There lived a king who liked art. One day an artist offered to paint the most
beautiful picture in the world on the wall of his palace.
So the king said, “All right, you may work on one of the walls in the new hall.” Just then, another artist said, “ Please allow me to work on the opposite wall. I shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I shall do so without looking at his work. I would even request you to have a thick curtain put up between the two walls so the either of us cann’t see the other.”
Everyone in the king’s court, including the king and the first artist was surprised. So the king decided to give the man a chance.
The following day a thick curtain was put into place and both the artists got to work. The first artist brought in a regular supply of paint, oil and water. But the second one would come with a cloth and a bucket of water every day.
A month later the first artist said that his work was completed and invited the king to come.
So the king sent the message to the second artist, saying he was coming to see their works that evening.
After seeing the first artist’s wall, the king was very impressed with the painting and gave him a huge sum of money as a reward. He then asked for the curtain to be opened up.
The same painting was seen on the opposite wall too! It was exactly like the one on the first wall. But this man had not seen what was going on, on the other side of the curtain.
The man said simply, “It’s very easy I just polished the wall every day!”
It was a wall made of white marble. The fellow polished it till it shone like a mirror.
The reflection of the painting across the room showed up in it!A thick curtain was put up between the two walls in order to _____________.
| A．help them concentrate on their work. |
| B．keep the first artist’s painting a secret. |
| C．prevent their painting from being seen. |
| D．make it hare for them exchange ideas. |
Why did the first artist receive a large sum of money from the king?
| A．His painting satisfied the king. |
| B．His painting was the best the king has ever seen. |
| C．He painted better than the second artist. |
| D．The king promised to give him a reward. |
How was the king feeling when he saw second wall?
| A．Surprised and excited. | B．Fascinated and doubtful. |
| C．Satisfied and curious. | D．The paintings on the wall. |
What would be the best title of the text? _____________
| A．A king who loved art. | B．Two artists and the king. |
| C．Whose painting is better? | D．The painting on the wall. |
Plans to expand wind energy into the most scenic parts of Germany are meeting increasing opposition across the country.
Anti-wind campaigners are angry that areas including the forests made famous by the tales of the Brothers Grimm are among the targets for new turbines (涡轮机). For the first time they have formed a national opposition group to thwart the expansion. They say the expansion will damage forests and tourism across the country.
Germany has started a massive expansion of renewable energy since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 in Japan. The government decided to reduce atomic plants and instead increase the opportunities for green power. As a result, solar farms, biogas plants and wind parks are booming. In 2013, 22% of Germany’s electricity was generated by renewable energy. Wind has played a major part in this change, making up half of the renewable energy in 2013, and the public has been generally supportive. To date, a majority of the 23,000 wind turbines in the country have been built in the flat northern and eastern parts of the country. But now the focus of expansion is on the areas of dark forest in the central and southern areas of Germany.
One such region is the Rheinhardswald in the northern part of the state of Hesse. This is the home of the magical tales of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and others, made famous in the books of the Brothers Grimm. This scenic place is a magnet, attracting hundreds and thousands of tourists from all over the world. But now there are also plans to build up to 200 turbines in this scenic place!
Ann-Kathrin Blankenberg is a PhD student and an opponent of the plans. “It is not because this is the area of Sleeping Beauty,” she says, “I want the green movement, I want green technology, I don’t want nuclear power--- but they should be made in the right way and not by destroying the forests.”
The campaigners argue that putting wind turbines in this area makes no sense. The wind speeds are low and the area is home to some extremely rare birds including the endangered black stork. Campaigners say building turbines here would be disastrous for the birds.The underlined word “thwart” can be replaced by_____.
| A．support | B．prevent |
| C．increased | D．promote |
Which of the following does NOT belong to green power? _____.
| A．Solar energy | B．Wind energy |
| C．Bio-energy | D．Atomic energy |
What percentage of Germany’s electricity was generated by wind in 2013? _____.
| A．11% | B．22% | C．50% | D．60% |
What can be inferred from the passage? _____.
| A．The author is against building more wind turbines. |
| B．The public prefers wind energy to nuclear energy. |
| C．Most Germans object to building wind turbines all over Germany. |
| D．The central and southern areas of Germany are rich in wind energy. |
What is the main idea of the passage? _____.
| A．Wind parks are increasing rapidly all over Germany. |
| B．The Rheinhardswald is famous for the tales of Sleeping Beauty. |
| C．Expanding wind energy into the land of Sleeping Beauty causes controversy. |
| D．Building wind turbines in the land of Sleeping Beauty area makes no sense. |
The shocking disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has captured the attention of millions around the world as the search for the airplane and its passengers and crew continues. What happened to the flight’s 239 passengers and crew after the plane left Kuala Lumpur on Saturday? It is becoming an increasingly desperate question as the days pass.
