Material Girl no more? Madonna says writing children’s books is more satisfying than being a movie star.

Her book, The English Roses, wen t on sale on September 15th, appearing in 100 countries and in 30 languages as the first in her series of tales for children. The pop diva (女歌唱家), whose only book until now was the 1992 photo essay titled “Sex”, said she wrote the books to teach children some of the life lessons she’s learned over the years.

“The most fun that I’ve had of all the things I’ve done successfully has been to write these books. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m not doing it to become more famous, and I’m not doing it to become richer. I’m doing it because I want to share something I know with children.”

Hours after its release, the 43?page book was already No. 3 on Amazon, com’s sales list. The first print is 1 million copies worldwide, with more than 750,000 in the United States. The English Roses is about a friendship shared by four girls and their mutual (共同的) envy of a beautiful classmate, with illustrations (插图) by fashion artist Jeffrey Fulvimari.

“There is one life?giving force in the world,” Madonna declared. “When we disconnect from this lifegiving force, that’s when we bring pain and suffering into our lives. Each of the stories has to do with different ways you disconnect from God. ”Madonna also said she was deeply affected by the experience of raising two children, Lourdes, 6, and Rocco, 3. The English Roses is the latest among a growing number of celebrity?written children’s books.

The next book in the series, “Mr Peabody’s Apples,”will be out in November.Each tale is set in a different time and  place and has new characters and different illustrators.

1.How many books does Madonna’s series of tales include?

A.At least 3.             B.4.             C.At least 2.               D.6.

2.According to the idea of Madonna, the underlined phrase “life-giving force”in Paragraph 5 refers to       .

A.The English Roses.      B.God            C.Mr Peabody’s Apples.   D.her life

3.When Madonna said writing children’s books was more satisfying than being a movie star,she meant that        .

A.she was more satisfied with her writing children’s books

B.she was more satisfied as a movie star       C.being a movie star was not really successful

D.she was not a Material Girl any more

4.According to the passage,Madonna wrote the book The English Roses in order to        .

A.provide children with fun                       B.teach children some life lessons

C.teach children how to become famous             D.share her success with children

A man was selling medicine at a fair(集市).At first he sold bottles of a cure(药剂)for colds(感冒)for just a dollar a bottle.
Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure.
Then,when he had a big crowd, the man held up a very small bottle.
“And now,ladies and gentlemen,” he shouted,“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for.The cure for old age.Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever.”?
“And,ladies and gentlemen,” the man continued,“I'm not going to charge you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine.I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle.I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle. Now,ladies and gentlemen,I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle. Think,my friends,for ten dollars you can live forever.”?
Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this.
One person shouted,“If it can make you live forever,why don't you drink it?”
Then another person cried,“Yes,you look as if you're at least sixty years old.?
“Thank you,sir,thank you,” the man answered,“I'm so glad you said that. My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine.”?
The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man. One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by, “Is that true?”?he asked.“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine?”?
“Don't ask me,” the assistant said,“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years.”?
【小题1】What did the man sell at first at the fair?

A.a cure for colds
B.bottles
C.a cure for old age
D.a medicine that made people live forever
【小题2】How much did the man charge for the cure for old age?
A.one dollar a bottle
B.twenty-five dollars a bottle
C.ten dollars a bottle
D.fifty dollars a bottle
【小题3】What does the word “assistant” mean in this passage?
A.仆人B.朋友C.同伴D.助手
【小题4】What does this passage really mean?
A.The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive.
B.The man is not honest,and neither is his assistant.
C.The cheaper the medicine is,the more people will buy.
D.The two men are very honest,and they would like to help people live forever.


