I am a music store owner. One day, when I was cleaning the instruments in my store, I saw an old man come in. His short steps dragged on the carpet. “Is 77 too old to learn the banjo (班卓琴)?” he asked.

“You can learn to play it well,” I replied, holding back my doubts. My mind told me I was giving false encouragement. I reached the instructor’s schedule and gave the rates, the available time and the additional information that he would need. To my surprise and delight, the old man, Carl, began banjo lessons three days later with my most patient teacher.

With nothing to do at home but practice, Carl made surprising progress. After breakfast he practiced for his required half hour. While waiting for lunch he picked up his banjo again for just a couple of minutes. Since TV was difficult for him to see and hear, he often played the banjo in the evenings. Carl was always early for lessons so it was a surprise that he didn’t arrive one Tuesday.

The next morning I listened to the answering machine with sadness. “Carl’s in hospital,” the voice recorded.

Two months later, I shared the newspaper obituary with the banjo teacher. We both shed tears for a surprisingly clever banjo student.

Several months later, a woman came into the store carrying a plant. “This is for Carl’s banjo teacher,” she said. “I’m his wife, Mary.”

“Why did Carl want to play the banjo?” I asked. Mary took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Carl was at some show when he was 10 years old. He came close to the stage to watch the performers. When they were packing up their instruments, the banjo player said to Carl, ‘You want to see this up close?’ Carl climbed up on the stage and from then on he wanted to play the banjo.” Carl had waited 67 years to realize a dream! Mary gave the plant to Carl’s banjo teacher. “Thank you for the best six months of his life,” she said.

1.How did Carl learn to play the banjo well?

A. By working hard.

B. By taking short cuts.

C. By asking his wife to help him.

D. By finding the best teacher.

2.From Paragraph 2, we can know the author ______.

A. was unwilling to help Carl

B. was giving true encouragement

C. didn’t want to encourage Carl

D. encouraged Carl though he had doubts

3.The underlined word “obituary” in Para.5 means a notice that _______.

A. announces somebody has died

B. announces somebody is needed

C. announces a good piece of news

D. announces a gift for somebody

4.Why did Carl want to learn banjo?

A. He wanted to become a banjo performer.

B. He wanted to make his dream of his young age come true.

C. His wife encouraged him to learn it.

D. He wanted to spend the last best six months of his life.

完形填空

请认真阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

My mum was young when she fell pregnant with me. After I was born it was decided that my father’s relatives would ______ me in Manchester. No one spoke about Mum. Eventually, I was shown letters from Mum, ______ that she was a drug addict.

All this was running through my head as I arrived in Glasgow on 27 December last year. My sister Leanne, from my mother’s side, had ______ me down on Facebook, and we had been ______ for a while, but had met only once or twice. Leanne had been brought up by our mother’s parents, and had some ______ with Mum throughout her life. She was now living in Canada, but returning for Christmas and ______ to see all the family together. A big party had been arranged to welcome her back, and everyone would be there, including our ______.

In a very short time my sister and I hatched a ______ . I’d meet my sister as she arrived at Manchester airport, then we’d drive up to Glasgow ______ . Keeping it a surprise gave us a rush. After about a four-hour drive, we were there. I’d ______ called someone “Mum” before. But there she was.

We embraced (拥抱) and were soon ______ . We could hardly get the words out fast enough. Seeing someone so alike looking back at me was the strangest but most ______experience. Though a lifetime may have ______ us, this woman at a party in Glasgow was my mum. She ______ at me for a second, before giving me a tight hug. All she could say was that she never thought we’d ______ again.

She’d been ______ of drugs for five years. She told me how she now works for a charity that helps young people ______ the same problems she had. We now talk regularly, and I feel ______ she’s my mother. That’s something I couldn’t have even ______ when the door opened to her at that Christmas party. Life may be short, but it’s always ______ enough to reconcile (和好).

