Before she appeared on the reality show(真人秀) Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle was just an ordinary middle-aged British woman. Now all this is going to change.
She lives in a house with her cat Pebbles in a tiny Scottish town. Because of learning difficulties, she doesn’t have much education. But what she does have is a very good voice. As a kid, she sang in church and choirs and school plays. For a living, she sang at local pubs.
When she took the stage on April 10th her hair was untidy and her clothes seemed just one step up from rags. The audience laughed at her.
But then she opened her mouth. A few bars into the song and the laughing audience went silent. A beautiful voice was singing I Dreamed a Dream from the musical Les Miserables. Everyone was amazed. At the end of her song, the audience jumped to their feet and applauded wildly.
Almost overnight, Susan became a household name. She won fans and millions of admirers. Her online videos have drawn over 85.2 million hits.
Susan’s story proved the truth of an old saying: “Never judge the book by its cover.” Susan may look ordinary, and doesn’t have much dress sense, but she can certainly sing.
Susan’s fans admire her courage, as much as they do her voice. She has experienced mockery and many disappointments, but her love for music has kept her going, which is worth anyone’s respect. According to the passage, Susan Boyle _______.
| A．is a famous young actress |
| B．became famous after a show |
| C．used to be a good student |
| D．is good at dancing and has millions of admirers |
The underlined phrase “just one step up from” in the third paragraph probably means______.
| A．far from | B．close to | C．different from | D．the same as |
The audience jumped and applauded wildly because__________.
| A．her hair was untidy and her clothes seemed just one step up from rags |
| B．she looked very funny |
| C．she sang so well that everyone was amazed |
| D．she made a foolish mistake in the end |
Susan Boyle has many fans now because of _______.
| A．her beautiful face |
| B．her knowing how to dress |
| C．her good education |
| D．her beautiful voice and courage |
The passage is mainly about___________,
| A．how to win fans |
| B．how to sing well |
| C．a woman’s sudden success |
| D．a woman’s simple life |
Imagine your body is like the house you live in．Every day, your family creates rubbish．The rubbish builds up until it is put out for the weekly garbage collection．
Now, say you put three bags of garbage out, but because one of the collectors was away sick, only two bags are collected．You take the leftover bag inside to be put out again next week．The following week you put on another three bags, plus the leftover bag from last week．But again, only two bags are collected．Imagine this cycle is repeated over the following weeks．
This is a simple description of what happens to your body when your kidneys （肾脏）don't work efficiently．Your body is not thoroughly emptied of waste products．Other areas of the body such as blood pressure and red blood cell production are affected and the insidious process that may lead to kidney failure begins．
It's not uncommon for people to lose up to 90% of their kidney function before developing any symptoms．There may be no warning signs. This makes early detection （诊查）difficult．
Kidney's main job is to remove toxins（毒素） and unwanted water from our blood．Every day our kidneys clean an average of 200 litres of blood．Kidney failure may be a gradual and silent process, going unnoticed because there is no obvious pain．
Research shows that more than 35% of the patients requiring dialysis（透析）do not see a kidney specialist before they have to do so．Some risk factors for kidney disease such as age and genetic make-up are out of our control; however, some changes in lifestyle may help prevent kidney damage．Two major risk factors for kidney disease, diabetes （糖尿病）and high blood pressure, have been on the rise over the last few decades．Both conditions are chiefly affected by being overweight and not getting enough exercises, which are the potential (潜在的) risk factors for the kidney disease．The author gives the example of the house we live in to indicate that ______．
| A．it doesn't matter much if the waste in our body is not emptied in time |
| B．our body will not produce any waste if our kidneys work efficiently |
| C．it's important for our body to empty the waste in time every day |
| D．it's safe and harmless for our body to keep some waste |
The underlined word “insidious” in Paragraph 3 means .
| A．smooth and safe | B．apparent and fast |
| C．gradual and unnoticed | D．long and painful |
We can infer that when we find some symptoms related to our kidneys, .
| A．the kidney failure begins |
| B．the kidneys can still work properly |
| C．we have lost about 10% of kidney function |
| D．the kidneys may have been seriously damaged |
How many risk factors of kidney disease are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Six. | B．Five. | C．Four. | D．Two. |
Which of the following helps prevent kidney damage most effectively?
