The Danish (丹麦) architect of the iconic Sydney Opera House, Jorn Utzon, has died at the age of 90, after suffering a heart attack.
Mr. Utzon, an award-winning architect, put "Denmark on the world map with his great talent," said Danish Culture Minister Carina Christensen. Having won a competition in 1957 to design the building, he left the project before it opened in 1973. Mr. Utzon never visited the completed landmark, after disputes about costs. He had quarreled with the Australian client and the costs overran by 1,000%. Even decades later, he declined invitations to return to Australia, but did design, with his son, a new wing which opened in 2006. In 1998 he said, "It's part of education–I can't be bitter about anything in life."

Most of the interior（内部）of the opera house was not completed according to his plans after government-appointed architects took over the job.
The Sydney Opera House planned to dim the lights on the sail-shaped roof on Sunday to mark Mr. Utzon's death.
The chairman of Sydney Opera House Trust, Kim Williams, said, "Jorn Utzon was an architectural and creative genius who gave Australia and the world a great gift. Sydney Opera House is core to our national cultural identity and a source of great pride to all Australians. It has become the most globally recognized symbol of our country."
Mr. Utzon also designed the National Assembly of Kuwait and several prominent buildings in Denmark.
Danish Minister of Culture Carina Christensen paid tribute to him, saying, "Jorn Utzon will be remembered as one of the Danes who in the 20th century put Denmark on the world map with his great talent."
Mr. Utzon won several international awards, including the Alvar Aalto Medal for architecture and France's Legion of Honour.
In 2003 he won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize for his design of the opera house.
【小题1】 Which of the following is true about Mr. Jorn Utzon?

A．He was born in Demark and worked in Australia.

B．He left Australia before his design was completed.

C．He refused to go back to visit the Opera House all his life.

D．He disagreed with the government client on the building materials.

【小题2】From the above passage we may NOT know ______.

A．what Mr. Utzon has contributed to the world

B．the exact time of Mr. Utzon’s birth and death

C．whether he had a family or not

D．when Opera House was completed

【小题3】 What did the Opera House plan to do to mark its designer’s death?

A．A memorial party would be held on Sunday.

B．Another award would be given out to Mr. Utzon’s son.

C．The lights on the roof of Opera House would become less bright.

D．Another wing would be designed to remember Mr. Utzon.

【小题4】 The most proper title of the above passage might be ______.

A．Sydney Opera House architect dies

B．Life of Mr. Utzon, a Great architect

C．Designer and builder of Opera House

D．Awards of the Opera House Architect

That summer I drank every day, everywhere I went. I had a bottle in my drawer next to me and a bottle next to my bed. I never did another drug, but I drank so much that my family finally asked a priest for help. My father gave me a bottle of medicine for alcoholism that produces unpleasant symptoms when users drink alcohol. I drank while taking it, which made me very sick. And I still drank.
When the priest came, he said, "Jimmy, doctors said that with your diseases and the amount of drinking you’re doing, you’d be lucky to live another six months. So your choice is either to stop drinking and live or to continue drinking and die within six months.”
I said, "I know I can't stop, so guess I'll have to die." The priest told my family what I said. My little brother–who is like my soul mate, looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "But we don't want you to die." All I could think of was how desperately I had to get out of that room at that moment and have a drink.
But I finally stopped drinking. I was on the care team of my dentist Russell. A lot of people in New York knew him. At the time he was the most famous dentist in the city. He drank heavily and was also with AIDS, so I was selected to be on his care team. Everybody on the team was sober (清醒) but me. He went through dementia (痴呆) and died so quickly before my eyes. I stopped drinking and I’ve been with the disease for 35 years now.
【小题1】 Why did the author’s father give him the bottle of medicine?

A．He wanted him to cure his illness.

B．He was trying to keep him dying.

C．He thought the medicine could make him sick.

D．He believed it could prevent him drinking.

【小题2】 What did the priest mean by saying to the author “…you’d be lucky to live another six months” in the second paragraph?

A．The author would die after six weeks.

B．The author was too lucky to live for six months.

C．The author could hardly live for six months.

D．The author’s luck was only six months.

【小题3】 How did the author stop drinking?

A．The dentist Russell helped him to stop it.

B．He was persuaded by the dentist Russell’s death.

