“Life is speeding up．Everyone is becoming unwell．” This may sound like something someone would say today．But in fact, an unwell person who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it．
We all love new inventions．They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives．
But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this：You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer．Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the telephone is getting louder and louder．Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work．Now you have to stay up all night to get it done．
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired．Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier?Perhaps that is because they live simpler lives．
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today．The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons, Benjamin, 10, and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house．They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phone．
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes．” The boys said they fought less．Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer．Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a trendy, been-drinking granny, to one who cooked things．
(1)
The writer uses the quote(引语)at the beginning of the story to ________．
[ ]
A．
tell us the truth about life
B．
tell us what life was like a long time ago
C．
point out what causes such a thing to happen
D．
point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same
(2)
In the passage the writer describes a picture to show that new inventions ________．
[ ]
A．
have stopped our lives
B．
have improved the quality of our lives
C．
may make people feel very happy
D．
may bring some people trouble
(3)
The family chose to spend some time in a 1940s house because ________．
[ ]
A．
they loved to live simple lives
B．
they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions
C．
they were troubled by modern inventions
D．
living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them
On the first day of class, Smith's foreign students fill in forms and give the information about themselves．
Name：Claude Country：Germany(德国)
Native Language(本族语)：German
Time in the USA：9 months
Family：I live with my parents．
Work：I used to be an art teacher in Germany．But now I'm working in a company．
Interests：!love painting．I like music, too．
Name：Li Ming Country：China
Native Language：Chinese
Time in the USA：2 years
Family：I have one son．He is studying in China．My wife is an English teacher．
Work：I was a math teacher, but now I'm a cook．
Interests：!like cooking．I also like sports, such as basketball, table tennis and so on．
Name：Carolina Country：Russia
Native Language：Russian
Time in the USA：4 years
Family：I live with my husband and 2 children．
Work：I was a balketball player, but now I'm a teacher．
Interests：I love sports．I like traveling
Name：Kalumi Country：Japan
Native Language：Japanese
Time in the USA：3 months
Family：My family, my parents and 4 brothers and sisters, all live in Japan．I'm here by myself．
Work：I worked as a nurse in my country．Now I'm a shop assistant．
Interests：!like such activities as reading， drawing and watching TV．
(1)
________ has lived in America for the longest time among the four persons．
[ ]
A．
Kalumi
B．
Carolina
C．
Claude
(2)
________ used to be teachers in their own countries．
[ ]
A．
Li Ming and Claude
B．
Li Ming and Carolina
C．
Kalumi and Claude
(3)
Of the four persons, ________ has a big family．
[ ]
A．
Claude
B．
Carolina
C．
Kalumi
(4)
________ like sports．
[ ]
A．
Claude and Li Ming
B．
Carolina and Kalumi
C．
Li Ming and Carolina
(5)
These persons will ________ together．
[ ]
A．
draw pictures
B．
study in the same class
C．
teach English
阅读理解
Li Xiaoran was born on May 8, 1976 in Beijing．She is a Chinese actress．Besides her acting career, she is also a dancer．At the age of 17, Li was the only dancer who went into the Dance Troupe in Beijing．
During her nine years as a professional dancer, Li also worked on a few commercial (商业的) films, which helped her perform on screen．However, without any professional acting training, Li never thought she could be an actress．She didn't play any roles until 1996．Her first attempt was a guest performer in the TV series Jade Baby of Body Guard．
In the following three years from 1997 to 2000, Li was busy with 9 TV series and films．Almost without any time to rest, Li tried to improve her acting skills through practice．Finally, her efforts (努力) paid off．In 2001, Li got her first big success in the popular TV drama Love Story in Shanghai as Anqi, a girl who sold flowers．
In 2006, Li Xiaoran acted a girl who lost her life to save her lover in the action film Dragon Tiger Gate．On the small screen, Li Xiaoran acted different types of women in shows like Farewell, Vancouve, Night of Harbin and The Old Dream．Li Xiaoran never stops chasing her acting dream to create more memorable (难忘的) characters for the audience (观众)．
根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。
(1)
Li Xiaoran went into the Dance Troupe in Beijing ________．
[ ]
A．
in 1991
B．
in 1993
C．
at the age of 15
D．
when she was 18 years old
(2)
In 1996, Li Xiaoran ________．
[ ]
A．
was ill and weak
B．
played her first role
C．
became a professional dancer
D．
got professional acting training
(3)
What does the underlined sentence “Finally, her efforts (努力) paid off ” mean?
[ ]
A．
At last, her hard work brought good results．
B．
At last, her hard work brought bad results．
C．
In the end, she gave up．
D．
In the end, she failed．
(4)
Li Xiaoran got her first big success when acting in ________．
[ ]
A．
Jade Baby of Body Guard
B．
Night of Harbin
C．
Dragon Tiger Gate
D．
Love Story in Shanghai
(5)
Which of the following is NOT true about Li Xiaoran?
[ ]
A．
She was born in May, 1976 in Beijing．
B．
She is not only an actress but also a dancer．
C．
In 2006, she acted a girl who sold flowers．
D．
From 1997 to 2000, she acted in 9 TV series and films．
Changchun Film Studio produced The Storms of 1894?895 in 1962．
Lin Nong directed the film，and Li Moran starred in it．It takes the two battles at Zhongfeng Island and on the Yellow Sea，showing the war against foreign invasion(外国侵略者)．
Deng Shichang，the captain of the Zhiyuan Warship(致远舰)，takes part in the war．He is very hrave and hits the enemy warship with Chinese ship，laying down his life for the country．People think Deng Shichang is a really national hero．
People like the films about the national heroes．The students even like them，for they can learn history from the film，and they can learn the spirit from them．Because many of them have a distinct spirit of the times and a strong sense of history(时代精神和历史意识)．
