Dear God,
This is Charles. I’m twelve. I’m typing this letter. Sometimes it’s hard for me to write. It’s a disease called dysgraphia. I also have learning disabilities, but my IQ was tested at 140.
I could never hold a pencil in the right way. My brain doesn’t sense what my hand is doing. I can feel the pencil, but the message doesn’t get through right. I have to hold the pencil tighter so that my brain knows I have it in my hand.
It’s much easier for me to explain things by talking than writing. There are so many things I can picture in my mind, but my hands just can’t draw it the way I see it.
It’s OK. I’m not complaining. I’m really doing fine. You see, you gave me a wonderful mind and a great sense of humor. I’m great at figuring things out, and I love to debate. We have some great discussions in class, and that’s where I really shine.
I want to be a lawyer when I grow up. I know I’d be good at it. You have told me that you made me special. You make me believe that you will see me through, and that you have plans for me to give me a future and hope. My parents want to help me, so they buy me a laptop. My teacher is the best this year! I am allowed to do a lot of my work on the computer.
Life’s hard sometimes, but I accept the challenge. Thanks for loving me. Thanks for everything.
CharlesThe second paragraph mainly tells us ______.
| A．the details of his disease |
| B．his feelings about the disease |
| C．how to prevent the disease |
| D．how he holds a pencil in the right way |
The boy wanted to be a lawyer because of the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．he loved to debate |
| B．he was good at explaining things |
| C．he had a great sense of humor |
| D．lawyers don’t have to depend on writing |
The boy wrote the letter in order to ______.
| A．complain about his disease |
| B．show his gratefulness |
| C．show others that he was clever |
| D．talk about his life |
When the seventeenth-century settlers brought the English language to America, they immediately and necessarily began to adapt (使适应) it to their new environment. These changes were clear early and criticized by some people on both sides of the Atlantic. However, after the Revolution, Americans began to be proud of their own form of English. Noah Webster was the major early supporter of American meanings and spellings over British ones and published the earliest American dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language. During the years since Webster, language differences have continued to develop, proving (证明) the truth of George Bernard Shaw’s often-repeated words that the two nations are divided by a common language.
Like the American language, the earliest American literature (文学) copied English models. However, after the Revolution and the War of 1812, writers began to create a clear American literature. However, in 1820, Sydney Smith asked the famous question “Who reads an American book?”
Answering to this and similar taunts (讽刺) with creative anger, American writers soon produced works that plenty of British people read. Works by Washing-ton Irving, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain had been acclaimed greatly in Britain by the end of the nineteenth century.
Even as American writers got respect in Britain, British writers continued to have great influence in America. Charles Dickens went to America twice, in 1842 and 1867-68. Other major British writers who traveled and lived in the United States include D.H. Lawrence and Aldous Huxley. British best works continue to be widely read. The works of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen became popular films.
At the turn of the twenty-first century, many books and writers continue to cross the Atlantic in both directions — made possible by the proud heritage (继承) of the shared language.The author of this passage seems to think ______.
| A．British English is better than American English |
| B．American English is better than British English |
| C．the same language has divided the two nations |
| D．the same language has connected the two nations |
From the question asked by Sydney Smith, we can infer ______.
| A．the British had to translate American books into English ones |
| B．the British found American books difficult to understand |
| C．the British thought highly of books written by Americans |
| D．the British looked down upon American books at first |
The underlined word “acclaimed” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.
| A．sold | B．discussed |
| C．welcomed | D．refused |
In fine department stores everywhere, you’ll see the light-blue boxes of Estee Lauder. These popular cosmetics (化妆品) are sold in more than 130 countries. Who’s the woman behind this worldwide cosmetics empire (帝国)? Estee Lauder herself, of course. This businesswoman became, for a time, the world’s richest self-made woman. Her secret? “I didn’t get there by dreaming about it,” she would say. “I got there by doing it.” Estee was born in the early 1900s in Queens, New York. Her father ran a hardware (五金器具) store, and from him Estee learned how to be a successful salesperson. Estee learned from her uncle John Schotz, too. He made creams in a small laboratory behind the family’s house. Estee watched him. Soon, she was experimenting with her own cosmetics. She put lipstick (唇膏) and creams on any female relative who’d let her, until her annoyed father told her to stop.
She married Joseph H. Lauder in 1930, and continued her experiments. She would cook dinner for the family, and at the same time, make her face creams. Then she began to sell her products in a Manhattan beauty shop.
In 1960, Estee began to sell her products in Europe. After many tries she succeeded and began selling her products in some stores in London. But France proved even more difficult. The store Galleries Lafayette refused to sell her products. So Estee “by accident” dropped a bottle of youth dew (香水) on the floor in the cosmetics department. As the scent spread around the store, customers came over and asked to buy it. The store soon began selling Estee’s products.
