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James Arruda Henry, a 98-year-old retired lobsterman, has written and published his first book, "In a Fisherman's Language", after learning to read at the incredible age of 91.
Mr. Henry spent most of his life without even his closest family members knowing he was illiterate (文盲).Forced to quit school in the third grade to take some jobs, he kept the secret close to his chest - only telling to his late wife.
A family problem in his 90s sparked his encourage to restart his education."He signed a document he could not read," Mr Henry's granddaughter said. And then, after hearing about George Dawson, a son of slaves who learned to read at the age of 98 and went on to write a book of his own, entitled "Life Is So Good" at the age of 101, Mr. Henry took up reading.
"If he can do it.I'm going to try," Mr. Henry said.Starting with his name, he eventually moved on to ABC’s and children's books. He put them down for four years after the tragic loss of his wife. But eventually he went back to reading and with the help of his tutor began to record his life.
He wrote about his family’s voyage from Portugal to the U.S. his many journeys at sea and how he was unable to save another fisherman who had fallen overboard. He became a carpenter and even a professional boxer - and eventually built his own home in Stonington Borough.
His life stories have become so popular, in fact, nearly 800 copies were sold in the first two weeks of the book's release last month.One thousand more have since been printed as requests for the book flood in from as far as Germany.And now even Hollywood producers have approached Mr. Henry about optioning the rights to his life story for a big screen adaptation.
【小题1】Which of the following is true of Mr. Henry?
| A.He couldn't read when he was retired. |
| B.He was not a good student at school. |
| C.Only his family members knew he was illiterate. |
| D.He published his book at the age of 91. |
| A.had some trouble with his granddaughter |
| B.couldn't sign the document he was given |
| C.wanted to share his own experience with others |
| D.was inspired by George Dawson's story |
| A.his family story | B.his school education |
| C.his journeys at sea | D.his work experiences |
| A.Nearly 800 copies of the book were sold. |
| B.The book was sold well in Germany. |
| C.His book was popular both at home and abroad. |
| D.Hollywood has planned to adapt his book for a movie. |
短文改错(共10小题;每小题1分,满分10分)
Dear Zhou Lu,
I’m writing a letter ask you for some help.
As you know, Zhang Fei and I used to be good friend. However, on one day, Zhang Fei read my private letter in secret and tell others what was written in it. Knowing this, I was extreme angry. I told her I would not be his friend any more. Hearing whatIsaid, Zhang felt very surprised and no longer stayed with me. Facing with this, I felt very upset. I am much angry with her improper behaviour, but I can’t forget the wonderful time that I stayed with her. I wonder whether I should forgive her. And I’m afraid if I offer to make friends with her, she will refuse me. How should I do?
Your friend,
Li Hua
I came across quite a few language problems while on holiday with my family last summer. The most embarrassing was when my Mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants, not trousers as it does back home.
Katie — From America
When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to someone that I only wanted the toilet!
Tom — From America
Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle and there turned out to be lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot(汽车行李箱) was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for “boot” was “trunk”. In the end we went to a garage and just solved the problem.
Mary — From Britain
Last summer, I went to stay with a friend on the west coast. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn’t find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.
David — From Britain
【小题1】Hearing Katie’s mother’s words, Katie’s friends were in amazement because ____________.
| A.they mistook “pants” in American for underpants |
| B.Katie’s mother’s underpants were dirty |
| C.Katie’s mother got mud on her jeans |
| D.they didn’t know any English |
| A.phone the police for help | B.apologize for his being late |
| C.tell his friends he couldn’t go to visit her | D.phone his friend for help |
| A.he wanted a chair | B.he wanted to have a rest |
| C.he wanted the toilet | D.He wanted to go to a department store |
| A.a parking place | B.a car | C.a place to repair cars | D.a gas station |
| A.Pants | B. Restroom | C.Ground floor | D.Trunk |
I was 230 pounds this spring and I decided to get down to a healthier 200.In a house full of food,including snacks bought for my 7yearold sons,I had a hard time cutting calories. Then I noticed my neighbors were having diet meals (减肥餐).I decided to do the same,knowing I would never be able to stick to a diet if I had to do the buying and cooking myself. I was looking for food that I could afford but I might take a diet more seriously if it hurt me in the wallet.
After online searches,I decided to compare the offerings of four companies:Zone Manhattan,Chefs Diet,NuKitchen and eDiets. All four would send the meals to my door. Three send food daily,while eDiets sends a large package once a week. There were dozens of companies I could have chosen.Research suggests that the economic crisis has made diet programs less tempting.Consumers prefer doityourself diets with foods bought from the supermarket.
NuKitchen regards itself as the “personal chef”.I ordered the fiveday plan ($230.53) and the taste was disappointing. I neither lost nor gained weight on the food.
eDiets promises “healthy,delicious meals sent to your door”.I ordered five breakfasts,five lunches and five dinners. My total cost was $119.70,or less than $25 a day. Overall,the food from eDiets was better than that from NuKitchen.
Chefs Diet charged $380.99 for seven days,making it the most expensive of the four services.I never tasted anything terrible,but I never tasted anything that made me want to renew for a second week.
Zone Manhattan charged $349.80,with tax,for a week’s supply of food,or about $50 a day.I liked the food so much that I lost six pounds in the first four days on the diet.
【小题1】When the author began to have diet meals,she________.
| A.was 200 pounds |
| B.didn’t have any children |
| C.worked as a cook in a company offering diet meals |
| D.didn’t believe she could stick to a diet if she had to cook herself |
| A.Attractive. | B.Expensive. | C.Delicious. | D.Useful. |
| A.Zone Manhattan’s. | B.Chefs Diet’s. |
| C.NuKitchen’s. | D.eDiets’. |
| A.the author gained weight on the food from Nukitchen |
| B.the author would choose the food of Zone Manhattan |
| C.the food from eDiets was the worst of the four |
| D.Zone Manhattan sends food once a week |
This is a dangerous world we live in.The number of murders goes up every year, people are dying of cancer, more people contract HIV, more teens are using drugs, etc.You know this because you have heard all the statistics on the news and in the paper. But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean? The numbers are growing up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common? The fact is that without knowing the background statistics mean very little.
This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous.For example, several years ago a high school student reported the dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide.This chemical, found in most cancerous tumors(肿瘤), is often found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once.After reading his report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical! Every one of the above statements is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth.The students made the mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical’s full background.
The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said.When one finds a new fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths.Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave out information that is different to his view.For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe.Only 32 people may die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really the most dangerous? If you think about it, you realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of people who are in danger of a lightning strike.When you think about it, skiing is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at statistics.If we teenagers are to be left in this world, we had better be able to think critically, and form our own views, rather than be easily persuaded by another’s.To be warned is to be prepared.
【小题1】In the first paragraph, what problem does the writer want to warn us?
| A.We are now living in a dangerous world. |
| B.We get a lot of false statistics from the media. |
| C.Statistics alone without full background doesn’t give us an accurate pictures of things. |
| D.There are around us more and more murders, diseases, etc. |
| A.To argue that high school students are easily persuaded. |
| B.To show the danger of reporting only part of the information. |
| C.To prove what is necessary to us might be dangerous. |
| D.To warn us of the harmful substance around us. |
| A.Relative information is not that important. |
| B.too much information will make readers feel confused. |
| C.the author is trying to show what he or she says is true. |
| D.readers are not able to analyze so much information at once. |
| A.We should learn to think critically and look at problems from all sides. |
| B.Some measures must be taken to protect our dangerous world. |
| C.The growing trend of reporting only half-truths is getting out of control. |
| D.Teenagers ought to improve their ability of telling right from wrong. |