When 47-year-old volunteer Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and “never been kissed, actually”, few in the audience would have wondered why. This Ms Boyle, looking unfashionable, from a village in Scotland, shocked the three judges and the audience with the song I dreamed a dream from the musical Les Miserables on a show of Britain’s Got Talent, one of the hottest reality shows in Britain.
She couldn’t hide the awkwardness when walking to the center of the stage in a housedress, and everyone — including the judges — seemed laughing at her when she said she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. As soon as she began singing, however, everyone in the auditorium fell silent, then rose within seconds to applaud her incredible voice as the celebrity judges sat open-mouthed, and remained standing to the end.
After her performance, one of the judges Piers Morgan said, “Without doubt that was the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years of this show. When you stood there everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing no
w. That was amazing.” Actress Amanda Holden followed, “I’m so thrilled because I know that we everybody were against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical (愤世嫉俗的) and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever.”
Susan obviously won over the hearts of millions around the world with sensation spreading across the Atlantic. Hollywood actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore — who between them have nearly 1.5 million followers — speak highly of her. Kutcher posted a link to the video clip (片段). The Scottish talent made her live American debut via satellite connection on CBS’s The Early Show, doing an interview and singing live from her room. And she already accepted an invitation from talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Now Boyle has become one of the world’s hottest celebrities. The video clip of her performance has been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube, becoming a hit on the Internet. We learn from the passage that Susan Boyle ______.
| A．rose from a low social class |
| B．had an unhappy marriage |
| C．lived with a dog alone on a farm |
| D．won the championship in the Britain’s Got Talent show |
At the beginning of the show, almost everybody ______.
| A．looked forward to her wonderful performance |
| B．was attracted by her beautiful dress |
| C．looked down upon her |
| D．placed great hope on her |
We can infer that ______ contributed most to her global popularity.
| A．the judges | B．the Internet | C．the newspaper | D．the advertisement |
The 4th paragraph intends to tell us ______.
| A．how Susan Boyle achieved her success |
| B．the comment made by American actor Ashton Kutcher |
| C．Susan Boyle’s influence in the USA |
| D．Oprah Winfrey’s invitation to Susan Boyle |
Daredevil climber Alain Robert, known as the French Spiderman, stood strong winds and rain to climb the world's tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, Saturday．
Robert, dressed in red rain jacket, tights and climbing shoes, climbed up ropes hung down the side of the 101 storey, 1,667-foot office tower, reaching the top in around four hours．"It was a very big moment and I felt a lot of satisfaction though I was so tired and nearly all of my muscles were painful．I felt completely eased．" said Robert after taking the ride down in one of the tower's lifts, the world's fastest．
Several hundred on-lookers and shoppers gathered at the base of the tower watching and cheering Robert's progress through live pictures on a large television screen．At times he disappeared from view as clouds passed by the top of the tower surrounding the upper stories．
The 42-year-old Frenchman has covered scores of well-known structures around the world including the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower——without permission or any safety equipment or ropes．
This time Robert was wearing a harness (背带) fastened to safety ropes for the entire climb．He used the ropes to pull himself up most of the way, using his hands and feet to climb up the walls for only short sections．He said that the management had requested he wear the ropes and safety equipment, which had also become necessary due to the rain making the windows and frames very slippery．Robert said he would not carry his pity the next time．The text mainly tells us that _________．
| A．another world record was broken by a Frenchman |
| B．The French Spiderman climbed the world's tallest building |
| C．How Alain Robert got the name" Daredevil" |
| D．Alain Robert was praised for his great success |
During his climbing up Taipei 101, Alain Rober
t ________．
| A．never felt tired all the time |
| B．never used his hands and feet |
| C．stayed somewhere for a short rest |
| D．was not seen on the television screen now and then |
When Alain Robert climbed the Empire State Building, he was likely to ________．
| A．use only his hands and feet | B．be 42 years old |
| C．carry some safety equipment | D．get permission of someone |
According to the text, we can infer that Alain Robert ________．
