For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain appearance in people's mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. Because young people don't or won't come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera's choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas” shortened versions(剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer's production is Hansel ＆ Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists' Training Program.
1. Which is the main idea of this passage？
A. Opera is famous for its long history.
B. Opera is only performed for rich people.
C. Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.
D. Young people are not interested in opera.
2.The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means ______.
A. breaking up the old rules B. changing the dresses
C. making the audience at ease D. advertising themselves
3.Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because ______ .
A. they can be performed in public libraries
B. short versions are easy to perform
C. it is hard to find long versions
D. they can make more people come to opera
4.The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to ______.
A. celebrate its 75th anniversary B. reduce the cost
C. attract young people D. make Cinderella popular
Where have all the boys gone？You may be able to find them in the gym, at work or hanging out, but there’s one important place where boys are underrepresented, and the problem seems to be getting worse. These days, at high school graduation ceremonies, there are a lot more girls than boys.
In fact, every year, 10 percent more girls graduate from high school than boys. “I think that there’s a tendency to focus on boys as problems at this point, rather than recognize that boys have problems,” says Joanne Max, PhD. Experts say the problems start in grade school, where there’s often an emphasis on sports instead of reading, for example. “I think that with boys there’s some idea that it’s not masculine(男子汉的)to read,” says Rob Jenkins, an English professor.
There’s also a shortage of male teachers as role models. “I think boys need role models, so if you’re a boy and you don’t have a dad in your home and then you have one male teacher and it’s your athletic coach then I don’t think you have a message that education is very important,” says Carol Carter, another expert. In addition, classrooms often have too little activity and too much passive listening, which is not conducive(有益的)to boys’ learning.
Experts say parents can fight back in many ways. Read to your sons early and often; show by your actions that you value their education. Ask them about their schoolwork, offer help, drop by their classroom and finally, appeal to their competitive spirit: challenge them to do better and help them understand that their future depends on it.
1.The underlined part “one important place” in Paragraph 1 refers to “______”.
A. classrooms B. factories
C. high school graduation ceremonies D. gyms
2.According to the passage，boys have the problem that they think ______.
A. reading is more important than sports
B. it is shameful for boys to read
C. boys should not work as a teacher
D. boys lack the gift for reading
3.Carol Carter’s words implied that ______.
A. parents play an important role in education
B. athletic coaches contribute a lot to education
C. lack of male teachers affects boys’ attitudes to school work
D. classrooms lack enough activities that are suitable for boys
4.According to experts，parents should do the following except ______.
A．often read to their sons when they are young
B．keep an eye on their sons’ studies at school
C．encourage their sons to compete with others
D. prevent their sons from taking part in sports
Some people argue that the pressures on international sportsmen and sportswomen kill the spirit of sport: the pursuit (追求) of personal excellence. Children kick a football around for fun. When they get older and play for local school teams, they become competitive but they still enjoy playing. The sportsman representing his country cannot afford to think about enjoying himself, he has to think only about winning. He is responsible for an entire nation’s hopes and dreams.
A good example is the football World Cup. Football is the world’s most important sport. It is even more important now that the United States is seriously taking it up. Winning the World Cup is perhaps eh greatest of international sporting success. Mention “ Argentina ” to someone and the chances are that he’ll think of football. In a sense, winning the World Cup “ put Argentina on the map ”.
Sports fans and supporters get quite irrational about the World Cup. People in England felt that their country was somehow important after they won the World Cup. Last year thousands of Scots sold their cars, and even their houses, and spent all their money traveling to Argentina, where the finals were played.
So am I arguing that international competitions kill the idea of sport? Certainly not! Do the Argentineans really believe that because eleven of their men proved the most skillful at football, their nation is better than all others? Not really. But it’s nice to know that you won, and that in one way at least your country is best.
1.What is mainly discussed in this passage is _________.
A. why international sport is necessary
B. what international sport is like
C. how international sport goes on
D. what disadvantages international sport has
2.Those who are against international competitions think that ________.
A. sport should not be so popular B. sport should not be competitive
C. sport should be for personal purpose D. sport should be made easier
3.We can infer from the passage that the underlined word “ irrational ” means_________.
A. against reasonable behavior B. having much knowledge
C. unable to understand D. eager to know
4.What does the writer mean by saying that winning the World Cup “ put Argentina on the map”_____
A. Argentina has the best football player
B. Argentina has become world-famous for football
C. Football is very popular in Argentina
D. Argentina has begun to pay much attention to football
When I stepped out the plane from Miami into Charlotte, North Carolina, airport for a connecting flight home, I immediately knew something was wrong. Lots of desperate people crowded the terminal. I quickly learned that flights headed to the Northeast were called off because of a storm. The earliest they could get us out of Charlotte was Tuesday. It was Friday. A gate agent stood on the counter and shouted, “Don’t ask us for help! We cannot help you!”
