If Barack Obama's wife and kids thought they'd be getting his undivided attention during their long-awaited summer holiday, perhaps they should think again.
The US President kicked off his vacation by revealing that, in addition to endless games of tennis and golf, he plans to spend the week ploughing through five books, weighing in at an astonishing 2,300 pages. His summer reading list, unveiled(透露) by the White House, contains two heavyweight works of non–fiction and three novels.
On top of the president’s table is Hot, Flat and Crowded, by New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman. Subtitled "why we need a green revolution", it makes a leftish(左倾的) call to arms regarding the future of the planet.
Mr Obama's second choice is historian David McCullough's biography of John Adams, the often under-rated second US president, who was the subject of an award-winning HBO docu-drama(纪实剧)last year.
The novels include two crime thrillers: Richard Price's Lush Life, and The Way Home, a novel by George Pelecanos set in Washington, DC – which, much like Obama's best-selling autobiography(自传), explores the relationship between a father and his son.
Completing the set is the novel Plainsong, by a little-known writer called Kent Haruf. Set in a small town on the Colorado plains, its existence on the reading list may reassure voters that Middle America has not been ignored by their commander-in-chief.
Publishers are keeping an eye on whether the famous "Obama bounce" – which has helped sales at the first family's favourite clothes stores, such as J Crew – will continue to apply to their troubled industry. The President's endorsement(认可) is said to have lifted sales of Joseph O'Neill's novel Netherland about cricket in Holland and New York last year.
Given that President Obama has already spent a portion of his week so far playing golf, beating Michelle at tennis, and visiting friends, questions will inevitably(不可避免地) be asked about his ability to put any dent(挫伤) at all in the ambitious reading list.
To finish all five books, he would have to manage more than 300 pages every day – quite an "ask" when a small portion of his time must also be spent running the country.
57. What’s the function of the first paragraph?
| A. To give an example. | B. To introduce a topic. |
| C. To describe a hope. | D. To offer an argument. |
| A. Some people doubted if the president could finish his books. |
| B. The Way Home is a book which explores the relationship between a father and his son. |
| C. Lush life, set in Washington, is a novel written by Richard Price. |
| D. Thanks to Obama, sales of Netherland have been lifted. |
| A. John Adams. | B. Netherland. |
| C. Hot, Flat and Crowded. | D. Lush Life. |
| A. Obama’s Hobbies | B. Obama’s Holiday Plan |
| C. Obama’s Holiday Life | D. Obama’s Holiday Book List |
One day last November, Tom Baker stopped out of his house into the morning light and headed across the rice fields toward the bank of the Rapti River. Tom, a 32-year-old school teacher in the farming village of Madanpur, was going for his morning bath.
As he approached(走近) the river, the head of a tiger(老虎) suddenly appeared over the edge of the river bank. Before he could turn to run, the tiger was upon him. It jumped on his shoulder and threw him to the ground, its huge jaws attacked his head in a killing bite.
Peter Smith was also on his way to the river and saw the attack. He screamed. The tiger lifted its head and roared(吼叫) at him. Peter ran.
From the window of his house John Brown heard the tiger roar and ran out to see it attacking a man. He screamed, too, and all the villagers ran out shouting as the tiger dropped its victim(牺牲品) and ran off. When the villagers reached the river bank, Tom was already dead.
For the villagers, the horror of the incident intensified(加剧) by the tales of man-eating tigers that has once run around in the countryside, killing hundreds.
【小题1】How many people saw the tiger before it was driven off?
A One person. B. Two persons. C. Three persons. D. Four persons.
【小题2】The reason why the tiger attacked the man was .
| A.it was hungry | B.it was angry[来源:Z_xx_k.Com] |
| C.it was frightened by the man | D.not mentioned in the passage[来源:Z*xx*k.Com] |
| A.Early in the morning | B.At noon |
| C.Late in the afternoon | D.At five before dark |
| A.gave a sharp cry because of fear. | B.shouted out for help. |
| C.made some loud noise. | D.cried out in pain. |
Few of us haven't read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prin
ce of her dreams, Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity(默默无闻) or neglect.
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too.Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high Mary is shy but loves to dance.Compared with other girls, she is invisible.However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears.
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable.Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball.They meet and falHn love with each other.But when Mary has to.rush back home, she leaves behind
her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams.Of course, there is a wicked(邪恶的) stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies.Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school.Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her.
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modem day twists to the classic fairy tale.Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful.There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies.
"The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson."The focus is firmly on following your dream."
【小题1】The first paragraph is mainly to _____.
| A.build interest and lead us to Mary's secret dream |
| B.remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years |
| C.inform us of the main topic of the whole passage |
| D.tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is |
| A.is brave in expressing her iove[来源:学&科&网] |
| B.is attended badly by the stepmother |
| C.has a dream of meeting a prince |
| D.is embarrassed by the pop singer |
| A.Joey is just like other boys in Mary's class. |
| B.Mary's mother influences her a lot m singing. |
| C.Not many people have a dream to be realized. |
| D.The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary. |
| A.an introduction to a film |
| B.a review about a film |
| C.an essay about dreams |
| D.an advertisement of Cinderella |
| A.follows Cinderella with nothing new[来源:学_科_网] |
| B.pays more attention to the looks of the actors |
| C.encourages young people to follow their dreams |
| D.focuses more on materialism than other films |