I’ve written 14 movies. My characters smoke in many of them, and they look cool and glamorous doing it. Smoking was an integral(必需的) part of many of my screenplays because I was a heavy smoker. It was part of a bad-boy image I’d cultivated for a long time— smoking, drinking, partying, rock ’n’ roll.

       Smoking, I once believed, was every person’s right. The second-hand smoke was non-existent problem invented by professional do-gooders. I put all these views into my plays.

       Remembering all this, I find it hard to forgive myself. I have been an accomplice (帮凶) to the murders of untold numbers of human beings. I am admitting this only because I have made a deal with God. Spare me, I said, and I will try to stop others from committing the same crimes I did.

Eighteen months ago I was diagnosed with throat cancer, the result of a lifetime of smoking. I am alive but disabled. Much of my larynx (喉) is gone. I have some difficulty speaking; others have some difficulty understanding me.

       I haven’t smoked or drunk for 18 months now, though I still take it day by day and pray for help. I believe in prayer and exercise. I have walked five miles a day for a year, without missing even one day. Quitting smoking and drinking has taught me the hardest lesson I’ve ever learned about my own weakness; it has also given me the greatest affection and empathy(同感) for those still addicted.

      I don’t think smoking is every person’s right anymore. I think smoking should be as illegal as heroin. I’m no longer such a bad boy. I go to church on Sunday. I’m desperate to see my four boys grow up. I want to do everything I can to undo the damage I have done with my own big-screen words and images.

       Screen writers know, too, that some movie stars are more likely to play a part if they can smoke —because they are so addicted to smoking that they have difficulty stopping even during the shooting of a scene.

       My hands are bloody; so are Hollywood’s. My cancer has caused me to attempt to cleanse me. I don’t wish my fate upon anyone in Hollywood, but I beg that Hollywood should stop putting it upon millions of others.

1.The main idea of this passage probably is _________.

       A.the writer is ashamed of the bad effects his screenplays have had on human beings

       B.the writer’s smoking experience nearly killed himself

       C.the bad effects that Hollywood screenplay have brought to children

       D.the determination of the writer to overcome his illness

2.How do you think the writer has realized his mistake?

       A.So many people have found the habit of smoking due to his plays.

       B.His plays have brought great harm to teenagers.

       C.He himself suffered greatly from smoking.

       D.His screenplays have been doing more and more harm to human beings.

3.What is the writer determined to do in future?

       A.He has made up his mind to give up smoking forever.

       B.He will try his best to prevent others from writing screen plays encouraging smoking.

       C.He will try his best to bring up his four children.

       D.He has decided to write his screenplays without smoking scenes.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

       A.the writer will soon be recovered from his illness thanks to his exercise

       B.the writer will soon die because of his deadly disease

       C.smoking will be got rid of in all Hollywood films

       D.smoking in Hollywood films is still doing great harm to human beings

Law School Essays that Made a Difference

Price: US $ 13.95

Paperback 256 pages

The Princeton Review

ISBN: 0375763457

Face it, and a lot of students have great LSAT scores. The best way for you to stand out in a crowd of applicants to top law schools is to write an exceptional personal statement.

This book puts you in the admissions office's seat. It gives you the intimate details一test scores, GPAs (grade point average), demographic information, and personal statements一of 34 law school hopefuls, then shows you why they got into the colleges they applied to, and why some didn't. It's invaluable information that will help students evaluate (评估)their own chances of admission to the most selective law schools in the United States.

Business School Essays that Made a Difference

Price: US $ 13.95

Paperback 304 pages

The Princeton Review

ISBN: 0375763511

What makes business school applications so brutal (无情)? For most applicants, it's the number, length, and complexity(复杂性) of the essays they have to write when applying for a course. Most top schools require multiple essays and this book is your best bet for succeeding with them. It contains:

1.Forty-four real-life essays critiqued (评论) by admissions officers from schools like Tuck, Chicago, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

2.Eight case studies of business school applicants saying what worked for them and what did not.

3.Translations of essay questions telling you what they are really asking.

College Essays that Made a Difference

Price: US $ 13.95

Paperback 384 pages

The Princeton Review

ISBN: 0375763449

This book helps students get into the college they want by showing them what essays helped actual students achieve their dreams.

The book tells you what colleges want to see using interviews with actual admissions officers.

The book has sections on the basics of essay writing—grammar and punctuation (标点符号) 一as well as the sections looking at what topics you should write about and how you should communicate your personality in your work.

It finishes by looking at the work of a great many successful applicants to America's top colleges, and some unsuccessful students to tell you what to avoid.

1.With the three books, the Princeton Review aims at ________.

