Jack Benny was one of the most famous names in show business．As a child, Benny learned to play the violin．After finishing his school, he joined the Navy．He continued using his violin to perform for sailors．In one show he was chosen more for his funny jokes than for his skill with the violin．That experience made him believe that his future job was a comedian.
Benny developed a show personality that had all the qualities people dislike．He was known for being so stingy ---- he refused to spend any money unless forced to do so．On his shows Benny often spoke of his appearance, especially his baby blue eyes．As he grew older, he always claimed to be 39 years old．Benny rarely made jokes that hurt other people．Instead, he would let the other actors on the show tell jokes about him.
In real life, he was very giving and he was a person people liked having as their employer．Benny entered the new media of television in 1950．Five years later, he dropped his radio program to spend more time developing his television show．At first his appearances on television were rare．By 1960 the Benny Show was a weekly television program．It continued until 1965．Benny appeared in about twenty films during his life．A few became popular．But most were not．In 1963 Benny returned to Broadway for the first time since 1931.
Benny received many awards during his lifetime．Perhaps the one honor that pleased him most was that his hometown of Waukeegan named a school for him．This was a special honor for a man who had never finished high school.
Benny continued to perform．He died of cancer in 1974．At his funeral his friend Bob Hope said, “ Jack Benny was stingy to the end．He gave us only eighty years.”
1.Benny was determined to be a comedian .
A．after he played the violin for the sailors
B．after he left he Navy for Broadway
C．after he performed in a show for the sailors
D after he joined the Navy with his violin
2.The underlined word “stingy” can be replaced by “ ”.
A．clever B．mean C．out-going D．hard-working
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about Benny?
A．His first appearance on TV was very successful
B．Most of his films became well-known to Americans
C．Benny treated all his awards as nothing
D．His greatest achievement was developing show business
4.We can learn from Bob Hope’s words that .
A．he felt very sad about Benny’s death
B．Benny devoted himself to developing TV business
C．eighty years was enough for common people, but not for Benny
D．Benny performed only eighty years.
The Chinese word “Shanzhai” means a small mountain village, but now it becomes an accepted name for fakes （假货） after “Shanzhai Cellphones” produced by small workshops in southern China became popular in the mainland market over the past two years.
Besides “Shanzhai” has electronic products, there are “Shanzhai” movies, “Shanzhai” stars and even a “Shanzhai” Spring Festival Gala, a copy of the 25-year-old traditional show presented by CCTV on Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve．
“Shanzhai” has become a culture of its own, symbolizing anything that imitates something famous．The phenomenon has caused a public debate over whether it is healthy or sick being a copycat.
In southwestern China’s Chongqing Municipality, a “Shanzhai” version “Bird’s Nest” woven by farmers with bamboo attracts wide attention and the “Shanzhai” version “Water Cube” is popular with tourists too．Both are copies of the famous Olympics buildings in Beijing.
Xie Xizhang, a literature critic, said that taking the “Shanzhai” Gala as an example, when the traditional CCTV program becomes less and less attractive to the audience, the “Shanzhai” version appears naturally to attract people．“In spite of its poor techniques and operation, ‘Shanzhai’culture meets the psychological demands of common people and could be a comfort to their minds,” Xie said.
Tian Huiqun, a professor at Beijing Normal University, said that “Shanzhai” culture never copies classic things, only trendy products．In that sense, it’s like a computer virus, multiplying without meaning.
Though controversial, “Shanzhai” culture is becoming a widely accepted phenomenon.
To the mainstream culture, the rise of “Shanzhai” culture is a challenge as well as a motivation, said Xie．Tian said different kinds of cultures developing together is an ideal situation and it is for the public to choose.
1.The Chinese Word“Shanzhai”may have its origin in _________.
A．fake cellphones B．electronic products
C．Spring Festival Gala D．Olympics buildings
2.The underlined word “imitates” is closest in meaning to _______.
A．steals B．copies C．advertises D．cheats
3.According to the passage, “Shanzhai” culture refers to ________.
A．The action that a person imitates famous people
B．anything that imitates something famous
C．those similar names to famous brand
D．products with poor techniques and quality
4.We can infer that the mainstream culture ________.
A．will be held back by “Shanzhai” culture
B．will sooner or later be replaced by “Shanzhai”culture
C．may develop faster because of the challenging of “Shanzhai”culture
D．thinks nothing of the challenge of “Shanzhai”culture
Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog．It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany．The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child．Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee.
