In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.

Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.

The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.

Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: The off-key singing. The blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high. The terrible dancing. The hips jerking (摇摆) to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad.

But, it was this very bad act that sold well.

Marc Juries, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America.”

Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.

So, what does Hung think of this?

“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean.”

Now he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour (魅力) or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.

1.What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.

B．Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.

C．How an unsuccessful person became famous.

D．Success sometimes does not require hard work.

2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A．William Hung.      B．Hung’s bad act.    C．Hung’s website.   D．The public’s opinion.

3.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?

a. The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.

b. The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.

c. Hung became popular among Americans.

d. Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.

e. Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.

A．d, b, e, c, a         B．a, c, d, b, e         C．a, d, b, c, e         D．d, b, a, e, c

A breathtaking trick potentially left over from our ancestors might be found in us — the ability to sense oxygen through our skin.

Amphibians, animals such as frogs that can live both on land and in water, have long been known to be capable of breathing through their skin. In fact, the first known lungless frog that breathes only through its skin was discovered recently in the rivers of Borneo.

Now the same oxygen sensors found in frog skins and in the lungs of mammals (哺乳动物) have unexpectedly been discovered in the skin of mice.

“No one had ever looked,” explained Randall Johnson, a biologist researcher.

Mice and frogs are quite distant relatives, so the fact they have these molecules (分子) in common in their skin suggests they might well be found in the skin of other mammals, such as humans.

“We have no reason to think that they are not in the skin of people too,” Johnson said.

These molecules not only detect oxygen, but help increase levels of vital red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. Normal mice breathing in air that is 10 percent oxygen—a dangerously low level similar to conditions at the top of Mount Everest, and about half that of air at sea level. However, mice that had the oxygen sensor HIF-1a genetically removed from their skin failed to produce this hormone (荷尔蒙) even after hours of such low oxygen.

These findings, if they hold true in humans, suggest one could raise the level of oxygen circulating inside the body. This could help treat lung diseases and disorders such as anemia (贫血症) without injecting drugs, which make up a multibillion-dollar market, Johnson said.

Athletes also often try to get more oxygen delivered to their muscles in order to improve their performance. They often do this by training at high altitudes or in low-oxygen tents. The new study suggests they might want to expose their skin as well as breathing in low-oxygen air to improve their performance. “It’s hard to say what exactly might be done, however—there’s a lot we don’t know yet,” Johnson explained.

The scientists detailed their findings in the April 18 issue of the journal Cell.

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It has long been expected oxygen sensors exist in mice’s skin.

B．People have to surf the Internet to read detailed findings.

C．It has been proved that these findings help treat lung diseases.

D．Johnson believes that Oxygen sensors also exist in human skin.

2.One of the functions of the molecules mentioned above is _______.

A． increasing level of oxygen                B．improving athletes’ performance

C．detecting oxygen                       D．carrying oxygen around the body

3.What is Johnson’s attitude to the application of the findings to the athletes’ training?

A． Hesitating        B．Doubting          C．Positive           D．Negative

4.The best title of the passage may be _______.

A． Humans Might Sense Oxygen Through Skin

B．Frogs And Mice Are Distant Relatives

C．First Known Animal Breathes Through Skin

D．Great Findings Benefits Athletes A Lot

As some famous singers will appear at the top concert, _________likely to be a success.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

I recently heard a story about a famous scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a reporter who asked him    36    he thought he was able to be so much more    37    than the average person.

He    38    that it all came from a(n)   39    with his mother that occurred when he was about 2. He had been trying to remove milk from the fridge when he    40    the slippery(光滑的) bottle, its contents running all over the kitchen floor.

When his mother came in,    41    shouting at him or giving him a lecture, she said, "Robert, what a great and wonderful    42    you have made! I have    43    seen such a huge pool of milk. Well, the damage has already been    44   . Would you like to get down and    45    in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?"

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to    46    everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge(海绵), a towel or a mop. Which do you prefer?" He chose the sponge.

