Norah wins big at Grammy Awards

Norah Jones had a sleepless night on February 23. The 23-year-old American jazz singer, who found her voice in the small clubs of New York, dominated(统治)the 45th annual Grammy Awards—the music industry’s most prestigious(赫赫有名的)award ceremony.

She seemed as surprised as everyone else that her first album, “Come Away With Me”, was such a big success. It won her the most wanted awards, including Album of the Year(年度最佳专辑), Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

“I can’t believe this, I feel really blessed and really lucky to have this year, ”said the wide-eyed girl at the ceremony.

Jones grew up in Texas, US, with her mother. Her parents separated before she was born. She began singing in church choirs(唱诗班)at the age of five and started piano lessons two years later.

At the age of 15, Jones entered the High School for the Performing Arts in Washington. She won Best Jazz Singer and Best Original Composition(最佳原创作品)at the 1996 and 1997 Student Music Awards.

She had always enjoyed singing, but felt the piano would be a more solid foundation in life. So Jones chose to study jazz piano music at the University of North Texas for two years before taking a trip to New York City.

The trip started out as a summer vacation. But Jones soon realized she wanted to stay for a while, “The music scene in New York is so huge and exciting. Everything opened up for me. I couldn’t leave, ”she said.

Jones became friends with local songwriters and was inspired(激励)to write her own songs. She began to sing and play the piano in a band. She got her break in 2001 and released “Come Away With Me”the following year.

The album is a blend(融合)of jazz, country and folk-pop. It has now sold more than 6 million copies around the world and has won much praise from the music industry. “She makes an album that people will remember in 20 years. ”said American country singer Faith Hill.

What is jazz?

Jazz is generally thought to have begun in New Orleans, US. It developed in the latter part of the 19th century from African work songs, songs of sorrow and hymns(赞美诗). The character of jazz is spontaneous(自然的)and emotional. It is usually played by small bands made up of a cornet(短号), clarinet(单簧管), trombone(长号)and guitar.

1. Norah Jones had a sleepless night on February 23. From this sentence, we can see she was ________________that night.

A. tired　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. having difficulties going to sleep

C. excited　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. too busy to sleep

2. What does the writer mean by saying“…who found her voice in the small clubs of New York” in the first paragraph?

A. She once lost her voice and after some medical treatment in New York, she found her voice.

B. Her experiences in those clubs helped her realized she was a good singer.

C. She started to sing in those clubs.

D. Her experiences in those clubs helped her develop her singing style.

3. At the end of Paragraph 3, the writer uses the description “wide-eyed” to show Norah was________________.

A. a girl with big eyes　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. very surprised

C. inexperienced　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. opening her eyes wide

4. Put the events listed below in the correct order.

a. Norah started learning the piano. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  

b. She won Student Music Awards.

c. She studied jazz piano music. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   

d. She sang in church choirs.

e. She took a trip to New York.

A. abcde　　　　　　　　　　   B. dabce　　　　　　　　　　   C. dcabe　　　　　　　　    
v;   D. abdce

5. At the end of the last paragraph but two(倒数第二段), the writer mentions that “she got her break in 2001”. What does it mean?

A. She got a rest that year.

B. She made some changes that year.

C. She reached a high point that year.

D. A lucky chance appeared and she made some achievement that year.

 

Norah wins big at Grammy Awards

Norah Jones had a sleepless night on February 23. The 23-year-old American jazz singer, who found her voice in the small clubs of New York, dominated(统治)the 45th annual Grammy Awards—the music industry’s most prestigious(赫赫有名的)award ceremony.

She seemed as surprised as everyone else that her first album, “Come Away With Me”, was such a big success. It won her the most wanted awards, including Album of the Year(年度最佳专辑), Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

“I can’t believe this, I feel really blessed and really lucky to have this year, ”said the wide-eyed girl at the ceremony.

Jones grew up in Texas, US, with her mother. Her parents separated before she was born. She began singing in church choirs(唱诗班)at the age of five and started piano lessons two years later.

At the age of 15, Jones entered the High School for the Performing Arts in Washington. She won Best Jazz Singer and Best Original Composition(最佳原创作品)at the 1996 and 1997 Student Music Awards.

