Taylor sings with heart
The
music industry is never short of teen pop stars with wonderful looks, but it
doesn’t often find one like US singer Taylor Swift. “Beneath Taylor Swift’s
not-a-girl, not-yet-a-woman sweetness hides a very skillful songwriting
technique (技巧),” writes Leah Greenblatt with
Entertainment Weekly.
Songwriting, the country singer explains, is “how I deal with problems. I am used to writing about things that really influences me most.” So in her songs, there is always something true and honest. They seem like stories from a diary. And that certainly helps Swift attract her audience.
She’s sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first two albums, 2006’s self-titled debut (首张专辑) and 2008’s Fearless. She’s the youngest artist ever to be named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Not surprisingly, there were great expectations for her third album, Speak Now, which came out late last month, where she again returned to her own life for material. The 14 songs “are all about the last two years... when life was a little bit bigger and crazier,” says Swift. “So I’ve written about the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18, 19 and 20.”
1.What led to Taylor’s fame?
A. Her wonderful looks. B. Her songwriting skills together with her looks.
C. Her beautiful voice. D. Her special life experience in her teenage years.
2.Which of the following is true?
A. Taylor is now in her twenties.
B. Taylor’s the youngest Artist of the Year at the Academy Awards
C. Taylor has produced three albums up till now.
D. Taylor has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.
3.What may be written in the album, Speak Now?
A. Her unhappy experience with her boyfriend. k*s5*u
B. Her concern for her popularity.
C. Her happy childhood.
D. Her worries for environmental pollution.
Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned .Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man. “The rat population is on the rise and soon it’ll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat,” said group Director, Sue Nelson. The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin—with young men the worst group—was behind the rise. According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain’s rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population. On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year. Around 200 people a year get Weil’s Disease –an infection which can lead to liver or kidney（肝肾）failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats’ waste. To attract people’s attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title “How close do you want them to get?” The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert’s classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans.
1.Where did the rats use to search for food? k*s5*u
A. In the street B. Under the ground
C. From the dustbins D. In burger shops
2.What was the rat population in Britain in 2000 according to the writer?
A. Around 60 million B. Around 45 million
C. Around 38 million D. Around 2 million
3.We may infer from the passage that ______________.
A. Weil’s Disease will finally end the world
B. pizzas and crisps will become unpopular
C. rats will put human beings’ life in danger
D. young people should take the responsibility for the rat population
4.By writing the passage, the author tries to _____________.
A. close some of the burger and pizza restaurants
B. draw the public attention to the problem of rats
C. prevent the rats from growing up
D. making an advertisement for the classic horror tale The Rats
A lesson in caring
It was a cold evening. My daughter and I were walking up Broadway. I didn’t notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box. But Nora 36 . She wasn’t even four, but she 37 at my coat and said, “That man’s cold. Daddy, can we take him home?”
I don’t remember my 38 . But I do remember a sudden 39 feeling inside me. I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her 40 , whether it was 41 flying or children playing. But now she was noticing 42 and beggary.
A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and 43 it to an elderly person. It was quick and easy. I signed us up. Nora was 44 about it. She could understand the importance of food, so she could easily see how 45 our job was. When Sunday came, she was ready, but I had to 46 myself to leave the house to fetch the food package. On my way to the school, I fought an urge (强烈愿望) to turn 47 . The Sunday paper and coffee were waiting for me at home. Why do this? 48 , we phoned the elderly person we’d been appointed. She 49 us right over.
The building was in a bad state. Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress. She took the package and asked us to come in. Nora ran inside. I unwillingly followed. 50 inside, I saw that the department belonged to someone poor. Our hostess showed us some photos. Nora played and when it came time to say goodbye, we three hugged. I walked home 51 .
Professionals call such a(n) 52 “a volunteer opportunity”. They are opportunities and I’ve come to see. Where else but as volunteers do you have the opportunity to do something 53 that’s good for others as well as for yourself? Nora and I regularly serve meals to needy people and 54 clothes for the homeless. Yet, as I’ve 55 her grow over these past four years, I still wonder—which of us has benefited more?
