Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have． A US accent, perhaps modeled on the way a Hollywood star speaks? Or maybe you want to imitate（模仿） the British accent of a BBC news reader?

Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent． Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex(异性)! Let’s listen to what they have to say．

Stephen Yang, 17, from London, UK

A US accent is cute, especially when a girl speaks it． Whether it’s Jessia Alba speaking or the girl- next-door, the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle that is really sassy(时髦)． A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood． Her Texan twang（鼻音） had all the boys here on their knees within seconds of meeting her．

To me, accents reflect the attitudes, characteristics and lifestyles of the people．

Jennifer Sun, 16, from New Jersey, US

From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe, my friends and I have developed a soft spot for British men．Some are attracted to the qualities of English males, while others admire their sense of style．

Everyone, however, agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent． For example, many American girls watch Harry Potter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak．

The English accent seems almost like art．

1.In Stephen Yang’s opinion, accents just show__________．

A．the beauty of the language

B．how the language is spoken

C．the cultural differences of the speakers

D．the meeting of the day

2.The underlined sentence in paragraph means that __________．

A．All the boys broke their knees

B．All the boys fell to the ground

C．All the boys liked her accent very much

D．All the boys imitated（模仿）her accent

3.Many American girls watch Harry Porter again and again in order to __________．

A．learn the acting skills of the these stars

B．learn the magic performed by Harry Potter

C．imitate the actors’ accents

D．know more about British English

4.What is probably the best title for this passage?

A．British English and American English

B．British Accent or American Accent

C．American English Accent is Most Accepted

D．The difference between British Accent and American Accent．

Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity（逆境）. But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage（勇气）to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. Her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition（志向） to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to（注定）be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls（回忆）, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn't have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled（戴眼镜的）boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression（诊断患有抑郁症）. Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write.
【小题1】 Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?

Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have. A US accent, perhaps modeled on the way a Hollywood star speaks? Or maybe you want to imitate（模仿） the British accent of a BBC news reader?
Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent. Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex! Let’s listen to what they have to say.
Stephen Yang, 17, from London, UK
A US accent is cute, especially when a girl speaks it. Whether it’s Jessia Alba speaking or the girl- next-door, the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle that is really sassy(时髦). A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood. Her Texan twang（鼻音） had all the boys here on their knees within seconds of meeting her.
To me, accents reflect the attitudes, characteristics and lifestyles of the people.
Jennifer Sun, 16, from New Jersey, US
From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe, my friends and I have developed a soft spot for British men. Some are attracted to the qualities of English males, while others admire their sense of style.
Everyone, however, agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent. For example, many American girls watch Harry Potter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak.
The English accent seems almost like art.
【小题1】In Stephen Yang’s opinion, accents just show__________.

A．strange

B．exciting

C．attractive

D．fashionable

A．learn the acting skills of the these stars

B．learn the magic performed by Harry Potter

C．imitate the actors’ accents

D．know more about British English

A．British English and American English

B．British Accent or American Accent

C．American English Accent is Most Accepted

D．The difference between British Accent and American Accent.

Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity（逆境）. But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage（勇气）to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. Her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition（志向） to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to（注定）be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls（回忆）, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn't have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled（戴眼镜的）boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression（诊断患有抑郁症）. Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write.
【小题1】 Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?

Each year, prizes are presented to adults who make great achievements in art, writing, science, and economics. So why not give awards to kids?

Harry Leibowitz asked himself that question in 1996. As an answer, he and his wife, Kay, created the World of Children organization and began handing out awards to kids and adults whose work has helped kids all over the world. The awards the World of Children presents are nicknamed（给……起绰号）the “ Children’s Nobel Prize”.

“You know, children are so important,” Leibowitz, a retired business manager, told me. “ We should have prizes for children if we’re going to have prizes for everything else.”

Talia Leman, from Iowa, was awarded a Founder’s Youth Award for Leadership this year. She is only 13 years old, but she has completed a lot. In 2005, she founded “ RandomKid”. Since then, it has raised more than$10 million to help kids in 48 states in the U.S. and in 19 other countries.

One place helped by RandomKid was a school built in Cambodia to enable 300 kids to go to school. The organization has also helped fix a school for 200 kids in Louisiana, and provided interactive play centers that serve more than 500 kids in hospitals in Iowa. In faraway places like Africa, RandomKid has provided money to buy water pumps（水泵）.

Talia never thought that the organization she founded would be as successful as it has become. She said, “ My first goal was to raise $1million. That seemed really high, but when you reach a goal, you always wind up reaching higher, and we actually raised $10 million.”

I asked her what advice she would offer to other young people who want to help kids in need. “ Well, I’d say the first thing would be to find an adult and tell them your idea,” Talia said. “ They’re really the people who can help, and from there I think it can just really take off.”

1. The purpose of the first two paragraphs is to tell us     .

2.The World of Children presents awards to those who   .

3.Which of the following is TRUE about Talia?

4. What advice is given by Talia to those who want to help kids in need?