When most people turn 21, they spend too much time partying and having fun. But when Adele turned 21, she did something completely different.
After going through a tough breakup(分手), the British singer turned her pain into glory and recorded one of the most moving albums of the year.
The album, 21, which was released in January, has already hit the charts in 14 countries, according to the Billboard magazine.
It also noted that Adele made history as the first artist since the Beatles to have two top five singles and two top five albums in the charts at the same time (Adele’s first album, 19, was released in 2008. Each album is named for her age when she wrote it).
Now, after touring around the world for almost a year, the DVD of her live concert, released on November 29, is Adele’s latest work.
Having topped the pre-order list of Amazon. com for over a month already, this one seems set to stay on top for a while.
Born in north London, Adele sang her way up honestly: In 2006, she was signed by England’s XL Recordings on the strength of (基于)a three-song demo(样本唱片) a friend of hers had posted on MySpace;within two years she had won the BRIT Awards ‘Critics’ Choice prize and been tipped by the BBC as the “Sound of 2008”.
In 2009 she got the best new artist Grammy Award, and went on a world tour in support of the album 19 with a sold-out show in Los Angeles.
According to Adele herself, much of the inspiration of her music comes from one single breakup.
That’s probably what has made the singer’s success-that emotional certitude(确信), according to Dickins.
“The key to great singers is believing every single word they sing, ” he said. “And I think you believe every word that comes out of Adele’s mouth. You can feel her life force through her voice. ”
1.When she wrote album 19, she is at the age of______.
|
A．21 |
B．18 |
C．20 |
D．19 |
2.How many awards did Adele get?
|
A．One. |
B．Two. |
C．Three. |
D．Four. |
3.The underlined word “released” can be best replaced by ______.
|
A．recorded |
B．came out |
|
C．sold |
D．written |
4. In Adele’s opinion, where does her inspiration of music mainly come from?
|
A．Emotional certitude. |
B．One single breakup. |
|
C．A three-song demo. |
D．A world tour. |
Science can't explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure (血压) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tell you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people— half of them pet owners —while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a husband/wife, a close friend or with a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more relaxed (放松)around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don't judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of 56 people without pets were put on a diet program. On average, people lost about 11 pounds, or 5% of their body weight. Their dogs did even better, losing an average of 12 pounds, more than 15% of their body weight. Dog owners didn't lose any more weight than those without dogs but, say researchers, got more exercise overall-mostly with their dogs - and found it worth doing.
1.What does the text mainly discuss?
|
A．What pets bring to their owners. |
B．How pets help people calm down. |
|
C．People's opinions of keeping pets. |
D．Pet's value in medical research. |
2.We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if_________ .
|
A．he has a pet companion |
B．he has less stress of work |
|
C．he often does mental arithmetic |
D．he is taken care of by his family |
3.According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing stressful tasks?
|
A．They have lower blood pressure. |
B．They become more patient. |
|
C．They are less nervous. |
D．They are in higher spirits. |
4.The research mentioned in the last paragraph reports that________ .
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A．people with dogs did more exercise |
|
B．dogs lost the same weight as people did |
|
C．dogs liked exercise much more than people did |
|
D．people without dogs found the program unhelpful |
Health is the most important thing in the world. Nothing is more important than health. If we take away our money, houses, or even our clothes, we can still survive. — 71 That is why we always try to eat in a healthy way and exercise regularly.
How can we keep healthy? In order to eat healthily, I usually avoid eating food high in fat, like French fries or cookies, which are junk food. 72 I eat a lot of vegetables and fresh fruit which are full of vitamins (维生素).
73 Taking exercise every day helps us build a strong body. Regular exercise is an important part of keeping me healthy.
What’s more, I think friends are an important part of one’s health. 74 I always feel better when I am with friends than I am alone. When I am with friends, I always laugh. Laughing is also in important part of health. It’s good to stay with my friends.