1.A. teach B. control C. serve D. raise

2.A. foreseeing B. revealing C. arguing D. promising

3.A. knocked B. tracked C. rolled D. turned

4.A. negotiating B. complaining C. messaging D. searching

5.A. contact B. bargain C. fun D. trouble

6.A. reluctant B. afraid C. confident D. desperate

7.A. sister B. father C. mum D. grandparents

8.A. deal B. plan C. trick D. change

9.A. in advance B. in turn C. in secret D. in time

10.A. ever B. even C. always D. never

11.A. looking away B. chatting away C. turning up D. picking up

12.A. disturbing B. annoying C. comforting D. frightening

13.A. separated B. deserted C. ruined D. cheated

14.A. laughed B. yelled C. stared D. pointed

15.A. part B. suffer C. recover D. meet

16.A. clean B. aware C. short D. fond

17.A. discuss B. overcome C. explore D. stress

18.A. guilty B. embarrassed C. proud D. shocked

19.A. imagined B. ignored C. questioned D. recalled

20.A. tough B. happy C. simple D. long

China Daily Oct.11,2008-TheMinistry Of Health has called for more awareness from the public on the mental health of the young as part of efforts to mark World Mental Health Day which fell on Friday.

More than 15 percent of Chinese youths have been found with mental problems and about 30 million young people under 17 are suffering from depression,the Shanghai-based Wenhui Daily reported.The World Health Organization estimates that before 2020,the rate of children with mental problems will increase to 50 percent ,and mental problem will become a major factor behind deaths and illness in the young worldwide.

Dang Xianhong,the spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau,said rapid social change is one of the reasons behind the rising number of youngsters with psychological problems.If these mental dispenses are not addressed on time, science of crimes,drug-taking and other dangerous behaviors are expected to rise.Experts said mental diseases could be caused by many factors,such as the inability to handle interpersonal relations well, unstable emotions and pressures from an overload of studies.A number of experts have also said the one child policy is another reason leading to poor mental health in the young.Children are said to be too “spoiled” and “selfish” in a one child family.

It’s reported that schools in many cities are rolling out measures to help students maintain their mental well-being.Yin Jingmiao, a teacher of the Beijing No,105 Middle School,told China Daily that the school invites psychologists to provide counseling to students three times a month.“Students can be arranged to have 40-minute counseling sessions.” Yin said.“The school also gives lectures on mental health to senior grade students before they take the national college entrance exams to help ease any anxiety arising from the tests.”

1.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A.Efforts to Mark World Mental Health Day

B.Public Awareness on Youngsters’ Mental Diseases Expected

C.How to Maintain Mental Well-being

D.Seriousness of Youngsters Mental Health Problems

2.The writer intends to tell us in the second paragraph that _____.

A. mental problems will become as serious as deaths and illness

B. only young people are suffering from mental health problems

C. mental health problems of the young are becoming a popular problem

D. the rate of children with mental problems will increase to 50 percent

3.Which could be the consequence if the problem is left untreated?

A.Inability to handle interpersonal relations.

B.Unstable emotions.

C.Drug taking and other dangerous behaviors.

D.Rapid social changes

4.Why is Beijing No. 105 Middle School mentioned in the passage?

A.To provide the students with counseling sessions.

B.To give an example showing how mental problems are dealt with.

C.To help ease the anxiety arising from college entrance exams.

D.To call on other schools to learn from No.105 Middle Schoo1.

Roll over, sit and fetch aren’t commands normally given to a robot, but the smart toy company WowWee has developed a new way of owning a puppy.

CHIP (Canine Home Intelligent Pet) is a robotic dog with blue LED eyes and pointy ears and can sit, shake, dance and make all types of dog noises. It also has tracking capabilities to help locate its owner. “The beauty about CHIP is that it has its own thing going on,” said Sufer, CTO at WowWee. “It has its own life and own kind of intelligence. Even if you’re not around, it’s always doing something.”

