Cleveland has won the distinction of being the worst city in the United States, according to a new survey. The city has high unemployment, terrible weather, heavy taxes, and ordinary sports teams, all of which have pushed it to the No. 1 position in the Forbes.com list.
"Cleveland was the only city that fell in the bottom half of rankings in all nine categories. And it has been entitled with a less than endearing nickname: the Mistake by the lake," Forbes said on its website,
The economic downturn hit cities across the United States last year particularly in the mid-west section of the country. Crime and unemployment secured the No. 2 spot for Stockton, which held the top position in last year's ranking. Memphis got third place thanks to its violent crime rate and the number of officials who are guilty, while the poor auto industry drove the Michigan cities of Detroit and Flint into the top five.
"A lot of the cities that showed up on our list are going through hard times fight now, dealing with high unemployment, with declining producing bases. Many have experienced strong movement out of the city over the last 20 and 30 years."
Despite (尽管) its fine weather, Miami scored in the bottom 10 percent in commuting (上下班往返) time, and violent crime which sent it into sixth place.
"One of the biggest surprises is Miami. The good weather and no state income taxes blur some of the severe problems that Miami has related to crime as well as long commutes," Badenhausen added.
Florida was followed in the poor ranking by St Louis, Buffalo, Canton, Ohio and Chicago, which has the country's highest sales tax at 10.25 percent. New York, the nation's biggest city, is rich in culture but its lengthy commuting time and high income taxes pushed it into 16th place.
1.From the text we can learn that ______.
A．Cleveland has been entitled a lovely nickname
B．the economic downturn hit cities in the mid-east section
C．Miami scored in the bottom 10 percent in all nine categories
D．commuting time in New York is too long
2.What information can be inferred according to the text?
A．The number of officials who are guilty is large in Memphis.
B．Stockton got second place in last year's ranking.
C．High income taxes made New York get 16th place.
D．Ohio has the country's highest sales tax.
3.The word "blur" underlined in the last paragraph but one probably means ______.
A．make it possible B．make it unclear C．make if obvious D．make it important
4.Which of the following is the correct ranking order?
A．Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, Buffalo, Florida.
B．Stockton, Miami, Flint, Florida, Canton.
C．Cleveland, Stockton, Miami, Chicago, Florida.
D．Stockton, Detroit, Miami, Florida, St Louis.
Some plants get so hungry they eat flies, and even small frogs. What's more amazing is that these plants occur naturally (in special environments) in every state. In fact, they're found on every continent except Antarctica.
You've probably seen a Venus' flytrap -- a small plant, which grows 6 to 8 inches tall in a container. At the end of its stalks (茎) are leaves that act like traps (陷阱). Inside each trap is a lining of tiny hairs. When an insect lands on them, the traps suddenly shut. Over the course of a week or so, the plant feeds on its catch.
The Venus' flytrap is just one of more than 500 species of meat-eating plants, says Barry Meyers-Rice, the editor of the International Carnivorous Plant Society's Newsletter. He states although you might have read some science-fiction stories, no meat-eating plant does any danger to humans.
Barry says a plant is meat-eating, only if it does all four of the following: "attract, kill, digest, and absorb" some form of insects. Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants -- well, most of the time.
All green plants make sugar to produce food. What makes meat-eating plants different is their special leaves, which need insects for one reason: nitrogen (氮). Nitrogen is a nutrient that they can't obtain any other way. Why?
Almost all green plants on our planet get nitrogen from the soil. Meat-eating plants can't. They live in places where nutrients are hard to get from the soil because of its acidity. So they've come to rely on getting nitrogen from insects and small animals. In fact, nutrient-rich soft is poisonous to meat-eating plants. Never fertilize (施肥) them! But don't worry, either, if they never seem to catch any insects. They can survive, but they'll grow very slowly.
1.According to the passage, a Venus' flytrap ______.
A．is a small plant which grows in a container
B．is a kind of plant which gets hungry easily
C．can trap and feed on some form of insects
D．can only grow 6-8 inches tall
2.From the passage, we can infer that ______.
A．meat-eating plants are found nowhere else except Antarctica
B．all green plants get nitrogen from the soil
C．meat-eating plants endanger humans in science-fiction stories
D．the nutrient-poor soil is beneficial to meat-eating plants
3.Meat-eating plants grow very slowly, ______.
A．so you'd better fertilize them
B．probably because the supply of nitrogen is cut off
C．simply because they can't absorb nitrogen from the soil
D．and then they will die slowly
4.Which of the following is true?
A．Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants.
B．It's hard to get nutrients in the soil when acidity is high.
C．The Venus' flytrap eats flies to get nutrient from them.
D．Green plants make sugar at night.
There are many theories about how drama (戏剧) came into being in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama developed gradually from ceremonies. The argument for this view goes as follows.
In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world as unpredictable, and they sought through various means to control these unknown powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then kept and repeated until they hardened into fixed ceremonies. Eventually stories arose which explained the mysteries of the ceremonies. As time passed, some of them were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths (神话), provided materials for art and drama
Those who believe that drama came out of ceremonies also argue that those ceremonies contained the seed of theater because music, dance, and masks were almost always used. In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the rules of ceremonies, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks, they often impersonated (扮演) other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and performed the desired effect by gestures -- success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival (复活) of the Sun -- as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.
