Jane Austen(1775-1817),an English novelist, started writing young and completed six novels in her life. Today Austen’s books are more popular than ever. In the last 10 years, five of her six novels have been made into Hollywood films, while her books continue to be best-sellers.
Richard Jenkyns, a professor of English at Oxford University, says that her novels are about marriage, friendships and the family, which are still with us today. “The stories are timeless,”Jenkyns said.
Pride and Prejudice(偏见)(1813) is Austen’s most famous work. It is a love story about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. At first, these two dislike each other. Elizabeth is pretty ,smart and lively. She is proud because Darcy doesn’t know about her family. Mr. Darcy is handsome, rich and has a better family background. So, he is proud as well. At the same time, Darcy holds a prejudice against the Bennet family. He has no understanding of why the family, especially its mother and daughters should try so hard to find wealthy and powerful husbands. He thinks they are vulgar. Anyway, Elizabeth and Darcy finally fall in love and become a romantic couple but their families don’t want them to.
In Pride and Prejudice, some of the main things that Jane Austen wants to teach people are as follows. Opposites can attract each other. Lovers should not ony make each other feel relaxed or comfortable, but also educate and improve each other.
Austen is often called the greatest romanti writer, so it is surprising she remained unmarried. ‘Maybe she was too romantic, waiting for the perfect man,” Jenkyns says.
From Paragraph 1and Paragraph 2,we can know .
| A．Jane Austen passed away in her fifties |
| B．Austen’s works remain popular today |
| C．all of Austen’s works have been made into Hollywood films. |
| D．Austen’s works are mostly about war and the family. |
Which of the following sentences is True?
| A．Elizabeth and Darcy fall in love at first sight. |
| B．Elizabeth has a better family background than Darcy. |
| C．Darcy has a first good impression of Elizabeth’s family. |
| D．Elizabeth and Darcy become a romantic couple in the end. |
What does the underlined word”vulgar” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．粗俗的 | B．鲁莽的 | C．吝啬的 | D．伪善的 |
From what Jenkyns says,we can learn __________.
| A．opposites can attract each other |
| B．lovers should improve each other. |
| C．Austen’s works go beyond her times |
| D．Austen married a perfect man at last |
Tom grows the nicest vegetables and fruits, and the most beautiful flowers in his village. Plants grow in Tom’s garden all through the year.Tom cuts some flowers for his sitting-room table and eats some fruits and vegetables, but he sells most of them in the market. His vegetables, fruits and flowers are so wonderful that they sell much more quickly in the market than those of other villages.
How does Tom grow these beautiful plants? He is so lazy that he just sits under his orange tree with his radio. He listens to music all day.
That is quite true. Tom plants things in spring, summer, autumn and winter. After that he sits with his radio. And everything grows. It is the music that does work. Tom knows more clearly that music makes the biggest vegetables and fruits and the most beautiful flowers. Plants love music as much as people.Tom most of the things in his garden.
| A．sells | B．eats | C．keeps | D．gives |
Tom listens to the music in the garden because .
| A．is very popular. |
| B．makes him relaxed. |
| C．makes his plants stop growing. |
| D．makes his plants grow better. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Tom doesn’t plant orange trees in his garden. |
| B．Tom often gives away his flowers to villagers. |
| C．Tom is very lazy and he does nothing every day. |
| D．Tom eats some of the fruits and vegetables in his garden. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Tom’s garden is in the town. |
| B．Tom wants to sell his garden. |
| C．Plants also like listening to music. |
| D．Tom’s flowers are beautiful and cheap. |
Take a look at the following ads! You may find some useful information you need here!
| Guitar lessons Experienced musician from Australia, Good at teaching kids for 5years! For more information, please visit Larry’s website: www. music. com. au |
| Lost dog Medium size, with brown sports and short white hair. Answer you when you call it David. Many thanks for sending it back. Call Susan at 732-8059. |
| Taxi driver wanted Work full-time or part-time. Experience and a good knowledge(认识) of the city are necessary. English is also a must. Under 45 years old. Call Mr White at 513-2683. |
If you want to have a guitar lesson, you may .
| A．call Susan at 732-8059. |
| B．Visit the website: www.music.com.au |
| C．call Mr White at 513-2683. |
| D．send an e-mail to sdgt@yahoo.cn |
Who is the owner(主人)of the lost dog?
| A．Mr White | B．Larry | C．Susan | D．David |
If you want the job as a taxi driver, you should .
| A．know at least three language. |
| B．take a full-time job before. |
| C．be over 45 years old and know the city well. |
| D．know the city very well and be an experienced driver. |
Prana was a beautiful dog, whose name means “breath of life”. Although he died several years ago, I can still remember the days we spent together and what he has taught me about love.
