Today, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments. In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make he roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise. But nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.
【小题1】 The story tells us that people began to enjoy roller-skating ______.

A．before the year 1750	B．before the invitation
C．because of Joseph Merlin	D．because it was dangerous

【小题2】People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.        

A．he slept and dreamed a lot	B．he was full of different ideas
C．he was a talented violinist	D．he always made people’s dreams come true

【小题3】 ___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.

A．Merlin’s work	B．Merlin’s violin
C．A huge mirror	D．An important party

【小题4】 What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?

A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating.

B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention.

C．Everyone was surprised at him.

D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling.

【小题5】 The text is mainly about_________.

A．a strange man

B．an unusual party

C．how roller skating began

D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century

 

Liu Qian, a magician from Taiwan, cast his spell(魔法)over an audience of thousands on the CCTV Spring Festival Show. Die-hard fans are still trying to work out the secrets behind many of the tricks he performed.

But Liu, 32, when asked, laughed off the idea that there might be an “answer” to his magic. “The most fascinating things about magic is the puzzling process. People enjoy how magicians make the impossible come true,” said Liu.

Few people today believe in the possibility of real magic. They also often fail to consider magicians’ devotion to their art. It can take a magician years’ of practice to perfect a trick before he performs it on stage.

Part of Liu’s star appeal is his astonishing skill. However, when he began in the industry, he was embarrassingly clumsy. “I could practice thousands of times for one single act. It wasn’t much fun,” he said.

No magician’s supernatural powers on stage extend to their life off stage. Liu says his life was no easier or funnier because he was a magician.

He developed an interest in magic at a young age, but didn’t consider making a living out of it until he graduated from university. He had studied Japanese language and found himself unable to find a job. “My parents never considered being a magician as a proper job. To begin with, I had little confidence I would be doing this in the long term,” he said.

Yet Liu felt a powerful calling to become a magician. “For many people, magic somehow means a miracle, which is something we all secretly wish for no matter how hard-bitten or cynical (愤世嫉俗的)we become,” he said.

Liu may be right. A popular modern dream is of the fairy godmother, who waves her magic wand (棒) and makes our dreams come true. But according to Liu, we all have the power to create magic in our lives. As Liu puts it: it’s not the magic that makes it work；it’s the way we work that makes it magic.

1. According to the passage, we can tell that ________.

A. being a famous magician, Liu Qian leads a comfortable life

B. it is a hard job for magicians to perform magic tricks well

C. Liu Qian’s parents supported his wish of earning a living by being a magician

D. Liu Qian showed great talents in performing magic tricks when he first took it up

2. As to whether there’s real magic, Liu Qian believes ________.

A. there is no real magic and what counts in our life is the way we work

B. if we secretly wish for something, magic will turn out to be a miracle

C. the puzzling process of performing magic tricks is the answer to magic

D. there exists a fairy godmother waving her magic wand to make our dreams come true

3. Which of the following sayings is similar to the underlined sentence in meaning?

A. All roads lead to Rome.                B. Easier said than done.

C. Actions speak louder than words.       D. Where there is a will, there is a way.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A. Magic in our lives                     B. The answer to magic

C. A popular magician from Taiwan         D. The way to become a successful magician

 

Begin doing the work you love as soon as possible, even if you don’t get paid for it, or if you can only work at it part-time. Albert Einstein was unable to get a job as a physics professor. He could have said to himself, “Well, I just don’t have the work relative to physics. I should give up on it and settle for something else.” Instead, he wrote the two most famous papers when he was employed as a patent  clerk. After their publication, there was not a major university in the world that would not have been glad to have him on their staff.

If you want to work as an artist and you are making a living as a waiter, don’t think of yourself as a waiter who hopes one day to become an artist. That puts the work you love somewhere off in the distant future. Rather, think of yourself as an artist, supporting yourself by waiter tables—and paint, or draw as much as you can. It is possible to earn a living wage as a waiter working 24 hours a week. That leaves plenty of time to devote to training or developing your craft（手艺）in the off hours.

While seeking the work you love, it helps to expand your awareness  into the universe of all possibilities. You don’t want to be limited to the ideas of what you should do or what you have done before. Having opened to all possibilities, you can make a final decision and select the work you love as your own.

Doing the work you love requires that you be equally comfortable with the imaginative and the practical. It requires the ability to dream big dreams and the ability to face and master all the little details that make dreams come true.

1.According to the passage, perhaps Einstein once said to himself, “_______.”

A．Well, I just don’t have the work relative to physics. I should give up on it and settle for

something else

B．The job is just what I want, I should work very hard at it

C．I have to support myself by working as a patent clerk now, but I won’t give physics up

D．I must wait until I find my favorite job

2.If a person works 24 hours a week, he can________.

    A．have enough spare time for his hobbies

    B．have no time left to make his dream come true

    C．do nothing else

    D．make a good living

3.Which of the following is not implied in the last paragraph?

    A．Sometimes the imaginative is different from the practical.

    B．We have to take care of a lot of details before we make our dreams come true.

    C．We shall do practical things rather than dream.

    D．We shall dream big dreams and practice as well.

4.According to the passage, the author encourages us to ________.

    A．start work quickly                                 B．select job carefully and patiently

    C．dream often                                        D．make up our minds quickly

 

Mo Yan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2012,           made one of the Chinese people’s long-held dreams come true.

A．it                B．that              C．what             D．which

 

All Chinese people deserve equal opportunities to enjoy _____ prosperous (富裕的) life, see their dreams come true and benefit together from _____ country’s development.

A．a; 不填           B．the; a             C．a; the            D．the; 不填