In contrast to earlier decades, the whole journey of Shenzhou Ⅶ was shown ________ on television．

1. A.
   alive
2. B.
   live
3. C.
   clearly
4. D.
   timely

In contrast to earlier decades, the whole journey of Shenzhou VⅡwas shown           on

television.

A．alive         B．live           C．clearly          D．timely

In many ways, our society doesn’t simply prepare for the kinds of lives that the elderly must lead. We have made medical advances that allow people to live longer than ever before, but we do not seem to know what to do with them after we have saved their lives. Too little allowance (津贴) is made for the person who is no longer earning a living, who can not walk long distances or drive a car, or who may have physical or mental disabilities that keep him from communicating with others. The institutional (慈善机构的) care we give our older people is a good reflection of the overall attitude of our society toward the aged.

In the past few years, nursing homes have received wide attention as boring, meaningless places where old people often have little else to do but wait for the end of their lives. Elderly wards in mental hospitals are even worse. One of the most shocking things abort nursing homes has been the unwillingness of people on the outside to show real concern for what happens in these institutions. Even people who are entrusting (委托) a parent to the care of a home rarely ask about the nurse-parent ratio (比率), about the kinds of creative facilities or physical treatment equipment available, or about the frequency of doctors’ visits.

And the government has provided federal money without enforcing high standards of care. In fact federal standards were lowered in 1974. Therefore, in some sense our concern for the aged seems to be moving backwards, not forwards. This picture is in striking contrast to the treatment of respectable patriarchs (男长者) and matriarchs (女长者) in many societies.

1. What would be the most suitable title for this passage?

A. Failure of Care for the Elderly             B. The Elderly

C. Institutional Care                             D. A National Shame

2. We can conclude from this passage that the writer feels ____.

A. nursing homes should be got rid of

B. a country that can help people live longer should also be able to care for them better

C. people have no thanks toward their parents

D. our society’s institutions need to be reformed

3. The writer believes that people who place a parent in a nursing home should ____.

A. demand higher federal standards

B. consider the example set in other countries

C. be ashamed of not keeping the parents in their own homes

D. investigate it first

4. The writer complains ____.

A. about the indifference of some people towards nursing homes

B. about the shortage of equipment in nursing home

C. that nursing homes keep the aged from communicating with others

D. both A and B

In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition（试镜）for My Kind of People, a televised talent show popular in the UK. She was immediately rejected. She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn’t perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks. Susan was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.

Susan suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away. After his death, Susan put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother, Bridget Boyle. The mother and daughter often talked of Susan’s possible fame. Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions. “She was the one who said I should enter Britain’s Got Talent. We used to watch it together,” Susan later told reporters. “She thought I would win.”

In 1999, Susan used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo（样本唱片）tape, which she sent to record companies. In 2002, Susan began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O’Neil.

In 2007, her mother passed away at the age of 91. A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn’t come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone”. She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. For over a year, she refused to sing. But in August of 2008, O’Neil urged her to try out for Britain’s Got Talent. Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Susan auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland. She sang I Dreamed A Dream, a hit song from the musical Les Miserables（《悲惨世界》）, in the first round of the show, which was aired on April 11, 2009.

The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast（对比）to her powerfully beautiful voice. The performance astonished the audience and the judges. Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week. Although she failed to win the final of Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular. Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.

Bridget Boyle’s attitude towards her daughter’s musical talent can be described as ___.

   A. critical    B. doubtful     C. indifferent     D. confident

From Paragraph 4, we can learn that Susan _____.

A. was slightly discouraged by her voice coac B. entered Britain’s Got Talent to prove her ability

C. decided to give up her singing career    D. was deeply affected by her mother’s death

Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?

A. Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008. B. Her audition for My Kind of People failed.

C. She has never stopped singing since 1995.  D. She was the winner of Britain’s Got Talent. 

We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. Susan Boyle was convinced by her brother that her plain looks were disadvantageous to her success

B. It was at the age of forty that Susan Boyle established a student-teacher relationship with O’Neil.

C. Susan Boyle was so struck by her father’s death that she shut herself out from the neighborhood.

D. The online views of Les Miserables numbered over 40 million within a week in 2009.

In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to ______.

A. tell us how Susan’s dream come true       B. let us know more about Susan’s personal life

C. show how Susan was influenced by her family D. explain how to enter and win a talent show