B
British science-fiction writer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke has been buried in his adopted country of Sri Lanka.                                         
Music from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was played at the funeral and members of the family cried as his coffin was lowered.
"Here lies Arthur Charles Clarke. He never grew up and did not stop growing, his gravestone in Colombo is to read, in accordance with the author' s wishes.
Sir Arthur died from heart failure and breathing problems at the age of 90.
A nationwide one-minute silence was ordered by the Sri Lankan government to coincide with the ceremony.
Sir Arthur' s brother, Fred Clarke, attended the funeral along with members of the Ekanayake family, with whom the writer had lived in recent years.
Fred Clarke said his elder brother had always loved the warm climate and the friendly people of Sir Lanka.
"He said he had managed to escape 40 British winters and had no regrets," Mr. Clarke told AFP news agency.
Tamara Ekanayake, who grew up at Sir Arthur' s home in Colombo, paid tribute to him, "We feel so proud that you left your mark on us. Your footprint will never fade (褪去).”
Before the funeral, yellow roses were thrown on to Sir Arthur' s body as a final gesture of respect as it lay on a white bed beneath curved elephant tusks.
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 1917-19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Spare Odyssey, which led to the film of the same name.
Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941-1946, proposed satellite communication systems in 1945 which won him a nomination ( 提名) in 1994 for a Nobel Prize, and 1999 for literature, and became the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947-1950 and again in 1953.
Clarke moved to Sri Lanka in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving, and lived there until his death.
66.What do you think the underlined phrase "paid tribute to' in paragraph 9 means?
A. Paid money to.                             B. Paid attention to.
C. Spoke highly of                            D. Expressed one' s thanks to.
67. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Charles Clarke suffered from breathing problems.
B. Charles Clarke made the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
C. Charles Clarke had served in the Royal Air Force for about 5 years.
D. Charles Clarke won a nomination for a Nobel Prize in 1994.
68.Where do you think the passage is most probably from?
A. A science fiction.                           B. A fashion magazine.
C. A news website.                            D. A students' textbook.
69. Which of the following is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To introduce Charles Clarke' s interest.
B. To inform readers about the danger of heart failure.
C. To introduce the books by Charles Clarke.
D. To inform readers of Charles Clarke' s funeral.

C

James Blunt is one of the most popular singers in the UK. His first album, Back to Bedlam, and his number one hit, You’re Beautiful, brought him fame in 2005. his music is a mix of pop, rock and folk.

Blunt comes to China for the first time this month, he will hold two concerts, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai on April 18 and 19 respectively.

Blunt, 34, took an unusual path to stardom. His father was a soldier and so was his grandfather.

“The only music he heard growing up was Happy Birthday and Silent Night. His father considered all music, even classical, to be unnecessary noise,’ reads Blunt’s official website.

Even though Blunt did not want to join the military, he eventually followed his father’s wishes, and served as a soldier in Kosovo on peacekeeping duty.

“Like any parents, mine wanted me to have a secure job with a regular wage and career prospects,” Blunt said. “And the one job my father knew of, that he’d had experience of himself, was the army, so he could help me in that direction.”

Blunt eventually became a Captain. One of his final duties in the army before retirement was carrying the coffin(棺材) at the funeral of the Queen Mother of England in 2002.

But Blunt couldn’t escape his love for music. So, after leaving the British Army he moved to Los Angeles and worked on his first album. While in LA, Blunt lived with the actress Carrie Fisher, who played the lead female role in the Star Wars movie. He recorded his song, Goodbye My Lover, in his bathroom, where he kept a piano.

Blunt took his new album back to England where it was not very successful. But he kept performing and eventually his song, You’re Beautiful, became a number one hit.

Now Blunt has won numerous awards, sold millions of records and dated super models.

But his greatest accomplishment might be that his father now enjoys music!

59. All of the following belongs to Blunt EXCEPT__________.

A. Back to Bedlam                 B. Silent Night     

C. Goodbye My Lover              D. You’re Beautiful

60. Which of the following proves “Blunt took an unusual path to stardom”?

   A. Blunt was 34 when be became famous.

 B. Blunt recorded his most famous song in a bathroom.

   C. Blunt’s father wanted him to have a secure job.

   D. Blunt began to pursue a career in music after military service.

61. We can infer from the passage that __________.

   A. Blunt is living in Los Angeles at present

   B. Blunt rose to fame two years after he left the army

   C. Blunt became successful immediately he recorded his first song

   D. Blunt has changed his father’s attitude towards music

62. What is the passage mainly about?

   A. Blunt’s visit to China              B. Blunt’s military life.

   C. How Blunt became famous          D. How Blunt father fell in love with music.

B

    British science-fiction writer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke has been buried in his adopted country of Sri Lanka.                                          

Music from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was played at the funeral and members of the family cried as his coffin was lowered.

    "Here lies Arthur Charles Clarke. He never grew up and did not stop growing, his gravestone in Colombo is to read, in accordance with the author' s wishes.

    Sir Arthur died from heart failure and breathing problems at the age of 90.

    A nationwide one-minute silence was ordered by the Sri Lankan government to coincide with the ceremony.

