When it comes to film, people usually favor good over evil, focus on the main characters and ignore the supporting characters. But when it comes to the Minions (小黄人), these conventions go right out of the window.
Originally comedic background characters in the Despicable Me series, these yellow pill-shaped screwballs(怪人) have totally stolen the show.
This summer the characters appeared in their own self-titled movie in theaters abroad, having the second biggest opening weekend of all time for an animated film, according to USA Today. Recently, McDonald’s has been including Minion toys with kids’ meals in some regions, causing loyal fans to go to the restaurant to collect them all. Related video games, clothing, toys and other merchandise are sweeping the world.
The movie’s huge popularity even surprised its writers. “We never knew the Minions were going to be so popular. It just became a force of nature,” the film’s co-writer, Cinco Paul, told the Los Angeles Times.
So, what makes the banana-loving Minions a big hit? For many, the most attractive is obviously their cuteness. Their simple, graphic (图形的) nature can easily transcend cultures and age groups. “Even children can draw them”, Los Angeles Times reporter, Rebecca Keegan, wrote.
But there’s more than just cuteness. US entertainment website, HitFix, explains that their way of communicating makes the creatures infectious (有感染力的) as well. They largely speak in nonsense words. But it seems everyone can understand them through their exaggerated movements and expressions.
They desire nothing more than to serve their most despicable master, Felonious Gru. And this evil characteristic strikes a chord (引起共鸣) with humans.
“Perhaps we love Minions because they remind us of ourselves,” Huffington Post associate Web editor, Sara Boboltz, wrote.
1.What can be inferred from the first paragraph?
A. People usually like the supporting players instead of the main characters.
B. People like the Minions who are the supporting players in the movie.
C. The Minions are the main characters in the film, Despicable Me.
D. People prefer the main characters to the Minions in Despicable Me.
2.What has McDonald’s done to attract customers?
A. It has made its food look like Minions.
B. It has made Minion video games to show to customers.
C. It is giving some Minion clothes to customers as gifts.
D. It is offering Minion toys to attract fans.
3.Which of the following is NOT the reason why the Minions are so popular?
A. Their cuteness.
B. Their exaggerated movements and expressions.
C. Their way of communicating.
D. Their bad behavior.
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. HitFix explains that Minions gained popularity by striking a chord with humans.
B. While Minions can’t be understood sometimes, their way of communicating is infectious.
C. Minions are eager to take on whatever task their despicable master gives them.
D. The opening weekend of Minions was the second biggest of all time.
In a mango orchard (芒果林) outside a village there lived a mischievous (淘气的) monkey. He kept on eating the ripe mangoes. The orchard keeper tried to trap the monkey. But every time, the monkey escaped from the trap.
One day, the monkey walked about and went into the nearby town. “The town people are so busy. It is so crowded here,” the monkey thought. Soon, the monkey was sneaking into houses and running away with food. By evening, he had made life quite different for the town people. “The town is more fun than the orchard. I will stay here,” he thought. Days went by, and the monkey was considered by the town people as something very frightening. “Here he comes again!” they screamed when they saw the monkey.
One day, a juggler (玩杂耍的人) came to the town. The people of the town went to him. “We want you to help us get rid of the monkey,” they said to the juggler. The juggler said in return, “Do not worry. Get me some jars (罐子) with narrow necks.” When the jars were brought to him, he put some peanuts into them and placed them out of a field. The monkey became curious when he saw the peanuts. “Yummy! Let me quickly get the peanuts and run,” he thought. He put his hand inside a jar and grabbed a big handful of peanuts. But he could not pull out of his clenched fist (紧握的拳头), as the neck of the jar was so narrow. If the monkey had dropped some of the peanuts back into the jar, he could have pulled his hand out. But he was greedy. So he didn’t drop any of the peanuts. The town people trapped the monkey with his hand inside the jar. They got hold of a rope and tied him to a post. Then the monkey was sold to a zoo. That was the end of the greedy monkey.
1.What part does the first paragraph play in the passage?
