JAMES Brown, the legendary US singer known as the “Godfather of Soul”, died Christmas morning, 2006. he was 73.

Brown was one of the major musical influences of the last 50 years. He provided the basis for much of black music and most of pop music with his early hits like. “Please, Please, Please”. He essentially created funk（“疯客”音乐）with mid-1960s songs such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". It won him a Grammy Award as best rhythm-and-blues song, and it was only the beginning of Mr. Brown's rhythmic breakthroughs. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Michael Jackson and Prince. Rap stars of recent years, such as Fat Boys and Public Enemy, have all borrowed his lyrics and rhythms.

Brown's songs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, such as "Hot Pants" and "Make It Funky", mixed the sophistication（复杂） of jazz-style arrangements with raw funk. With these songs, Brown established himself as the godfather not just of soul, but of all subsequent styles of dance music: funk, disco, hip hop.

"He made soul music a world music," said Al Sharpton, who toured with Brown in the 1970s and imitates his hairstyle to this day. "What Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach（巴赫, 德国作曲家） was to classical music. He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music."

Amid the civil rights movement of the 1960s Mr. Brown used his fame and music for social messages. He released "Don't Be a Dropout" in 1966 and met with Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey to promote a stay-in-school initiative. Two years later "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" insisted, "We won't quit movin' until we get what we deserve."

1．The passage is mainly about _______.

       A．black music in the US

B．James Brown's unique music styles

C．James Brown's contribution to American music

D．great musicians in the US in the last 50 years

2．The author intends to tell us by the last paragraph that ______.

A．James Brown was proud of being a black

B．James Brown was also active in political movements

C．the then Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey was one of Brown's fans

D．no children dropped out of school because of James Brown's social influence

3．Which of the following indicates that Brown's career began to take off?

A．His rapid-footed dancing.

B．His three years in prison.

C．His tour around the country with Al Sharpton.

D．His mid-1960s songs such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag".

4．James Brown has influenced all American music types EXCEPT ______.

       A．classical music                                   B．rhythm-and-blues   

       C．Rap                                                   D．hip hop

Dior was born in Normandy in 1905, and his family’s original plans for him included a career in the diplomatic service, but by the time he was twenty-three, with his parents’money, he opened a small art gallery in Paris．By 1931, the money had been used up．Dior’s friends in the art gallery, asked him to draw and he took his first step at designing and drawing．His first job was with Lucien Lelong from whom Dior learned his craft（手艺）．

       In February,1947, Dior started the New Look in his first major Paris collection．He was backed by a famous textile producer, Boussac, who looked after the dollars, while Dior looked after the fashions．Dior knew nothing about cutting and sewing, but he was good at fashion design．

       The New Look started an entirely different look to costume, with a tiny waist, a rounded shoulder and a shapely bust（胸围）, usually with a low-cut neckline and a long full skirt．To women who had lived through the war years, the femaleness of the New look was a great success, for people were tired of tile extremely plain, wartime restrictive fashions．

       It is said that dresses by Dior were “constructed like buildings”, but young people were attracted to his design, and all over the western world, manufacturers plunged（投入） into the production of his new style．Dior’s revolutionary designs lighted up a whole cycle of fashion, rounded, gentle, feminine, a delight in elegance．A New Look House of Dior opened in 1948, followed by one in London．Considered as King of Couture（women’s clothing）for years, the Dior empire grew until it covered every country in the western world, and included furs, hosiery, jewelry, perfumes, men’s wear and on and on．More than 1,000 people worked at the Paris headquarters then．

       His sudden death in 1957 when he was 53 years old did not stop the growth of the House of Dior．Even now, so many years after his death, his name is closely connected with fashion throughout the world, and indeed is one of the most recognized names in the world, His first, great New Look, with its long skirts was an expression of freedom in the late 1940s．

1．Which of the following designs is close to Dior’s?

A．             B．            C．           D．

2．According to the passage．in Dior’s life, he did NOT___________．

       A．make creative fashion designs              B．work in a diplomatic service

       C．1earn craft as his first job                     D．open a New Look House

3．We can infer from the passage that _________．

       A．Dior and his supporter had different interests in business

       B．Dior’s New Look had little influence on people then

       C．Dior is only a brand of women’s fashion

       D．Dior’s fashion was not accepted at first

4．What is probably the best title for the passage?

