In spite of the uncertainty of the economy, the movie industry has been stricken by a box-office outburst. Suddenly it seems as if everyone is going to the movies, with ticket sales this year up 17.5 percent, to $1.7 billion.
And it is not just because ticket prices are higher. Attendance has also jumped, by nearly 16 percent. If that pace continues through the year, it would amount to the biggest box-office increase in at least two decades.
Americans, for the moment, just want to hide in a very dark place. People want to forget their troubles, and they want to be with other people. Helping feed the outburst is the mix of movies, which have been more audience-friendly in recent months as the studios have tried to adjust after the discouraging sales of more serious films.
As she stood in line at the 18-screen Bridge theater complex here on Thursday to buy weekend tickets for “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” Angel Hernandez was not thinking much about escaping reality. Instead, Ms. Hernandez, a Los Angeles parking lot attendant and mother of four young girls, was focused on one very specific reality: her wallet.
“Spending hundreds of dollars to take them to Disneyland is ridiculous right now,” she said. “For $60 and some candy money I can still be a good mom and give them a little fun.”
A lot of parents may have been thinking the same thing Friday, as “Jonas Brothers” sold out more than 800 theaters, and was expected to sell a powerful $25 million or more in tickets.
The film industry appears to have had a hand in its recent good luck. Over the last year or two, studios have released movies that are happier, scarier or just less depressing than what came before. After poor results for a rush of serious dramas built around the Middle East, Hollywood got back to comedies.
1.Which of the following is not a reason for the improvement of the movie industry?
A. A growing number of people are going to the cinema.
B. People are richer with the development of economy.
C. More comedies are made than serious films.
D. People have to pay more to watch a movie.
2.Ms. Hernandez purchased the movie tickets because ________.
A. she tried to escape reality
B. she was a crazy movie fan
C. she was fond of Disneyland
D. she wanted to please her kids
3.According to the text, which of the following number is not used to describe the shooting up of the movie industry?
A. 17.5% B. $1.7 billion
C. $60 D. $25 million
4.The passage is developed mainly by ________.
A. presenting the effect and analyzing the causes
B. following the order of time
C. describing problems and drawing a conclusion
D. making comparison of ideas
They’re WILD animals
By Ernst-Ulrich Franzen
March 11, 2010 (3) Comments
The story about the woman who lost some fingers while feeding a bear at a zoo in Manitowoc, after she ignored warnings and barriers(栅栏), reminded me of the story I heard about a couple who put their baby on the back of a wild horse in South Dakota to get a really cute picture. We all do silly things at times — no one is immune — but treating wild animals as lovely pets has to fall into a special category. Teddy bears and Disney movies aren’t actually representative of real bears.
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1. TosaLeft - Mar 11, 2010 10:46AM
Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe some alcohol was involved?
2. tk421 - Mar 11, 2010 11:09 AM
It was already approved that alcohol was involved. Stories that begin with a drunk person saying “Hey, I got an idea, watch this!” rarely end well.
3. Tristan Kloss - Mar 11, 2010 11:41 AM
Alcohol certainly isn’t involved when people decide to keep “pets” like chimpanzees, baby tigers, etc. Stupidity, definitely. Dogs are pets because of thousands of years of domestication. Even farm animals, which have been kept by humans for thousands of years as well, aren’t let in the house. So why keep animals that treat human contact with, at best, indifference(冷淡、不在乎) and, at worst, violence?
1.In Ernst-Ulrich Franzen’s opinion, the woman lost her fingers because ________.
A. the zoo keepers didn’t warn her of the danger
B. she didn’t know the bear was a wild animal
C. she was somehow influenced by cartoon characters
D. she climbed over the barriers and angered the bear
2.TosaLeft thinks the wounded woman ________.
A. may have been drunk
B. may be a little stupid
C. was addicted to wine
D. fed wine to the bear
3.tk421 means a drunk person ________.
A. should be forbidden to enter the zoo
B. usually gets himself into trouble
C. is often fond of making up stories
D. usually likes to show himself off
4.What does Tristan Kloss think of people treating wild animals as pets?
A. Kind. B. Illegal.
C. Loving. D. Stupid.
One day in l965, when I worked at View Ridge School in Seattle, a fourth-grade teacher approached me. She had a student who finished his work before all the others and needed a challenge. "Could he help in the library?" She asked. I said, "Send him along."
Soon a slight, sandy-haired boy in jeans and a T-shift appeared. "Do you have a job for me?" he asked.
I told him about the Dewey Decimal System for shelving books. He picked up the idea immediately. Then I showed him a stack of cards for long-overdue books that I was beginning to think had actually been returned but were miss helved with the wrong cards in them. He said, "Is it kind of a detective job?" I answered yes, and he became working.
