Warner Brothers has announced more Harry Potter movies are on the way. The studio is working with Potter author J. K. Rowling to create a new franchise (特需经营权) of movies based on “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them”, which is a fictitious textbook in the Harry Potter world. The story will also follow the adventures of the book’s author, Newt Scamander. Rowling, for the first time, will pen the screenplay.
It comes as no surprise that Warner Brothers is trying to keep the Harry Potter franchise going. The films alone have earned $7.7 billion at the box office. The franchise has probably almost doubled those earnings on home video and TV sales. Then there’s the many Harry Potter products that fans still snatch up.
But at some point, Harry Potter could seem old hat and that’s not something Warner Brothers wants to see happen. So executives had three choices: restart the franchise, come up with continuations or spin off part of the Potter world into a new movie.
Without books to support the new stories, the upcoming movies could be a tougher sell for Warner Brothers. Harry and friends won’t appear at all in the new movies which will be set in New York 70 years before Harry Potter heads to Hogwarts.
The new stories will also net video games, products and enhance Rowling’s website.
Here’s Rowling on the upcoming franchise:
It all started when Warner Brothers came to me with the suggestion of turning “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of “Fantastic Beasts”, realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.
As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t get rid of. That is how I could express my own idea for a film to Warner Brothers.
Although it will be set in the worldwide community of wizards (巫师) where I was so happy for seventeen years, it is neither a previous work nor a continuation to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry gets underway.The phrase “snatch up” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “_____”.
| A．rush to purchase | B．give up reluctantly |
| C．make profits from | D．take away by force |
What made Rowling accept Warner Brothers’ proposal?
| A．Her eagerness to try writing for the screenplay. |
| B．Her unwillingness to see others write the story. |
| C．The attraction of earning more at the box office. |
| D．The film company’s promise to enhance her website. |
It is implied in the passage that creating and selling the new movies may be _____.
| A．inspiring | B．embarrassing |
| C．disappointing | D．challenging |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Warner Brothers’ expanded partnership with Harry Potter author. |
| B．Warner Brothers’ success and development in Harry Potter series. |
| C．Rowling’s view on the upcoming franchise of Harry Potter movies. |
| D．Rowling’s creative ideas for the cooperation with Warner Brothers. |
My grandmother was from a town in Michigan. Summer after summer, I enjoyed staying with my grandparents as a young child. I was from the city and loved the small town they lived in. People knew everyone, their kids, their pets, their ancestors. The bond with them continued to grow as I grew and they got older. Grandma was always using her hands for something exciting. She would make little sandwiches and we’d have tea parties. She’d make beautiful quilts for each one. I remember the small thimble(顶针) she would use while doing her needle work.
A few years ago, when Grandma left this earth, I bid farewell to a loving grandmother. How quickly our lives can change. We had just had tea together a couple of months earlier, on her 91st birthday.
I missed her very much. On one particular birthday, when I was feeling a little low, something happened to make me feel like she was sharing that special day with me. I was arranging some colorful pillows that she had made, and suddenly I felt something inside one pillow. It was small and hard. I moved the object to a seam(接缝) that I carefully opened, and to my delight out came a tiny silver thimble! How happy I was to find something that had been a part of her. Not realizing it had fallen off her finger, I pictured her sewing it in that little pillow that I just happened to place on my bedspead that day. I carefully laid the thimble alongside the others I’ve collected over the years, where I could continue to see the gift God chose to reveal to me. What a precious memory of a very special lady who somehow, I knew, was laughing in delight at sewing her thimble inside my pillow.
I made some tea, using my best china, as Grandma always did, and enjoyed my tea and Grandma’s thimble. What a wonderful birthday that was!
60.The author liked staying with her grandparents because________.
A.they often bought her some gifts
B.she was curious about people and things there
C.she could have tea parties and eat sandwiches
D.she could learn to sew quilts
61.How did the author feel when she found the silver thimble?
A.Sad B.Proud C.Lucky D.Cheerful
62.It can be inferred from the passage that the silver thimble________.
A.was the item the author had been trying to find
B.was the most treasured possession of Grandma
C.was very precious to the author
D.was a birthday gift Grandma had given the author
63.What is the best title for the passage?
A.A little pillow B.Grandma’s silver thimble
C.My grandparents D.My childhood
第三部分：阅读理解(共两节，满分40分)
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
The best diet for you is the one that you can follow for the rest of your life. Most diets can get you to your goal if you do exactly what they say.
The first thing to do is to look at what you’re doing now. If it’s easier for you to see where you’re going wrong by writing down what you eat for the next week, then do that.
