The Western has been the favorite type for American adventure story since the nineteenth centu??ry. While the American West was being settled, newspapers and "dime novels" could depend on stories of the frontier settlements and tell tales about living in the untamed wilderness to sell. The public back East was eager to read about the West, even if the stories were more fiction than fact.

In 1902, Owen Wister published his novel The Virginian, which was one of the first novels to treat the Western as a serious literary form; the novel still sold well and had inspired several movies and a television series. In 1905, Bertha H. Bower and Zane Grey published their first novels, and the popular Western novels had continued to flourish from that day on, with current novels by Luke Short, Max Brand, and Louis L’ Amour carrying on the tradition.

The first Western movie appeared even earlier than these serious Western novels. Before the turn of the century, an associate of Edison’s had filmed Cripple Creek Barroom Scene, a few seconds of film showing the inside of a saloon, to help publicize the invention of the movie camera. In 1903 the Edison’ company filmed the first "full-length" Western — The Great Train Robbery. The film lasts less than fifteen minutes, but a story is told its entirety. In the movie, bandits (强盗) rob a train and its passengers, killing the engineer, and find themselves tracked down by a posse. Audiences loved the movie. Some theaters were actually opened for the single purpose of showing The Great Train Rob??bery and only later realized that they could do equally well showing other movies. The film was so suc??cessful that other companies, and finally even the Edison company itself, began producing copies and other versions of The Great Train Robbery. Ironically, in" an era when the West was still very real —-Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma were all territories rather than states in 1903 — The Great Train Robbery was filmed in New Jersey.  

9. The purpose of this passage is to________.

A. discuss the making of the movie The Great Train Robbery

B. discuss the early Western novels

C. discuss the art of movie making

D. trace the development of the Western as an American adventure story tradition

10. We can conclude from this passage that________.

A. people lost interest in the West after 1903

B. Owen Wister was an ex-cowboy

C. New Jersey was still "untamed wilderness" in 1903

D. films were fairly uncommon at the time The Great Train Robbery was made

11. The passage suggests that________.

A. Edison’s invention of the movie camera happened;by accident

B. movie houses didn’t make much-money in the early days

C. Easterners were fascinated by the " wild West"

D. The Great Train Robbery was poorly received by the public because it lacked a plot

12. As used in this passage, the word “literary” means________.

A. humorous                B. financial             C. appropriate to literature      D. amateur 

For centuries, in the countries of South and Southeast Asia, the elephant has been an important part of the culture, economy and religion. And nowhere more so than in Thailand. Unlike its African cousin, the Asian elephant is easily domesticated. The rare so-called white elephants have actually lent the power of royalty to its rulers, and until the 1920s the national flag was a white elephant on a red background. To the early Western visitors, the country’s romantic name was “Land of the White Elephant”.

Today, however, the story is very different. Out of work and out of land, the Thai elephant struggles for survival in a nation that no longer needs it. The elephant has found itself more or less deserted by previous owners who have moved on to a different economic world and a society in the western part. And while the elephant’s problems began many years ago, now it has a very low national advantage.

How does the national symbol turn into ignored animals? It is a story of worse environment and the changing lives of the Thais themselves. According to Richard Lair, Thailand’s expert on the Asian elephant and author of the report Gone Astray, at the turn of the last century, there may well have been as many as 100,000 national elephants in the country.

In the north of Thailand alone, it was estimated that more than 20,000 elephants were employed in transport, 1,000 of them alone on the road between the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Saen. This was at a time when 90 percent of Thailand was still forest—a habitat that not only supported the animals but also made them necessary to carry goods and people. Nothing ploughs through thick forest better than lots of sure-footed elephants.

    By 1950 the elephant population had dropped, but still to the number of 13,397. However, today there are probably no more than 3,800, with another 1,350 wandering free in the national parks. But now, Thailand’s forest covers only 20 percent of the land. This deforestation (采伐森林) is the central point of the elephant’s difficult situation, for it has effectively put the animals out of work. This century, as the road network grew, the elephant’s role as a beast of burden decreased.

67. Thailand was once called “Land of the White Elephant” because________.

A. the white elephant was a national symbol until the 1920s

B. the white elephant is rarely seen now and thus very special

C. the white elephant has helped kings to gain the ruling authority

D. this name was so romantic that it was popular among visitors

68. Why is the Thai elephant “out of work”, according to the author?

A. Because there are too many elephants but too few jobs.

B. Because the elephants can’t do labor work any longer.

C. Because the government pays little attention to the problem.

D. Because the elephants are no longer useful to their owners.

69. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the elephant population at various times?

A. There were at most 100,000 domesticated elephants at the turn of the last century.

B. 20,000 elephants were employed in transport in Thailand at the turn of the century.

C. By 1950 the elephant population in Thailand had been quite small.

D. Today the elephant population is estimated at 5,150.

70. The passage is most probably from________.

A. a travel magazine   B. a history book     C. a research report    D. an official announcement

Born in Italy, Galileo Galilei, was a Tuscan astronomer, philosopher, and physicist. He is closely associated with the 36     (science) revolution. For his great achievements, he has been referred to as the “father of modern astronomy”, as the “father of modern physics”, and as “father of science”. The work of Galileo 37         (consider) to be a significant break from that of Aristotle. In addition, his conflict with the Roman Catholic Church is taken as 38     major early example of the conflict of authority and freedom of thought, particularly with science, 39      Western society. He was a man 40      experimented—never did he take anything for granted. Instead, he despised（蔑视） the prejudices and book learning of the Aristotelians and drew his 41      (conclude) fearlessly. He had been the first 42     (turn) a telescope to the sky, and he had seen there evidence enough to overthrow（推翻） Aristotle and Ptolemy together. Although Galileo found 43       difficult for him to make people 44      (convince) of his theories, he still stuck to his views. His observations showed the theory that the earth moves around the sun was right. It was only many years later 45     the world recognized his greatness.

Violin prodigies（神童）, I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists, the reason for this phenomenon. “ It’s very clear, “ he told me. “ They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.

Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field and is able to nurture(培育) talent. Nowadays the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “ In Japan, a most competitive society with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, “ children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well.” The Koreans and Chinese, as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.

That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

59. Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because_____.   

   A. it would allow them access to a better life in the West

   B. Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

   C. they wanted their children to enter into the professional fields

   D. it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country

60. Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that_____.

   A. enforce strong discipline on students who want to achieve excellence

   B. treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

   C. encourage people to compete with each other

   D. promise talented children high positions

61. Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to_____.

   A. all-rounded development

   B. the learning of Western music

   C. strict training of children

   D. variety in academic studies

62. Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

   A. A natural gift.                        B. Extensive knowledge of music.

   C. Very early training.                 D. A prejudice-free society.

根据下列句子及所给单词的首字母或中文，写出各单词的正确形式(每空限填一词)。

1.I know the place well, so let me be your g       .

2.Good news! The new medicine is having a good e           on the patient.

3.An unbalanced diet and lack of exercise can r            in health problems.

4.Setting a proper goal in our early life can make a big d           to our future life.

5.If the injuries are serious, it is v           to get the victim to the hospital at once.

6.The church being built has a            (典型的) western style.

7.Even today, ancient poems still            (吸收) to many young people.

8.I was            (失望) to find that the man I was looking for wasn't in the office.

9.At the end of each game, players traditionally            (交换) shirts with each other.

10.Whether the condition of global warming will be worse largely            (取决于) on whether we take action.