       A．The History of the New Look

       B．The Growth of the Dior Empire

       C．An Expression of Freedom—Dior

       D．The Founder of the New Look—Dior

Dieters are often advised to stop drinking alcohol to avoid the extra calories lurking in a glass of wine or a favorite cocktail．But new research suggests that women who regularly consume moderate（适度的） amounts of alcohol are less likely to gain weight than nondrinkers and are at lower risk for obesity （fatness）．

       The findings, reported this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, are based on a study of 19,220 United States women aged 30 to 40 who fall into the “normal weight” based on their body mass index．Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston tracked the women’s drinking habits over 13 years．About 60 percent of the women were light or regular drinkers, while about 40 percent reported drinking no alcohol．

       Over the course of the study, 41 percent of the women became overweight．Although alcohol is packed with calories, the nondrinkers in the study actually gained more weight over time: nine pounds, on average, compared with an average gain of about three pounds among regular moderate drinkers．The risk of becoming overweight was almost 30 percent lower for women who consumed one or two alcohol drinks a day, compared with nondrinkers．

       The findings are certain to be confusing for women who continue to receive conflicting messages about the health benefits and risks of alcohol．Although moderate drinking is associated with better heart health, regular drinking also increases breast cancer risk．

       The trend toward less weight gain among drinkers doesn’t appear to hold true for men．A 2003 study of British men showed that regular drinkers gained more weight than nondrinkers．Studies suggest that drinking alcohol has different effects on eating habits among men and women．Men typically add alcohol to their daily caloric intake, whereas women are more likely to substitute（替代）alcohol for food．In addition, there may be differences in how men and women metabolize（代谢）alcohol．Metabolic studies show that after men drink alcohol, they experience little if any metabolic change．But alcohol appears to slightly speed up a woman’s metabolism．

       The findings don’t mean women should rush to drink alcohol to lose weight．Other research shows that once a person is already overweight, her alcohol metabolism is more efficient, and so an overweight woman may gain more weight from alcohol than a lean（瘦的） woman．The data do, however, suggest that for many women facing weight problems, the extra calories are probably not coming from alcoholic drinks．

1．According to the study, which of the following regular drinker is less likely to gain weight than nondrinkers?

A                 B                 C                  D

2．That men regular drinkers gained more weight than women regular drinkers is due to the following except ______．

       A．women are more likely to substitute alcohol for food．

       B．men drink alcohol much faster than women．

       C．men and women metabolize alcohol differently．

       D．men have different effects on eating habits with women．

3．The underlined word “whereas” may probably mean _______．

       A．so                       B．in order that      C．but                D．and then

4．What can a dieter probably do before reading this passage?

       A．Rush to drink alcohol to lose weight

       B．Add alcohol to his or her daily caloric intake．

       C．Face the weight problems alone．

       D．Try to stop drinking any alcohol or wine．

Section One

       The city is an accumulation of human civilization．Just as the American social philosopher （哲学家） Lewis Mumford put it, it is a special system which, fine and compact, has been designed to preserve the fruits of human civilization．Many Western languages have developed their versions of the term “civilization” from the same Latin （拉丁语的） word “civitas”（meaning “city”）, and it is by no means a coincidence．The city has played a significant role in the perfection of order in human society．

Section Two

       The emblem, showing the image of three people ― you, me, him/her holding hands together, symbolizes the big family of mankind．Inspired by the shape of the Chinese character “世” （meaning the world）, the design conveys the organizers' wish to host an Expo which is of global scale and which displays the various urban cultures of the world．

Section Three

       Created from the inspiration of Chinese character “人”, the design roots deeply in Chinese culture．It tells the world the eternal core （永恒的核心） and theme of Shanghai World Expo will be always human．The mascot “Haibao” will become the messenger for the theme of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China “Better City, Better Life”．

       The basic structure of the Chinese character “人” in which each stroke（一笔，一划） supports each other also shows the concept that the beautiful life should depends on mutual-help．If the human are willing to support one another, the harmony among human, nature, and society will be available．Such an urban life will be nice．

       Haibao’s confident smile is expressing his sincere greeting from China ― “World Expo 2010 Shanghai China welcomes you!”

1．Section One mainly tells us about ______．

       A．the part cities play in human civilization 

       B．the development of the word “city”

       C．why the Expo is held in Shanghai

       D．where human civilization originated

2．The underlined word “it” in Section One refers to ______．

       A．the civilization      B．the philosopher     C．the word             D．the city

3．Which correctly matches the sections with the pictures described in the passage?

