Friendship is very important. |
| D．Friendship is very necessary. |
How would the author and Jenna get along with each other after Christmas?
| A．They would be close friends again. |
| B．They would not speak to each other. |
| C．They would lose touch with each other. |
| D．They would go on fighting with each other. |
What can we learn from the underlined sentences?
| A．The author was sure Jenna felt sorry for her. |
| B．The author didn’t think Jenna was still angry with her. |
| C．The author hadn’t thought Jenna would send her a Christmas card. |
| D．The author knew Jenna would come to see her and said sorry to her. |
Which of the following is the right time order according to the passage?
a. Jamie became the author’s friend.
b. The author felt lonely and unhappy.
c. Jenna, Jamie and the author fought.
d. Jenna brought the author a Christmas card.
e. The author was sorry for what she did.
f. Jenna and the author promised to be lifelong friends.
| A．f-a-b-c-e-d | B．a-c-f-b-d-e |
| C．a-b-c-f-e-d | D．f-a-c-b-d-e |