First introduced in 1927, The Hardy Boys Stories are a series (系列) of books about the stories of brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, teenaged detectives who solve one mystery (神秘) after another. The cover of The Hardy Boys says that the author of the series is Franklin. Over the years, though, many fans of the books have been surprised to find out that Franklin is not a real person. If Franklin never existed, then who wrote The Hardy Boys Stories?
The Hardy Boys are written through a process called ghostwriting (鬼手写作). A ghostwriter writes a book according to a fixed formula (公式). Although ghostwriters are paid for writing the books, their names do not appear on the published books. Ghostwriters can write books for children or adults, the content of which is various.
The idea for The Hardy Boys series was developed by a publisher named Stratemeyer. He noticed the increasing popularity of mysteries among adults, and thought that children would enjoy reading mysteries about younger detectives of their age. He first developed each book with an outline (提纲). Once having completed the outline, he then hired a ghostwriter to turn it into a book of over 200 pages. After finishing a draft (草稿) of a book, he or she would send it back to Stratemeyer, who would make a list of corrections and mail it back to the ghostwriter. The ghostwriter would improve the book according to Stratemeyer’s suggestions and then return it to him. Once Stratemeyer approved the book, it was ready to be published.
The Hardy Boys had a number of different ghostwriters producing books. However, the first ghostwriter, Leslie, proved to be the most influential. Although he was using prepared outlines as guides, Leslie developed the characters through his imagination. He was also responsible for the details in the story. For example, Leslie created Bayport, the Hardy Boys’ hometown, based on where he grew up.
Although The Hardy Boys were very popular with children, not everyone approved of them. Critics thought their stories were not real, since most teenagers did not have the same experience as Frank and Joe Hardy. Besides, many teachers and librarians are against the ghostwriting process, saying it was designed to produce books quickly, but not to create quality literature. Some libraries even refuse to include the books in their children’s collections.
1.Which of the following people was a real ghostwriter?
A.Franklin B.Stratemeyer C.Leslie D.Joe Hardy
2.A ghostwriter is someone who _______.
A.only writes loving stories for adults B.doesn’t receive praise as the author
C.writes the content of his books freely D.doesn’t receive money for writing
3.According to the passage, it can be inferred that Leslie _______.
A.hated writing according to a fixed formula B.didn’t respect the art of ghostwriting
C.was unsuccessful in his writing career D.was a man of imagination and creativity
4.Some teachers and librarians dislike ghostwritten books because they _______.
A.believe the books were poor in quality B.consider mystery stories bad for adults
C.think the books were too expensive D.believe Stratemeyer cheated readers
5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A.Ghostwriting: Create Quality Literature B.Who Was Leslie?
C.The Hardy Boys: Ghostwriting a Series D.Why Were The Hardy Boys Published?
Growing up, I understood one thing about my dad: he knew everything. This was our relationship: I asked him questions and he told me the answers. Is there really a man in the moon? How do sailboats work? In my teen years, he taught me things I’d need to know to survive in the real world. How to check your car. The correct knife to bring along.
When I moved out, I called him at least once a week, usually when something broke in my apartment. After I got married, I needed him less because I had my husband and Google. When I called our conversations changed into six words. Me: “Hi, Dad.” Him: “Hi, sweets. Here’s Mom.” (Because I still needed her - How do I cook chicken? Do I need to call the doctor for my daughter’s fever?) I loved my dad, of course, but I wondered at times if maybe he had already shared everything I needed to know. Maybe I’d heard all his stories. Maybe, after knowing a man for 30 years, there’s nothing left to say.
Then, this past summer, my husband and I moved in with my parents for three weeks while our house was being repaired. They own a lake house, and Dad asked me to help him repair the walls. I didn’t balk— it was the least I could do for free rent(房租) — but I felt anxious. It was difficult. We got wet and sandy. But as we rebuilt the walls, my dad knowing exactly what went ______. I looked at him, “How do you know how to build walls?”
“I spent a summer in college building them.” “You did?” I thought I knew everything about my dad, but I never knew this. “Yep. Now let me teach you how to use this saw(锯子).” As he explained the skills, I realized that maybe it’s not that there’s nothing left to say. Maybe it’s just that I’ve spent my life asking him the wrong questions.
