Imagine that you are in school, giving a speech to your class. Now think what it feels like when stammering (口吃) makes it a struggle to communicate your thoughts and feelings to other people.

The King’s Speech, which won the best picture at the Academy Awards in March, 2011, focuses on stammering along with other speech-related problems. The movie tells the story of Britain’s King George VI, who became king after his brother Edward VIII gave up the crown to marry an American woman.

As a result of British actor Colin Firth’s performance, people are starting to realize that stammering can damage a person’s self-confidence and cause him or her to escape from life.

“The serious problem is unseen and unheard,” said Norbert Lieckfeldt, an expert at the British Stammering Association, in an interview with a news reporter.

“Stammering masks your ability,” he said. “It's a serious disability.”

Most stammerers face bullying (欺负) in school, something that is “usually carried over into the workplace”.

George VI’s stammer took away his confidence as a speaker. But Samantha Mesango, a speech coach based in the UK, believes that speech problems are more common than most people realize. “Some simply don’t like the sound of their own voice; others are scared of speaking in public,” she said.

Travis Treats from St．Louis University praised The King’s Speech. He said it shows that “how one’s speech does not mean what one is inside”. He also added that people who stammer need to be heard and our society should recognize that they have a lot to give to the world.

1.The author writes the first 3 paragraphs to           .

A. show how harmful stammer is for common people

B. introduce a famous movie winning great awards

C. tell the story of the king who suffers from stammer

D. draw readers’ attention to the problem of stammer

2.We learn from the passage that           .

A. stammerers face bullying in school but not in the workplace

B. Edward VIII gave up his crown because he was a stammerer

C. stammerers should be understood and can contribute to the world

D. the sufferings caused by stammer haven’t been found yet

3.According to Norbert Lieckfeldt,           ．

A. the voice of stammering people cannot be heard

B. people who stammer do better in work than school

C. there are a lot of things that stammering people can give to us

D. the serious problem of stammering remains unseen and unheard

4.The paragraph that follows the last will probably talk about           ．

A. the success the king made by overcoming stammer

B. the medical treatments given to the stammerers

C. doctors’ opinions upon the serious stammer problem

D. how popular the movie The King’s Speech will become

Last April, on a visit to the new Mall of America near Minneapolis, I carried with me a small book provided for the reporters by the public relations office. It
included a variety of “fun facts” about the mall, for example, 140,000 hot dogs are sold each week, there are 10,000 full-time jobs, 44 sets of moving stairs and 17 lifts, 12,750 parking places, 13,000 tons of steel and $ 1 million is drawn weekly from 8 ATMs. Opened in the summer of 2005, the mall was built where the former Minneapolis Stadium had been. It was only a five-minute drive from the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. With 4.2 million square feet of floor space ----- twenty-two times the size of the average American shopping center –the Mall of America was the largest shopping and family recreation center under one roof in the United States.
I know already that the Mall of America had been imagined by its designers, not only as a marketplace, but as a national tourist attaction. Eleven thousand articles, the small book informed me, had been written about the mall.  Four hundred trees had been planted in its gardens, $ 625 million had been spent to build it, and 350 stores were already in business. Three thousand bus tours were expected each year along with a half-million Canadian visitors and 200,000 Japanese tourists. Sales are expected to be at $ 650 million for 2008 and at $ I billion for 2009. Pop singers and film stars such as Janet Jackson and Amold Schwarzenegger visited the mall. It was five times larger than Red Square and it included 2.3 miles of hallways and used almost twice as Knott’s Camp Snoopy.
60. We know from the text that the Mall of America is _________.
A.near an old stadium                  B.close to an airport
C.higher than the Eiffel Tower          D.bigger than most American parks
61. Why are the pieces of information provided by the Mall of America referred to as “fun facts”?
A.They are largely imagined.          B.They are surprising figures（数字）
C.They give exact descriptions.        D.They make people feel uneasy.
62. Why does the author mention popular stars who have been to the mall?
A.To show its power of attraction.
B.To show that few rich people like to shop there.
C.To tell the public about a new movie being made about it.
D.To tell people that they have chances of meeting famous stars there.
63. We can infer from the text that _______.
A.Japanese visitors are most welcome to the mall
B.Canadian visitors would spend $ I billion at the mall
C.Knott’s Camp Snoopy was next to the Mall of America
D.the Mall of America was designed to serve more than one purpose（目的）

The opening scene of The King’s Speech was, in a word, terrifying. The moment King George VI—wonderfully played by Colin Firth—stepped up to the microphone at Wembley Stadium, a rush of nervousness came over me. It took me back to my school days, standing at my desk, having to read aloud to the class. I whispered to my wife, Jill, “A stutterer(口吃者) wrote this screenplay(剧本).

   I grew up with a stutter, really afraid of trying to get through simple sentences—knowing that I would then, or later, be laughed at. I still remember the reading when I was in 7^th grade at St. Helena’s: “Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentlemen…” I remember reciting, “Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentlemen.” The school teacher said, “Master B-B-B-Biden! What’s that word?” She wanted me to say gentlemen. But by then, I had learned to put my sentences into bite-size pieces and I was reading it: “gentle”｜breath｜“man”.

   Ninety-nine percent of the time, the teachers were great. I never had professional treatment but a couple of teachers taught me to put a regular rise and fall in my tone of speaking, and that’s why I spent so much time reading poetry. But even in my small, boys’ prep school, I got nailed in my class with the nickname Joe Stutterer. You get so desperate, you’re so embarrassed. I actually went and stood by the side of my house once, with a small round stone in my mouth, and tried to talk. Jill always thought I was kidding until she saw the movie and saw King George did the same thing.

