1. The description of a normal day at an American high school in the first paragraph ______. 　 A. shows what life is like in American high schools 　 B. shows that the film was set in an American high school 　 C. serves to introduce the unexpected, dramatic ending of the film 　 D. suggests that some kind of danger is hidden in the setting.

3. Which of the following book titles is most likely to be suitable, according to the ban? A. Getting away with Murder B. Keeper of the Night C. The Queen of Everything D. Beauty and Beast

Passage 45　 Hard to miss this elephant

The film starts out as a normal day at a typical American high school. Friends chat in the dining room and boys play football. 　　 But there's a big surprise when the movie ends with two students going crazy in the school- shooting and killing people. 　　 This is "Elephant". Filmed in just 20 days, it stars real high school kids. American director Gus Van Sant had no ready made lines (台词). The student actors made up their own dialogue, with Van Sant asking them to base their characters on their own lives. 　　 Although it may not sound very high quality, the film won the Palme d'Or (金棕榈奖) for Best Film and the award for Best Director at the Cannes film festival in France on May 25. 　　 The film is based on the shootings at a high school in the US, where two boys killed 13 people and then themselves in 1999. 　　 The title of the movie refers to the old expression about a problem that's as hard to ignore (忽略) as an elephant in the house. 　　 The film takes a close look at a few hours in the lives of the victims (受害者) and the killers. It shows how high school is a different experience for everyone - fun and friendly, or hard and lonely. 　　 In many ways, the two boys, who carry out the shooting, act like ordinary kids. They joke around with one boy's mother as she serves them cakes and play the piano. 　　 But, there are hints (暗示) of the anger they feel inside. One of the boys is bullied (欺负) at school. The other plays violent video games. But Van Sant isn't blaming their killings on either bullying or violent games. In fact, the film doesn't offer any reason for why school violence happens. 　　 "I didn't want to explain anything. It's up to the audience to draw its own conclusions," said the 51-year-old director.

Do you know? 　Cannes Film Festival began in the south of France in 1946. Cannes was chosen for the international festival because of its "sunny and beautiful location". The festival looks at the artistic quality of world films as well as their commercial (商业的) success. 　China's "Farewell my Concubine"(《霸王别姬》) won the Palme d'Or in 1993, and "To Live"(《活着》) brought Ge You the Best Actor title in 1994.

2. From the story, we can see the writer, Dianne Ravitch ______. A. finds this ban of certain words funny B. doesn't agree with the textbook publishers C. thinks there's good reason for the ban D. enjoys this control of words

1. You will not find the word "bookworm" in US textbooks because ______. A. it's religious B. it's too strong C. it's rude D. it's elitist

1. In which order did the following things happen to Liz? 　a. Mum died 　b. Worked at the petrol station 　c. Got admitted into Harvard 　d. Had trouble finding a place to sleep 　A. badc 　B. abdc 　C. dbac 　D. bdac 2. What decision did Liz make that changed her life? 　A. To go back to school. 　B. To go to the best university. 　C. To survive. 　D. To live a different life from her parents’. 3. What actually drove her on towards her goal? 　A. Envy. 　B. Her love for her parents. 　C. Her mum’s death. 　D. Her willpower and determination. 4. When she wrote: “I had only experienced a small part of the society” she ______. 　A. wanted to encourage herself 　B. suggested something she wanted for her life. 　C. suggested people often look back 　D. meant that she had little experience.

Passage 44　　 At a loss for words

Hell has no place in American primary and high school textbooks. And you can't find anyone sailing a yacht (游艇) or playing polo on the pages either. The texts also won't talk about blind people, or the best man for the job, or a bookworm. 　 All these words are now banned from US textbooks because they are thought to be either elitist (优越感), offensive or just too strong. God is also banned because he is too religious (宗教色彩的). 　 A book called "The Language Police" lists all the 500 words that are banned and explains why. It is written by Dianne Ravitch, a New York University professor of education. 　 Some people say banning those words pays more attention to family values and equality among ethnic groups (少数民族). But Ravitch jokes that many people will have fun finding new titles for famous US writer Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea". The title presents problems with every word except "and" and "the". 　 According to the book, "old" can't be used because it doesn't include young people, and "man" doesn't include women. "Sea" also can't be used in case a student who lives inland doesn't know about large bodies of water. 　 Ravitch said all this is because textbook publishers try not to offend anyone. "They don't want problems so that sales can be as wide as possible," she said.

