Here’ s an unusual story: a diamond ring

 was recently found in an egg. The    

               

                                                    

 

magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front          

of an audience of millions at CCTV’ s Spring

Festival Gala. Liu’ s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the U

nited States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’ s love for magic.

 “It’ s actually thinking rather than one’ s manipulation(操作)skills; that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting.  ”Liu said.

    Liu Qian’ s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.

Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur  (业余的) magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.

    To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields for passers-by, policemen and farmers.

     “Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds, ” Liu said.

What does the underlined word  “seasoned ” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. 季节性的        B. 刚出道的         C. 老练的         D. 职业的

The story is about_____.

A. how Liu Qian became China’ s hottest magician

B. why people love magic

C. what magic tricks are

D. how fashionable the magic is

People love to watch magic because_____.

A. they can’ t figure out the secret of magic

B. it arouses their curiosity

C. they love watching magicians make the impossible happen

D. it is a centuries-old art

Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A. He was interested in magic when he was little.

B. He had won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest.

C. He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

D. He couldn’ t find an acceptable job after graduation

  

Even though it was only October,my students were already whispering about Christmas plans. With each passing day everyone became more__36__ waiting for the final school bell. Upon its__37__  everyone would run for their coats and go home,everyone except David.

David was a small boy in ragged clothes. I had often__38__ what kind of home life David had,and what kind of mother could send her son to school dressed so__39__for the cold winter months without a coat,boots,or gloves. But something made David__40__.I can still remember he was always__41__a smile and willing to help. He always__42__ after school to straighten chairs and mop the floor. We never talked much.He__43__ just simply smile and ask what else he could do,then thank me for letting him stay and slowly__44__ home.

Weeks passed and the__45__ over the coming Christmas grew into restlessness until the last day of__46__ before the holiday break. I smiled in__47__ as the last of them hurried out of the door. Turning around I saw David__48__ standing by my desk.

“I have something for you,”he said and__49__from behind his back a small box.__50__  it to me,he said anxiously,“Open it.” I took the box from him,thanked him and slowly unwrapped it. I lifted the lid and to my__51__ I saw nothing. I looked at David’s smiling face and back into the box and said,“The box is nice,David,but it’s__52__.”

“Oh,no. It isn’t.” said David.” It’s full of love. My mum told me before she died that love was something you couldn’t see or touch unless you know it’s there.”

Tears filled my eyes___53__  I looked at the proud dirty face that I had rarely given__54__ to. After that Christmas,David and I became good friends and I never forgot the meaning__55__the little empty box set on my desk..

1.A.anxious    B.courageous        C.serious         D.cautious

2.A.warning    B.ringing           C.calling         D.yelling

3.A.scolded    B.wondered         C.realized         D.learned

4.A.modestly    B.naturally          C.inaccurately      D.inappropriately

5.A.popular    B.upset             C.special         D.funny

6.A.expressing  B.delivering          C.wearing        D.sharing

7.A.practised   B.wandered          C.studied        D.stayed

8.A.would     B.should             C.might         D.could

9.A.aim at      B.turn to             C.put off        D.head for

10.A.argument   B.excitement          C.movement     D.judgment

11.A.school     B.year                C.education     D.program

12.A.relief      B.return              C.vain          D.control

13.A.weakly     B.sadly              C.quietly        D.helplessly

14.A.searched    B.found              C.raised         D.pulled

15.A.Holding    B.Handing           C.Sending        D.Leaving

16.A.delight    B.expectation         C.appreciation      D.surprise

17.A.cheap     B.empty             C.useless          D.improper

18.A.as        B.until               C.because         D.though

19.A.advice      B.support            C.attention         D.command

20.A.from      B.behind             C.over            D.towards

 

“Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move,” said David Belle, the founder of parkour(跑酷).

Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond’s wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.

Yes, that’s parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.

Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.

Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy(理念) behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back from them in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, “I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”

Another philosophy we’ve learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself that you earn energy and confidence.

1. Parkour has become popular throughout the world because of     .

A. its founder, David Belle         B. the film, Casino Royale

C. its risks and tricks             D. the varieties of participants

2. The underlined word “obstacles” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “    ”.

A. streets                          B. objects

C. barriers                     D. roofs

3. Which of the following is true of parkour?

A. It challenges human abilities.       B. It is a good but boring sport.

C. It needs special training.           D. It is a team sport.

4. As its participants move around a city,     .

A. they can ask for help                B. they may choose to escape

C. they should run to extremes      D. they must learn to survive

5. Which of the following is the philosophy of parkour?

A. Sports and extremes.             B. Excitement and popularity.

C. Dreams and success.              D. Determination and freedom.

 

 

Teaching materials for learning Chinese are provided here. There are sites where you may find interesting instructions suitable for you. Here are some sites to begin your surfing.

