In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition（试镜）for My Kind of People, a televised talent show popular in the UK. She was immediately rejected. She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn’t perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks. Susan was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.

Susan suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away. After his death, Susan put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother, Bridget Boyle. The mother and daughter often talked of Susan’s possible fame. Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions. “She was the one who said I should enter Britain’s Got Talent. We used to watch it together,” Susan later told reporters. “She thought I would win.”

In 1999, Susan used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo（样本唱片）tape, which she sent to record companies. In 2002, Susan began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O’Neil.

In 2007, her mother passed away at the age of 91. A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn’t come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone”. She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. For over a year, she refused to sing. But in August of 2008, O’Neil urged her to try out for Britain’s Got Talent. Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Susan auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland. She sang I Dreamed A Dream, a hit song from the musical Les Miserables（《悲惨世界》）, in the first round of the show, which was aired on April 11, 2009.

The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast（对比）to her powerfully beautiful voice. The performance astonished the audience and the judges. Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week. Although she failed to win the final of Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular. Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.

1. Bridget Boyle’s attitude towards her daughter’s musical talent can be described as ___.

   A. critical    B. doubtful     C. indifferent     D. confident

2. From Paragraph 4, we can learn that Susan _____.

A. was slightly discouraged by her voice coac B. entered Britain’s Got Talent to prove her ability

C. decided to give up her singing career    D. was deeply affected by her mother’s death

3. Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?

A. Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008. B. Her audition for My Kind of People failed.

C. She has never stopped singing since 1995.  D. She was the winner of Britain’s Got Talent. 

4. We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. Susan Boyle was convinced by her brother that her plain looks were disadvantageous to her success

B. It was at the age of forty that Susan Boyle established a student-teacher relationship with O’Neil.

C. Susan Boyle was so struck by her father’s death that she shut herself out from the neighborhood.

D. The online views of Les Miserables numbered over 40 million within a week in 2009.

5.In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to ______.

A. tell us how Susan’s dream come true       B. let us know more about Susan’s personal life

C. show how Susan was influenced by her family D. explain how to enter and win a talent show

When Han Duan started her professional career at 16, China’s national women’s football team was defeated in the final of the World Cup by the US. While she was asked to play in her first World Cup in 2003, she largely remained on the bench after the first match.

But things have changed. Now, Han is one of the most important players in China’s team. “I can’t wait to play. Life is short. You must make the most out of it,” Han always says like that. 

Han wants every possible honor that a football player can get — an Asian Cup, a World Cup and an Olympic medal. She has always been good at sports, especially swimming and horizontal bars. At school, she was the fastest in the 60m and 100m.

But the reason she picked football was that she wanted to get more compliments (称赞). “Football is for boys. But I feel more fulfilled when I can do better than them and win more compliments,” she said. Later, when she entered a football school, the coach always asked Han to show others what to do.

However, nobody can be good at everything. Han described her singing as “howling” and the only school subject she was good at was Chinese. “I was very happy every time my essay was posted on the wall for my schoolmates to read.” But Han still has some regrets about her school years. Her handwriting was terrible at school. She ever wanted to improve her handwriting but didn’t achieve much.

“My fans ask for my signature (签名), so I’d better practice and practice. It’s not too late,” she says.

1.In the World Cup in 2003, Han Duan was a(n) ______.

2.What does the underlined part in the second paragraph imply?

3.According to the passage, we know that Han Duan ________.

4.From the fourth paragraph, it can be inferred that Han Duan most probably ________.

5.What’s the best title of this passage?

第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）

第一节（共15题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American recording artist. She began playing in clubs in the New York City area while also working at Interscope Records as a songwriter for several established musicians, including Akon. After hearing Gaga sing, he signed her to a joint deal with his own company, Kon Live Distribution. She then started to work on her first studio album.

She began working with a collective(组合) called the “Haus of Gaga” in 2008, and released her first album “The Fame”. The album peaked in countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada, receiving critical acclaim. So far, the album has spawned（产生）the international number one singles “Just Dance”, nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 51st Grammy Awards（格莱美音乐奖）, and “Poker Face”. After writing songs for New Kids On The Block and the Pussycat Dolls, Gaga began her first tour, headlined “The Fame Ball”.

Gaga has been influenced by fashion and has been appreciated for her provocative（刺激的） sense of style and her influence on other celebrities（名流）. Musically, she is inspired by David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Michael Jackson and Madonna.

In which order did the following things happen to Lady Gaga?

Gaga released her first album “The Fame”.

Gaga began playing in clubs in New York city.

Gaga began her first headlined tour.

Akon signed Gaga to join his own company.

56.Her single “Just Dance” was nominated at the 51st Grammy Awards.

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

57. The underlined word “acclaim” means _______.

A. gift                          B. praise                       C. complaint                 D. income

58.   According to the passage, who influenced Gaga musically EXCEPT ________.

A. Michael                   B. Madonna                  C. David Bowie            D. Avril Lavigne

59.   Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Lady Gaga began playing in clubs in New York city area after she worked at Interscope

Records as a songwriter.

B. Gaga’s first album spawned only one international NO.1 single --“Just Dance”.

C. Akon signed Gaga to work for his own company after hearing her singing.

D. “The Fame Ball”is the second single of Lady Gaga.

I fell in love with music from a young age and often sat down making a few songs of my own．What would life be like, I wondered, without a beautiful song? In 1992, I made two love songs to my darling wife and watched tears run down her face as I sang．"Sam," she said earnestly, "Your songs should be heard by more people."
She got my ballads and started bothering various media people about me, her singing barber husband．Two radio stations took an interest and played the songs．After the programme was aired, I became known in our community as the Singing Barber．
The biggest surprise, however, was still to come．I received a call from a music promoter who offered me a long-term recording contract．He explained that he would be investing a lot of money to market my songs．I needed to be wholly focused on selling my records all over Australia．
But I hesitated．
My friends all told me to go for it．And Mary also thought I should do．"Go, Sam．I'll manage with the family．．．it'll be OK．"
I watched my daughter and son playing in the backyard．Soon they would both be in high school．．．and where would I be? I was so used to my family turning to me for love and support．If I were to start a singing career, I would not only miss them terribly, I'd also certainly miss out on watching them grow up．Signing this contract would put a huge gap between my family and me．．．and I couldn't bear it．My family was my life．So I refused the music promoter's offer．I'm still making music, I'm rich in love and I have no regrets．
【小题1】When the author was offered the contract, most of his friends _____．

I was feeling a little blue. My mother had been laid off from her job, but she said she was OK since her boss wasn't the nicest person   36   .
I got off the college bus and started walking. That's   37   I heard piano music and singing rising above the   38  of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower   39  I could find out where it was coming from.   40  the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a   41  next to her, singing songs about love. The way she was singing   42  me a bit. I stood there watching her   43  for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take   44  to perform on her own in public.
Feeling my presence, she looked in my   45  . I walked over and put some money in her carriage. “I have been going through a   46  time lately, but you’ve made me hopeful again.”
"I'm happy that I could   47  . Why are you so sad?"
"Well, my mum had got   48  from her job, but I’m not sure what to do….”
"You see, the way you were   49  ," she explained. “Don't look defeated,   50  come in different ways. If your head is down you might never see it. Smile more ...   51  your head up."
I smiled slightly, amazed by how she was   52  me.
“Why are you playing here?” I asked.
“I am not making music. I study psychology. I often see many   53  people and hope to relieve their   54  and make them think positively by sharing music.”
I smiled a little wider. She was doing a good thing. My heart was touched by a   55  soul.