Paris has the Eiffel Tower; New York has the Statue of Liberty; and Brussels, the Manneken  Piss.

Think of the Belgian capital and, if anything, you think of the small peeing （撒尿） boy ^____  a 60-meter-high bronze figure standing on a block, supplying a constant stream of water to the basin under him.

Some might laugh. But for Jacques Stroobants, the statue is up there with the best of them.

“I’m proud of him. People come from all around the world to see him,” says 60-year-old Stroobants with a fatherly glance at the little boy.

As the most famous landmark of Brussels, Manneken Piss has a very special place in the heart of Belgians.

The original Manneken Piss dates back to 1388, but the statue tourists see today dates from 1619 when the city built a second one after the original was destroyed.

Many stories go round Manneken Piss. Nobody knows why he was made. One story is that he saved Brussels by putting out the flames of a deadly fire with his well-aimed piss. But the most believable story is that the boy, the son of a wealthy man, was kidnapped. The father had a statue built in honor of the way his son was found-peeing against a tree.

Perhaps best-known for his naked beauty, the “peeing boy” has also been clothed in some of the finest clothes money can buy.

Stroobants has been changing his clothes for the last 29 years. On average, he has clothes on 300 days a year. And on special days, he pees beer.

A few of the ways he’s been dressed are; a football player, Mozart and an army general. Now, he has more than 600 pieces of clothes.

There is no strict charge for those wishing to provide clothes for the little boy. But certain conditions must be met.

“The clothes cannot include either advertising or political message,” said Stroobants, because they would cheapen the national treasure.

But Manneken Piss is still something local people can make money from ^___ by selling all kinds of souvenirs.

72. Which of the following is NOT true about Maneken Piss?

A. It has a history of more than 600 years.          B. It stands in Brussels.

C. It is best known for the clothes he wears.       D. It is 60 meters high.

73. The Manneken Piss has a special place in the heart of Belgians because          .

A. it’s good-looking with water running constantly

B. it brings joys to people who see it

C. it helps people make beer

D. it’s a symbol of the city.

74. We can learn from the passage that          .

A. for most of the year, the boy is naked

B. Stroobants is probably in charge of taking care of the statue

C. people can provide any clothes for Manneken Piss

D. people make money by advertising Manneken Piss

75．Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

A. Tourists cannot provide clothes for the peeing boy.

B. The Manneken Piss has attracted many visitors.

C. The peeing boy is the national treasure of Belgium.

D. Local people make money by selling souvenirs.

Paris has the Eiffel Tower，New York the Statue of Liberty；and Brussels，the Manneken Piss．

    Think of the Belgian capital and，if anything，you think of the small peeing（撒尿）boy——a 60—centimeter—high bronze figure standing on a block，supplying a constant stream of water to the basin under him．

    Some might laugh．But for Jacques Stroobants，the statue is up there with the best of them．

    “I’m proud of him．People come from all around the world to see him，”says 60—year—old Stroobants with a fatherly glance at the little boy．As the most famous landmark of Brussels，Manneken Piss has a very special place in the heart of Belgians．

The original Manneken Piss dates back to 1388。but the statue tourists see today dates from 1619 when the city built a second one after the original was destroyed．

    There are many stories surrounding the legend of Mannekin Piss．Nobody knows why he was created．One story is that he saved Brussels by putting out the flames of a deadly fire with his well—aimed piss．But the most believable story is that the boy，the son of a wealthy man，was kidnapped（绑架）．The father had a statue built in honor of the way his son was found—peeing against a tree．

    Perhaps best—known for his naked beauty。the“peeing boy” has also been clothed in some of the finest clothes money can buy．

    Stroobants has been changing his clothes for t he last 29 years．On average，he has clothes on 300 days a year．And on special occasions，he“pees”beer．

    A few of the ways he’s been dressed are：a foot ball player，Mozart and an army genera1．Now，he has more than 600 pieces of clothes．  

    There is no strict charge for those wishing to provide clothes for the little boy．But certain conditions must be met．

    “The clothes cannot include either advertising or political message，”said Stroobants，because they would cheapen the national treasure．

     But the peeing boy’s image is still something local people can make money from—by

selling all kinds of souvenirs．  ‘

1．Which of the following is NOT true about Manneken Piss'?