C．His care team managed to inspire him.

D．His little brother’s soul saved him.

【小题4】 What can we learn from the above story?

A．Drinking heavily increases AIDS patients’ illness.

B．Priests can cure many AIDS patients’ illnesses.

C．Drug taking and heavily drinking can cure AIDS patients.

D．Team work and patience can cure AIDS patients.

One night, a little before nine o’clock, Dr Johnson was answering a telephone call. He was asked to go and give an operation to a very sick boy at once. The boy was in a small hospital in Glens Falls, sixty miles away from Dr Johnson’s city – Albany. The boy had hurt himself in a traffic accident. His wife was in danger, but his family was so poor that they could not pay the doctor anything. After he heard all this, Dr Johnson was driving carefully. He thought that he could get to the hospital before 12 o’clock. A few minutes later, the doctor’s car had to stop for a red light at a crossing. Suddenly a man in an old black coat opened the door of the car and got in.
“Drive on”, he said. “I’ve got a gun (枪).”
“I’m a doctor,” said Johnson, “I’m on my way to a hospital to operate on a very sick…”
“Don’t talk,” said the man in the old black coat, “Just drive.”
A mile out of the town he ordered the doctor to stop the car and get out. Then the man drove on down the road. The doctor stood for a moment in the snow. After half an hour, Dr Johnson found a telephone and called a taxi. At the railway station he learned that the next train to Glens Falls would not leave until 12 o’clock.
It was after two o’clock in the morning when the doctor arrived at the hospital in Glens Falls. Miss Clarke, a nurse, was waiting for him.
“I did my best,” said Dr Johnson. Miss Clarke said, “The boy died an hour ago.”
They walked into the waiting room. There sat the man in the old black coat, with his head in his hands.
“Mr. Shute,” said Miss Clarke to the man, “this is Dr Johnson. He had come all the way from Albany to try to save your boy.”
【小题1】 From the story we know it took Dr Johnson _________ to get to the hospital.

A．12 hours

B．7 hours

C．only 1 hour

D．about 5 hours

【小题2】Dr Johnson was late because __________.

A．there was something wrong with his car

B．a strange man made it hard to drive

C．a strange man drove his car away

D．the train to Glens Falls was late

【小题3】 The man in a black coat __________.

A．hit the boy and ran away

B．took the boy to the hospital

C．was the boy’s father

D．was the real doctor

【小题4】The man in black would feel __________ in the end.

A．happy and pleased	B．regretful(悔恨) and sad
C．worried and angry	D．tired and hungry

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel(剥……的皮) potatoes. I have only one hand.”
Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”
In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.
That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.
“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow(肘). Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.
One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”
For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint. I peeked(窥视) out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf（利益）. She had never let me see her tears.
【小题1】 Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child to peel potatoes?

A．Cruel.	B．Serious.
C．Cold.	D．Strict

【小题2】 What does the sentence “I saw her ‘we’ll see about that’ look” imply(暗示)?

A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it.

B．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.

C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher.

D．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity.

【小题3】 When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open because _________.

A．they felt sorry for what they had done before

B．they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt

C．they were astonished to find the author’s progress

D．they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars

【小题4】The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ______.

A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

B．the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own

C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth

My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult.
For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess（承认）to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball. I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred（神圣的） thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog that my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.
Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve, I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy, I screamed to Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is if it hurts you first. And then you think a long, long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.
【小题1】 What is the main subject of the passage?

A．The relationship between Mark and Steve.

B．The important lesson Mark learned in school

C．Steve’s important role in mark’s growing process.

D．Mark and Steve’s respect for living things.

【小题2】 It can be inferred from the passage that when Mark confessed to Mrs. Holt, __________.

A．he felt surprised	B．he was light-hearted
C．he felt frightened	D．he knelt before her

【小题3】In the story about the pen, which of the following lessons did Steve teach his brother?

A．Respect for personal property.

B．Respect for life.

C．Sympathy for people with problems.

D．The value of honesty.

【小题4】 According to the writer, which was the most important lesson Steve taught his young brother?

A．Respect for living things.

B．Responsibility for one’s actions.

C．The value of the honesty.

D．Care for the property of others.

【小题5】Which of the follow is true according to the passage?

A．Mark was still a boy when he wrote this passage.

