In the early part of the twentieth century, racism was widespread in the United States. Many African Americans were not given equal opportunities in education or employment. Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was an African American woman who gained fame as a concert singer in this climate of racism. She was born in Philadelphia and sang in church choirs during her childhood. When she applied for admission to a local music school in 1917, she was turned down because she was black. Unable to attend music school, she began her career as a singer for church gatherings. In 1929, she went to Europe to study voice and spent several years performing there. Her voice was widely praised throughout Europe. Then she returned to the US in 1935 and became a top concert singer after performing at Town Hall in New York City.
Racism again affected Anderson in 1939. When it was arranged for her to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, the Daughters of the American Revolution opposed it because of her color. She sang instead at the Lincoln Memorial for over 75 000 people. In 1955, Anderson became the first black soloist to sing win the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. The famous conductor Toscanini praised her voice as “heard only once in a hundred years”. She was a US delegate to the United Nations in 1958 and won the UN peace prize in 1977. Anderson eventually triumphed over racism.
1.According to this passage, what did Marian Anderson do between 1917 and 1929?
A. She studied at a music school. B. She sang for religious activities.
C. She sang at Town Hall in New York. D. She studied voice in Europe.
2.Toscanini thought that Marian Anderson .
A. had a very rare voice B. sang occasionally in public
C. sang only once in many years D. was seldom heard by people
3.Anderson’s beautiful voice was first recognized .
A. at the Lincoln Memorial B. in Washington, DC.
C. in Europe D. at the United Nations
4.This passage shows that Anderson finally defeated racism in the US by .
A. protesting to the government B. appealing to the United Nations
C. demonstrating in the streets D. working hard to perfect her art
STAGE
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Keep it in the air |
Use your head |
Mix and match |
Peking Opera |
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The Chaoyang Theater is one of the Beijing theaters to present acrobatics (杂技) all year round. Top acrobatic artists invited from all over the country perform for Chinese and foreign tourists. The program contains trick cycling, leaping through hoops and Chinese magic tricks. Some of the artists have won prizes in international competitions. Time:7∶15 p.m. Daily Place:36, Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District Tel:65072421, 65071818 |
Green Hat is a new drama given by a group of young Chinese actors. It’s a rewrite of American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel The Scarlet Letter. It describes the heroine’s great courage in finding the true love against the public disagreement. Time: 7∶15 p.m. until March 5, except Mondays Place:China Children’s Theater Tel:66037255, 66037265 |
Story of Puppets tells of a fairy, Zixia, who looks for true love in the human world. After watching a puppet play Peony Pavilion, she thinks there must be true love in reality, so she uses magic to turn the puppet characters into humans, wanting to fall in love with the puppet hero. But things don’t go as she planned... Li Liuyi, the director of the play has made several successful attempts to present different traditional operas in one play. This time he combines Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Pingju Opera along with a band, using the structure of modern drama. Time: 7:30 p.m. until March 10, except Mondays Place: Small Playhouse of Beijing People’s Art Theater Tel: 65250123 |
The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances at the Chang’an Grand Theater. Each performance includes two classical excerpts(选段). One is Wenxi(a play focusing on singing and dancing); the other is Wuxi (a play full of acrobatic dancing). The first night will be The Crossroad and Presenting a Pearl of the Rainbow Bridge. And the second night will see the performance of The Goddess of Heaven Scatters Flowers and Havoc in Heaven. Time: 7∶30 p.m. February 27, 28 Place:Chang’an Grand Theater Tel: 86531043 |
1.We can learn from the text that.
A. Story of puppets is a play held in China Children’s Theater
B. the artists who have won prizes will perform magic tricks
C. on March 5 there will be two plays for us to choose
D. the artists in the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe are from all over the country
2.If a tourist wants to see a performance on March 15, he can call to book a ticket.
A. 86531043 B. 65250123 C. 66037255 D. 65071818
3.According to the text, which of the following statements is true?
A. The director of the Story of Puppets combines different operas in it.
B. Green Hat is based on a famous novel acted by some American artists.
C. Top Acrobatic artists will present their performances around our country.
D. The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances with the same excerpts.
Grown-ups know that people and objects are solid. At the movies, we know that if we reach out to touch Tom Cruise, all we will feel is air. But does a baby have this understanding?
To see whether babies know objects are solid, T. Bower designed a method for projecting an optical illusion（视觉影像） of a hanging ball. His plan was to first give babies a real ball, one they could reach out and touch, and then to show them the illusion. If they knew that objects are solid and they reached out for the illusion and found empty air, they could be expected to show surprise in their faces and movements. All the 16-to 24- week -old babies tested were surprised when they reached for the illusion and found that the ball was not there.
Grown-ups also have a sense of object permanence. We know that if we put a box in a room and lock the door, the box will still be there when we come back. But does a baby realize that a ball that rolls under a chair does not disappear and go to never-never land?
Experiments done by Bower suggest that babies develop a sense of object permanence when they are about 18 weeks old. In his experiments, Bower used a toy train that went behind a screen. When 16-week-old and 22-week-old babies watched the toy train disappear behind the left side of the screen, they looked to the right, expecting it to reappear. If the experimenter took the train off the table and lifted the screen, all the babies seemed surprised not to see the train. This seems to show that all the babies had a sense of object permanence. But the second part of the experiment showed that this was not really the case. The researcher substituted a ball for the train when it went behind the screen. The 22-week-old babies seemed surprised and looked back to the left side for the train. But the 16-week -old babies did not seem to notice the switch. Thus, the 16-week-old babies seemed to have a sense of “something permanence,” while the 22-week-old babies had a sense of object permanence related to a particular object.
