In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition（试镜）for My Kind of People, a televised talent show popular in the UK. She was immediately rejected. She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn’t perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks. Susan was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.
Susan suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away. After his death, Susan put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother, Bridget Boyle. The mother and daughter often talked of Susan’s possible fame. Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions. “She was the one who said I should enter Britain’s Got Talent. We used to watch it together,” Susan later told reporters. “She thought I would win.”
In 1999, Susan used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo（样本唱片）tape, which she sent to record companies. In 2002, Susan began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O’Neil.
In 2007, her mother passed away at the age of 91. A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn’t come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone”. She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. For over a year, she refused to sing. But in August of 2008, O’Neil urged her to try out for Britain’s Got Talent. Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Susan auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland. She sang I Dreamed A Dream, a hit song from the musical Les Miserables（《悲惨世界》）, in the first round of the show, which was aired on April 11, 2009.
The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast（对比）to her powerfully beautiful voice. The performance astonished the audience and the judges. Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week. Although she failed to win the final of Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular. Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.
1. Bridget Boyle’s attitude towards her daughter’s musical talent can be described as ___.
A. critical B. doubtful C. indifferent D. confident
2. From Paragraph 4, we can learn that Susan _____.
A. was slightly discouraged by her voice coac B. entered Britain’s Got Talent to prove her ability
C. decided to give up her singing career D. was deeply affected by her mother’s death
3. Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?
A. Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008. B. Her audition for My Kind of People failed.
C. She has never stopped singing since 1995. D. She was the winner of Britain’s Got Talent.
4. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. Susan Boyle was convinced by her brother that her plain looks were disadvantageous to her success
B. It was at the age of forty that Susan Boyle established a student-teacher relationship with O’Neil.
C. Susan Boyle was so struck by her father’s death that she shut herself out from the neighborhood.
D. The online views of Les Miserables numbered over 40 million within a week in 2009.
5.In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to ______.
A. tell us how Susan’s dream come true B. let us know more about Susan’s personal life
C. show how Susan was influenced by her family D. explain how to enter and win a talent show
I took the bus to work for many years. No one knew each other; the passengers all sat there sleepily in the morning. The bus was cheerless and silent.
One of the passengers was a small grey man who took the bus to the center for senior citizens every morning. No one ever paid very much attention to him. One July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled. The driver nodded guardedly. The rest of us were silent.
The next day, the old man boarded with a big smile and said in a loud voice, “A very good morning to you all!” Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured “ good morning” in reply.
The following weeks, our friend was dressed in a nice old suit and tie. The thin hair had been carefully combed. He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.
One morning he even had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. The driver turned around smilingly and asked, “Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?” We never got to know if his name really was “Charlie”, but he nodded shyly and said yes. The other passengers whistled and clapped at him. Charlie waved the flowers before he sat down on his seat.
Every morning after that Charlie always brought flowers. Some passengers also brought flowers for him. The bus became a happy place.
Then, one morning, as autumn was closing in, Charlie wasn’t waiting at his usual stop. When he wasn’t there the next day and the day after that, we started wondering if he was sick or hopefully---on holiday somewhere. When we came nearer to the center for senior citizens, one of the passengers even asked the driver to wait.
We all held our breaths when he went to the door. The old gentleman was fine, but one of his close friends had died over the weekend. How silent we were the rest of the way to work.
The next Monday Charlie was waiting at the stop, and without a tie. Inside the bus was silent.
1. The story is mainly developed by ______.
A. time B. logic C. comparison D. cause and result
2. Greeted with “good morning” from the old man, people aboard the bus at first _____.
A. felt tired and sleepy and didn’t want to talk B. greeted him back loudly and politely
C. guarded against the conversation from strangers D. felt surprised and became angry with him.
3. When the passengers found the old man was not waiting at the bus stop as usual, they did NOT _____.
A. buy flowers and wait for him to come B. feel anxious and worried about him
C. miss him and expect to see him D. hope he was going on holiday rather than falling ill
4. It can be inferred from the text that _____.
A. the driver didn’t like the old man at first B. people usually wear a tie when they are happy
C. passengers brought flowers to express gratitude（感激） to the old man
D. the old man had a great influence on the passengers’ emotion
5.The purpose of the passage is to _____.
A. introduce the old gentleman and praise his good deeds
B. persuade us to become friendly and considerate to people around
C. tell us to keep silent when somebody passes away
D. criticize those who remain silent when they are greeted
Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman Empire. But when the empire broke down, this kind of tourism stopped.
In the early 17th century, the idea of the “Grand Tour” was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel（英吉利海峡）. They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The “Grand Tour” was an important part of young people’s education---but only for the rich.
In the 18th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to “take the waters”. They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.
In the 19th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s, it was easier for people to travel towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier.
Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to faraway countries.
The 20th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.
Thus tourism grew. In 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything---plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food----and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born.