| A．Go to see a kidney specialist shortly before dialysis starts. |
| B．Take enough exercise and make early detection of kidney disease. |
| C．Try to keep low blood pressure and a stable lifestyle. |
| D．Go to hospital whenever you find any warning signs. |
Celebrity endorsements
Despite the fact that companies believe celebrities had a lot of pull with regard to the buying trends of consumers, researchers have discovered that this does not seem to be the case. British and Swiss researchers carried out a study showing that advertisements made by celebrities like David Beckham and Scarlett Johansson are not as effective as those by ordinary people.
In a sample of 298 students, researchers presented a magazine advertisement for a digital camera that was endorsed (为…做广告宣传) by a fictional student claiming the camera was “hot” and his “preferred choice”. The same advertisement was shown to other students, but with a difference: The camera was endorsed by a famous person in Germany.
While the students said that both advertisements were beneficial, the one made by the student topped the celebrity one if students aimed to impress others with their purchases (购买). More than half of the students, who admitted purchasing products that would impress others, said they were influenced by the student’s advertisement. Only 20％ said the celebrity one would affect their buying decision.
Professor Brett Martin of the University of Bath’s School of Management, explained that the findings could be used not only in Germany, but in other countries as well. “ Our research questions whether celebrities are the best ways to sell products,” said Prof Martin.“Celebrities can be effective but we found that many people were more convinced by an endorsement from a fictional fellow student. This is because many people feel a need to keep up with the Jones when they buy.”Some companies think the celebrities endorsement ．
| A．is popular with the consumers |
| B．can pull all the consumers into the shops |
| C．can affect the consumers’ purchasing |
| D．is as effective as an endorsement from common people |
Which of the following ads would be more effective to common consumers, according to
the experiment?
An ad featuring lovely pandas.
An ad made by David Beckham.
An ad made by fictional common people.
An ad with beautiful natural scenery. The underlined words “the Jones” in the last paragragh refer to“ ”．
| A．someone called Jones | B．common people |
| C．the Jones family | D．celebrities |
We can infer from the passage that ．
| A．celebrities cheat consumers in advertisement |
| B．the researchers here are against celebrity endorsement |
| C．the student’s ads are more reliable than those made by celebrities |
| D．companies needn’t spend so much money on celebrity endorsement |
We can probably read the article in ．
| A．a local newspaper | B．a science report |
| C．an academic journal | D．a textbook |
In the United States, friendships can be close, constant, intense, generous, and real, yet fade away in a short time if circumstances (环境) change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greeting for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while --- then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship where it left off and are delighted.
In the States, you can feel free to visit people’s homes, share their holidays, enjoy their children and their lives without fear that you are taking on a lasting obligation. Do not hesitate to accept hospitality because you cannot give it in return. No one will expect you to do so for they know you are far from home. Americans will enjoy welcoming you and be pleased if you accept their hospitality easily.
Once you arrive there, the welcome will be full and warm and real. Most visitors find themselves readily invited into many homes there. In some countries it is considered inhospitable to entertain at home, offering what is felt as “merely” home cooked food, not “doing something” for your guest. It is felt that restaurant entertaining shows more respect and welcome. Or for various other reasons, such as crowded space, language difficulties, or family custom, outsiders are not invited into homes.
In the United States, both methods are used, but it is often considered more friendly to invite a person to one’s home than to go to a public place, except in purely business relationships. So, if your host or hostess brings you home, do not feel that you are being shown inferior (差的) treatment.
