Rock stars and their money

         Around the world young people are spending unbelievable sums of money listening to rock music. Forbes reports that at least fifty rock stars have incomes between two million and six million dollars per year.

         "It doesn't make sense," says Johnny Mathis, one of the older music millionaires, who made a million dollars a year when he was popular in 1950s. "Performers aren't worth this kind of money. In fact, nobody is."

         But the rock stars' admirers seem to disagree. Those who love rock music spend about two billion dollars a year for records. They pay 150 million to see rock stars in person.

         Luck is a key word for explaining the success of many. In 1972 one of the luckiest was Kon Mclean, who wrote and sang "American Pie". Mclean writes his own music, so he earns an additional two cents on every single record of the song.

         Neil Young who performs in torn blue jeans, sometimes sings to an audience of 10,000, each of whom has paid five dollars for a ticket. After paying expenses, Young leaves with about $ 18,000 in his blue jeans at the end of an evening.

         How do the rock stars use their money? What do they do when the money starts pouring in like water? Most of the young stars simply show the money around. England's Elton John gave someone a $ 38,000 Rolls car and bought himself 5,000 pairs of eyeglasses, then lighted up and spelt ：E-L-T-O-N. He also bought himself two cars, "one for each foot".

         Many rock stars live like Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane. Those performers return from a tour, pay their bills, and buy new toys. Then when they need money again, they do another tour. They save no money and live from hand to mouth.www.zxxk.com

         In the end the rock stars' life is unrewarding. After two or three years riches and fame are gone. Left with his memories and his tax problems, the lonely star spends his remaining years trying to attract strangers. New stars have arrived to take his place.

1. This passage is mainly about       .

A. the success of a rock star     B. the way rock stars live

C. rich rock stars              D. the admirers of rock stars

2. How much expense does Neil Young pay for a performance?

A.  $10,000       B.$33,000    C.  $32,000            D.$38,000

3.According to passage, the underlined phrase "from hand to mouth" means       .

A. they have to earn money by hand   

B. They know how to spend money in a reasonable way

C. they earn money only for their immediate enjoyment

D. they steal to feed their mouth when they need money

Tales From Animal Hospital

David Grant

David Grant has become a familiar face to millions of fans of Animal Hospital . Here Dr Grant tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated ,including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess , the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond . He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day , from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery （外科手术）. Tales From Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the program and anyone who has a lively interest in their pet ,whether it be cat , dog or snake I ! $ 14.99 Hardback 272 pp Simon Schuster

ISBN 0751304417

Isaac Newton : The Last Sorcerer

Michael White

Form the author of Stephen Hawking : A Life in Science , comes this colorful description of the life of the world’s first modern scientist . Interesting yet based on fact , Michael White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him . Newton is shown as a gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic (魔术)ended and science began.

£8.99 Hardback 320 pp Fourth Estate

ISBN 1857024168

Fermat’s Last Theorem

Simon Singh

In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew Wiles reading in his school library came across the world’s greatest mathematical problem : Fermat’s Last Theorem (定理). First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds , including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem , and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole  Polytechnique . Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995 . An unusual story of human effort over three centuries , Fermat’s Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike .

£12.99 Hardback 384 pp Fourth Estate

ISBN 1857025210

1.What is Animal Hospital ?

A．A news story .                          B．A popular book .

C．A research report .                      D．A TV program .

2.In Michael White’s book , Newton is described as        .

A．a person who did not look the same as in many pictures

B．a person who lived a colorful and meaningful life

C．a great but not perfect man

D．an old-time magician

3.Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “baffle” as it is used in the text ?

A．To encourage people to raise questions .

B．To cause difficulty in understanding .

C．to provide a person with an explanation .

D．To limit people’s imagination .

4.What is the purpose of writing these three texts ?

A．To make the books easier to read           B．To show the importance of science

C．To introduce new authors                 D．To sell the books .

阅读下面短文,从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中, 选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

There was a very special teacher who made a far –reaching difference in my life

Fall ,1959,the first day of class at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School was about begin .“Who”，I asked a senior , “is Mrs McNamara,my 10th grade English teacher?”He just _31  and said something about my being in __32__Soon ,I understood what he meant. Mrs. McNamara had a pattern of ___33___that she repeated again and again. We would have a literature reading task for_34__. The next day ,when we came to class, there would be two or three topics on the blackboard ____35____ to the homework reading. We were_____36__to write an in –class essay about one of the topics. The following day ,she would ___37__thd corrected and graded essays and each person would be called ___38__ to stand in front of the class and to _____39____ his\her essay. The class were required to criticize(评论)that essay, ___40__the grade of everyone in class would be reduced

The first time that I_41__her read–write–criticize method, I had not ___42to do the homework and had written something without knowing what it meant. _____43___the extreme embarrassment I suffered, standing before my classmates, _____44____myself. No one laughed at me, no one would be ___45_____enough ,or foolish enough, to do that in Mrs. McNamara’s class. The embarrassment came from ___46_____and along with it came a strong ____47____not to let it happen again

Mrs. McNamara kept all of our written work in files, it was easy to see the ____48____in writing that had occurred. What was not so easy to see was the inner transformation that had taken place, at least for me. What Mrs. McNamar______49_____me to do was to see myself as others see me and, having done that, I could improve myself. And I _____50__. Thank you, Mrs. McNamara.

