Before she appeared on the reality show (真人秀) Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle was just an ordinary middle­aged British woman.Now all this is going to change.

She lives in a house with her cat Pebbles in a tiny Scottish town.Because of learning difficulties, she doesn't have much education.But what she does have is a very good voice.As a kid, she sang in church and choirs and school plays.For a living, she sang at local pubs.

When she took the stage on April 10th her hair was untidy and her clothes seemed just_one_step_up_from rags.The audience laughed at her.

But then she opened her mouth.A few bars into the song and the laughing audience went silent.A beautiful voice was singing I Dreamed a Dream from the musical Les Miserables.Everyone was amazed.At the end of her song, the audience jumped to their feet and applauded wildly.

Almost overnight, Susan became a household name.She won fans and millions of admirers.Her online videos have drawn over 85.2 million hits.

Susan's story proved the truth of an old saying: “Never judge the book by its cover.” Susan may look ordinary, and doesn't have much dress sense, but she can certainly sing.

Susan's fans admire her courage, as much as they do her voice.She has experienced mockery and many disappointments, but her love for music has kept her going, which is worth anyone's respect.

31．According to the passage, Susan Boyle ________.

A．is a famous young actress   B．became famous after a show

C．used to be a good student   D．is good at dancing and has millions of admirers

32．The underlined phrase “just one step up from” in the third paragraph probably means ________.

A．far from  B．close to   C．different from   D．the same as

33．The audience jumped and applauded wildly because ________.

A．her hair was untidy and her clothes seemed just one step up from rags

B．she looked very funny

C．she sang so well that everyone was amazed

D．she made a foolish mistake in the end

34．Susan Boyle has many fans now because of ________.

A．her beautiful face     B．her knowing how to dress

C．her good education    D．her beautiful voice and courage

35．The passage is mainly about ________.

A．how to win fans           B．how to sing well

C．a woman's sudden success   D．a woman's simple life

   “Lizzie, there’s a letter for you!” Emily called up the stairs to her sister. Elizabeth looked down. “Is it from Harvard? They refused my application once.” Emily answered, “No, it’s from Yale.” Quickly, Elizabeth walked downstairs. She took the letter and opened it. “Rejected again,” Elizabeth said unhappily. “Who says women can’t be doctors?”

      “They are fools not to accept you. You can’t let them stop you, Lizzie,” Emily said.

     “I won’t. I’ll apply to (申请) Geneva Medical College,” Elizabeth told her sister. As it turned out, the professors at Geneva Medical College were not fools. They allowed Elizabeth Blackwell to study medicine.

      In 1848, a year before Elizabeth would graduate, a typhoid epidemic (伤寒流行病) broke out in New York. Elizabeth wrote to Emily. “There’s an outbreak (爆发) of typhoid, and I am going to help. It is dangerous, so if I should not survive, please do me the honor of studying medicine yourself.”

       Emily replied, “Encouraged by your dream and success, I have decided to study in medical school, as well.”

      Having survived the disease, Elizabeth tried to set up a private medical practice. “I graduated first in my class but no one believes a woman can be a good doctor,” she said to Emily one day. “All I hear is that doctors should be men, while women should stay home to cook and clean.”

      Emily said worriedly, “I will graduate in June with my medical degree. What shall we do?” Elizabeth thought for a while and replied, “There’s a big house in the poor part of our town. We can practice medicine there for people who couldn’t afford care.”

      Soon with the help of some friends, Elizabeth and Emily bought the house and opened a hospital for poor women and children. “We’ll have an all-women staff (员工),” Elizabeth said. “And later, we’ll add a medical college for women!” Emily added. At last, Elizabeth realized her dream of being a doctor.

26. The underlined word “Rejected” in the first paragraph can be best replaced by _____.

A. Refused              B. Praised                     C. Changed            D. Accepted

27. Hearing Elizabeth’s words about the letter from Yale, Emily felt _____.

A. excited                    B. calm                        C. satisfied              D. angry

28. In 1848, Elizabeth wrote to Emily to _____.

A. persuade Emily to come to help the sick   B. ask Emily to study medicine if she died

C. warn Emily the danger of typhoid epidemic  D. tell Emily she would graduate from college

29. We can learn from the text that Elizabeth _____.

A. received strong support from her sister  B. refused to go to study at Yale University

C. founded a medical college after graduation  D. was finally accepted by Harvard after her efforts

30. Which of the following can best be used to describe Elizabeth?

A. Humorous.            B. Honest.  C. Determined.             D. Careful.

Until 1954 it was thought that no man could run one mile in less than four minutes.As years went by, the record came closer and closer to four minutes and Roger Bannister，a young English athlete, began to believe he might __11__ this almost magic barrier.

It was a cold afternoon on May 6th, 1954, when Bannister knew he had a __12__ chance.Bannister had been __13__ hard and was very fit, but the weather conditions were a real __14__ to him.Describing the __15__ later, Bannister said, “On the way to the track the wind blew strongly.As I __16__ up for the start I glanced at the flag.It moved __17__ now.This was the moment when I made my decision.”

“The gun fired.My legs seemed to meet no resistance，as if I was __18__ forward by some unknown force.The noise from the faithful __19__ gave me greater strength.I felt the __20__ of a lifetime had come.”

“I was driven on by a __21__ of fear and pride.My body had long since used up all its energy but it went on running just the same.This was the critical moment when my legs were strong enough to carry me over the last few yards as they never could have done in previous years.When I leapt at (冲向) the __22__ tape, I fell, almost __23__.”

“I knew I had done it, even before I __24__ the time.The announcement came, ‘Result of the one mile...Time，three minutes...’ the rest was __25__ in the noise of excitement.”

11．A.defeat  B．move  C．take       D．break

12．A.real     B．lucky     C．serious    D．false

13．A.competing   B．training  C．fighting     D．attending

14．A.root  B．pleasure    C．relief  D．worry

15．A.accident   B．event  C．issue    D．topic

16．A.did        B．made     C．put      D．lined

17．A.safely    B．heavily   C．thinly     D．gently

18．A.dragged   B．drawn     C．pulled  D．pushed

19．A.mass     B．residents  C．crowd  D．team

20．A.moment   B．period   C．while    D．date

21．A.concentration  B．collection  C．combination  D．satisfaction

22．A.starting   B．lasting    C．finishing   D．running

23．A.unconcerned   B．unconscious  C．unknown  D．unnoticed

24．A.offered    B．told   C．announced  D．heard

25．A.stuck   B．involved   C．lost   D．spread

 It is difficult to imagine his ______ the decision without any consideration.

A. accept    B. accepting C. to accept        D. accepted 

 It is worth considering what makes “convenience” foods so popular, and ______ better ones of your own.

A. introduces     B. to introduce   C. introducing    D. introduced

 Bill suggested ______ a meeting on what to do for the Shanghai Expo during the vacation.

A. having held                B. to hold   C. holding    D. hold 

 I still remember ______ to the Famen Temple and what I saw there.

A. to take     B. to be taken      C. taking    D. being taken  

 Planning so far ahead _____ no sense — so many things will have changed by next year.

A. made    B. is making        C. makes          D. has made

—Is everyone here?　

—Not yet ... Look, there _____ the rest of our guests!

A. come B. comes　　　 C. is coming D. are coming

 Listening to loud music at rock concerts _____ caused hearing loss in some teenagers.

A. is      B. are    C. has   D. have