But it’s hardly the first mystery of its kind. Here are some half-solved and unsolved airline mysteries that kept investigators clueless for years.
Air France Flight 447: An Airbus A330 flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, killing all 228 passengers and crew on board. But it took a full five days for search and rescue teams to find the wreck（残骸）and another three years for investigators to report that ice crystals had caused the autopilot (自动驾驶仪) to disconnect. The bodies of 74 passengers remain unrecovered.
Amelia Earhart: Ace (王牌) pilot Amelia Earhart disappeared in her twin-engine monoplane Electra over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. No trace of her plane was ever found even after a multi-million dollar search effort, and Earhart was officially declared dead in 1939.
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739: A U.S. military flight left Guam in 1962 with more 90 personnel headed for the Philippines, but it never arrived. The pilots never issued a distress call, and 1,300 people involved in the U.S. military search never found any trace of wreckage.
British South American Airways: It took more than 50 years to find any trace of the 11 people aboard a 1947 flight that disappeared in the Andes Mountains. A pair of Argentineans rock climbers discovered engine wreckage in the Andes in 1998, and an army expedition later found human remains as well.
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571: A flight headed to Santiago, Chile carrying 45 passengers and crew crashed into the Andes Mountains in poor weather in 1972, killing twelve people. In the meantime, eight were killed in an avalanche (雪崩) that hit the plane’s wreckage where they were taking shelter, and the rest stayed alive by eating the flesh of the dead before they were finally found more than two months after disappearing out of the sky.The underlined word “plunged” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____.
| A．jumped | B．broke |
| C．flew | D．dived |
What can we learn from Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571? _____.
| A．12 people were lost until now. |
| B．25 people were rescued instantly. |
| C．The rest who stayed alive killed 8 people. |
| D．8 were killed by a fall of a large mass of snow down a mountainside. |
From the passage, what could have led to British South American Airways crash? _____.
| A．The bad weather. | B．Not mentioned. |
| C．The ice crystals. | D．The lightening. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? _____.
| A．Earhart was declared dead by the authorities two years later. |
| B．The bodies of Flight 447 had all been found after three years. |
| C．Two Argentineans rock climbers discovered the dead in the Andes. |
| D．Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was regarded as the largest air crash. |
The passage has been written to _____.
| A．introduce the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 |
| B．explain how to avoid airplane disappearances as a pilot |
| C．tell readers mysterious airplane disappearances in Aviation History |
| D．call on people to protect themselves |
“It’s So Good” in French, was one of Eartha Mae Kitt’s first hit songs. But her childhood wasn’t so good. She was born into a poor family in South Carolina in nineteen twenty-seven. When Eartha was eight, her mother remarried. Her stepfather did not like her so she was sent to New York City to live with an aunt, who helped pay for her piano and dance lessons.
Eartha Kitt worked in a factory as a young teenager. But she kept up her dance lessons. One day she tried out for a famous African-American dance company. Soon, Eartha was performing in shows around the world with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe.
In Paris, Eartha left the dance company to sing in a nightclub. Her voice was very attracting. She learned French quickly and gained French fans. Soon the film director Orson Welles discovered Eartha Kitt singing in Paris. Welles asked her to play a lead part in a play he was directing. The play made her find her acting talent for the first time.
After that Eartha Kitt returned to New York and appeared in the Broadway show with “Monotonous”, a song about a bored woman, and it became famous. She soon signed with a record company.
Then Eartha Kitt acted her first role in a film in nineteen fifty-seven in “Mark of the Hawk”. Kitt was very careful about choosing her roles in films. She refused parts that were not respectful to black people. In nineteen sixty-seven, Eartha Kitt got the part of Catwoman on the popular television series “Batman”. Fans loved the special way she said her “r”s to create a sound like a cat, which made her an unforgettable Catwoman.
