In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition (试演) for My Kind of people, a televised talent show popular in the UK. She was immediately rejected. She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn't perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks. Boyle was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.

Boyle suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away. After his death. Boyle put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother Bridget Boyle. The mother and daughter often talked of Susan's possible fame. Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions. “She was the one who said I should enter Britain's Got Talent. We used to watch it together.” Susan later told reporters. “She thought I would win.”

In 1999, Boyle used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo (样本唱片) tape. which she sent to record companies. In 2002, Boyle began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil.

In 2007, Boyle's mother passed away at the age of 91. A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone.” She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. For over a year, she refused to sing. But in August of 2008, O'Neil urged her to try out for Britain's Got Talent. Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Boyle auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland. She sang I Dreamed A Dream in the first round of the show, which was aired on 11 April 2009.

The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast (对比) to her powerfully beautiful voice. The performance astonished the audience and the judges. Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week. Although she failed to win the final of Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular. Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.

Bridget Boyle's attitude towards her daughter's musical talent can be described as      .

A. critical      B. doubtful     C. indifferent        D. optimistic

From Para. 4 we learn that Boyle      .

A. was slightly discouraged by her voice coach

B. entered Britain's Got Talent to prove her ability

C. decided to give up her singing career

D. was deeply affected by her mother's death

Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?

A. Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008.

B. Her audition for My Kind of People failed.

C. She has never stopped singing since 1995.

D. She was the winner of Britain's Got Talent.

In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to      .

A. tell us how Boyle's dream came true

B. let us know more about Boyle's personal life

C. show how Boyle was influenced by her family

D. explain how to enter and win a talent show

In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition (试演) for My Kind of people, a televised talent show popular in the UK.She was immediately rejected.She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn't perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks.Boyle was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.

       Boyle suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away.After his death.Boyle put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother Bridget Boyle.The mother and daughter often talked of Susan's possible fame.Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions.“She was the one who said I should enter Britain's Got Talent.We used to watch it together.” Susan later told reporters.“She thought I would win.”

       In 1999, Boyle used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo (样本唱片) tape.which she sent to record companies.In 2002, Boyle began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil.

       In 2007, Boyle's mother passed away at the age of 91.A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone.” She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles.For over a year, she refused to sing.But in August of 2008, O'Neil urged her to try out for Britain's Got Talent.Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Boyle auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland.She sang I Dreamed A Dream in the first round of the show, which was aired on 11 April 2009.

       The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast (对比) to her powerfully beautiful voice.The performance astonished the audience and the judges.Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week.Although she failed to win the final of Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular.Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.

Bridget Boyle's attitude towards her daughter's musical talent can be described as      .

       A.critical     B.doubtful   C.indifferent       D.optimistic

From Para.4 we learn that Boyle      .

       A.was slightly discouraged by her voice coach

       B.entered Britain's Got Talent to prove her ability

       C.decided to give up her singing career

       D.was deeply affected by her mother's death

Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?

       A.Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008.

       B.Her audition for My Kind of People failed.

       C.She has never stopped singing since 1995.

       D.She was the winner of Britain's Got Talent.

In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to      .

       A.tell us how Boyle's dream came true

       B.let us know more about Boyle's personal life

       C.show how Boyle was influenced by her family

       D.explain how to enter and win a talent show


Romanian-born German writer Herta Mueller won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature yesterday, honored for work that "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, describes the landscape of the dispossessed(被流放者)," the Swedish Academy said.
The 56-year-old author, who immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987, first gained public attention in 1982 with a collection of short stories titled Niederungen, or Lowlands in English, which was promptly censored(审查通过) by her government.
In 1984 an uncensored version was smuggled to Germany where it was published and her work describing life in a small, German-speaking village in Romania was popular with the readers there. That work was followed by Oppressive Tango in Romania.
"The Romanian national press was very critical of these works while, outside of Romania, the German press received them very positively," the Academy said. "Because Mueller had publicly criticized the dictatorship(独裁) in Romania, she was prohibited from publishing in her own country.” In 1987 she immigrated to Germany with her husband two years before dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was toppled from power.
Mueller's parents were members of the German-speaking minority in Romania and father served in the Waffen SS during World War II. After the war ended, many German Romanians were deported(放逐) to the Soviet Union in 1945, including her mother, who spent five years in a work camp in what is now Ukraine.
Most of her works are in German, but some works have been translated into English, French and Spanish, including The Passport, The Land of Green Plums, Traveling on One Leg and The Appointment.
Mueller has given guest lectures at universities, colleges and other venues in Paderborn, Warwick, Hamburg, Swansea, Gainsville (Florida), Kassel, Gottingen, Tubingen and Zurich among other places. She lives in Berlin. Since 1995 she has served as a member of Deutsche Akademie fur Sprache und Dichtung, in Darmstadt."
Mueller is the 12th woman to win the literature prize. Recent female winners include Austria's Elfriede Jelinek in 2004 and British writer Doris Lessing in 2007.
The award includes a $1.4 million prize and will be handed out on December 10
51.Herta Mueller was awarded Nobel Prize in literature because of____________.
A.her public criticism upon the dictatorship in Romania
B.her works with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose
C.her works describing the life of the dispossessed in Germany 
D.the popularity of her works with the readers in the German-speaking village
52.Which of the following statements is mentioned by the author?
A.German Romanians were treated unfairly in Germany in the 1940s.
B.Her parents were dispossessed to Ukraine after the World War II.
C.Her first work was published in Germany in the early 1980s.
D.Her works were all translated into versions in different languages.
53.It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that _____.
A.people then in Romania had the right to say whatever was true.
B.Herta Mueller left her home country after the dictatorship was ended.
C.Herta Mueller immigrated to Germany together with her parents.
D.Romanian citizens lived a hard life without democracy in the 1980s.
54.According to the passage, which of the following works has an English version? 
A.Lowlands in English                  B.Oppressive Tango in Romania.  
C.Traveling on One Leg                 D.The Land of Green Plums
55.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Mueller made great contribution to literature through hard work
B.Mueller won the Nobel Prize for her great literature works.
C.Mueller gained great popularity by describing dictatorship.
D.Mueller was treated badly in Romania and immigrated to Germany.

