Here’ s an unusual story: a diamond ring

 was recently found in an egg. The    

magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front          

of an audience of millions at CCTV’ s Spring

Festival Gala. Liu’ s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the U

nited States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’ s love for magic.

 “It’ s actually thinking rather than one’ s manipulation（操作）skills; that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting.  ”Liu said.

    Liu Qian’ s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.

Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur  (业余的) magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.

    To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields for passers-by, policemen and farmers.

     “Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds, ” Liu said.

What does the underlined word  “seasoned ” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. 季节性的        B. 刚出道的         C. 老练的         D. 职业的

The story is about_____.

A. how Liu Qian became China’ s hottest magician

B. why people love magic

C. what magic tricks are

D. how fashionable the magic is

People love to watch magic because_____.

A. they can’ t figure out the secret of magic

B. it arouses their curiosity

C. they love watching magicians make the impossible happen

D. it is a centuries-old art

Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A. He was interested in magic when he was little.

B. He had won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest.

C. He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

D. He couldn’ t find an acceptable job after graduation

Here’ s an unusual story: a diamond ring

 was recently found in an egg. The    

magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front         

of an audience of millions at CCTV’ s Spring

Festival Gala. Liu’ s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the U

nited States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

 Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’ s love for magic.

 Liu is known for his interaction(互动)with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship(演出技巧).

“It’ s actually thinking rather than one’ s manipulation（操作）skills; that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting.  ”Liu said.

    Liu Qian’ s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.

Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur  (业余的) magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.

    To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields for passers-by, policemen and farmers.

     “Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds, ” Liu said.

1.What does the underlined word  “seasoned ” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. 季节性的        B. 刚出道的         C. 老练的         D. 职业的

2.The story is about_____.

A. how Liu Qian became China’ s hottest magician

B. why people love magic

C. what magic tricks are

D. how fashionable the magic is

3.People love to watch magic because_____.

A. they can’ t figure out the secret of magic

B. it arouses their curiosity

C. they love watching magicians make the impossible happen

D. it is a centuries-old art

4.Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A. He was interested in magic when he was little.

B. He had won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest.

C. He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

D. He couldn’ t find an acceptable job after graduation

5. From the story we know that______.

A. Liu Qian competed in many magic competitions

B. Liu Qian often invites audiences to be in his magic show

C. Liu Qian performs on streets in order to increase his fame

D. Liu Qian does street show to make money

Here’ s an unusual story: a diamond ring

 was recently found in an egg. The    

magician, Liu Qian, discovered it, in front          

of an audience of millions at CCTV’ s Spring

Festival Gala. Liu’ s magic tricks have made the centuries-old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

As a seasoned young magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the U

nited States, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

 Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’ s love for magic.

 Liu is known for his interaction(互动)with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship(演出技巧).

“It’ s actually thinking rather than one’ s manipulation（操作）skills; that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting.  ”Liu said.

    Liu Qian’ s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.

Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur  (业余的) magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.

    To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields for passers-by, policemen and farmers.

     “Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds, ” Liu said.

What does the underlined word  “seasoned ” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A. 季节性的        B. 刚出道的         C. 老练的         D. 职业的

The story is about_____.

A. how Liu Qian became China’ s hottest magician

B. why people love magic

C. what magic tricks are

D. how fashionable the magic is

People love to watch magic because_____.

A. they can’ t figure out the secret of magic

B. it arouses their curiosity

C. they love watching magicians make the impossible happen

D. it is a centuries-old art

Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?

A. He was interested in magic when he was little.

B. He had won Taiwan’ s Youth Magic Contest.

C. He became an amateur magician in his spare time.

D. He couldn’ t find an acceptable job after graduation

From the story we know that______.

A. Liu Qian competed in many magic competitions

B. Liu Qian often invites audiences to be in his magic show

C. Liu Qian performs on streets in order to increase his fame

D. Liu Qian does street show to make money

When I decided to get married, my father decided to share some wisdom. “Lori, it is just as easy to love a rich man as it is to love a poor man, “ he said. My boyfriend didn’t have much money, but I loved him. “What?” I cried. “ How can you say that? I want to marry for love, NOT for money.” “ But why not marry someone you love who has money?” he asked. “Rich men are materialistic（物质主义的）. I’d rather marry a poor man who loves me,” I said and he gave in.
And as we went on, with my family growing, I learned why my father put such importance on money. We had to cover the rent, car, electricity, food, and medical bills. We were under lot of pressure. The worries over whether we would be asked to move out or if we had the money to wash our clothes at the Laundromat this week made me question if I did the right thing by marrying a “poor” man.
I realized that I had entered the ranks of the poor. Not that I’d ever been rich. Most of my life, I considered us in the lower middle-class rank. We had a house of our own, food on the table, cars, clothes, and money for college. But now, as I listened to an apartment neighbour talk about her monthly “Mother’s Day” gift, I realized she was talking about her welfare check（政府发放的救济金）. And another young mother tried to “help” me out by connecting me with a friend who stole baby clothes from a department store. “ For a small cut,” she said, “ I could return my ‘purchase’(购买的东西）for cash.” It made me sick. How poor was I?
I had a college education but wasn’t using it. I insisted on not missing a minute of our children’s childhood and it came at a price. My husband was working as hard as he could and it wasn’t enough. But somehow we made it.
The kids grew. Today, we look back and see the great values gained by going through those hard years. My children are not materialistic. They never thought they were poor growing up because we always managed to give a little bit of food, money, or clothes to the “poor”. They were satisfied with the simple things in life that come free such as a beach day or a horse back ride from their dad.
We had our worries, but we still treasured our very favorite part of the day when we’d nest (栖息地）under the covers and talked about our future, the kids and how much we loved each other. Sure our financial(财政的) troubles caused a lot of fights, but we didn’t leave each other. We began to live a better life. We moved to a better community(社区）with good schools for the kids. And soon, we’ll face a new challenge with wealth. But we’ll never give up.
My father died three years ago. Before he died, he knew I made the right choice. I’m proud of my decision.
【小题1】.The writer argued with her father because _________________.