LOS ANGELES-British singing sensation Susan Boyle’s first album quickly climbed to No. 1 on U.S. album charts on Wednesday with sales of 701,000 copies, beating new releases by Adam Lambert and Rihanna and becoming the best-selling debut(首次演出) of 2009. Boyle, 48, a frumpy Scottish singer, who became an international YouTube phenomenon after appearing on TV show “Britain’s Got Talent”, also topped the British album charts earlier this week.
Her “I Dreamed a Dream” release through Sony Music Entertainment, marked the best U.S. opening of a female artist's debut album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, Billboard.com said. It was also the fastest selling album in Britain this year and has topped the charts in Australia and Ireland.
Billboard said only one album in SoundScan’s tracking history had seen a bigger opening week than Boyle. U.S. rapper Snoop Dogg’s album “Doggystyle” sold 803,000 copies in its first week in 1993—before traditional album sales began tumbling(falling rapidly) in the face of piracy(盗版) and a shift to digital sales.
Although Boyle finally failed to win “Britain’s Got Talent”, her April trial hearing for the show has been viewed more than 300 million times on the Internet.
In a good week for stars of TV talent shows, “American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert’s debut album “For Your Entertainment”, also released through Sony, debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200 with 198,000 copies sold. Lambert’s strong showing followed headline news coverage of his bad televised live performance at the American Music Awards 10 days ago in which he aroused oral sex with a dancer and kissed a male keyboard player.
R&B singer Rihanna’s “Rated R”, her first studio album since being attacked by her then-boyfriend Chris Brown in February, bowed in at No.4 with 181,000 copies—the best sales week in the 21-year-old singer’s career.
Italian singer Andrea Bocelli held onto the No.2 spot for a third week with his “My Christmas” album with 218,000 new copies sold during the week, SoundScan said.
1.According to the passage, what albums were released through Sony Music Entertainment?
A. Doggystyle and I Dreamed a Dream.
B. For Your Entertainment and I Dreamed a Dream.
C. Rated R and Doggystyle.
D. My Christmas and For Your Entertainment.
2.What do you learn from the passage?
A. Doggystyle marked the biggest opening week in SoundScan’s tracking history.
B. I Dreamed a Dream was the fastest selling album in English-speaking countries.
C. Upon its release, Boyle’s first album ranked first on album charts on Wednesday.
D. Boyle became world-famous after she won Britain’s Got Talent.
3.Who may perform crazily and leave audience a bad impression?
A. Susan Boyle. B. Andrea Bocelli. C. Rihanna. D. Adam Lambert.
4.From the passage we can conclude _______.
A. The albums could have sold better if it had not been for piracy and a shift to digital sales
B. Boyle became world-famous because she was a female artist.
C. Being attacked by her then-boyfriend might decrease the sales of Rihanna’s Rated R.
D. Andrea Bocelli’s album My Christmas only kept the No. 2 spot for two weeks.
The iPad, a new e-tablet gadget will take online activities truly mobile. It will allow you to read the news in bed, play multiplayer game on any surface, check a recipe in a busy kitchen or view a large-scale Google map.
It will declare a new age of online media production, taking newspapers and magazines down the new stage. Online versions can now become truly interactive. The editor of Time magazine Richard Stengel said, “The iPad will transform the way journalism works. It will become a new way of storytelling”.
Perhaps most important to the masses, it is a traditional computer but so convenient to use. There are no cords(电线), and it’s totally mobile. You press a button and it comes on in seconds. To add a program, you just download it from the Internet. There is no file directory, so you won’t be confused with file locations.
Since almost everyone uses a computer in the office or at school, the need for the traditional desktop model at home is disappearing. Slate Magazine’s Farhad Manjoo calls the iPad the perfect alternative to the full home computer system.
However, opinions are summarized as a simple statement: If you are a tech-head you will hate it, if you are everyone else you will love it. It’s “laughably absurd” on one blog and a “magical revolution” on another.
This first version of the iPad lacks many basic features. Tech-heads dislike the device not because of what it offers, but because of what it doesn’t offer. It doesn’t have flash or a camera. It can’t access many of the world’s mobile applications, and it has a very restricted APPLE store. Based on purely technological grounds, the iPad is said to lack more than it gives.
But if you are not part of the technologically well-versed, and you love the iPod and iPhone, “this device is for you,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.