She had always enjoyed singing, but felt the piano would be a more solid foundation in life. So Jones chose to study jazz piano music at the University of North Texas for two years before taking a trip to New York City.

The trip started out as a summer vacation. But Jones soon realized she wanted to stay for a while, “The music scene in New York is so huge and exciting. Everything opened up for me. I couldn’t leave, ”she said.

Jones became friends with local songwriters and was inspired(激励)to write her own songs. She began to sing and play the piano in a band. She got her break in 2001 and released “Come Away With Me”the following year.

The album is a blend(融合)of jazz, country and folk-pop. It has now sold more than 6 million copies around the world and has won much praise from the music industry. “She makes an album that people will remember in 20 years. ”said American country singer Faith Hill.

What is jazz?

Jazz is generally thought to have begun in New Orleans, US. It developed in the latter part of the 19th century from African work songs, songs of sorrow and hymns(赞美诗). The character of jazz is spontaneous(自然的)and emotional. It is usually played by small bands made up of a cornet(短号), clarinet(单簧管), trombone(长号)and guitar.

1. Norah Jones had a sleepless night on February 23. From this sentence, we can see she was ________________that night.

A. tired　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. having difficulties going to sleep

C. excited　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. too busy to sleep

2. What does the writer mean by saying“…who found her voice in the small clubs of New York” in the first paragraph?

A. She once lost her voice and after some medical treatment in New York, she found her voice.

B. Her experiences in those clubs helped her realized she was a good singer.

C. She started to sing in those clubs.

D. Her experiences in those clubs helped her develop her singing style.

3. At the end of Paragraph 3, the writer uses the description “wide-eyed” to show Norah was________________.

A. a girl with big eyes　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. very surprised

C. inexperienced　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. opening her eyes wide

4. Put the events listed below in the correct order.

a. Norah started learning the piano. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  

b. She won Student Music Awards.

c. She studied jazz piano music. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   

d. She sang in church choirs.

e. She took a trip to New York.

A. abcde　　　　　　　　　　   B. dabce　　　　　　　　　　   C. dcabe　　　　　　　　　　   D. abdce

5. At the end of the last paragraph but two(倒数第二段), the writer mentions that “she got her break in 2001”. What does it mean?

A. She got a rest that year.

B. She made some changes that year.

C. She reached a high point that year.

D. A lucky chance appeared and she made some achievement that year.

 

Finding summer jobs for teenagers has not always been easy, but now you no longer have to worry about what your kid can do to earn their own money. Recently I found some different sites online that offer information about what kids can do. Below is some of that information, along with questions to think about to help you come up with your own ideas.
Ideas for summer work: 
● Parks and Recreation Programs.
● Babysitting (当临时保姆) during the day of school.
● Working part-time at a day care for the summer.
● Car washing.
● Working at local vegetable stands.
The easiest way for you to find ways for your child to make money is to think about others’ inconveniences (不方便). Think of things you need done, or would like to have done, and what you would consider paying for these things to get done. Once you have some ideas, you can sit down with your child and talk to them about what they would be interested in doing. Then once you have an idea of what they want to do you can help them come up with fair prices.
Preferably you would want to only have your child working with people you know and trust, or in the least bit you could have your child pick a partner. That way with each of them carrying cell phones, even those without service can call 911, they will be much safer.
You can find out more information and many more ideas for kids to use to make money during their summer holidays by visiting http://www.kidswantmoney.com.
【小题1】根据第一段Recently I found some different sites online that offer information about what kids can do. Below is some of that information, along with questions to think about to help you come up with your own ideas.及下文描述，可知选A，分享他在网络上的发现。
【小题2】根据短文倒数二三段描述，可知当年轻人找假期工作时，要考虑的是为谁工作，工资问题和这个工作是否安全，不包括在哪儿工作，故选D。
【小题3】根据You can find out more information and many more ideas for kids to use to make money during their summer holidays by visiting http://www.kidswantmoney.com.描述，可知选D。
【小题4】The author wrote the passage to _____.

A．share his discoveries online	B．introduce jobs for teenagers
C．advertise a website for teenagers	D．talk about his summer work experience

【小题5】 Which of the following is NOT considered when teenagers look for summer jobs?

