Taylor sings with heart

The music industry is never short of teen pop stars with wonderful looks, but it doesn’t often find one like US singer Taylor Swift. “Beneath Taylor Swift’s not-a-girl, not-yet-a-woman sweetness hides a very skillful songwriting technique (技巧),” writes Leah Greenblatt with Entertainment Weekly.

Songwriting, the country singer explains, is “how I deal with problems. I am used to writing about things that really influences me most.” So in her songs, there is always something true and honest. They seem like stories from a diary. And that certainly helps Swift attract her audience.

She’s sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first two albums, 2006’s self-titled debut (首张专辑) and 2008’s Fearless. She’s the youngest artist ever to be named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Not surprisingly, there were great expectations for her third album, Speak Now, which came out late last month, where she again returned to her own life for material. The 14 songs “are all about the last two years... when life was a little bit bigger and crazier,” says Swift. “So I’ve written about the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18, 19 and 20.”

What led to Taylor’s fame?

A. Her wonderful looks.              B. Her songwriting skills together with her looks.

C. Her beautiful voice.                 D. Her special life experience in her teenage years.

Which of the following is true?

A. Taylor is now in her twenties.

B. Taylor’s the youngest Artist of the Year at the Academy Awards

C. Taylor has produced three albums up till now.

D. Taylor has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

What may be written in the album, Speak Now?

A. Her unhappy experience with her boyfriend. k*s5*u

B. Her concern for her popularity.

C. Her happy childhood.

D. Her worries for environmental pollution. 

Billie Holiday was one of the greatest jazz(爵士音乐) singers in America. Her life was just a mixture of success and tragedy. Her singing expressed her experiences and feelings.
Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in 1915 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her parents were Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday. They were young when their daughter was born. Their marriage failed because Clarence Holiday was often out. He traveled as a musician with some of the earliest jazz bands and inspired his daughter.
Sadie Fagan cleaned people’s houses to make a living. But she could not support her family with the money she earned. So she moved to New York City where the pay was higher. She left her daughter in Baltimore with one of her distant relatives.
The young girl Eleanora Fagan changed her name to Billie, because she liked a movie star, Billie Dove. The talented Billie Holiday loved singing. She sang and listened  to music whenever she could. In one place near her home there was a machine that played records. The building was a theater where many famous singers also performed their newly-made songs for free.
Billie cleaned floors and did other jobs for the theater so that she could listen to the records. It was there that young Billie first heard the records of some famous black American blues artists of the 1920s. she heard Bessie Smith sing the blues. And she heard Louis Armstrong play the horn. Both musicians had a great influence on her.
Billie Holiday once said, “I do not think I’m singing. I feel like I am playing a horn. What comes out is what I feel. I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That is all I know.”
【小题1】Billie Holiday’s parents divorced because _______.

A.Sadie Fagan wanted to move to New York City
B.the family couldn’t support itself
C.Clarence Holiday spent too much time in working
D.Clerence Holiday was a strange person
【小题2】Who might originally have had an influence on Billie Holiday’s career in music?
A.Sadie FaganB.Clerence Holiday.C.Bessie Smith.D.Louis Armstrong
【小题3】From the passage, we can learn that ______.
A.Sadie Fagan was fond of living in New York
B.Clerence Holiday didn’t love his wife at all
C.Billie lived a happy childhood
D.Billie had a gift for music
【小题4】The underlined sentence “ What comes out is what I feel” means _____.
A.Billie Holiday doesn’t like to sing for others
B.Billie Holiday’s songs reflect her unhappy childhood
C.Billie Holiday is fond of the songs written for herself
D.Billie Holiday’s music is greatly determined by her emotions
【小题5】In order to listen to the records in the theater, Billie Holiday_______.
A.cleaned floors for the theater B.changed her name
C.moved to New York D.separated from her parents


It's no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That's especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It's also true of children who suffer for years in foster homes (收养孩子的家庭) because of parents who can't or won't care for them but refuse to give up custody (监护) rights.
Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an angry custody baffle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she's ever known and that her biological parents have "no legal claim" on her.
The ruling, though it may yet be reversed, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That's an important development, one that's long overdue.
Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly's biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn't the Twiggs' own daughter, but Kimt only was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting visiting fights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed.
The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue ( 起诉) on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit.
Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren't always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.
36. What was the primary consideration in the Florida judge's ruling?
A. The biological link.                  B. The child's benefits.  
C. The traditional practice.            D. The parents' feelings.
37. We can learn from the Kimberly case that
A. children are more than just personal possessions of their parents
B. the biological link between parent and child should be emphasized
C. foster homes bring children more pain and suffering than care
D. biological parents shouldn't claim custody rights after their child is adopted
38. The Twiggs claimed custody rights to Kimberly because
A. they found her unhappy in Mr. Mays' custody     B. they regarded her as their property
C. they were her biological parents               D. they felt guilty about their past mistake
39. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays
A. by sheer accident          B. at his request       C. out of charity          D. for better care
40. The author's attitude towards the judge's ruling could be described as
A. doubtful             B. cautious         C. critical          D. supportive

It's no secret that many children would be healthier and happier with adoptive parents than with the parents that nature dealt them. That's especially true of children who remain in abusive homes because the law blindly favors biological parents. It's also true of children who suffer for years in foster homes (收养孩子的家庭) because of parents who can't or won't care for them but refuse to give up custody (监护) rights.

