Taylor sings with heart

The music industry is never short of teen pop stars with wonderful looks, but it doesn’t often find one like US singer Taylor Swift. “Beneath Taylor Swift’s not-a-girl, not-yet-a-woman sweetness hides a very skillful songwriting technique (技巧),” writes Leah Greenblatt with Entertainment Weekly.

Songwriting, the country singer explains, is “how I deal with problems. I am used to writing about things that really influences me most.” So in her songs, there is always something true and honest. They seem like stories from a diary. And that certainly helps Swift attract her audience.

She’s sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first two albums, 2006’s self-titled debut (首张专辑) and 2008’s Fearless. She’s the youngest artist ever to be named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Not surprisingly, there were great expectations for her third album, Speak Now, which came out late last month, where she again returned to her own life for material. The 14 songs “are all about the last two years... when life was a little bit bigger and crazier,” says Swift. “So I’ve written about the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18, 19 and 20.”

What led to Taylor’s fame?

A. Her wonderful looks.              B. Her songwriting skills together with her looks.

C. Her beautiful voice.                 D. Her special life experience in her teenage years.

Which of the following is true?

A. Taylor is now in her twenties.

B. Taylor’s the youngest Artist of the Year at the Academy Awards

C. Taylor has produced three albums up till now.

D. Taylor has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

What may be written in the album, Speak Now?

A. Her unhappy experience with her boyfriend. k*s5*u

B. Her concern for her popularity.

C. Her happy childhood.

D. Her worries for environmental pollution. 

London Underground

    The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system was born.

    The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3. 7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day.  Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰), as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.

40. What led the British government to build the London Underground?

    A.  Traffic jams and pollution.

    B.  Population and pollution.

    C.  Overcrowding and traffic jams.

    D.  The poverty and subway problems. 

41. How did the London Underground solve the smoke problem?

    A.  It made the tunnels larger.

    B.  It put fans in the tunnels.

    C.  It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels. 

D.  It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train.

42. The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “______”.

    A.  be troublesome         

    B.  become popular and fashionable

    C.  keep up with           

    D.  seize

43. Which of the following is TRUE?

    A.  To relocate the workers’ homes outside London,the government built the subway.

    B.  There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened.

    C.  The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic.

D.  There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened.


Recently the World Health Organization announced that the disease of smallpox(天花)had almost been wiped out in most parts of the world, thanks to widespread vaccination(种牛痘). Most people are vaccinated at least once in their lives and if they wish to travel from one country to another they must be able to prove that they have had a recent vaccination. In this way the disease has been prevented from spreading and today one seldom hears of it at all.
This is mainly because of the great discovery made by a village doctor, Edward Jenner, in about 1798 when he published his report of his new experiment called vaccination (from the word ‘vacca’ meaning a cow). Jenner discovered that people who worked with cattle often suffered from a harmless disease which they caught from the cattle, but these people never seemed to get smallpox. So he experimented by putting the disease into a small opening on the arms of healthy people, and though their arms became painful for a day or two, they soon recovered and none of these people ever got smallpox.
So the news of the wonderful discovery spread to other countries and people
rushed to their doctors to be vaccinated. In many countries the simple way to deal with the arm was done on thousands of people, and the terrible smallpox began to disappear.
71.Vaccination against smallpox has been so successful that _________ .
A.the discoverer made a large amount of money
B.Dr Jenner was given a prize by the World Health Organization
C.smallpox has almost disappeared in most countries
D.smallpox was no longer in existence on earth
72 .Smallpox has been prevented from spreading through the following measures EXCEPT that _____.
A.most people were vaccinated against the disease at least once
B.people going abroad should promise not to spread the disease
C.people travelling from one country to another must prove they
are vaccinated
D.people must be vaccinated shortly before going to foreign countries
73 .What led Dr Jenner to experiment with vaccination was that ________ . 
A.he wanted to make a great discovery and publish it
B.vaccination could make people's arms safe
C.he tried to cure the farmers of some disease caught from the cattle
D.those who worked with cattle seemed free from getting smallpox
74.The doctor's new discovery was called ‘vaccination’ for the reason that ________ .
A.he discovered smallpox near a farm
B.he experimented with a disease from the cattle
C.he was working with cattle in the countryside
D.people got the disease of smallpox from the cattle
75.The news of the discovery ________.
A.caught people's attention from all corners of the world
B.spread far and near in the western countries
C.made people rush to Dr Jenner for vaccination
D.helped to get rid of the terrible disease of smallpox

SECTION B

Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet

Imagine eating the dishes of 102 different countries in as many consecutive (连续的)days . That 's what Noah Galuten has done. He raced around the Southland (the name given to the are of towns and cities that surround Los Angeles county in California) for almost four months, indulging in (沉迷于)lunches, dinners and a few breakfast without a break.

Although he's not chef (厨师),Galuten grew up around good food. His mother mainly cooked Italian food, and he recalled standing on a stool (板凳)making sauce when he was sue years old. He also cooked dinners for friends during his college years. And he had experimented and adapted food from many cultures.

Galuten's food journey began after he graduated from college. Unemployed and back in Los Angeles, he decided to try something that he had a passion for. And he hoped it would help him keep his mind off his unemployment depression.

Then he set up a blog and began his food journey. The requirement was to eat one dish at each place. After each meal, he would write a blog about the food, the cost, the environment and the company, It was indeed an incredible challenge. Sometimes Galuten searched online and contacted a friend of a friend for a restaurant tip or seeking out local food companies, he mostly dined at inexpen­sive restaurants.

His journey also used up his savings. Galuten figured that he spent about $ 11, 000 during the 102 - day experiment, including groceries, meals, gasoline, rent and other living cost. Now that he has used up all his money and is $ 4, 000 in debt, he is seriously joy 一 hunting.

But he pointed out, "I feel very happy now, although I am in debt. It's not to say that a lack of money has caused my happiness, because the feeling is not related to money at all. It* s more about doing that is important to you and sticking to what makes you happy, then making it the focus of your life."

81.What led Galuten to start his daily food journey? (no more than 10 words)

______________________________________________________________________________

82.How did Galuten collect information for his food journey? (no more than 8 words)

______________________________________________________________________________

83.What can we learn from Galuten's words in the last paragraph? (no more than 12 words)

______________________________________________________________________________

84.What is the passage mainly about ? (no more than 6 words )

______________________________________________________________________________

 

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