A．Who they’d better work for.	B．How much should be charged.
C．Whether the jobs are safe.	D．Where the workplace is.

【小题6】What can we learn about http://www.kidswant-money.com?

A．The author set up the website.

B．It gives information about educating children.

C．People need to pay to visit the website.

D．It offers ideas for children to make money.

LONDON —A British judge on Thursday sentenced a businessman who sold fake (假冒的）bomb detectors (探测器) to 10 years in prison, saying the man hadn’t cared about potentially deadly consequences.

It is believed that James McCormick got about $77. 8 million from the sales of his detectors — which were based on a kind of golf ball finder — to countries including Iraq, Belgium and Saudi Arabia.

McCormick, 57，was convicted (判罪) of cheats last month and sentenced Thursday at the Old Bailey court in London.

“Your cheating conduct in selling a great amount of useless equipment simply for huge profit promoted a false sense of security and in all probability materially contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people,’’ Judge Richard Hone told McCormick. “You have neither regret, nor shame, nor any sense of guilt.”

The detectors, sold for up to $ 42,000 each, were said to be able to find such dangerous objects as bombs under water and from the air. But in fact they “lacked any grounding in science” and were of no use.

McCormick had told the court that he sold his detectors to the police in Kenya，the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and the border control in Thailand.

“I never had any bad results from customers,” he said.

39. Why was McCormick sentenced to prison?

A. He sold bombs.                              B. He caused death of people.

C. He made detectors.                              D. He cheated in business.

40. According to the judge, what McCormick had done ________ .

A. increased the cost of safeguarding

B. lowered people’s guard against danger

C. changed people’s idea of social security

D. caused innocent people to commit crimes

41. Which of the following is true of the detectors?

A. They have not been sold to Africa.

B. They have caused many serious problems.

C. They can find dangerous objects in water.

D. They don't function on the basis of science.

42. It can be inferred from the passage that McCormick _________ .

A. sold the equipment at a low price

B. was well-known in most countries

C. did not think he had committed the crime

D. had not got such huge profit as mentioned in the text

【语篇解读】本文是一篇记叙文，题材是新闻报道。本文报道了一条卖假冒炸弹探测器的商人被判10年徒刑的新闻。

段落	关键词、句	大意推测
第一部分（Para. 1-3）	McCormick, 57，was convicted of cheats last month and sentenced Thursday at the Old Bailey court in London	新闻案件的简介：57岁的McCormick上月被起诉诈骗并于周三在伦敦的Old Bailey court法庭被判刑。
第二部分（Para. 4）	cheating conduct, promoted a false sense of security, contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people	法官宣判：罪犯的欺骗行为增强了人们虚假的安全感并促使导致给无辜百姓带来死亡和伤害。
第三部分（Para. 5-7）	But in fact they “lacked any grounding in science” and were of no use, sold…to… , never had any bad results	案件细节及当事人的反诉：假冒炸弹探测器被销往世界各地，但它根本没有科学依据，也毫无用处。罪犯狡辩假冒产品没有给用户带来任何不良后果。

【解析】

39. D。细节理解题。难度：中等。问题是“为什么McCormick被判刑入狱”。根据问题中的关键词sentenced to prison定位原文第一段。第一段说到McCormick是一位商人，生产了假冒的炸弹探测器，这是一种商业欺骗。选项D和其对应，为正确答案。

40. B。细节理解题。难度：难。问题是“根据法官的说法，McCormick的所为导致了什么样的结果”。根据问题中的关键词according to the judge定位第四段的第一句：your cheating conduct … promoted a false sense of security and … contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people（你的欺骗行为提高了人们虚假的安全感并助推给无辜百姓带来死亡和伤害）。由此可见，McCormick的行为让人们有了安全感，但这种安全并不真实。B “降低了人们防范危险的安全意识”符合此意，为正确答案。

