There are still many things that Peter Cooke would like to try his hand at－ paper – making and feather – work are on his list. For the moment though, he will stick to the skill he has been delighted to perfect over the past ten years ;making delicate and unusual objects out of shells.
As he leads me round his apartment showing me his work, he points to a pair of shell-covered ornaments(装饰品) above a fireplace. ‘I shan’t be at all bothered if people don’t buy them because I have got so used to them, and to me they’re adorable. I never meant to sell my work commercially. Some friends came to see me about five years ago and said, “You must have an exhibition-people ought to see these. We’ll talk to a man who owns an art gallery”.’ The result was an exhibition in London, at which 70 percent of the objects were sold. His second exhibition opened at the gallery yesterday. Considering the enormous prices the pieces command-around ￡2,000 for the ornaments-an empty space above the fireplace would seem a small sacrifice for Cooke to make.
“I do wish, though,” says Cooke, ‘that I’d taken this up a lot earlier, because then I would have been able to produce really wonderful things-at least the potential would have been there. Although the ideas are still there and I’m doing the best I can now, I’m more limited physically than I was when I started. Still, the work that he has managed to produce is a long way from the common shell constructions that can be found in seaside shops. ‘I have a miniature(微型的)mind’ he says, and this has resulted in boxes covered in thousands of tiny shells, little shaded pictures made from shells and baskets of astonishingly realistic flowers.
Cooke’s quest for beautiful, and especially tiny, shells has taken him further than his Norfolk shore: to France, Thailand, Mexico, South Africa and the Philippines, to name but a few of the beaches where he has lain on his stomach and looked for beauties to bring home.
67．What does the reader learn about Peter Cooke in the first paragraph?
A．He has produced hand-made objects in different materials.
B．He hopes to work with other materials in the future.
C．He has written about his love of making shell objects.
D．He was praised for his shell objects many years ago.
68．When looking round his apartment, the wrier__________.
A．is attracted by Cooke’s personality
B．realizes he doesn’t like Cooke’s work at all
C．feels uncertain about giving Cooke his opinion
D．senses that Cooke wants his products to be admired
69．The ‘small sacrifice’ in Paragraph 2 refers to _________.
A．the loss of Cooke’s ornaments
B．the display of Cooke’s ornaments
C．the cost of keeping Cooke’s ornaments
D．the space required to store Cooke’s ornaments
70．What does Cooke regret about his work?
A．He is not as famous as he should have been.
B．He makes less money than he should make.
C．He is less imaginative than he used to be.
D．He is not as skillful as he used to be.

Many people seem to think that science fiction is typified by the Bug-eyed Monster, embodying every feature that most people find unpleasant. This is unfortunate because it degrades a worthwhile literary endeavor. Instead, the basic interest of science fiction lies in the relation between man and his technology and between man and the universe. Science fiction is a literature of change and a literature of the future, and the aspects of human life that it considers make it well worth reading and studying for no other literary form does quite the same things. What is science fiction? To begin, the following definition should be helpful: science fiction is a literary subgenre which postulates(以…为前提) a change (for human beings) from conditions as we know them and follows the implications of these changes to a conclusion.?
The first point that science fiction is a literary subgenre is a very important one, but one which is often overlooked. Specifically, science fiction is either a short story or a novel. There are only a few dramas which could be called science fiction; the body of poetry that might be labeled science fiction is only slightly larger. To say that science fiction is a subgenre of prose fiction(小说) is to say that it has all the basic characteristics and serves the same basic functions in much the same way as prose fiction in general, that is, it shares a great deal with all other novels and short stories.
Everything that can be said about prose fiction, in general, applies to science fiction. Every piece of science fiction, whether short story or novel, must have a narrator, a story, a plot, characters, setting, and language. The themes of science fiction are concerned with interpreting man’s nature and experience around him. Themes in science fiction are constructed and presented in exactly the same ways that themes are dealt with in any other kind of fiction. They are the result to a particular combination of a narrator, story, plot, character, setting, and language. In short, the reasons for reading and enjoying science fiction, and the ways of studying and analyzing it, are basically the same as they would be for any other story or novel.?
51.From the first paragraph, we can infer that science fiction has been most popular in the 20th century because ____.?
A with the growth of literacy, the size of the reading public has increased?
B competition from television has created a demand for more exciting fiction?
C science fiction is easier to understand than other kinds of fiction?
D the increased importance of technology has given science fiction an increased relevance
52.According to the definition in the passage, a fictional work that places human beings in a prehistoric world inhabited by dinosaurs____.?
A cannot be called science fiction because it does not deal with the future?
B cannot be called science fiction because it doesn’t deal with technology?
C can be called science fiction because it deals with man’s relation with the world?
D can be called science fiction because it places people in an environment different from the one we know?
53. Science fiction is called a literary subgenre because____.?
A it is not important enough to be a literary genre?
B it cannot be made into a dramatic presentation?
C it shares characteristics with other types of prose fiction?
D it has its limits?
54.One implication of the final sentence in the passage is that____.?
A the reader should turn next to commentaries on general fiction?
B there is no reason for any reader not to like science fiction?
C the reader should compare other novels and stories to science fiction?
D those who can appreciate prose fiction can appreciate science fiction?
55.An appropriate title for this passage would be____.?
A Man and the Universe?
B Toward a Definition of Science Fiction?
C A Type of Prose Fiction?
D The Bug-Eyed Monster??

Write a winning story!