When you become familiar with the foods you choose to eat every day, it’s easy to start to subsitute(用…代替)healthier alternatives and make better choices. Let’s take a look at some common lifestyle choices that could help you lose weight easily.
Got a soda habit?
Drink a lot of soda or fruit juices? Substitute water and tea instead. Studies show that just this one substitution can help you drop 20 pounds in a year.
Spending a lot of time buying food at the drivethrough fast food joint?
Avoid anything that you can get through a drivethrough window. Bring your lunch instead. Home cooking almost automatically guarantees a meal that’s lower in fat and calories than anything you could get through a window.
Never finish a meal without grease(油脂) on your hands?
Deep-fried foods are loaded with calories and fat. Fry in a little olive oil, instead.
Always having a lot of sauces?
Holding the mayo(蛋黄酱)or anything else that’s creamy(含乳脂的)? If you’re ordering sandwiches with special sauce or mayo, then you’re eating a lot more calories and fat grams than you think you are. Some sauces can add more than 20 grams of fat, and hundreds of calories to your lunch. Mustard(芥茉)is a good alternative. It’s flavorful, and has virtually no calories or fat.
Take a look at what you’re doing, and make changes you can live with.
56.All the following will help you lose weight EXCEPT________.
A.mustard B.soda C.tea D.olive oil
57.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A.To make a list of the food you like best can lose weight.
B.To get a good idea of different foods is necessary.
C.Home cooking is more delicious than snacks.
D.Dropping 20 pounds in a year is difficult.
58.We can learn from the passage that________.
A.mayo is beneficial to people’s health B.most people think that mustard tastes bad
C.cooking is a waste of time D.drinking water contributes to weight loss
59.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.The best diet is a lifestyle change B.Stop buying fast food
C.What to do for the rest of your life D.Lead a healthy lifestyle
A good way to pass an examination is to work hard every day in the year. You may fail in an examination if you are lazy for most of the year and then work hard only a few days before the examination. If you are taking an English examination, do not only learn rules of grammar.
Try to read stories in English and speak English whenever you can. A few days before the examination you should start going to bed early. Do not stay up late at night studying and learning things. Before you start the examination, read carefully over
the question paper. Try to understand the exact meaning of each question before you pick up your pen to write. When you have at last finished your examination, read over your answers.
Correct the mistakes if there are any and make sure that you have not missed anything out.
68.If you want to improve your English, you must .
A.learn rules of grammar by heart B.speak Enlish all day long
C.do a lot of exercises D.practise it as often as possible
69.A few days before the examination it is suggested that you should .
A.go to bed early B.stay up late C.get up late D.work deep into the night
70.Before you begin to write in the examination paper, you should .
A.read over the examination paper carefully
B.try to understand the exact meaning of each question
C.correct the mistakes you may have made
D.pay attention to the rules of grammar
Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so your can never build another one . Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And
the tale behind the construction is just as impressive as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World.
In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying ,
she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial（纪念物）to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 2 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today, 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.
64. The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that .
A. the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building
B. ancient Indian emperors were cruel
C. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India .
D. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world.
65. The Taj Mahal was first built as .
A. a prison B. a gift to Mumtaz C. a memorial building D. a tourist attraction
66. From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in .
A. 1626 B. 1632 C. 1634 D.1653
67. The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “ ”.
A. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife
B. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power.
C. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal
D. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal
Crime has its own cycles, a magazine reported some years ago. Police records that were studied for five years from over 2,400 cities and towns show a surprising link between changes in the seasons and crime patterns.
The pattern of crime has varied very little over a long period of years. Murder reaches its high during July and August, as do other violent attacks. Murder, moreover, is more than seasonal: it is a weekend crime. It is also a nighttime crime: 62 percent of murders are committed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Unlike the summer high in crimes of bodily harm, burglary has a different cycle. You are most likely to be robbed between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on a Saturday night in December, January, or February. What is the most uncriminal month of all? May — except for one strange statistic. More dog bites are reported in this month than in any other month of the year.
60. The main idea of paragraph 1 is _________.
A. crime is a serious social problem
B. there is a link between changes in the seasons and crime patterns
C. crime is not linked to the changes in the seasons
D. 2,400 towns were studied for five years
61. The subject of paragraph 2 is __________.
A. Summer crime B. burglary C. murder D. nighttime crime
62. According to the passage, a murder would most likely occur _______.
A. on a weekend night in winter
B. on a weekend afternoon in summer
C. on a Saturday night
D. on a weekend night in summer
63. In paragraph 2 “it is also a nighttime crime,” “it” refers to _________.
A. murder B. 62 percent C. weekend crime D. dog bite