1.The passage is mainly about _____.
A. babies' sense of sight B. effects of experiments on babies
C. babies' understanding of objects D. different tests on babies' feelings
2.In Paragraph 3, “object permanence” means that when out of sight, an object _____.
A. still exists B. keeps its shape C. still stays solid D. is beyond reach
3.What did Bower use in his experiments?
A. A chair. B. A screen. C. A film. D. A box.
4.Which of the following statements is true?
A. The babies didn't have a sense of direction.
B. The older babies preferred toy trains to balls.
C. The younger babies liked looking for missing objects.
D. The babies couldn't tell a ball from its optical illusion.
Loving France
Landing in France, a sacred feeling suddenly arises which attracts you to know more about this country.
France, about hexagonal (六边形) in shape, has a boundary on the east with Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and is bounded on the southeast by Monaco and the Mediterranean Sea; on the south are Spain and Andorra, with the Bay of Biscay on the west and the English Channel on the north as natural borders.
A series of massive mountain ranges includes the Alps, which separate France and Italy, and the Jura Mountains that delineate (画出轮廓) the Franco-Swiss border. The Rhine River, at the northeast corner of France forms the Franco-German boundary. The Pyrenees Mountains, extending along the Franco-Spanish frontier from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay, forms the other mountain boundary of France.
The plains region is a projection of the great plain of Europe. The outstanding features of the plains are the river valleys. Among all the rivers, totaling more than 200 with numerous tributaries which are almost all commercially navigable, the Rhine River is the largest in terms of discharge volume.
The capital and largest city in France is Paris, which attracts many visitors every year. Marseilles is a chief port and Lyon is an industrial center famous for its textiles. Other major cities include Toulouse, an industrial and trade center; Nice, a resort; Strasbourg, a Rhine River port and industrial and commercial center; Bordeaux, a seaport and most famous for its wine.
French perfume, champagne, and bridges in Paris… want to know more? Then next time we will return to Paris, and you will learn more about her.
1.How many mountain ranges are mentioned in the passage?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5
2.The underlined word “discharge” means ______.
A. storage B. electric power production C. the release of water D. the money made
3.Which is not TRUE according to the passage?
A. Spain is to the southwest of Germany.
B. Mountains are the outstanding features of the plains.
C. Both Marseilles and Bordeaux are ports.
D. Both Nice and Paris attract many tourists every year.
4.Which city is flourishing both in its industry and commerce?
A. Marseilles B. Lyon C. Toulouse D. Strasbourg
To Design Perfect School Uniforms
Believe it or not, there are good reasons for wearing a school uniform. It makes you 1__ proud of your school. It builds a common spirit of unity (整体) among students and 2them of the values and history of their school. But for most students, school uniforms are not something to be proud of 3.
“Why 4the school uniform just one day a week? Always wearing the same clothes makes me feel boring,” a senior student from a high school complained (抱怨). “I don’t like the big English letters of the name of our school on the back,” said a junior student “They could be __5.” The main student complaints about school uniforms are: simple colors, boring designs and bad 6. And a teacher at a middle school in Guangzhou said that 7a teacher and a mother, she eagerly 8the quality of school uniforms will be improved soon.
What has caused all these problems? Chen Hong, a uniform designer in Shenzhen, pointed out that problems 9because the whole society doesn’t see the 10of the school uniform.
“Most designers are 11to stick to the same old fashion, 12there are no professionals (专业人员) 13work for students,” Chen said.
His company 14most of the awards in the first national competition for school uniforms last month in Nanning, Guangxi.
“Besides, high quality calls for a high price,” said Chen. “But in some schools, the annual (一年一度) expense for each student’s uniform is only 50 to 60 yuan. How can we produce high quality clothes with so 15money?”
Even with these problems, efforts have been made 16the situation, according to Zhai Shiliang, 17of the School Uniform Administration and Service Center in Beijing. A school clothes competition was held in April in Beijing. Thirty-seven uniforms, 18in schools next spring, were selected from 570. “We will offer the samples (样品) for schools to choose,” Zhai said.
“The perfect uniform should remind the students of the school’s honor and cause them to be proud of it 19they are,” Chen said. Zhai added, “During the 2009 Olympic Games, the whole world will see the new appearance of our 20century young generation with new school uniforms.”
1.A. take B. feel C. to take D. to feel
2.A. remains B. remember C. reminds D. recalls
3.A. at all B. in all C. for all D. after all
4.A. not to wear B. to wear C. not wear D. wear
5.A. large B. larger C. small D. smaller
6.A. quantity B. amount C. quality D. unit
7.A. as B. like C. for D. with
8.A. wishes B. needs C. wants D. hopes
9.A. come through B. come up C. come in D. come on
10.A. importance B. important C. design D. possibility
11.A. like B. possibly C. unlikely D. likely
12.A. if B. although C. because D. because of
13.A. what B. which C. that D. ×
14.A. won B. has won C. wins D. had won
15.A. few B. little C. much D. many
16.A. improve B. develop C. change D. to change
17.A. a head B. the head C. Head D. head
18.A. being seen B. to be seen C. to see D. will be seen
19.A. whenever and wherever B. when and where
C. what and who D. whatever and whoever
20.A. 19th B. 20th C. 21st D. 22nd
——What do you want to do next? We have half an hour until the basketball game.
—— .Whatever you want to do is fine with me.
A. It just depends. B. It is up to you. C. All right. D. Glad to hear that..
