George Dennehy was born with no arms. He never dreamed he would become a musician. But that is what he has become. He was born in Romania. And because of his poor condition, his parents sent him to an orphanage (孤儿院), where George was adopted (领养) by a family in America.
Early on, George’s parents saw musical abilities in him. “When I was 8 years old, my mum took me to have cello (大提琴) lessons,” he said. Though he didn’t really enjoy it, he seldom missed any lessons.
His first teacher helped him be able to play with his feet. Soon he was very good at it. At the beginning of high school, when the cello became “not so cool” to play, George began to play the guitar. “It was a lucky thing to learn the cello first,” he said. This made playing the guitar not so hard.
Playing music hasn’t been an easy road. He was shy at first. “I did face different challenges and didn’t know if I was going to make something of myself,” he said. But these doubts didn’t stop him. Every time he got on stage to play music, he could see how the audience (观众) admired his abilities. This gave him confidence and encouraged him to continue his career.
George said that the secret of his success was being able to overcome (克服). “No matter what situation you’re in, anything is possible. It is so easy to give up sometimes, but we shouldn’t do that. We believe there is more that is meaningful for us,” he said.
Early years | George Dennehy was born 1. arms. He was sent to an orphanage. A US family adopted him. |
Learning to play the cello | His musical abilities were2. by his parents and they sent him to learn cello lessons. He seldom missed any lessons, 3. he didn’t really enjoy it. He learnt to play with his4. . |
Learning to play the guitar | George started playing the guitar soon after he entered high school. His experience of learning the cello made learning the guitar 5. . |
The6. road of playing music | He used to be shy and had to face challenges and had many doubts. Being admired by the audience made him 7. in himself and encouraged him. |
His thoughts of being 8.__ | Being able to overcome is the 9. of his success. Nothing is 10. even if one is in bad situation. |
How often do you change your hairstyle or ask for new clothes? Do you care much about fashion?
A recent survey among high school students in China, Japan, South Korea and the US found that Asian teenagers cared more about their appearance (外表) than teenagers in the US.
The survey was made in 156 high schools in the four countries. South Koreans cared most about their appearance. They were followed by the Chinese and Japanese, while US students showed the least interest in fashion.
“The different results show the differences of cultural backgrounds (文化背景),”said Sun Yunxiao from the China Youth and Children Research Centre.
He explained that in the US there are many different standards (标准) of beauty, so teens are more likely to be confident about their appearance. About 85% of American teens are happy with themselves. Besides, most US students agree that people should follow their own interests rather than those of others.
“According to the survey, Chinese students are happy and disciplined (有纪律的). They have a strong desire to make a difference. But Chinese students depend on their parents too much, so they need to be more independent. Besides, they should learn how to relax,” said Sun.
1.Which country isn’t mentioned?
A. China. B. Japan.
C. England. D. America.
2. Most _______ think people should follow their own interests rather than those of others.
A. Chinese students B. American students
C. Japanese students D. Koreans
3.Which of the following is NOT true about Chinese students according to the survey?
A. They are happy and disciplined.
B. They should learn to relax.
C. They ask their parents for too much.
D. They show the least interest in fashion.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. The survey came from four countries.
B. Japanese students cared most about their appearance.
C. American students weren’t interested in fashion at all.
D. Cultural backgrounds didn’t influence students’ views about fashion.
According to scientists’ research, the month in which babies are born could affect them in some ways.
Babies born in spring get sick easily. Children born under Aquarius (Jan. 21st—Feb. 19th) may be less clever than those born in other seasons. They may also have shorter lives than those born in autumn. Scientists believe many of the differences can be explained by the mother’s exposure to sunlight in pregnancy (怀孕). Sunlight helps lead to the production of vitamin D in the body. The lack (缺乏) of vitamin D in the first months of life may have a bad effect on health.
Vitamin D is called the “sunshine vitamin”. It has a good effect on health. A study showed that people born from April to June had slightly shorter lives than those born in October, November or December. Similar studies in the US showed that people born in autumn lived about 160 days longer than those born in spring.
Professor Russell Foster said the conclusions were surprising and interesting. He added, “These are small effects but they are very, very clear. I am not giving voice to star signs and they are just for fun. But it is true that we are affected by our season of birth.”
1.A child’s season of birth can affect all the following things EXCEPT______ according to the first two paragraphs.
A. his health B. his height
C. his length of life D. his quality of being clever
2.What does the underlined word “exposure” mean in Chinese?
A. 偏爱 B. 抗拒 C. 过敏 D. 暴露
3.What can we know about vitamin D according to the passage?
A. It comes from sunlight.
B. It helps people live longer.
C. Sunlight prevents its production.
D. It does harm to people’s health.
4.What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. People can know the length of life by star sign.
B. Women should choose to give birth to children in spring.
C. A child’s season of birth has an effect on him or her.
D. Vitamin D is very important to people’s health.
“Did you go skating a lot last year?” I asked. Jen shook her head and looked at me. Finally she said, “On Thanksgiving, Mom and I always went to visit some friends who lived on a farm. I especially loved seeing their big turkeys.”
