---I have seen so little of Mike______. Is he away on business?

---Oh, no. He just leaves for his office and returns very ______.

A. later; lately　　 B. later; late　　　　　 C. late; lately　　 D. lately; late

Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare. He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which remain very popular today.

During earlier times, people would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays. It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works. For example, in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors" Shakespeare borrowed certain details from the ancient Roman writer Plautus. For his play "Macbeth", Shakespeare most likely used a work on Scottish history by Raphael Holinshed for information. Shakespeare might have borrowed from other writers, but the intensity（强度）of his imagination and language made the plays his own. While many plays by other writers of his time have been forgotten, Shakespeare and his art live on.

Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him. He described the sights and sounds of London in his plays. His works include observations about political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city’s tradesmen. Shakespeare's knowledge of the English countryside is also clear. His works include descriptions of deep forests, local flowers, and the ancient popular traditions of rural people.

It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which Shakespeare’s works have influenced the world culture. But the first and greatest example would be his great influence on the English language. During his time, the English language was changing. Many new words from other languages were being added. Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and rework old ones. For example, he created the noun forms of "critic", "mountaineer” and "eyeball". Many common expressions in English come from his plays, including "pomp and circumstance（装腔作势）"from "Othello", "full circle（绕圈子地）" from "King Lear", etc. The list of cultural creations influenced by Shakespeare is almost endless. From paintings to television to music and dance, Shakespeare was well represented. Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major language in the world.

Shakespeare became a well??known writer during a golden age of theater. His years of hard work paid off.

What can we infer from the passage？

       A.Many of Shakespeare's works were influenced by earlier writings.

       B.Shakespeare was hard??working when he was a student.

       C.The experience of living in London helped a lot with Shakespeare's works.

       D.Shakespeare became rich later because of the popularity of his works.

Shakespeare might have learnt some information from ancient Roman works in　　　　.

       A."King Lear"     B."The Comedy of Errors"   C. "Macbeth"    D."Othello"

Why could Shakespeare's works survive his time？

       A.Because there were so few people writing plays in his time.

       B.Because he produced too many works that nobody else could do.

       C.Because he was a rich and influential person of his time.

       D.Because his works were rich in imagination and language.

Shakespeare's greatest influence should be on　　　　.

       A.the English language  B.paintings       C.television    D.music and dance

The passage is mainly about 　　　　.

       A.an introduction to Shakespeare’s life and his works

       B.the main features and styles of Shakespeare's plays

       C.how culture influenced Shakespeare and he influenced culture.

       D.Shakespeare’s greatest influence on the world culture.

Everyone has experienced trying, but failing to master a difficult book that was begun with the hope of increasing one's understanding. When that happens, it is ?　36　?to think that it was a mistake to try to read it, but that was not the mistake. The mistake was in ?　37　? too much from the first reading of a(n) ?　38　? book. If you read it in the right way, no book written for the ?　39　?reader, no matter how difficult, need be a cause for despair(令人失望).

What is the right method? The ?　40　? is an important and helpful rule of reading that is either not ?　41　? or often forgotten. That rule is simply this: when reading a difficult book for the first time, read it through without ever ?　42　? to think about the things that you do not understand immediately.

Do not be stopped by what you ?　43　? understand. Read through the difficult ?　44　?,and you soon come to things that you do understand. Read these ?　45　?.You will have a much better chance of understanding all of the book when you read it again, but that ?　46　? you to have read the book through once ?　47　?.

What you understand by reading the book through to the ?　48　? will help you when you try later to read the places that you did not ?　49　? in your first reading. Or if you never re-read the book, understanding half of it is much better than understanding ?　50　? of it, which will happen ?　51　? you allow yourself to be stopped by the first difficult part of the book.?

Most of us were taught to ?　52　? the things that we do not understand. We were told to find the ?　53　? of unfamiliar words, and to try to find an explanation in another ?　54　? for anything that we did not understand in the book that we were reading. But when these things are done before the proper time, they only ?　55　? our reading, instead of helping it.

36. A. necessary     B. useful C. natural       D. effective?

37. A. learning       B. wanting      C. accepting    D. expecting?

38. A. easy     B. difficult     C. important   D. correct?

39. A. ordinary      B. young C. serious       D. sincere?

40. A. method B. question     C. answer       D. problem?

41. A. taught  B. known       C. sure    D. perfect?

42. A. starting B. hesitating   C. Stopping    D. repeating?

43. A. can't     B. won't  C. mustn't       D. wouldn't?

44. A. words   B. articles       C. parts   D. points?

45. A. quickly B. immediately      C. clearly       D. carefully?

46. A. requires       B. causes C. advises       D. allows?

47. A. later     B. after   C. before D. again?

48. A. top       B. end     C. bottom       D. cover?

49. A. see       B. turn    C. Notice D. understand?

50. A. anything      B. everything  C. nothing      D. something?

51. A. if B. so that C. whenever   D. as though?

52. A. put away     B. put down    C. think of      D. think about?

53. A. uses     B. Meanings   C. Spellings    D. troubles?

54. A. thinking      B. reading      C. Book  D. way?

55. A. harm    B. increase      C. Improve     D. prevent??

“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I was disappointed. “Don’t worry. One day your luck will change.”
I didn’t pay attention to her words. After finishing my college education, I decided to look for a job in a radio station. I wanted to host a sports programme. I went to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. But I got turned down every time.
In one station, a kind lady said to me that I hadn’t got enough experience. “Get to a small station and work for some time,” she said.
When I went back home, my dad told me that a businessman had opened a store and needed someone to help him. But again, I didn’t get the job.
I felt really down. “Your luck will change,” Mum said to me. Later, I tried another radio station in Iowa. But the owner, a nice man, told me he had already had someone to work for him. As I left his office, I asked, “How can someone be a sports announcer (播音员) if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”
I was waiting for the lift when I heard the man call, “What did you mean? Do you know anything about football?” He let me sit in front of a microphone and asked me to try to imagine that I was giving my opinion on a football game, and finally I succeeded.
On my way home, Mum’s words came back to me, “One day your luck will change, Son.”
【小题1】What was the writer’s ideal（理想的） job?