You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another hard. At the start they only fight with their fists. But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs. And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He is dead!Of course he isn't really dead. With any luck he isn't even hurt. Why? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains are professionals. They do this for a living. These men are called stuntmen. That is to say, they perform tricks. There are two sides to their work. They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example, they fall from a high building. However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress (床垫). Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar! But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training. Often a stuntman' s success depends on careful timing. For example, when he is "blown up" in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion just at the right moment.
Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives. They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed. A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff (悬崖) a thousand feet high. His parachute failed to open, and he was killed. In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only. Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action. For nowadays there are stuntgirls too.Stuntmen are those who ______.
A.often dress up as actors |
B.prefer to lead dangerous lives |
C.often perform seemingly dangerous actions |
D.often fight each other for their lives |
Stuntmen earn their living by ______.
A.playing their dirty tricks |
B.selling their special skills |
C.jumping out of high windows |
D.jumping from fast moving trains |
Which of the following is the main factor of a successful performance?
A.Strength. | B.Speed. |
C.Exactness. | D.Carefulness. |
What can be inferred from the authors example of the Norwegian stuntman?
A.Sometimes an accident can occur to a stuntman. |
B.The percentage of serious accidents is high. |
C.Parachutes must be of good quality. |
D.The cliff is too high. |
One day a few years ago a very funny thing happened to a neighbour of mine. He is a teacher at one of London’s big medical schools, He had finished his teaching for the summer term and was at the airport on his way to Russia to give a lecture.
He had put a few clothes and his lecture notes in his shoulder bag, but he had put Rupert, the skeleton (人体骨骼) to be used in his lecture, in a large brown suitcase (箱子). At the airport desk, he suddenly thought that he had forgotten to buy a newspaper. He left his suitcase near the desk and went over to the shop.
When he got back he discovered that someone had taken his suitcase by mistake. He often wonders what they said when they got home and found Rupert.
56. Who wrote the story?
A. Rupert’s teacher.B. The neighbour’s teacher.
C. A medical school teacher. D. The teacher’s neighbour.
57. Why did the teacher put a skeleton in his suitcase?
A. He needed it for the summer term in London.
B. He needed it for the lecture he was going to give.
C. He wanted to take it to Russia for medical research.
D. He wanted to take it home as he had finished his teaching.
58. What happened at the airport?
A. The skeleton went missing . B. The skeleton was stolen .
C. The teacher forgot his suitcase. D. The teacher took the wrong suitcase .
59. Which of the following best tells the teacher’s feeling about the incident?
A. He is very angry . B. He thinks it rather funny .
C. He feels helpless without Rupert. D. He feels good without Rupert .
60. Which of the following might have happened afterwards?
A. The teacher got back the suitcase but not Rupert.
B. The teacher got back neither the suitcase nor Rupert.
C. The teacher got back Rupert but not the suitcase.
D. The teacher got back both the suitcase and Rupert.
C
Flags have existed for over 3000 years.The earliest flags were wooden or metal poles topped with a carving.About 2000 years ago pies of fabric were added to some poles for decoration.Over the next 500 years the free-flying part of the flag became more important.
Every country today has its own flag.Many groups and organizations also have a flag which stands for,or symbolizes,the aims of the group.
The flag depicts (描绘)a world map,centered on the north pole.The map is surrounded by an olive(橄榄)wreath(花环)symbolizing peace and co-operation.The flag is blue and white.
8.Flags have been in existence for _________.
A.500 years B.over 3000 years
C.about 2000 years D.between 500 and 2000 years
9.A very old flag is likely to _________.
A.be made of fabric B.have a map on it
C.have white shapes on it D.be made of carved wood
10.An olive wreath is used to represent _________.
A.peace B.purity C.justice D.equality
B
Below is a table which shows the melting(液化)and boiling points of common substances.Study the table.Then do Numbers 4—7.
Substance |
Melting point(C) |
Boiling Point(C) |
Water Alcohol Nitrogen Oxygen |
0 –117 –210 -218 |
100 78 –196 –183 |
4.The underlined word‘substances'means‘a type of'_________.
A.matter B.liquid C.solid D.gas
5.Which of the four should be a liquid at-90 degrees?
A.water B.alcohol C.nitrogen D.oxygen
6.Mixing alcohol and water is often used to wash windscreens of cars during the wintertime because _________.
A.it is easier for alcohol to change into gas
B.alcohol is not easily separated from water
C.alcohol freezes at lower temperature than water
D.the mixture is not expensive
7.In order to change water from a solid to a liquid energy must be _________.
