题目内容
“Up until about five years ago, students at this school could have worn anything they wanted on Halloween,” said Rosemarie Nielson, a sixth-grade teacher at St. Theresa School, a Roman Catholic elementary school in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx where there is a prohibition on toy weapons.
“When you consider all the horrific things that have happened in recent years, including 9/11, I can’t blame any school for wanting to stay away from anything that might promote violence,” Ms. Nielson s aid.
Mary Ellen Manniello, whose daughter, Courtney, 9, is a fourth grader at St. Gabriel School, a Roman Catholic elementary school in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, said she understood why officials had banned weapons with costumes. “They’re learning more about guns from issues in the street than educational issues.”
This year, the school has gone one step further and is prohibiting all costumes at its Halloween festivities. Ms. Manniello said it had become “a chaotic scene,” with parents helping their children change into their costumes at school.
Some parents said the no-weapons policy for Halloween costumes went too far and denied children a chance to express themselves.
“Halloween has always been the one day when it was acceptable for our children to be dressed like somebody they are not, like a cowboy or a pirate or a person from outer space, and now we’re taking that away from them,” said Laura Santoro, a nurse from New Milford, Conn., whose 7-year-old son, Johnny, is a second grader at Northville Elementary School there.
Ms. Santoro said that her son would dress as Capt. Jack Sparrow, the character played by Johnny Depp in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, at the school’s Halloween party, but that he would not be allowed to take a sword — part of a policy that caught her by surprise last Halloween.
“I sent my son to school last year dressed as a special force Power Ranger, and he was told that he couldn’t take along his red laser blaster, which really surprised me, because the laser is red and made of plastic and lights up, and it could never, ever be mistaken for a real gun,” Ms. Santoro said. “I mean, come on, the whole thing is getting really sad.”
1.What do you think is the writer’s purpose of writing the passage?
A. To introduce to the public the no-weapons policy for Halloween costumes.
B. To state parents’ attitudes towards the no-weapons policy for Halloween costumes.
C. To tell the public that children should bring any weapons for Halloween costumes.
D. To analyze the fact that the no-weapons policy for Halloween costumes goes too far.
2.According to the passage, some parents understand the no-weapon policy for Halloween costumes because ____________.
A. schools should take a cautious approach to Halloween to prevent violence.
B. children are buying real guns in the street and there is always violence now.
C. those parents like to help their children change into their costumes at school.
D. children are learning more about guns from educational issues.
3.Which of the following is probably right according to the passage?
A. Children could bring any weapons into school five or six years ago.
B. The parents surveyed are those whose children are in elementary schools.
C. Guns are necessary on Halloween for children to express themselves.
D. Jack Sparrow is an actor who at one time acted as a pirate in a movie.
4.What do the underlined words “laser blaster” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. A kind of costume. B. A real gun.
C. A toy weapon. D. A kind of plastic.
1.B
2.A
3.B
4.C
●Ms Tan, you’ve referred to your new novel as your eighth book.
That’s because it took me six or seven attempts at a second novel before I started and completed this one.
●Why do you think you had so many false starts?
I would say that my reasons were wrong. I was trying to prove that I wasn’t just a mother-daughter storyteller, or I was trying to prove that I didn’t just have to write about things that were strictly Chinese or Chinese-American. Those were never the right reasons for writing those early stories. And I could never come up with other better reasons for continuing them.
●What kept you going on this book?
This book was different because it was based on my mother’s real life. The reason for writing it became more personal and emotional. After The Joy Luck Club came out, my mother was always explaining to people that she wasn’t any of the mothers in that book. And at one point she said to me, “Next book tells my true story.” And then she started telling me things I never knew before. She also told me many, many stories, because my mother doesn’t generalize(笼统地表达). The book really grew out of that.
●Have you ever visited China?
Yes. I’ve been there twice: about three years ago and then again last November, both times with my mother and my husband.
●Was it difficult to understand the Chinese-American dialect(方言) without sounding like a parody(拙劣的模仿)?
No, because it’s the language I’ve heard all my life from my mother. She speaks English as it’s direct translation from Chinese. But it’s more than that. Her language also has more imagery than English.
●Can you think of an example?
Somebody might say to me, “Don’t work so hard. You’ll kill yourself.” My mother will say to me，“Why do you press all your brains out on this page for someone else？” So it’s very vivid. That’s the way she talks.
●Have many readers told you that the Chinese mother in your book reminded them of the typical Jewish (有癖好的) mother?
