Two Chinese farmers who became an overnight sensation(轰动) when their heartrending version of a famous pop song appeared on the Internet took to the stage in front of thousands of fans in Shanghai last Saturday.
Wang Xu,44，and Liu Gang,29，sang “In the Spring” alongside the song's star composer Wang Feng，in front of about 80,000 people at the Shanghai Stadium.
The audience buzzed with excitement and let out deafening cheers，the moment as they were introduced on the stage and then when Liu started the first sentence of their parts of the song.
The two migrant workers became stars after singing the tearjerker(催人泪下) song during an evening drinking session in a 6squaremeter rented room in a late August evening. A friend recorded the performance on a cell phone and posted it on the Internet.
“If someday I am dead，please bury me in the spring，” they sing. Wang's penetrating chorus，delivered with his eyes closed，has moved thousands to tears.
Wang and Liu consider the song a true portrait of lower-class groups like themselves.
“With no credit card，no girlfriend，or a home with hot water，but only a guitar，I am singing happily，on streets，under bridges or in the wild country，though nobody pays attention to the music，” they sing.
To support his wife and two sons，Wang came to Beijing in 2000 from the countryside and has worked as a boiler man，and street peddler，before becoming a medical warehouse keeper，with a monthly pay of around 1,500 yuan. Little is left after he pays 600 yuan for rent and buys food.
Liu came to Beijing in 2002.“I want to try my luck in the big city，” he said. He had worked as a guard，roadside peddler，and porter，but never had a stable job. Street performing was his main income，even after he married and became a father three years ago.
Wang and Liu are still uncertain where their fame will lead. Wang has started learning to use a computer. They even have a microblog(微博) account to communicate with fans.Wang Xu and Liu Gang first became nationally known after ______.
| A．they sang the song “In the Spring” with a star composer Wang Feng |
| B．the video of them singing “In the Spring” was posted on the Internet |
| C．they sang on streets and under bridges |
| D．they started their microblog |
People like Wang and Liu's version of “In the Spring” because ______.
| A．they sang the song better than other singers |
| B．they were introduced to the public by the song writer himself |
| C．it was specially composed for them two |
| D．it is a heartfelt expression of the two singers as migrant workers |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．migrant workers' conditions will be improved soon |
| B．they will learn to write songs on computers |
| C．a song showing people's real life and feelings is more likely to be accepted |
| D．singers from migrant workers are more likely to become popular |
The best possible title for the passage is ________.
| A．Internet Farmer Stars Make Stage Appearance |
| B．“In the Spring”-A Touching Song |
| C．A Successful Internet Performance |
| D．No Pains，No Gains |
The life-long benefits of teaching children good money habits make it well worth the effort. Children who are not taught these lessons pay the consequences for a life time. Some parents don’t teach children about money because they think they shouldn’t talk about money with children, don’t have the time, or think they don’t have enough money. Parents should take the time to teach children about money regardless of their income and should start when children are young.
Most people have strong feelings and opinions about money, based on childhood experiences and the values and beliefs of their families. Most often, these experiences, values, and beliefs are different for each parent. It is important for the healthy development of children that parents talk about these feelings and opinions and establish a consistent(始终如一的)approach to teaching children about money.
Here are some guidelines parents can keep in mind as they begin the financial socialization of their children:
★Advise rather than order how the child’s money should be used.
★Allow children to learn by mistakes and by successes.
★Be consistent while taking children’s differences into account.
★Include all family members in money management discussions, decision making, and activities suitable for their age.
★Explan to children what they can and cannot do and the consequences of going above the limits.
★As children get older increasingly include them in discussions of limits and consequences.
★Expect all family members to perform unpaid, routine household work based on their abilities.
★Express your desire to have things you can’t afford. Children need to know that parents say “no” to themselves, too.The writer believes that if children don’t learn good money habits, they.
| A．won’t be able to earn enough |
| B．won’t be involved in housework |
| C．will have to work hard all their life. |
| D．will suffer the bad results all their life |
Some parents don’t teach their children good money habits, because.
| A．they don’t have money for their children to spend |
| B．they think miney is too serious for children |
| C．they think children can learn naturally |
| D．they believe money is an adult thing |
According to the 2nd paragraph, the writer seems to believe that .
| A．childhood experiences will heip people create a lifelong money value |
| B．taking is the most important way to help children from their values |
| C．values of money should be different from parent to parent. |
| D．children’s opinion about money will never change if established |
Which of the following are parents advised to do?
| A．To allow children to make mistakes if they’re likely to succeed. |
| B．To make children do housework for the family and pay them. |
| C．To help children learn to say “no” to their own unrealistic desires. |
| D．To encourage children to set limits for themselves. |
When 24-year-old Hannah Brencher moved to New York after college, she was hit by depression and loneliness. One day she felt so lonely that she wanted to reach out to someone. So she put pen to paper and started writing letters—letters to complete strangers.
