November not only marks the publication of Toni Morrison’s eagerly anticipated(期待) eighth novel, Love, but it is also the tenth anniversary of her Nobel Prize for Literature. Morrison is the first black woman to receive a Nobel, and so honored before her in literature are only two black men:Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian playwright, poet and novelist, in 1986; and Derek Walcott, the Caribbean-born poet, in 1992. But Morrison is also the first and only American-born Nobel prizewinner for literature since 1962, the year novelist John steinbeck received the award.
Like Song of Solomon, Love is a multigenerational story, revealing the personal and communal legacy( 遗产) of an outstanding black family. As Morrison scholars will tell you, Love is the third volume of a literary master’s trilogy(三部曲)investigating the many complexities of love. This trilogy began with Beloved(1988), which deals with a black mother’s love under slavery and in freedom. Jazzy(1993), the second volume, tells a story of romantic love in 1920s Harlem. This latest novel looks back from the 1970s to the 1940s and 50s.
The emotional center of Love is Bill Cosey, the former owner and host of the shabby Cosey’s Hotel and Resort in Silk, North Carolina, described in the novel as “the best and best-known vacation sport for colored folk on the East Coast.” We get to know Cosey through the memories of five women who survive and love him: his granddaughter, his widow, two former employees, and a homeless young girl.
The latest novel, Love, had been described in the promotional material from her publisher as “Morrison’s most accessible work since Song of Solomon.” This comparison to her third novel, published in 1977, was an effective selling point.
1.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Toni Morrison’s latest novels
B. Toni Morrison and her trilogy
C. Toni Morrison and her novel Love
D. Toni Morrison, the Nobel prizewinner
2.What can we learn about John Steinbeck?
A. He was a black writer.
B. He was born in America.
C. He received the Nobel Prize after Morrison
D. He was the first American novelist to win a Nobel
3.The similarity between Love and Song of Solomon is that they both _____.
A. belong to the same trilogy together with Beloved
B. concern families of more than one generation
C. deal with life of blacks under slavery
D. investigate life in 1920s Harlem
4.The novel Love mainly describes ______.
A. the best-known vacation spot for blacks
B. the life of an outstanding black family under slavery
C. the miserable experience of the five women in Harlem
D. the memories of five women about Bill Cosey
Short and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis Cricket—anything with a round ball, I was useless, “he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England’s rural Devonshire.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man’s cold-water exploits(成就).Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future.
Journeys to the Pole aren’t the usual holidays for British country boys, and many peiole dismissed his dream as fantasy. “John Ridgway was one of the few who didn’t say, ‘You are completely crazy,’”Saunders says.
In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a closer encounter(遭遇) with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.
This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.
1.The turning point in Saunders’life came when _____
A. he started to play ball games
B. he got a mountain bike at age 15
C. he ran his first marathon at age 18
D. he started to receive Ridgway’s training
2.We can learn from the text that Ridgway _______.
A. dismissed Saunders’ dream as fantasy
B. built up his body together with Saunders
C. hired Saunders for his cold-water experience
D. won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic
3.What do we know about Saunders?
A. He once worked at a school in Scotland.
B. He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole.
C. He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid.
D. He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole.
4.The underlined word “Intrigued” in the third paragraph probably means_____.
A. Excited B. Convinced C. Delighted D. Fascinated
5.It can be inferred tat Saunders’ journey to the North Pole ______.
A. was accompanied by his old playmates
B. set a record in the North Pole expedition
C. was supported by other Arctic explorers
D. made him well-known in the 1960s
阅读下面短文，撑握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
One summer day my father sent me to buy wire for our farm. At 16, I liked 1better than driving our truck, 2this time I was not happy. My father had told me I’d have to ask for credit(赊账) at the store.
Sixteen is a 3age, when a young man wants respect, not charity. It was 1976, and the ugly 4of racial discrimination was 5a fact of life. I’d seen my friends ask for credit and then stand, head down, while the store owner 6whether they were “good for it.” I knew black youths just like me who were 7like thieves by the store clerk each time they went into a grocery.
My family was 8. We paid our debts. But before harvest, cash was short. Would the store owner 9us ?
At Davis’s store, Buck Davis stood behind the cash desk, talking to a farmer. I nodded 10I passed him on my way to the hardware shelves. When I brought my 11to the cash desk, I said 12, “I need to put this on credit.”
The farmer gave me an amused, distrustful 13. But Buck’s face didn’t change. “Sure,” he said 14. “Your daddy is 15good for it.” He 16to the other man. “This here is one of James Williams’s sons.”
The farmer nodded in a neighborly 17. I was filled with pride. James William’s son. Those three words had opened a door to an adult’s respect and trust.
That day I discovered that the good name my parents had 18brought our whole family the respect of our neighbors. Everyone knew what to 19from a Williams: a decent person who kept his word and respected himself 20much to do wrong.
1.A. something B. nothing C. anything D. everything
2.A. and B. so C. but D. for
3.A. prideful B. wonderful C. respectful D. colorful
4.A. intention B. shadow C. habit D. faith
5.A. thus B. just C. still D. ever
6.A. guessed B. suspected C. questioned D. figured
7.A. watched B. caught C. dismissed D. accused
8.A. generous B. honest C. friendly D. modest
9.A. blame B. excuse C. charge D. trust
10.A. until B. as C. once D. since
11.A. purchases B. sales C. orders D. favorites
12.A. casually B. confidently C. cheerfully D. carefully
13.A. look B. stare C. response D. comment
14.A. patiently B. eagerly C. easily D. proudly
15.A generally B. never C. sometimes D. always
16.A. pointed B. replied C. turned D introduced
17.A. sense B. way C. degree D. mood
18.A. earned B. deserved C. given D. used
19.A. receive B. expect C. collect D. require
20.A. very B. so C. how D. too
A clean environment can help the city bid for the Olympics, which ____ will promote its economic development.
A. in nature B. in return C. in turn D. in fact
After he retired from office, Rogers ____ painting for a while, but soon lost interest.
A. took up B. saved up C. kept up D. drew up
Police are now searching for a woman who is reported to ____ since the flood hit the area last Friday.
A. have been missing B. have got lost C. be missing D. get lost
