Half a century ago, during the Sino-Japanese War, I was a student at National Southwest Associated University at Kunming in southern China, Lectures were often accompanied by the pitter-patter of rain on the tin roofs of the classrooms; that mud floors were full of holes; and wind blew through paneless windows. As for the library, it was a bare skeleton. A good reference book was used for years and journals usually arrived after a couple of years’ delay.

    But despite such hardship, I had the best of my student days in Kunming. Although we were short of research materials, we were uncompromising（坚定的）in our pursue of knowledge and truth. I spent six years at Southwest and obtained my first and second degrees in physics here. I still value those days fervently. In fact it was at Southwest that I first came across Reader’s Digest. To me, the magazine’s insistence on perfection both in style and accuracy—as well as its celebration of life even in the face of hardship—is similar to the values I learned at Southwest.

    Later, I went to the United States to study under Enrich Ferimi, the famous physicist who directed the world’s first nuclear chain reaction. One of the first things Ferimi emphasized to me was that physics shouldn’t be so overwhelming（压倒性的）that it is beyond the average man. Physics research, he said, should be connected with our daily lives and physicists should devote most of their efforts to solving practical problems. I couldn’t agree more. Indeed, I think this simple, close-to-life.

    Approach applies other attempts too. Reader’s Digest is highly informative, but it is easy to read, and easy to understand, never exaggerating or mystifying. This truthful, down-to earth quality is what I treasure now.

1.What is the author?

    A．A soldier      B．A teacher      C．An editor      D． A physicist

2. Which of the following is NOT true of the National Southwest Associated University?

    A．The mud floors of the classrooms were uneven.      B．Its classroom windows had no glass.

    C．The only thing its library had was a skeleton.

    D．It was short of research materials.

3. What was the first thing Ferimi emphasized to the author?

    A．Physics research should be related to daily lives.

    B．Physics should not be considered as the most important course.

    C.  Theoretical problems need solving first.

D．The results of physics research could be used in the national defense.

4. What does the author think of Reader’s Digest?

    A．It is far from perfect in style or accuracy.

    B．It devotes its efforts to solving practical problems.

    C．It gives much information.

    D．Its language is simple, but beautifully written.

It was at the school _____ was named after a hero________ he spent his childhood.

— Where did you get robbed of your handbag, Madam?

— It was at the stop ______ I usually wait for my bus for work.

A. that  B. when  C. which  D. where

It was at midnight ______ he got to his friend’s house．

       A．when B．since　    C．that　      D．while

In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition（试镜）for My Kind of People, a televised talent show popular in the UK. She was immediately rejected. She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn’t perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks. Susan was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.

Susan suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away. After his death, Susan put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother, Bridget Boyle. The mother and daughter often talked of Susan’s possible fame. Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions. “She was the one who said I should enter Britain’s Got Talent. We used to watch it together,” Susan later told reporters. “She thought I would win.”

In 1999, Susan used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo（样本唱片）tape, which she sent to record companies. In 2002, Susan began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O’Neil.

In 2007, her mother passed away at the age of 91. A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn’t come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone”. She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. For over a year, she refused to sing. But in August of 2008, O’Neil urged her to try out for Britain’s Got Talent. Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Susan auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland. She sang I Dreamed A Dream, a hit song from the musical Les Miserables（《悲惨世界》）, in the first round of the show, which was aired on April 11, 2009.

The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast（对比）to her powerfully beautiful voice. The performance astonished the audience and the judges. Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week. Although she failed to win the final of Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular. Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.

1. Bridget Boyle’s attitude towards her daughter’s musical talent can be described as ___.

   A. critical    B. doubtful     C. indifferent     D. confident

2. From Paragraph 4, we can learn that Susan _____.

A. was slightly discouraged by her voice coac B. entered Britain’s Got Talent to prove her ability

C. decided to give up her singing career    D. was deeply affected by her mother’s death

3. Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?

A. Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008. B. Her audition for My Kind of People failed.

C. She has never stopped singing since 1995.  D. She was the winner of Britain’s Got Talent. 

4. We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. Susan Boyle was convinced by her brother that her plain looks were disadvantageous to her success

B. It was at the age of forty that Susan Boyle established a student-teacher relationship with O’Neil.

C. Susan Boyle was so struck by her father’s death that she shut herself out from the neighborhood.

D. The online views of Les Miserables numbered over 40 million within a week in 2009.

5.In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to ______.

A. tell us how Susan’s dream come true       B. let us know more about Susan’s personal life

C. show how Susan was influenced by her family D. explain how to enter and win a talent show