B．Mark lost the small dog his father carved somewhere.

C．When a living thing hurts you, you should kill it.

D．Even if a living thing hurts you, you should not kill it without hesitation.

“Fire! Fire!” What terrible words to hear when one wakes up in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, old, wooden house and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and stepped outside the house. There was full of thick smoke.
I began to run, but as I was still only half-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I could see fire all around. The floor became hot under my bare feet. I found an open door and ran into a room to get to the window. But before I could reach it, one of my feet caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a bundle of clothes, and I picked it up to protect my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor gave way under me and I crashed to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.
I saw a doorway in fire, then I put the bundle over my face and ran. My feet burned me terrible, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin cry, I nearly dropped it in my surprise. Then I was in a crowd gathered in the street. A woman in a night-dress and a borrowed man’s coat screamed as she saw me and came running madly.
She was the Mayor’s wife, and I had saved her baby.
【小题1】 When the fire arose in the middle of the night, the author was _______.

A．at home

B．sleeping

C．sitting in bed

D．both A and B

【小题2】 The author saved the baby _____.

A．because he was very brave.

B．because he liked the baby very much.

C．but he just happened to save it.

D．because it was the Mayor’s baby.

【小题3】He ran in the wrong direction because he _______.

A．was a stranger there	B．could see nothing
C．was not completely awake	D．Both A and C

【小题4】 He put the bundle over his face and ran in order to ______.

A．save the baby	B．call for help
C．protect his face	D．run quickly

Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity（逆境）. But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage（勇气）to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. Her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition（志向） to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to（注定）be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls（回忆）, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn't have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled（戴眼镜的）boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression（诊断患有抑郁症）. Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write.
【小题1】 Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?

A．Her friend Sean.	B．Her mother.
C．Her daughter.	D．Her husband.

【小题2】Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.

A．at the age of 6

B．on a train journey

C．after her mother's death

D．in her secondary school

【小题3】 She felt disappointed on the train because_________.

A．her train was delayed for four hours

B．she didn't have a pen with her

C．her mind suddenly went blank

D．no one would offer her help

【小题4】 It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is_________.

A．open-minded	B．warm-hearted
C．good-natured	D．strong-willed

【小题5】 The text mainly tells us_________.

A．adversity makes a good novelist

B．the courage to try is a special ability

C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere

D．encouragement helps one succeed

One day I heard that one of my dear friends had lost his mother. This made me sad, for my friend was very close to his mother. He had been by her side as she traveled through her long and hard journey with cancer. At this time, many memories about my loved ones that had passed away came flooding to me. Finally these memories passed, but it was really sad to think that my friend would have to go through the pain.
Three times I tried to write an email to my friend and three times words failed me. I am a person who is not often lost for words and I decided to have a sleep. Upon waking up I could hardly wait for my computer to work, the words I needed were there. I was still left with a heavy heart although I had sent an email.
Everything in this universe is balanced and indeed it is. Three days later, I received his reply letter. I was happy to hear that he’d been admitted to (录取) Cambridge University. It served as a gentle reminder for me that my friend would be okay and that life would go on.
Everything in life is balanced; the lowest feelings change places with the highest feelings. Without the lows, we would never appreciate the highs. No matter how dark the clouds seem to be, the sunshine is always there and just waiting for the opportunity to shine through.
【小题1】 When the author learnt her friend had lost his mother, she ______.

A．gave him some money

B．wrote an email to him

C．went to visit him

D．went for a journey with him

【小题2】 What good news did the author’s friend receive?

A．He received the author’s email.

B．He was told that life would go on.

C．He would go to Cambridge University.

D．His life would go back to normal again

【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．The author wrote four emails to her friend.

B．The mother of the author’s friend died from cancer.

C．The author’s friend is a teacher in Cambridge University.

D．The author felt relaxed after sending the email.

【小题4】From the text, we can learn that the author is ______.

A．sincere and warm-hearted

B．proud and confident

C．serious and friendly

D．funny and responsible

【小题5】 The author aims to tell us that ______.