A few weeks later, after my family moved back into our own house, I called my parents. Dad answered. “Hi, sweets,” he said. “Here’s Mom.” “Wait, Dad,” I said. “How are you?” We ended up talking about work he was doing. Nothing life-changing. To anyone else, it would sound like a normal conversation between a dad and his daughter. But to me, it was a new beginning. I spent the first part of my life needing to talk to my dad. Now I talk to him because I want to.
1.It is unlikely that the author’s dad tried to teach her _______ when she was a teenager.
A.to swim in a river B.to make a fire safely
C.to climb mountains D.to solve a difficult math problem
2.What does the sentence “Hi, sweets. Here’s Mom.” mean in paragraph 2?
A.The father sounded like the mother to make fun.
B.The author did not want to speak to her parents.
C.The father then gave the phone to the mother.
D.The father brought up the author by himself.
3.The underlined word “balk” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.shout B.refuse C.smile D.talk
4.Which should we fill in the blank in paragraph 3?
A.around B.by C.crazy D.where
5.The author wants to talk to her father now because _______.
A.there is still a lot left to say B.the author has to survive
C.the father asks her to do that D.the mother asks her to do that
Angela had a serious disease about her nervous system (神经系统). She was unable to walk and her _______ was affected in other ways. The doctors did not _______ much hope of her recovering from this illness. They forecast she would spend the rest of her life in a _______ and said that few were able to come back to normal after _______ this disease. However, the little girl was _______. She would tell others she was _______ going to be walking again someday.
She was sent to a rehabilitation hospital (康复医院) in San Francisco. Whatever treatments could be _______ to her disease were used. The doctors were _______ by her optimistic spirit. They taught her about _______ seeing herself walking. If it did nothing else, it would ________ give her hope and something positive to do in the long waking hours in her bed. Angela would work as hard as possible in physical treatment. She worked just as hard ________ there imagining herself moving, moving, moving!
One day, as she was trying hard to imagine her ________ moving again, it seemed ________ a miracle (奇迹) happened: The bed moved! It began to move around the room! She shouted out in________, “Look what I’m doing! Look! Look! I can do it! I moved, I moved!”
In fact, it was the recent San Francisco earthquake. At that ________ moment, everyone else in the hospital was shouting out, too, and running for ________. People were shouting, equipment was falling and glass was breaking. It was an earthquake. ________ they had no time to tell that to Angela. She was ________ that she did it.
Only a few years later, she was back in school! You see, anyone who can ________ San Francisco can ________ a disease, can’t they?
1.A.memory B.character C.hearing D.movement
2.A.hold B.lose C.reduce D.destroy
3.A.school B.wheelchair C.stadium D.workshop
4.A.suffering from B.working out C.breaking down D.appealing to
5.A.innocent B.humorous C.scared D.optimistic
6.A.simply B.usually C.certainly D.hardly
7.A.applied B.observed C.reflected D.ignored
8.A.impressed B.tricked C.puzzled D.annoyed
9.A.reporting B.imagining C.cheating D.complaining
10.A.at best B.at most C.at worst D.at least
11.A.rising B.standing C.climbing D.lying
12.A.arms B.legs C.heads D.eyes
13.A.even if B.even though C.as though D.so that
14.A.relief B.excitement C.panic D.terror
15.A.extreme B.only C.very D.just
16.A.hide B.trouble C.attack D.advance
17.A.And B.So C.But D.Or
18.A.concerned B.warned C.convinced D.blamed
19.A.hit B.explode C.dig D.shake
20.A.occupy B.defeat C.explore D.cause
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is Mr Green?
A.A teacher. B.A doctor. C.A driver.
2.When does Mr Green have breakfast?
A.At 6:15. B.At 6:45. C.At 7:15.
3.How does Mr Green go to work?
A.By car. B.By bus. C.By subway.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.How long did the man wait on the playground?
A.About 20 minutes. B.About 15 minutes. C.About 5 minutes.
2.Where is Mrs Smith now?
A.In the teachers’ office. B.On the playground. C.In the classroom.
3.Whom does the ring belong to?
A.Mrs Smith. B.Mr Black. C.Mrs Black.
4.What will the man do when getting home?
A.Make a phone call. B.Go to attend a wedding. C.Wait for the woman’s call.
假定你是李华，你的新西兰朋友Jim准备暑假来中国旅游，让你推荐一个城市。请你给他回信，内容包括：
1. 推荐城市；
2. 推荐理由（如景点，美食等）；
3. 你的祝愿。
注意：
（1）词数100左右；
（2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
（3）开头，结尾已给出，不计入总字数。
Dear Jim,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