    Sir Arthur' s brother, Fred Clarke, attended the funeral along with members of the Ekanayake family, with whom the writer had lived in recent years.

    Fred Clarke said his elder brother had always loved the warm climate and the friendly people of Sir Lanka.

     "He said he had managed to escape 40 British winters and had no regrets," Mr. Clarke told AFP news agency.

     Tamara Ekanayake, who grew up at Sir Arthur' s home in Colombo, paid tribute to him, "We feel so proud that you left your mark on us. Your footprint will never fade (褪去).”

   Before the funeral, yellow roses were thrown on to Sir Arthur' s body as a final gesture of respect as it lay on a white bed beneath curved elephant tusks.

     Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 1917-19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Spare Odyssey, which led to the film of the same name.

     Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941-1946, proposed satellite communication systems in 1945 which won him a nomination ( 提名) in 1994 for a Nobel Prize, and 1999 for literature, and became the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947-1950 and again in 1953.

     Clarke moved to Sri Lanka in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving, and lived there until his death.

66.What do you think the underlined phrase "paid tribute to' in paragraph 9 means?

   A. Paid money to.                             B. Paid attention to.

   C. Spoke highly of                            D. Expressed one' s thanks to.

67. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

   A. Charles Clarke suffered from breathing problems.

   B. Charles Clarke made the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

   C. Charles Clarke had served in the Royal Air Force for about 5 years.

   D. Charles Clarke won a nomination for a Nobel Prize in 1994.

68.Where do you think the passage is most probably from?

   A. A science fiction.                           B. A fashion magazine.

   C. A news website.                            D. A students' textbook.

69. Which of the following is the main purpose of the passage?

   A. To introduce Charles Clarke' s interest.

   B. To inform readers about the danger of heart failure.

   C. To introduce the books by Charles Clarke.

   D. To inform readers of Charles Clarke' s funeral.

I lived on a farm with my parents and my elder brothers and sisters when I was a little boy. We had the 36 to play and run wherever we wanted to go.

We often 37 games just by pretending we were cowboys. Sometimes we played hide-and-seek. One of us would 38 and the others would come and find him. I remember one 39 I hid behind some old wood in the cottage. All was 40 . I couldn’t hear a sound, just the wind 41 . The situation became tense (紧张的) 42 the possibility of someone finding me, and the longer I 43 , the more tense I became. 44 , I heard footsteps coming down the yard. My 45 beat fast and I stood 46 , frozen like a block of ice. I saw my brother getting closer and closer. When he saw me, he laughed 47 , shouting at the top of his voice so that 48 could hear him say, “Eh, I’ve   49 our Tommy!” I can still see the 50 on his face today. Afterwards he said he didn’t think I would hide there. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Why, it’s a good place, isn’t it?”

I don’t have any 51 of these events, just memories, as we had no camera at that time. 52 it was a long time ago, I can see them now as if they 53 yesterday.

Now I live in town on a busy street. My girls don’t have the freedom that we   54 have to run off down the road and play whatever they want. Anyway, is it 55   to let children out of sight these days?

1.                A．right           B．freedom        C．pride D．confidence

2.                A．set up          B．worked out      C．helped out    D．made up

3.                A．disappear       B．leave           C．hide D．run

4.                A．thing           B．time           C．place D．period

5.                A．silent          B．beautiful        C．dark D．colorful

6.                A．flying          B．flowing         C．blowing   D．changing

7.                A．because of      B．except for       C．according to   D．instead of

8.                A．expected       B．slept           C．waited   D．moved

9.                A．In time         B．At last          C．At times  D．Once again

10.               A．hand          B．mind           C．face  D．heart

11.               A．hard           B．still            C．tall   D．straight

12.               A．softly          B．sadly           C．loudly D．confusedly

13.               A．nobody        B．someone       C．anyone    D．everyone

14.               A．attracted       B．found          C．met  D．touched

15.               A．look           B．color          C．feel  D．spirit

16.               A．notes          B．proofs         C．photos    D．diaries

17.               A．Because        B．Although       C．Unless D．As

18.               A．appeared       B．showed        C．existed    D．happened

19.               A．ought to        B．used to         C．had to D．set to

20.               A．funny          B．bad            C．safe  D．strange

Once again, I was in a new school. So was a girl in my class named Lisa. That’s where the similarities ended.
I was tall and she was small. My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy style. Her natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great. I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while she was 11 and the youngest. I was awkward and shy. She wasn’t. I couldn’t stand her, considering her my enemy. But she liked me and wanted to be friends.
One day, she invited me over and I said yes—I was too shocked to answer any other way. My family had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships. But this girl who wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school.
She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all-right bookstore, a movie theater and a park. As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house might be hers. Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the three –story house with a front porch? I got very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building. She lived on the fourth floor in a two-room place with her mother, her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.
When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Barbies, which was my next surprise. I had never played with them. We sat on the floor, laughing as we made up crazy stories about the Barbies. We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had wild imaginations. We had a great day that afternoon .
Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood. The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the movie theater gave her free tickets…. Soon I was included in her magic world. We slept over at each other’s houses and spent every free moment together.
Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough years of early adolescence and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends: your worst enemy can turn out to be your best friend.
【小题1】The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that          .