But these weren’t sad letters about how she was feeling. They were happy letters, all about the other person, not her. She would write messages for people to have a “bright day” and tell strangers how outstanding they were, even if they thought no one else had noticed. Brencher began dropping the notes all over New York, in cafes, in library books, in parks and on the subway. It made her feel better, knowing that she might be making somebody’s day through just a few short, sweet words. It gave her something to focus on. And so, the website The World Needs More Love Letters was born.
The World Needs More Love Letters is all about writing letters—not emails, but proper, handwritten letters. Not traditional love letters, written to a real beloved, but surprise letters for strangers. They don’t necessarily say “I love you”, but they are full of kindness—telling people they are remarkable and special and all-around amazing.
Brencher’s initiative (初衷) has now exploded. She has personally written hundreds of letters. Last year, she did a TED talk, in which she talks about a woman whose husband, a soldier, comes back home from Afghanistan and they struggle to reconnect: “So she leaves love letters all over the house as a way to say: ‘Come back to me. Find me when you can.’” And then comes another story of a man threatening to kill himself on his Facebook page, only to now be in the land of the living, with many love letters under his pillow.
The World Needs More Love Letters Project works on the idea that “A love letter a day keeps the doctor away” . It’s about sharing positive energy, restoring confidence and happiness. There are now more than 10,000 people from all over the world joining in to write letters to the lonely and depressed, to basically tell them that everything will be okay.When feeling lonely, Brencher wrote letters to _________________.
| A．share her sad feelings with strangers |
| B．tell strangers how outstanding she was |
| C．express her wish to have a bright day |
| D．brighten strangers’ day with kind words |
According to the passage, which of the following letters can be found on the website?
| A．The email to remarkable people. |
| B．The handwritten letters to friends. |
| C．The traditional love letters to beloved ones. |
| D．The encouraging letters to strangers. |
What can be inferred from Brencher's TED talk?
| A．The man leaves love letters to his wife, asking her to look for him |
| B．The woman gets on well with her husband after his return from Afghanistan |
| C．The life of the man in the second story has been saved by the inspiring love letters |
| D．The man in the second story has written many love letters and put them under his pillow |
In the last paragraph, the underlined sentence means .
| A．love letters can help cheer you up in spirits |
| B．love letters can keep you physically healthy |
| C．love letters can make the doctors out of work |
| D．love letters can keep you sway from loneliness |
Below is some adviee on how to prevent cancer.
Eat Blueberries
Aside from being a healthy and delicious snack, blueberries contain pterostilbene, which has important colon cancer-fighting prosperities. But wait, it gets better. Blueberries also offer a large dose of vitamins C (14 milligrams per cup). So at breakfast, try to take in a cup and a half of blueberries in your cereal or yogurt, or mixed with other berries.
Drink Pomegranate（石榴）Juice
The deep red juice of the pomegranate contains various chemicals, which together create a powerful anticancer mixture. Most recently, researchers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison has discovered that 16 ounces of pomegranate juice per day also may inhibit(阻碍) the growth of lung cancer.
Relax
Feeling stressed or worried? Find ways to relax and you may reduce your chances of developing cancer. Purdue University researchers tracked 1,600 men over 12 years and found that half of those with high levels of worry died during the study period. Only 20 percent of the optimists died before the study were completed, while 34 percent of the extremely anxious men died of some type of cancer. Instead of stressing about the past or future, focus on the present and relax!
Take Selenium（硒）
Selenium is well known for its cancer-fighting properties. In a study of almost 1,000 men, researchers from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that when men with the lowest initial levels of selenium in their bodies received a daily supplement over a 4-year period, they cut their prostate（前列腺）cancer risk by a remarkable 92 percent. However, it is possible to get too much of a good thing, so monitor your intake of selenium-containing supplements, Brazil nuts, tuna, meats and grains carefully.
Break a Sweat
Even a small amount of exercise can offer major cancer-fighting benefits. In a study of 29,110 men published in the International Journal of Cancer, men who exercised just once a week had a percent lower risk of prostate cancer than men who didn’t work out at all. The better the frequency, duration and intensity of the exercise, the bigger the reduction in risk, according to the study.To prevent yourself from catching colon cancer, you should eat ____ as often as possible.
| A．selenium | B．blueberries |
| C．pomegranates | D．Vitamin D |
A person is very likely to catch some type of cancer if ______.
| A．he is very fond of exercise every day. |
| B．he is addicted to drinking |
| C．he always feels extremely stressed or worried |
| D．he likes to have meals in restaurants |
will remarkably reduce the risk of men’s prostate cancer.
| A．Having a proper supplement of selenium |
| B．Drinking a cup of pomegranate juice every day |
| C．Breathing fresh air now and then |
| D．Taking exercise at least once a week |
If you want to keep cancer away, it is very important to ______.
| A．have a daily supplement of vitamins B and C |
| B．try to ignore the secondhand smoking |
| C．take in as much selenium as possible |
| D．have exercise as often as possible |
Sarah Outland’s weeklong “staycation” gave her a chance to explore her new surroundings after moving to Chicago. A day after moving to the Windy City last year, Outland started a new job and never got a chance to explore her new surroundings. After nine months as a resident, she finally took a week off work to visit famous landmarks, museums and shopping centers that were right under her nose.