By eating properly and exercising regularly, I can keep my mind as well as my body happy. These things sound easy to do, but not many people can manage them. 75
|
A．One the other hand, doing exercise is very important. |
|
B．There are some people who like staying alone, but they keep healthy. |
|
C．Many students show that people with a wide range (范围) of social contacts (接触) don’t get sick. |
|
D．But if our health was taken away, it is certain that we would surely die. |
E. I only eat little meat.
F. I think a strong will is necessary if want to keep healthy.
G. Some people appear fat because they often eat too much.
Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world—Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey—rats will soon be man’s new best friends.
What happens after an earthquake? We sent in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal (信号). This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “‘Robots ’noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that.” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity(电)!
The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to and a rat would get out of it if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building (but only after an earthquake, of course).
1.In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man’s best friends because they can .
|
A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs |
|
B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings |
|
C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings. |
|
D．get into small spaces |
2.In doing rescue jobs, .
|
A．rats smell better than dogs |
|
B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people |
|
C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around |
|
D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots |
3.Rats have all the following advantages EXCEPT that .
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A．they are more fantastic than other animals |
|
B．they are less expensive to train than dogs |
|
C．they don’t need electricity |
|
D．they are small and can get into small places |
4.After reading the passage we can know .
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A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people |
|
B．the “rat project” has been completed |
|
C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building |
|
D．now people still use dogs and robots in performing rescues |
If you are planning on traveling, there are few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your journey.
First of all, always check and double-check departure (出发) time. It is surprising how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at he airport a few minutes after ten. My secretary had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10:50. When I arrived at the airport, the person at the departure desk told me that my flight was closed. Therefore, I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting.
The second rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards (信用卡), it is still important to have some local money in cash (现金). Once I arrived at a place at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. The only way to get to my hotel was by taxi but because I had no dollars, I offered to pay in pounds instead. “Listen! I only take real money!” the driver said angrily. You can imagine how terrible I felt at that moment.
The third and the last rule is to find out as much as you can about the weather at your destination(目的地) before you leave. I feel sorry for some of my workmates who travel in heavy suits and raincoats in May, when it is still fairly cool in London or Manchester, to places like Athens, Rome of Madrid, where it is already beginning to get quite warm during the day.
1.Where is the writer most probably from?
|
A．Britain |
B．The USA |
C．Italy |
D．Greece |
2.When the writer found he had no dollars to pay the taxi driver, he .
|
A．asked the driver to give him a free ride |
|
B．offered to pay in pounds |
|
C．gave the driver some fake(假) money |
|
D．tried to pay by credit card |
3.Generally, in May the weather in London is .
|
A．warm and dry |
B．cold and dry |
|
C．hot and wet |
D．cool and rainy |
4.The writer mainly tells us .
|
A．how to make life easier |
|
B．how to be well prepared for a trip |
|
C．how to enjoy ourselves on trip |
|
D．how to schedule our trip |
Sarah Williams went to a boarding school. Here is one of the
letters she wrote to her parents from the school.
Wentworth Girls' School
Beachside
July 20th
Dearest Mom and Dad,
I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school principal is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.
The trouble started last night when I was smoking in bed. This is against the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.
As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away.
Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper basket, which caught fire.
There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning.
The principal phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire department arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.
The principal says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.
I’m very sorry about this.
Much love,
Sarah
P. S. None of the above is true, but I have failed my exams. I just want you to know how bad things could have been!
1.Why did Sarah write home?
|
A．To tell her parents about the fire. |
|
B．To ask for a lot of money. |
|
C．To tell her parents she had failed her exams. |
|
D．To tell her parents she had to leave school. |
2.Why did Sarah tell her parents the story about the fire?
|
A．She wanted to worry them. |
|
B．She wanted to make them laugh. |
|
C．She wanted to make them less angry at the real news. |
|
D．She wanted to warn them about what the principal was going to do. |
3.The letter before the. P. S. was .
|
A．mostly true |
B．partly true |
|
C．completely true |
D．completely untrue |