The first travel agency in China was set up as early as 1949. But tourism did not take off until 1978. In 2002, the industry was 500 billion yuan and became an important part of China’s social development.
1. In the early times, the travelers _____.
A. all came from Roman B. were very young and strong
C. had lots of money D. traveled by boat
2. Which is NOT true about “Grand Tour”?
A. It was a long journey. B. The young men learned a lot from it.
C. Those who took the tour weren’t rich. D. Most of its destinations were in Europe.
3. _____ played the most important role in the tourism development.
A. Education B. Money C. Transportation D. People’s ideas
4. Modern tourism was born _______.
A. in 1949 B. in Roman times C. in the early 17th century D. in the early 19th century
5.The underlined phrase “take off” in the last paragraph means ______.
A. a plane rising into the air B. develop very fast
C. remove hats and clothes D. bring down the prices
语法填空
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，
Sometimes Chinese English teachers are puzzled by such questions, “Have you got any skills in reading comprehension?” Actually, many of the teachers can’t give students 1 efficient (效率高的) way to deal with reading. Anyway, 2 often simply say, “Read more and practise more, and you 3 (get) more experience in reading comprehension.” Frankly, these teachers’ good 4 (suggest) are only helpful to arouse students’ interest in reading 5 not helpful to deal with the questions in the examinations of reading comprehension. Personally, I think the skill for reading comprehension should be based 6 the knowledge of English writing. Since the English passages 7 (write) under some rules or principles, the science of reading and understanding may have a close relationship with writing. Reading comprehension can’t be independent from the knowledge of writing. So to do 8 (well) in reading comprehension, we should learn the knowledge of writing, study 9 questions are designed and the relationship 10 questions and the reading materials.
完形填空 阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C和D选项中，选出最佳选项。（每小题2分，共30分）
Computers have done us a lot since they turned up. In the future they will play a more important part in many __16__, such as education, transport, personal lives, scientific research and so on. Nowadays computers are being used in ___17__ and industry and can help the farmers to __18__ the conditions of the plants.
More and more computers will come into our daily life with the __19__ of science and technology. If you want to change money or pay your electricity bills, you won’t have to go to the __20__. A computer and a telephone will help you. It can also help you to do the housework and it can even __21___ human voices and carry out the instructions. It is __22__ that the majority of the labor force will work at home. People will be able to use the videophone for conferences. This can help us to save a lot of energy and ___23__. It is said that trains in Japan will have no __24___, because they’ll be well __25___ by computers, which can also tell the best ___26__ between trains.
Computers programs for __27__ whole texts are already well developed. You can ___28__ the name of a certain subject and a __29__ list of book titles will __30__ on your screen. You may choose whichever you want.
|
1. |
A. families |
B. fields |
C. factories |
D. places |
|
2. |
A. tourism |
B. politics |
C. entertainment |
D. agriculture |
|
3. |
A. form |
B. grow |
C. control |
D. manage |
|
4. |
A. increase |
B. progress |
C. production |
D. development |
|
5. |
A. office |
B. bank |
C. shop |
D. post office |
|
6. |
A. understand |
B. carry |
C. hear |
D. recognize |
|
7. |
A. important |
B. necessary |
C. possible |
D. complete |
|
8. |
A. material |
B. time |
C. place |
D. money |
|
9. |
A. conductors |
B. drivers |
C. instructors |
D. indicators |
|
10. |
A. operated |
B. done |
C. made |
D. run |
|
11. |
A. position |
B. direction |
C. distance |
D. way |
|
12. |
A. storing |
B. writing |
C. remaining |
D. recording |
|
13. |
A. give |
B. put |
C. type |
D. write |
|
14. |
A. first-rate |
B. world-famous |
C. nationwide |
D. worldwide |
|
15. |
A. show |
B. appear |
C. offer |
D. come |
读写任务(共1小题，满分25分)
阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文
I once met a middle-aged stranger who said his money had been stolen at the railway station，so he had no money to go home. He begged for help from passers-by，but they all pretended not to have heard what he was saying and went by quickly. Then he stopped me and wanted me to give him the help. At first I could not accept that because I didn't think he was telling the truth. But when I saw tears in his eyes，I began to believe that he might be in the real trouble，so，just immediately I gave him all the money I had. When he took the money， his face turned red. Before he left，he expressed his great thanks and also said he would give back my money when he reached home.
When I came back to school and told my classmates about my story，they held different opinions. Some of them thought that I did a good deed to have given a hand to the person in trouble，while others said that I was cheated. Some even laughed at me and called me a fool who could not judge things in the right way. Now，I am really confused！
【写作内容】
1.请用30个词概括短文的要点；
2.以约120个词就"陌生人可不可信"的主题发表看法，并包括如下要点：
（1）叙述你给予陌生人帮助或拒绝帮助陌生人的一次真实或虚构的经历；
（2）说明你的理由。
【写作要求】
1.可以使用实例或其它论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2.标题自定。