| A．spent three hours climbing Taipei 101 | B．chose a rainy day on purpose |
| C．will climb Taipei 101 a second time | D．got lots of help from on-lookers |
Starting the day on an egg could keep your blood pressure(血压) under control, research suggests．Scientists have shown that eggs produce proteins with a function similar to that of powerful blood pressure-lowering drugs．
The research, from the University of Alberta in Canada, showed that when eggs come in contact with stomach enzymes(酶) they produce a protein that acts in the same way as Ace inhibitors, but more work is needed to show the effects outside a lab and in the human body．
Earlier this month, British researchers declared that, contrary to popular beliefs, it is healthy to go to work on an egg．They concluded that the type of cholesterol (胆固醇) found in eggs has little effect on increasing heart disease risks．
Researcher Professor Bruce Griffin, from the University of Surrey, said:“The wrong beliefs linking egg eating to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected ．The amount of fat in our diet has an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of cholesterol found in eggs．The UK public do not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat．They can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet as they are one of nature’s most nutritious foods．”
The British Heart Foundation dropped its three-egg-a-week limit in 2005．However, almost half of Britons believe the limit still applies．From the text we know that Ace inhibitors are ．
| A．a kind of medicine | B．a kind of protein |
| C．a kind of illness | D．a kind of food |
According to what Professor Brcue said, eggs ．
| A．are the most nutritious food． |
| B．have no effect on blood cholesterol |
| C．can be included in a healthy diet |
| D．are forbidden to be eaten in the UK |
We can infer from the text that ．
| A．drugs to lower blood pressure will be replaced by eating eggs |
| B．stomach enzymes mixed with eggs can cure heart diseases |
| C．most Britons agree the three-egg-a-week limit should be dropped |
| D．about 50% of Britons think eating an egg a day is bad for their health |
The text is meant ．
| A．to introduce scientific findings about eggs |
| B．to introduce a medicine made from eggs |
| C．to tell people how to lower their blood pressure |
D．to advise people to eat as ma ny eggs as possible |
When important events are happening around the world, most people turn to traditional media sources, such as CNN and BBC for the news．However, during the war in Iraq in 2003, many people followed the war from the point of view of an unknown Iraqi citizen who called himself “Salam Pax ” ．(Salam Pax means peace)
Salam Pax wrote a diary about everyday life in Baghdad during the war, and posted it on his website．Pax’s online diary was a kind of website known as a “blog”．Blogs are online diaries, usually kept by individuals, but sometimes by companies and other groups of people．They are the fastest growing types of website on the Internet．
A blog differs from a traditional website in several ways．Most importantly, it is updated much more regularly．Many blogs are updated every day, and some are updated several times a day．Also, most blogs use special software or websites, which can help ordinary people easily set up and start writing their own blogs．
There are many different kinds of blogs．The most popular type is an online diary of links where the blog writer surfs the Internet and then posts links to sites or news articles that they find interesting , with a few comments about each one ．Other types are personal diaries, where the writer talks about their life and feelings．Sometimes these blogs can be very personal．
There is another kind of blogging, called “moblogging ”, short for “ mobile blogging ”．
Mobloggers use mobile phones with cameras to take photos, which are posted instantly to the Internet．The use of mobile phones in this way made the headlines in Singapore when a high school student posted a movie he had taken of a teacher shouting at another student on the Internet．Many people were shocked by what the student did, and wanted phones with cameras to be banned from schools．
Many people think that as blogs become common, news reporting will rely less on big media companies, and more on ordinary people posting news to the Internet．They think that then the news will be less like a lecture, and more like a conversation, where any one can join in．Which statement about Salam Pax was true?
| A．He worked for CNN． |
| B．Salam Pax was not his real name |
| C．He was famous as a host in BBC |
D．He used a mobile phone  for his blog |
What is the biggest difference between blogs and traditional websites?
| A．Blogs are updated much more often | B．Blogs contain links to other websites |
| C．Blogs use special software | D．Blogs contain personal information |
According to the passage, which statement ab
out the future is most likely ? In the future …
| A．everyone will have a blog |
| B．large media companies will be unnecessary |
| C．people will be able to learn the news from other points of view |
| D．blogging technology will be banned |
What is the passage mainly about ?