“When one of the doctors criticizes(批评) me, I get defensive. I feel like a child again, being scolded, and I want to explain that I’m not wrong,” says Viola, a nurse. This is a common reaction(反应) to criticism, but not a good one. There are better ways of dealing with criticism.
Try to be objective(客观的).When Sol was criticized by his new employer for not having made a sale, Sol’s reaction was to feel sorry for himself. “I had put everything I had into making that sale,” Sol says. “And I felt that I had failed as a person.I had to learn through experience not to react like that to each failure.”
Take time to cool down. Rather than react at once to criticism, take some time to think over what was said. Your first question should be whether the criticism is fair from the other person’s position. The problem may be a simple misunderstanding of what you did or your reasons for doing it.
Take positive(积极的) action. After you cool down, consider what you can do about the situation. The best answer may be “nothing”. “I finally realized that my boss was having personal problems and taking  them out on me because I was there ,” says Sheila. “His criticisms didn’t really have anything to do with my work, so nothing I said or did was going to change them.” In Sheila’s case, the best way to deal with it was to leave her job However, that’s an extreme(极端的) reaction.
You may simply explain your opinion without expecting an in-depth(深入的) discussion. You may even decide that the battle isn’t worth fighting this time. The key, in any case , is to have a reasonable plan.
64. When Sol was criticized by his employer, he________.
A. argued bitterly with his employer
B. was angry and gave up his job
C. was sorry for what he did
D. was sad and self-pitying
65. According to the writer, you should take time to think about criticism because ________.
A. people may have a mistaken idea of what you did
B. you should welcome other people’s opinions
C. people may discuss it with you in depth
D. you need time to understand yourself
66. When the writer says that “The best answer may be ‘ nothing’ ”,he means you may
decide _________.
A. to take no notice of the criticism          B. to argue with your boss    
C. you need to change your job             D. you’ve done nothing wrong
67.The writer thinks Sheila might decide to leave her job because her boss______.
A.didn’t like her appearance         B. refused to change his opinion
C.made an unreasonable critcism    D.refused to talk to her about the criticism

My oldest child, Emma, just returned to campus after a long holiday break to finish up her last period of college. These days, friends and family have begun flooding me with one question: What is she going to do after graduation?

The job market is, after all, awfully tough. Just this month the Federal Reserve Bank published a study showing that “recent graduates are increasingly working in low-paid jobs or working part-time.” The bright spot, according to the study, is for students who majored(主修) in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — areas in which recent graduates “have tended to do relatively well”.

But Emma is a student of the humanities(人文) at a small college. She’s an American Studies major with a focus on the politics and culture of food. For quite a while, I think her field of study is so fashionable right now that I’m not the least bit worried she will find a good job. Yet the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve decided to be honest. “I’m not sure what Emma is going to do,” I now say. “But she’s gotten a great education and has really found her interest. — and I know those things will serve her well over the course of her life.”

Nowadays, more and more universities and colleges are being measured by the salaries of their recent graduates. In this climate, encouraging your kid to study the humanities, seems, at best, unwise or, at worst, unconcerned with earning a living. But a college is not a vocational(职业) school. And promoting STEM subjects should not be society’s only answer to helping the next generation grow in a competitive world.

From the beginning, we never urged Emma to pick a college or a major with an eye on its expected return on money, as more and more families are doing. To Emma, what really matters will be something that we may not be able to measure for quite a long time: Emma’s contribution to the world and how happy she is in it.

1.The author’s friends and family_________.

A. are worried about Emma’s safety

B. have been worrying about the flood

C. are concerned about Emma’s future?????????????

D. are worried about the job market

2.What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A. The number of the graduates is increasing.

B. STEM graduates can be better employees.

C. STEM graduates are in relatively greater demand.

D. More and more graduates like to do a part-time job.

3.Why did Emma choose a major in the humanities?

A. Because she is interested in it.

B. Because her mother told her to.

C. Because it is increasingly popular.

D. Because she wants further education.

4.According to the author, what matters most in choosing a major is that_________.

A. it should be among the STEM

B. it should be fashionable and interesting

C. it should allow a good job and a high salary

D. it should bring achievements and happiness

 

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