Successful films and TV programs make large amounts of money, and so do the performers who appear in them. A few big shows can make a rock musician a millionaire（百万富翁） in a very short time. High art, however, has serious financial（财政的） problems. It costs more to put on an opera（歌剧）concert, or ballet（芭蕾） than the sale of tickets can bring in. Men and women interested in high art are always being asked to give money to make future performance possible. Small government subsidies（津贴） have also helped to support the arts in the last few years.
56. It is easier for ______ to make money.
A. an opera performer B. a pianist
C. a ballet actor D. A rock musician
57. High art has financial problems because ________.
no people would offer money for it
it is not supported by the government
it cost much but not many people enjoy it
prices of tickets for it are not high enough
58. The government has given ________ money to support _______ in the last few years.
A. a large amount of… high art B. a small amount of… high art
C. little… all kinds of art D. plenty of… popular art
59. From the passage we can concluded (推断) that ________.
A. high art is not enjoyed by young people
B. successful films and TV programs are called high arts
C. all people enjoy popular art instead of high art
D. most people like popular art better than high art
Computer programmer David Jones earned $ 150,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a check card (信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18.
He works for a small firm in Liverpool, where most young people of his age are finding jobs. David”s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Though he has high payment, he cannot drive a car, or get credit cards.(信用卡)
David got his job four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-Levels(普通成绩) and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.
“I suppose $150,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother $20 a week as he lives with his parents. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “ But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway. I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.
11. why is David so different from other young people of his age?
A .He has got a job. B. He lives at home with his parents
C .He does not get out much. D. He earns a high payment
12. David’s greatest problem is that _____.
A. he can’t be treated as an adult (grown-up) by the bank
B. he can’t make as many games as he wishes
C .he doesn’t know what to buy with the money
D. he is too young to drive a car
13. He was employed by the company because _____
A .he had worked in a computer shop
B. he had written some computer programs
C. he is clever and works hard at his lessons
D. he had learnt computer from books and magazines
14. He left school after taking six O-Levels because ____.
A. he was afraid of getting too old to start computing B. he didn’t enjoy school
C. he wanted to work with computers D. he wanted to earn a lot of money.
15. Why does David think he might retire early?
A. He thinks computer games might not always sell so well.
B. He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire.
C. One has to be young to write computer programs
D. He thinks his firm might close down.
Carlos Gardel was born on Dec. 11, 1890, just at the right time. The recording and film industries were jus starting to impact the world. Carlos had good looks and a pleasant voice. His death occurred at the peak of his career and popularity in a tragic accident.
Carlos Gardel was the first great singer of tango and to this day remains an icon (崇拜对象) in Argentina, Uruguay and much of the world. As a result of his important role in tango, there are three countries that claim him as their own: France, Uruguay and Argentina.
Carlos’s mother, Berthe, was an unmarried mother and his father did not recognize him. His mother took Carlos to Buenos Aires in 1893. They lived in a poor part of town and Carlos spent his time in the streets; he dropped out of school in 1906 at the age of 15 and started singing in bars.
For the next few years, Carlos toured the clubs and theaters of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. His most constant singing partner was Jose Razzano, a folk singer Carlos had met earlier during a singing match. In 1915, after playing in a club in Brazil, Carlos was shot in the left lung, where the bullet stayed for the rest of his life. “Mi Noche Triste” was the hit song that sent Carlos skyrocketing in popularity. It became the first recorded vocal tango and the public was grabbed by the recording of the song. Carlos and Rozzano spent the next years touring through Latin America. In 1923, they left the continent and struck out for Europe. In 1935, Carlos decided to go on tour through the Caribbean and northern South America. On June 24, a plane he was a passenger in was hit by another plane on the runway. Everyone on board was killed.
Carlos may be gone, but he is far from forgotten.
6. The passage was mainly written to ______.
A. show us the history of tango B. introduce the first singer of tango
C. teach us how tango developed D. advertise a tango class
7. We can infer from the passage that _____.
A. Carlos lived a poor life with his mother in Buenos Aires
B. Carlos had only been to France, Uruguay and Argentina
C. Carlos died at the age of 54.
D. Carlos was born when the film industry began to fail
8. What’s the RIGHT time order of the following events?
a. Carlos toured through Latin America.
b. Carlos was shot after playing in a club in Brazil.
c. Carlos toured the clubs and theaters of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
d. Carlos moved to Buenos Aires.
A. cbad B. dcba C. cabd D. dcab
9. The underlined word “grabbed” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by _____.
A. lied B. frightened C. cheated D. attracted
10. Which of the following statements about Carlos in NOT true?
A. His singing partner Jose was his brother.
B. He is an important figure in the world of tango.
C. His father did not recognize him
D. He died in a plane accident.
III.阅读理解(20×2)
When Sir Winston Churchill , the great British prime minister, reached his eightieth birthday in November 1954, he was presented with his portrait by a well-known modern artist, Granham Sutherland. The painting had been ordered and paid by the members of Parliament(国会)， who wanted to honor the Grand Man of World war II.
