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.
【小题1】Bridget Boyle’s attitude towards her daughter’s musical talent can be described as ___.
A.critical | B.doubtful | C.indifferent | D.confident |
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 |
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. |
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. |
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 |
科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Erik Weihenmayer was born with an eye disorder. As a child his eyesight became worse and then, at the age of 13, he lost his sight completely. However, he did not lose his determination to lead a full and active life Erik became an adventurer. He took up parachuting, wrestling and scuba diving. He competed in long-distance biking, marathons and skiing. His favorite sport, thought, is mountaineering. As a young man, Erik started to climb mountains. He reached the summit of Mount McKinley in 1995 and then climbed the dangerous 1000-metre rock wall of EI Capitan. Two years later, while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya with his girlfriend, they stopped for a time at 13,000 feet above sea level-in order to get married. In 1999, he climbed Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America. And then , on May 25, 2001, at the age of 33, Erik successfully completed the greatest mountaineering challenge of all. He climbed Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Erik invented his own method for climbing mountains. He carries two long poles: one to lean on and the other to test the way ahead of him. The climber in front of him wears a bell to guide him. Erik is a good team member. He does his share of the job, such as setting up tents and building snow walls. Although he could not enjoy the view, Erik felt the excitement of being on the summit of Everest. He hopes that his success will change how people think about the blind. “When people think about a blind person or blindness, now they will think about a person standing on the top of the world.
When was Erik born?
A. In 1967. B. In 1995. C. In 1968.. D. In 1969.
What was unusual about his wedding?
A. He got married on the summit of Mount McKinley.
B. He got married when climbing Mount Everest.
C. His wedding was held at 13,000 feet above sea level
D. His wedding was held after he prepared a lot.
What is Erik’s special method for climbing a mountain?
A. He takes his girlfriend with him. B. He uses two long poles to help himself
C. He does his share of the jobs. D. He keeps a good team around him.
Which of the following shows the right order of what happened?
a. He topped Mount McKinley.
b. He became blind.
c. He challenged Mount Everest.
d. He reached the peak of Kilimanjaro.
e. He climbed the rock wall of EI Capitan.
A. b a e d c B. b e d c a C. a b e d c D. b a c d e
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科目:高中英语 来源:安徽省怀宁中学2010届高三下学期3月月考 题型:阅读理解
C
It happened one morning 20 years ago. A British scientist Alec Jeffrey came across DNA fingerprinting: He identified the patterns of genetic material that are unique to almost every individual. His discovery changed everything from the way we do criminal investigations to the way we decide family law. But the professor of genetics at the University of Leicester, UK, is still surprised, and a bit worried, by the power of the technology he released upon the world.
The patterns within DNA are unique to each individual, except identical twins, who share the same pattern. The ability to identify these patterns has been used to convict(证明…有罪) murderers and to clear people who are wrongly accused. It is also used to identify the victims of war and settle disputes over who is the father of a child.
Jeffrey said he and his colleagues made the discovery by accident while tracking genetic
variations(变异). But, within six months of the discovery, genetic fingerprinting had been used in an immigration case, to prove that an African boy really was his parents’ son.·In 1986, it was used for the first time in a British criminal case: It cleared one suspect after being accused of two murders and helped convict another man.
DNA testing is now very common. In Britain, a national criminal database established in 1995 now contains 2.5 million DNA samples. The U.S. and Canada are developing similar systems. But there are fears about the stored DNA samples and how they could be used to harm a person’s privacy. That includes a person’s medical history, racial origin or psychological profile. “There is the long-term risk that people can get into these samples and start getting additional information about a person’s paternity(父子关系) or risk of disease,” Jeffrey said.
DNA testing is not an unfailing proof of identity. Still, it is considered a reasonably reliable system for determining the things it is used for. Jeffrey estimates the probability of two individuals’ DNA profiles matching in the most commonly used tests at one in a billion.
62. According to the text, DNA testing can NOT be used in _______ .
A. doing criminal investigations B. deciding faraily law
C. clearmg wrongly accused people D. telling twins apart
63. DNA samples are not popular with all the people because _______ .
A. the government in Britain establishes a criminal database
B. the US and Canada develop similar systems
C. DNA samples can be used to harm a person’s privacy
D. DNA testing is too expensive and dangerous now
64. Where will you most probably find this article?
A. In a guidebook. B. In a storybook.
C. In a science fiction. D. In a scientific magazine.
65. Which is the best title for the passage?
A. Discovery of DNA testing by Jeffery B. Practice of DNA testing in court
C. DNA testing in the present situation D.Benefits and side effects of DNA testing
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科目:高中英语 来源:2014届江苏省南京市高三上学期第一次月考英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
Do you have any skiing equipment you no longer need? A ski school in the far north of India could put it to good use.
In March we published a photo story about the extraordinary Zsnskar region in northern India,which is cut off from the outside world for more than seven months of the year,and only accessible (可通行的)via a frozen river.We also included information about the limited use of skiing in the region and the recent creation of the Zanskar Ski School:
“Despite the difficulties of travelling through the region when the snow comes,skiing hasn’t traditionally been used as a means of transport by the locals,largely because trees don't grow here, so there is little in the way of raw materials from which to make skis.In 1995, a group of British scientists in the region noticed the lack of skis and one of them returned to set up the Zanskar Ski School in Padam.The school provides lessons for a small fee and rents skis to the local people. Among the benefits that the school hopes to bring are improved education—children often find it difficult to get to school through the deep snow—and the possibility of offering ski tours to tourists in the future.So far,more than 300 local people have received training,and local doctors and policemen regularly borrow skis.”