Don’t feel neglected (被忽视) if you do not find flowers awaiting you in your hotel room either. Flowers are very expensive there, hotel delivery (递送，投递) is uncertain, arrival times are delayed, changed, or canceled – so flowers are not customarily (通常) sent as a welcoming touch. Please do not feel unwanted! Outward signs vary in different lands; the inward welcome is what matters, and this will be real.In the United States, you will find friendships __________ if circumstances change.
| A．die suddenly | B．pass away |
| C．disappear gradually | D．last forever |
Americans _________ their foreign friends to make a return for their hospitality.
| A．ask | B．wish | C．never allow | D．don’t expect |
In some other countries, giving a dinner party at home is considered _______ than in a restaurant.
| A．less formal | B．less hospitable |
| C．more natural | D．more popular |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Flowers are available at all time. |
| B．Flowers are expensive. |
| C．Flowers are signs of outward welcome. |
| D．Flowers are not necessarily sent to guests. |
Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．American Hospitality | B．American Friendships |
| C．American Invitation | D．American Welcome |
Remember how great exercise was when you were a little kid? Back then，racing around the playground or skipping rope for hours，you weren't thinking fitness，you were thinking entertainment．But in this age of high-tech home equipment and underused(未充分利用的)gym memberships，the simple joy of jumping rope has been forgotten．Rediscovering it will give you a total-body exercise you can find．
Although considered an excellent form of exercise，jumping rope has never gained widespread acceptance because of two fundamental reasons．First，most people recognize jumping rope as an excellent form of cardiovascular (心血管的) exercise，but they also believe that it is simply too difficult．In other words，they don't think they'll be able to continue jumping for the near 20 minutes that it takes to achieve a beneficial physical result．Second, many view it as somewhat boring and too repetitive-not as something fun or enjoyable．
As a matter of fact，jumping rope can be great fun if you find a proper way to practise it．Instead of doing the usual two-foot bounce over and over again，people good at rope-jumping often change their pattern every 10 or 20 jumps．A single bounce，a double bounce，a skip，a knee-up，side swings，as well as a variety of other easy-to-learn free-style rope-jumping．
Now researchers are learning that jumping rope also prepares the brain for learning．It is an exercise allowing both brain hemispheres(半球)to perform in parallel(并行地)to each other．In short，jumping rope can be a life-long activity requiring little equipment，time and space，yet leading to a much healthier life．From the first paragraph we learn that_______ ．
| A．all people now have more advanced equipment |
| B．jumping rope has disappeared from people's memories |
| C．racing around the playground was preferred |
| D．people now like to have exercise in a gym |
Rope jumping has not spread widely because_______ ．
| A．it benefits the cardiovascular system |
| B．it requires little equipment，time and space |
| C．it is neither easy nor enjoyable |
| D．it is considered boring |
The first sentence in the 3rd paragraph implies_____ ．
| A．there are many ways to follow |
| B．the usual way should not be used |
| C．the easiest way is always the best |
| D．there is only one proper way to follow |
According to the researchers, jumping rope _____.
| A．only prepares the brain for learning. |
| B．is suitable for students only |
| C．helps both brain hemispheres work together |
| D．can be dangerous for old people |
What is the author's attitude towards rope jumping?
| A．He is arguing against it. | B．He is sitting on the fence of it. |
| C．He is in favor of it. | D．He is not clear about it. |
He came into the room to shut the windows while we were still in bed and I saw he looked ill. He was shivering, his face was white, and he walked slowly as though it ached to move.
“What's the matter, Schatz?”
“I've got a headache.”
“You better go back to bed.”
“No. I'm all right.”
“You go to bed. I'll see you when I'm dressed.”
But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking a very sick and miserable boy of nine years. When I put my hand on his forehead I knew he had a fever.
“You go up to bed,” I said, “You're sick.”
“I'm all right,” he said.
When the doctor came he took the boy's temperature.
“What's is it?” I asked him.
“One hundred and two.”
Downstairs, the doctor left three different medicines in different colored capsules with instructions for giving them. One was to bring down the fever, another a purgative(泻药), the third to overcome an acid condition. The germs of influenza（流感）can only exist in an acid condition, he explained. He seemed to know all about influenza and said there was nothing to worry about if the fever did not go above one hundred and four degrees. This was a light epidemic(传染病；传染性的) of flu and there was no danger if you avoided pneumonia（肺炎）.
Back in the room I wrote the boy's temperature down and made a note of the time to give the various capsules.
“Do you want me to read to you?”
“All right. If you want to, “ said the boy. His face was very white and there were dark areas under his eyes. He lay still in the bed and seemed very detached（超然的；冷漠的）from what was going on.
I read aloud from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates（海盗）;but I could see he was not following what I was reading.