Many people have told me that. I think the mother-daughter relationship is very intense(紧张) in both cases. Culturally there is an acceptance that mothers have the power to tell their children, especially their daughters, how to conduct their lives --- not simply up until the time they are 18, but for the rest of their lives. However, when children grow up in a different culture from their parents’，they tend to keep more secrets from their parents. The children think, “They just wouldn’t understand that I had to do this.” And that can really create a gap, and it can grow as the number of secrets grows.
【小题1】Based on the questions in this interview, what do you think Ms Tan’ s profession is?
| A．A journalist. | B．A story-writer. | C．An interviewer. | D．An interviewee. |
| A．It’ s about her real life in America. |
| B．The name of the book is The Joy Luck Club. |
| C．It is the result of many times of carefull thought. |
| D．It includes many works of her mother. |
| A．How does she think of her mother’ s language? |
| B．How many books does she plan to write? |
| C．When did she visit China? |
| D．How is generation gap created? |
| A．Tan’ s mother is a good storyteller |
| B．Tan plans to write another book about her mother |
| C．Tan plans to return to China |
| D．Tan’ s mother is hard to communicate with because of personality |
| A．how to keep secrets from parents |
| B．how to deal with the mother-daughter relationship |
| C．how to conduct the lives |
| D．how the generation gap comes about |
Despite the fact that it has never been seen almost everyone is familiar with the legendary unicorn(独角兽). Descriptions of unicorns have been found dating from ancient times. The great philosopher Aristotle theorized that there were two types of unicorn--- the so-called Indian Ass and the Oryx, a kind of antelope. Unicorns are often used in the logo of a noble family, town council or university as their special sign. Even Scotland is represented by a unicorn.
According to the legend, anyone attempting to catch a unicorn had to be extremely careful as it was very fierce and dangerous. A clever trick suggested by unicorn-trappers, in order to catch this amazing animal without being hurt by its horn, was for the hunter to stand in front of a tree and then to move quickly behind it as the unicorn dashed angrily. Hopefully, the creature could then be caught when its horn was stuck in the tree.
When hollowed out and used as a drinking-cup, the unicorn’s horn was said to have the power to offer protection against person. It was believed that nobody could be harmed-by drinking the contents of a unicorn’s horn. Right up until the French Revolution in 1789, the French court was said to have used cups made of “unicorn” horn in order to protect the king. In addition, the horn was said to have medicinal value, so much so that it could be sold for more than ten times the price of the same weight of gold. What, then, was “unicorn” horn? We know at times the rhino(犀牛) was confused with this legendary creature. A drinking-cup supposedly made of “unicorn” horn was discovered to be made of the horn of a rhino.
1.Which of the following is TRUE of the unicorn?
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A．It was not historically recorded |
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B．Its horn was first used in France |
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C．It was similar to the Indian Ass and the Oryx |
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D．It could be the symbol of a university |
2.To catch a unicorn, the unicorn-trappers had to try all of the following EXCEPT ____.
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A．attracting the unicorn to attack |
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B．making use of the tree as a defense |
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C．hiding quickly behind the unicorn |
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D．having the unicorn horn stuck in the tree |
3.The last paragraph is mainly about ____.
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A．the functions of the unicorn horn |
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B．the users of the unicorn horn |
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C．the price of the unicorn horn |
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D．the comparison between the unicorn horn and the rhino horn |
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Box Office Instructions |
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Discounts/ Service charges: We offer children (12 and under), seniors (65 and over) and students (student ID card required) discounts on all seats. Please call the Box Office to know about any other possible discounts. |
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Returns/ Exchanges: We are happy to offer returns or exchanges of tickets bought up until the close of the last business day before the show with a $3.00 per ticket fee for this service. The box office must be informed directly in order to exchange tickets to another date (this service is not available online). |
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Friendly reminders: Latecomers will not be permitted to enter the hall until a suitable break in the performance. Children must be seated where they can be looked after by parents. Please show consideration for other audiences by not talking during the performance, and please encourage children to do the same. Cameras and recording equipment are not allowed to be used in our theatre. Please turn off all cell phones while enjoying the performance. |
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Will call: Please tell us at the time of booking if you would like your tickets mailed to you, otherwise they will be held for pickup at the box office. |
1.We can learn from the passage that exchanges of tickets bought ________.
A. are free of charge B. are not available until the last business day
C. will not be given a big cash discount D. need to contact the box office directly
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Latecomers will not be permitted to enter the theatre.
B. There is a special area for children in the theatre.
C. The audience is not allowed to take photos in the theatre.
D. Children can talk in a low voice during the performance.
3. According to the passage, the audience ________.
A. can receive their tickets by mail B. can see the performance online
C. can’t take cell phones to the theatre D. can’t return tickets in any case