A year ago, at the annual pre-Grammy party, Whitney Houston, the great star, walked on stage and closed the evening with a brilliant performance．
Last Saturday, Houston was once again the focus before the Grammy, but her presence was a regrettable one．Earlier that day, the pop music's former queen was found dead in her hotel room．She was 48．This, no doubt, is sad news to the whole music industry and her fans all over the world．
At her peak(巅峰), Houston was the golden girl of the music world．From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists．She impressed audiences with her effortless, powerful and peerless performance．
Besides multi-million record sales, Houston made countless hits such as The Greatest Love of All, I Have Nothing, and the mostly famous I Will Always Love You．She also influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey．
But by the end of her career, there was a shocking fall for this superstar．Houston had been addicted to(上瘾) drugs．Her album sales declined (下降) and the hits stopped coming and her once beautiful voice became hoarse （嘶哑的）, unable to hit the high notes as she used to．
In 2009, Houston staged a successful comeback with the album I Look To You, which fell on top of the charts．But hoarse voice, canceled concerts, and continuous illness-Houston's comeback trail wasn't smooth at all．In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, Houston admitted: "It (show business) is too much for me and I wanted out．"
Now that Houston has finally taken a break from all the chaos(混乱), may she rest in peace．
【小题1】Whitney Houston died ______．

Rumour（ 谣言 ）is the most primitive way of spreading stories— by passing them on from mouth to mouth．but civilized countries in                                              normal times have better sources  of news than     rumour．They have radio, television, and newspapers．In times of confusion （ 混乱 ）,  however ,rumour appears and becomes widespread．At such times the different kinds of news are in competition: the press, television, and radio against the grapevine．

Especially do rumours spread when war requires control on many important matters．The normal news sources no longer give out enough information．Since the people can not learn through legal channels all that they are anxious to learn, they pick up "news" wherever they can and when this happens, rumour grows．

Rumours are often repeated even by those who do not believe the tales．There is an interest about them．The reason is that the cleverly designed rumour gives expression to something  deep in the hearts of the victims — the fears, doubts, forbidden hopes, or daydreams which they hesitate to voice directly．Pessimistic （ 悲观的 ） rumours about defeat and disasters show that the people who repeat them are worried and anxious ．Optimistic rumours  about record production or peace soon coming point to self- satisfaction or confidence—and often to over- confidence．

1．The author suggests that, in times of confusion, man often __________．

       A．stops regular news services                  B．turns to primitive ways for support

    C．distrusts his fellow man                        D．loses complete control of himself

2．The underlined word "grapevine" in Paragraph 1 probably means "__________”．

       A．rumour              B．newspaper         C．information        D．time

3．The author states that during wartime the regular sources of news provide only __________ ．

    A．false information                                 B．optimistic reports

    C．limited information                             D．pessimistic reports

4．Which of the following statements is mentioned as a reason for people to repeat a rumour?

       A．They are too willing to believe．      

       B．They take an interest in rumour．

       C．They have a strong desire to make a fool of other people．

       D．They find some rumours reflect their own unexpressed beliefs．

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

When my children were small, the toughest part of the day was getting to work. There were diapers(尿布), formula(奶粉),  36  of clothes to worry about for the children. There was their breakfast, and I must  37  they were clean and ready for the day. It was pretty chaotic(混乱的). I have always been one to  38  more about making sure everyone else had what they needed than to take care of myself. 39 , I had my clothing and my packed lunch set out so that I could quickly get ready and then turn my  40  back to getting the children ready.

I tried to keep my  41  pretty easy in the morning. There just wasn’t time, but that was OK as long as I kept moving. I would manage a  42  look at myself in the full-length mirror just before I  43  out the door.

Once a week we had management team  44  and it was important to be there on time and to appear relaxed and  45 . We would go around the conference table, each  46  on successes and areas of concern. When it came around to my  47 , all eyes would be on me as I had my chance to brag(自夸) on my programs and increasing  48 .

I thought I was pretty  49  at playing the role of the cool, calm, collected program manager 50  one week I arrived at one of these management team meetings and as the  51  went around the table, getting to me. There were  52  looks on the faces of the others looking at me. I started to feel a little  53  as that “ what’s going on?”  54  grew more intense. My closest colleague started doing this strange nodding thing in my direction. It was then that I  55  that I had my dress on inside-out.

Parents who feel disappointed at their teenagers’ failure to pay attention in class, and inability to sit quietly long enough to finish homework or plan ahead, should take solace. Their children are not being lazy or careless, according to new research.
The research has found that teenagers’ brains continue developing far longer into adulthood than we used to think. Teens may look like young adults but their brain structure is similar to that of much younger children.
“It is not always easy for teens to pay attention in class without letting their minds wander, or to ignore distractions from their younger brothers or sisters when trying to solve a maths   problem,” said Dr Iroise Dumon-theil. “But it’s not the fault of teenagers that they can’t pay attention and are easily distracted. It’s to do with the structure of their brains. Teens simply can’t think as well as an adult.”
The research showed that the brain of a teenager works less effectively than that of an adult. “We knew that the front of the brain of teens functioned in a chaotic  (混乱的) way but we  didn’ t realize it continued until the late 20s or early 30s,” said Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, who led the research.
Chaotic thought patterns are a result of teenagers’ brains containing too much grey matter — the cell bodies and connections which carry messages within the brain. As we age, the amount of grey matter in our brain reduces.
“What our research has shown is that there is simply too much going on in the brains of teens,” said Blakemore. “The result is that their brain energy and resources are wasted and their decision-making process is badly influenced. Adults, on the other hand, have less grey matter. This means that the brain works far more effectively.”
【小题1】The underlined word “solace” in Paragraph 1 may mean _____.

单词拼写

1.In order to have ___________(标准的) pronunciation, I read articles every morning and talk with foreigners at the weekend.

2. One day while he was working as a lorry driver he had a close e____________with death.

3.The man viewed his m________ in life as protecting the environment from pollution.

4.I know you don’t like her but try not to make it so o____________.

5.His _____________(坚决的)look showed that he had made up his mind.

6.The diaries contained detailed __________(叙述)of the writer’s experiences in China.

7.The boy was c__________ about everything that he saw.

8.The show has been _____________(延长) for another six weeks.

9.A d_______is often used as a symbol of peace.

10.She was very angry with her husband because he made their room in_____(混乱)