Vampires (吸血鬼)

Vampire stories go back thousands of years. The acts we now associate with vampires, such as rising from the grave and drinking blood, were popularized by eastern European stories.

Most early cultures created stories to explain things they didn’t understand. For example, hair and nails continue to grow after people die, which has already been proved possible by modern science.

These facts were unknown to most people in the 19th century, however. As a result, the legends surrounding such mysteries were kept alive.

Count Dracula

In 1897, Irish writer Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula was published, spreading the vampire stories to a mass audience. In the novel, the Count Dracula of Transylvania, a 500-year-old vampire, has drunk his country dry and must move to England in search of new victims. Dracula means “son of the dragon” or “son of the devil” in Romania.

Werewolf

The story of a half-man, half-wolf beast is as old as that of vampires, and almost as varied. In most werewolf stories, however, a beast would silently enter settlements at night and steal a young child or an animal.

The most common explanation of werewolf stories is that the beast was usually an ordinary wolf. The genetic disorder, which causes too much body hair, may also have helped to popularize the story.

Frankenstein

This is a fictional scientist created by British writer Mary Shelly in 1818. Dr Frankenstein lives in a castle and is so addicted to making living beings from parts of dead bodies that he refuses to marry.

The story of Frankenstein may have been planted in Shelly’s mind since she visited Castle Frankenstein in Germany, where an alchemist(炼金术士) tried to do experiments with the aim of making people live longer.

The Invisible Man

In HG Wells’ 1897 story, a young scientist called Griffin, manages to make himself invisible. But he cannot find a way to become visible again. He then wants to make use of his super power but finally has gone mad. Wells’ tale owes a great debt to Greek philosopher Plato’s book Republic.

The best title for this passage should be ________.

A. Origins of Ghosts   B. Tales of Horror       C. Exciting Stories       D. Science Fictions

The people in the 19th century did NOT know _________.

A. why vampires drank blood

B. why dead people rose from the grave

C. that vampires always kept their nails

D. that hair could continue to grow after people died

What do most of the werewolf stories have in common according to the passage?

A. The beast often silently entered settlements at night and stole a little child.

B. The werewolf was in genetic disorder and so had a lot of body hair.

C. An ordinary wolf would enter settlements at night and steal a child.

D. The beast was sometimes a half-man and sometimes a half-wolf.

Which of the following statements is right about Frankenstein and the Invisible Man?

A. They were produced based on the writers’ real experience.

B. They were the producers of science and technology.

C. They were not well suited to their surroundings.

D. They were folk legends in the writers’ homeland. 

Last year, two days after Christmas, we kicked China out of the house. Not the country obviously, but bits of plastic, metal, and wood with the words “Made in China”. We kept what we already had, but stopped bringing any more in. because it had coated our lives with toys, and useless stuff. Sometimes I worried about jobs sent overseas, but price triumphed over virtue at our house. We couldn’t resist what China was selling.
But on that dark Monday last year, an unease feeling washed over me as I sat on the sofa. It wasn’t until then that I noticed a fact: China was taking over the place.
It stared back at me from the empty screen of the television. I spied it in the pile of tennis shoes by the door. It glowed in the lights on the Christmas tree and watched me in the eyes of a doll lying on the floor, I slipped off the couch and sorted gifts into two piles: China and non-China. The count came to China, 25, the world, 14. Christmas, I realized, had become a holiday made by the Chinese. Suddenly I wanted China out.
I persuaded my husband, and on Jan. 1 st, we started a-year-long household embargo on Chinese imports. The idea wasn’t to punish China. And we didn’t fool ourselves into thinking because we wanted to measure how far it had pushed in. We wanted to know what it would take in time, money, and worry to kick our China habit!
In the spring, our 4-year-old son started a campaign to support “China things”. “It’s too long without China,” he cried. He kept at me all day. I have discovered for myself that China doesn’t control every aspect of our daily lives, but if you take a close look at the underside of boxes in the toy department, I promise it will give you pause. “When we can buy China things again? Let’s never stop.” My son said.
After a year without China I can tell you this: You can still live without it, but it’s getting costlier by the day. And a decade from now I may not be brave enough to try it again.
【小题1】 The best title for the text could be _______.