   King George relied on the support his wife and the help of Lionel Longue, who, in describing working with other stutterers, said, “My job was to give them confidence in their voices and let them know that a friend was listening.” I was lucky enough to have more than a couple of Lionels in my life. Nobody in my family ever—ever—made fun of me or tried to finish my sentences. My mother would say, “Joey, you cannot let stuttering define you.” And because of her and others, I made sure it didn’t.

   Through hard work and determination, I beat my stutter in high school. I even spoke briefly at my graduation ceremony in 1961—the most difficult speech of my life. My fight against shyness and embarrassment at my early age has developed my ability to understand others’ feelings as Vice President of the country in public life. I still mark up all of my speeches the say way Firth’s character does in the movie, pencil-marking every line to remind myself to stop, to breathe, to pause—to beat back my stuttering as best as I can. I don’t stutter anymore, and most people who know me only late in my life are shocked that I ever did.

   By capturing exactly how a stutter feels, The King’s Speech has shown millions of people how much courage it takes for a stutterer to stand up and speak. Equally important, it has shown millions who suffer from the pain that it can be overcome, we are not alone, and with the support of those around us, our deepest fears can be conquered.

1.The writer whispered to his wife, “A stutterer wrote this screenplay”, because __________.

A. he desired to release his secret to his wife

B. he was reminded how it was as a stutterer on such occasions

C. he thought Colin Firth had a wonderful performance in the film

D. he wanted to make his wife realize why the film was so popular

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 imply?

A. The writer would have a good fortune to get help from many people.

B. The writer should realize he had to stand up from his pain and defeat it

C. The writer could get enough confidence under his mother’s help

D. The writer must be happy that everyone in his family did not laugh at him.

3.What message is conveyed in the passage?

A. Whatever pain and fear we have, we can defeat them if we try hard.

B. The similar stories of the writer and King George VI gains great admiration.

C. The suffer we had at our early age will have a heavy influence on our future life.

D. Stuttering is such a pain for children that we should give help and encourage them.

Imagine that you are in school, giving a speech to your class. Now think what it feels like when stammering (口吃) makes it a struggle to communicate your thoughts and feelings to other people.
The King’s Speech, which won the best picture at the Academy Awards in March, 2011, focuses on stammering along with other speech-related problems. The movie tells the story of Britain’s King George VI, who became king after his brother Edward VIII gave up the crown to marry an American woman.
As a result of British actor Colin Firth’s performance, people are starting to realize that stammering can damage a person’s self-confidence and cause him or her to escape from life.
“The serious problem is unseen and unheard,” said Norbert Lieckfeldt, an expert at the British Stammering Association, in an interview with a news reporter.
“Stammering masks your ability,” he said. “It's a serious disability.”
Most stammerers face bullying (欺负) in school, something that is “usually carried over into the workplace”.
George VI’s stammer took away his confidence as a speaker. But Samantha Mesango, a speech coach based in the UK, believes that speech problems are more common than most people realize. “Some simply don’t like the sound of their own voice; others are scared of speaking in public,” she said.
Travis Treats from St．Louis University praised The King’s Speech. He said it shows that “how one’s speech does not mean what one is inside”. He also added that people who stammer need to be heard and our society should recognize that they have a lot to give to the world.
【小题1】The author writes the first 3 paragraphs to           .

Arts and culture is lived and breathed in every corner of Canada. Due to a racial and immigrant （移民）population the variety and richness of art and sports is very evident.

Since the Second World War, Canada has produced an impressive amount of writing. From novels to poetry, the selection is wide. Native writers are also becoming better known across Canada in recent years.

Musicians are reaching a higher level of recognition in the world music scene. Everything from Country to Pop, Classical to Heavy Rock can be found across Canada and across the globe performed by Canadian artists.

Film Crew in Canada The National Film Board is the primary producer of movies in Canada. However, many Hollywood studios are turning to Canada as a source for locations and as an alternative to the more expensive USA. Many well known actors, directors, screen writers and movies come from Canada and often scoop awards for their work.

French art was the first to appear in Canada along the St Lawrence in and around Quebec. Since then the volume of art and artists has increased. Canadian photography as well as painting by Canadians are not well known outside of Canada but recognition is increasing.

Sport is a major part of today's society in Canada. Hockey is the most popular spectator sport with more participants taking part in curling. American style football and baseball are also very popular and all of these sports are played across Canada.

1. What would be the best title of the passage?

  A. A brief introduction to Canada         B. Canadian arts, culture and sports

C. Canadian artists                     D. Canadian arts and culture are world famous

2. Canada has many forms of art and culture because it has ________.

  A. a long history                     B. a large area  

  C. a large population                  D. a variety of nations and immigrants

3. Many Hollywood studios come to settle in Canada because_______.

A. The cost in Canada is lower than that in the USA.

B. Canada has many well known actors and directors.

C. They want to work together with the movie producers in Canada.

D. They want to make movies about Canada.

4. Which group of Canadian artists are well known all over the world today?

 A. Native writers and screen writers      B. Photographers and actors

C. Painters and writers                D. Musicians and actors, directors

5. Which of the statements about Canada is Wrong?

A. Canadian Arts has been much influenced by French people.

  B. Canadian people love sports very much.

  C. There are many big film-making companies in Canada.

  D. Canadian Arts and artists are becoming better known.