February 28^th, 2009 2:54 am GMT

I have to say that am shocked at just how bad the new music is. This cannot be the same band that produced great albums such as HTDAAB and ATYCLB! This is awful! They either do not care anymore, or have completely lost it. I never thought U2 would become irrelevant, but they have officially become one of those bands that you will now say, “Remember when they were great?”

----- Posted by Ronald Harris

February 28^th, 2009 8:29 pm GMT

Total drivel, Mr Harris. The new album is great, far better than the safe, cynical HTDAAB and ATYCLB. U2 have become inventive again, like they were in the 1990s. thank goodness!

----- Posted by Dan

March 3^rd, 2009 12:09 pm GMT

Agree, Dan. The new album is the best since Actung Baby. Magnificent is an anthem in the waiting, Breathe is unbelievable, and Stand Up Comedy is absolutely outstanding----- to name just three! Loving the new sound, pure class as usual.

----- Posted by Martin

March 4^th, 2009 7:43 pm GMT

Totally agree with you guys. This album is unbelievable. Breathe is definitely a great song, same with Moment of Surrender. I bet their upcoming tour will be amazing. If you haven’t bought the CD yet, you should. I bought mine on Amozon.com for $3.99. I couldn’t believe it.

----- Posted by Josh Briggs

According to Ronald Harris, U2’s new album is _________.

A. pretty good    B. so bad    C. the same as before    D. completely fresh

whose comment is contrary to the others?

A. Martin’s     B. Dan’s       C. Josh Briggs’      D. Ronald Harris’

Martin and Josh Briggs both like the song _________.

A. Magnificent    B. Moment of Surrender    C. Breathe     D. Stand Up Comedy

Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?

A. Most fans felt disappointed at the new album.

B. The new album is available on the Internet.

C. The people who made comments are fans of U2.

D. U2’s upcoming tour may be a great success.

The passage is most probably from ________.

A. a concert poster     B. a TV review     C. a newspaper     D. the Internet

D
STAGE
Stories in Boxes: Britain performing artist Bobby Baker will present Box Story to conclude the UK performing Arts Festival.
Her performances cover various aspects of life: including health, shopping, and educating children. She explores these themes with originality and “outside the square”.
Time: 7:30 pm, December 3-5
Place: North Theater, Beibingmasi Lane, Jiaodaokou, Dongcheng District
Tel: 8602-4898
Elvis Story: Le Caoitole De Quebee will bring its production The Elvis Story to Beijing audiences this month.
This remarkable musical production relates the best moments of Elvis Preeley’s life and his career. The show is a musical reconstitution of the life of a singer who revolutionized American popular music and become the most famous rock star of the 20th century.
Time: 7:30 pm, November 25-28
Place: Poly Theater, Dongsishitiao
Tel: 6506-5343, 6413-1321
Soldier’s musical: A Soldier’s Diary, a Chinese musical describing the life of contemporary (当代的)soldiers in China, is to be staged for 12 performances by the Song and Dance Essembles of the Political of the Chinese People Liberation Army .
Time: 7:30 pm, November 29-December15
Place: China Theatre, Xisanhuan Beilu, Handian District
Tel: 6843-0560
Social tolerance: The Italian opera Pagliacci, by Ruggero Leoneavallo ( 1856--1919), is to premiere(首次公演), performed by Chinese opera singers from China’s Central Opera Theatre.
A violent opera exploring the limits of social tolerance, the opera premiered in 1892 and gained popularity throughout Europe and America. Within two years, it had been translated into all major European languages including Swedish, Serbo-Croatian and Hebrew.
Leoneavallo was a prolific writer, yet none of his other works ever matched the popularity of this opera.
Chinese vocal artists include Huang Yuefeng, Wang Feng, Sun Xiewei, Gao Lei and Shen Na, Li Wei is to conduct..
Time: 7:30 pm, November 27
Place: Peking University Concert Hall, Peking University
Tel: 6275-1278, 6551-4787
If you want to see Bobby Baker’s performance you should phone ______ to book a seat.
A. 8602-4898         B.6843-0506          C. 6413-1321         D. 6551-4787
69. Which performance covers the life of contemporary soldiers in China?
A. The Elvis Story       B. Box Story        C. Pagliacci         D. A Soldier’s Diary
70. From the passage we can learn that Leoneavallo was ______.
A. an opera singer      B. a writer           C. a pop singer        D. an actor
71. If Peter is a soldier, which place perhaps would he like to go on November 29?
A. North Theatre     B. China Theatre    C. Poly Theatre        D. Peking University

Have you ever tried to draw a straight line, only to find it turns out all wrong? Or, wanted to show   36  at a party but the song you’d practised so many times suddenly   37  more difficult?

I've had both these   38 .As a Senior 3 student, I have to   39  many exams. Each time I enter one thinking “I   40  fail this time.” , I get a low mark.

