You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another hard. At the start they only fight with their fists. But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs. And so it goes on until one of the men crashes (撞击) through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He is dead!Of course he isn't really dead. With any luck he isn't even hurt. Why? Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains, who crash cars or even catch fire, are professionals (专业人士). They do this for a living. These men are called stuntmen. That is to say, they perform tricks. There are two sides to their work. They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example, they fall from a high building. However, they do not fall on to hard ground but on to empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress (床垫). Again, when they hit one another with chairs, the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows, the glass is made of sugar! But although their work depends on trick of this sort, it also requires a high degree of skill and training. Often a stuntman' s success depends on careful timing. For example, when he is "blown up" in a battle scene, he has to jump out of the way of the explosion just at the right moment.

Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work, but they lead dangerous lives. They often get seriously injured, and sometimes killed. A Norwegian stuntman, for example, skied over the edge of a cliff a thousand feet high. His parachute (降落伞) failed to open, and he was killed. In spite of all the risks, this is no longer a profession for men only. Men no longer dress up as women when actresses have to perform some dangerous action, for nowadays there are stunt girls too!

Stuntmen are those who ______.

A. often dress up as women

B. prefer to lead dangerous lives

C. often perform seemingly (表面上) dangerous actions

D. often fight each other for their lives

Stuntmen earn their living by ______.

A. playing their dirty tricks               B. selling their special skills

C. jumping out of high windows           D. jumping from fast moving trains

When a stuntman falls from a high building, ______.

A. he needs little protection

B. he will be covered with a mattress

C. his life is endangered

D. his safety is generally all right

Which of the following is the main factor (因素) of a successful performance?

A. Strength.     B. Exactness.       C. Speed.      D. Power.

What can be inferred from the author' s example of the Norwegian stuntman?

A. Sometimes an accident can occur to a stuntman.

B. The percentage of serious accidents is high.

C. Parachutes must be of good quality.

D. The cliff is too high.

For a 400-year-old art form, operas had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which are hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $ 145 a performance, opera goers also have a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to bring the opera to the audience. It needs to keep it alive, the young and not-so-rich.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to make the opera closer to common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or band-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such unusual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions (剧本) of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.   

Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?

       A.Opera is famous for is history.                                   

       B.Opera is only for rich people.

       C.Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.                            

       D.Young people are not interested in opera. 

The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means          .

       A.breaking up the old rules       B.changing the dresses

       C.making the audience at ease    D.advertising themselves

Opera companies prefer to perform smaller versions because         .

       A.they can be performed  in public libraries

       B.short versions are easy to perform

       C.it is hard to find long versions

       D.they can make people interested

The San Francisco Opera employs young students in order to        .

       A.attract young people               B.reduce the cost

       C.celebrate its 75th anniversary   D.make Cinderella popular

What can you infer from the passage?

       A.The tickets for opera are very expensive at present.

       B.Opera is performed in a language difficult to understand.

       C.Opera is not so popular an art form today.

       D.Students enjoy performing operas very much.

For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romantic languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, operagoers also had a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to associate opera with the common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or bank-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.
【小题1】Which is the main idea of this passage?

A.Opera is famous for its long history.
B.Opera is only performed for rich people.
C.Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.
D.Young people are not interested in opera.
【小题2】The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means _________.
A.breaking up the old rulesB.changing the dresses
C.making the audience at easeD.advertising themselves
【小题3】Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because _________.
A.they can be performed in public libraries
B.short versions are easy to perform
C.it is hard to find long versions
D.they can make people interested
【小题4】The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to _________.
A.celebrate its 75th anniversary
B.reduce the cost
C.attract young people
D.make Cinderella popular
【小题5】 From the passage we can infer that _________.
A.the tickets for opera are very expensive
B.opera is performed in a difficult language
C.opera is not so popular an art form today
D.students enjoy performing opera very much

More Chinese are seeking out the surgeon’s knife to improve their looks.Yet the tragic death of the former Super Girl Wang Bei has made people aware of the risks of cosmetic surgery, which is becoming increasingly popular.  Wang Bei,24,is said to have gone under the knife in Wuhan,to jump-start her stage-show career. It seems that the ambitious singer has finally achieved the fame and influence after her death.
For years Miss Lu expected a plastic surgery to make her jaw fashionable narrow and her face smaller. She finally decided against it after hearing of the death of Wang Bei. "Wang Bei’s death rang the warning bell for me,"Miss Lu said in her blog." It was frightening and I gave up the plan. "
A common thread of online discussion is why someone considered beautiful was so dissatisfied with her looks. Some netizens said Wang was a victim of society’s impractical standard of beauty:double eyelids,and the pointed chin typical of Western actresses. Others said her death indicated the limits to which people would go to achieve fame and fortune.
Last year 15 billion yuan was spent on cosmetic surgery and the figure is expected to rise  20% annually. The International Society of Plastic Surgery ranks China first in Asia in terms of the number of cosmetic surgeries in 2009. Worldwide, China is third, after Brazil, while the United States is first.
Nowadays,people are living longer and better. But the effect of aging off their appearance affects their mood and confidence. Many older women want to look young and beautiful. Young people, on the other hand, see cosmetic surgery as the key to wealth and love. "They want to improve their appearance to find better opportunities at work and in marriage,"says a famous plastic surgeon. "We’re living in a highly competitive society. People regard appearance as a weapon in life battle. Those who are young and naturally good-looking tell me,‘I don’t care how much I spend. Just make me look more beautiful.’ "
Advice from a surgeon and psychologist:
1.Choose regular, qualified hospitals with a good reputation.
2.Try to find an expert surgeon who will not suggest several operations over time.
3.Don’t expect too much from changing your appearance. Safety should be the first.
4.Have a realistic understanding of the risks of the surgery (death,injury and failure)and make a balanced decision.
【小题1】What’s the influence of Wang Bei’s death on the public?

A.People will feel alarmed at cosmetic surgery.
B.Young people will have no interest in beauty.
C.Doctors will be afraid to perform operations.
D.No one will dream of becoming a Super Girl.
【小题2】It is mentioned in the passage that________.
A.Miss Lu’s face is narrow and small
B.Wang Bei is a victim of the Internet
C.all Westerners have the pointed chin
D.the US ranks first in cosmetic surgery
【小题3】What’s the main idea of the 5th paragraph?
A.People are living 1onger and better nowadays.
B.People are living in a highly competitive society.
C.Social competition leads females to seek beauty.
D.Cosmetic surgery is the key to wealth and love.
【小题4】According to a surgeon and psychologist,it is better to________.
A.change your appearance sooner
B.make a reasonable decision
C.do several operations over time
D.try some different hospitals

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