Sir Winston and Lady Churchill were deeply moved by this mark of respect and affection. Neither of them, of course, allowed the donors（捐赠者） to see how much they both disliked the portrait. “It makes me look stupid—which I am not !” Churchill protested in private. Publicly, he only said that it was “a fine example of modern art”. His friends smiled: it was well-known that Sir Winston didn’t care for modern art.
Churchill was so unhappy about the portrait that finally his wife had it destroyed. Churchill died at ninety in January 1965. lady Churchill followed him in 1977. Shortly after her death, the public learned what had happened to Sutherland’s painting, and a heated argument broke out. The painter was understandably sad. The artistic community, shocked and angry, claimed that the destruction of the picture had been a crime. Historians said that they regretted the disappearance of a historical document. All agreed that Churchills didn’t have the right to do what they had done.
Well—did they ? A good part of the public felt that the owner of a portrait had the right to get rid of it if it made him so unhappy. The question, however, has been raised many times before: who has the right to a work of art—the sitter, the owner, the donor or the artist who created it? And when the painting is the portrait of a historical figure, should the right of posterity (后代) be considered, as the historians claimed?
1. To have Churchill’s portrait painted was the idea of ______.
A.a well-known modern artist B.Parliament
C.a friend of Churchill D.the public
2. Which of the following is true ?
A. Churchill liked the portrait but his wife not
B. Churchill didn’t like the portrait because he didn’t like the painter
C. Churchill liked the portrait because it was a fine modern art.
D . Churchill didn’t like the portrait and nor did his wife
3. When Churchill said it was “a fine example of modern art”, he was ______.
A. dishonest B. joking C. praising the portrait D. not been straight
4.When was the destruction of the portrait known to the public?
A . As soon as it happened B.After Churchill died in 1965
C. Soon after Lady Churchill’s death D. Not until recently
5. How did people reacted to the news?
A. People of the artistic community were all very sad.
B. The historians felt more strongly against it than the artistic community.
C.All people agreed that Chutchills had no right to destroy the picture.
D. while some were upset, quite a few people believed the Churchills had the right to destroy it.
II. 语法填空：(10×2)
People can call 911 when they need help. The police 1 (come) quickly. This phone number should be used only 2 an emergency. 3 there have been some problems with people using the 911 phone number. More than half of the calls made to it are an accident. These accidental calls are not real emergencies.
Calling 911 when you do not need 4 can be very bad. It wastes the time of the people answering the calls. It can even force someone 5 has a real emergency to wait before getting the help they need.
Many accidental 911 calls come from cellphones. Sometimes keys on the phones 6 (push) and the call goes through without the owner of the phone 7 (know) that he has called an emergency number. People are trying to find a way to solve this problem.
They are testing 8 new program that might help solve the problem of accidental 911 calls. This program will make 9 (call) of 911 push another key on the phone 10 it is a real emergency. People hope that this change will reduce the number of accidental 911 calls going through.
I 完型填空：(15×2)
In the American family the husband and wife usually share important decision-making. When the children are 1 enough, they take part as well. Foreigners are often surprised by the permissiveness (宽容) of American parents. The old rule that “children should be seen and not heard” is rarely 2 , and children are often allowed to do 3 they wish without strict control of their parents. The father seldom expects his children to listen to him 4 question, and children are encouraged to be 5 at an early age. Some people believe that American parents carry this freedom 6 far. Others think that a strong father image would not 7 the American values of equality and independence. Because Americans emphasize (强调 ) the importance of independence, young people are expected to 8 their parental families by the time they have 9 their late teens or early twenties. Indeed, not to do so is often regarded as a 10 , a kind of weak dependence.
This pattern of independence often results in serious 11 for the aging parents of a small family. The average American is expected to live 12 the age of 70. The job retirement age is 13 65. The children have left home, married, and 14 their won households. At least 20 percent of all people over 65 do not have enough retirement incomes. 15 the major problem of many elderly couples is not economic. They feel useless and lonely with neither an occupation nor a close family group.
1. A. great B. big C. old D. young
2. A. watched B. followed C. understood D. grasped
3. A. what B. that C. which D. when
4. A. for B. on C. without D. in
5. A. dependent B. independent C. sure D. safe
6. A. too B. almost C. nearly D. so
7. A. gain B. welcome C. suit D. change
8. A. break up B. break into C. break through D. break away from
9. A. reached B. come C. arrived D. developed
10. A. reward B. criticism C. failure D. success
11. A. events B. problems C. matters D. affairs
12. A. on B. up C. from D. beyond
13. A. only B. usually C. sometimes D. seldom
14. A. set out B. set aside C. set up D. set down
15. A. But B. And C. So D. As