But don't be surprised --- it's not   41  we don't try, or do enough preparation, or take it   42 . On the contrary, it is because we put ourselves under too much   43 . It is thinking ‘I must…’ that makes us taste the terrible flavor of   44 .

We often   45  to our friends, “Don't be too hard   46  yourself!”. But when we   47  our own goals, we may not listen to our own advice.

In doing so, we are making our path to success increasingly difficult.

So why not   48  this crazy pursuit(追求) to get the best? Just face the problem   49  before you with a calm mind, enjoy the hard work and you will succeed.

In my opinion,   50  a calm state of mind is a skill for life. For people who want to succeed,   51  this is a very important lesson.

So   52  time when you're trying to draw a straight line or   53  a performance, tell yourself, “If I can just do it better than last time, it's a   54 . ”

Keep a calm state of mind, and you will be happy   55  you succeed or fail.

1.                A．up            B．off             C．out  D．in

2.                A．assumes        B．appears         C．listens    D．becomes

3.                A．experiences     B．chances        C．times D．reviews

4.                A．finish          B．measure        C．take D．join

5.                A．shouldn't       B．may            C．can't D．haven't

6.                A．why           B．since           C．when D．because

7.                A．necessarily      B．seriously        C．personally D．sharply

8.                A．care           B．power          C．pressure  D．attention

9.                A．exams          B．difficulty        C．marks    D．failure

10.               A．say            B．speak          C．tell   D．talk

11.               A．off            B．on            C．to    D．for

12.               A．share          B．achieve        C．weigh D．set

13.               A．throw away      B．get away        C．take away  D．let away

14.               A．waiting         B．sitting          C．lying  D．laying

15.               A．staying         B．keeping        C．remaining  D．making

16.               A．trying          B．realizing        C．using D．training

17.               A．last            B．what           C．next  D．high

18.               A．put on         B．play on         C．give on    D．show on

19.               A．success        B．task           C．lesson D．trial

20.               A．if             B．either          C．neither    D．whether

In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.

Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.

The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.

Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: The off-key singing. The blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high. The terrible dancing. The hips jerking (摇摆) to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad.

But, it was this very bad act that sold well.

Marc Juries, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America.”

Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.

So, what does Hung think of this?

“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean.”

Now he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour (魅力) or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.

1.What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.

B．Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.

C．How an unsuccessful person became famous.

D．Success sometimes does not require hard work.

2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A．William Hung.      B．Hung’s bad act.    C．Hung’s website.   D．The public’s opinion.

3.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?

a. The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.

b. The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.

c. Hung became popular among Americans.

d. Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.

e. Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.

A．d, b, e, c, a         B．a, c, d, b, e         C．a, d, b, c, e         D．d, b, a, e, c

You probably know you should say "please" and "thank you" at restaurants. You probably know the rules of a library. You know you should respect and be nice to your classmates. But do you have music manners?

    Keep It Down! You have to notice the volume of your music. You should not play your music so loud that everyone around you can hear it. Some people might even get angry. Usually, when you play the music loud on an MP3 player, other people can't hear the words of the song. They just hear a loud sound. No one wants to listen to this. Very loud music can also be bad for your ears. So even if you are alone when listening to your MP3 players, you shouldn't turn it up too high.

    Take Them Off! You need to know when to turn your MP3 off and put it away. Libraries, and schools don't allow MP3 players. There are other places, like museums, that don't have rules, but it would be rude to have your MP3 player on. Sometimes, it doesn't make sense to listen on your MP3 player at event. Why would you listen to music at a play, a movie or a sporting event? You would miss what is going on and others would wonder why you even came.

    Take One Out! Once in a while it's okay just to take out one earphone and not the other. Imagine you are listening on your MP3 player when someone asks you the way. It would not be rude to take out one earphone, tell him the way, and put back the earphone and continue listening. You can also do this when you order food at a fast-food restaurant or when you answer the telephone

    It's Your Choice! There are times when you need to decide what is best. For example, some people can listen to music on their MP3 players when reading books, while others think it is disturbing. In cases like this, you need to do what seems right for you.

1.The underlined word "volume" in Paragraph 2 probably means "_________."

   A. the type of music           

B. the length of a song

   C. the amount of a sound      

D. the color of an MP3 player

2.We should turn down the music when we are alone because loud music_________.

   A. may annoy others           

B. can hurt our ears

   C. is bad for MP3 players      

D. will make us tired

3.If we listen to our MP3 player at a play, _________.

   A. the theatre won't allow it                

B. the actors will get angry

   C. others won't hear the play well         

D. we may miss part of the play

4.We can take one earphone out when we _________.

   A. show others the way                  

B. enjoy a movie at the cinema

   C. watch a sporting event                

D. answer the telephone at museums   

5.The main idea of this passage is about _________.

   A. MP3 manners

B. music lovers               

   C. music players              

D. MP3 earphones