In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition(试镜)for My Kind of People, a televised talent show popular in the UK. She was immediately rejected. She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn’t perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks. Susan was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.
Susan suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away. After his death, Susan put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother, Bridget Boyle. The mother and daughter often talked of Susan’s possible fame. Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions. “She was the one who said I should enter Britain’s Got Talent. We used to watch it together,” Susan later told reporters. “She thought I would win.”
In 1999, Susan used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo(样本唱片)tape, which she sent to record companies. In 2002, Susan began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O’Neil.
In 2007, her mother passed away at the age of 91. A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn’t come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone”. She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. For over a year, she refused to sing. But in August of 2008, O’Neil urged her to try out for Britain’s Got Talent. Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Susan auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland. She sang I Dreamed A Dream, a hit song from the musical Les Miserables(《悲惨世界》), in the first round of the show, which was aired on April 11, 2009.
The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast(对比)to her powerfully beautiful voice. The performance astonished the audience and the judges. Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week. Although she failed to win the final of Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular. Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.
【小题1】Bridget Boyle’s attitude towards her daughter’s musical talent can be described as ___.

A.criticalB.doubtfulC.indifferentD.confident
【小题2】 From Paragraph 4, we can learn that Susan _____.
A.was slightly discouraged by her voice coacB.entered Britain’s Got Talent to prove her ability
C.decided to give up her singing careerD.was deeply affected by her mother’s death
【小题3】 Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?
A.Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008.B.Her audition for My Kind of People failed.
C.She has never stopped singing since 1995.D.She was the winner of Britain’s Got Talent.
【小题4】 We can infer from the passage that ______.
A.Susan Boyle was convinced by her brother that her plain looks were disadvantageous to her success
B.It was at the age of forty that Susan Boyle established a student-teacher relationship with O’Neil.
C.Susan Boyle was so struck by her father’s death that she shut herself out from the neighborhood.
D.The online views of Les Miserables numbered over 40 million within a week in 2009.
【小题5】In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to ______.
A.tell us how Susan’s dream come trueB.let us know more about Susan’s personal life
C.show how Susan was influenced by her familyD.explain how to enter and win a talent show


As an effect of the high fuel prices spent on bus transportation, some American schools are changing to a four-day week. That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.
Having been approved for three years and beginning in the fall, students in the Maccray school district in Minnesota will be in school from Tuesday to Friday. Each school day will be 65 minutes longer. Officials say the district expects to save about sixty-five thousand dollars a year in transportation costs.
In new Mexico, the first school district changed to a four-day week in 1974 because of the Arab oil boycott(抵制). Now, 17 out of 89 districts use it.
In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to school four days a week since 1995. Superintendent(主管人)Tim Creal says the change has saved about one million dollars over just the past eight years. He sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructional time, and activities that used to take up class time are now held on non-school days. He says that in the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes.
A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for students and teachers, but working parents may have to pay for child care for that fifth day.
1. According to Tim Creal, what makes it possible to have even fewer days in school?
A. The increasing number of private tutors.
B. The development of teaching methods.
C. The increase in the number of online classes.
D. The growth in the income of Americans.
2. It can be learned from the passage that______
A. students will be in school from Monday to Tuesday.
B. four-day week was first carried out in South Dakota.
C. Maccray will save one million dollars every year.
D. Minnesota state has approved the four-day week plan.
3. The passage is mainly about______
A. some school’s four-day week plan    B. districts using a four-day week.
C. how to save on transportation fees.   D. expense of school transportation.

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