Estee led her company until 1982, when her son Leonard took over the business. Until her health worsened in the mid-1990s, she continued to attend the opening of a new store wherever in the world. She died on April 24, 2004. Estee Lauder’s talent as a saleswoman was extraordinary. Her son Leonard said, “There was never anyone who could sell like she could.” All who worked for Estee appreciated her special talent.Which of the following can best describe Estee Lauder?
| A．A successful cosmetics saleswoman. |
| B．A beautiful shop owner in London. |
| C．A popular cosmetics producer in France. |
| D．A founder of a cosmetics company in America. |
What was Estee Lauder’s father’s attitude towards her when she tried her products on her female relatives?
| A．He supported her and helped her. |
| B．He didn’t care about what she did. |
| C．He was very angry at her for what she did. |
| D．He was proud of what she did. |
Estee managed to get her products known to the French customers by dropping a bottle of youth dew on the floor in the cosmetics department of a store ______.
| A．on purpose | B．with the store’s permission |
| C．by accident | D．carelessly |
The underlined word “scent” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.
| A．Estee’s product | B．a customer’s praise |
| C．a pleasant smell | D．the broken pieces of glass |
What’s black and white and read all over? Not newspapers, at least not anymore. In fact, if you’re like most young people, you probably don’t read the newspaper at all.
In one recent survey, just 19 percent of 18 to 34-year-old said they read a newspaper every day, while 37 percent watch local TV news and 44 percent visit Internet news sites daily. As people turn more and more to new technologies, they turn the pages of newspapers less and less.
“There’s a revolution (革命) in the way young people get news,” says media consultant Merrill Brown.
Just a generation (一代人) or two ago, the newspaper was the main way that many people got their news. Now, nearly every home has at least one TV set. There’s high-speed, wireless Internet both at home and in many public places.
You no longer have to wait for a bundle of newsprint to arrive on your doorstep every morning. Thanks to new technology, if you want to know what’s going on in the world, you can get breaking news immediately in more ways than one.
So newspapers face a very big challenge. Raised on MTV and video games, today’s kids and young adults want flashy displays, special effects, quick information, and the chance to interact (互动) in real time, even when they’re reading about serious problems.
If newspapers can’t find creative ways to be more than just ink on paper, some experts suggest, they might disappear completely.
Traditional newspaper articles are supposed to be read from beginning to end, lack (缺乏) of interaction. With Web pages, on the other hand, there’s more freedom. You can look through the things you’re interested in, then follow links to other sources. You can join discussion groups, read other people’s opinions on a topic, or start a blog to express your own views.This passage is mainly about ______.
| A．the disappearing newspaper | B．different news sources |
| C．the future of the Internet | D．the new technologies |
From the survey, we can see that ______.
| A．TV has become the major source of news |
| B．newspapers are no longer the major source of news |
| C．more than half of the 18-to-34-year-old visit news sites daily |
| D．new technologies have replaced the traditional one |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned about the disadvantage of newspapers?
| A．High price. | B．Lack of changes. |
| C．Slow speed. | D．Lack of interaction. |
The author of the passage would probably think the future of newspapers is ______.
| A．attractive | B．bright |
| C．hopeless | D．uncertain |
When I was in my fourth year of teaching, I was also (and am still) a high school track and field coach (田径教练). One year, I had a student, John, who entered my class when he was a junior (三年级学生). John changed to our school from Greece, and seemed to be interested in athletics, so I encouraged him to join our track team. I explained to him that even though he had never taken part in it before, I did believe that he could do well in any event, and I would be willing to coach him at whichever ones interested him. He accepted the offer, and began to work hard at every practice.
About a month later, I had found out from other sources that John was a first-class tennis player, winning various junior awards in his home country. I went to him asking, “John, I really appreciate that you came out for the track team, but why didn’t you play tennis instead? It seems that would interest you a lot more, since you’re so good at it.”
John answered, “Well, I like tennis, but you told me that you believed in me, and that you thought I could do well in track, so I wanted to try it for that reason.”
From then on, I often remember my student’s reply. I told it to a friend and she suggested I write it down to share somewhere with more teachers. No matter how critical (不满的) students can be of themselves, I’ve found that a simple “I trust that you can do it!” can go a long way!According to Paragraph 1, the author seems to think more about John’s ______.
| A．PE marks | B．self-confidence |
| C．interest in sports | D．state of health |
Why did John take part in the track team?
| A．He had been an excellent runner. |
| B．He was encouraged by his teacher. |
| C．He liked running more than tennis. |
| D．He had no tennis coach to train him. |
The purpose of this passage is probably ______.
| A．to build a close teacher-student relationship |
| B．to introduce a new way of sports training |
| C．to explain the value of sports and games |
| D．to show the importance of encouragement |
The passage is mainly written for ______.
| A．teachers | B．parents |
| C．students | D．players |
Bringing art into hospitals
The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in helping patients to get better.
As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the museums and into public places, some of the country's best artists have been called in to change older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2,500 national health service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have very valuable collections of present art in passages, waiting areas and treatment rooms.
These recent movements first started by one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience(观众).
A common hospital waiting room might have as many as 500 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art? Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the out-patients waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain's first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.
The effect is striking. Now in the corridors and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colors, playful images(形象) and restful courtyards.
The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto gardens needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.Some best artists of Britain have been called in to ________
| A．set up new hospitals |
| B．make the corners of the hospital collect paintings |
| C．Bring art into hospitals |
| D．help patients recover form serious illnesses |
After the improvement of the hospital environment, _________
| A．patients no longer take drugs to kill their pains |
| B．patients don’t have to stay long in hospital |
| C．patients need fewer pain killers when they suffer from an illness |
| D．patients feel happy in hospital |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________
| A．the role of hospital environment is important |
| B．hospital artists have done more than doctors |
| C．exhibitions attract more audience in hospitals |
| D．the hospital is a better place for people |