But no matter how you feel about the iPad, as a tech-head or an everyman, there’s no arguing with its appeal. Love it or hate it, the iPad sold over 600,000 units on its opening weekend, surpassing(超过) the iPhone’s record sales in 2007.
It’s uncertain how long it will take to hit the tech markets here in China, but when it does, expect the iPad fashion to continue. Apple predicts it will sell over 7.1 million units in the first year. Maybe not magical, and definitely not absurd, but if the iPad follows in the footsteps of the iPhone and iPod, you could be reading this newspaper on it in the near future.
1.Which of the following is NOT the reason why people think the iPad a “magical revolution”?
A. The iPad will make online activities truly mobile.
B. The iPad will predict a new age of online media production.
C. The iPad is sure to take the place of the full home computer system.
D. The iPad can make many world’s mobile applications accessible.
2.Which of the following statements is false according to the passage?
A. Unlike those traditional computers, the iPad can save you much trouble.
B. The iPad set up a new record sale when it first came onto the market.
C. The iPad will probably hold a big share in the tech market in China.
D. The iPad depends on cords to download a program from the Internet quickly.
3.What technological problem do experts think the iPad has?
A. The iPad is lacking in what other computers can offer.
B. People might misunderstand its magical features.
C. Reporters and journalists don’t have to efficiently with the help of the iPad.
D. Compared with the iPhone and iPod, iPad might confuse the users more easily
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Why do People Love the iPad B. The Popularity of the iPad
C. Loving and Hating the iPad D. A Magical Revolution
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Children with learning disabilities (LD) often have problems. For many, strong feelings of 1, anger, sadness, or shame can lead to 2difficulties such as anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem. These problems can be far more than the academic challenges themselves.
Several leading experts in the field of LD have offered 3to parents on ways to help 4their children from these problems.
To be most effective in supporting your child, 5can help to understand some underlying(not easily noticed) 6for the psychological and emotional challenges he(she) may 7.
First, it is not difficult to see 8children with LD are at greater risk for developing psychological difficulties 9one considers the repeated failure they experience as they 10their way through the educational system, which may misunderstand or ignore their needs. 11their efforts to "try harder," children with LD may receive little 12feedback. Their academic struggles and failures are often met with 13by teachers, peers, and parents. Such disapproval can take the form of negative labeling of a child as "slow," "lazy," or "dumb." 14developing a sense of pride in their accomplishments, children with LD may 15in frustration and shame. Low self-esteem and a lack of confidence only further 16with learning and academic success.
The second reason is the 17difficulties they often experience. Research indicates that as many as 75% of kids with LD have such difficulties as making and keeping friends. Children with learning disabilities are less 18, and often rejected by their peers. Teachers and other adults also may 19to have negative views of children with learning disabilities. Such social rejection can result in loss of self-esteem and feelings of loneliness, which, 20, may lead to psychological difficulties such as anxiety and depression.
1.A. frustration B. excitement C. surprise D. curiosity
2.A. academic B. cultural C. physical D. psychological
3.A. help B. suggestions C. chances D. comments
4.A. prevent B. protect C. prohibit D. persuade
5.A. they B. parents C. it D. experts
6.A. excuses B. opinions C. directions D. reasons
7.A. expect B. imagine C. face D. ignore
8.A. why B. where C. which D. when
9.A. unless B. though C. if D. because
10.A. feel B. find C. change D. fight
11.A. Without B. Despite C. Through D. Due to
12.A. positive B. negative C. subjective D. sensitive
13.A. support B. sympathy C. disapproval D. complaint
14.A. Other than B. Rather than C. More than D. Less than
15.A. stay up B. turn up C. pick up D. end up
16.A. compare B. mix C. interfere D. compete
17.A. social B. economic C. technical D. learning
18.A. invited B. accepted C. criticized D. impressed
19.A. tend B. wait C. manage D. desire
20.A. in general B. in particular C. in total D. in turn
—Surely you can turn to David for help, as he is your only colleague at office.
—_______ He is the last one you can rely on.
A. I couldn’t agree more. B. Is that right?
C. Get out of it! D. It’s up to you.
It be really cold in April in Tongzhou though we usually have warm and sunny days.
A. should B. will C. can D. must
Even though Lucy and Kathy are good friends, Lucy to lending her ID card to
Kathy to apply for a credit card.
A. stuck B. referred C. subscribed D. objected