A．life is not fair to everybody

B．time waits for no man

C．everyone has good and bad times in life

D．where there is a will, there is a way

Mary Cassatt is one of the first great women American painters. At first her father did not want her to become an artist. But she followed her dreams and became an artist. She was born on May 22, 1844, and lived in Europe for several years as a child.    
Her family returned to the United States and, at age 16, Mary attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Four years later she decided she couldn't learn anything fresh and practical in Philadelphia, so she returned to Europe. There she studied the skills of the masters in Rome, Seville, Antwerp, and Paris.   
Mary received the chance of a lifetime at the age of 33 when the famous Frenchpainter, Edgar Degas, asked her to join a group of painters that included now-famous artists like Manet and Renoir. Their style of painting is called Impressionism. They used primary colors and short brush strokes in their work. They recognized Mary’s spirit and powerful talent and invited her to exhibit in the Impressionist art shows.    
Mary painted what she saw: gardens and paintings of persons, especially of mothers and children involved in everyday living. One of her paintings, "Young Mother and Two Children," was given to the White House in 1954 where it hangs today.    
Mary never married and, in 1877, her parents and sister moved to Europe to join her. Mary devoted much of her time to them for the next 18 years to their care. Mary painted until 1914 when her failing eyesight made it impossible to continue. She spent the later years of her life in Paris. She died in 1926 at the age of 82. Unfortunately, all her life, she refused to accept students.  
【小题1】Which year was the most vital to her career and life?

A．1877

B．1864

C．1860

D．1914

【小题2】Mary left Pennsylvania for Europe at age 20 mainly because_____.
A. she didn’t learn anything in Pennsylvania         
B she wanted to give up painting        
C. her desire for the learning wasn’t satisfied well  
D. her father didn’t want her to learn painting again 
【小题3】 Mary Cassatt stopping painting because of_____.

A．her poor eyesight	B．her old age
C．lack of interest	D．her family

【小题4】 Which of the statements about Mary Cassatt is supported by the passage?
A. Her painting featured scenes of everyday living     
B. Her father had a decisive(决定性的) effect on her painting 
C. She used various colors and long lines in her works  
D. She studied the paintings of the masters in U.S.A.
【小题5】 It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A．the paintings of Edgar Degas belong to realism

B．during the last ten year of life, she painted nothing.

C．her works were controversial though highly recognized

D．her students showed great respect for her

Robert Burns, the son of a hard-working and intelligent farmer, was the oldest of seven children. Although always hard pressed financially, their father encouraged his sons with their education. As a result, Burns not only read the Scottish poetry of Ramsay and the collections by Hailes and Herd, but also the works of Pope, Locke, and Shakespeare.
By 1781, Burns had tried his hand at several agricultural jobs without success. Although he had begun writing, and his poems were spread widely in manuscript (手稿), none were published until 1786, when Burns published Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), which was an immediate success. Later Burns brought out a second edition of his poems at Edinburgh in 1787, and for two winters he was socially active in the Scottish city. In 1788 he retired to a farm at Ellis land. By 1791 Burns had failed as a farmer, and he moved to Dumfries, where he held a position as a tax collector. He died of illness at 37.
Burns’s art is at its best in songs such as My Heart’s in the Highlands. Some of his songs, such as Auld Lang Syne and Comin’ thro’ the Rye, are among the most familiar and best-loved songs in the English language. But his talent was not limited to songs; two descriptive pieces, Tam o’ Shanter and The Jolly Beggars, are among his masterpieces.
Burns had a fine sense of humor, which was reflected in his satirical (讽刺的), descriptive, and playful poems. His great popularity with the Scots lay in his ability to describe the life of his fellow rural Scots. His use of dialect brought an energetic, much-needed freshness into English poetry.
【小题1】 What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Burn had a wealthy childhood.

B．Burns was best loved by his parents.

C．Burns’s father cared more about his kids’ education.

D．Burns wanted to be a poet when he grew up.

【小题2】Robert was not officially accepted by readers until______.

A．1781

B．1786

C．1787

D．1791

【小题3】 Robert made his best achievement in art by writing _______.

A．songs

B．poems

C．stories

D．humors

【小题4】 What was Robert’s biggest contribution to English poetry?

A．His satirical style.	B．His descriptiveness.
C．His fine sense of humor.	D．His use of Scottish dialect.

【小题5】 We can conclude from the passage that Robert _______.

A．majored in agriculture when he was a student

B．earned a lot of money by publishing his poems

C．was a failure in managing farms but a success in art

D．showed much interest in collecting tax before he died