Susan Sontag (1933 — 2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything — to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American cultural life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords（格言）, but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasures of pop culture. In ‘‘Notes on Camp”, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. ‘“Notes on Camp”, she wrote, represents “a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’ ,‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.
By conviction（信念）she was a sensualist（感觉论者）, but by nature she was a moralist（伦理论者）, and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor — published in 1978, after she suffered cancer — she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities （被压抑的个性）, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America, her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless, all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame. “Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending ... is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.
1.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means Sontag _____ .
A. was a symbol of American cultural life B. developed world literature, film and art
C. published many essays about world culture
D. kept pace with the newest development of world culture
2.She first won her name through _____ .
A. her story of a Polish actress B. her book Illness as Metaphor
C. publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review
D. her explanation of a set of difficult understandings
3.According to the passage, Susan Sontag ______.
A. was a sensualist as well as a moralist B. looked down, upon the pop culture
C. thought content was more important than form
D. blamed the victim of cancer for being repressed
4.As for Susan Sontag’s lifelong habit, she ______.
A. misunderstood the idea of seriousness B. re-examined old positions
C. argued for an openness to pop culture D. preferred morals to beauty
5.Susan Sontag’s lasting fame was made upon _____ .
A. a tireless, all-purpose cultural view B. her lifelong watchword: seriousness
C. publishing books on morals D. enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing
Like cats, geckos（壁虎）always land on their feet. If they happen to fall from a wall or leaf they’ve been climbing, a quick move of the tail makes sure that they always land on their feet first, a new study finds.
Geckos are truly built for climbing: their feet have hairy toes that can fix themselves to a wall or other vertical（竖直的）surfaces. However, geckos’ feet can’t always keep hold and they may fall to the ground. When geckos fall or jump off a wall, they always land stomach-side down. Geckos’ long tails become necessary during their falls, the new study shows.
Researchers did an experiment. They placed geckos up-side-down on the underside of a leaf. When they lost their foothold and fell, the geckos pitched （倾斜）their tails for balance. They then rotated（旋转）their tails to make their bodies rotate. As soon as they were right-side up, they stopped rotating. On average, it only took the geckos about a tenth of a second to right themselves so that they would land on their feet.
Cats use a different way to land on their feet after a fall. As their tails don’t have the power like geckos’ tails, cats can’t use them to right themselves. Instead they twist their bodies around mid-air.
Engineers are trying to build a robot that imitates the geckos’ climbing ability. A tail will be fixed to the robot to allow it to keep balance.
1.What do we know about geckos?
A. Their toes make it possible for them to walk on walls.
B. Their tails can fix them to a wall or other vertical surfaces.
C. They often land on their backs when they jump off walls.
D. It takes them a second to right themselves in mid-air.
2.How do cats avoid their injury during a fall?
A. By twisting their bodies. B. By fixing their toes to the ground.
C. By using their tails to right themselves. D. By landing upside-down.
3.Geckos’special abilities have given engineers some new ideas to _________.
A. allow robots to climb vertical surfaces B. reproduce geckos like robots
C. invent robots that can rotate on the ground
D. invent robots that can balance themselves using their tails
4.What is the text mainly talking about?
A. The interesting living habits of geckos. B. The differences between cats and geckos.
C. Why geckos always land on their feet. D. How geckos climb up vertical walls.
James’s New Bicycle
James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully __1__ the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! __2__ on earth was he going to get the __3_ of the money?
He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was __4__ to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no __5__ asking his parents, for he knew they had no money to __6__.
There was only one way to get money, and that was to __7__ it. He would have to find a job. __8__ who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr. Clay for advice, who usually had __9__ on most things.
“Well, you can start right here,” said Mr. Clay. “My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”
That was the __10__ of James’s odd-job(零工) business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was amazed by the __11__ of jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the __12__ of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the __13__ increased and he knew that he would soon have __14__ for the bicycle he longed for.
The day __15__ came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He __16__ no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode __17__ home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard __18__ for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle __19__ he had bought it with his own money. He had __20__what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.
1.A. cleaned B. covered C. counted D. checked
2.A. How B. Why C. Who D. What
3.A. amount B. part C. sum D. rest
4.A. brave B. hard C. smart D. unfair
5.A. point B. reason C. result D. right
6.A. split B. spend C. spare D. save
7.A. borrow B. earn C. raise D. collect
8.A. Or B. So C. For D. But
9.A. decisions B. experience C. opinions D. knowledge
10.A. beginning B. introduction C. requirement D. opening
11.A. similarity B. quality C. suitability D. variety
12.A. brand B. number C. size D. type
13.A. effort B. pressure C. money D. trouble
14.A. all B. enough C. much D. some
15.A. finally B. instantly C. normally D. regularly
16.A. gave B. left C. took D. wasted
17.A. patiently B. proudly C. silently D. tiredly
18.A. applying B. asking C. looking D. working
19.A. since B. if C. than D. though
20.A. deserved B. benefited C. achieved D. learned
____________ to tell him the news; he has been told of it.
A. There is no need B. It is no need C. You are no need D. It needn’t
The hospital ________ well, where many wounded _________ every day.
A. is operated, operation B. operates, are operated on
C. operates; are operated D. operates; operates on
The doctor recommend he _________ a few more days in hospital.
A. stays. B. to stay C. stay D. would stay