You may start with these pages from this website — just to get a little taste of it without working too hard.

● A Is For Love

Flash cards for learning a few Chinese words

● Listening to the sound of Chinese

Play a few words of Chinese on your computer.

● A few Chinese words

Each word is enlarged for easy study.

If you are studying Chinese, these tools can help. [来源:]

● Zhongwen site

More than a dictionary!

● Clavis Sinica

 Excellent program by Professor David Porter. It displays a whole document in Chinese [GB] or [BIG5], and gives individual word’s definition, pronunciation as well as much more information when you click on that word. If you are studying Chinese, this is a very useful tool.

● Chinese Character Visual Dictionary

If you like to know more, go to the following sites on the Internet.

● The Chinese Outpost[来源:ZXXK]

Pronunciation, Character and Grammer By Mark Andrew Baker. The best. A must-visit site.

● Learn Cantonese / Mandarin Online

● Internet Based Chinese Teaching and Learning

● Rainland Kids discover Chinese — Site is in Germany

If you want to have a better understanding of China, go to this one.

● Wanfang Data

As an affiliate (分支) of Chinese Ministry of Science && Technology, Wanfang Data has been the leading information provider in China since 1950s. With a wide range of database resources and value-added services, Wanfang Data has become a gateway to understanding Chinese culture, medicine, business, science, etc.

1.This passage is most probably from ______.

A. a TV programme            B. a teacher’s lecture

C. a newspaper                  D. the Internet

2.If you want to know each Chinese character’s definition, pronunciation and much more information, you’d better surf ______.

A. Zhongwen site   B. A Is For Love         C. Clavis Sinica   D. A few Chinese words

3.If you want to know China about its culture, medicine, business, science, you’d better surf ______.

A. Learn Mandarin online                   B. Wanfang Data

C. Rainland kids discover Chinese        D. The Chinese Outpost

4. The underlined word “gateway” in the last paragraph probably refers to ______.

A. an opening in a wall that can be closed by a gate[来源:学*科*网Z*X*X*K]

B. a place through which you can go to another place  

C. the space when a door is open 

D. a means of getting or achieving something

 

Romantic comedies have long been regarded as the perfect movie for a first date. But according to a study, romantic comedies such as Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill could be bad for your love life.

Rather than being harmless entertainment, 'rom-coms' give people unrealistic and potentially unhealthy expectations about real-life relationships, scientists say.

Researchers found that those who watched romantic comedies were more likely to believe in predestined love (缘份) than those who preferred other kinds of movie.

They were also more likely to believe that perfect relationships happen instantly, and were less likely to believe that couples need to work at relationships.

Watching just one romantic comedy is enough to sway people's attitudes to romantic love, they found.

Dr Bjarne Holmes, who led the research, said: "We are not killing joys -- we are not saying that people shouldn't watch these movies. But we are saying that it would be helpful if people were more aware and more critical of the messages in these films. The problem is that while most of us know that the idea of a perfect relationship is unrealistic, some of us are still more influenced than we realize."

For the first part of the study, Dr Holmes and colleagues at the Family and Personal Relationships Laboratory at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, studied 40 box office hits from 1995 to 2005.

Most of those comedies described couples falling instantly in love and promoted the idea of fate --the belief that there is just one perfect companion out there, they found.

"There's a belief of destiny and couples in romantic comedies immediately understand each other," said Dr Holmes. "If you think that's how things are, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed."

In a second study, Dr Holmes asked around 100 student volunteers to watch Serendipity -- the 2001 romantic comedy starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, while 100 watched a David Lynch drama.

In a questionnaire after the film ended, students watching the rom-com were far more likely to believe in fate and destiny than those who had watched the 'straight' film.

72. According to the passage if you are fond of watching romantic comedies, you ____.

A. are more likely to believe in future love

B. must be influenced by films

C. may expect a perfect relationship in your love life

D. may fall instantly in love with one of your classmates

73. The underlined word "destiny" most probably means __     .

A. fate             B. love            C. beauty          D. romance

74. The purpose of Dr Bjame Hohnes' research is __     .

A. to promote the idea of fate

B. to ask us to keep away from romantic comedies

C. to show how romantic comedies have influence on our life

D. to remind us of the negative effect of watching romantic comedies

75. It is implied in the passage that        .

A. watching comedies is harmful to a stable marriage

B. it is necessary for couples to work at their relationship

C. couples falling instantly in love end up with an unhappy marriage

D. we should watch more 'straight' films instead of romantic comedies

 

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