The opera house in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is one of the most beautiful in the United States. It is small and open, with one roof over the stage where singers perform and another roof over part of the audience. This opera house in the mountain is one of the best in the country, which may seem surprising because performances are only given during seven weeks in summer, and because Santa Fe is a very small city.

One reason why the Santa Fe Opera is so good is that it attracts many excellent young singers .They all hope to sing in famous opera houses like Metropolitan in New York someday. And they work hard to become well-known during the summer. The musicians and directors are experts who come from the best orchestras(管弦乐队) and operas in the country during their vacations. They enjoy working there because they like to live in Santa Fe, which is near both the mountains and the desert. It is very beautiful there in summer.

The state government of New Mexico advertises the Santa Fe Opera in newspapers all over the country， and a great many tourists come to New Mexico because of the opera ,Still ,most of the audience does come from Santa Fe and other nearby cities. And all the seats in the theater are sold for every show.

There is only one thing that some people do not like about the Santa  Fe Opera, and that is the cold weather .Because the theater is open, performances cannot start before it gets dark at nine o’clock in the evening, and then the mountain air becomes very cool. Sometimes people complain about the cold air ,but because the opera is good , these people come back again wearing warm coats.

1.This passage mainly introduces__________

A．a mountain city	B．young musicians
C．an opera house	D．the tourism in Santa Fe

2.Young singers come to perform in Santa Fe Opera because_______.

A．the music quality is high

B．they enjoy the climate there

C．they want to be famous

D．they like the scenery there

3.It seems surprising that Santa Fe becomes famous because______

A．it is only a very small place

B．it is between the mountain and desert

C．all the seats are sold for every show

D．musicians there are form the best orchestras

4.Audience complain because ___________.

A the opera is so good   

B the temperature at night is very low

C there are so many people watching the performance.   

D the text doesn’t tell us

5.From the passage ,we can learn that ________.

A．the opera house is open without any roofs

B．musicians always work in Fe

C．the government advertises to attract more musicians

D．performances are held in Santa Fe only after it is dark

 

I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1.Why did the boy start his job young?

    A. He wanted to be famous in the future.

B. The job was quite easy for him.

    C. His mother had high hopes for him.

D. The competition for the job was fierce.

2. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

    A. excited        B. interested     C. ashamed          D. disappointed

3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

    A. She forced him to continue.              B. She punished him.

    C. She gave him some money.            D. She changed her plan.

4.What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

    A. The war between the boy’s parents.

    B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.

    C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

    D. The fight between the boy and his father.

5.What is the text mainly about?

A. The early life of a journalist.       

 B. The early success of a journalist.

C. The happy childhood of the writer.   

D. The important role of the writer in his family.

 

Like many of my generation, I have a weakness for hero worship. At some point, however, we all begin to question our heroes and our need for them. This leads us to ask: What is a hero?

Despite immense differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristics that instruct and inspire people.

A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a story of adventure to tell and community who will listen. But a hero goes beyond mere fame.

Heroes serve powers or principles larger than themselves. Like high-voltage transformers, heroes take the energy of higher powers and step it down so that it can be used by ordinary people.

The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. Those who imitate a genuine hero experience life with new depth, enthusiasm, and meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom do they serve? What are they willing to live and die for? If the answer or evidence suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. Madonna and Michael Jackson are famous, but who would claim that their fans find life more abundant?

Heroes are catalysts (催化剂) for change. They have a vision from the mountaintop. They have the skill and the charm to move the masses. They create new possibilities. Without Gandhi, India might still be part of the British Empire. Without Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., we might still have segregated (隔离的) buses, restaurants, and parks. It may be possible for large-scale change to occur without leaders with magnetic personalities, but the pace of change would be slow, the vision uncertain, and the committee meetings endless.

1.Although heroes may come from different cultures, they __________.

A．generally possess certain inspiring characteristics

B．probably share some weaknesses of ordinary people

C．are often influenced by previous generations

D．all unknowingly attract a large number of fans

2. According to the passage, heroes are compared to high-voltage transformers in that _______.

A．they have a vision from the mountaintop

B．they have warm feelings and emotions

C．they can serve as concrete examples of noble principles

D．they can make people feel stronger and more confident

3.Madonna and Michael Jackson are not considered heroes because __________.

