Amateur Performance Night

Every third Thursday of the month, aspiring（有抱负的）artists present, read or perform original or existing material, at the Amateur Performance Night -- and anyone can come and watch. So come to the Amateur Performance Night to enjoy presentations and performances on a wide variety of subjects, and practice your languages (Chinese and English) while you do!

7-9 pm, March 15

20 yuan (entrance fee includes one drink and a snack)

Room 109, 2 Dongping Road

amateur.performance.night@gmail.com

Good-Heart Sale

ENO holds a seasonal sale at discounted prices, some more than 50 percent off. When you mention SCAA (Second Chance Animal Aid), 10 percent of the sales income will be donated to the animal rescue group.

Cash only

March 10-24

In Factory, 6F, building A, 1147

Xikang Road, near Wuning Road

Free Coffee for All!

This Friday, March 16, wil be an exciting day for most coffee buyers, especially those who love Starbucks. Between 10 am and 12 noon, Starbucks will hold its second “Coffee Break” and everyone who drops by a local Starbucks outlet can get a free Tall (12-ounce) cup of coffee. The event was first held in America last year and attracted more than 500,000 people. This year the Coffee Break will spread to all Starbucks stores in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and, best of all, China.

Shanghai BookCrossing

Bring books you want to exchange, take away your next fab read. Books are mostly of English language, and include novels, thrillers, chicklit, biography, non-fiction, travel books, classics magazines, etc. Open to all, no registration necessary. Joining in is fun and FREE.

2 pm, March 17, April 21

Figaro Coffee, 160 Xingye Road

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shanghaibxers/

In which section will the text appear in the newspaper?

A. News reports.                 B. Business world.

C. Different voices.               D. Life events.

By attending which of the events will it be likely for you to practise your English?

A. Amateur Performance Night and Shanghai Book Crossing.

B. Amateur Performance Night and Good heart sale.

C. Good Heart Sale and Shanghai Book Crossing.

D. Good Heart Sale and Free Coffee for All.

What can we infer from the passage?

A. Tickets to all the events are free.

B. Free coffee for all will attract more Chinese than foreigners.

C. If you want to get any information about the events, you can only surf the Internet.

D. Both the organizers and participants of Good heart sale show concern about animals.

The art of public speaking began in ancient Greece over 2,000 years ago. Now, twitter, e-mail, blogs and QQ chat offer approaches to communication— but none can replace the role of a great speech.

The spoken word can handle various important functions: persuading or inspiring, informing, paying tribute (致敬), entertaining, or simply introducing someone.

Persuading is used in dealing with or reconciling different points of view. When the leaders met in Copenhagen in December, 2009, persuasive words from activities encouraged them to take former action.

Inspirational speeches deal with emotions. They focus on topics and matters that are close to people’ s hearts. Last year, during the fighting in Iraq, generals used inspiring speeches to prepare the troops for battle.

Some speeches spread knowledge and deepen understanding. When the H1N1 flu was announced, the disease scared many people. Informtive speechs from World Health Organization (WTO) officials helped people to keep their panic under control so they could take necessary preventive measures.

Sad events are never easy to deal with but a speech that pays tribute to the loss of a loved one and gives praise for their contribution can be comforting. Madonna’s speech about Michael Jackson after his death showed the fact that he will continue to live on through his music.

It’s not only in world forums where public speaking plays an important role. It can also be helpful in the course of our own life. You may be asked to do a presentation at college or work to inform others about an area of great importance. On a more personal level, a friend may be upset and need comforting. Or you might be asked to introduce a speaker at a family gathering or to speak at a wedding, where your language will be needed to move people or make them laugh.

Great speaking ability is not something we’re born with. Even Barack Obama works hard to perfect every speech.

1.The underlined word “recociling” in paragraph 3 can best be replaced by “________”

2.The passage mentions the H1N1 flu to show the function of _______

3.The 7^th paragraph mainly tells us that public speaking ______.

4.What would the writer probably talk about following the last paragraph?

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

CHOOSE YOUR VIRGINIA

Rock House Museum

Take a journey through history with a visit to the exciting museum and historic sites of Wytheville . The Rock House Museum offers glimpses into daily life in the 19th century . The museum is part of the 50 structures featured in Wytheville’s Historic Walking Tour . 540/233-3330 .

Grand Caverns

Grand Caverns is America’s oldest cave . Beautiful and massive formations . Union troops visited the caverns . Thomas Jefferson visited—you should , too ! Open weekends in March , daily April—October , 9 a.m.—5 p.m. Hour tours leave every 30 minutes . 703/249-5705 .

The News Museum

The News Museum in Arlington is the world’s only interactive（互动）museum of news . Visitors can be reporters or television newscasters , see today’s news as it happens on a block-long video news wall , and be taken behind the scenes to see how news is made . The News museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a. m.—5 p. m. You can visit www. News museum .Org .

Kenmore Plantation & Gardens

Kenmore Plantation & Gardens has over two hundred years of history from the Revolutionary War , Civil War and into the 21st century . Home of Betty Washington , George Washington’s only sister , and Patriot Col. Fielding Lewis . Explore this historic building and city block of restored gardens . Tea and ginger cookies served . 540/373-3381 .

Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach offers 11 000 hotel / motel rooms , plus cottages and campgrounds . Enjoy miles of clean beaches and a variety of family attractions . Fine restaurants , various shopping areas , exciting nightlife , and special events are offered throughout the year . 800/822-3224 .

1.What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage ?

2. In what way is The News Museum different from Rock House Museum ?

3.If you want to enjoy yourself in the evening , you may go to       .

4.Which of the following places is NOT open in the winter months ?

5.Which of the following is NOT a fact when tourists are visiting the Virginia Beach ?

Ⅳ．阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
The holiday season can be a very stressful time for many people．Sometimes，we ale too busy to shop for the right gifts for our friends and family．
Besides that，you may hurry，not only to find the right present，but also a parking place for your car．
The people you give gifts to have different interests，and it is hard to go everywhere to fend suitable gifts．Some of the best gifts I have found have been online．This saves me a lot of trouble．I can find the best sports tickets and best event tickets all from my own chair．
There are different types of tickets for sale online．You can buy anything nowadays from concerts to the best sporting events available．You may even find tickets for nearly everyone．
The tickets are colorful，such as the circus，shows for children，or The Sound of Music．These events are fun for the whole family and interesting gifts．
Wherever you live, you can get tickets for just about any city in North America．You won’t have to pay an arm and a leg for the best sports tickets or for superior seats for shows．Sometimes，the tickets can turn out to be cheapen
Tickets make truly nice presents．First of all, you don’t have to walk up and down the store．Secondly, you can usually spend less money．Thirdly, you have a vast of selections when you look for tickets on the Internet．There is always a clever choice online for everyone on your gift list．Want to know more? Crick here!
56．The underlined part “to pay all arm and a leg”means      
A．to spend money in buying an arm and a leg
B．to spend time in getting an arm and a leg
C．to be busy driving up and down
D．to be busy watching sports meetings
57．The main purpose of writing the passage is       ．
A．to sell the useful and colorful tickets
B．to tell you some kinds of tickets you may buy
C．to buy the tickets online or in shops
D．to introduce a new way to buy presents
58．Which one do you think is the best title of the passage?
A．Ticket—a Nice Present   
B．Do No Shopping on Holidays
C．Different Colorful and Useful Tickets
D．How to Buy Tickets in Holidays
59．According to the passage，we are sure that        
A．the article comes from a magazine
B．you can buy tickets for your friends in any city
C．we may buy some tickets at a low price sometimes
D．a friend in England may get your ticket-present

The traditional tent cities at festivals such as Glastonbury may never be the same again. In a victory of green business that is certain to appeal to environmentally-aware music-lovers, a design student is to receive financial support to produce eco-friendly tents made of cardboard that can be recycled after the bands and the crowds have gone home.

Major festivals such as Glastonbury throw away some 10,000 abandoned tents at the end of events each year. For his final year project at the University of the West of England, James Dunlop came up with a material that can be recycled. And to cope with the British summer, the cardboard has been made waterproof.

Taking inspiration from a Japanese architect, who has used cardboard to make big buildings including churches, Mr. Dunlop used cardboard material for his tents, which he called Myhabs.

The design won an award at the annual New Designers Exhibition after Mr. Dunlop graduated from his product design degree and he decided to try to turn it into a business

To raise money for the idea, he toured the city’s private companies which fund new business and found a supporter in the finance group Mint. He introduced his idea to four of Mint’s directors and won their support. Mint has committed around ??500,000 to MyHabs and taken a share of 30 per cent in Mr. Dunlop’s business. The first Myhabs should be tested at festivals this summer, before being marketed fully next year.

Mr. Dunlop said that the design, which accommodates two people, could have other uses, such as for disaster relief and housing for the London Olympics.

For music events, the cardboard houses will be ordered online and put up at the sites by the Myhabs team before the festival-goers arrive and removed by the company afterwards. They can be personalized and the company will offer reductions on the expense if people agree to sell exterior (外部的) advertising space. 

The biggest festivals attract tens of thousands of participants, with Glastonbury having some 150,000 each year. Altogether there are around 100 annual music festivals where people camp in the UK. The events are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious.

11. “Eco-friendly tents” in paragraph 1 refer to tents _______.

  A. economically desirable  B. favorable to the environment

  C. for holding music performances1   D. designed for disaster relief

12. Mr. Dunlop established his business        .

  A. independently with an interest-free loan from Mint

  B. with the approval of the City’s administration

  C. in partnership with a finance group

  D. with the help of a Japanese architect

13. It is implied in the passage that _______.

  A. the weather in the UK is changeable in summer 

  B. most performances at British festivals are given in the open air

  C. the cardboard tents produced by Mr. Dunlop can be user-tailored

D. cardboard tents can be easily put up and removed by users.

14. The passage is mainly concerned with        .

A. an attempt at developing recyclable tents

B. some efforts at making full use of cardboards

C. an unusual success of a graduation project

D. the effects of using cardboard tents on music festivals

15. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Don’t Use Tents Again

B. The Advantages of Tents

C. How to Produce Tents

D. The Development of Recyclable Tents