Another theory finds out the theater came from the human Interest in storytelling. According to this view, tales (about the hunt, war, or other events) are gradually formed, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a speaker and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person A closely related theory about drama traces to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations (模仿) of animal movements and sounds.
1.Which of the following is Not true according to the passage?
A．Three theories about how drama came into being are mentioned.
B．The majority of people believe drama came from ceremonies.
C．Stories were made up to explain the mysteries of the ceremonies.
D．Religious activities developed gradually from ceremonies.
2.We can infer from the passage that ______.
A．all measures couldn't bring the desired results
B．religious leaders usually didn't perform in the ceremonies
C．mistakes are unavoidable in the religious ceremonies
D．performers usually used languages to reach the desired results
3.The underlined part "traces to" in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A．dates back to B．is devoted to C．gives way to D．is familiar to
4. The best title for the text would be ______.
A．The Development of Drama B．The History of Drama
C．The Origin of Drama D．The Popularity of Drama
Charlton Heston was born in 1923 in Evanston, Illinois. Charlton Heston discovered his interest in acting while performing in plays at his high school. He later spent two years studying theater at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. But he left college to join the Army Air Forces during World War Two.
After the war, he found small roles in the theater as well as in television shows. His performance in a television version of the book Jane Eyre caught the attention of the Hollywood producer Cecil B. DeMille who later asked Heston to play the role of Moses in his movie The Ten Commandments which came out in 1956. This role made Heston famous and defined (明确) his career as a hero and leader. His face and body represented strength and heroism in many different roles. He played cowboys, soldiers and athletes.
The 1959 movie Ben Hur made Charlton Heston an even bigger star. Ben Hur won eleven Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Charlton Heston. Heston starred in many adventure movies during the 1960s. In the 1970s, Heston appeared in popular disaster movies like Earthquake,. Skyjacked and Airport 1975.
Charlton Heston was also very active in the movie industry. He worked to help set up the American Film Institute. In 1977 he was honored for his service in the industry. He received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1997 he was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor. And, in 2003, President Bush gave Charlton Heston a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
In 2000, Charlton Heston issued a statement announcing that he had an Alzheimer's disease. He died in 2008 at his home in Beverly Hills, California.
1.What kind of role did Charlton Heston often play in films?
A．Heroes. B．Cowboys. C．Soldiers. D．Athletes.
2.Which film won Best Actor for Charlton Heston?
A．Jane Eyre.
B．Earthquake.
C．Ben Hur.
D．The Ten Commandments.
3.What can we learn about Charlton Heston according to the passage?
A．He began to show his talent in Ben Hut. B．He used to be a soldier.
C．He was once awarded by Kennedy. D．He won eleven Academy Awards.
4.What's the main idea of Paragraph 2?
A．How Charlton Heston became famous.
B．How Charlton Heston began his career.
C．Who made Charlton Heston a popular star.
D．Who made Charlton Heston win so many awards.
"Everything happens for the best." my mother said whenever I felt disappointed. " 36 , and one day something good will happen. Then you'll realize it wouldn't have happened 37 the disappointment you had experienced 38 ." Mother was right, 39 I discovered after graduating from college, I had decided to try for a job 40 radio, then 41 my way up to a sports announcer. I hitchhiked (搭免费车) to Chicago and tried every station, but got 42 . In one studio, a kind lady told me big stations couldn't risk hiring inexperienced persons. "Try your luck in the 43 " she said.
I hitchhiked home to Dixon, Illinois, where there was no radio-announcing jobs. My father said a store wanted a local 44 to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was 45 I had played high school football, I 46 . The job sounded just 47 for me. But l wasn't hired.
My disappointment 48 have shown. "Everything harem for the best." Mother 49 . Then I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer. As I left his office, my disappointment boiled 50 . I asked aloud. "How can a fellow become a sport announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?"
I was waiting for the 51 when I heard MacArthur calling, "What was that you said about sports? You know something about football?" Then he 52 me before a 53 and asked me to broadcast a(n) 54 game.
On my way home, as I have many times 55 , I thought of my mother's words.
1. A．Get on B．Carry on C．Work on D．Concentrate on
2. A．in spite of B．regardless of C．but for D．instead of
3. A．previously B．preciously C．precisely D．presently
4. A．it B．what C．that D．as
5. A．in B．on C．by D．from
6. A．feel B．work C．find D．push
7. A．declined B．accepted C．reduced D．received
8. A．city B．home C．country D．town
9. A．salesman B．athlete C．shop assistant D．manager
10. A．in which B．when C．where D．how
11. A．appealed B．refused C．agreed D．applied
12. A．right B．reasonable C．improper D．stable
13. A．should B．must C．could D．might
14. A．recommended B．requested C．reminded D．required
15. A．above B．out C．in D．over
16. A．lift B．result C．response D．offer
17. A．told B．stood C．showed D．helped
18. A．radio B．station C．TV D．microphone
19. A．live B．ordinary C．imaginary D．fierce
20. A．before B．since C．until D．unless
His health is improving day by day. It is quite ______ that the medicine has a good effect on his disease.
A．strange B．apparent C．complex D．uncertain