CHIP uses wheels to get around and is loaded with sensors(传感器) that give it a 360-degree view to find its ball. The pup is Bluetooth enabled, which connects to a wristband worn by its owner. The wristband, similar to a watch, displays icons(图标)for different commands such as a thumb-up, which allows you to give your pup a digital belly rub. With its owner wearing a smart wristband, it can even follow him around the room.

“We worked on CHIP for about five to six months,” Davin Sufer, told dailymail.com, “We typically come up with a concept, model and product and get it on shelves within a year.” The company plans to start shipping units by next fall, which will allow them to load up the robotic dog with sensors and add many more animated responses per-owner interactivity.

The high-tech toy company made its debut(处女作)in 2004 by releasing the 1.5 foot RoboSapien, which sold millions of units. MiP, which hit shelves last year, is a seven inch tall robot covered in white with black accents. Users can direct it, change its emotions and make it dance to any song on your iPad. It’s loud, fast and active.

About 15 years ago, a company called ToyQuest developed the first ever electronic robotic dog---Tekno, the Robotic Puppy. The company sold over seven million units in the first season and 40 million more during its original four years of production. Tekno was built with over 160 emotions and instructions, but most importantly offered consumers a quick look into the future.

1.According to Sufer, the amazing characteristic of CHIP is that _____.

A. it is loaded with special sensors

B. it can make all kinds of dog noises

C. it has quick response to the commands

D. it can do something without instructions

2.CHIP can follow its owner with the help of _____.

A. a watch B. a smart wristband

C. pointy ears D. blue LED eyes

3.From the passage, we can know_______.

A. CHIP can be bought in the store now

B. WowWee introduced its first product last year

C. Tekno provided the bright future of the robotic puppy

D. MiP is the first company to develop the robotic puppy

阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。

“A Long Walk Home”-----life as Eli Reed saw it

American photographer and photojournalist Eli Reed has been documenting “life as I saw it” for more than 40 years. His career retrospective(回顾), “Eli Reed: A Long Walk Home”, is an extraordinary search of beauty while recording hardship. With a heart of love, Reed uses a style that uncovers humanity at every turn. According to Reed, “A Long Walk Home” is about what it means to be a human being. It all began with a photo he took of his mother and his memory of her smile.

Raised in New Jersey, Reed was originally a painter. Primarily self-taught in photography, he became a freelance photographer in 1970. After producing some impressive photos that drew much attention, he joined the famous company Magnum Photos---the first black photographer invited to do so.

His photos are remarkable in their lack of judgment of the people or the situations he comes across. In Beirut, Lebanon, a man removes a tree branch from a car in a recently bombed parking lot. An old man wrapped in a sheet plays a drum in front of a sign reading “God Is the Way” while National Guardsmen lift their guns during a war in Miami. A young boy upside down with his legs in the air in a Kenyan refugee camp, his determined look faces the camera. In Harlem, New York, a group of laughing children take over an abandoned car, using it as a jungle gym.

When another photographer might have focused on the sobriety of these situations, Reed’s camera smiles. His images show how humans cope, rise above, and carry on. This is what gives “A Long Walk Home” its power. Considering the places Reed has been to, there are very few photos of guns or obvious violence. Instead, Reed focuses on the varied human responses to hardship.

We smile along with Reed in a gesture of compassion and solidarity. We recognize our fellow human beings.

1.Why did Eli Reed produce his work “A Long Walk Home”?

A.To pursue his love of photography

B. To keep memories of his mother

C. To help people who are suffering

D. To search for the meaning of life

2.According to the passage, Magnum Photos_____________.

A. employed Reed in 1970

B. was located in New Jersey

C. only had white employees originally

D. taught Reed the art of photography

3. In his work “A Long Walk Home”, Reed’s photos_____________.

A. aim to draw others’ sympathy

B. reflect the strength of humans

C. were taken only in America

D. focus on war and violence

4.What does the underlined word “sobriety” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. seriousness B. cause

C. value D. warmth

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网