4．The second paragraph in Section Three explains how the creation is connected with the _____ of the Chinese word “人”．

       A．story                B．meaning              C．shape                D．usage

Now, it’s time for some brief news items．

       1 China wins women's 3,000m short track relay, S．Korea disqualified

       VANCOUVER, Feb．24 （Xinhua） -- Twice Olympic champion Wang Meng led the Chinese short track speed skating team to the top podium of women's 3,000m relay with a world record at the Vancouver Winter Games here on Wednesday, as South Korea was later disqualified．Canada took the silver, with the United States picking up the bronze．South Korea's skaters had already started waving flags in joy after crossing the line but later the juges decided Kim Min-jung had impeded（阻碍） during an exchange push．

       2 Severe drought cracks Airport's runway

       China Daily（2010-03-18）-- Severe drought continues to plague southwestern China's Yunnan Province．

       In the provincial capital Kunming, the surface of Wu Jiaba International Airport's only runway has been fractured（断裂的）．Repairs have been going on since Tuesday．The airport is closed every day from midnight to seven-thirty in the morning．Airport authorities say the severe drought is the cause of the damage．The airport also needs to repair its plane taxiing and parking area．Chen Zhiwei, Security Dept．, Kunming International Airport, said, "The drought has greatly lowered the underground water level．And this has affected the runway foundations．The damage to its surface is severe．"

       3 School Soldiers

       Russian school students will have to do basic military training in their final year of school, the government has decided．The lesson will include learning to fire guns, marching drills and how to deal with a chemical, nuclear or biological attack．The activity is seen as part of a drive toward the education of their love for their country．

4

       Is it hard for you to get up early and get ready for classes? Some students at Winter Park High School just roll out of bed in their pajamas（睡衣）and go to class in their own bedrooms, Of course, their teachers and classmates do not see them because all their class work is on the computer．The Florida High School, the state’s only online program take classes in algebra, American government, chemistry, computer, economics, and web-page design．They also have to go to regular school to attend other classes．

1．Which country ranks fourth in the women's 3,000m short track relay according to the first news?

       A．S．Korea．         B．Canada．            C．The USA．         D．Not known．

2．Which of the following is correct according to the second news?

       A．The airport has been closed since Tuesday．

       B．Drought caused the trouble for repairs．

       C．The underground water level became lower, and that’s why the Airport's runway cracked．

       D．Wu Jiaba International Airport had another runway, and flights were not really stopped during the day．

3．Why will Russian school students have basic military training?

       A．To get ready for a military parade．      B．To learn to protect themselves．

       C．To gain some military knowledge．       D．To develop their love for the country．

4．The news from Florida can be given a title “________”．

       A．Get up Late                                         B．Online School

C．The special pajamas                             D．The popular subjects

Have you ever picked a job based on the fact that you were good at it but later found it made you feel very uncomfortable over time? When you select your career, there’s whole lot more to it than assessing your skills and matching them with a particular position．If you ignore your personality, it will hurt you long-term regardless of your skills or the job's pay．There are several areas of your personality that you need to consider to help you find a good job．Here are a few of those main areas:

1） Do you prefer working alone or with other people?

There are isolating（使孤立） jobs that will drive an outgoing person crazy and also interactive jobs that will make a shy person uneasy．Most people are not extremes in either direction but do have a tendency that they prefer．There are also positions that are sometimes a combination of the two, which may be best for someone in the middle who adapts easily to either situation.

2） How do you handle change?

Most jobs these days have some elements of change to them, but some are more than others．If you need stability in your life, you may need a job where the changes don't happen so often．Other people would be bored of the same daily routine.

3） Do you enjoy working with computers?

I do see this as a kind of personality characteristic．There are people who are happy to spend more than 40 hours a week on a computer, while there are others who need a lot of human interaction throughout the day．Again, these are extremes and you'll likely find a lot of positions somewhere in the middle as well.

4） What type of work environment do you enjoy? 

This can range from being in a large building with a lot of people you won't know immediately to a smaller setting where you'll get to know almost all the people there fairly quickly．

5） How do you like to get paid?  

Some people are motivated by the pay they get, while others feel too stressed to be like that．The variety of payment designs in the sales industry is a typical example for this.

Anyway, these are a great starting point for you．I've seen it over and over again with people that they make more money over time when they do something they love．It may take you a little longer, but making a move to do what you have a passion for can change the course of your life for the better.

1．This passage mainly talks about the importance of _______in jobs.

