The Lord of the Rings, one of the best sellers in the new millennium(千年),was made up of three parts ―The Fellowship of the Ring,Two Towers,and The Return of the King. Millions upon millions of people have read it in over25different languages, but fewer know about the author and the history of the composition of the creative masterwork.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892. His parents died when he was a child. Living in England with his aunt,Tolkien and his cousins were fond of playing languages, a hobby that led to Tolkien,s becoming skilled in Welsh,Greek,Gothic,Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon.

After graduating from Oxford,Tolkien served in World War L In 1917, while recovering from trench fever,he began composing the mythology(神话)for The Rings. As a professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1930s at Oxford,Tolkien was part of an informal discussion group called the Inklings,which included  several writers. The group was soon listening to chapters of Tolkien,s imaginative work The Hobbit, Hobbit was a name Tolkien created for a local people that could best be described as half-sized members of the English rural(乡村的)class. Hobbits live in hillside holes. One of them,Bilbo Baggins, looks for treasures with a group of dwarves (侏懦).On the way,he meets the twisted,pitiful creature Gollum,from whom he sees a golden ring that makes the holder invisible.

One of Tolkien's students persuaded her employer,publisher Allen & Unwin,to look at the draft(草稿).The chairman of the firm,Stanley Unwin,thought that the best judge for a children' s book would be his ten-year-old son. The boy earned a shilling for reporting back that the adventure was exciting,and The Hobbit was published in 1937.

It sold so well that Unwin asked for a continuation. Over a dozen years later, in 1954,Tolkien produced The Lord of the Rings, a series of books so creative that they hold readers―new and old ―after their publication.

(   ) 8. What can we learn from the text?

A.   The Lord of the Rings didn' t sell well in the last millennium.

B.   People know better about Tolkien himself than about his works.

C.   Tolkien was quite familiar with Old English.

D.   Tolkien knew very well about different kinds of local languages in Africa. 

(   ) 9. What can we learn about "Hobbit" that Tolkien created in his works?

A.  Hobbit was a race living in English downtown areas.

B.  Hobbit was a local people who were very tall and strong.

C.  Hobbit was a social group of people who lived in old castles.

D.  Hobbit was a group of people who were mostly dwarves.

(   ) 10. Which of the following helped most in making The Hobbit published?

A. One of Tolkien's students. B. Stanley Unwin's son.

C. Allen & Unwin. D. Bilbo Baggins.

(   ) 11. What is mainly discussed in the text?

A.  The Lord of the Rings and its writer.

B.  A completely new masterwork in the new millennium.

C.  A famous professor at Oxford University.

D.  The power of the magic ring.

(   ) 12. Which of the following shows the right order of Mr. Tolkien's life experience?

a. He had his The Hobbit published.

b. He became a member of the Inklings.

c.  He served in World War I

d. He became an undergraduate at Oxford.

e.  His work The Lord of the Rings came to the world.

f.  He moved to England to live with his aunt.

A. f-d-b-c-a-e B. f-d-c-b-a-e C. f-c-d-b-e-a D. d-f-c-a-b-e

Switzerland is the best place to be born in the world in 2013, and the US is just 16th. A new study produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit says American babies will have a dimmer(暗淡的)future than those born in Hong Kong,Ireland and even Canada. The EIU,a sister company of The Economist,attempted to measure how well countries will provide the best opportunities for a healthy,safe and prosperous life in years to come.

People born in Switzerland will tend to be the happiest and have the best quality of life judged in terms of wealth,health and trust in public institutions,according to the analysis. The Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark also all make the top five in a "quality-of-life" index (指数)where it is best to be born next year.

One of the most important factors is being rich,but other factors come into play including crime,  

trust in public institutions and the health of family life. In total,the index takes into account 11 factors. These include fixed factors such as geography,others that change slowly over time such as demography (人口学),social and cultural characteristics,and the state of the world economy. The index also looks at income per head in 2030, which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood. Small economies dominate the top 10 countries,with Australia coming second and New Zealand and the Netherlands not too far behind.

Half of the top 10 countries are European, but only one,the Netherlands,is from the Euro-zone. The crisis-ridden south of Europe, including Greece, Portugal and Spain,lags behind despite the advantage of a favourable climate. Interestingly, the largest European economies ― Germany, France and Britain ― do not do particularly well. Nigeria has the unenviable(不值得羨慕的)title of being the worst country for a baby to enter the world in 2013.

(   ) 4. According to the passage,the happiest people live in .

A. Denmark    B. Switzerland C. Germany D. Nigeria

(   ) 5. The factors of the best place to be born don't include      

A. economy    B- geography

C. trust in public institutions D. pollution

(   ) 6. From the passage,we know      

A.  The Economist Intelligence Unit is a company

B.  The Economist attempted to measure the best place to live

C.  the Scandinavian countries are hardly at the top of the list

D.  half of the top 10 countries are from the Euro-zone

(   ) 7. The purpose of writing the passage is to show people      

A.  the best place to be born in 2013

B.  a new study made by the EIU

C.   the worst country to be born in 2013

D.  the factors of measuring the best place to be born

 Speaking of Londoners,a stereotype comes to mind―a man in a dark suit with an umbrella in hand and Big Ben barely visible against the foggy sky. Londoners often give the impression of being reserved.

But The New York Times recently issued a report headlined "True Londoners Are Extinct". What defines a Londoner exactly? The criteria can be tricky.

The newspaper discovered that over the last decade,the foreign-born population in London reached 2.6 million,about a third of the city' s population.

"Foreigners can't be Londoners," a British political campaigner told the newspaper.  

A true Londoner would never support Manchester United,the newspaper quoted a man in a pub. Fair enough,since one has four other top league clubs to choose from,you must be too ignorant to be a Londoner.

Next issue is where you live. There are those who believe that true Londoners are cockneys― those who were born within earshot of Bow Bells.

The oddest claim of all was from a pub goer: "A real Londoner would never, never, ever,eat at one of those bloody Angus steakhouses in the West End. That' s how you tell."

Indeed,London is a city "prejudiced" with directions. You quickly discover which part of the city suits your temperament. West London,one woman said to The New York Times, was too "brittle" for her. But the West End is the place where the noble accent was born along with shopping malls and top residential estates.

South Londoners hate going north. North Londoners forget there's a south beyond the South Bank. East London is close to the port and the site of early industrial development. It, s often considered one of the poorest areas in the city.

"You can' t cut the prejudice out of London," a university student said to the newspaper. But it is this uneasy charm that gives the city its unique dynamic.

(   ) 1, The author thinks the claims of who are true Londoners are .

A. strange    B. special C. creative    D. misleading

(   ) 2. If a Londoner supports Manchester United, he will be considered      

A. tricky    B. honest C. ignorant    D. tolerant

(   ) 3. Which of the following is an opinion rather than a fact?

A.   The West End occupies some Angus steakhouses.

B.   There are four other top football league clubs in London.

C.   East London is close to the port and the site of early industry.

D.   True Londoners are cockneys born within earshot of Bow Bells.

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