A.offering students guides in making a difference in their jobs after university graduation

B.offering guides on the writing of application essays for American universities

C.showing students how to pass LSAT in the US

D.showing college graduates what helped actual students achieve their dreams

2.LSAT is most probably ___________.

A.an admission test given by a law school

B.a test written by admitted law students

C.information on business and college

D.information on GPA

3.College Essays that Made a Difference is different from the other two books in that it _____.

A.is sold at a lower price and has different back covers

B.offers suggestions on how to dress for interviews

C.gives examples of actual essays written those who made it into the schools of their choice

D.contains sections on how to avoid language mistakes

4.What's the purpose of writing the three texts?

A.To sell the books.                              B.To make the books easier to read.

C.To show the importance of the schools  D.To introduce new authors.

There is no doubt that adults, and even highly educated adults, vary greatly in the speed and efficiency of their reading. Some proceed very lowly throughout; others dash along too quickly and then have to regress. Poor readers in particular may lack the ability to vary their manner of reading according to the type of reading matter and to their intentions in reading it. A good reader can move at great speed through the text of a novel or similar light reading matter. He may be able to skim a page, picking up a word or two here and there, and gain a general idea of what the text is about without really reading it. In reading more difficult material, with the intention of taking in the whole of it, he will proceed more slowly, but even then he will vary his pace, concentrating on the key words and passages, perhaps re-reading them several times and pass more quickly over the remainder. A less efficient reader tends to maintain the same speed whatever the material he reads. Consequently, even light reading matter gives him little pleasure because he reads so slowly. But this pace may be too fast for really difficult material which requires special concentration at difficult points.

A type of reading which necessitates(需要) careful attention to detail is proofreading, in which the reader, in order to detect misprints in a sample print, has to notice not so much the meaning of what he reads as the exact shape and order of letters and words in the text. This is extremely difficult for most people, since they are accustomed to overlooking such details. In fact, considerable practice is required to practise this task efficiently and it can be done only by reading very slowly, and by paying comparatively little attention to the general meaning of the text.

1.This article is mainly concerned with ________.

  A.the ability to read fast

  B.difference in the speed and efficiency of reading

  C.different reading skills

  D.the reading speed of highly educated adults

2.According to the article, there is a difference in reading speed ________.

  A.among adult readers

  B.among young educated people

  C.among readers who have different experiences

  D.between the poorly educated and the highly educated

3.The underlined word "regress" can be best replaced by "________".

  A.regret                  B.stop                    C.move slowly        D.go back

4.The author believes a good reader should ________.

  A.always read at great speed                    B.read carefully and catch every detail

  C.always review the text he has read         D.change his speed according to the type of text

High school dropouts(辍学者)earn an average of $ 9,000 less per year than graduates. Now a new study dispels(消除) a common belief why they quit. It’s much more basic than flunking out(不及格).

    Society tends to think of high school dropouts as kids who just can’t cut it. They are lazy,and perhaps not too bright. So researchers were surprised when they asked more than 450 kids who quit school about why they left.

    “The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school,” John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said. About 1 million teens leave school each year. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic(美籍西班牙的)student will receive a diploma(证书),and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision. So, if failing grades don’t explain why these kids quit, what does? Again,John Bridgeland: "The most dependable finding was that they were bored.” “They found classes uninteresting; they weren’t inspired or motivated. They didn’t see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their career aspirations.”

    The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit. In the US,only one state, New Mexico, has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate. Only four states: California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions. Another researcher says raising the compulsory(义务的)attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school.

  “As these dropouts look back, they realize they’ve made a mistake. And anything that sort of gives these people an extra push to stick it out and see it through to the end, is probably helpful measure.”

    New Hampshire may be the next state to raise its school attendance age to 18. But critics say that forcing the students unwilling to continue their studies to stay in school misses the point-the need for reform. It's been called for to reinvent high school education to make it more challenging and relevant, and to ensure that kids who do stick it out receive a diploma that actually means something.  

1.Most high school students drop out of school because      

A.they have failing grades                        B.they take no interest in classes

C.they are discriminated against                D.they are lazy and not intelligent

2.According to the passage,which state has a law requiring school attendance until they graduate?

A.New Hampshire                                   B.Utah  

C.New Mexico                                   D.The District of Columbia

3.The underlined words “stick it out” probably means“       ”.

A.complete schooling                              B.solve the problem

C.love having classes                              D.believe in themselves

4.In the last paragraph, the writer is trying to__

A.analyze the reason why students quit school

B.suggest raising the compulsory attendance age

C.raise awareness of reforming high school education

D.wish to make laws to guarantee no education

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