She was strongly against the Vietnam War and in nineteen sixty-eight she became blacklisted (列入黑名单) in America. For about ten years, she could only find work in other countries. But that brought her a greater international achievement.What did Eartha Kitt do when she first performed around the world?_____.
| A．Sing | B．Dance |
| C．Direct | D．Act |
Who helped Eartha Kitt find her acting talent? _____.
| A．Her mother | B．Her aunt |
| C．Her stepfather | D．Orson Welles. |
What is the order of the things that happened to Eartha Kitt? _____.
a. playing in her first film b. winning some French fans
c. living with an aunt d. playing a role in a play
e. singing “Monotonous” f. receiving dance training
| A．cfbdea | B．fcbdea |
| C．fcdeab | D．cfbaed |
What made Eartha Kitt an unforgettable Catwoman in “Batman”? _____.
| A．Her walking steps. | B．The looks on her face. |
| C．Her way of speaking “r”. | D．Her good singing skills. |
What might be talked in the following paragraph? _____.
| A．Eartha Kitt’s bings. |
| B．Eartha Kitt’s families in America. |
| C．Eartha Kitt’s international success. |
| D．Eartha Kitt’s hard life after being blacklisted. |
Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's tummy.
The pregnancy progresses normally for Karen. But complications arise during delivery. Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital.
The little girl gets worse. The doctor tells the parents, "There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst." Karen and her husband have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby — now they plan a funeral.
Michael, keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he says. But kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. However, Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. “If he doesn't see his sister now, he may never see her alive.” She dresses him in an oversized scrub suit and marches him into ICU. The head nurse recognizes him as a child and bellows, "Get that kid out of here now! " The mother, the usually mild-mannered lady glares steel-eyed into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line. "He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen tows Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray”
Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate becomes calm and steady.
"You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away "
The ragged, strained breathing becomes as smooth as a kitten's purr.
Keep on singing, Michael. Tears conquer the face of the bossy head nurse as well as Karen.
Funeral plans are scrapped. The next, day — the very next day — the little girl is well enough to go home!
NEVER GIVE UP THE ONE WE LOVE!How did Michal’s feel when he knew that he was going to have a sister?
| A．indifferent. | B．worried. |
| C．expectant. | D．disappointed. |
The doctor recommended the family ___________.
| A．get ready for the worst result. |
| B．wait for the hope in the near future. |
| C．prepare much more money for the infant. |
| D．prepare for another chance in other hospitals. |
Which word can best replace the underlined word in Paragraph 4?
| A．pointed. | B．yelled. |
| C．whispered. | D．ignored. |
What happened when Michael sang to his little sister?
| A．The little baby responded to his song and woke up immediately. |
| B．The baby heard the song and burst into tears. |
| C．The baby’s physical signs disappeared eventually. |
| D．The baby recovered from the dangerous state of coma gradually. |
Telepathy: Mind-to-mind Contact
Telepathy is the ability to communicate without the use of the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste). It’s an instinct (本能) which can be woken up in times of emergency or need. When we feel that something is happening or about to happen by instinct, we’re using resources within the unconscious mind. When the resources of two persons’ unconscious minds link together into the same frequency, we call it Telepathy.
We can either send or receive Telepathy. If you know who is calling before you answer the ringing phone, you are probably a good receiver. If you think of a person and he/she calls you, you are most likely to be better at sending.
You can easily put your abilities to the test. Think of somebody and will him or her to contact you. Be patient. The other person may not be a good receiver, but they should contact you much earlier than would normally be expected. Or whenever the phones rings, but try “feeling” who is contacting you. Don’t guess, but try to feel it with your mind. However, if neither of these work for you, that doesn’t mean that you have no ability of telepathy. As mentioned earlier, telepathy is most likely to turn up in case of emergency.
Telepathy dreams often contain telepathic messages. Two people may both dream of the other and find that their dreams had a clear connection. These people are probably linking to each other’s unconscious mind.
Telepathy & Relationships. The more people spend time together, the more likely they are to be able to link up to the other’s mind, especially when separated. There are two reasons for this. One is that they understand the other’s mind through time spent together; the other is that there is usually a strong desire to communicate. A mother will often sense that her child is in danger. This is due to the child’s eagerly wanting his or her mother, knowing that this person who would always want to be there for them, and the mother’s deep desire to protect her child from harm.Telepathy turns up when we ____.
| A．think of a stranger |
| B．use the five senses together |
| C．recall things from our memory |
| D．sense a close friend in danger |
You’re better at sending than receiving Telepathy if you ____.
| A．can tell who knocks at your door |
| B．can feel your mom is in danger |
| C．receive a friend’s call as you wish |
| D．dream of a friend dreaming of you |
Which is not the way to help people gain Telepathy?
| A．Help them have a strong desire to communicate. |
| B．Separate them all the time. |
| C．Help them link up their unconscious minds. |
| D．Let them spend much time together. |
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