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　　Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday?

　　The history of Valentine's Day—and its patron saint(守护神)—is covered in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains signs of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.

　　So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become connected with this ancient tradition? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were dead . One legend describes that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius Ⅱ decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed (使……不受法律保护) marriage for young men—his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice(不公正)of the rule, fought against Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape cruel Roman prisons where they were often beaten, even killed.

　　According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first “Valentine” greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl—who may have been his jailor's daughter—who visited him during his imprisonment. Before his death, it is said that he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is gloomy, the stories certainly emphasize his appearance as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

1．Why candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones every February?

[　　]

A．Mainly to show their love to their lovers.

B．Mainly to remember a person named Valentine.

C．Because they can't spend that day without these things.

D．Because February is a romantic month.

2．From this passage, why have people called that day Saint Valentine's Day?

[　　]

A．A priest called Valentine performed marriages for young lovers in secret.

B．A person called Valentine helped to save many Christians.

C．A person called Valentine wrote her lover a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine” .

D．It doesn't tell us exactly.

3．In the fourth paragraph, what's the meaning of the second “Valentine”?

[　　]

A．The person “Valentine”.

B．A thing as a gift in that day.

C．A signature in the lovers' day for the first time .

D．No real meaning.

4．What does the passage mainly talk about?

[　　]

A．How to spend Saint Valentine's Day.

B．The history of Saint Valentine's Day.

C．Why we should spend Saint Valentine's Day.

D．Why we should remember the person named Valentine.

In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly，believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad；that it sets one person against another；that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.

I have taught many children who held the belief that their self worth relied (依赖)on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them，playing well and winning are often life and death affairs. In their single minded pursuit(追求)of success，the development，of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.?

However，while sonic seem to be lost in die desire to succeed，others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only die winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players，they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people，I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying，they always have an excuse：“I may have lost，but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost，that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly，this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.

1. What does this passage mainly talk about? ?

A. Competition helps to set up self-respect.?

B. Opinions about competition are different among people.?

C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.?

D. Failures are necessary experiences in competition.?

2. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage? ?

A. It pushes society forward.

B. It builds up a sense of duty.?

C. It improves personal abilities.

D. It encourages individual efforts.?

3. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means 　　　　.

A. those who try their best to win ?

B. those who value competition most highly ?

C. those who are against competition most strongly ?

D. those who rely on others most for success?

4. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?

A. One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.?

B. One’s success in competition needs great efforts.?

C. One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.?

D. One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.

5. Which point of view may the author agree to? ?

A. Every effort should be paid back.?

B. Competition should be encouraged.?

C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.?

D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.?

A trip to the library can change your life.That is the idea of the Get It Loud in Libraries project，which challenges the habit of speaking in a low voice.The sweet tones of singer Diana Vickers rang out recently，surrounded by books as well as fans，at Lancaster Library.Plan B，Adele，Florence and the Machine，Speech Debelle，and the Thrills have also performed for the project.

This five­year project aims to increase access(进入) to libraries while developing youth talent and has attracted more than 8,500 visitors,5,000 of whom are first­time library users.

“I think it’s wonderful，”Vickers says.“I’ve been playing in front of big crowds and I’m excited about close environments where you can be close to your fans.”

As a child growing up in nearby Blackburn，she says that her school library was a “second home”to her.When she was young she loved PeterRabbit and Mr.Men books，and later her favorites included LittleWomen and TheLovelyBones.

Attracted by the stage，the young who would once never have been to a library have been returning to borrow books and CDs.The project’s founder，Stewart Parsons，has worked in libraries for 25 years.He feels that the concerts have made libraries something that the young want to be part of.A mother，Lauren Zawadzki，sent him a text message after a concert：“Your work is great！！！Both Izaak and Dom have been reading in the library for the last half hour...You should be proud.They would never have suggested that before the concerts.”

Parsons hopes that the activity is changing the way people view libraries.“My big worry is that libraries trail(拖拉)behind slightly；they shouldn’t.This is about bringing libraries up to date.The beautiful thing is that people are reconnecting with the library in a way they haven’t done before.”

1.The Get It Loud in Libraries project aims to ________.

2.According to the passage，Vickers’s attitude towards Libraries project is that of ________.

3.What can we know about Diana Vickers from the passage?

