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    Chuck was in my high-school English class.1.So, when he told me he had been accepted into the journalism program at the University of Missouri, I wasn’t surprised.

During the first year at college, Chuck stopped by school a few times. We talked about our work together several years before. We had raised money together for twenty-three sick and abandoned babies.2.. It was an activity that in some ways changed our formal relationship into a friendship.

In his second year in college, it was discovered that Chuck had lung cancer and had only a short while to live. So he left school and came home to be near to his loved ones.

About six weeks later, Chuck died.3.The youngest of nine children, Chuck was talented and full of promise. More importantly, he was a good person, a just man.

When I went to his funeral, his father asked to speak with me. He told me that before Chuck’s death, he chose six items to bury with him.4.He told me that Chuck had always kept the piece because he liked the message I had written to him at the bottom of the last page. In that little note, I affirmed his talent as a writer and I encouraged him to be responsible for the gift.

5.His taking my note with him forever offered me a great opportunity for influencing students’ lives. I felt inspired with a sense of purpose that was greater than ever: teachers have the power to affect hearts and minds for a long time.

A. It was a great loss for everyone, especially for his family.

B. Chuck helped to raise several thousand dollars.

C. Whenever I forget my purpose, I think of Chuck.

D. He was a writer of great promise.

E. My spirits were lifted up as Chuck was filled with the joy of life.

F. One of them was an essay he had written in my class some years before.

G. I was touched and grateful to Chuck who gave me a special gift that would change my life.

    Inside a secured room in a beautiful castle near Paris, a small metal cylinder (圆柱体) rests on a shelf beneath a double set of bell jars. It has lain there for more than a century, its rest only occasionally disturbed when the room’s three key holders perform a coordinated opening ceremony to let technicians enter and clean this precious piece of metal.

First, the cylinder is rubbed with a piece of soft, alcohol-soaked cloth. Then it is steamed with pure water. Finally, the 1kg cylinder is returned, carefully, to its resting place.

Such attention to a lump of metal is unusual, but has a purpose. The castle houses the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and that piece of shining, circular metal is its holiest relic. It is the defining mass (质量)against which all other kilograms are measured. This is the international prototype, or standard, of the kilogram. The IPK, in short.

Dozens of carefully weighted copies of the original have been made. They are stored around the world and used to standardise individual nations’ weights and measures systems.

But the days of the IPK, in its current form, are numbered. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures has decided to replace this single physical specimen with a more fundamental measurement – based on electric current – in order to define the mass of an object. The king of kilograms is about to be dethroned.

“One key reason for doing this work is to provide international security,” says Bureau spokesman Paul Robinson. “If the castle burned down tomorrow and the kilogram was destroyed, we would have no reference left for the world’s metric weights system. There would be chaos. The current definition of the kilogram is the weight of that cylinder in Paris, after all.”

Another major motivation for the replacement of the IPK is the growing need to be able to carry out more and more precise measurements. “Drug companies will soon be wanting to use ingredients that will have to be measured in terms of a few millionths or even billionths of a gram,” says Robinson. “We need to be prepared to weigh substances with that kind of accuracy.”

1.What do we know about the IPK from the first two paragraphs?

A. It’s cared for with great devotion.

B. It’s used in religious ceremonies.

C. It’s beautifully designed and decorated.

D. It’s the most valuable metal in the world.

2.Which of the following best explains “dethroned” underlined in paragraph 5?

A. rebuilt B. removed

C. destroyed D. upgraded

3.What is a reason for replacing the current IPK?

A. To protect the metal cylinder from damage.

B. To make taking measurements more economical.

C. To provide all countries with the same standard.

D. To satisfy the increasing demand for exactness.

4.What can be a suitable title for the text?

A. No more kilos

B. A heavy technology

C. The future of the kilo

D. The history of measures

    “Anything you want, anytime you need it.”

The message appeared on computer screens across the country at the same time, on the same day: December 12th, at 12 p.m.. Simultaneously, important looking envelopes containing cards with the same message were hand-delivered to the offices of all the major news companies.

One found its way to the desk of Chris Lin, a business reporter at The Post. The card was beautifully designed – a black background with the words printed out in crisp white letters. There was no explanation on the back, just a website address.Chris went to the website. Its style was identical to the card’s and said: “Anytime: Starting Tomorrow.”

The next day websites and blogs were filled with articles theorising about Anytime. Was it a shopping website like Tao Bao or Amazon? A joke? Something illegal? Anytime’s marketing had worked – it was a household name before it’d even made a single sale.

When the opening came, that day at noon, the Anytime website suddenly had a single field that read, “What do you want?” All you had to do was type the words into that box, and then specify how quickly you wanted your item delivered: within one, ten, or twenty-four hours.

Bloggers were the first to test the service. And their reviews were glowing. Within weeks, Anytime had become a part of daily life. Nobody used other delivery sites or the post anymore as Anytime was much cheaper and faster.

Chris still wondered what exactly Anytime was. He tried to find out who owned the company, but it was registered in a small country that did not require such information to be made public. He did find some interesting facts, though. Anyone who challenged the company, it seemed, met with serious trouble. A government official critical of Anytime for avoiding tax was forced to leave his position after news stories suddenly appeared claiming he was dishonest. The head of another company taking Anytime to court died in a car accident just days before the case was to begin.