A. It summarizes the whole story.
B. It explains the background.
C. It attracts the readers.
D. It states the main idea.
2.What is the meaning of the underlined phrase, “sneaking into houses”?
A. Going into houses secretly without permission.
B. Going into houses peacefully.
C. Going into houses in a group.
D. Going into houses with delight.
3.Why did the town people regard the monkey as something frightening?
A. He was smart and always escaped from the people’s traps.
B. The orchard keeper told the town people to get rid of him.
C. He did something that upset the people’s lives.
D. He disturbed the town people while they were sleeping.
4.What did the juggler do to catch the monkey?
A. He put some mangoes in a field.
B. He used a rope to tie the monkey.
C. He called the zookeeper to catch the monkey.
D. He put some peanuts into jars with narrow necks.
International Students Club (ISC) is a friendship club organized by the American Student Union (ASU) for all international students. Visit the ISC table on the Tempe Main Campus (坦佩主校区) from 9:30am to 12:30pm Monday — Thursday to get information, practice speaking English, meet new friends and sign up for ISC activities.
Our goal is to help all international students during their time here in the USA through practical help, social activities, trips, conversational English classes and Bible studies.
International Graduates & Scholars
A free dinner is held weekly on Friday nights at the Peterson home at 6:30pm. Transportation is provided from the ASU Bookstore at 6:10pm on Friday nights for free. Every year in June we have special activities — summer camps. Want to make new friends or practice your English? Join us! For more information on activities for graduates and scholars, contact Nancy Peterson at 480-540-1518 or nancyp 310@cox.net.
International Undergraduates
If you’re an international undergraduate hoping to meet new friends, join us at the Rita House on Friday nights, 7:00pm for a free meal, fellowship (联谊会) and Bible discussion. On Friday nights we offer free transportation from the ASU Bookstore at 6:45pm. Join our Facebook page at “ISC Undergraduates” for more specific information or you can contact Charles Boyle at 480-686-0561 or charles.boyle@asu.edu.
African Students
All African students are invited to join us in our monthly activities designed for them to encourage one another and some club members also participate in the activities. This month we’re meeting on April 18th at 4:00pm. Some of our club leaders will join them for student interaction and cultural exchange. For more information, contact Emmanuel Chijindu (from Nigeria) at 480-248-5121 or echijindu@isionline.org.
ISC Leaders & Staff
If you want to become our club member, contact one of our student leaders or campus staff members.
Caroline Tao
wtao6@asu.edu | 480-326-5135
Nigel Pinto
nigel.pinto791@gmail.com
Nancy Peterson
Charles Boyle (staff)
Emmanuel Chijindu (staff)
1.What can we learn about ISC?
A. The ISC table can be visited at weekends.
B. It mainly offers help to American students.
C. It is related to the American Student Union.
D. It’s a club focusing on academic research.
2.What can both international graduates and undergraduates get from the club?
A. A free meal at the Rita House.
B. Friday night free transportation.
C. Special activities in June.
D. Bible studies.
3.Which is NOT true about activities for African students?
A. They are held every month.
B. African students are not the only participants.
C. Their purpose is to encourage each other.
D. They are held at 4:00pm each time.
The city of Vienna has always been popular for its famous physicians. Around the year 1482 one such well-known physician was Dr. Paul Urssenbeck. His fame came from his ability to predict with certainty whether a patient would recover his or her health or would die. He thus became known as the doctor of death.
In his earlier years, he followed the trade of a poor but honest weaver in the town of Deckendorf near Straudigen in Bavaria. It was a time of famine(饥荒), and he, his wife, and their eleven children were in great need. Then a twelfth child was born, and they could find no one to serve as its godparent. As a last chance, the poor weaver walked to a nearby village and asked an old friend to serve as godfather, but met only rejection. Disappointed and frustrated, the poor man made his way back to his family. While walking sorrowfully through the dense forest toward his home, he said, “If only I could die.” Suddenly a tall figure dressed in a dark cloak(斗篷) appeared before him, saying, “You called me. I am Death. What can I do for you?” As much as the man had previously wanted to die, he now wanted to live. “I am seeking a godfather for my youngest child. But I cannot find anyone who will serve as his godparent,” answered the weaver sadly. “I will accept this responsibility,” said Death. And thus it happened.