A．they are popular only among certain groups of people

B．their performances do not improve their fans morally

C．their primary concern is their own financial interests

D．they are not clear about the principles they should follow

4.The author concludes that historical changes would __________.

A．be delayed without leaders with inspiring personal qualities

B．not happen without heroes making the necessary sacrifices

C．take place if there were heroes to lead the people

D．produce leaders with attractive personalities

 

在某访谈节目中，五位嘉宾分别回答了来自主持人的五个问题，对少年儿童提出建议。请从下列提问（A, B, C, D, E和F）中选出与嘉宾的回答相匹配的问题。
Questions:

A．Whatwouldyousaytoteenswhoaresufferingfromdepression?	B．Doyouhaveanysuggestionsforsomeoneinterestedinyourjob?
C．Doyouhaveanysolutionsforteens’writingdifficulty?
D．What advice can you give a young person on how to be a filmmaker or a writer?

E. Do you have any advice to offer others wishing to become a writer and doctor? 
F. After all these years in the limelight, how do you deal with critics?
1._________________________________________
George Lucas’ answer 
Well, I would say you have to be persistent first of all, because it’s a very hard thing to get into, and it’s very hard to make it because the odds are against you. So you have to really love it; kids who get into it because they think they’re going to make a lot of money or be famous or tell a lot of people what to do all the time will never make it. But if you’re obsessed with film and you love to tell stories and you love writing in that medium, then that will give you the strength to be persistent and make it happen.
2. _________________________________________
Tom Fontana’s answer
I’ve never had writer’s block. I’m trying my luck because I’m hoping never to have it. As far as suggestions, I don’t know. If you write at the same time every day, your brain and your heart will be there, ready to go to work. It’s like how you eat at the same time over the course of the day – you should be available to write at the same time every day. If you have nothing to write, you should still write. Whether you write your name 100 times or describe a banana. If you write for five minutes, and you just get the words down, at least you’re doing something.
3. _________________________________________
Drew Barrymore’s answer
I would just say to persevere and find people who are safe and honest and who will give you tough love and guide you through, because you really can’t do everything on your own. You need love and support around you, and to believe that you will get past these hard times. You will overcome. Things will get better. Life is a series of ups and downs, and the good news is that when you’re in a low, it will always go up again. Life is not a free journey. There are a lot of lessons you have to learn along the way, but just appreciate the gift of it and find people who will be honest with you.
4. _________________________________________
Richard Seltzer’s answer 
Become a doctor first because a writer doesn’t make a living – you have to support yourself and your family. But writing is a very individual thing. It’s like your fingerprint – on one else has exactly your style. A lucky writer will discover his or her style but an unlucky one will always be trying to force himself into an unnatural writing style. It’s uncomfortable, and for them, writing is painful. I’ve never suffered. My life has been a series of small, everyday events. If I feel I have rendered on little bit of life in the most compelling language I can find and am satisfied with it, that is an event I cherish.
5. _________________________________________
Ms. Jamie Hobart’s answer 
It is a long road after medical school and internship but my job is different every day and very interesting. Not everyone can do this job. Autopsies are very different from any other medical job. Here we don't really let anyone under 18 watch or participate in an autopsy. So take a basic anatomy course in college and if you don't mind the cadavers, then you might follow it further. You have to have a very strong stomach and a strong interest in the science. If you decide you really like forensics (the work of scientists who examine evidence in order to help the police solve crimes) but don’t want to do autopsies there are lots of other things in the forensic field like the DNA labor various evidence – related specialties.

I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

56. Why did the boy start his job young?           

   A. He wanted to be famous in the future.               B. The job was quite easy for him.

   C. His mother had high hopes for him.                  D. The competition for the job was fierce.

57. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

   A. excited                       B. interested                               C. ashamed             D. disappointed

58. What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

   A. She forced him to continue.                            B. She punished him.

   C. She gave him some money.                              D. She changed her plan.

59. What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

   A. The war between the boy’s parents.                  

   B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.

   C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

   D. The fight between the boy and his father.

60. What is the text mainly about?

   A. The early life of a journalist.                            B. The early success of a journalist.

   C. The happy childhood of the writer.             D. The important role of the writer in his family.