Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity. But, it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series，began writing at the age of 6. In her biography, she remembers with great fondness when her good friend Sean, whom she met in secondary school, became the first person to encourage her and help build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Despite many setbacks, Rowling persevered in her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until 1990 that she first conceived the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls，it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into her head.“To my immense frustration (沮丧), I didn't have a functioning pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, blackhaired, bespectacled(戴眼镜的) boy who didn’t know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother passed away after a tenyear battle with multiple sclerosis, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression. Unemployed, she completed her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being rejected by 12 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her commitment to writing that was fostered by the confidence of a friend !
1.Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.
A. at the age of 6
B. on a train journey
C. after her mother’s death
D. in her secondary school
2.It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is________.
A. openminded B. warmhearted
C. goodnatured D. strongwilled
3.The text mainly tells us________.
A. hardship makes a good novelist
B. the courage to try is a special ability
C. you can have a wonderful idea everywhere
D. encouragement contributes to one’s success
WHAT’S the most important thing of life?
People’s answers vary greatly. For British scientist Robert Edwards，the answer is having a child.“Nothing is more special than a child，”he told the BBC.
Edwards，the inventor of the In Vitro Fertilization(IVF)technology—more commonly known as“testtube(试管)baby”technology—passed away on April 10 ,2013 at the age of 87.
Edwards changed the lives of millions of ordinary people who now rejoice(充满喜悦)in the gift of their own child，”said Peter Braude，professor at King’s College London.“He leaves the world a much better place.”
Edwards started his experiments as early as the 1950s，when he had just finished his PhD in genetics. At that time，much of the public viewed test-tube babies as“scary”，according to Mark Sauer，professor at Columbia University，US.
Edwards and his colleague Patrick Steptoe faced opposition from churches，governments and media，not to mention attacks from many of their fellow scientists.“People said that we should not play God and we should not interfere with nature，”Edwards once told Times. He said that he felt “quite alone” at the time.
“But Edwards was a fighter，and he believed in what he was doing，”said Sauer. Without support from the government，the two struggled to raise funds to carry on. And in 1968 they finally developed a method to successfully fertilize human eggs outside the body.
The first test-tube baby was born on July 25，1978.Her name was Louise Brown. Despite people’s safety concerns，Brown was just as healthy as other children.
“IVF had moved from vision to reality and a new era in medicine had begun，”BBC commented.
Ever since then，public opinion has evolved considerably. Couples who were unable to have babies began thronging(蜂拥)to Edwards’ clinic. Nowadays，Reuters reports，some 4.3 million other“test-tube” children exist. Edwards received a Nobel Prize in 2010 and was knighted(封为爵士)by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ the following year.
Before his death，Edwards was still in touch with Louise.“He is like a granddad to me，”she said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
He is a granddad to millions, in fact.
1.What is the article mainly about?
A．The first test-tube baby.
B．A new era in medicine.
C．The inventor of IVF technology.
D．The changes IVF technology has brought.
2.The writer quoted Peter Braude to ________．
A．show how difficult it was for Edwards to do his work
B．describe what kind of person Edwards was
C．explain why he is loved by all children
D．comment on his achievement
3.The underlined word“opposition”in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ________．
A．attack B．support
C．test D．influence
4.What is the CORRECT order of events in Edwards’ life?
a．He received a Nobel Prize.
b．He struggled to raise funds.
c．The first test-tube baby was born.
d．He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ.
e．He succeeded in fertilizing human eggs outside the body.
f．He started his experiments on IVF technology.
A．f—e—b—c—a—d B．f—b—e—c—d—a
C．f—b—e—c—a—d D．f—e—d—a—c—b
Stilton Cheese Rolling
May Day is a traditional day for celebrations, but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include cheese rolling in their annual plans. Teams of four, dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes , roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course. On the way, they must not kick or throw their cheese, or go into their competitors' lane. Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly, but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones). All the competitors arc served with beer or port wine, the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.
Fiery Foods Festival—The Hottest Festival on Earth
Every year more than 10,000 people head for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They come from as far away as Australia, the Caribbean and China, but they all share a common addiction—food that is not just spicy ,but hot enough to make your mouth burn, your head spin and your eyes water. Their destination is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three clays every March. You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper—officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show. But one thing's for sure—if you don't like the feeling of a burning tongue, this festival isn't for you!
La Tomatina—The World's Biggest Food Fight
On the last Wednesday of every August, the Spanish town of Bunol hosts Ea Tomatina—the world's largest food fight. A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week's events. The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes—official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the crowd.