       You could win ￡1,000 in this year’s Fiction Prize and have your story printed in Keep Writing magazine. Ten other lucky people will win a cheque for ￡100.

       Once again, we need people who can write good stories. The judges, who include Mary Littlejohn, the novelist, Michael Brown, the television reporter, and Susan Hitchins, the editor of Keep Writing, are looking for interesting and original stories. Detective fiction was extremely popular last year, although the competition winner produced a love story. You can write down about whatever you want but here’s some advice to start your thinking:

       Write about what you know

       This is the advice which every writer should pay attention to and, last year, nearly everyone who wrote for us did exactly that. Love, family, problems with friends ---- these were the main subjects of the stories. However, you need to turn ordinary situations into something interesting that people will want to read about. Make the reader want to continue reading by writing about ordinary things in a new and surprising way.

       Get your facts right

       It’s no good giving a description of a town or explaining how a jet engine works if you get it wrong. So avoid writing anything unless you’re certain about it.

       Hold the reader’s attention

       Make the beginning interesting and the ending a surprise. There is nothing worse than a poor ending. Develop the story carefully and try to think of something unusual happening at the end.

       Think about the characters

       Try to bring the people in your story alive for the reader by using well-chosen words to make them seem real.

       Your story must be your own work, between 2,000 and 2,5000 words and typed, double-spaced, on one side only of each sheet of paper.

       Even if you’re in danger of missing the closing date, we are unable to accept stories by fax or email. You must include the application form with your story. Unfortunately your story cannot be returned, nor can we discuss our decisions.

       You should not have had any fiction printed in any magazine or book in this country ---- a change in the rules by popular request ---- and the story must not have happened in print or in recorded form, for example on radio or TV, anywhere in the world.

       Your fee of ￡5 will go to the Writers’ Association. Make your cheque payable to Keep Writing and send it with the application form and your story to:

       Keep Writing

       75 Broad Street Birmingham

       B12 4TG

       The closing date is 30 July and we will inform the winner within one month of this date. Please note that if you win, you must agree to have your story printed in our magazine.

1.How should writers deal with ordinary situations while writing?

A. They should make them appealing to readers.  

B. They should copy others’ ideas.

C. They should change some facts to make them interesting. 

D. They should describe them as they are.

2.What shouldn’t a writer do?

 A. Making the contents interesting. 

B. Getting the facts right.

C. Meeting the deadline. 

D. Making the end ordinary.

3.Writers should present their works in the following ways except that ____________.

A. they should write originally

B. they can type their stories as they like

C. they should follow some rules

D. they should hand in their stories in time

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Late stories can be faxed if necessary.                            

B. Entry needs no fee.

C. Winners can have their stories printed in other magazines.  

D. All stories should be presented by mail

Write a winning story!

         You could win ￡1,000 in this year’s Fiction Prize and have your story printed in Keep Writing magazine. Ten other lucky people will win a cheque for ￡100.

         Once again, we need people who can write good stories. The judges, who include Mary Littlejohn, the novelist, Michael Brown, the television reporter, and Susan Hitchins, the editor of Keep Writing, are looking for interesting and original stories. Detective fiction was extremely popular last year, although the competition winner produced a love story. You can write down about whatever you want but here’s some advice to start your thinking:

         Write about what you know

         This is the advice which every writer should pay attention to and, last year, nearly everyone who wrote for us did exactly that. Love, family, problems with friends ---- these were the main subjects of the stories. However, you need to turn ordinary situations into something interesting that people will want to read about. Make the reader want to continue reading by writing about ordinary things in a new and surprising way.

         Get your facts right

         It’s no good giving a description of a town or explaining how a jet engine works if you get it wrong. So avoid writing anything unless you’re certain about it.

         Hold the reader’s attention

         Make the beginning interesting and the ending a surprise. There is nothing worse than a poor ending. Develop the story carefully and try to think of something unusual happening at the end.

         Think about the characters

         Try to bring the people in your story alive for the reader by using well-chosen words to make them seem real.

         Your story must be your own work, between 2,000 and 2,5000 words and typed, double-spaced, on one side only of each sheet of paper.

         Even if you’re in danger of missing the closing date, we are unable to accept stories by fax or email. You must include the application form with your story. Unfortunately your story cannot be returned, nor can we discuss our decisions.

         You should not have had any fiction printed in any magazine or book in this country ---- a change in the rules by popular request ---- and the story must not have happened in print or in recorded form, for example on radio or TV, anywhere in the world.

         Your fee of ￡5 will go to the Writers’ Association. Make your cheque payable to Keep Writing and send it with the application form and your story to:

         Keep Writing

         75 Broad Street Birmingham

         B12 4TG

         The closing date is 30 July and we will inform the winner within one month of this date. Please note that if you win, you must agree to have your story printed in our magazine.

1.How should writers deal with ordinary situations while writing?

A. They should make them appealing to readers.

B. They should copy others’ ideas.

C. They should change some facts to make them interesting.

D. They should describe them as they are.

2.What shouldn’t a writer do?

A. Making the contents interesting.                     B. Getting the facts right.

C. Meeting the deadline.                                        D. Making the end ordinary.

3.Writers should present their works in the following ways except that ____________.

A. they should write originally

B. they can type their stories as they like

C. they should follow some rules

D. they should hand in their stories in time

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Late stories can be faxed if necessary.

B. Entry needs no fee.

C. Winners can have their stories printed in other magazines.

D. All stories should be presented by mail.