题目内容
Her greatest desire was to _________(代表)her country at the Olympics.
represent
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It was Christmas 1961. I was teaching in a small town in Ohio where my twenty seven third graders eagerly anticipated the great day of gift giving.
Each day the children made some new wonder – strings of popcorn, hand-made decorations, and German bells made from wallpaper samples, which we hung from the ceiling. Through it all she stayed indifferent(漠不关心的), watching from afar, seemingly miles away. I wondered what would happen to this quiet child, once so happy, now so suddenly unsociable. I hoped the festivities would light her up. But nothing did.
The day of gift giving finally came. We oohed and aahed over our handwork as the presents were exchanged. Through it all, she sat quietly watching. I had made a special package for her, red and green with white lace. I wanted very much to see her smile. She opened it so slowly and carefully. I waited but she turned away.
After school the children left in little groups, but she hesitated, watching them go out of the door. I sat down to catch my breath, hardly know what was happening when she came to me reaching out her hands, holding a small white box, unwrapped and slightly soiled, as though it had been held many times by unwashed, childish hands. “For me?” I asked with a weak smile. She said not a word, but nodded her head. I took the box and carefully opened it. There inside, lay a golden chain. In a flash I knew – she had made it for her mother, a mother she would never see again, a mother who would never hold her or brush her hair or share a funny story, a mother who would never again hear her childish joys or sorrows, a mother who had taken her own life just three weeks before.
I held out the chain. She took it in both her hands, reached forward, and put it on at the back of my neck. She stepped back then as if to see that all was well. I looked down at the golden chain, then back at the giver, “Maria, it is so beautiful. She would have loved it.” Neither of us could stop the tears. She threw herself into my arms and we were in tears together. And for that moment I became her mother, for she had given me the greatest gift of all: herself.
【小题1】The underlined “anticipated” (Paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to _________.
A.prepared | B.expected | C.talked | D.kept |
A.the beautiful chain was put inside a beautiful box |
B.Maria made a golden chain of popcorn for her mother |
C.the teacher made a special package for Maria so as to see her smile |
D.Maria oohed and aahed over the handwork as the presents were exchanged |
A.she was a shy girl |
B.her teacher didn’t give her any gift |
C.her mother passed away three weeks ago |
D.she didn’t have any friends in the class |
A.Maria found her biological mother |
B.Maria asked her teacher to be her mother |
C.the teacher promised to be Maria’s mother after receiving her greatest gift |
D.Maria believed in her considerate teacher and opened her heart to the teacher |
A.The kid’s gift | B.A quiet girl |
C.The greatest teacher | D.The great day of gift giving |
Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.
For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(适合大众口味的音乐) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".
What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.
It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.
In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.
For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.
【小题1】Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________.
A.the sales of her second album achieved an incredible success last week in the UK |
B.her second album ranked first in a row with the incredible average sales per week |
C.Madonna was the last female singer in the UK to stay at No. 1 as long as she did |
D.she is such an ordinary singer with so fascinating a voice in the music industry |
A.to a large extent depends on her apparent talent for music |
B.is because of her extraordinariness and the wonderful voice |
C.lies in gift, timing and something beyond sex, age and trust |
D.is largely due to the state of the music industry currently |
A.She stands out in a totally different way from Gaga and Beyonce. |
B.She and Madonna are contemporary megastars in music. |
C.Only she and Madonna spent that long at No.1 in the UK. |
D.Jessie J and she both have an American habit of expressing themselves. |
A.Her musical talent. |
B.The joint work of musicians in the album. |
C.Her incredible voice. |
D.Her universality and broad appeal. |
A.satisfying | B.disappointing | C.dangerous | D.desperate |