Five years ago I was working in an office. My life was all about dealing with complaints, meeting deadlines and writing reports. I wasn’t completely bored _______it didn’t excite me. One _______I went out to buy a sandwich. It was sunny and I wasn’t _______at work, so I decided to _______it in the park. I could see a group of people_______a TV programme nearby. They seemed to be arguing about something and everybody looked very_______ .
Suddenly I realized everyone was _______me. And then two of them started walking over---towards me! They _______that they were making a short film and one of their actors hadn’t_______ . He only had one line in the story, they said. Would I mind________ the line?
I could tell they were desperate and although I’d never done any acting in my life, for some reason I ________ .
An hour later we finished. It was really an amazing experience. The people were very________and paid me for my time. However,________ I was leaving, the director of the film came over and________me his card. He thought I’d been brilliant and was naturally talented as a(n) ________. I laughed but________to call him some time.
Well, I did call him. I went for an audition(试演)for another short film with the director. And I got the ________ . Two years later I ________ my office job and I’m now working almost full-time as an actor. I love the work and I’m going back to college next year to study ________. My life is now completely__________, all because of that lunch in the park.
1.A.so B.but C.or D.and
2.A.morning B.afternoon C.weekend D.lunchtime
3.A.busy B.good C.angry D.quick
4.A.make B.eat C.use D.get
5.A.watching B.writing C.copying D.filming
6.A.passive B.excited C.anxious D.energetic
7.A.looking at B.looking for C.looking after D.looking into
8.A.repeated B.described C.explained D.remembered
9.A.calmed down B.given up C.turned up D.settled down
10.A.forming B.saying C.drawing D.holding
11.A.offered B.agreed C.insisted D.admitted
12.A.hopeful B.successful C.grateful D.doubtful
13.A.until B.after C.for D.as
14.A.lent B.handed C.mailed D.awarded
15.A.actor B.director C.reporter D.host
16.A.failed B.refused C.continued D.promised
17.A.job B.card C.money D.mind
18.A.lost B.left C.chose D.found
19.A.painting B.literature C.drama D.journalism
20.A.simple B.strange C.important D.different
We all often deal with people who complain about the failures and troubles of their daily lives. Life seems to be full of problems for them. 1.. If there were no problems in your job, then your employer would hire a much less capable (能干的) person than you to do the things that don’t need much thought. In the business world, those who are able to solve difficult problems are the ones who are the most valuable to the employer.
2.. The runner who trains for the mile run in the Olympics by running downhill will have no chance of winning the medal at all. The runner who trains by running uphill is far more likely to develop the speed and endurance（耐力）needed to win the medal.
Boxer Gene Tunney broke both hands in the ring. 3.. But at that time his manager felt that he could never again punch（重击）hard enough to be the heavyweight champion. Instead, Tunney determined to become a scientific boxer and win the title as a boxer. 4.. As a puncher, he would not have had a chance against Jack Dempsey, who was considered by many to be the hardest hitter in heavyweight history. Tunney would never have been a champion, if he had not had the problem of his broken hands.
5., you should smile and say, “Here’s my chance to win.”
A.Every time you are feeling down
B.It turned out to be the best thing to him
C.The next time you meet with a difficult climb
D.I would like to think such a life nothing unusual
E.He was lucky to be trained by an experienced coach
F.He proved to be one of the best boxers who had ever fought
G.Many times the problems we face force us to grow and become abler
A large number of India’s urban(城区的) poor kids receive little or no education. Even if they enter a formal school, their dropout rates are very high. Door Step School (DSS) aims to bridge the huge gap between these kids and education.
True to its name, Door Step School sets up a school right at the doorstep of kids who can’t get formal education due to a variety of reasons.
The team at DSS follows a direct model—they set up a classroom in any area, a footpath, construction site, or underpass, where they foresee the greatest need. They look for proper locations, and after making sure that enough resources are in place, they accept students in the area. DSS provides lessons of different levels. The organization even tries to provide classes in the local language, or whatever the students choose.
Another interesting project of DSS is a school on wheels. It uses a bus that has been changed into a classroom, which holds about 25 kids at a time.
Since it was started in 1988, Door Step School has spread from Mumbai to the neighbouring city of Pune in Maharashtra, covering a larger area and number of kids. Now DSS has a team of more than 1,000 volunteers and teachers who change more than 70,000 lives each year.
