Tyler Thompson is1.unlikely star in the world of Peking opera. The 15-year-old from Oakland has fascinated audiences in the U.S. and China with his ability2.(sing) pitch-perfect Mandarin(普通话) and perform the ancient Chinese art form. The teen,3.is black and only speaks some basic Chinese, has been praised by teachers since he4.(pick) up the music as a kindergartner. “As soon as he opens5.(he) mouth and sings in Chinese, the Chinese are very surprised and they feel very proud of him,” said his music teacher. “When he puts on the costume, and all the acting, you can see that he is pretty good.”
Tyler has learned to sing several well-known pieces of Peking opera, a centuries-old form of musical theater6.(know) for its highly structured costumes, changing gongs(锣) and cymbals(钹), wide-ranging voices and highly stylized7.(move). Tyler got8.(stand) cheers when he performed9.Justice Bao, a famous Song Dynasty judge who fought corruption, from the Chinese classic Bao Qing Tian. “The music is very beautiful, and it’s very passionate,” said Tyler, “It’s made me want to know10.(much) about the world outside of America or California or Oakland.”
My parents owned a 500-acre farm in Montana when I was young. Life there was filled not just with fun and games but______as well. The lambing season was especially hard. Montana’s freezing spring weather kept my parents watching______mamas at all hours of the day and night______a newborn lamb.
It was during this time of new life that my favorite childhood memory______. One exceptionally______day, my mother spied a sheep trying to deliver her baby lamb and needed our______. My mother calmly held the sheep’s head and______me to get hold of the lamb’s protruding(伸出) legs.
I______and must have had a look of panic on my face. The little things were______not something I wanted to touch. But I______my courage and wrapped my fingers______them. I can still remember the______of the unexpectedly delicate legs. My heart beat in fear and excitement______I pulled with all my strength. The lamb was delivered!
I was no______to seeing farm animals being born, but to have a______in it was something I will cherish forever. I’m sure everyone got very______hearing me tell and retell my heroic story.
Looking back, I’m so glad that I didn’t______to get my hands dirty, If I had, the miraculous moment and the precious memory would have been______. I try to instill(逐渐灌输) that life______into my children. Sometimes you need to get your hands a little dirty to experience something______and pure.
1.A. pleasure B. danger C. dilemma D. hardship
2.A. pregnant B. working C. desperate D. sleeping
3.A. at the risk of B. in case of C. free from D. in exchange for
4.A. faded B. took place C. impressed D. broke down
5.A. warm B. cold C. mild D. hot
6.A. notice B. support C. help D. operation
7.A. begged B. invited C. forbade D. instructed
8.A. wondered B. resisted C. suspected D. hesitated
9.A. surely B. hardly C. only D. hopefully
10.A. lost B. gathered C. searched D. lacked
11.A. beyond B. through C. around D. in
12.A. feel B. point C. sight D. thought
13.A. because B. as C. if D. unless
14.A. stranger B. beginner C. newcomer D. speaker
15.A. memory B. hand C. look D. difference
16.A. proud of B. excited about C. tired of D. sorry for
17.A. refuse B. promise C. choose D. pause
18.A. kept B. lost C. ignored D. forgotten
19.A. quality B. skill C. lesson D. standard
20.A. upset B. funny C. thrilling D. amazing
Choosing the right college for you is not so easy.You should have a general idea of what you want and don't want.The idea can guide you to find what fits your needs best.1.
Think about what major you want to study in college.If you know that,just look at colleges that have your major. 2.So think carefully about your major and interests before choosing one.
Where the college is located matters.Anyone who tells you the location isn't important is lying.3.If you look forward to working in the publishing industry,New York may be your best bet.If your parents want you to stay close to home,please don't consider anywhere that requires a plane ticket to get to.
Think about how much you can afford.Are your parents,paying for your education? If so,how much are they willing to spend?Do you have to contribute anything? Financial aid and scholarship exist,but don't count on anything. 4.These are all things to consider before you fall in love with a college.
Make sure you're going to spend time with the right people.The cool thing about college is that each different one attracts different kinds of people.For the first thing in your life,you get to choose where you get to spend your time and who you get to spend it with.5.Make sure that the people you're with for four years are your kind of people.
A.College is about learning what you love.
B.You'd better choose a major that is popular.
C.Go to the college with some people you like.
D.Are you willing to go into major debt over a school?
E.Remember,above all,it's the people that make the place.
F.If you don't like cold weather,stay away from northern schools.
G.These guidelines will help figure out what college you want to go to.
Lying alongside mountains of smelly garbage under the South American sun, Cateura is a long way from the conservatories of Prague or Vienna. Yet the township, which grew out of Paraguay's largest dump(垃圾场), is gaining a reputation as a hothouse for musical talent and for its youth orchestra(管弦乐队) that plays instruments made from garbage. "The world sends us garbage. We send back music," says Favio Chavez, leader of the "Recycled Orchestra," during a recent visit by the group to Los Angeles. Orchestra members, poor children from Cateura, play violins fashioned from oven trays and guitars made from dessert dishes. The orchestra provides the youngsters an outlet and an escape, a chance to go beyond the mess of their slum(贫民窟) through the music of Mozart, and even Sinatra. "In the beginning, it was difficult to play," says the l0-year-old violinist Celeste Fleitas." But Favio helped me learn over time. From Favio, I have learned to be more responsible and value the things I have."