He had found three books with wrong cards by the time his teacher opened the door and announced, "Time for break!" He argued for finishing the finding job; She made the case for fresh air. She won.
The next morning, he arrived early. "I want to finish these books," he said. At the end of the day, when he asked to be a librarian on a regular basis, it was easy to say yes. He worked untiringly.
After a few weeks I found a note on my desk, inviting me to dinner at the boy's home. At the end of a pleasant evening, his mother announced that the family would be moving to neighbouring school district. Her son's first concern, she said, was leaving the View Ridge library. "Who will find the lost books?" he asked.
When the time came, I said a reluctant good-bye. I missed him, but not for long. A few days later he came back and joyfully announced: "The librarian over there doesn't let boys work in the library. My mother got me transferred back to View Ridge. My dad will drop me off on his way to work. And if he can't, I'll walk!"
I should have had an inkling(感觉) such focused determination would take that young man wherever he wanted to go. What I could not have guessed, however, was that he would become a wizard of the Information Age: Bill Gates, tycoon of Microsoft and America's richest man.
1.What was the author when the story happened?
A. A teacher. B. A librarian. C. A detective. D. A professor.
2.What was the boy told to do on his first day in the library?
A. To rearrange the books according to the new system.
B. To put those overdue books back to the shelves.
C. To find out the books with wrong cards in them.
D. To put the cards back in the long-overdue books.
3.The boy got transferred back to View Ridge because _______.
A. he did not like his life in the new school
B. the transportation there was not convenient
C. he missed his old schoolmates and teachers
D. he was not allowed to work in the school library
4.What impressed the author most was that the boy _______.
A. had a thirst for learning
B. had a strong will
C. was extremely quick at learning
D. had a kind heart
Self-confidence does not necessarily imply a belief in one's ability to succeed. For instance, one may be at a particular sport or activity, but remain "confident", simply because one does not a great deal of emphasis on the result of the activity. When one does not always think of negative results, one can be more "self-confident" because one is far less about failure or the of others following potential failure. One is then more likely to focus on the actual situation, which means that enjoyment and success in that situation is also more probable. Belief in one's abilities to perform an activity comes successful experience and may add to a general sense of self-confidence. Studies have also found a between high levels of confidence and wages. , those who self-report they were confident earlier in schooling earned better wages and were promoted more quickly over the life course.
1.A. good B. experienced C. poor D. surprised
2.A. make B. lay C. play D. take
3.A. talking B. asking C. worrying D. learning
4.A. respect B. disapproval C. envy D. dishonesty
5.A. through B. to C. towards D. before
6.A.difference B. link C. similarity D. distance
7.A. Alternatively B. Immediately C.Sharply D. Seemingly
When we’re young, we dream of love and fulfillment. We perhaps think of nights in the moon or walks along the beach at sunset.
No one tells us that the moments of a lifetime are flashing by, unplanned and nearly always catch us off guard.
Not long ago, as I was reading a bedtime story to my seven-year-old daughter, Annie, I became aware of her look. She was staring at me with a charmed expression. , completing The Tale of Samuel Whiskers was not as as we first thought. I asked what she was thinking about.
"Mommy," she , "I just can't stop looking at your pretty face."I almost dissolved on the spot.
Not long after, I took my four-year-old son to an elegant department store, where the sweet notes of a classic love song us toward a musician playing a grand piano. Sam and I sat down on a marble bench nearby, and he seemed as absorbed in the pleasant as I was.
I didn't realize that Sam had next to me until he turned, took my face in his little hands and said, " with me."
those women walking under the Paris moon knew the of such an invitation made by a round-cheeked boy with baby teeth! Although openly laughed and pointed at us as we glided and whirled around the open atrium(中庭), I would not have a dance with such a charming young gentleman if I'd been offered the universe.
1.A. saddest B. greatest C. shortest D. longest
2.A. focused B. scared C. surprising D. worried
3.A. Strangely B. Patiently C. Naturally D. Apparently
4.A. easy B. delicate C. important D. suitable
5.A. shouted B. whispered C. cried D. screamed
6.A. drew B. beat C. fed D. cut
7.A. title B. subject C. topic D. theme
8.A. looked up B. stood up C. taken up D. come up
9.A. Sing B. Play C. Dance D. Go
10.A. As if B. Even if C. Only if D. If only
11.A. shame B. joy C. pity D. chance
12.A. shoppers B. teachers C. workers D. managers
13.A. expected B. accepted C. traded D. caught
As we all know, it was _________ that resulted in the terrible car accident.
A. because of her carelessness
B. because she was careless
C. her being careless
D. she was so careless