DSS doesn’t end at kids. The organisation educates parents on the importance of sending their kids to school. Its efforts have brought education to thousands of students in the last two decades. Their belief in education for all has not only changed children’s lives but also continued the fight against one of the biggest problems India faces. All children have the right to an education, and DSS is providing just that.
1.Why is the organization named “Door Step School”?
A.It is different from formal schools.
B.It is usually built near students’ houses.
C.It sets up schools in areas with large populations.
D.It provides education wherever children can easily go.
2.What can we learn about the lessons provided by “Door Step School”?
A.They are better than formal school lessons.
B.They include whatever a school can provide.
C.They suit children at different levels.
D.They are easy for kids to learn by themselves.
3.What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?
A.The development of Door Step School.
B.The foundation of Door Step School.
C.The management of Door Step School.
D.The future of Door Step School.
4.It can be inferred that one of the biggest problems India faces is that _______.
A.there are no formal schools B.many children receive no education
C.children refuse to attend schools D.the country is short of teachers
Ever since it was created 30 years ago, The Simpsons, the longest running prime-time(黄金时段) TV show in the country, has become part of US life. So when TV critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked the 100 greatest comedies and dramas broadcast in the US ,it came as no surprise that The Simpsons was their top choice.
This was the show that changed the very concept of cartoons in Western society. Before it appeared, cartoons were considered a way to learn and have fun, not serious adult entertainment. The Simpsons changed this. The genius of the show is that it has something to offer both adults and children.
It’s a hugely entertaining program that’s also full of satire(讽刺的) and clever humor.A remark by Chitra Ramaswamy in The Guardian gave a sense of the esteem(敬重) in which The Simpsons is held:“Nothing before or since has match its capacity to be at once so profoundly clever and so unbelievably stupid.”
The show’s creators make fun of the US government, social customs, and of course, the idea of family life. But unlike most classic US prime-time TV characters the Simpsons are a dys-functional(功能失调的) family.
Bart, the boy, is always in trouble---both at home and at school. That may be in part because of his paternal example. Homer Simpson, perhaps the most iconic(标志性的) character, is a beer-swilling, overweight slob（懒汉） who is normally found in front of the TV. And Marge, Homer’s wife and the mother of the family, spends most of her time cooking, cleaning or trying to fix the messes that Bart and Homer make.
The smartest member of the family is daughter Lisa, who does well in school but is no goody-goody(讨好卖乖的人)---Lisa never misses an opportunity to challenge authority. The youngest member of the family is baby Maggie, who will likely be as much of a handful as her brother and sister when she grows up.
But although the Simpsons are a problem family, viewers are always on their side. One of the reasons why the show has remained so popular all these years is that the characters are so lovely. Millions of us identify with them. They are a working class family struggling to make ends meet. They aren’t perfect, but then, who is? And after 30 years, this is still what strikes a chord （引起共鸣）with millions of viewers worldwide.
1.According to the article , The Simpsons___________.
A.is suitable for both adults and kids.
B.reminds people of their sad children.
C.is a program designed only for fun.
D.is difficult to understand for many people.
2.Which of the following statement is TRUE about the Simpson family according to the article?
A.They all show great support to the government.
B.Bart and Lisa are the troublemakers of the family.
C.They are an ordinary family with many problems.
D.The children regard Homer as their role model.
3.According to the article,viewers like the Simpsons mainly because________.
A.they have the courage to challenge authority.
B.their lives and problems are similar to real people’s.
C.they teach viewers how to fix problems.
D.they are a happy and perfect family.
4.What is the article mainly about?
A.Reasons behind The Simpsons’ lasting popularity.
B.The most popular characters in The Simpsons.
C.Changes to The Simpsons over the years
D.What kind of stories The Simpsons tells.
When he was a little boy, his uncle called him "Sparky' after a comic-strip (连环画) horse named Spark Plug. School was all but impossible for Sparky. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. And while he did manage to make the school's golf team, he lost the only match of the season straight away.
Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. It wasn't that the other students dislike him. It's just that no one really cared that much. In fact, Sparky was astonished if a classmate ever said hello to him outside of school hours. Sparky was a loser. Him, his classmates ... everyone knew it. So he learned to live with it. He made up his mind early that if things were meant to work out, they would.