Following the baptism(洗礼), the mysterious godfather took the father aside and said, “Since I own neither gold nor silver to give to your child as a baptism present, I will make you into the most famous doctor of all times. Whenever you are called to a sick person, I—invisible to others—will seat myself either to the head or to the feet of the patient. If I am seated at the head, then this will show you that hope for recovery exists. If I am seated at the feet, then the patient will die.” Through this gift, the weaver was able to cure many illnesses, for he knew whether the patient who had sought his treatment would be helped by medications, or whether he would die. Soon the previously poor weaver became a wealthy and respected physician. However, his increased wealth made him ever-more greedy.
One day, a very wealthy man fell seriously ill, but when Dr. Urssenbeck was called in, and he saw that Death was already seated at the patient’s feet. Upon hearing the diagnosis, the relatives could not be comforted, and they offered the physician a fortune if he could heal the man. Then Urssenbeck resorted to trickery. He quickly had the patient’s bed turned around, so that Death was now seated at his head. Thus the man was rescued from Death, and he regained his health. On the physician’s way home, Death suddenly appeared before him. “You unfortunate one, why have you deceived me? In return for the life that you have given back to the rich man, you yourself must now die.” Death spoke with a threatening voice, and disappeared.
Dr. Urssenbeck suddenly found himself in a large room where thousands of candles were burning. Death said to him, “Each of these candles represents someone’s life. This tiny stump that is about to go out is yours.” Terrified, Dr. Urssenbeck reached for a taller candle, wanting to take some wax(蜡) from it to fill his stump, but in doing so he touched his own candle, and it went out, and he fell to the floor dead. That evening his body was found in a valley. He was buried in the graveyard of Saint Stephen’s Cathedral.
1.Why did Death make the weaver a famous doctor?
A. Because he wanted to play a trick on him.
B. Because he didn’t have any baptism gift for his child.
C. Because he wanted to give him something as a reward.
D. Because he wanted to show his sympathy to the weaver.
2.What does the underlined phrase “resort to” mean in paragraph 4?
A. to ask someone for help
B. to visit a place of interest
C. to consult information in the dictionary
D. to make use of something bad to achieve something
3.Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.
a. Dr. Urssenbeck became more and more greedy for wealth.
b. Dr. Urssenbeck died and was buried.
c. Death made the weaver the most famous doctor in Vienna.
d. The poor weaver wanted to find a godfather for his 12th child.
e. Dr. Urssenbeck resorted to trickery to heal the patient.
A. dceab B. cdaeb C. dcaeb D. cadeb
4.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The weaver had a dozen children altogether.
B. A new-born baby had to receive baptism after he/she was born.
C. The weaver’s old friend refused to be the godfather of his child.
D. If Death seated himself at the head, the patient could never be saved.
5.Which of the following CANNOT be used to describe Dr.Urssenbeck?
A. Grateful B. Greedy C. Dishonest D. Unfaithful
6.What’s the best title of this passage?
A. Dr. Urssenbeck, the Physician of Death
B. The Death Game
C. A Famous Physician in Vienna
D. A Poor Weaver
The largest outbreak of the deadly disease Ebola(埃博拉) was caused by an infected bat biting a toddler, say a group of international researchers.
The 17-strong team of European and African tropical disease researchers, ecologists and anthropologists have spent three weeks investigating the outbreak of the disease in Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The researchers captured the bats and other creatures near the village of Meliandoua in remote eastern Guinea, where the disease began in December 2013. The boy was bitten and passed the infection on to his mother and both died within a week. The disease was then spread far and wide by the people who came to the funeral.
Most of the previous outbreaks have been caused by meat from dead infected animals collected by hunters who then sell it on. Fruit bats, however, are widely eaten in rural West Africa.