Fourteen-year-old Kimberly Mays fits neither description, but her recent court victory could eventually help children who do. Kimberly has been the object of an angry custody baffle between the man who raised her and her biological parents, with whom she has never lived. A Florida judge ruled that the teenager can remain with the only father she's ever known and that her biological parents have "no legal claim" on her.

The ruling, though it may yet be reversed, sets aside the principle that biology is the primary determinant of parentage. That's an important development, one that's long overdue.

Shortly after birth in December 1978, Kimberly Mays and another infant were mistakenly switched and sent home with the wrong parents. Kimberly's biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, received a child who died of a heart disease in 1988. Medical tests showed that the child wasn't the Twiggs' own daughter, but Kimt only was, thus sparking a custody battle with Robert Mays. In 1989, the two families agreed that Mr. Mays would maintain custody with the Twiggs getting visiting fights. Those rights were ended when Mr. Mays decided that Kimberly was being harmed.

The decision to leave Kimberly with Mr. Mays rendered her suit debated. But the judge made clear that Kimberly did have standing to sue ( 起诉) on her own behalf. Thus he made clear that she was more than just property to be handled as adults saw fit.

Certainly, the biological link between parent and child is fundamental. But biological parents aren't always preferable to adoptive ones, and biological parentage does not convey an absolute ownership that cancels all the rights of children.

36. What was the primary consideration in the Florida judge's ruling?

A. The biological link.                  B. The child's benefits.  

C. The traditional practice.            D. The parents' feelings.

37. We can learn from the Kimberly case that

A. children are more than just personal possessions of their parents

B. the biological link between parent and child should be emphasized

C. foster homes bring children more pain and suffering than care

D. biological parents shouldn't claim custody rights after their child is adopted

38. The Twiggs claimed custody rights to Kimberly because

A. they found her unhappy in Mr. Mays' custody     B. they regarded her as their property

C. they were her biological parents               D. they felt guilty about their past mistake

39. Kimberly had been given to Mr. Mays

A. by sheer accident          B. at his request       C. out of charity          D. for better care

40. The author's attitude towards the judge's ruling could be described as

A. doubtful             B. cautious         C. critical          D. supportive

 

Cloze   (15分)

Directions: for each blank in the following passages there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C, and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

If you travel around the world, you will be surprised to find just how different the foreign customs can be __50__ your own.

A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there __51__ it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be __52__for washing yourself. Also in India, you might __53__a man obviously shaking his head at another and assume that he is disagreeing. But in many __54__ of India a shake of the head is a gesture that shows agreement or acceptance. Nodding your head when you are offered a __55__ in Bulgaria is likely to leave your thirsty. In that country you shake your head to indicate “yes”—a nod indicates “no”. The Arabs are __56__ for their hospitality (好客). At a meal in the Arabic countries, you will find that drinking vessel (器皿) is filled again __57__again as soon as you drain it. The way to __58__ that you have had enough is to take the cup or glass in your hand and give it a little shake from side to side or place your hand over the top.

In Europe it is quite usual to __59__ your legs when sitting talking to someone, even at an important meeting. Doing this when meeting an important person in Thailand, however, could __60__ him or her unhappy. It is considered too informal an attitude __61__ such an occasion. Also when in Thailand you are __62__ supposed to touch the head of an adult – it’s just not done. In Japan, it is quite usual for __63__ to plan evening entertainment for themselves and leave their wives at home. In Europe such attitudes are disappearing.

Customs vary from country to __64__. Visitors may be at a loss as to what to do in a foreign environment. In such circumstances, the rule is: When in Rome, do as Romans do.

(  )50. A. from

B. away

C. within

D. in

(  )51. A. achieve

B. consider

C. test

D. help

(  )52. A. noticed

B. used

C. bought

D. caused

(  )53. A. hear

B. hope

C. miss

D. see

(  )54. A. countries

B. people

C. parts

D. hills

(  )55. A. drink

B. pen

C. hat

D. hand

( )56. A. interested

B. terrible

C. careful

D. famous

(  )57. A. and

B. till

C. also

D. still

(  )58. A. discuss

B. turn

C. indicate

D. forget

(  )59. A. cross

B. put

C. take

D. hurt

(  )60. A. pay

B. stop

C. make

D. point

(  )61.A. outside

B. below

C. along

D. for

(  )62. A. not

B. nor

C. none

D. no

(  )63. A. men

B. women

C. boys

D. girls

(  )64. A. area

B. place

C. country

D. space

 

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