November not only marks the publication of Toni Morrison’s eagerly anticipated(期待) eighth novel, Love, but it is also the tenth anniversary of her Nobel Prize for Literature. Morrison is the first black woman to receive a Nobel, and so honored before her in literature are only two black men:Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian playwright, poet and novelist, in 1986; and Derek Walcott, the Caribbean-born poet, in 1992. But Morrison is also the first and only American-born Nobel prizewinner for literature since 1962, the year novelist John steinbeck received the award.

Like Song of Solomon, Love is a multigenerational story, revealing the personal and communal legacy( 遗产) of an outstanding black family. As Morrison scholars will tell you, Love is the third volume of a literary master’s trilogy(三部曲)investigating the many complexities of love. This trilogy began with Beloved(1988), which deals with a black mother’s love under slavery and in freedom. Jazzy(1993), the second volume, tells a story of romantic love in 1920s Harlem. This latest novel looks back from the 1970s to the 1940s and 50s.

The emotional center of Love is Bill Cosey, the former owner and host of the shabby Cosey’s Hotel and Resort in Silk, North Carolina, described in the novel as “the best and best-known vacation sport for colored folk on the East Coast.” We get to know Cosey through the memories of five women who survive and love him: his granddaughter, his widow, two former employees, and a homeless young girl.

The latest novel, Love, had been described in the promotional material from her publisher as “Morrison’s most accessible work since Song of Solomon.” This comparison to her third novel, published in 1977, was an effective selling point.

1.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Toni Morrison’s latest novels

B. Toni Morrison and her trilogy

C. Toni Morrison and her novel Love

D. Toni Morrison, the Nobel prizewinner

2.What can we learn about John Steinbeck?

A. He was a black writer.

B. He was born in America.

C. He received the Nobel Prize after Morrison

D. He was the first American novelist to win a Nobel

3.The similarity between Love and Song of Solomon is that they both _____.

A. belong to the same trilogy together with Beloved

B. concern families of more than one generation

C. deal with life of blacks under slavery

D. investigate life in 1920s Harlem

4.The novel Love mainly describes ______.

A. the best-known vacation spot for blacks

B. the life of an outstanding black family under slavery

C. the miserable experience of the five women in Harlem

D. the memories of five women about Bill Cosey

When I was in medical college, I went camping with some of my friends. The season was summer; therefore, we chose to go to the seaside. After arriving there, we rent a room and left our luggage there. We finished lunch and then decided to rent a boat because the sea and the weather were beautiful.
We started to row, but about one mile out, the weather suddenly changed. Although the weather was not good, we didn't want to give up, but finally my friends and I agreed that we should go back. We tried to change the boat's direction, but as soon as we changed it, the oarlock (桨架)broke. Therefore, we were unable to turn back. We had to wait for help because we couldn't do anything.
After seeing the change of weather, we shouldn't have continued to row, but it was too late. We regretted(后悔) it. The sea changed a lot, the waves got very high, and the boat began to shake like a cradle(摇篮). One of my friends started to cry; another started to vomit(呕吐). Three hours passed, and nobody came to help us. We were just praying.
Fortunately, after five long hours of waiting, two big boats came to rescue us and we escaped. If they hadn't come to get us, we would have crossed the border between Turkey and Greece because the border was very close.
This story is the most exciting story of my life because we could have died, but luck was with us and we escaped.
【小题1】What does the author mainly tell us in this passage?

One summer several years ago, my family was enjoying a barbecue on the beach. After the barbecue, my father-in-law invited me to go fishing.  Fishing was his hobby, but I   36  went fishing. We walked a little way along the beach and reached a rock by the shore, and I    37   the hook into the sea from there.  Frankly speaking, I am a (n)   38  person, and although I had not felt a tug (猛拽) on the line, I reeled up the hook after five minutes or so. I had caught    39 . It was a starfish. It trembled uneasily when I   40  the hook from its ugly mouth. I threw the starfish back into the sea. After another five minutes I caught another starfish and I threw it back again.

After a while, I caught yet another starfish. That was  41  time, and this time I really got angry. I hit the starfish on the rock   42  throwing it into the sea. I was not in the   43  to continue fishing any more.

When I was   44  the fishing tools, I noticed a little girl looking at the starfish on the rock. We   45  looks with each other. The little girl spoke to me in a   46  voice. “Sir, would you mind if I   47  the starfish back into the sea?”“Not at all,” I replied. “"But you know, there are too many starfish in the sea, and they eat many shellfish.   48 , they look so ugly. I don't like them.”

“I understand,” said the little girl. “But if the starfish cannot get back to the sea, it will be   49  by the sun and die. My dead grandfather once told me that there are no living creatures that have no right to exist in the world. God   50  every creature because it was needed by nature. Poisonous snakes, spiders, and starfish were born into this world with a certain   51  for their existence.”

“All right, dear, please throw the starfish back into the sea,” I said to the little girl, feeling   52 . The girl picked up the starfish and gently put it into the sea, and she  53  at me and said, “Thank you, sir.”

Many people like "cute" creatures such as dogs, cats, and rabbits, while they tend to dislike “ugly” creatures such as snakes, spiders, and starfish.  However, the “cuteness” and “ugliness” of things are decided   54  only on one’s personal opinions. There are no living creatures that have no  55  in the world-- this is what I learned from the little girl.

Millions of youngsters across Europe could suffer ________ hearing loss after five years if

they listen to MP3 players at too high a volume for more than five hours a week, EU scientists warned.

A. temporary       B. permanent        C. frequent        D. extraordinary