I have two apple trees in the garden. Prana loved apples. When he went outside, he’d catch an apple and take it into the house to eat later. The apples had been on the ground and were often dirty so I wasn’t always happy that Prana had brought them into the house.
It was an autumn day in America, but it was very cold. A big snow fell and we had not done anything for its coming. On that special day, Prana went outside and I watched him through the window. I noticed that he was madly digging(挖) holes and bringing the apples to the ground so they could be seen above the snow. I did not know why he was doing this. He seemed to want to do something special.
When I called him back, he had his usual one apple in his mouth. About five minutes later, I looked outside. The garden was completely covered with birds. Prana had dug up all those apples for his bird friends to eat. He knew that they wouldn’t have stored enough food for the coming winter!I wasn’t always happy because ____________ .
| A．Prana loved apples |
| B．Prana caught an apple and ate it |
| C．the apples fell on the ground and were dirty |
| D．Prana brought the dirty apples into the house |
On the snowy day, Prana ____________ .
| A．ate up all the apples |
| B．dug holes to put the apples in them |
| C．brought the apples under the snow to the ground |
| D．left the house and died |
The birds flew to the garden to ______________.
| A．look for Prana | B．eat the apples |
| C．make new homes | D．store food for the winter |
The topic of the story is about __________ .
| A．apples | B．animals | C．love | D．life |
More and more people like bicycling and it is no surprise. It is fun, healthy and good for the environment. Maybe that’s why there are 1.4 billion bicycles and only 400 million cars on roads worldwide today. Bikes can take you almost anywhere, and there is no oil cost!
Get on a bicycle and ride around your neighbourhood. You may discover something new all around you. Stopping and getting off a bike is easier than stopping and getting out of your car. You can bike to work and benefit (受益) from the enjoyable exercise without polluting the environment. You don’t even have to ride all the way.
Folding (折叠) bikes work well for people who ride the train. Just fold the bike and take it with you. You can do the same on an airplane. A folding bike can be packed in a suitcase. You can also take a common bike with you when you fly. But be sure to look for information by getting on airline websites. Not all airlines are bicycle-friendly to travellers.
Health Benefits of Bicycling:
It helps to prevent heart diseases.
Bicycling helps to control your weight.
A 15-minute bike ride to and from work three times a week burns off five kilos of fat in a year.
Bicycling can improve your mood (心情).
Exercise like bicycling has been shown to make people feel better, more relaxed and self-confident.
Bicycling is healthier than driving.When you are riding your bicycle around your neighbourhood, you may _________.
| A．pollute the environment around |
| B．find something you didn’t notice |
| C．go everywhere and use a little oil |
| D．get off your bike and begin to work |
If you travel with a folding bike, you can fold it and_____________ .
| A．get out of the car | B．take it onto a train |
| C．put it in your purse | D．go on airline websites |
One of the benefits from bicycling is that_______________.
| A．you can fold the bicycle |
| B．you will be friendly to others |
| C．you will be more relaxed |
| D．you may get fatter and fatter |
Which is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Bicycling is enjoyable exercise for people. |
| B．Driving cars is healthier than riding bikes. |
| C．Riding a bike pollutes your neighbourhood. |
| D．Common bikes are welcomed by all airlines. |
When we talk about stars ,especially women stars ,it seems that they are always young, pretty and own charming body shapes. But recently a Britain’s Got Talent（英国达人）star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely.
Simon Cowell, one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle’s voice. “This lady camp up, and I’m thinking, ‘This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea’. That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed to Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face widway through –it was one of my favorite moments,”Cowell said.
The performance was posted on line and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.
Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hasn’t thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. “I mean, that’s hardly a makeover,” she added.
Ms Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents, “I was kind of slow at school, so getting like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence.”Susan Boyle is _________ .
| A．a judge | B．a reporter | C．a beautiful | D．a Scottish woman |
Susan Boyle had a look of satisfaction on her face when she was singing because______.
| A．she was confident of her singing |
| B．she was satisfied with the judges |
| C．she was pretty and in good shape |
| D．she sang the song I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables |
According to the passage,which is NOT true?
| A．It was the vocal talents that built Susan’s confidence |
| B．Susan Boyle was not good at her lesson when at school. |
| C．Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance. |
| D．Simon Cowell didn’t think Susan Boyle a good singer at the first sight. |
What can we learn from Susan Boyle’s success?
| A．It’s never too old to learn. |
| B．It’s easier to succeed at the age of 47. |
| C．If you have a dream,try to make it come true! |
| D．If you are not able to study well,to be a singer instead. |
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