New York Time—A gunman killed eight people at a mall in Omaha this afternoon and then killed himself, setting off panic among holiday shoppers, the police said.

“The person who we believe to be the shooter has died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,” Sgt. Teresa Negron of the Omaha Police Department said at televised news. “We have been able to clear the mall,” she said. “We don’t believe we have any other shooters.” The police said that at least five other people had been injured in the shootings.

She did not give the shooter’s identity. “We are still conducting the investigation,” Sergeant Negron said, adding that the city’s mayor, who was out of town, was on his way back to Omaha.

    She said the police received a 911 call from someone inside the Westroads Mall on the west side of Omaha, and shots could be heard in the background. The first police officers arrived at the mall six minutes after the first call, she said, but by then the shootings were over.

    It is reported that the gunman left a suicide note that was found at his home by relatives. A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity (匿名) said the note indicated that the gunman wanted to “go out in style

The shootings broke the usually banal routine of holiday shopping. The gunman was said by some witnesses to have fired about 20 shots into a crowd. Some customers and workers ran screaming from the mall, while others dived into dressing rooms to hide from the shooter.

   Shoppers and store workers were trapped inside the mall, which has roughly 135 stores. Others streamed out of mall exits with their hands raised. President Bush was in Omaha this morning to deliver a speech, but he had left the city by the time the shootings took place.

Where did the shooting first come out?

A. In a newspaper                     B. On the Internet    

C. In TV news                          D. In a police poster

What do the underlined words “go out in style” probably mean?

A. go out of the mall in particular clothes

B. walk in the mall with everybody focused on

C. go to a socially event by fashionable means

D. stop his life in a impressive way

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Nobody knows why the shooter did so and nothing was found at his home.

B. The city’s mayor happened not to be in the city when the shooting took place.

C. Police arrived at the mall before the shootings were over and rescued customers.

D. The official who showed what the note mean have no request of his own identity.

We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. There is only one shooter in this event.

B. The shooting created fears among the customers.

C. An important holiday is coming soon.

D. President Bush came here for the shooting.

Great Wall Xmas BBQ
Beijing Hikers are organizing a three-hour hike on a rarely visited part of the Great Wall and will celebrate Christmas afterwards with a Christmas barbecue dinner in a small hotel at the foot of the Great Wall . Meet at 8:30 am. Dec. 25 in front of Starbucks at Lido Holiday Inn , Jiangtai Lu. Please write to info@beijinghikers.com or 139-100-25516.
Pingyao tour
High Club will guide a weekend trip to Pingyao , an ancient walled town near Taiyuan , capital city of Shanxi Province . The town is one of the best-preserved(保护) featuring courtyard buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) . Among them is the Qiao family courtyard house, the shooting location of Zhang Yimou’s Raise the Red Lantern (《大红灯笼高高挂》). Leave on Friday (December 23) night by train and back to Beijing on Sunday morning . For sign-up and more information , contact Lucy at lucy@highclub.cn or 8580-5080,130-11171326.
New Year Harbin trip
The Chinese Culture Club is running a new year trip to Harbin , to catch a fresh view of its yearly ice and snow lantern festival .
As the temperature is expected to fall between minus 20 to 30℃, visitors are warned to prepare well with jackets , masks , fur gloves and boots. The trip sets out by train at night on December 31 and gets back on the morning January 2. The cost is 2,300 yuan (US$ 284) . Reservation(预订) is required at 8457-2772.
【小题1】One who is interested in life of ancient Chinese is more likely to contact ______.

A.139-100-25516B.1368-1911C.8580-5080D.8457-2772
【小题2】The term “BBQ” in the topic “Great Wall Xmas BBQ” should mean a kind of ________.
A.mealB.tourC.transportationD.dance
【小题3】Pingyao is worth seeing mainly because ________.
A.it’s a town surrounded by walls
B.it’s near the capital of Shanxi
C.its buildings are old and in good condition
D.a famous film was shot there
【小题4】The last advertisement of New Year Harbin trip offers NO information about _____.
A.what to take thereB.what to buy there
C.when to leave and returnD.how much to pay

With long brown hair, deep blue eyes, a tall and thin figure(身躯) Brad Pitt seems to be a born actor.He made his first appearance in a film in 1990.Though he was in the film for only 14 minutes, people flooded the cinema to see him.In his next film Pitt played the role of a fisherman.To make the film better, he learned the skill of fishing from a fisherman.