But what we weren't able to include in the article is that the ski school is always on the look out for old skiing equipment—particularly of a size suitable for children—and, I thought. Now the European ski season is drawing to a close,there might be a few of you out there who have some old equipment you'd like to see go to a good home.If that's the ease you can get in touch with the school via their website www.zanskarski school.org.
1.What's the purpose in writing the text?
A. To raise money to develop this area
B. To attract more tourists to the area
C. To appeal to more locals to attend the school
D. To ask people to give away their skis to the school
2.The local people don't use skiing to go about because .
A. it is against the local custom
B. they don't have the wood to make skis
C. trees are in the way of the skiing route
D. it is dangerous to go skiing in this region
3.Who would be the most helpful to the school now?
A. People having old skiing equipment.
B. Students in the Zanskar Ski School.
C. Locals in Zanskar region.
D. Tavellers enjoying skiing.
4. What can be the best title for the text?
A. An extraordinary region in India B. A home for old skis
C. A good means of transport D. A popular sport—skiing
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科目:高中英语 来源:2012届江苏省高二下学期期末考试(英语) 题型:阅读理解
It happened one morning 20 years ago. A British scientist Alec Jeffrey came across DNA fingerprinting: He identified the patterns of genetic material that are unique to almost every individual. His discovery changed everything from the way we do criminal investigations to the way we decide family law. But the professor of genetics at the University of Leicester, UK, is still surprised, and a bit worried, by the power of the technology he released upon the world.
The patterns within DNA are unique to each individual, except identical twins, who share the same pattern. The ability to identify these patterns has been used to convict(证明…有罪) murderers and to clear people who are wrongly accused. It is also used to identify the victims of war and settle disputes over who is the father of a child.
Jeffrey said he and his colleagues made the discovery by accident while tracking genetic variations(变异). But, within six months of the discovery, genetic fingerprinting had been used in an immigration case, to prove that an African boy really was his parents’ son.·In 1986, it was used for the first time in a British criminal case: It cleared one suspect after being accused of two murders and helped convict another man.
DNA testing is now very common. In Britain, a national criminal database established in 1995 now contains 2.5 million DNA samples. The U.S. and Canada are developing similar systems. But there are fears about the stored DNA samples and how they could be used to harm a person’s privacy. That includes a person’s medical history, racial origin or psychological profile. “There is the long-term risk that people can get into these samples and start getting additional information about a person’s paternity(父子关系) or risk of disease,” Jeffrey said.
DNA testing is not an unfailing proof of identity. Still, it is considered a reasonably reliable system for determining the things it is used for. Jeffrey estimates the probability of two individuals’ DNA profiles matching in the most commonly used tests at one in a billion.
1.According to the text, DNA testing can NOT be used in _______ .
A. doing criminal investigations B. deciding faraily law
C. clearmg wrongly accused people D. telling twins apart
2.DNA samples are not popular with all the people because _______ .
A. the government in Britain establishes a criminal database
B. the US and Canada develop similar systems
C. DNA samples can be used to harm a person’s privacy
D. DNA testing is too expensive and dangerous now
3.Where will you most probably find this article?
A. In a guidebook. B. In a storybook.
C. In a science fiction. D. In a scientific magazine.
4.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. Discovery of DNA testing by Jeffery B. Practice of DNA testing in court
C. DNA testing in the present situation D.Benefits and side effects of DNA testing
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Born on June 27,1975,Tobey Vincent Maguire was always the quiet.Throughout his childhood,constant moving around always exposed him to new people and new situations.
His mother and his father split within two years of his birth,and Tobey was ping-ponged between them.The pressures of teenage hood were so great for Tobey that he had to gather up courage just to go out into the world each day.Because of his stressed nerves,he couldn’t take it anymore,and in ninth grade he dropped out of school1.
Tobey wanted to be a chef(厨师),but his mother,who had once dreamed of starring herself, gave him$100 to take drama classes instead.There was no turning back.He got a major role in the 1992 FOX sitcom Great Scott,but the series lasted no more than five weeks.
After appearances in several forgetful movies,Tobey finally got a promising role in 1995’s Empire Records.But during production,Tobey met some emotional difficulties.He asked director Allan Moyle to excuse him from the movie,and stopped auditioning(试音)for months.His scenes were deleted(删除)from Empire Records as a result.
There are precious few who can leave Hollywood and come back where they left off.But Tobey did just that.His performance in 1996’s Oscar-nominated short film Duke of Groove caught the attention of a number of Hollywood filmmakers.In 1997,director Ang Lee cast Tobey in The Ice Storm,a project that would prove to his first test of stardom.
Tobey insists that he doesn’t care for fame,but he knew that however talented an actor he was.studio heads still wanted to see results in numbers.So Tobey decided to put on the mask for the 2002 hit,Spider-Man.The success of the film-threw Tobey into the Hollywood A-list.
1.What made him unable to continue his study?
A.He couldn’t bear his being too nervous every morning.
B.He was deserted by his father and his mother.
C.He couldn’t follow his teachers at school.
D.He wasn’t interested in study at all.
2.According to the text,to become an actor was _________.
A.his dream B.his father’s order
C.his mother’s dream D.his talent
3.Based on the text,we know that __________.
A.Tobey Vincent Maguire has a lucky childhood
B.Tobey Vincent Maguire is much of a talker as a child
C.Tobey Vincent Maguire had intended to become a cook
D.The FOX sitcom “Great Scott” was a hit
4.Which of the films proved his genius in performance?
A.Great Scott B.Empire Records C.Duke of Groove D.The Ice Storm
5.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.To introduce Tobey Maguire.
B.To show us a talent’s great Success.
C.To tell us the nominated film Spider-Man.
D.To tell US never to say “N0”.
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