The battle lasts little more than half an hour, in which time around 50,000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves, runs, or fights back. Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again—and for a much-needed wash!
1.In the Stilton cheese rolling competition, competitors on each team must .
A. wear various formal clothes
B. roll a wooden cheese in their own lane
C. kick or throw their cheese
D. use a real cheese weighing about four kilos
2.Where is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival held?
A. In New Mexico. B. In the Caribbean.
C. In Australia. D. In China.
3.The celebration of La Tomatina lasts .
A. three days B. seven days
C. less than three days D. more than seven days
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The chief prize for the Stilton cheese rolling competition is beer or port wine.
B. More than 10,000 Chinese take pail in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival.
C. Thousands of spicy foods are on show in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival.
D. An exciting tomato battle takes place at the beginning of La Tomatina.
请你根据以下提示，结合生活中的一个事例，用英语写一篇短文，谈谈兴趣的作用。
Interest plays an important role in our life. Interest is the best teacher for a learner and can make learning more effective and efficient. With the motivation of interest, we will win ourselves lots of chances and eventually make our way to success.
注意：①无须写标题；
②内容侧重写一个方面；
③词数为120左右
阅读下列各小题，根据括号内的汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成句子，并将答案写在答题纸上。
1.Rather than go on holiday to seaside I_______________________ in the city. (prefer)
我宁愿在城市里购物而不愿去海边度假。
2._______________________the free tickets, I would not have gone to the concerts so often.(be）
要不是免费票，我不会这么频繁地光顾音乐会。
3.We subscribe to the view _______________________ from being independent. (benefit)
孩子从独立中获益匪浅，我们赞同这个观点。
4.The young couple stood still with _______________________ each other, unable to speak anything. (fix)
这对年轻的夫妇站着一动不动盯着对方，什么也说不出来。
5.Never _______________________that he was able to break the world record but he did it. (occur)
他从未想到过他能打破世界纪录，但是他做到了。
6.The great GM project , _______________________, is assessed to lead to the rapid development of modern agriculture. （contribute）
他们做出贡献的伟大的GM项目被评估会帮助现代农业快速发展。
7.The explorer took only such men and things _______________________into the jungle.(need)
探险家只带那些他真正需要的人和东西去丛林。
8._______________________a famous painting, which had been handed down for generations. (hang)
挂在墙上的是一幅有名的绘画，它是一代代流传下来的。
9.Mothers holding jobs outside the home should have flexible schedules _______________________＿care for their children. (make)
在家庭外工作的母亲应该有更灵活的日程安排以便更容易照顾小孩。
10.______________________ makes his parents very worried．（attach）
他不太重视学习让他的父母很担心。
One might expect that the ever-growing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holiday-makers. Indeed, a rosy picture is painted for the long-term future of the holiday industry. Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere, and every month another rock-bound Pacific island is advertised as the “last paradise(天堂) on earth”.
However, the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy. In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of sea-side holidays, over-crowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.
Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most. In recent years, Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education. Its forests, full of wildlife and rare flowers, were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise. In fact, the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holiday-makers traveling through the forest land. Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers, with the consequent exploitation of precious trees and plants.
Not only the environment of a country can suffer from the sudden growth of tourism. The people as well rapidly feel its effects. Farmland makes way for hotels, roads and airports; the old way of life goes. The one-time farmer is now the servant of some multi-national organization; he is no longer his own master. Once it was his back that bore the pain ; now it is his smile that is exploited. No doubt he wonders whether he wasn't happier in his village working his own land.
Thankfully, the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers. The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support form tourist companies. At the same time, tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.
The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit. Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies. Increased understanding in planning world-wide tourism can preserve the market for these companies. If not, in a few years’ time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.
1.What does the author indicate in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
A. The Pacific island is a paradise.
B. The Pacific island is worth visiting.
C. The advertisement is not convincing.
D. The advertisement is not impressive
2.The example of Nepal is used to suggest _________ .
A. its natural resources are untouched.
B. its forests are exploited for farmland
C. it develops well in health and education.
D. it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists.
3.What can we learn about the farmers from Paragraph 4 ?
A. They are happy to work their own lands.
B. They have to please the tourists for a living.
C. They have to struggle for their independence.
D. They are proud of working in multi-national organizations.
4.Which of the following determines the future of tourism ?
A. The number of tourists
B. The improvement of services.
C. The promotion of new products.
D. The management of tourism