41. D。判断题。难度：难。问题是“下面哪种说法对探测仪来说是正确的”。

解题思路：根据问题中的关键词detectors，把四个选项具体对应到原文中一处。A对应文章倒数第二段的最后一句he sold his detectors to the police in Kenya，the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and the border control in Thailand。该句中的Kenya是非洲的肯尼亚，否定了A的说法。B对应第一段第一句“the man hadn’t cared about potentially deadly consequences”，法官只说罪犯没有关注潜在的致命后果，而不是已经导致严重的问题。C对应第五段的第一句话“were said to be able to find such dangerous objects as bombs under water and from the air”提示，探测仪的功能只是据说，而不一定真的具备找到水中危险物品的功能。选项D定位第五段的最后一句“in fact they ‘lacked any grounding in science’ and were of no use可知，这种探测仪没有科学根据，也毫无用途，和D“没有科学根据的工作原理”相吻合，故最佳答案是D。

42. D。推理判断题。难度：中等。

解题思路：返回原文，将选项与原文一一进行比较。

本题主要考查第四段和第七段。A“以低价销售设备”与原文第四段第一句不符，因为该句提到法官指控McCormick通过卖一些无用的设备来巨额利润。B“在大多数国家很有名”与文中提到的区区几个国家和地区Iraq，Belgium，Saudi Arabia，Kenya，Hong Kong，Egypt和Thailand购买他的探测仪不符。C“认为他没有犯罪”和第七段对应，其中他所说的“I never had any bad results from customers”和C符合，Ｃ是正确答案。Ｄ“他没有赚取文中提到的那么大利润”在原文没有语言根据。

In Singapore, most of us love window-shopping while some others enjoy having a picnic at East Coast Park or Changi Beach on sunny days. Singaporeans are never bothered by the occasional thunderstorm. However, we know that if it rains for long continuous periods, there will be more serious effects. Just recently the main shopping street of Orchard Road was flooded and some part of Bukit Timah was impassable to traffic. People reacted by writing in to the newspaper to complain about this! We forget that other countries suffer much worse effects. Elsewhere, heavy tropical（热带的）storms often result in floods that ruin crops especially in Thailand and Malaysia. This in turn usually means that the price of rice and vegetables here in Singapore will rise because we import these products from them. If there is a typhoon or tsunami, thousands of lives are lost too. This happened in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand in 2004 and it serves to remind us of how Mother Nature can cause great damage.

Weather patterns in general have changed dramatically in recent years. Scientists believe that global warming and the resulting melting of the polar ice-cap has caused the level of the ocean to rise. This in turn causes flooding of low-lying areas in countries where the land is rather flat and some parts of which is below water level. It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger, so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities, for example, illegal logging（伐木）or irresponsible forest-burning to clear land for farming.

56.From Paragraph 1, we can see that most Singaporeans love________.

A. making complaints           B. going out for picnics

C. doing window-shopping    D. traveling along the coast

【答案】C

【解析】根据第一段第一句可知。

57.What will happen in Singapore if there are floods in its neighboring countries?

A. Heavy tropical storms will follow shortly.

B. The price of rice and vegetables will go up.

C. Many people will write in to the newspaper.

D. More rice and vegetables will be imported.

【答案】B

【解析】根据第一段倒数三，四句可知。热带风暴导致的洪水会毁掉庄稼，新加坡的蔬菜和大米是从这些国家进口的，所以会导致蔬菜，大米的价格上升。

58.The underlined word“it” in Paragraph 2 refers to___________.

A. the arrival of heavy tropical storms

B. the import of rice and vegetables

C. the rising price of rice and vegetables

D. the loss of lives in natural disasters

【答案】D

【解析】上句提到台风和海啸会导致成千上万的人死亡。这在2004年在印度尼西亚和泰国的普吉岛发生过。自然灾害到这人死亡这件事用来提醒我们大自然可以带来巨大损害。

59.Which of the following shows how the low-lying areas are flooded?

a. global warming

b. the rise in ocean level

c. harmful human activities

d. the flooding of low-lying areas

e. the melting of the polar ice-cap

A. c→a→e→b→d         B. a→c→e→b→d        

C. c→a→b→e→d         D. d→a→c→b→e

【答案】A

【解析】根据最后一段可知。

60.What should we do in order not to make Mother Nature angry?

A. Clear more land for farming.           B. Reduce harmful human activities.

C. Bring down the price of food.          D. Improve the quality of weather.

【答案】B

【解析】根据最后一段It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger, so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities,“人们认为是人类的活动导致了大自然极端愤怒， 因此，现在我们真的应该团结合作减少有害活动。”