The Roman Emperor Claudius II was fighting many wars. He wanted a strong army, but many men did not want to be soldiers. Claudius thought the men wanted to stay at home to be with their wives and children instead of leaving to fight wars.
Claudius thought of an awful solution to his problem. He decided to cancel all marriages! No one in all of Rome could get married. Claudius thought that if the men couldn’t get married, the men would ignore the women and want to be soldiers.
Valentine, who was a priest (牧师), believed that people needed to get married. He thought it was wrong for people to live together without being married. So he secretly and illegally married couples anyway. He performed the weddings in secret places, so the Roman soldiers would not find out.
But they did find out. Valentine was arrested and brought before the Emperor. The Emperor thought Valentine was a well-spoken and wise young man, and encouraged him to stop being a Christian (基督徒) and become a loyal Roman. Valentine would not deny his beliefs, and he refused. He was sent to prison and was finally killed. While he was in prison, he sent out letters to his friends and asked to be prayed (祈祷) for by writing Remember your Valentine.
Valentine was killed on the 14th or the 24th of February in the year 269 or 270. We celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th in honor of St. Valentine.
1.The Emperor Claudius II wanted men to __________.
A. live at home and work for the empire
B. become loyal Roman citizens
C. go to other countries and raise families
D. fight wars in other lands
2. The underlined word “awful” in the second paragraph probably means __________.
A. terrible B. wonderful C. possible D. friendly
3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Valentine believed in marriage and risked death to marry people.
B. Claudius wanted to stay at home with his wife.
C. Claudius thought Valentine was a man with a bright future.
D. Valentine broke the law.
Nicola’s Love for Her Violin
Can love between partners with a 237-year age gap (差距) lead to the perfect match (绝配)? Nicola Benedetti thinks so. The 18-year-old 36 and her “partner, a 255-year-old Italian violin, 37 to China for the first time last weekend. She 38 in Beijing on September 15 and also performed in Hangzhou and Shanghai.
Nicola is from Scotland and 39 playing the violin when she was four years old. 40 , it was not something her parents 41 her do. She went with her sister to violin lessons and 42 it and improved very quickly.
“There are so many different things I am fond of about the 43 ,” she said. “I can’t really 44 it but I love giving live performances, I like the feeling of playing and communicating with the 45 . I love the feeling of the violin under my chin (下巴).”
However, playing violin six hours a day is not a/an 46 job. “I usually 47 in an upstairs bedroom when I’m at home.” she said. “But sometimes, when it’s 48 outside, it can be upset. The house is right on the 49 and I can see others having fun 50 I’m on my own.”
Although practising is sometimes lonely, Nicola 51 felt she was lucky. “You can’t have 52 . I am really lucky to do what I love doing,” she said. Her 53 paid off (终有回报). Nicola won BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2004 at 16.
54 her performing and recording activities, Nicola is a/an 55 of UNICEF (联合国儿童基金会). She said that she would travel to Lesotho in southern Africa at the end of this year to help poor kids there.
1.A. singer B. writer C. pianist D. violinist
2.A. came B. turned C. ran D. moved
3.A. checked B. played C. visited D. remained
4.A. stopped B. requested C. started D. ignored
5.A. So B. And C. But D. However
6.A. made B. persuaded C. wanted D. got
7.A. noticed B. concerned C. minded D. loved
8.A. lessons B. violin C. performances D. show
9.A. explain B. imagine C. determine D. refuse
10.A. foreigners B. friends C. audience D. teenagers
11.A. boring B. easy C. wonderful D. tiring
12.A. work B. rest C. stay D. practise
13.A. cool B. sunny C. windy D. cloudy
14.A. river B. hill C. farm D. beach
15.A. while B. as C. so D. for
16.A. even B. still C. ever D. almost
17.A. anything B. something C. everything D. nothing
18.A. time B. music C. efforts D. action
19.A. Because of B. Besides C. Instead of D. Thanks to
20.A. adviser B. manager C. organizer D. supporter
Have you made up your mind ________ abroad? I advise you to consider it carefully.
A. study B. to study C. studying D. studied
________ get a complete picture, more information is needed.
A. So as to B. So as not to C. In order not to D. In order to
The USA is a large country in ________ many different dialects are spoken.
A. that B. which C. where D. it
Look at this! It’s broken now! You ________ have been careful!
A. could B. must C. would D. should
