Betty is not a traditional American beauty. She is unfashionable, has thick red glasses, untidy hair and large metal braces (牙套) on her teeth. But this hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of American’s favorite TV characters. So how did she manage to do it?

The answer is that charm can be more attractive than beauty. Betty is the main character in a TV show Ugly Betty. The show is about her life as an office worker at a fashion magazine in New York.

　　The TV show has just started. Betty has many exciting experiences and romantic stories. Betty is often looked down on and laughed at by the people around. But she manages to do better than others with her hard work, charm and wisdom. The show tells us about how a girl goes from an ugly young duck into a beautiful swan.

　　Though you may know the ending of the show from the beginning and the story is familiar to many of us, it has still been a big success in the USA. It has attracted a large number of viewers and won two Golden Globes awards, one of the highest honors for a television program in the USA.“ I think you can see a bit of Betty in all of us, and I mean men as well, because it’s about the underdog (弱者)”，says Ashley Jensen, who plays one of the characters on the show.

　　The program is so successful because of the good performance of the 23-year-old actress America Ferrera who plays the role of Betty. She brings the character alive on the screen.

1.Betty is popular because of ____.

A. her clothes 　　　　　B. her charm 　　　   C. her metal braces  　　　D. her appearance

2.In Paragraph 4, the underlined word “it” refers to (指的是) ____.

A. the beginning 　　　　B. the ending 　　  　C. the story 　　　        D. the show

3.Which is the reason for the success of the show?

A. A large number of viewers. 　　　　　　B. Her life as an office worker.

C. The wonderful performance. 　　　　　 D. Two Golden Globes awards.

4.Which of the following is NOT true according of the show?

A. Betty is a girl of wisdom.

B. Betty acts as a beautiful swan on the show.

C. Betty is an American favorite TV character.

D. Betty is often looked down on by the people around.

5. What can be the best title for the passage?

A. Beauty from within. 　　　　　  B. A romantic story.

C. An ugly girl. 　　　　　　　　  D. An exciting experience.

Hello, I’m Vladislav. For my summer holidays, I usually stay in a country house near Moscow.

Last summer, my dad’s brother gave me a present — a blue bike. At that time I couldn’t ride it very well.

One day I got into an accident. But don’t worry, everything was OK, just some “little” injuries.

That day, I tried to ride my bike and suddenly it began to move very fast. I couldn’t stop the bike. So I fell into a ditch (沟) full of dirty water. When I thought I had had enough bad luck, a girl walked by. She saw the bike and me. I quickly stood up.

“Are you fishing here?” she asked.

“Yes,” I answered. Then I said, “I’m making fish soup for dinner. Would you like to come?” To my surprise, she agreed.

After that we became friends. Now, we often send each other e-mails. She knows that I’m studying in China and she asks me questions about Chinese culture. I tell her my stories of China, and she says she wants to visit China, too. She even plans to study Chinese.

This is how, with the help of my bike, China got one more Russian friend.

根据短文内容，回答下列问题。

1.Who sent Vladislav a bike last summer?

2.What happened when Vladislav tried to ride his bike?

3. What did the girl think Vladislav was doing when she saw him by the ditch?

4.What made Vladislav surprised?

5. What does the girl say she wants to do in her e-mail to Vladislav?

Hello, I’m Vladislav. For my summer holidays, I usually stay in a country house near Moscow.
Last summer, my dad’s brother gave me a present — a blue bike. At that time I couldn’t ride it very well.
One day I got into an accident. But don’t worry, everything was OK, just some “little” injuries.
That day, I tried to ride my bike and suddenly it began to move very fast. I couldn’t stop the bike. So I fell into a ditch (沟) full of dirty water. When I thought I had had enough bad luck, a girl walked by. She saw the bike and me. I quickly stood up.
“Are you fishing here?” she asked.
“Yes,” I answered. Then I said, “I’m making fish soup for dinner. Would you like to come?” To my surprise, she agreed.
After that we became friends. Now, we often send each other e-mails. She knows that I’m studying in China and she asks me questions about Chinese culture. I tell her my stories of China, and she says she wants to visit China, too. She even plans to study Chinese.
This is how, with the help of my bike, China got one more Russian friend.
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。
【小题1】Who sent Vladislav a bike last summer?
　　　　          　　　　　　　　  
【小题2】What happened when Vladislav tried to ride his bike?
　　　　          　　　　　　　　  
【小题3】 What did the girl think Vladislav was doing when she saw him by the ditch?
　　　　          　　　　　　　　  
【小题4】What made Vladislav surprised?
　　　　          　　　　　　　　  
【小题5】 What does the girl say she wants to do in her e-mail to Vladislav?
　　　　          　　　　　　　　  

Most parents, I suppose, have had the experience of reading a bedtime story __1__ their children. And they must have realized how difficult it is to write a __2__ children’s book. Either the author has aimed (定目标) too __3__, so that children can’t follow what is in his ( or more often, her ) story, __4__ the story seems to be talking to the readers.
　　The best children’s books are __5__ very difficult nor very simple, and satisfy（令人满意的） the __6__ who hears the story and the adult（成年人） who __7__ it. Unfortunately（不幸的是）, there are in fact few books like this, __8__ the problem of finding the right bedtime story is not __9__ to solve. This may be why many of the books regarded as __10__ of children’s literature（文学） were in fact written for __11__ “Alice in Wonderland” is perhaps the most obvious（明显）of this.
　　Children, left for themselves, often __12__ the worst possible interest in literature. Just leave a child in a bookshop or a __13__ and he will more willingly choose the books written in an unimaginative (并非想象的 ) way, or have a look at the most children’s comics（连环图书）, full of the stories and jokes which are the rejections of teachers and righting-thinking parents.
　　Perhaps we parents should stop __14__ to brainwash（洗脑）children into accepting（接受）our taste in literature. After all, children and adults are so __15__ that we parents should not expect that they will enjoy the same books. So I suppose we’ll just have to compromise（妥协）over the bedtime story.

　　1. A. to　　　　　　　　　 B. in　　　　　　　 C. with　　　　　　　　D. around
　　2. A. short　　　　　　 B. long　　　　　 C. bad　　　　　　　　 D. good
　　3. A. easy　　　　　　　 B. short　　　　 C. high　　　　　　　　 D. difficult
　　4. A. and　　　　　　　　B. but　　　　　　C. or　　　　　　　　　 D. so
　　5. A. both　　　　　　　 B. neither　　　 C. either　　　　　　 D. very
　　6. A. child　　　　　　　 B. father　　　 C. mother　　　　　　D. teacher
　　7. A. hears　　　　　　 B. buys　　　　 C. understands　　 D. reads
　　8. A. but　　　　　　　　 B. however　 C. so　　　　　　　　　 D. because
　　9. A. hard　　　　　　　 B. easy　　　　 C. enough　　　　　　 D. fast
　　10.A. articles　 　　 B. work　　　 C. arts　　　　　　　　 D. works
　　11. A. grown-ups　 B. girls　　　　　C. boys　　　　　　　 D. children
　　12. A. are　　　　　　　B. show　　　　 C. find　　　　　　　　 D. add
　　13. A. school　　　　 B. home　　　　 C. office　　　　　　 D. library
　　14. A. going　　　　　 B. liking　　　　 C. trying　　　　　　　D. preferring
　　15. A. same　　　　　 B. friendly　　 C. different　　　　 D. common