Jane Austen (1775-1817), an English novelist, started writing young and completed six novels in her life. Today Austen’s books are more popular than ever. In the last 10 years, five of her six novels have been made into Hollywood films, while her books continue to be best-sellers.
Richard Jenkyns, a professor of English at Oxford University, says that her novels are about marriage, friendships and the family, which are still with us today. “The stories are timeless,” Jenkyns said.
Pride and Prejudice(偏见)(1813) is Austen’s most famous work. It is a love story about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. At first, these two dislike each other. Elizabeth is pretty, smart and lively. She is proud because Darcy doesn’t know about her family. Mr. Darcy is handsome, rich and has a better family background. So, he is proud as well. At the same time, Darcy holds a prejudice against the Bennet family. He has no understanding of why the family, especially its mother and daughters should try so hard to find wealthy and powerful husbands. He thinks they are vulgar. Anyway, Elizabeth and Darcy finally fall in love and become a romantic couple(夫妻) but their families don’t want them to.
In Pride and Prejudice, some of the main things that Jane Austen wants to teach people are as follows. Opposites can attract（吸引） each other. Lovers should not only make each other feel relaxed or comfortable, but also educate and improve each other.
Austen os often called the greatest romantic writer, so it is surprising she remained unmarried. ‘Maybe she was too romantic, waiting for the perfect man,” Jenkyns says.From Paragraph 1and Paragraph 2,we can know_________.
| A．Jane Austen passed away in her fifties |
| B．Austen’s works remain popular today |
| C．all of Austen’s works have been made into Hollywood films. |
| D．Austen’s works are mostly about war and the family. |
Which of the following sentences is True?
| A．Elizabeth and Darcy fall in love at first sight. |
| B．Elizabeth has a better family background than Darcy. |
| C．Darcy has a first good impression of Elizabeth’s family. |
| D．Elizabeth and Darcy become a romantic couple in the end. |
What does the underlined word”vulgar” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．粗俗的 | B．鲁莽的 | C．吝啬的 | D．伪善的 |
FILM DATES (June 5th—June 25th)
| THE ROYAL THEATER Film:2012 (160 minutes) Date: Saturday and Sunday Time: 2:00 pm-5:00 pm Price: ￥40 Tel: 0351-8734204 |
THE KING’S CINEMA Film: Up (102 minutes) Date: Saturday and Sunday Time:2:30 pm Price: ￥20 ( free ticket for children under 10) Tel: 0351-8319312 |
| CHANGFENG THEATER Film: Iron Man 2 (120 minutes) Date: from Tuesday to Friday Time: 4:00 pm Price: ￥60 Tel: 0351-8061635 |
TOWN CINEMA Film: Ink Heart (106 minutes) Date: from Monday to Friday Time:9:00am Price: ￥30(adults)￥20 (children under 18) Tel:0351-8456161 |
How much is the ticket of the film 2012?
| A．￥20. | B．￥30. | C．￥40. | D．￥60. |
You can call______ if you want to see Iron Man 2.
| A．0351-8734204 | B．0351-8319312 |
| C．0351-8061635 | D．0351-8456161 |
At 9 0’clock in the morning, you can go to______ to see a film.
| A．the King’s Cinema | B．Changfeng Theater |
| C．the Royal Theater | D．Town Cinema |
I had hidden the long black bag in the garage for the past two days．Tonight，in the dark，I would finally take it away．If everything went OK，it would be done by morning．But I had to be sure no one，not even my wife，saw me．
It was more difficult to get away from the party than I expected．I said that the children were tired and needed to get to bed．It was partly true．But the main reason for leaving was that I wanted to complete my plan．
First I had to get the kids to sleep．That was never easy at any time and tonight it was even more difficult．The eldest one wanted to know why we left the party early．I told him 10:30 pm was not early．As usual，I read them a bedtime story，but I had to stop myself reading too quickly or they would learn my secret．
Silence finally came，and feeling like a thief in the night，I went out of the house and into the garage．Taking one end，I dragged the bag out from its hiding place and took it into the garden．I was worried that my neighbours might see me and call the police．
It was already eleven o’clock．By the light of the moon I started working，trying to make as little noise as possible．And that was not easy with a saw（锯子）and a hammer．
After much effort，my work was finally completed．I looked down at my watch．It was exactly 4:00 am．Then I went inside to have a shower and get a few hours of sleep．It wouldn’t be long now before the kids would rush into my room and wake me up to tell me about the new tree house Father Christmas had brought them this year．Why did the man feel nervous?
| A．He left the party too late． |
| B．He was afraid of the darkness． |
| C．He didn’t know where the black bag was． |
| D．He worried that others would discover his secret． |
The underlined word“they”in Paragraph 3 refers to________．
| A．thieves |
| B．parents |
| C．children |
| D．neighbours |
In what order did the man do the following?
a．Read the kids a story．
b．Had a shower．
c．Worked in the moonlight．
d．Dragged the bag from the garage．
e．Went to a party．
| A．e－d－a－b－c |
| B．e－a－d－c－b |
| C．a－b－e－d－c |
| D．a－e－d－c－b |
What did the man want to do after finishing his plan?
