Individuality is the particular character, or aggregate (total) of qualities that distinguishes one person or thing from others. Many artists late in the last century were in search of a means to express their individuality. Modern dance was one of the ways some of these people sought to free their creative spirit. At the beginning there was no exacting technique, no foundation from which to build. In later years, trial, error and genius founded the techniques and the principles of the movement. Eventually, innovators (改革者) even drew from what they considered the dread ballet, but first they had to get rid of all that was academic so that the new could be discovered. The beginnings of modern dance were happening before Isadora Duncan, but she was the first person to bring the new dance to general audiences and see it accepted and acclaimed (称赞).
Her search for a natural movement form sent her to nature. She believed movement should be as natural as the swaying of the trees and the rolling waves of the sea, and should be in harmony with the movements of the Earth. Her great contributions are in three areas.
First, she began the expansion of the kinds of movement that could be used in dance. Before Duncan danced, ballet was the only type of dance performed in concert. In the ballet the feet and legs were emphasized, with virtuosity (高超技巧) shown by complex, codified positions and movements. Duncan performed dance by using her body in the freest possible way. Her dance stemmed from her soul and spirit. She was one of the pioneers who broke tradition so others might be able to develop the art.
Her second contribution lies in dance costume. She rejected ballet shoes and stiff costumes. These were replaced with flowing Grecian (希腊式的) tunes, bare feet, and unbound hair. She believed in the natural body being allowed to move freely, and her dress displayed this ideal.
Her third contribution was in the use of music. In her performances she used the symphonies of great masters including Beethoven and Wagner, which was not the usual custom.
She was as exciting and eccentric (怪异) in her personal life as in her dance.According to the passage, what did nature represent to Isadora Duncan?
| A．Something to conquer. | B．A model for movement. |
| C．A place to find peace. | D．A symbol of disorder. |
Compared to those of the ballet, Isadora Duncan’s costumes were less _________.
| A．costly | B．colorful |
| C．graceful | D．restrictive |
Which of the following is not mentioned as an area of dance that Duncan worked to change?
| A．The stage set. | B．The music. |
| C．Costumes. | D．Movements. |
We can infer from the passage that the author _________.
| A．appreciates modern dance very much |
| B．dislikes Isadora Duncan’s dance |
| C．thinks highly of individuality |
| D．knows a lot about modern arts |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Artists of the Last Century |
| B．Evolution of Dance in the 20th Century |
| C．Natural Movement in Dance |
| D．A Pioneer in Modern Dance |
Nuclear radiation （核辐射）has a certain mystery, partly because it cannot be detected （探测）by human senses. It can’t be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around us but we can’t detect them or sense them without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can’t sense radioactivity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things.
At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being at once by killing plenty of cells in important organs(器官). Even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no level of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be serious. This is the case when only a few cells are hit, and when they are killed at once. Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They reproduce themselves in an unusual way. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years.
This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the knowledge of the person at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated(放射治疗) and feel fine, then die of cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. A child can be born weak or easy to get serious illness as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents.According to the passage, the danger of nuclear power lies in .
| A．nuclear mystery | B．radiation detection |
| C．radiation level | D．nuclear radiation |
Radiation can lead to serious trouble even at the lowest level .
| A．when it kills a few cells |
| B．because the killed cells can’t be replaced |
| C．if it damages a few cells |
| D．unless the damaged cells can reproduce themselves |
What does the author want to tell us?
| A．Radiation can hurt us. | B．Radiation is a subject scientists work on. |
| C．Radiation is a mystery. | D．Radiation is the source of cancer. |
Most young people enjoy some form of physical activity. It may be walking, cycling, or swimming, or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be games of football, hockey, golf, or tennis. It may be mountaineering.
Those who have a passion for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks on high mountains? This astonishment is caused probably by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their relaxation.
Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no man-made rules, as there are for such games as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of a different kind which it would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from man-made rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods.
If we compare mountaineering and other more familiar sports, we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a “team game”. We should be mistaken in this. There are, it is true, no “matches” between “teams” of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork.
The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical qualities.
A mountain climber continues to improve in skill year after year. A skier (滑雪者) is probably past his best by the age of thirty, and most international tennis champions are in their early twenties. But it is not unusual for a man of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they probably climb with more skill and less waste of effort, and they certainly experience equal enjoyment. The main difference between a sport and a game lies in .
| A．activity | B．uniform | C．rules | D．skills |
Mountaineering can be called a team sport because .
| A．mountaineers depend on each other while climbing |
| B．teams compete against each other |
| C．it is an Olympic event |
| D．there are five climbers on each team |
Which of the following might be the best title?
| A．How to Climb High Mountains | B．Mountain Climbers |
| C．Challenging Sports Activities | D．Mountaineering |
A well-known manufacturer of weighing machines produced a new model.