A.China Free Living: A Trouble One
B.A Year without “Made in China”
C.Why I Choose “Made in China”
D.“Made in China”: Good or Bad
【小题2】 According to the passage, why did the author stop bringing in things “Made in China”?
A.Because she wanted to bring back job opportunities for her natives.
B.Because she has a strong sense of nationalism against “Made in China”.
C.Because she wanted to learn what life would be like without “Made in China”.
D.Because too much stuff made in China was take over her house.
【小题3】 The Underlined word “embargo” in the forth paragraph means ________.
A.reactionB.ban
C.restrictionD.cancellation
【小题4】The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is ________.
A.to tell the readers an interesting experience
B.to describe the trouble facing a housewife
C.to explain the importance of Chinese goods
D.to show the difficulty without Chinese goods

Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. “Yes, honey. Of course.” she said.

    “Can we write him a letter?”

    She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, “Yes.”

    My heart jumped. “How? Does the mailman go there?” I asked.

    “No, but I have an idea.” Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.

    “Just wait, honey. You’ll see.” Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.

    She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped (缠绕) the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.

    “Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three.”

The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.

Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he’d persevere, dart up, and finally transcend this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditary. I prayed to be a balloon.

1.What does the underlined sentence imply?

A. When the girl asked if they could write to her father, her mother felt it hard to answer.    

B. When the girl asked if they could write to her father, her mother thought her a creative girl.

C. When the girl asked if they could write to her father, her mother believed it easy to do so.        

D. When the girl asked if they could write to her father, her mother found it easy to lie.

2.When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she _________.

A. jumped with surprise                     B. became excited

C. didn’t know how to write                           D. was worried that it couldn’t be delivered

3.In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?

A. An incurable disease.                              B. An unforgettable memory.

C. The hard time her father had.        D. The failures her father experienced.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. An unforgettable experience.                     B. The strong red balloon.

C. Fly to paradise.                       D. A great father.

 

Last year, two days after Christmas, we kicked China out of the house. Not the country obviously, but bits of plastic, metal, and wood with the words “Made in China”. We kept what we already had, but stopped bringing any more in. because it had coated our lives with toys, and useless stuff. Sometimes I worried about jobs sent overseas, but price triumphed over virtue at our house. We couldn’t resist what China was selling.

But on that dark Monday last year, an unease feeling washed over me as I sat on the sofa. It wasn’t until then that I noticed a fact: China was taking over the place.

It stared back at me from the empty screen of the television. I spied it in the pile of tennis shoes by the door. It glowed in the lights on the Christmas tree and watched me in the eyes of a doll lying on the floor, I slipped off the couch and sorted gifts into two piles: China and non-China. The count came to China, 25, the world, 14. Christmas, I realized, had become a holiday made by the Chinese. Suddenly I wanted China out.

I persuaded my husband, and on Jan. 1 st, we started a-year-long household embargo on Chinese imports. The idea wasn’t to punish China. And we didn’t fool ourselves into thinking because we wanted to measure how far it had pushed in. We wanted to know what it would take in time, money, and worry to kick our China habit!

In the spring, our 4-year-old son started a campaign to support “China things”. “It’s too long without China,” he cried. He kept at me all day. I have discovered for myself that China doesn’t control every aspect of our daily lives, but if you take a close look at the underside of boxes in the toy department, I promise it will give you pause. “When we can buy China things again? Let’s never stop.” My son said.

After a year without China I can tell you this: You can still live without it, but it’s getting costlier by the day. And a decade from now I may not be brave enough to try it again.

1. The best title for the text could be _______.

A.China Free Living: A Trouble One

B.A Year without “Made in China”

C.Why I Choose “Made in China”

D.“Made in China”: Good or Bad

2. According to the passage, why did the author stop bringing in things “Made in China”?

A.Because she wanted to bring back job opportunities for her natives.

B.Because she has a strong sense of nationalism against “Made in China”.

C.Because she wanted to learn what life would be like without “Made in China”.

D.Because too much stuff made in China was take over her house.

3. The Underlined word “embargo” in the forth paragraph means ________.

A.reaction                              B.ban

C.restriction                             D.cancellation

4.The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is ________.

A.to tell the readers an interesting experience

B.to describe the trouble facing a housewife

C.to explain the importance of Chinese goods

D.to show the difficulty without Chinese goods

 

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