One thing was important to Sparky, however-drawing. He was proud of his artwork. No one else appreciated it. But that didn't seem to matter to him. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the yearbook. The editors rejected his ideas. Despite that, Sparky was convinced of his ability.
He even decided to become an artist. So, after completing high school, Sparky wrote to Walt Disney Studios. They asked for samples of his artwork. In spite of careful preparation, it too was rejected. One more confirmation was that he was a loser.
But Sparky still didn't give up. Instead, he decided to tell his own life story in cartoons. The main character would be a little boy who symbolized the boy who always lost and underachieved. You know him well because Sparky's cartoon character went on to become a kind of cultural phenomenon. People readily understand this "loveable loser". He reminded people of the painful and embarrassing moments from their own past, of their pain and shared humanity. The character soon became famous worldwide: "Charlie Brown". And Sparky, the boy whose many failures kept him from trying, whose work was rejected again and again, is the highly successful cartoonist Charles Schultz. His cartoon strip Peanuts continues to inspire books, T-shirts and Christmas specials, reminding us, as someone once commented, that life somehow finds a way for all of us, even the losers.
1.By saying "he learned to live with it" in Paragraph 2, the author means that Sparky_________.
A.decided not to make an effort in school
B.learned to ignore being treated badly
C.didn't care as long as no one called him a loser
D.came to accept being ignored by other students
2.Before Sparky started the Charlie Brown cartoon,_________.
A.he thought poorly of himself in drawing
B.some editors encouraged him to keep trying
C.his artwork was rejected time and again
D.his artwork was accepted by Walt Disney Studios
3.Sparky's cartoon character became so popular because_________.
A.people were touched by Sparky's never-give-up spirit
B.people felt they could relate to it
C.it inspired people to fight for their dreams
D.it mirrored people's life outlook
4.We can learn from the passage that_________.
A.nothing is impossible for a willing heart
B.a loser is meant to be a winner
C.opportunities always favor the prepared mind
D.life is to be enjoyed but not be complained about
The Nobel Prize-winning Mexican writer Octavio Paz said, “The art of the festival has been debased（下降） almost everywhere else, but not in Mexico.” Here are several events that would have made him proud:
Morelia International Film Festival
The Morelia film fest really brings this colonial city to life in mid-October. Created as a platform for documentaries and fiction works, the programming offers an up-close look at Mexican society as seen through the eyes of a new generation of filmmakers. Fashionable bars and sidewalk cafes are buzzing with activity around the main square, where crowds gather nightly for open-air screenings and other cultural events.
Day of the Dead
Each year on November 1st and 2nd, Mexico turns its thoughts to the departed during the Day of the Dead festivities, a colorful tradition deeply rooted in native culture. For Mexicans, death is more a cause for celebration than mourning, and that spirit has been kept very much alive in Pátzcuaro, the Día de Muertos mecca. Prepare yourself to battle large crowds of the living.
Carnival in Veracruz &Mazatlán
Mexico hosts many carnival celebrations every year featuring exciting parades, dance performances, live music and of course, big-time partying. The nine-day event in Veracruz, Mexico’s biggest carnival, usually kicks off in March, right around the same time when festivities get started on the Pacific coast in Mazatlán. You can shake your body with salsa music in Veracruz or the brass band sounds of Mazatlán.
La Morisma
An all-out war erupts on the streets of colonial Zacatecas, usually around late August. OK, well, it’s actually a mock battle with well over 2,000 participants re-enacting battles between the Christians and Moors in old Spain. The faux（假的）soldiers attack one another while accompanied on the streets by bands of musicians.
1.How do the Mexicans feel when the Day of the Dead comes?
A.Calm. B.Anxiod.
C.Scared. D.Happy.
2.What can people enjoy in both Carnival in Veracruz &Mazatlán and La Morisma?
A.Exciting parades. B.Dance performances.
C.Live music. D.A mock battle.
3.What is the purpose of the text?
A.To tell something about a Nobel Prize-winning writer.
B.To introduce some famous Mexican festivals.
C.To advise readers to join in the Mexican events.
D.To criticize the bad customs of Mexican festivals.