Pitt, caring more about roles than money, has a special favor for the “hard” roles.After reading the screenplay(剧本) of “Legends of the Fall”, he was attracted by the leading character.He asked for a lower pay from the shooting team and was willing to work in hard conditions in the Rocky Mountains for six months.“The film gives the chance to know life.I shall always remember the time when we were making the film,” Pitt said after completing it fully.

Pitt started his dream of art when he was in university.Though born in a common family in 1964, he showed his interest in film at an early age.After leaving high school, he went to university to study law.Because he loved film more than law, shortly before he could graduate, he dropped out for a life of his own, with only 325 dollars in hand, sometimes as a porter or a waiter.Thanks to his hard work, he finally opened up a new field of his own.

1.Pitt acted his first film at the age of        .

A.6                B.14               C.26               D.36

2.The underlined expression “a born actor” means        .

A.he was born in an actor family

B.he became an actor soon after he was born

C.he was an actor when he was born

D.he has a strong natural ability to be an actor

3.From the passage we know        .

A.Pitt became known as an actor at an early age.

B.To achieve his goal, Pitt suffered a lot before success

C.it was wrong of Pitt not to finish his university education

D.In order to develop his interest, Pitt failed to enter university

4.Which of the following words can best describe the character of Pitt?

A.Devoted.          B.Generous.         C.Selfish.           D.Mean.

 

When the shooting of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was complete, it was much more than a movie wrap-up (结束).

   Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, told The Sunday Times that he’s happy to have the time for romance now filming is over. Emma Watson, who is Hermione Granger in the movies, said she looked forward to “finally being free, being my own person” – a change signaled by her new haircut.

   Daniel Radcliffe, who has been the face of the boy wizard since 2001, said that he “did cry like a little girl” when the last movie finished.

   “It’s like the ending of a relationship,” he told The Vancouver Sun. “There’s a sense of, ‘God, what am I going to do now?’” He said he was eager to see “what life holds for him beyond Hogwarts”.

   Along with the three actors, Harry Potter fans, now in their late teens, came of age with J.K. Rowling’s characters. For them, the last film isn’t just a goodbye to a decade of magic, but the close of their childhoods.

   “We are the Harry Potter generation,” Canadian Andrea Hill, 19, told The Vancouver Sun. “We started in elementary school, reading about a boy our age who was going through the same things we were going through. We grew up, so did he.”

   For Emily Chahal, an 18-year-old student, the series has been an inspiring journey. “That first book was what started my love of literature. It was the inspiration for everything – really teaching me to appreciate my friends, and to face difficulties with a sense of courage,” she said. “I have a sense of sadness. The end of the movies is kind of the end of my childhood, too.”

   Fortunately, to the delight of die-hard fans, there are many things that keep the boy wizard alive. For example, in June this year, a Harry Potter theme park opened in Florida, US.

   Some schools in the US and UK also have Quidditch teams – players ride broomsticks. “We’re not waiting anymore to see what happens to Harry next,” Hill told The Vancouver Sun. She founded a Quidditch club at Carleton University in Canada. “We’re still engaged in that magical world.”

1..

 How did Emma Watson feel when she finished the shooting of the Harry Potter series?

A. She cried like a little girl.

B. She was ready to move onto something new.

C. She was happy to have the time for romance.

D. She felt it was like the end of a relationship.

2..

. What did Daniel Radcliffe mean by saying he was eager to see “what life holds for him beyond Hogwarts”?

A. He was bored with life in Hogwarts.

B. He couldn’t wait to graduate from Hogwarts.

C. He missed life in Hogwarts now he had left.

D. He was looking forward to new life out of Hogwarts.

3..

. The series has brought Emily Chahal all the following EXCEPT _______.

A. the chance to live in a magical world

B. the courage to face difficulties

C. the appreciation of her friends

D. encouragement to love literature

4..

 What is the main focus of the article?

A. Celebration of the close of childhood.

B. Fans’ love for the Harry Potter series.

C. Mixed feelings about the end of the series.

D. Excited anticipation of the opening of the Harry Potter theme park.

 

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