1.A. did B. was C. has D. had
2.A. pulled B. replaced C. waved D. aimed
3.A. debate B. reply C. explanation D. expression
4.A. general B. funny C. heavy D. magical
5.A. web B. dream C. castle D. world
6.A. insects B. animals C. plants D. birds
7.A. coldness B. illness C. suffering D. appearance
8.A. sent B. returned C. devoted D. posted
9.A. concerned B. sorry C. worried D. excited
10.A. creative B. valuable C. shocking D. simple
11.A. warn B. stop C. allow D. push
12.A. back B. away C. up D. out
13.A. Therefore B. But C. Anyhow D. Also
14.A. requested B. promised C. invited D. helped
15.A. Although B. Once C. Because D. Though
16.A. in tears B. in surprise C. in reality D.in disappointment
17.A. stay B. visit C. reception D. challenge
18.A. fair B. famous C. difficult D. enjoyable
19.A. collect B. make C. order D. design
20.A. let B. made C. watched D. affected
—Please tell Tom that he has won the 100-metre race.
—_____! He never won it before.
A. Congratulations B .What good news
C. What a pleasant surprise D. How exciting the race
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21—40各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
Happiness is what everyone looks for. 41 someone says that he is happy. However, 42 makes him happy may not work for others. And even 43 , someone may spend all his life looking for happiness, but in vain.
In the past, I tried my best to make myself happy. I thought if I could 44 get and do what I wanted to, I would be happy. Certainly, it was 45 , but I was disappointed. Though I could be happy at 46 , I couldn’t keep my happiness for a long time. Why?
One day, when I told a friend of mine what I 47 about happiness, he smiled and said only a few words, “Happiness is not a 48 thing but a by-product ( 副产品). ”
I was surprised, but he was really 49 .
Someone thinks money can 50 everything, but when he becomes a millionaire after his hard work, perhaps he will find that he has new 51 . And he has to go to church for 52 . Sometimes love can bring happiness, but at other times it 53 misunderstanding, tiredness, and even quarrelling.
Happiness is only a by-product of all 54 of things you love to do. You can not 55 it in a straight way. That is, it is not a thing 56 in the material form but in your senses.
You should tell yourself, “ I do not 57 whether I am happy or not. But I must love 58 . ” And one day you will 59 find happiness itself has quietly 60 .
|
1. |
A. Maybe |
B. Once |
C. Then |
D. And |
|
2. |
A. who |
B. what |
C. it |
D. this |
|
3. |
A. more |
B. now |
C. worse |
D. so |
|
4. |
A. often |
B. really |
C. hardly |
D. frequently |
|
5.. |
A. important |
B. necessary |
C. unnecessary |
D. possible |
|
6. |
A. present |
B. all |
C. times |
D. last |
|
7. |
A. did |
B. thought |
C. learned |
D. discovered |
|
8. |
A. single |
B. simple |
C. common |
D. strange |
|
9. |
A. lying |
B. stupid |
C. right |
D. foolish |
|
10. |
A. get |
B. make |
C. produce |
D. bring |
|
11. |
A. wishes |
B. demands |
C. worries |
D. business |
|
12. |
A. help |
B. God |
C. comfort |
D. rest |
|
13. |
A. suggests |
B. happens |
C. seems |
D. causes |
|
14. |
A. fields |
B. types |
C. kinds |
D. forms |
|
15. |
A. find |
B. grasp |
C. search |
D. discover |
|
16. |
A. floating |
B. existing |
C. coming |
D. surrounding |
|
17. |
A. mind |
B. know |
C. ask |
D. wonder |
|
18. |
A. life |
B. family |
C. happiness |
D. health |
|
19. |
A. hardly |
B. suddenly |
C. never |
D. often |
|
20. |
A. disappeared |
B. missed |
C. lost |
D. arrived |
As time went by, the plan we stuck ____ fairly practical.
A. to proved B. to proving C. proved D. to be proved