The machine had a computer inside it, and this computer could do wonderful things: it could weigh people very accurately; it could tell them their weight in their own language; and it could tell them what they should eat to reduce their weight.
The manufacturer decided to try out his machine before he sold it to the shops.
He looked around for a good place to put it and finally decided on an airport. There were always people at an airport from many different countries.
The first person to use the machine was an Italian woman. She stood on the machine, put a coin in and waited to hear her weight.
The machine took only a second or two to weigh her, decide on her nationality and the language she spoke, and figure out what kind of food she should eat.
“Good morning, madam,” it said in perfect Italian. “Your weight is 72 kilos, three more than it should be for a woman of your height, age and nationality. This is because you have been eating too much spaghetti. I suggest you eat more fruit and vegetables. Please have a nice day”.
The second person to use the machine was a Chinese girl. She stood on the machine, put a coin in and waited to hear her weight.
“Good morning, Miss," the machine said in perfect Chinese. "Your weight is 38 kilos, exactly the correct weight for your height, age and nationality. Continue to eat what you are eating. Please have a nice day.”
The third person to use the machine was a huge Australian woman. She walked up to the machine and looked at it for a long time. At last she found the courage to stand on the machine and put a coin in. The machine spoke immediately. “Good morning. Will one of you ladies please get off?” What could the computer do?
| A．Weigh and talk to people. | B．Translate information. |
| C．Give them diet pills. | D．Make them lose weight. |
What did the machine say to the Italian woman?
| A．She was a little too light. | B．She was a little too heavy. |
| C．She disliked spaghetti. | D．She couldn’t speak Italian. |
What did the machine say to the Chinese woman?
| A．She should eat more. | B．She could speak Chinese. |
| C．She would have a nice day. | D．She was fine. |
What did the machine suggest about the Australian woman?
| A．She was unwell. | B．She was courageous. |
| C．She was too heavy. | D．She had dieted well. |
Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always told me, “You should have goals like climbing the mountain.” Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed . We couldn’t have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy. I really got a lot from mountain-climbing. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience (耐力).
Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing . I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds’ singing, but as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. I wanted to quit climbing. In fact, I hated it at that mountain, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it before you reach the top. Only there at the top, can you see all of the nice things, just like in life.”
At that time, I was too young to understand his words. But later after that, I got knew hope and confidence. I found myself standing at the top of the sky, which was as clear as crystal (水晶). The passage tells us that mountain-climbing was _____for Father and Son.
| A．hard | B．enjoyable | C．painful | D．comfortable |
The word “quit” in the passage means “______”.
| A．carry on | B．put off | C．give up | D．pick up |
Which of the following is the closest (最接近的) in meaning to the father’s words in the second paragraph?
| A．You will get all you need at the top of the mountain. |
| B．The sky is always as clear as crystal. |
| C．You can find life is full of nice things. |
| D．Never give up half-way. |
We can infer (推断) from the last paragraph that ______.
| A．the writer was very successful in his life. |
| B．the writer reached the top of the mountain. |
| C．thought the writer was young, he could understand his father. |
| D．the writer used to stop half-way when he climbed the mountain. |
The best title (题目) for the passage is “______”.
| A．Reaching the Top of the Mountain | B．Standing at the Top of the Mountain |
| C．Conversations between Father and Son | D．How to Get to the Top of the Mountain |
Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is small. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
Enough laws have been made to fight against pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers' exhibition (展览).There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers' exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent a day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves.
Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.Australia is
| A．the largest country in the world | B．larger than China |
| C．as large as Shanghai | D．not so large as China |
Enough laws have been made to__
| A．increase the population | B．grow more plants |
| C．fight against pollution | D．show wild flowers |
Perth is_
| A．the capital of Australia | B．in the west of Australia |
| C．in the east of Australia | D．the biggest city in Australia |
In Perth you may visit a wild flowers' exhibition in
| A．October | B．January | C．May | D．July |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
| A．All the big cities in Australia are seriously polluted. |
| B．Australia .is famous for its sheep, kangaroos and large population. |
| C．We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of the white sheep.. |
| D．If you go to the countryside in Australia, you will see a large number of White sheep. |
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