His mother then said, "You know, what we have here is a    47    experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two    48    hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can make it." The little boy learned that if he    49    the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful    50   !

This scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be    51   to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just    52    for learning something new, which is,    53   , what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment "doesn't   54   ," we usually learn something    55    from it.

36. A. why                          B. what                     C. when                     D. how

37. A. capable                      B. able                        C. creative                  D. original

38. A. responded                 B. reacted                   C. recalled                  D. reminded

39. A. coincidence              B. experience             C. incident                        D. conflict

40. A. fell                                  B. lost                          C. escaped                    D. dropped

41. A. rather than                 B. instead of                C. other than                 D. in place of

42. A. picture                       B. mass                       C. map                        D. mess

43. A. rarely                        B. happily                   C. frequently                D. angrily

44. A. obtained                    B. suffered                  C. done                       D. received

45. A. jump                         B. play                        C. enjoy                       D. draw

46. A. recover                      B. return                    C. restore                         D. regain

47. A. failed                              B. successful               C. fantastic                D. painful

48. A. strong                        B. tiny                        C. thin                        D. weak

49. A. controlled                 B. possessed               C. seized                      D. grasped

50. A. example                     B. teaching                   C. lesson                      D. instruction

51. A. anxious                    B. nervous                   C. fearful                     D. afraid

52. A. situations                   B. opportunities            C. occasions                 D. turns

53. A. after all                            B. above all                 C. first of all                 D. in all

54. A. do                             B. finish                     C. go                         D. work

55. A. worthy                      B. costly                      C. valuable                   D. interesting

Christmas is over. And I got my wanted radio-controlled truck. But you would not believe the ___1___ and work that went into getting this holy toy.

For over a month I stared at ___2___ magazines I received from my friend until I had made up my ___3___: I wanted a Pumpkin truck. I ___4___ to work immediately, dropping hints to my father about it.

My first job was to tell him about how the steering(操纵杆) on my old car didn’t ___5___, but he just blamed the problems on my bad ___6___.

My next plan would have to be more ___7___. “Look at this, Dad, the truck with controller and battery pack—all for only US$250!” You can’t ___8___ to miss out on this bargain!”

His ___9___ was that he certainly could afford to miss this ___10___ and for US$250 you could buy ___11___ educational like a telescope. “A telescope? To look at the moon? I’ll look at it when I’m 97 years old and living in a ___12___ home! This is my youth! I am supposed to run about.”

I went to my room, ___13___ at how mean(吝啬的) my father was. It was obvious that he didn’t ___14___ that I would die if I did not get the Pumpkin radio-controlled truck.

When I ___15___ on Christmas morning I wasn’t excited. I had been ___16___. I opened all my presents until there was just one big package ___17___. “The telescope,” I thought. I ___18___ the packaging and looked at the top of the box—it was a Pumpkin truck. I had ___19___! I loved my parents! I felt like I could do anything! I could ___20___ get an A+ in English class.

1. A. pain           B. attempt           C. joy              D. shyness

2. A. housing        B. fishing            C. car             D. fashion

3. A. mind            B. idea             C. opinion           D. head

4. A. get            B. set               C. searched        D. went

5. A. operate         B. run              C. start            D. work

6. A. riding           B. driving            C. thinking          D. keeping

7. A. strong          B. practical          C. ideal            D. obvious

8. A. afford           B. pay              C. allow          D. stand

9. A. talk           B. expression          C. face            D. response

10. A. truck          B. telescope         C. chance               D. bargain

11. A. one             B. something          C. everything      D. nothing

12. A. heating        B. loving             C. nursing          D. finding

13. A. pleased       B. good               C. expert         D. angry

14. A. say             B. believe            C. care            D. learn

15. A. went off        B. woke up         C. rang up          D. found out

16. A. worried       B. instructed           C. warned          D. defeated

17. A. opened        B. wrapped         C. left             D. faded

18. A. recovered       B. refused           C. reopened        D. removed

19. A. won           B. done               C. beaten         D. failed

20. A. ever            B. already            C. still             D. even