| A．Go to sleep． |
| B．Wake up his children． |
| C．Open the bag． |
| D．Call the police． |
How would the children feel when they saw the man’s work?
| A．Confused． |
| B．Excited． |
| C．Tired． |
| D．Angry． |
（河北）
Tuesday，1st September
I had mixed feelings today，nervous，worried，happy，excited…My heart went down when Miss Chan，our head teacher，said that Matthew and Beth，two students from England，would spend three months with us!I was worried that I had to speak English so much!But at the end of the school day，I was happier than I thought：the morning with them today was more enjoyable than I expected．
Today is the most unforgettable first day I have had!Matthew is fantastic!His English is clearer and easier to listen to than I thought．The other English student，Beth，is the most helpful girl I’ve ever met．There were lots of things to do on the first day．Beth offered to help Miss Chan put up all the notices．Of course，some of the credit（功劳）should also go to ME because I translated some of the notices for her．Miss Chan praised us!
We finished all the preparations 10 minutes earlier than expected，and then Beth and I talked for a while．Matthew sang several English songs and did some stand－up comedy（单人喜剧表演）at the party．We all praised him．When the bell rang to end the first school day，none of us wanted to leave．
When I went back home，I had a little headache．I have probably spoken more English today than the whole of last year．
It was really a happy day!I hope our friendship can continue，even after they have gone back to England!The writer felt________when he heard the news from Miss Chan．
| A．excited |
| B．angry |
| C．fantastic |
| D．worried |
Beth helped Miss Chan with the________．
| A．comedy |
| B．speeches |
| C．notices |
| D．translation |
Matthew________at the party．
| A．had a talk |
| B．rang the bell |
| C．sang several songs |
| D．made preparations |
Matthew and Beth________on the first day．
| A．spoke much Chinese |
| B．got lots of praise |
| C．had a little headache |
| D．forgot to leave school |
From the passage，we know that the writer________．
| A．caught a bad cold that day |
| B．went back home with Beth |
| C．expects to travel to England |
| D．likes the two English students |
What should I do?
One of the most popular items in the school newspaper is the advice column．No one knows who writes it．The students think their teacher does，but it might be a student using a false name．The students enjoy thinking up problems for the advice column．Here are some of them and their answers．
ASK THE WISE OWL
Q：I’m always late for school．I try not to be，but I can’t help it．Please advise me what to do．Tommy．
A：You are probably late for school because you don’t really like school．My advice to you is to try and enjoy school more，and then you won’t be late so often．
Q：I find it difficult to make friends．What do you think I should do?Sara．
A：I can’t advise you until I know more about you．Your problem may be that you are shy．On the other hand，it may be the opposite．You may be too bold（大胆自信的）．Write and tell me more about yourself．
Q：I’m always at the bottom（底）of the class．What do you advise me to do?Molly．
A：I advise you to concentrate on improving your grades in one subject to start with．If you can do this，you should move a little way up from the bottom．Next，try to improve your grades in another subject，and so on．If you concentrate on one subject at a time，by the end of the year you should be quite a long way up from the bottom．What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The school newspaper has an advice column． |
| B．Tommy wrote to the school newspaper to ask for advice． |
| C．Sara finds it difficult to make friends． |
| D．The advice column in the school newspaper is very popular． |
What is Tommy’s problem?
| A．He is always late for school． |
| B．He finds it difficult to make friends． |
| C．He is always at the bottom of the class． |
| D．He needs help with his homework． |
What does the Wise Owl want Sara to do?
| A．Stop being so shy． |
| B．Stop being so bold． |
| C．Make more friends． |
| D．Give more information about herself． |
What does Molly want to do?
A Make more friends
B．Improve her grades．
C．Stay at the bottom of her class．
D．Concentrate on one subject at a time．By the end of the year，where should Molly be in her class?
| A．At the bottom． |
| B．A little way up from the bottom． |
| C．Quite a long way up from the bottom． |
| D．At the top． |
B
Dear Abby，
I’m a helpless mother．My son Tom is 15 years old．I find that the older he grows，the less we talk．I feel very sad and I really need help．
My first problem is about his hobbies．He spends almost all his spare time on computer games．When he gets home．he always turns on the computer and closes the door．I’m getting worried about him，especially when his English teacher tells me he always gets low marks in the English exams．
Second，he likes new technology，but I don’t have enough money and I can’t afford all the things he wants．
Recently，I’ve found that he is always alone．I’ve never seen him talking to his friends on the phone or going out with anyone on weekends．That is the last problem I have．
What should I do to help him?Please give me some advice．
A helpless motherThe helpless mother has________problems．
| A．two |
| B．three |
| C．four |
| D．five |
Tom________for almost all his spare time at home．
| A．plays computer games |
| B．talks with his mother |
| C．does his homework |
| D．practises typing（打字） |
From the passage we know that Tom’s mother________．
| A．is not worried about Tom |
| B．feels very happy |
| C．is not rich |
| D．likes new technology |
The helpless mother asks Abby to________．
| A．play with Tom |
| B．talk to Tom |
| C．buy what Tom wants |
| D．give her some advice |
Which of the following is TRUE about Tom?
| A．He is 14 years old． |
| B．He is not good at English． |
| C．He often phones to his friends． |
| D．He likes going out on weekends． |