The team, led by epidemiologist(流行病学家) Herr Leendertz, a disease ecologist at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, are expected to publish their results in a major journal soon.
Herr Leendertz’s team believe that an infected straw-colored fruit bat brought the disease to Guinea. The mammals are known to travel long distances and usually settle in forests near cities. Herr Leendertz said, “ The evidence is not 100 percent and we can only say that it is possible. They can travel far in one night. I don't think an individual bat or colony(群体) migrated all the way from Congo or Gabon to West Africa. These big colonies are connected. There is a possibility for the virus to mix between colonies. The bats share the same fruit. It is likely not to have even been one species of bat. The virus may jump from one species to another."
If the bat theory is confirmed, the locals would try to destroy the colonies, which, Herr Leendertz says, would be an ecological disaster, because bats pollinate(传授花粉) plants and kill insects. And bat hunts would also only increase human contact with potentially infected animals.
1.What’s the purpose of the 17-strong team?
A. To look into the outbreak of Ebola.
B. To help the people who suffer from Ebola.
C. To help cure the infected boy of Ebola.
D. To make a study of the bats including fruit bats.
2.In Herr Leendertz’s opinion, ______.
A. people can do nothing to prevent the disease
B. the disease Ebola may jump from one species to another
C. the result of the research should be published immediately
D. the straw-colored fruit bats usually settle in forests in the rural areas
3.If the bat theory is confirmed, ______.
A. the disease Ebola will be controlled
B. all the fruit bats in Africa would be killed
C. plants would not be pollinated in the future
D. the ecosystem in Africa might lose its balance
4.What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. A toddler was bitten by a bat and died.
B. The disease Ebola is incurable at present.
C. An infected bat caused the outbreak of Ebola.
D. The deadly disease Ebola broke out in Guinea.
5.This passage can probably be classified as ______.
A. a science fiction B. a news report
C. a lecture essay D. an auto-biography
Future Life Pets
By DogTown Media, LLC Open iTunes to buy and download apps.
*Price: $2.99
*Category: Lifestyle
*Updated: Jan 07, 2012
*Version: 1.1
*Size: 36.3 MB
*Language: English
*Seller: DOG TOWN MEDIA
*© DogTown Media LLC
Description
DISCOVER FUTURE LIFETIMES WITH YOUR PETS
You can be transported into the future to be reunited with your pet in another place and time.
As an internationally recognized psychic(灵媒) and best-selling author, Anne Jirsch will be your guide in this fascinating meditation (冥想) game.
Future Life Pets will take you into a state of deep relaxation to help you understand this special condition. With expert hypnosis (催眠) you can discover how your paths will cross in your future lifetime.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“I immediately saw I was riding a tall black and white horse and you’ve guessed it —it was my dog and this time he was bigger than ever.” —Mike from Kansas City.
“Seeing both my cats in the future lifetime has given me so much joy. They are both cats again next time around, only a lot bigger and smoother. I clearly saw them both lie by my feet just as they do right now.” —Felicity from Manchester, UK.
The regular buyers of Anne’s products include heads of industry, politicians, and celebrities of all kinds. She is a world famous psychic and author of three books Instant Intuition, The Future is Yours, and Cosmic Energy.
More than a billion people in the world believe in the truth of meditation, through which we’ll gain a greater understanding of our pets and ourselves.
Prepare for the experience as the results are astonishing.
1.If we want to use the app of Future Life Pets, what kind of language should we know?
A. English B. Chinese
C. French D. Japanese
2.We can learn from the passage that the Future Life Pets app______.
A. helps us to get along better with our pets
B. is helpful for us to relax and fall asleep easily
C. gives us a chance to travel with Anne Jirsch
D. helps us discover our future lifetime with our pets
3.The tall horse that Mike saw in his meditation is ______.
A. a dead dog B. his pet dog
C. his pet horse D. a true horse
4.It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. Anne’s fame will help to sell the app
B. only school students show interest in the app
C. the app aims to help sell Anne’s books
D. the app has a close relation with Anne’s three books