    A．It has a history of more than 600 years．

    B．It stands in Brussels．

    C．It is best known for the clothes he wears．

    D．It is 60—centimeters high．

2．The Manneken Piss has a special place in the heart of Belgians because         

    A．it’s good looking with water running constantly

    B．it brings joys to people who see it

    C．it helps people make money

    D．it’s a symbol of the city

3．We can learn from the passage that         ．

    A．for most of the year，the boy is naked

    B．Stroohants is probably in charge of taking care of the statue

    C．people can provide any clothes for Manneken Piss free of charge

    D．people make money by advertising Manneken Piss

C
Paris has the Eiffel Tower; New York has the Statue of Liberty; and Brussels, the Manneken
Piss.
Think of the Belgian capital and, if anything, you think of the small peeing (撒尿) boy ____  a 60-meter-high bronze figure standing on a block, supplying a constant stream of water to the basin under him.
Some might laugh. But for Jacques Stroobants, the statue is up there with the best of them.
“I’m proud of him. People come from all around the world to see him,” says 60-year-old Stroobants with a fatherly glance at the little boy.
As the most famous landmark of Brussels, Manneken Piss has a very special place in the heart of Belgians.
The original Manneken Piss dates back to 1388, but the statue tourists see today dates from 1619 when the city built a second one after the original was destroyed.
Many stories go round Manneken Piss. Nobody knows why he was made. One story is that he saved Brussels by putting out the flames of a deadly fire with his well-aimed piss. But the most believable story is that the boy, the son of a wealthy man, was kidnapped. The father had a statue built in honor of the way his son was found-peeing against a tree.
Perhaps best-known for his naked beauty, the “peeing boy” has also been clothed in some of the finest clothes money can buy.
Stroobants has been changing his clothes for the last 29 years. On average, he has clothes on 300 days a year. And on special days, he pees beer.
A few of the ways he’s been dressed are; a football player, Mozart and an army general. Now, he has more than 600 pieces of clothes.
There is no strict charge for those wishing to provide clothes for the little boy. But certain conditions must be met.
“The clothes cannot include either advertising or political message,” said Stroobants, because they would cheapen the national treasure.
But Manneken Piss is still something local people can make money from ___ by selling all kinds of souvenirs.
72. Which of the following is NOT true about Maneken Piss?
A. It has a history of more than 600 years.   B. It stands in Brussels. 
C. It is best known for the clothes he wears. D. It is 60 meters high.
73. The Manneken Piss has a special place in the heart of Belgians because          .
A. it’s good-looking with water running constantly
B. it brings joys to people who see it   
C. it helps people make beer
D. it’s a symbol of the city.
74. We can learn from the passage that          .
A. for most of the year, the boy is naked
B. Stroobants is probably in charge of taking care of the statue
C. people can provide any clothes for Manneken Piss
D. people make money by advertising Manneken Piss
75．Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
A. Tourists cannot provide clothes for the peeing boy.
B. The Manneken Piss has attracted many visitors.
C. The peeing boy is the national treasure of Belgium.
D. Local people make money by selling souvenirs.

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

Time, a faithful company of our life, is a universal topic. People are always curious about what it is, how it travels and who it meets.

Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s smartest physicists, once said. “I’m fascinated by time.”

Many of us are, and the popularity of time travel novels, movies and TV series has proved that. After Palace and Startling by Each Step achieved astonishing ratings last year, Palace 2 aired on January 20, attracting time travel fans back to TV.

Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris achieved great success. It was nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Art Direction for the 2012 Academy Awards.

Dream of heroism

Time travel TV series and movies connect both today and the past, thus offering room for imagination. Imagination creates a chance for the young to fulfill a dream that is hard to achieve in reality.

Chinese writer Xi Juan is a pioneer of time-travel stories in China. In 1993 she published a love story about a young woman time traveling to ancient times. The leading role’s modern personality and perception of love help her win the heart of a cool, handsome martial art master. Such a plot satisfies female fans’ love fantasy.

Starting from the late 1990s, novels about men traveling back to the past prevailed (盛行), with a Step into the Past as the most popular example. In these stories, the male leading roles accomplish great things with their modern skills and wisdom.

It is usually “a dream of heroism come true”, along with enviable romances.

Eye candy

“I’m hooked by the shows because they are characterized by dramatic and poetic love and have eye-pleasing actors,” Xia Xiaoyan, who works for a foreign-owned enterprise in Shanghai, explained her love for time travel TV series.

Her comment echoes a 2011 survey by Creat Marketing Research Co Ltd in China. When asked about what is so appealing about time travel TV series, 21 percent of respondents answered, “These attractive characters.”

A bigger reason behind the popularity of time travel stories, however, is the relaxation they offer, according to the survey.

Cai Yinong agrees. “Many people are facing tremendous pressure in their fast-paced lives, so this genre is more relaxing than other shows as it provides people with a terrific outlet to escape reality,” Cai told China Daily.

Cultural homesickness

“Which dynasty would you like to live in if you could travel to the past?” asked a survey launched by Shanghai University and Shanghai Social Sciences Association last December.

About 60 percent of the 2,543 respondents chose Tang Dynasty, while Qing Dynasty, and the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were the other top two destinations.

The survey results reflects people’s definition of the good days: prosperous economy and culture, steady society, fair and uncorrupted politics, and opening up to the outside world.

As for the movie Midnight in Paris, it features modernity versus cultural homesickness. The New York Times commented, “The past seems so much more vivid, more substantial, than the present. The good old days are so attractive because we were not around, however much we wish we were.”

阅读理解

　　“It was all his own idea,”says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a“motherhood contract”--a document(文件)stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple's four children, plus all household chores(杂务). Although he didn't even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident. (He thought the experience would make a nice book.)

　　After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up.“I was beaten down, completely humbled,”admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press(also part of the bargain), stating,“Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”

　　Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto's Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids.

　　Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley.“I had been around children so much,”she sighs(叹气).“I couldn't talk to a grown-up.”She continued to run the household，however--until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it. Although Peters had consulted with his school's home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria(食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster.“I tried to slip the butter I'd forgotten under the eggs after they were frying,”he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot--sometimes having Macdonald's hamburgers for lunch and dinner.

　　As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made.“I found an easier way--I shut the doors,”he says. Soon the kids were-wearing the same clothes for a week.“I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”

　　Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地)sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative(暂定的)title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.

1．The couple signed the contract because _____.

[　　]

A．Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself

B．Bob 10ved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest

C．they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks

D．Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book

2．It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _____.

[　　]

A．pay a certain amount of money

B．do all the housework for years

C．say sorry to his wife

D．admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood

3．What can we learn about Pat Peters?

[　　]

A．She was hard working and selfless.

B．She was pretty and kind-hearted.

C．She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks.

D．She did not love Bob any longer.

4．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Bob managed to keep the kids' clothes clean.

B．Bob tried to cook good meals for his children.

C．Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work.

D．Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day.

5．Which of the following can best end the new story?

[　　]

A．“My experience of being a mother.”

B．“I'm proud of you all, my dear!”

C．“Wait till your mother gets home!”

D．“Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”