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, 24, 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 Juris, 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.”

1.What is the best title of this passage?

A. Hung’s performance attracted the public attention . B.Sometimes an idol can behave foolishly.

C. How an unsuccessful person became well- known. D. Success does not require hard work.at all

2.What does the underlined sentence mean?

A.His performance was really bad

B. Hung’s bad act was popular with people.

C. hip hop and techno-music were much better than his performance

D. Some websites had bad comments on Hung’s performance

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

a. The entertainment firms will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol”

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. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music

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

4.Why was Hung able to win the hearts of America?

A. His success was based on his own hard work.

B. His act was completely different from other idols’.

C. He was good-looking though he didn’t sing well.

D. He attracted people’s attention in the contest.

5.Which of the following is not correct　？

A. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people

B. Marc Juris thinks highly of Hung’s performance.

C. All the people don’t like Hung

D .Many websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks.

Tom was about to close the window　　　　his attention was caught by a bird.

B
While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states — at least in getting people off welfare. It’s estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls（名册） since 1994.
　　In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens Country have been cut in half. But 70 percent of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The result: The Athens Country poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent — twice the national average.
　　For advocates（代言人）for the poor, that’s an indication much more needs to be done.
　　“More people are getting jobs, but it’s not making their lives any better,” says Kathy Lairn, a  policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.
　　A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down.
　　But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory.
　　“Welfare was a poison. It was a toxin（毒素）that was poisoning the family,” says
Robert Rector, a welfare-reform policy analyst. “The reform is changing the moral climate in low-income communities. It’s beginning to rebuild the work ethic（道德观）, which is much more important.”
　　Mr. Rector and others argued that once “the habit of dependency is cracked,” then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards.
45. From the passage, it can be seen that the author _______.
　　A. believes the reform has reduced the government’s burden
　　B. insists that welfare reform is doing little good for the poor
　　C. is overenthusiastic about the success of welfare reform
　　D. considers welfare reform to be basically successful
46. Why aren’t people enjoying better lives when they have jobs?
　　A. Because many families are divorced.
　　B. Because government aid is now rare.
　　C. Because their wages are low.
　　D. Because the cost of living is rising.
47. From the passage we know that welfare reform aims at _______.
　　A. saving welfare funds
　　B. rebuilding the work ethic
　　C. providing more jobs
　　D. cutting government expenses
48. According to the passage before the welfare reform was carried out, _______.
　　A. the poverty rate was lower
　　B. average living standards were higher
　　C. the average worker was paid higher wages
　　D. the poor used to rely on government aid

There was a small boy living on a farm which seemed like so far away from everywhere. He needed to get up before sunrise every morning to start his everyday jobs and go out again later in the evening to do the same 　36　.

During sunrise he would 　37　a break and climb up the fence so that he could see the house with golden windows 　38　 the distance. He thought 　39　 great it would be to live there and his 　40　 would wander to imagine the modern equipment and electric devices that might 　41　 in the house. “If they could 　42　 the golden windows, they 　43　 have other nice things.” He then 　44　 himself, “Some day I will go there and see that wonderful place.”

Then one morning his father told him to stay at home and he would do the everyday jobs. 　45　 that this was his chance, he packed a sandwich and　46　 the field towards the house with golden windows.

He walked and walked. As the afternoon went on, he began to realize how he misjudged the long 　47　 and something else was very wrong. As he 　48　 the house, he saw no golden windows but instead a place in bad 　49　 of a painting surrounded by a broken-down fence. He went to the tattered (破烂的) door and 　50　. A small boy very 　51　 his age opened the door.

He asked him if he had seen the house with 　52　 windows. The boy said “Sure, I know” and 　53　 him to sit on the porch (门廊). As he sat there, he looked back from 　54　 he just came; the sunset 　55　 the windows of his house to gold there.

1.                A．homework      B．classes          C．cleaning D．ones

2.                A．take           B．give            C．do   D．start

3.                A．from           B．in             C．over     D．across

4.                A．much          B．even           C．very D．how

5.                A．feet           B．eyes           C．mind     D．heart

6.                A．sit             B．exist           C．stand     D．disappear

7.                A．change         B．share           C．provide   D．afford

8.                A．can’t         B．must           C．have to   D．need to

9.                A．promised       B．supported       C．pitied    D．encouraged

10.               A．Hearing        B．Imaging         C．Realizing   D．Ignoring

11.               A．crossed        B．found          C．planted   D．chose

12.               A．situation        B．thought         C．distance   D．opinion

13.               A．approached     B．considered      C．enjoyed   D．noticed

14.               A．case           B．memory        C．part D．need

15.               A．listened        B．knocked        C．waited    D．leaned

16.               A．satisfied with    B．familiar with     C．fond of    D．close to

17.               A．worn          B．golden         C．favorite   D．beautiful

18.               A．invited         B．persuaded      C．helped    D．managed

19.               A．when          B．why           C．where D．what

20.               A．made          B．drove          C．turned    D．put