Chris began making a list of all the people who had something terrible happen to them after opposing or criticising Anytime. By lunch, he had more than one hundred examples. Something was definitely wrong. Chris worked on his list the rest of the day, emailing people who could provide more information and looking through newspaper records. After working through the night, an exhausted Chris finally fell asleep at his desk at 4 a.m..

When he woke a few hours later, there was a message flashing on his computer screen: “Stop making trouble.” Chris smiled. He had no intention of stopping now that he knew he was on the right track.

1.What was on the front of the card sent to Chris Lin?

A. An invitation to a company opening.

B. The website address of a new company.

C. The words “Anytime: Starting tomorrow”.

D. The words “Anything you want, anytime you need it”.

2.Why did the company choose to send the cards to many news reporters?

A. Because it didn’t have enough money for traditional advertising.

B. Because it wanted to attract the reporters as customers.

C. So the reporters would write stories about the new company.

D. So people would find the new company interesting.

3.What did Chris’ s research suggest about Anytime?

A. Itmay be very dangerous.

B. Its popularity would soon decrease.

C. It was doing business all over the world.

D. It was being widely criticised by journalists.

4.How did Chris feel at the end of the story?

A. Scared that he would get into trouble.

B. Confident that he would find the truth.

C. Nervous about what the company would do.

D. Satisfied that he had discovered the company’s secret.

    The world’s richest man might seem to have it all, but Bill Gates has one regret. The self-made billionaire said he felt stupid for not knowing any foreign languages.

Speaking in his third Ask Me Anything question-and-answer session for online forum Reddit(红迪网), the Microsoft founder said that he wished he spoke French, Arabic or Chinese.

He said: “I took Latin and Greek in high school and got A’s and I guess it helps my vocabulary. I keep hoping to get time to study one of these—probably French because it is the easiest. I did Duolingo for a while but didn’t keep it up.”

Gates, who is worth $79.3 billion, praised Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for surprising an audience in Beijing when he spoke fluent Chinese. “Mark Zuckerberg amazingly learned Chinese and did a Q&A with Chinese students—unbelievable, isn’t it?” he said

This isn’t the first time for Gates to admit his regret over language. He also showed his habits at home and personal insights.

Last February, Gates said he likes to do the dishes himself—to his own special standards every night and also told the interviewer that his wife, Melinda, would likely want Samuel L. Jackson to play her husband in a biopic(传记片).

He also admitted that he would pick up a $100 bill if he found it on the street.

As he took the top spot on Forbes(福布斯)28th Annual Billionaires list last year for the fourth time, he said he is pretty basic when it comes to spending on clothes and food, but that he enjoys investing in shoes andracquets(球拍)when he plays tennis.

When asked a life lesson he had to learn the hard way, the billionaire said staying up too late is a habit he is still trying to break. “Don’t stay up too late even if the book is really exciting. You will regret it in the morning. Pam still working on this problem.” he said.

1.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. An Interview with Bill Gates B. How Bill Gates Succeeded

C. Bill Gates’ Regret D. The Richest Billionaire

2.The underlined part in Paragraph 8 may actually mean that_____.

A. it is important to lay a good foundation of life

B. food and clothing are basic needs for people’s life

C. he doesn’t spend much money on food and clothes

D. he never cares about buying food and clothing

3.What advice did Bill Gates give?

A. Avoid staying up too late.

B. Be a good language learner.

C. Do the dishes yourself at home.

D. Pick up the $100 bills in the streets.

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Bill Gates is also the founder of Facebook.

B. Bill Gates topped the list of Forbes 28 times.

C. Bill Gates was good at learning languages in high schoo1.

D. Bill Gates’ wife wants Samuel to play a game with Gates.

Welcome to AMDA

Your future in the performing arts doesn’t have to be a dream. For over 50 years, AMDA has launched some of the most successful careers in theatre, film and television. AMDA creates industry professionals who don’t just wait for life to happen—they stage their own career path. Now it’s your turn.

Program description

At AMDA, we believe a performer must perform. From the first day, you’ll find many performance opportunities in the three core areas of acting, musical theatre and dance, both in and out of the classroom, plus individual voice lessons. Over the course of your four semesters (学期), you’ll also improve your performance technique through an intensive curriculum that focuses on both foundational and advanced concepts in acting, musical theatre and dance. Finally, through courses in career preparation, you’ll learn how to apply all of this training to a successful career on stage and screen.

Philosophy and mission

AMDA is committed to providing a splendid performing arts education to a diverse community of creative artists. AMDA serves as both school and stage, where students are given the support and opportunity to identify their own personal objectives and to develop and improve their own distinctive artistic voices. AMDA tries to create an environment for students to develop the skills, confidence, imagination, and power to contribute to their community as artists, businesspeople, lifelong learners, and hard-working citizens of the world Above all, AMDA wants to teach students that commitment and passion are the marks of a successful and joyous career.

Registration

6305 Yucca Street Los Angeles

800-367-7908

https: //www.amda.edu

1.What is the curriculum of AMDA about?

A. Drawing.

B. Philosophy.

C. Performing

D. Photography.

2.How long does the course last?

A. One semester.

B. Two years.

C. Three semesters.

D. Four years.

3.What can students learn in AMDA?

A. How to sing beautifully.

B. How to train a performer.

C. The way to build a stage.

D. The way to be a director.