I joined a crowd that ran from terminal to terminal in search of a flight out. Eventually, I found six strangers willing to rent a van with me. We drove through the night to Washington, where I took a train the rest of the way to Providence.
The real problem, of course, is that incidents like this happen every day, to everyone who flies, more and more often. It really gets to me, though, because for eight years I was on the other side, as a flight attendant for Trans-World Airlines (TWA).
I know the days are gone when attendants could be written up if we did not put the lines napkins with the TWA logo in the lower right-hand corner of the first-class diners’ trays. As are the days when there were three dinner options on flights from Boston to Los Angeles in economy class. When, once, stuck on a tarmac（机场停机坪）in Newark for four hours, a planeload of passengers got McDonald’s hamburgers and fries by thoughtfulness of the airline. I have experienced the decline of service along with the rest of the flying public. But I believe everything will change little by little, because I remember the days when to fly was to soar (翱翔). The airlines, and their employees, took pride in how their passengers were treated. And I think the days are sure to come back one day in the near future.
1.Many people crowded the terminal because _______.
A. they were ready to board on the planes
B. something was wrong with the terminal
C. the flights to the Northeast were canceled
D. the gate agent wouldn’t help the passengers
2. How did the writer get to Providence at last?___
A. by air B. by van
C. by train D. by underground
3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?______
A. Incidents happened to those who fly quite often.
B. The writer used to be a flight attendant for Trans-World Airlines.
C. Even a small mistake might cause complaints from passengers in the past.
D. McDonald’s hamburgers and fries were among regular dinner options.
4.What can be implied from the passage?____
A. The writer lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.
B. The writer thought the service was not as good as it used to be.
C. The writer with other passengers waited to be picked up patiently.
D. Passengers would feel proud of how they were treated on the plane.
During the years of depression(萧条), food and money were very hard to find and people had to trade things with each other.
One day I was 36 some potatoes from Mr Miller. I noticed a small poor boy hungrily 37 a full basket of freshly picked green peas. Then I was 38 to see that Mr Miller sold the boy a bag of peas for just a marble (弹球).
Mrs Miller, who had been standing nearby, 39_ and told me that Mr Miller loved to trade with the three boys in the village for peas, tomatoes, and other things 40 he didn’t really need any marbles. I left the stand, smiling to myself, 41 by this man.
Several years went by. One day I learned that Mr Miller had died. I took part in the funeral(葬礼), 42_ three young men . They came over to Mrs Miller, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke with her and moved on, _43_ their eyes.
Our _44_ came to meet Mrs Miller. I mentioned _45 she had told me about the _46. She told me, “Those three young men above were the boys I told you about. They just told me 47 they appreciated the things Jim ‘traded ’with them. Now, at last, they came to pay their debt.”
“We’ve _48 had a great deal of the wealth in this world,” she _49_, “but right now, Jim wouldW#W$W%.K**S*&5︿U consider himself to be the _50_ man.”
Then she gently lifted the 51 fingers of her husband. Resting underneath were three red marbles.
At that time I realized that we would not be 52 by our words, but by our kind 53 . It is said that it takes a minute to find a 54 person, an hour to appreciate him, a day to love him, but an entire life to 55 him.
1.A.buying B. selling C. borrowing D. hunting
2.A.reaching for B. glancing at C. staring at D. picking up
3.A. astonished B. amazed C. annoyed D. worried
4.A.turned over B. going over C. came over D. coming over
5.A.but B. otherwise C. or D. although
6.A.suspected B. impressed C. regretted D. embarrassed
7.A.discovering B. watching C. finding D. seeing
8.A.closing B. rolling C. cleaning D. wiping
9.A. time B. chance C. turn D. decision
10.A. the story B. the proverb C. the legend D. the joke
11.A. marbles B. men C. debt D. life
12.A.why B. how C. when D. what
13.A. ever B. always C. never D. seldom
14.A.laughed B. cried C. sighed D. added
15.A. honest B. happiest C. coldest D. richest
16.A. lifeless B. regretless C. useless D. hopeless
17.A. thought B. touched C. remembered D. affected
18.A.deeds B. things C. remarks D. rewards
19.A. strict B. honest C. special D. learned
20.A.ignore B. forget C. recognize D. remind
--Do you have a plan for May Day holiday?___
--I’m going to Thailand with my parents!
A. You don't say! B. You can say that again.
C. Good luck to you. D. I dare say.