Until then, I didn’t think about how Jen felt. She had a new stepfather (继父) and stepbrother, and had a new town and home, too. Jen and her mom used to live near a lake where Dad and I went every summer, and she had to move up north with us. She had more changes than me.
Jen seemed sad, so I was busy thinking of some ways to cheer her up on Thanksgiving. I told her my plan and she was excited. First we made a huge snowball, and then a small snowball. Then we built a wall behind the big snowball as a tail. Jen mixed some food coloring with water, saying, “We can spray (喷) colors on the tail.” Our snow turkey had a red, blue, green, and yellow tail. We were so busy that we didn’t notice our parents come outside. Dad found a hat for the snow turkey, and Mom wrapped her scarf around its neck.
“Thanks for cheering Jen up,” Mom said. “You’re a good brother, and you always come up with great ideas.’’ A happy feeling spread through me. I began to understand how much she cared about everyone in our new family.
1.What did Jen do on Thanksgiving in the past?
A. She went skating with her friends.
B. She went to the farm with her mother.
C. She stayed at home with her mother.
D. She made snow turkeys with her mother.
2.What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A. Jen lived near a lake in the past.
B. The writer was Jen’s stepfather.
C. Jen moved up north for studying.
D. The writer just moved out of his old house.
3. Which of the following is the right order?
①made a small snowball
②found a hat
③made a huge snowball
④sprayed colors on the tail
⑤wrapped a scarf around the neck
⑥built a wall behind the big snowball
A. ①③⑥④②⑤ B. ①②③④⑤⑥
C. ③①⑥④②⑤ D. ③①⑥②④⑤
4.What can we infer (推断) from the underlined sentence?
A. Jen’s stepmother was not friendly to the writer.
B. Jen didn’t feel happy after moving here.
C. Jen’s mother did a lot to make Jen happy.
D. The writer felt happy because his stepmother liked him.
Four New Cool Inventions
Mip
Mip, a playful robot, was developed by a Canadian toy maker named Wowwee. It stands 19 cm tall. You can control it simply with your gestures(手势) or a smart phone. Mip can run, balance and dance on two wheels. It can also bring you a bottle of water.
Android Wear
Google is developing a smart watch called Android Wear. The watch uses a touchscreen and voice control. Simply say “OK, Google” to ask what ever you want to know. For example, say “OK, Google. Where’s the nearest toy store?” Your answer will tell you the answer on Google Maps.
Le Pen
Do you like listening to music while doing homework? If you do, you will like Le Pen. With a music player planted inside, Le Pen plays music while you write on paper. The music stops when you stop writing. So if you want to enjoy more of your favourite songs, keep on writing.
One wheel
In the near future you may find a new way to escape traffic: a self-balancing skateboard called Onewheel. It can go as fast as 19km an hour. On a single charge(充电), it can take you as far as 7-10km.
1.If you want to enjoy music while writing, you can choose________.
A. B. C. D.
2. According to the passage, Android Wear can_________.
A. go as fast as 19km an hour
B. tell you how to get to some places
C. run, balance, dance and even serve you
D. play music while you writing on paper
3. In which part of a newspaper can you find the passage?
A. Culture. B. Literature.
C. Science. D. History
“Never give up!” It is my law(法则) of life. It has brought me . I learned the law from my father's story.
My father was in a poor village in the north of Jiangsu, in China. When he was a young boy, he went to school in the morning, then in the fields till sunset. And then he did his homework midnight. Life was hard, because they had no ！
At the age of 14, my father heard of the United States of America. It was the land of gold, the land where people can become rich.
“ don't I go to America?” he thought to himself, full of hope.
So，my father came to America. “I had thought it was easy to money in America,” he told me. “But when I arrived there，I realized it was not true. They did not like to hire(雇佣) me because I spoke English. Later，I worked in a small restaurant, cleaning up tables, dishes and sweeping the floor. Life was for the first few years. I worked from 10 a. m. to 11 p. m. I wanted to go to school to learn English, but it was impossible. I couldn't the schooling(学费).”
My father working hard, and reached his goal.
“Alan,” he often says to me. “If you want something, you have to work for it and never give up. Things do not come in life.” That is what I learned from my father.
1.A. disaster B. loss C. success D. pity
2.A. life B. fashion C. danger D. history
3.A. famous B. lucky C. rich D. born
4.A. taught B. worked C. studied D. slept
5.A. until B. towards C. for D. during
6.A. experience B. energy C. time D. money
7.A. kind B. poor C. strong D. lazy
8.A. What B. How C. Why D. When
9.A. discover B. make C. collect D. spend
10.A. little B. good C. much D. excellent
11.A. giving B. running C. washing D. receiving
12.A. comfortableB. cheerful C. nice D. hard
13.A. borrow B. need C. afford D. pay
14.A. kept B. finished C. minded D. stopped
15.A. really B. easily C. quietly D. slowly