“How do you feel, Schatz?” I asked him.
“Just the same, so far,” he said.
I sat at the foot of the bed and read to myself while I waited for it to be time to give another capsule. It would have been natural for him to go to sleep, but when I looked up he was looking at the foot of the bed, looking very strangely.
“Why don't you try to sleep? I'll wake you up for the medicine.”
“I'd rather stay awake.”
After a while he said to me, “You don't have to stay in here with me, Papa, if it bothers you.”
“It doesn't bother me.”
“No, I mean you don't have to stay if it's going to bother you.”
I thought perhaps he was a little lightheaded and after giving him the prescribed capsules at eleven o'clock I went out with my gun and the young hunting dog….I killed two quail(鹌鹑), and missed five, and started back pleased to have found a covey of quail close to the house and happy there were so many left to find on another day.
At the house they said the boy had refused to let anyone come into the room.
“You can't come in,” he said. “You mustn't get what I have.”
I went up to him and found him in exactly the position I had left him, white-faced, but with the tops of his cheeks flushed（发红）by the fever, staring still, as he had stared, at the foot of the bed.
I took his temperature.
“What is it?”
“Something like a hundred,” I said. It was one hundred and two and four tenths.
“It was a hundred and two,” he said.
“Who said so?”
“The doctor.”
“Your temperature is all right,” I said. “It's nothing to worry about.”
“I don't worry,” he said, “but I can't keep from thinking.”
“Don't think,” I said. “Just take it easy.”
“I'm taking it easy,” he said and looked straight ahead, He was evidently holding tight onto himself about something.
“Take this with water.”
“Do you think it will do any good?”
“Of course it will.”
I sat down and opened the Pirate book and began to read, but I could see he was not following, so I stopped.
“About what time do you think I'm going to die?” he asked.
“What?”
“About how long will it be before I die?”
“You aren't going to die. What's the matter with you? “
“Oh, yes, I am, I heard him say a hundred and two.”
“People don't die with a fever of one hundred and two. That's a silly way to talk.”
“I know they do. At school in France the boys told me you can't live with forty-four degrees. I've got a hundred and two.”
He had been waiting to die all day, ever since nine o'clock in the morning.
“You poor Schatz,” I said. “Poor old Schatz. It's like miles and kilometers. You aren't going to die. That's different thermometer. On that thermometer thirty-seven is normal. On this kind it's ninety-eight.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” I said, “It's like miles and kilometers. You know, like how many kilometers we make when we do seventy miles in the car?”
“Oh,” he said.
But his gaze at the foot of the bed relaxed slowly. The hold over himself relaxed too, finally, and the next day it was very slack(松驰的) and he cried very easily at little things that were of no importance.The author writes about the doctor’s visit in order to _____.
| A．show the doctor’s knowledge about influenza and its treatment |
| B．show the boy’s illness was quite serious |
| C．create a situation of misunderstanding around which to build a story |
| D．show the father was very much concerned about the boy’s illness |
The pronoun “it” in “Papa, if it bothers you” (line 41) refers to _____.
| A．the boy’s high temperature |
| B．the father giving the medicine to the boy |
| C．the father staying with the boy |
| D．the boy’s death |
It can be inferred from the story that it is _____ by the time the father gets home from hunting.
| A．early in the afternoon |
| B．close to evening |
| C．at noon |
| D．late in the morning |
From the story we know that the boy kept tight control over himself because _____.
| A．he did not want to be a bother to others |
| B．he wanted to recover quickly so that he could go hunting with his father |
| C．he was afraid that he would die if he lost control over himself |
| D．he thought he was going to die and he must show courage in the face of death |
That the boy cried very easily at little things of no importance the next day suggests that _____.
| A．he couldn’t control his emotions when he finally relaxed |
| B．his father would go out hunting without him if he didn’t cry |
| C．something went wrong with his brain after the fever |
| D．he often complained about unimportant things as a spoiled boy |
The theme of the story is _____.
| A．death is something beyond a child’s comprehension |
| B．to be calm and controlled in the face of death is a mark of courage |
| C．misunderstanding can occur even between father and son |
| D．misunderstanding can sometimes lead to an unexpected effect |
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