Many young people want to become pop stars. It is their great ambition(雄心)in life. They think ： pop stars make a lot of money ； they lead interesting and exciting lives ； thousands of fans adore them ； they become famous.
Yes, but first they must become stars. Most performers start life with a group. This is the pattern nowadays. But there are many groups and the competition is hard. Groups appear and disappear almost overnight. Only a small number stay. Almost without exception (例外)they have to work very hard before they reach the top.
And very few reach the top and stay there. In England there are perhaps thirty or so groups at the top. Most of these do not earn so much money ； perhaps $ 400 each time they perform. What is more，they have quite a lot of expenses. They have to pay a manager, for example. He is the key person in their lives and he takes about 20% of their earnings—perhaps more. Then there are their clothes，their instruments and their van(车)•
And don't forget they have to travel a great deal, sometimes 2,000 miles in one week. At times they even sleep in their van instead of a hotel, just to save money.
So now, what do you think? Are pop stars so rich? And do they have such exciting lives?Which of the following is the reason why many young people want to become pop stars?
| A．Living an exciting life. |
| B．Being loved by thousands of fans. |
| C．Becoming rich. |
| D．All of the above. |
The right statement in the following about pop stars is that __________.
| A．most of them fail to reach the top |
| B．they lead relaxed lives. |
| C．they can travel all over the world |
| D．they spend a lot of money on their clothes |
Why is the group's manager well paid?
| A．Because he runs this group. |
| B．Because he looks after them. |
| C．Because he is important to them. |
| D．Because he buys them clothes and instruments. |
How do pop groups spend the money they earn?
| A．They pay the manager 20% of their earnings or more. |
| B．They have to pay for clothes, instruments and their van. |
| C．They often make trips. |
| D．All of the above. |
The writer makes us believe __________.
| A．it is pleasant to become a pop star |
| B．that if you work very hard in pop groups, you will reach the top |
| C．pop stars are neither too rich nor too happy |
| D．general persons had better not dream of pop stars |
For many writers, writing stories or plays is a part-time job: to support themselves they take on other jobs, such as teaching. It is one sign of August Wilson’s success that for many years he has been able to make a living only by writing plays.
Wilson was born in Pittsburgh and dropped out of school in the ninth grade. He was a good reader, however, and continued his education by reading library books, learning about black nationalist movements of the time, and closely observing(观察) the lives of the poor people.
In the late 1960’s Wilson set up a theater company called Black Horizons and began to think of ways to describe African-American life on the stage. He had the idea of a cycle of plays, each of which was set in a different decade(十年) of the 20th century, showing how African-American life has developed.
The first successful play of this series was Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom about black musicians in Chicago in the 1920s, who are not accepted by white society. Other plays in the series include Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, about blacks in the 1910s who had moved north to Pittsburgh in search of a new identity; Fences, which focuses on a father–son conflict(冲突) in the1950s; and The Piano Lesson, about a 1930s family that was uncertain about whether to sell the family’s treasure. For the last two of these plays Wilson was awarded Pulitzer Prizes.
Wilson has written eight plays in his cycle, the most recent being King Hedley the Second, a play set in the 1980s. His plays are enjoyed by both the blacks and the whites and engage anyone who is interested in African-American experience.Wilson won Pulitzer Prizes for ________.
| A．The Piano Lesson & Fences |
| B． Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom & Fences |
| C．The Piano Lesson & King Hedley the Second |
| D．King Hedley the Second & Joe Turner’s Come and Gone |
It is possible that in his series of the 20th –century plays, Wilson plans to write ________.
| A．no more | B．two more | C．three more | D．four more |
The underlined word “engage” in the last paragraph means ________.
| A．award | B．benefit | C．please | D．attract |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．The life of August Wilson. | B．The growth of August Wilson. |
| C．A cycle of plays of August Wilson. | D．August Wilson’s theater company. |
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is also the most neglect (忽视). Common reasons for not eating breakfast include having no time, not feeling hungry, traditional dislike and dieting.
Breakfast simply means “break the fast’’. Your body spends at least 6 to 12 hours each night in a fasting state. In the morning your body needs energy for the day’s work ahead.
A good breakfast should provide 1/3 of your total calorie needs for the day. On average, we eat 400 less calories for breakfast than for dinner. If you don’t feel like having breakfast in the morning, try eating a lighter dinner earlier in the evening or save half of your dinner for breakfast in the morning.
If you still aren’t hungry in the morning, start with something small like juice or toast or have a nutritious(有营养的) mid-morning snack later when you are hungry.
So, you say you are on a diet. Some people fear that eating breakfast will make them hungrier during the day and they will eat more. It is true that eating breakfast is likely to make you feel hungry throughout the day. That is because your body is working correctly. Although you may feel as if you are eating more all day long, in reality you are probably not.
Not eating breakfast can also cause you overeat, since a fall in blood sugar often makes you feel very hungry later. To make matters worse, since your body is in a slow state, it will not be able to burn those extra calories very efficiently(有效). If you feed your body healthy snacks and meals throughout the day, you are less likely to become hungry and stuff (填饱) yourself as soon as you begin to eat.