4.According to the passage，Zawadzki ________.

“I grew up on Jackson’s music and I still have all his stuff on My iPod. I think that Michael Jackson will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers. His brilliance as a performance also was paired with a tragic and in many ways，sad personal life.”

Michael Jackson was a singer，songwriter，dancer and celebrity icon with a vast catalog of hit records and countless awards to his credit. Beyond that，he had transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since. As a solo performer，he had enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known   ——Barack Obama

only to Elvis Presley，the Beatles and  Frank Sinatra.

Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the 80s’，and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958.The fifth and youngest son of steelworker Joe Jackson，Michael displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely young age. His father began to organize a family musical group around his three eldest sons in 1962，and Michael joined them the following year，quickly establishing himself as a dynamic stage performer. Dubbed the Jackson 5，the group signed to Motown in 1968 and issued their debut single in October 1969，when Michael was just 11 years old. I Want You Back，ABC，The Love You Save and I’ll Be There all hit number one in 1970，making the Jackson 5 the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top the charts. Later in 1972，Jackson had his first number one solo single，Ben. In 1977，he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for the first time. With Jones producing，Jackson recorded his first solo album as an adult，Off the Wall.

Released（发行） in 1982，the Quincy Jones produced Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall：the dance and rock tracks were more driving，the pop tunes and ballads softer and more soulful，and all of it was recognizably Michael. There was no surprise that Thriller was a hit；what was a surprise was its staying power .Jackson’s duet with McCartney，The Girl Is Mine，was a natural single choice，and it peaked at number two；then Billie Jean and the Van Halen track Beat It both hit number one，for seven and three weeks respectively.

Michael Jackson died from heart disease on June 25 at age 50.

1.What does Barack Obama mean by saying “His brilliance as a performance also was paired with a tragic and in many ways，sad personal life”？

A．Michael Joseph Jackson was a success in his career as well as in life.

B．Michael Joseph Jackson was a success in his career.

C．Michael Joseph Jackson led a happy life.

D．Michael Joseph Jackson gained a lot in his career，but he also suffered a lot in his life.

2.According to the passage，which of the following is NOT true?

A．Barack Obama likes Michael Jackson’s song very much.

B．Barack Obama and Michael Jackson are good friends.

C．Michael is good at music as well as at dance.

D．Michael Jackson had his first number one solo single when he was 14 years old.

3.Choose the right time order of the following events.

a．Barack Obama，President of the US，assessed the whole life of Michael Jackson.

b．The family musical group signed to Motown.

c．Michael joined the family musical group.

d．His father began to organize a family musical group.

e．Thriller became a hit.

A．a－c－e－b－d  　　  B．d－c－b－e－a

C．b－e－a－c－d  　　  D．d－e－b－c－a

4.What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?

A．Michael Jackson’s job.  　　B．How Michael Jackson performed.

C．Michael Jackson’s great achievements.  D．Michael Jackson’s life.

完形填空

　　Music forms an important part of many cultural and social activities. People use music to 1 feelings and ideas. Music also serves to entertain and relax.

　　Music is a performing 2 . It differs from such arts as painting and poetry, in which artists create works and then display or publish them. Music composers need musicians to explain the meaning of their 3 and perform it. So musical performances are partnerships between composers and 4 .

　　Music is one of the oldest arts. People 5 started to sing as soon as language 6 Hunting tools struck 7 may have been the first musical instruments. By about 10000 BC, people had 8 how to make flutes （长笛） out of hollow（空的） bones. Many ancient people, 9 the Egyptians, Chinese, and Babylonians, and the people of India, used 10 in court and religious ceremonies （宫廷与宗教庆典）. The first written music dates from about 2500 BC.

　　Classical music, also called art music, is composed according to certain

11 and performed by musicians from 12 music. It includes symphonies （交响乐） and music for opera and ballet. Classical composers have written 13 styles of music during different periods of history.

　　 14 music includes many kinds of music, such as 15 music, jazz, rock music, and music from films. Popular music is generally much

16 than classical music.

　　 17 music is made up of the old 18 of a people. Most folk songs begin in distant areas. One person makes up a song, and other people

19 it and learn to sing it. Some folk songs have been passed on in this way for hundreds of years. Many 20 of classical music have used folk music in their works.