Here’s a movie—a sharp, sugar-rush of fun that’s guaranteed to entertain the entire family.

With some terrific computer-generated effects, a great cast and a fun-packed storyline, Robots is the best animated film (动画片) since The Incredibles. Yep, it really is that good.

Set in a world populated by robots, Ewan McGregor plays Rodney Copperbottom, a young robot who leaves his small-town home to pursue his dream of becoming an inventor.

But after arriving in Robot City, his hopes of getting a job at Bigweld Industries are destroyed when he learns the firm has been taken over by the evil Ratchet (Greg Kinnear).

Egged on by his controlling mum, Madame Gasket (Jim Broadbent), Ratchet plans to reduce half of Robot City’s citizens to scrap metal by refusing to sell the spare parts they need to survive.

Instead, he wants to make a fortune selling expensive upgrades that few can afford. As he says, “Why be you when you can be new?”

Aided by a few misfit robots known as the Rustles—including Robin Williams as the cowardly' (胆小的）Fender (“I’m made of a metal called Afraidium”)—Rodney must track down the firm’s founder, Bigweld (Mel Brooks), and convince him to save the city from Ratchet’s plans.

The first thing that’ll strike you about the movie is the thought that's gone into creating Robot City. It’s a wondrous world full of mechanical marvels including wind-up cars and walking streetlamps.

Also terrific are the special effects. This might be an animated movie but at times you’ll catch yourself thinking it’s really a live-action film.

Of course, there have been plenty of animated movies that looked the part but were let down by a weak storyline (see Shark Tale, for example).

But Robots grips (扣人心弦) right from the start thanks to a heart-warming and thoroughly engaging plot that never bores.

My only complaints are with Williams who, as usual，has a one-in-10 success rate with his jokes. Also a letdown is a romantic subplot between Rodney and a shapely robot called Cappy (Halle Berry) that doesn’t go anywhere.

Complains aside, this is a mechanical marvel that’ll have you bolted firmly to your seat.

BEST QUOTE(引述): Fender: “Even though you had a discouraging day, just remember there’s another one coming tomorrow.”

BEST BIT: Check out those amazing images.

WORST BIT: Robin Williams, character does an unfunny Britney Spears dance routine.

IF YOU LIKED…Ice Age, The Incredibles, Toy Story... YOU’LL LIKE THIS.

1.This piece of writing is a _______.

A. commercial advertisement   B. film review

C. movie poster         D. literary essay

2.The cast of Robots is made up of all the following actors or actresses EXCEPT _______.

A. Ewan McGregor    B. Robin Williams

C. Britney Spears       D. Halle Berry

3.What is Shark Tale an example of?

A. A great cast. B. A poor plot.

C. Special effects.      D. Clumsy animation.

My nephew's 10-year-old son came for a visit one hot，July weekend. I persuaded him to　 inside and joined him in a game. After　 for an hour, I suggested that we relax for a while. I fell into my favorite recliner（躺椅）to let my neck muscles relax. He'd slipped out of the room and I was catching a few enjoyable moments of peace and quiet.

    "Look，Alice，”he said　 as he ran over to the chair where I was sitting"I found a kite. Could we go outside and 　 it?"

    Glancing out a nearby window, I noticed it was　 outside.“I'm sorry, Tripper,.” I said, sad to see his 　 eyes. "The wind is not blowing today. The kite won't fly.”

    The　 10-year-old replied,“I think it's windy enough. I can get it to fly,”he answered as he ran out to the back door 　 Up and down in the yard he ran, pulling the kite 　 to a small length of string. He ran back and forth，as hard as his ten year-old legs would carry him, looking back　 at the kite behind. After about ten minutes of unsuccessful determination, he came back in.

    I asked, "How did it go?"

    "Fine，”he said, not wanting to admit 　 ．“I got it to fly some”

    As he walked past me to return the kite to the closet shelf, I heard him say under his breath, "I guess I'll have to wait for the　 ．”

    At that moment I heard another Voice speak to my 　 . "Alice, sometimes you are just like that. You want to do it your way instead of waiting for the Wind.，，

    And the voice was right. We usually want to use our own efforts to 　 what we want to do. We wait for the Wind only after we have done all we can and have exhausted（耗尽） our own　  ．We must learn how to rely on Him in the first place!

1.A. live     B. study   C. stay        D. lie

2.A. playing  B. resting  C. challenging  D. arguing

3.A. casually  B. enthusiastically  C. stubbornly  D. deliberately

4.A. decorate  B. drop  C. hang   D. fly

5.A. hot      B. still   C. noisy  D. fine

6.A. bright   B. disappointed  C. dull  D. satisfied

7.A. clever   B. talented  C. determined  D. fearless

8.A. hurriedly   B. curiously  C. suddenly  D. unwillingly

9.A. adapted   B. added  C. attached  D. devoted

10.A. angrily   B. nervously  C. doubtfully  D. hopefully

11.A. win   B. defeat  C. mistake  D. luck

12.A. wind   B. order  C. news  D. sunshine

13.A. heart   B. memory  C. dream  D. world

14.A. imagine   B. decide  C. apply  D. accomplish

15.A. courage   B. patience  C. strength  D. knowledge

I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would better like to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. Weren’t it for my job I would immediately head out for the open spaces and go back to nature in some sleepy village. But how realistic is the dream?

Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population live in huge tower blocks, noisy, dirty, cold and unfeeling . The sense of belonging to a community tends（倾向）to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. All you can see from your window is sky, or other blocks of flats. Strangely enough, whereas in the past the inhabitants（居民）of one street all knew each other, nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks don’t even say hello to each other.

Country life, on the other hand, differs from this kind of isolated（隔离）existence because a sense of community generally ties the inhabitants of small villages together. But country life has disadvantages too. It is true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities. There’s little possibility of going to a new show or the latest movie. Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go on and expedition to the nearest large town. The city-people who leave for the country are often oppressed by a sense of unbearable stillness and quietness.

What, then, of my dreams of leaning on a cottage gate and murmuring “morning” to the locals as they pass by? I’m eager for the idea, but you see there’s my cat, Toby. I’m not at all sure that he would take to all that fresh air and exercise in the long grass. I mean, can you see him mixing with all those hearty males down the farm? No, he would rather have the electric fire any evening.

72. We learn from Paragraph 1 that the writer          .

A. used to live in the country            B. used to work in the city

C. works in the city.                        D. lives in the country.

73. In the writer’s opinion, the following may cause city people to be unhappy EXCEPT ___.

A. a strong sense of fear             B. a lack of communication.

C. housing conditions.                D. a sense of isolation.

74. The text implies that it is NOT easy to buy           in the country.

A. agricultural produce                 B. fresh fruits

C. fresh vegetable                        D. designed clothes

75. Which of the following words best describes those people who work in large cities and live in villages ?

A. Original                    B. Quiet                 C. Proud               D. Senseless

I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city． I have managed to convince myself that if it weren’t for my job I would immediately head out for the open spaces and go back to nature in some sleepy village buried in the country． But how realistic is the dream?

Cities can be frightening places． The majority of the population live in massive tower blocks, noisy, dirty and impersonal． The sense of belonging to a community tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up．All you can see from your window is sky, or other blocks of fiats．

Strangely enough, whereas in the past the inhabitants of one street all knew each other, nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks don’t even say hello to each other．

Country life, on the other hand, differs from this kind of isolated（隔离）existence because  a sense of community generally ties the inhabitants of small villages together． But country life has disadvantages too．It is true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities．There’s little possibility of going to a new show or the latest movie． Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go on an expedition to the nearest large town．The city-people who leave for the country are often oppressed by a sense of unbearable stillness and quietness．

What , then , of my dreams of leaning on a cottage gate and murmuring “morning” to the locals as they pass by? I’m eager for the idea, but you see there’s my cat, Toby． I’m not at all sure that he would take to all that fresh air and exercise in the long grass．I mean, can you see him mixing with all those hearty males down the farm? No, he would rather have the electric fire any evening．

1．We learn from Paragraph I that the writer________．

A．used to live in the country                  B．used to work in the city

C．works in the city                             D．lives in the country

2．In the writer’s opinion , the following may cause city people to be unhappy EXCEPT_____．

A．a strong sense of fear                   B．a lack of communication

C．housing conditions                      D．a sense of isolation

3．The text implies that it is not easy to buy ______ in the country．

A．agricultural produce                       B．fresh fruits

C．fresh vegetables                                  D．designed clothes

4．The passage manly talks about_______

A．the advantages of living in cities

B．the difference between living in cities and villages

C．most people prefer to live in cities

D．the advantages of living in villages

I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. I have managed to convince myself that if it weren’t for my job I would immediately head out for the open spaces and go back to nature in some sleepy village buried in the country. But how realistic(现实的) is the dream?

Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population live in huge tower blocks, noisy, dirty and unfriendly. The sense of belonging to a group tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. Strangely enough, nowadays people on the same floor don’t even say hello to each other.

Country life, on the other hand, differs in that a sense of group generally unites the people of small villages together. People have the advantage of knowing that there is always someone to turn to when they need help. But it is also true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities. Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go on a trip to the nearest large town. The city people are often worried by a sense of unbearable stillness and quiet.

What, then, is the answer? The country has the advantage of peace and quiet, but suffers from the disadvantage of being cut off. The city raises a feeling of loneliness, and constant noise beats the senses. But you are at the center of things, and life doesn’t come to an end at half-past nine at night. Some people have found or rather bought a solution between the two: they have expressed their preference for the “quiet life” by leaving the cities and moving to villages within commuting(同勤) distance of large cities.

What then of my dream? I’m eager for the idea, but you see there’s my  cat, Toby, I’m not at all sure that he would take to all that fresh air and exercise in the long grass. I mean, can you see him mixing with all those energetic males down the farm? No, he would rather have the electric fire any evening.

1．We get the impression from the first paragraph that the author            .

       A．works in the city  B．lives in the country

       C．used to work in the city                        D．used to live in the country

2．Which of the follow makes city people unhappy?

       A．Colorful life.                                        B．A sense of group.

       C．Close neighborhood.                            D．A feeling of loneliness.

3．What is difficult to buy in the country?

       A．designer clothes.  B．Farming tools.

       C．Daily supplies.     D．Fresh vegetables.

4． We can infer from the passage the author              .

       A．enjoys living in huge tower blocks    B．is in two minds

       C．will continue his life in the city    D．will move to the country