A. nodded    B. laughed      C. apologized  D. shouted Ks

A. trouble    B. sorrow       C. danger       D. anger Ks5

A. behavior  B. evaluation  C. activity      D. thought Ks5u

A. review     B. performance      C. practice      D. homework

A. added      B. related       C. contributed D. advised Ks5u

A. expected  B. persuaded   C. allowed      D. advised Ks5u

A. collect     B. return C. send    D. receive Ks5u

A. on purpose      B. at first C. by chance   D. in turn Ks5u

A. talk through    B. hand over   C. read out     D. show off Ks5u

A. so  B. and     C. but     D. or

A. tried      B. adopted      C. examined   D. experienced Ks5u

A. undertaken    B. attempted   C. examined   D. experienced Ks5

A. remember     B. attempted   C. bothered     D. hesitated

A. playing jokes on   B. making a fool of       C. trying a trap for of    D. taking advantage

A. brave     B. careless      C. proud  D. selfish Ks5u

A. above    B. within C. behind       D. below Ks5u

A. tendency       B. preference  C. determination        D. sense Ks5u

A. improvements      B. pains   C. difficulties  D. advantages Ks5u

A. trusted     B. invited     C. forced    D. permitted

A. did    B. could    C. had    D. would

Nineteenth-century writers in the United States, whether they wrote novels, short stories, poems or plays, were powerfully drawn to the railroad in its golden years. In fact, writers responded to the railroads as soon as the first were built in the 1830’s. By the 1850’s, the railroad was a major presence in the life of the nation. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David saw the railroad both as a boon(要求) to democracy(民主国家) and as an object of suspicion. The railroad could be and was a despoiler(掠夺者) of nature, furthermore, in its manifestation of speed and noise. It might be a despoiler of human nature as well. By the 1850’s and 1860’s, there was a great distrust among writer and intellectuals of the rapid industrialization of which the railroad was a leading force. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.

　 For the most part, the literature in which the railroad plays and important role belong to popular culture rather than to the realm of serious art. One thinks of melodramas, boys’ books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank. In the railroads’ prime years, between 1890 and 1920, there were a few individuals in the United States, most of them with solid railroading experience behind them, who made a profession of writing about railroading—works offering the ambience of stations, yards, and locomotive cabs. These writers, who can genuinely be said to have created a genre, the “railroad novel”, are now mostly forgotten, their names having faded from memory. But anyone who takes the time to consult their fertile writings will still find a treasure trove of information about the place of the railroad in the life of the United States.

The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to______.

　　A. railroad 　　B. manifestation　　 C. speed 　　D. nature

In the first paragraph, the author implies that writers’ reactions to the development of railroads were______.

　　A. highly enthusiastic 　 B. both positive and negative　  C. unchanging　 　D. Disinterested

According to the passage, the railroad played a significant role in literature in all of the following kinds of books except_______.　

A. thrillers 　 B. boys’ books　　C. romances　　D. important novels

The phrase “first rank” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to______.

A. largest category(类别) 　B. highest quality　  C. earliest writers 　D. most difficult language

Which of the following topics is the main idea of passage?

A. The role of the railroad in the economy of the USA　

B. Major nineteenth century writers

C. The conflict between expanding industry and preserving nature

D. The railroad as a subject for literature

Nineteenth-century writers in the United States, whether they wrote novels, short stories, poems or plays, were powerfully drawn to the railroad in its golden years. In fact, writers responded to the railroads as soon as the first were built in the 1830’s. By the 1850’s, the railroad was a major presence in the life of the nation. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David saw the railroad both as a boon(要求) to democracy(民主国家) and as an object of suspicion. The railroad could be and was a despoiler(掠夺者) of nature, furthermore, in its manifestation of speed and noise. It might be a despoiler of human nature as well. By the 1850’s and 1860’s, there was a great distrust among writer and intellectuals of the rapid industrialization of which the railroad was a leading force. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.

　 For the most part, the literature in which the railroad plays and important role belong to popular culture rather than to the realm of serious art. One thinks of melodramas, boys’ books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank. In the railroads’ prime years, between 1890 and 1920, there were a few individuals in the United States, most of them with solid railroading experience behind them, who made a profession of writing about railroading—works offering the ambience of stations, yards, and locomotive cabs. These writers, who can genuinely be said to have created a genre, the “railroad novel”, are now mostly forgotten, their names having faded from memory. But anyone who takes the time to consult their fertile writings will still find a treasure trove of information about the place of the railroad in the life of the United States.

1.The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to______.

　　A. railroad 　　B. manifestation　　 C. speed 　　D. nature

2.In the first paragraph, the author implies that writers’ reactions to the development of railroads were______.

　　A. highly enthusiastic 　 B. both positive and negative　  C. unchanging　 　D. Disinterested

3. According to the passage, the railroad played a significant role in literature in all of the following kinds of books except_______.　

A. thrillers 　 B. boys’ books　　C. romances　　D. important novels

4. The phrase “first rank” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to______.

A. largest category(类别) 　B. highest quality　  C. earliest writers 　D. most difficult language

5. Which of the following topics is the main idea of passage?

A. The role of the railroad in the economy of the USA　

B. Major nineteenth century writers

C. The conflict between expanding industry and preserving nature

D. The railroad as a subject for literature