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects．Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back．In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right．As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew．The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of ten tests, suggesting that the dog had worked
out the answer by process of elimination（排除法）．A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive．
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog．For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed （品种）known for its mental abilities．In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say．Even if they do, they can't talk back．Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then．You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
1.From paragraph 2 we know that __ .
A．animals are as clever as human beings
B．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills
C．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees
D．dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children
2.Both experiments show that .
A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right
B．Rico can recognize different things including toys
C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics
D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them
3.Which of the following statements is true?
A．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training.
B．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities.
C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects.
D．Rico is born to understand its owner's commands.
4.What does the writer want to tell us?
A．To train your dog． B．To talk to your dog.
C．To be careful with your dog． D．To be friendly to your dog.
The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life．I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when 1 ran into something solid．It was Carlos.
“My God, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh．Angry, I walked to my seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest．That would be the last straw．But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else．I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend．Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I．Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington.
“Take that seat，” Mr．McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos，pointing to the only empty one，in the back of the room.
Carlos grinned, “But I need a couple of dictionaries.” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos，not at him．He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again．Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president．“How come ?” I kept asking myself, “How come this shrimp who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”
So that morning，I stopped Carlos and said，“It doesn’t seem to bother you — being short.” He looked up at me, “Of course I mind being short．But there isn’t anything I can do about it．When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin，I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted, “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself．You’re smart．And you could be pretty．In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
1.The author was angry because ________.
A．the class made fun of her B．Carlos was too rude to her
C．she had to carry many books D．Reed Harrington didn’t date her
2.Which of the following about Carlos is NOT TRUE?
A．He was popular.
B．He was new in the school.
C．He was shorter than the author.
D．He was chosen president in the school elections.
3.We can infer from the passage that ________．
A．Carlos and the author have become good friends
B．the author will be more confident
C．Carlos always encouraged the author
D．the author was tall
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A．How to be popular B．A tall girl
C．Be yourself D．Something about Carlos
I used to be ashamed of my grandma．I know that’s a 1thing to say, but it was true until today, so I have to 2it.
The 3started when my friend Katy found Grandma’s false teeth floating in a glass on the bathroom sink．I was so used to seeing them that I 4took notice of them．But Katy shouted, laughing and 5to talk to them．I had to get down on my knees and 6her to shut up so my grandma wouldn’t 7and get hurt．
After that happened, I 8there were a million things about Grandma that were embarrassing.
Once she took Jill and me out to Burger King． 9ordering our hamburgers well-done, she told the person behind the counter, “They’ll have two Whoppers (巨无霸) well-to-do.” Jill burst out laughing, but I almost 10．After a while, I started wishing I could 11Grandma in a closet．I even complained to my parents．Both my parents said I had to be careful not to make Grandma feel 12in our home.
Then last Wednesday, something happened that 13everything completely．My teacher told us to help find interesting old people and 14them about their 15for a big Oral History project．I was trying to think of someone when Angie pushed me gently.
“Volunteer your grandmother,” she whispered．“She’s 16and rich in experience.”
That was the last thing I ever thought Angie would say about my grandma.
This is how I ended up on 17today interviewing my own grandmother before the whole school assembly (集合)．All my friends and teachers were listening to her 18she was a great heroine．I was 19of my grandma and hoped she would 20know that I had been ashamed of her．
1.A．funny B．common C．terrible D．clear
2.A．admit B．receive C．refuse D．show
3.A．quarrel B．accident C．trouble D．adventure
4.A．already B．always C．simply D．hardly
5.A．enjoying B．pretending C．imagining D．continuing
6.A．warn B．demand C．advise D．beg
7.A．mind B．hear C．see D．fall
8.A．expected B．declared C．realized D．doubted
9.A．Because of B．Except for C．Such as D．Instead of
10.A．died B．cheered C．disappeared D．suffered
11.A．meet B．avoid C．arrange D．hide
12.A．independent B．inconvenient C．unwelcome D．unfamiliar
13.A．changed B．finished C．stopped D．Prepared
14.A．interview B．report C．tell D．write
15.A．news B．lives C．advantages D．achievements
16.A．free B．popular C．interesting D．embarrassing
17.A．show B．stage C．duty D．time
18.A．and then B．even if C．so that D．as if
19.A．sure B．proud C．ashamed D．afraid
20.A．never B．even C．still D．once
Written in a hurry, _______________.
A．they found many mistakes in the report.
B．Sam made lots of mistakes in the report.
C．there are many mistakes in the report．
D．the report is full of mistakes.