       A．different payment                              B．personalities

       C．personal skills                                   D．job’s pay

2．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

      A．Isolating jobs usually drive people mad.

      B．Interactive jobs make people shy easily.

      C．Extreme people tend to work with others.

      D．Almost everyone has a tendency in jobs.

3．What is the missing word about a job search in the following chart?

      A．Design               B．Skills                 C．Cooperation        D．Hobbies

4．What is the best title for this passage?

       A．Lifestyles and Job Pay                          B．Jobs and Environment

       C．Job Skills and Abilities     D．Personalities and Jobs

下面的饼状图显示了某校对学生学业成绩评价的新体制，图表所示①—⑤项全面构成了一个学生的学业成绩。假如你是该校学生，请根据下列图示，以“The New Grading System in Our School”为题用英语写一篇短文，准备给《二十一世纪英文报》投稿。内容包括：

1．简要描述图中信息；

 2．谈谈你对这一新举措的看法并说明原因。

注意：词数: 100—120，文章的题目和开头已给出（不计词数）；

图表说明：①tests   ②notes   ③homework   ④class participation   ⑤team work

The New Grading System in Our School

In order to help students develop their abilities in all fields, our school now has asked the teachers to make some changes in the grading system．This chart shows how it works.

Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city．The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China．

I．Basic Requirements for Volunteers

Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;

       Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30, 1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before April 30, 1994;

       Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;

       Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;

       Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;

       Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions．

       II．Further Information for Volunteers

       Source

       Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers．

Signup methods

       Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup．They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations．

       Time

       May 1 – December 31, 2009

       III．Volunteer Training

Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training．General training is carried out through the Internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice．

IV．Volunteer Types

       Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and volunteer management．

       Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo’s information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site．They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid．

1．What’s the purpose of this writing?

       A．To give some basic information of the World Expo 2010

       B．To recruit（招募） the volunteers for the World Expo 2010

       C．To praise the hard work of the volunteers

       D．To attract people to visit the World Expo 2010

2．If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer?

       A．In the Expo Site．                               B．In the host country．

       C．In the Expo City．                               D．In Chinese mainland．

3．Which of the training will be done on the Internet?

       A．General training．                                B．Position training．

       C．Classroom training．                           D．Special training．

4．Which of the following service is offered by information booth volunteers?

       A．Visitor flow management．                   B．Helping the disabled．

       C．Assistance in media service．               D．Emergency first aid．

Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research — the mapping of all DNA in a human gene（基因） is complete．Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish．All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away．Human cloning has always been a topic of argument, in terms of morality（道德） or religion．

       Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning．If the clone was free of genetic limitations, then the other clone would be as well．The latter could be inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term．Moreover, cloning would enable women, who can’t get pregnant, to have children of their own．

       Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs．This surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single （or more） organ（s）．It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists．

       Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side．Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal “cycle” of life．There would be a large number of same genes, which reduce the chances of improvement, and, in turn, development — the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment．Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance．Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappear, thus leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes, and chances are that those individuals would be regarded as “objects” rather than people in the society．

       Scientists haven’t 100% guaranteed that the first cloned humans will be normal．Thus, this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human “gene-pool”．

       Regarding such arguable topics in “black or white” approach seems very innocent to me personally．We should rather try to look at all “shades” of it．I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs; not humans．Then we could regard this as for “saving life” instead of “creating life”．I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable．

1．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

       A．Genetic limitations will be beneficial for some women．

       B．A large number of genes will prevent us from developing．

       C．First cloned humans might be normal according to scientists．

       D．Forbidding cloning might limit the freedom of scientists．

2．What’s the author’s opinion on cloning?

       A．It should be entirely banned．

       B．It is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs．

       C．It will take away the right to reproduce．

       D．It should be used in creating life．

3．Where can you read this article?

       A．In a story book．                                B．In a magazine．

       C．In a science fiction．                           D．In a novel．

4．Which of the following shows the structure of the passage（1—6 refer to paragraph 1—6）?

       A．                B．

       C．                       D．

假设你是红星中学高三（1）班的班长李华，你们全班同学在暑假期间开展了“体验一天低碳生活”的活动。请你根据以下四幅图的先后顺序，写一篇英文短文，介绍同学们这一天的体验活动，并谈谈自己的感受。短文的开头已为你写好。词数不少于120。

       提示词：disposable chopsticks 一次性筷子     air conditioner 空调

A Low-carbon Day

       The students in our class took part in an activity of “Experience a Low-carbon Day” during the summer vacation．…____________________________________________________    

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