Few of us haven’t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams．Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone’s heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity （默默无闻）．
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too．Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school．
Mary is shy but loves to dance．Compared with other girls, she is invisible．However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears．
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable．Mary and Joey’s paths cross at a ball．They meet and fall in love with each other．But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams．Of course, there is a wicked stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies．Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn’t get into the top dance school．Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her．
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale．Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful．There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies．
“The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point,” writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson．“Yet the focus is firmly on following your dream．”The first paragraph is mainly to _________．
| A．inform us of the importance to marry a prince |
| B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years |
| C．build interest and lead us to Mary’s secret dream |
| D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is |
In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who _________．
| A．is badly treated by the stepmother |
| B．is brave in expressing her love |
| C．has a dream of meeting a prince |
| D．is embarrassed by the pop singer |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary’s class． |
| B．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary． |
| C．Not many people have a dream to be realized． |
| D．Mary’s mother influences her a lot in singing． |
What does movie critic Amber Wilkinson mean by his words about Another Cinderella Story?
| A．The movie is exactly another copy of the Cinderella fairytale． |
| B．The movie is as good as the story Cinderella． |
| C．The movie and Cinderella both focus on following your dream． |
| D．The movie is based on the story Cinderella while a little different from it． |
The passage is mainly about _________．
| A．an introduction to Mary Santiago |
| B．a review about a film |
| C．an essay about dreams |
| D．an advertisement of Cinderella |
You wake up in the morning，the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time．Then the telephone rings，you say hello, and the drama starts．The person on the other end has a depressing(令人沮丧的) tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to．You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!
Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness．It may not change what you think，but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time．
Life brings ups and downs，but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer．They only feel glad when they make others feel bad．No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect．
When you communicate with positive people，your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted．When the dagger(匕首)of a negative person is put in you．you feel the heavy feeling that all in all，brings you down．
Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people．This could be a co-worker，or relative．In this case，say what needs to be said as little as possible． Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to a negative person，but all this does is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that．
Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized．The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to(附着)you throughout the rest of your day，which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness．Life is too short to feel negative．Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible．The purpose of the first paragraph is to __________ ．
| A．make a comparison | B．offer an evidence |
| C．introduce a topic | D．describe a daily scene |
How can negative people have effect on us?
| A．By influencing our emotion． |
| B．By telling US the nature of life． |
| C．By changing our way of thinking． |
| D．By comparing their attitude to life with ours． |
Some negative people base their happiness on _________ ．
| A．other people’s pity for them |
| B．making other people unhappy |
| C．building up a positive attitude |
| D．other people’s respect for them |
According to the passage, to reduce negative people's influence on us，
we are advised _______ ．
| A．to change negative people’s attitude to life |
| B．to show our dissatisfaction to negative people |
| C．to make negative people feel ashamed of themselves |
| D．to communicate with negative people as little as possible |
Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office. "The railway owes me $12, " she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office. "You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me $12. “
Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. "Come into the office, Madam, "he said politely. "I'll check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd."
The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn't have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. "You look sunburnt, "he said to her. "Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?"
"Yes", she answered, shyly. "The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!"
"That's fine, "said Harry. "My little girl can't swim a bit yet. Of course, she's only three”
"I'm four, "the child said proudly. "I'll be four and a half. "
Harry turned to the mother." I remember your ticket, Madam, "he said. "But you didn't get one for your daughter, did you?"
"Er, well", "the woman looked at the child." I mean … she hasn't started school yet. She's only four. "
"A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child's return ticket to Jersey costs' "let me see … $ 13. 5. So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owe $1. 5. The law is law, but since the fault (过错) was mine…".
The woman stood up, took the child's hand and left the office.The woman was angry because .
| A．she returned home one day later than she thought |
| B．she spent more money than she had planned |
| C．there was no ship when she arrived at the station in Jersey |
| D．the young man didn't sell her the ticket for a round trip |
Harry felt worried because .
| A．he didn't change the timetable in time |
| B．the woman was too angry with him |
| C．the woman didn't buy a ticket for her daughter |
| D．he didn't do his work carefully enough |
Harry started talking to the little girl because .
| A．he had a little girl about the same age as this girl |
| B．he wanted to find a way out from the little girl |
| C．he was in difficulty and did not know what to do |
| D．he wanted to show his friendliness to the little girl |
The underlined sentence means that .
| A．she should pay $1. 5, but as he had made a mistake, she could go without paying |
| B．the woman had to pay him $1. 5, and the railway would pay for the hotel |
| C．they have to follow it without other choice, even though the fault was his |
| D．he must be strict with the woman because of the laws, though he didn't want to |
To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain, Its first use was as a shade against the sun! Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the eleventh century BC.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors.Which of the following statements is not true about the umbrella?
| A．No one exactly knows who the inventor of the umbrella was |
| B．The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun. |
| C．The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century |
| D．In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. |
A strange feature of the umbrella’s use is that it was used as__________.
| A．protection against rain |
| B．a shade against the sun |
| C．a symbol of honor and power |
| D．women’s decoration (装饰) |
In Europe, the umbrella was first used against the rain_____________.
| A．during the Middle Ages |
| B．by the eighteenth |
| C．in Rome |
| D．in Greece |
This passage talks mainly about_______________.
| A．when and how the umbrella was invented |
| B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe |
| C．the development of the umbrella |
| D．The history and use of the umbrella |
John Milton was born in 1606. His father expected him to enter the church of England, but Milton wanted to be a poet. At twenty-nine Milton set off for a travel on the continent. He traveled in France, Switzerland and Italy, winning the friendship of many artists and scientists, including Galileo, the famous Italian scientist who suffered for his discovery in prison. In 1639, he was planning to go on this journey when the news reached him of the break between the king and Parliament（国会）. Milton returned to England immediately, and put himself into the struggle against the king, for which he had long been prepared. During the Civil war, Milton worked as the spokesman of the revolution. By the beginning of 1652, Milton had become completely blind, yet he didn’t stop fighting. After the Restoration（复辟）, his books were burnt, and he himself avoided being killed because of his blindness.
John Milton was not only a brave revolutionary but also a great poet. His famous poem Paradise Lost（失乐园） was an immediate success. But, for its publication （being published）, Milton received only 18 pounds. He died in 1671.Milton set off for a travel on the continent here “continent” means ________.
| A．Asia | B．Europe | C．America | D．Africa |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．In 1635 Milton made friends with many artists and poets |
| B．Milton was put in prison for his discovery. |
| C．Paradise Lost was popular and was a hit at that time. |
| D．Milton was determined to be a poet because he didn’t like churches. |
Milton would have been killed if ________________.
| A．he had been the spokesman of the revolution |
| B．his books hadn’t been burnt |
| C．he hadn’t written the poem Paradise Lost |
| D．he hadn’t been completely blind |
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station（加油站） about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register（收款台）, I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery（电池） was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership—a shop selling cars—was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?”I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.The underlined words“took off”in Paragraph 2 mean_________．
| A．turned off | B．moved off |
| C．put up | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station． |
| B．The couple sent him a business card. |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
The battery of the author’s car was dead because ___________．
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．his meeting lasted a whole day |
| C．he forgot to turn off the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
By telling his own experiences, the author tries to show ________．
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with car problems |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |
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