One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river. When he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
The woodcutter told him that he had dropped his axe into water. God went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe.
"Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "No."
God again went down and came up with a silver axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "No."
God again went down and came up with a iron axe." Is this your axe?" God asked.
The woodcutter said "Yes."
God was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all the three axes.
The woodcutter went home happily. One day while he was walking with his wife along the river, his wife fell into the river. W hen he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
"My wife has fallen into water."
God went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez.
"Is this your wife?" God asked him.
"Yes." he said.
God was furious(狂怒的),"YOU CHEAT !Now I am going to curse you."
The woodcutter quickly said, “Forgive me my lord. It is a misunderstanding. IF I say 'No' to Jennifer Lopez, you will come up with Catherine Zeta Jones, If I also say 'No' to her, you will finally come up
With my wife and I will say, 'Yes.' Then you will give all the three to me .I am a poor man .I will not be able to look after all the three. So that's why I've to say 'Yes' "
【小题1】          Which of the following best describes the author's tone in telling the story?

D

This brief book is aimed at high school students , but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life.

   Its formal ,serious style closely matches its content ,a school-masterly book on schooling .The author , W .H . Armstrong ,starts with the basics : reading and writing . In his opinion , reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page ; it means taking in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as one digests a sandwich and makes it a part of himself .The goal is to bring the information back to life , not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees . Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each other ; in fact ,the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text .I’ve seen it again and again ：someone who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all.

Only a third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history. He generally handles these topics thoroughly and equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion regarding history. Well, he was a history teacher---if conveyed only a tenth of his passion to his students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across .To my disappointment, in this part of the book he ignores the arts. As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind. Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired ,actually ,learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics.

My other comment is that the text aged. The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s—none of the references(参考文献)seem newer than the late 1950s. As a result, the discussion misses the entire computer age.

These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion. I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student.

According to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________.

A. gain knowledge and expand one’s view

B. understand the meaning between the lines

C. express ideas based on what one has read

D. get information and keep it alive in memory

The author of the passage insists that learning the arts_________.

A. requires great efforts

B. demands real passion

C. is less natural than learning math

D. is as natural as learning a language

What is a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?

A. Some ideas are slightly contradictory.

B. There is too much discussion on studying science.

C. The style is too serious.

D. It lacks new information.

This passage can be classified as________.

A. an advertisement

B. a book review

C. a feature story

D. A news report

Hollywood movies are regularly filled with sex and violence. They can be exciting films but sometimes all you want is a little light-hearted entertainment.

     Have you heard of Bollywood? All singing, all dancing and unrealistic, it is the perfect alternative to normal Hollywood movies. Bollywood is the Indian film industry, based in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.   1.  Yet Bollywood is the largest producer of films in the world. This year the Indian Filmgare Awards, Bollywood's Oscars, turn 50 years old.

     The typical Bollywood movie usually has the following ingredients: a cup of romance, a tea-spoon of comedy, a dash of international sight-seeing, served with a huge slice of singing and dancing. There will also be one brave hero, one beautiful heroine and one baddie.  2.

Bollywood films are full of ideal things and free of daily worries. 3.   The actors change clothes and locations within a single song. But the audience don't mind. To Indian movie lovers, especially the poor, such films are a gateway to heaven and the stars are their gods. The films take them to a magical world away from their everyday troubles. The films tell them the impossible is possible and that true love conquers all.

       4.   Behind the beautiful scenes, Bollywood still emphasizes traditional family values. In most films, if two lovers want to break an arranged marriage, they can't just run away. They must win over their parents.

     Bollywood is a decent refreshing replacement for those over-stimulating Hollywood films.  5.   They will take you to a brighter, cheerier and more colorful world, where it's still cool to dance around a tree and sing a love song.

A．Bollywood has gradually won its reputation on the world stage.

B．There is never any mention of politics, poverty or war.

C．Most Chinese school kids have probably never seen an Indian film.

D．Bollywood films are mostly comic romances with light-hearted incidental music.

E.  Bollywood pays great attention to traditional values. 

F．The result is a fun-filled musical.

G．So if you're tired of all that Hollywood actions, check out the following Bollywood films.

       Few of us haven't read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams, Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity（默默无闻） or neglect．

       Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too．Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high Mary is shy but loves to dance．Compared with other girls, she is invisible．However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears．

       Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable．Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball．They meet and falHn love with each other．But when Mary has to．rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams．Of course, there is a wicked（邪恶的） stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies．Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school．Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her．

       The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modem day twists to the classic fairy tale．Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful．There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies．

       "The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson．"The focus is firmly on following your dream．"

The first paragraph is mainly to _____．

       A．build interest and lead us to Mary's secret dream

       B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years

       C．inform us of the main topic of the whole passage

       D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is

In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who      .

       A．is brave in expressing her iove

       B．is attended badly by the stepmother

       C．has a dream of meeting a prince

       D．is embarrassed by the pop singer

What can we infer from the passage?

       A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary's class．

       B．Mary's mother influences her a lot m singing．

       C．Not many people have a dream to be realized．

       D．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary．

The passage is mainly _____．

       A．an introduction to a film 

       B．a review about a film

       C．an essay about dreams        

      D．an advertisement of Cinderella

According to the passage．Another Cinderella Story _____．

       A．follows Cinderella with nothing new

       B．pays more attention to the looks of the actors

       C．encourages young people to follow their dreams

       D．focuses more on materialism than other films

If you're in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you. As a director, I point, I suggest, I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go.

In the 1986 movie Nothing in Common, Jackie Gleason's character, Max Basner, gets fired (or unemployed) from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot (拍) on a boat, shows Max's despair(绝望) about being out of work. I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings.

Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell “The Great One” about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and I sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene. “So Max is sad, right?” I said.

Gleason nodded.

“And he’s probably still carrying his pens with his name on them ---the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?”

Gleason nodded.

“ So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?” He was silent for a moment. “Why don’t I throw them overboard (or all over the boat)?” I stood up and turned toward the crew. “Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let’s shoot it.”

After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile, “Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?” You and your team can discover the answers to problems together. When there are no prizes or gold stars for who gets the solution (or the way to work out a problem) first, you'll all benefit (or get something of use or value) when everything turns out right.

The author tells us that to succeed in a project you are in charge of, you should __.

       A. make everyone work for you

       B. get everyone willing to help you

       C. let people know you have the final say

       D. keep sending out orders to them

It can be inferred(推断) that ______________.

       A. Jackie Gleason is the director of the film Nothing in common

       B. Jackie Gleason is very angry when he is fired from his job

       C. Max, a character in a film, is in very low spirits(情绪) when he loses his job

       D. Jackie Gleason is the writer of the film Nothing in common

The Great One” in paragraph 3 refers to ___________.

       A. Gleason                 B. the director himself   

       C. Max        D. Max's boss

Why did Gleason call the director over and smile at him? That’s because Gleason ___

       A. thought his wonderful idea was accepted by the latter(后者)

       B. succeeded in hitting upon (or think of) a wonderful idea

       C. was certain about his work the next day

       D. appreciated the latter's way of directing films

The best title for the passage is ____________.

       A. Directing a Film             B. The Key to Success

       C. A Wonderful Experience       D. Working with Film Stars