If you glance through a newspaper or listen to a news broadcast recently, you may hear or spot a strange word, “staycation”. Staycation is a new word the American press is employing to describe a vacation very close to your home, or simply staying at home during your vacation. It is a combination of words “stay”and “vacation”.
According to many news reports, these staycations are achieving great popularity among American families this year. When asked about the reason for their expected staycation, respondents stated “gas prices are too high” (61 percent), “travel in general is too expensive (44 percent). The high price of gas for cars and airplanes has made it very expensive for Americans to travel compared to past years. When you combine this with the weak American dollar, it all adds up to people deciding to stay close to home during their traditional summer vacations.
For aggressive young Americans who are trying to balance family and work, a staycation can be a great concept. They want to enjoy their homes and the attractions in their area without the stress of packing or making reservation. They won’t be paying high fuel prices either directly, at the pump, or indirectly, in airfare, other than the gas required to drive around town. Absolutely, it’s friendlier on the environment when locals take trips to attractions in their own area, and not everyone is game for a vacation that involves staying on a hotel compound. Few people live close enough to a real destination to make this worth their while.How long after moving to Chicago did Sarah Outland take a staycation?
| A．A day | B．A week | C．A month | D．Nine months |
The author develops the second paragraph of the passage by______.
| A．making a comparison | B．giving a definition |
| C．offing an analysis | D．providing an example |
Staycations are popular with American people mainly due to _____.
| A．high traveling expenses | B．stress of packing |
| C．relatively low income | D．lack of real destinations. |
The Dangers of Dieting
Thanks to our modern lifestyle, with more and more time spent sitting down in front of computers than ever before, the number of overweight people is at a new high. As people crazily search for a solution to this problem, they often try some of the popular fad(时尚) diets being offered. Many people see fad diets as harmless ways of losing weight, and they are grateful to have them. Unfortunately, not only don’t fad diets usually do the trick, but they can actually be dangerous for your health.
Although permanent weight loss is the goal, few are able to achieve it. Experts estimate that 95 percent of dieters return to their starting weight, or even add weight. While the irresponsible or unwise use of fad diets can bring some initial results, long-term results are very rare.
Nonetheless, people who are bored with the difficulties of changing their eating habits often turn to fad diets. Rather than being moderate, fad diets involve extreme dietary changes. They advise eating only one type of food, or they prohibit other types of foods entirely. This results in a situation where a person’s body doesn’t get all the vitamins and other things that it needs to stay healthy.
One popular fad diet recommends eating lots of meat and animal products, while nearly eliminating carbohydrates（碳水化合物）. A scientific study from Britain found that this diet is very high in fat. According to the study, the increase of damaging fats in the blood can lead to heart disease and, in extreme cases, kidney failure. Furthermore, diets that are too low in carbohydrates can cause the body to use its own muscle for energy. The less muscle you have, the less food you use up, and the result is slower weight loss.
Veteran(老兵) dieters may well ask at this point, “What is the ideal diet?” Well, to some extent, it depends on the individual. A United States government agency has determined that to change your eating habits requires changing your psychology of eating, and everyone has a different psychology. That being said, the British study quoted above recommends a diet that is high in carbohydrates and high in fiber, with portions of fatty foods kept low. According to the study, such a diet is the best for people who want to stay healthy, lose weight, and keep that weight off. And, any dieting program is best undertaken with a doctor’s supervision.After losing weight by dieting, what usually happens to people?
| A．They have kidney failure. |
| B．They gain the weight back again. |
| C．They keep the weight off. |
| D．They have less muscle. |
Which of the following best expresses the essential information in paragraph 3?
| A．Bored people turn to fad diets, which, being too extreme, don’t give the body everything it needs. |
| B．People are bored with fad diets and turn to diets which provide what the body needs. |
| C．People prefer fad dieting to moderate dieting because it requires fewer foods to give the body what it needs. |
| D．Fad diets give boring people the moderate dietary changes they need to get all the required vitamins. |
Which is not mentioned as an effect of the meat and animal product diet?
| A．Heart disease. | B．Slower weight loss. |
| C．Psychological changes. | D．Kidney failure. |
According to the passage, why does the ideal diet depend on the individual?
| A．The less muscle you have, the less food you use up. |
| B．Everyone can gain the weight back. |
| C．Everyone has a different psychology. |
| D．Everyone likes different foods. |