The destination for more than 1,500 tons of waste each day, the community has no safe drinking water and little access to electricity or sanitation(卫生设施). Illiteracy is severe, and the children of the township often fall into drugs, violence and crimes.
Favio Chavez, a musical talent, came to Cateura as an environmental technician in 2006 and started a youth music school. He knew shop-bought instruments were beyond the means of villagers whose sheds are worth less than a violin, so he approached a carpenter to make some out of waste from the dump.
The orchestra caught the eye of Paraguayan filmmaker Alejandra Amarilla. She uploaded a short piece of the orchestra to YouTube in 2012, hoping to secure crowdfunding for what would become Landfill Harmonic, a documentary released across the United States this month and promoting the youngsters on a tour of the world's music halls later on.
1.What is the best title of the text?
A. Youngsters carry tunes from garbage to victory
B. A music talent hit the road to the world stage
C. A town for music fans
D. An orchestra on a global tour
2.What do we know about Cateura?
A. It has raised people's awareness of recycling trash
B. It has caught more attention through the orchestra
C. It recycles more than l,500 tons of rubbish per day
D. It provides its children with better schooling conditions
3.Why did Alejandra Amarilla upload a piece of the orchestra to YouTube?
A. To assist the youngsters with a world tour
B. To collect funding for a documentary
C. To organize carpenters to make instruments
D. To catch the eye of the Paraguay government
4.What can we learn from Favio Chavez?
A. To work in a team weighs more
B. To recycle things is to conserve things
C. To be creative is a quality of a leader
D. To own nothing is no excuse to do nothing
All over the world mothers and fathers teach their children manners. Other children may have manners that are not like yours. There are all kinds of manners.
Many years ago, children who had good manners were seen and not heard. They kept quiet if grown-ups were talking. Today, well-mannered children have more freedom.
Sometimes good manners in one place are bad manners in other places. Suppose you are a visitor in the land of Mongolia. Some friends ask you to eat with them. What kind of manners do they want you to have? They want you to give a loud “burp(打嗝)” after you finish eating. Burping would show that you like your food. In some countries, if you give a loud burp, you are told to say “Excuse me, please.” In many places people like to eat together. But in some parts of Polynesia it is bad manners to be seen eating at all. People show good manners by turning their backs on others while they eat. What are manners like in an East African town? The people try not to see you. They are being polite. You may see a friend. He may not see you at all. If you are polite, you will sit down beside him. You will wait until he finishes what he is doing. Then he will talk to you. Suppose you visit a friend in Arabia. You should walk behind the other tents until you come to his tent. If you pass in front of the other tents, you will be asked into each one. The people will ask you to eat with them. And it is bad manners if you say no.
Manners are different all over the world. But it is good to know that all manners begin in the same way. People need ways to show that they want to be friends.
1.How did polite children behave?
A. By looking into adults’ eyes while talking
B. By keeping silent while adults were talking
C. By slipping into the house without being heard
D. By not opening their mouths until spoken to
2.Which custom should we follow in order to look well-mannered?
A. Saying “Excuse me” on burping in Mongolia
B. Inviting guests to dinner together in Polynesia
C. Talking with a friend before he completes things in East Africa
D. Accepting an eating invitation in Arabia
3.What can we infer from the text?
A. Hear much, speak little
B. Love me, love my dog
C. When in Rome do as the Romans do
D. Do what you ought to and come what can
There is a lot to learn about the creations of Beatrix Potter—not only is she the author and illustrator of one of the world's most famous children's books,The Tale of Peter Rabbit,but also a pioneering conservationist with the spirit of a scientist.
"Potter grew up as the daughter of a wealthy Victorian family,but along with her brother who filled an entire floor of their large house in London with all sorts of animals,"said Anne Lundin,a retired professor for the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies.
"As an adult,she was a frustrated botanical illustrator and scientist.That field was not open to her because she was female,"Lundin said.Potter was urged to tum the charming illustrations and stories she wrote in letters to children into books.She wrote 23 books in all—a body of work that has inspired plays,ballets,films and an astonishing amount of merchandise.
"The Tale of Peter Rabbit is probably the most famous children's book in the world,which was published in 1902 and has really stood the test of time.It's been translated into 36 languages.The parents and grandparents will share it with the next generation,"said Lundin.
Potter also made a mark on the world through her land conservation."In many ways,she was like Peter Rabbit, venturing into a world of adventure and risk.She withdrew from London as soon as she started making some money on her books to the Lake District and became an extremely important farmer and conservationist.She preserved and passed on 15 farms and over 4,000 acres,which were given back to the country as gifts in the 20th century,"said Lundin.
Even though she was born 150 years ago,she was amazingly modern—her embracing of the natural world, commented Jennifer Blatchley Smith,an artistic director of the show Peter Rabbit Tales to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Potter's birth.
1.What helped Beatrix Potter to write The Tale of Peter Rabbit successfully ?
A. Her life and work experiences.
B. Her specialty in animated（动画）pictures.
C. Her success in becoming a botanical scientist.
D. Her interest in animals in childhood alone.
2.What does the word "frustrated" in the third paragraph mean?
A. Disappointed. B. Devoted.
C. Motivated. D. Inspired.
3.What is Beatrix Potter?
A. A botanist and artist.
B. An extremely important farmer and successful scientist.
C. A writer,conservationist and farmer.
D. An artistic director.
4.Why does the author write the article?
A. In celebration of Potter's 150th birthday.
B. In honour of Potter's new contributions.
C. In praise of Potter's spirit of selflessness.
D. In support of Potter's book promotions.