A.removed B.added C.created D.destroyed
六、Reading comprehension.(阅读理解)20分
A
Air is an odorless(that cannot be smelled;smelless),invisible(that cannot be seen)gas that surrounds the planet earth.It is everywhere on the planet.An “empty” drinking glass and an “empty” room,to give two examples,are not really empty.Each is filled with air.When the glass is filled with water,the water pushes the air out of the glass.
Air,as a gas,has no definite(fixed,particular)shape,but,because it is matter,it takes up space.It is easy to prove that air is something that takes up space.Stuff a dry handkerchief into the bottom of a glass so that it will not fall out when the glass is turned upside-down.Push the upside-down glass,hold it straight into a jar of water till the glass is completely covered.When the glass is taken out of water,the handkerchief will be dry.The air inside the glass took up space and kept the water from coming in.
1.“Stuff a dry handkerchief into…”.The underlined word means.
A.Press tightly B.Take out C.Put down D.Turn fully
2.The writer tells us that _________.
A.the experiment was done in the laboratory
B.the experiment was done outside the room
C.the experiment is easily done
D.the experiment is carried out indoors
3.Which of the following pictures gives us the correct result?
(W—water;A—air;H—handkerchief)
On March 5, 2009, Michael Jackson stood in front of crowds of fans. Before screaming fans, he pronounced with pumping arms: “This is it!”
A few months later, Jackson was dead. With the late pop star’s return to radio, television and the cultural events, Forbes judges that Jackson has made $90 million since his death June 25. This figure is based on his royalties(版税) from album sales, radio play, rights to his name and royalties from his stock in the Sony/ATV music catalog (编目权).
Jackson’s music was his most easily-seen source in the last months. “Nothing increases the value of an artist than death ... an untimely death,” says Barry Massarsky, a music industry economist.
The music’s immediate value was clear. Since June, Jackson has sold more than 5.9 million albums in the U.S. and another 4.5 million overseas. In the first weeks after his death, there were 5.6 million single downloads across North America, Europe and Australia. Jackson recently has three of the top 20 best-selling albums of the year in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. His 2003 hits album Number Ones is the best seller of the year, beating Taylor Swift’s Fearless.
More than 500,000 Jackson ringtones and 100,000 music videos were sold. In the week following his death, songs by The Jackson 5, The Jacksons and Michael were played over 100,000 times on the radio, according to Nielsen BDS.
Jackson’s estate(遗产)will likely see more money by the end of this year, as it has rights to some of the profits from This Is It as well as the two-disc album of the same name. The estate will share 90% of the film profits with AEG.
Ticket sales from an exhibit opening in London will also contribute a likely profit. Hundreds of Jackson’s personal belongings-his L.A. Rolls Royce etc-will remain on show for three months at the O2 for fans willing to shell out $25 for a view.
The pop singer bought ATV Publishing, for $47.5 million in 1985. Ten years later, he sold the catalog to Sony for $95 million and took a 50% stock in Sony/ATV, which is now worth about $1.7 to $2 billion. So he still owned half the Sony/ATV catalog at his death.
Jackson’s future earning potential is based on his stock in valuable music and as well as the value of his image(肖像). As many musicians, actors and artists before him, Jackson’s fame could have a long tail on the market with allowable products, advertising and entertainment events.What do Barry Massarsky’s words in Paragraph 3 imply?
A.Jackson died at the time as expected. |
B.Only at death can an artist become famous. |
C.Jackson became more famous at death than when he was alive. |
D.Jackson’s unexpected death raised his value as an artist immediately. |
All the following is true EXCEPT that _____.
A. “This is it” is the last concert that Jackson gave
B. Jackson has sold 10.4 million albums since June
C. Jackson’s L.A. Rolls Royce is now for show and will finally be sold
D. Jackson’s stock in music and his image will keep on earning money in the futureWhat can be inferred from the passage?
A.Jackson’s album Number Ones beat Taylor Swift’s Fearless in 2003. |
B.Taylor Swift’s Fearless is the second best seller of music albums of 2009. |
C.AEG takes in more film profits from “This is it” than Jackson’s estate. |
D.More Jackson’s music videos were sold than his ringtones right after his death. |
What can we know about the Sony/ATV catalog?
A.Jackson sold ATV catalog to Sony in 1985. |
B.Jackson had half right of ATV Publishing at his death. |
C.Jackson sold ATV catalog to Sony for $ 47.5 million in 1995. |
D.Jackson’s stock in Sony/ATV now has a value of about $ 1.7 billion to 2 billion. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Why Michael Jackson’s music is so popular all over the world. |
B.How Michael Jackson has earned $90 million in the months since his death. |
C.What Michael Jackson’s future earning potential is based on. |
D.How much Michael Jackson earned in the first few months after his death. |