Since breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day, choosing the right food is important. The best breakfast foods are fruits, juice, lean meat and grain products such as bread, rice, noodles and cereals.What is the meaning of the word “fast” in the phrase “break the fast”?
| A．Movement. | B．Going without food. |
| C．Quickness. | D．Certain kind of food. |
If you don’t want to have breakfast in the morning, according to the writer’s suggestion, you should ________.
| A．see a doctor to have an examination |
| B．have a good supper |
| C．go to a restaurant to enjoy a good meal |
| D．have a little supper |
Eating breakfast, in fact, makes your body ________.
| A．work out of order | B．produce too much energy |
| C．work well | D．feel hungry quicker |
In the last paragraph, the writer mainly ________.
| A．persuades us to have a good breakfast |
| B．tells us what food isn’t suitable for breakfast |
| C．tells us what food we should have for breakfast |
| D．describes when and how we should have our breakfast |
Where can you find a nice place to relax on holiday for both you and your children? Well, I suggest you try the beautiful and green Isle of Wight (IOW). The Isle of Wight is one of the main tourist attractions. Here is some information on a few of the attractions on the IOW.
Dinosaur Isle
It is located in Sandown, a seaside town on the southeast coast. It's a large, lovely museum, both fun and educational. Here you can see a large fossil collection of all kinds of dinosaurs, as well as a gift shop. You can walk into the past and then the future, learning about the history and the development of the civilization of dinosaurs that lived 120 million years ago.
Robin Hill Country Park
The park is in the beautiful countryside, and is suitable for children's parties and games. It has five new gardens, and offers great opportunities to see and take pictures of the rare red squirrels.
The West of the Wight
Here we have the Marine Aquarium, the Archaeology Exhibition and the Model Railway. They offer another opportunity to combine fun with learning. This is a great place to see ancient boats crossing the narrow strait between the island and the mainland.
The Wight Bus Museum
This museum is run completely by unpaid volunteers. It has a bus collection stored in what was once a warehouse(仓库). Most of the buses in the museum date back to around the 1910's.
With all of these choices, what are you waiting for? IOW Tourism welcomes you!Where can you learn something as well as have a good time?
| A．Dinosaur Isle and Robin Hill Country Park. |
| B．Dinosaur Isle and the West of the Wight. |
| C．The Wight Bus Museum and Robin Hill Country Park. |
| D．The Wight Bus Museum and the West of the Wight. |
It can be learned from the passage that ____.
| A．those running the Wight Bus Museum work for free |
| B．on Dinosaur Isle we can learn about all kinds of animals |
| C．there are five new gardens on Dinosaur Isle |
| D．the Wight Bus Museum can be visited free of charge |
The purpose of this passage is to ____.
| A．show the development of tourism on the IOW |
| B．tell readers what is worth visiting |
| C．attract readers to come to the IOW |
| D．advise readers how to relax on holidays |
You can read this article in a ______.
| A．travel magazine | B．science journal |
| C．book review | D．film advertisement |
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．playing the violin could make you feel happy |
| C．keep the lottery if you find one |
| D．we should know the importance of honesty and lead a happy life |
In the early part of the twentieth century, racism was widespread in the United States. Many African Americans were not given equal opportunities in education or employment. Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was an African American woman who gained fame as a concert singer in this climate of racism. She was born in Philadelphia and sang in church choirs during her childhood. When she applied for admission to a
local music school in 1917, she was turned down because she was black. Unable to attend music school, she began her career as a singer for church gatherings. In 1929, she went to Europe to study voice and spent several years performing there. Her voice was widely praised throughout Europe. Then she returned to the US in 1935 and became a top concert singer after performing at Town Hall in New York City.
Racism again affected Anderson in 1939. When it was arranged for her to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, the Daughters of the American Revolution opposed it because of her color. She sang instead at the Lincoln Memorial for over 75 000 people. In 1955, Anderson became the first black soloist to sing win the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. The famous conductor Toscanini praised her voice as “heard only once in a hundred years”. She was a US delegate to the United Nations in 1958 and won the UN peace prize in 1977. Anderson eventually triumphed over racism.According to this passage, what did Marian Anderson do between 1917 and 1929?
| A．She studied at a music school. |
| B．She sang for religious activities. |
| C．She sang at Town Hall in New York. |
| D．She studied voice in Europe. |
Toscanini thought that Marian Anderson .
| A．had a very rare voice |
| B．sang occasionally in public |
| C．sang only once in many years |
| D．was seldom heard by people |
Anderson’s beautiful voice was first recognized .
A．at the Lincoln Memorial
B．in Washington, DC.
C．in Europe
D．at the United NationsThis passage shows that Anderson finally defeated racism in the US by .
| A．protesting to the government |
| B．appealing to the United Nations |
| C．demonstrating in the streets |
| D．working hard to perfect her art |