5.The underlined phrase "come about" probably means to _______. A. come into being B. put to use C. work D. become

Passage 42　 Simple idea to lighten the load

There are so many different plastic cards that adults (成年人) have to carry around - library cards, savings cards for different banks, credit cards (信用卡) , just to name a few. So why not have one card to replace them all? 　　 Scott Barnhill, an 11-year-old fifth-grade student in the US, has come up with an idea for a "Security One Card". 　　 Sound smart? The US Patent (专利) Office thought so, and it approved (批准) a patent for his idea in April. 　　 Here's an example of how Barnhill's idea would work. 　　 Let's say you have the three cards mentioned above. Instead of carrying them all, you could have just one by having additional magnetic strips (磁条) added to it. 　　 These magnetic strips can be added to any plastic card, even a blank one. 　　 Companies could add their information to one of the strips. For instance, you could ask a library to add a strip to your bank card. 　　 Barnhill has lots of hobbies, including designing websites. He got his idea at the age of nine when he saw his father using a keycard to enter their hotel room. He thought: "The hotels are wasting money with key cards." So, instead of using a hotel-issued key card, he thought guests could use their credit cards - if the hotel added a special magnetic strip. At check-out (退房), the strip would simply be removed. 　　 Now that he has his patent, Barnhill's next step is a letter-writing campaign to get support from major credit card companies. 　　 "I'm going to be writing letters to credit card companies to ask if they can co-operate. I hope they'll give me money every time someone puts a strip on the back on another card, or every time the idea is used," he said. "I'll write the letters and see what they say. If they say no, I'll ask another credit card company." 　　 He is hoping to make money from his patent and has decided it would be better to collect royalties (专利使用费) if the idea takes off rather than sell his patent. 　　 "The person who invented the ATM sold the idea outright. If he had chosen royalties, he would get two cents for every transaction (交易) and he would be a billionaire now," the young boy said.

1. The advantage of “Security One Card” is that it _________. A. could remove the burden of taking all kinds of plastic cards B. would be very safe C. could save your money D. could have a lot of magnetic strips on it
2. The immediate cause of Scott's invention was that _________. A. he found even a hotel issued its own cards - keycards B. he realized it's a big waste to make so many plastic cards instead of only one C. he found adults have to carry around so many plastic cards D. he realized that it would be a good chance to make big money
3. To use a “Security One Card”, ________. A. one has to add additional magnetic strips to it B. one has to pay Scott Barnhill each time a magnetic strip is added C. all the companies need to do is add their information to a magnetic strip D. the permission of the organization that issues a card is needed before it adds its magnetic strip to a “Security One Card”
4. The underlined phrase “takes off” in the last paragraph but one (倒数第二段) probably means ______. A. makes money B. wins a lot of support C. is worth a lot D. is practical
5. From the story, we can see Scott is ______. A. more smart than shrewd (精明) B. a boy with a lot of ideas C. creative, perseverant (有毅力的) and shrewd D. far-sighted

Passage 43　 Film based on amazing real life story

When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. 　　 But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship (奖学金) and gain entry to Harvard University. 　　 And her amazing story has inspired a movie, "Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story", shown in late April. 　　 Liz Murray, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. 　　 Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted (吸毒的) parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. 　　 Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it. 　　 Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. 　　 "What drove me to survive had to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society," she wrote in her book "Breaking Night". 　　 She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that "next to nothing could hold me down". 　　 She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University.　　　　　　 　　 But Liz decided to leave her top university for a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. "I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time." 　　 Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is "as simple as making a decision".

4. Which of the following is one of the ways to find a problem? A. Look at the world from a different angle. B. Find out things that people are not satisfied with. C. Do experiments. D. Never let a practical idea slip away.

3．What made Josephine Cochrane decide to invent the dishwasher? A. Her love of parties. B. Her dislike of dishwashing. C. Her desire for something that could do the dishwashing better. D. Her love of inventing.

2. What makes inventors different from other people is probably that __________. A. they consider every new idea as an invention B. they are full of creative ideas C. they enjoy solving problems D. they look for problems and try to solve them in a new and better way

1. The main idea of this story is ________. A. how to improve the world around you B. that you can invent and how you will be able to do so C. problem-solving technique D. how inventors invent