| A．the history of the Internet | B．new types of media |
| C．the war in Iraq | D．the increase of using computers |
More teachers are starting off the school year with letters to parents and students to introduce themselves and set a tone (基调) for the year．The letters are a good way to start positive communication with parents, several teachers told Education World．
“I think it’s professional (专业的)，”said Dorothy Peselli, an English teacher at Sparta High School in Sparta, New Jersay, Peselli, who gives out the letters the first day of school, told Education World．“It gives parents an image of you as a professional．If you start communication off in a positive manner, you will have the parents on your side when you need them．”
In her letter to parents, Peselli encourages them to call or e-mail her with specific concerns about their children．“I want to work as a team to make sure that your child becomes an independent lifelong learner,” Peselli wrote to parents last September．She also telephones the parents of all
her students at the beginning of the year．
Peselli includes with the letter a classroom handbook (手册)listing plans and rules ．And she requires that both parents and students read and sign statements (included in the letter!) that they read the handbook．The student letter also lists needed supplies and gives encouragement．“Please come to class ready to work and learn．This will be an exciting year for all of us,” it says
Last year, Peselli taught at a different high school and parents there were “shocked”, but appreciative, that she had so much contact with them,“I received roses and a thank-you note from one boy and his mother”．Peselli said．She wished her own children’s teachers would take the time to write notes as well．“I never got a letter home from any of my daughter’s high school teachers．” she said, “It would be nice to know the background of some of the people who are teaching my daughter．”We may learn from the text that
| A．most teachers are writing letters to parents and students |
| B．the handbook is used to list supplies and give encouragement |
| C．Peselli believe it important for teachers to exchange information with parents |
| D．Peselli mainly introduces her background and teaching experiences in the letters |
The underlined word “it” in the fourth paragraph refers to
| A．the handbook | B．the requirement |
| C．the school | D．the letter |
We can infer from the last paragraph that
| A．parents were satisfied with Peselli’s way of working |
| B．Peselli means to surprise parents by writing students |
| C．Peselli seemed to be popular among boy students |
| D．all Peselli’s children are studying in high schools |
The purpose of the text is to ．
| A．introduce an English teaching method |
| B．give advice on how to teach students |
| C．encourage teachers to keep in touch with parents |
| D．show us how Dorothy Peselli makes teaching plans |
During my high school years, the most important thing was what I was wearing to the Friday night dance and who I was taking．Although college was talked about, it was the least of my worries．
When I was graduating eighth grade and starting high school, my elder brother was graduating twelfth grade and going onto college．For my graduation, he gave me a card in which he wrote, “Enjoy your four years…they go by fast．” I remember not believing him then, but looking back…he was right．Those four years shaped who I was as a person, pushed me to my limit and encouraged me to become an adult．
However, I was so completely absorbed in my junior and senior years of high school, that when someone spoke of college I brushed it off．I wasn't ready to leave my comfort zone of having all of my closest friends together and knowing what every single day was going to be like．Studying was something I did only AFTER I nailed my half-time dance performance．I knew my parents wanted me to go to college, so I told them I would go to community college (社区学院) and I didn’t worry about my SAT（美国大学入学考试）scores．
When my senior year passed and everyone graduated and went off to their own college, I started to wish I had done the same．My friends were living away, meeting new people, discovering new places, and I was living at home and driving to and from class every day．It seemed exactly like high school．I hated it! I thought college was supposed to be different! Why didn’t I take more time to research colleges and do the same? I ended up loving college and wishing I had four years to enjoy the campus atmosphere instead of two．
My advice to anyone thinking about attending college is to think about it very seriously and look into all of your choices well ahead of time．Now I have graduate and I am working full time and I would do anything to 
go back to my high school days for a second chance!Why didn’t the author worry about his SAT scores?
| A．He wanted to go to community college． |
| B．He had been admitted for his gift in dance． |
| C．He was well prepared for the exam． |
D．He b elieved his brother would help him． |
When in high school, the author
| A．drove to and from class every day． |
| B．buried himself in his study all the time． |
| C．enjoyed talking about future college life． |
| D．lived in the school except on holidays． |
What did the author’s brother mean by “Enjoy your four years…they go by fast”?
| A．He wished the author to have more dance． |
| B．He advised the author to value the years． |
| C．He encouraged the author to leave his comfort zone． |
| D．He suggested the author aim at a community college． |
Talking of his high school years, the author feels ．
| A．regretful | B．lonely | C．angry | D．pleased |
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