As is known to most of us, Maodun was born in _______is now called Wuzhen.

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

 

John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.

Fortunately he had a strong-willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you really want to be if you just believe.” She told him not to depend on others, including his mother. “You have to earn success,” she said. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”

These words came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15, to Chicago. Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words---as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.

While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try. ” She also let him pawn(典当)her furniture to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine for blacks.

It is natural that difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind.: “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!”

Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America---worth $150 million.

1.John’s mother decided to move to Chicago because_______.

A．his father died when John was very young.

B．life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown

C．John needed more education badly

D．there were no school for Negroes in their hometown

2.John’s mother________.

A．didn’t believe in or depend on others

B．thought one could be whatever one wanted to be

C．believed one would succeed without working hard

D．thought no one could succeed without working hard.

3.The sentence “Nothing beats a failure but a try” means _______.

A．if you try, you would succeed

B．a failure is difficult to beat, even if you try

C．a try is always followed by a failure

D．no failure can be beaten unless you try

 

For over one hundred and fifty years, Americans of all social classes have worn blue jeans.  1.  Whether they are worn for work or for fashion today, Strauss’ invention continues to be popular not only among Americans but also among people around the world.

Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829.     2.   He grew up in Kentucky before moving to New York in 1847. Before becoming an American citizen and moving to the West in 1853, Strauss worked in his brother’s dry goods business. This gave him a chance to produce his famous invention. After the gold rush of 1849, Strauss decided to move to the West to seek his fortune.

Strauss did not want to be a person who searched an area for minerals. Instead, he knew he could make a good living by selling supplies to the miners. At first, he planned to sell sewing supplies and cloth.     3.  When he heard miners complaining that their clothes were easily broken or they usually tore their pockets during mining, he decided to use a special fabric to make pants for the miners. These pants proved so popular that he quickly ran out of materials to make more.

In 1873, Strauss received a letter from a Jewish tailor named Jacob Davis who had invented a process of connecting pockets with copper rivets(铆钉). This made the pants last a long time. Because Davis did not have the money to patent his idea, he offered to share it with Strauss if Strauss would agree to pay for the patent.    4.  

By the time Strauss died in 1902, he had made a great contribution to American fashion.

 5.  The business has been growing ever since and Levi Strauss' company is now one of the largest clothing companies in the world.

A．As a young boy, he moved with his family to the United States.

B．Nobody knew what kind of material was suitable.

C．He did and Levi jeans have been made with metal rivets ever since.

D．However, he did not get much business for those products.

E. He also made a great contribution to America's clothing industry.

F. Since they were invented by Levi Strauss, they have become a symbol of American consumer culture.

G. As the business grew, Strauss got much money from it.

 

Over the past few months, PSY’s funny video for “Gangnam Style” has become a YouTube sensation, resulting in over 112,000,000 views since July 15. It’s also been Tweeted more than 780,000 times and received over 260, 000 likes on Facebook, reports Mashable.com.

With the rapper(说唱歌手) making an appearance at Thursday’s MTV Video Music Awards, here’s what you need to know about the break-out artist.

His real name is Park Jae-Sang. The 35-year-old Korean pop rapper is known for his comedic music videos and performances. The video for “Gangnam Style” is no exception. When his first album PSY—From the Psycho World! was released in 2001, he was nicknamed “PSY” because of his unusual dress, special lyrics(歌词) and funny dance movies.

Gangnam is a wealthy neighborhood in Seoul(首尔). Gangnam may only be 15 square miles, but the district in Seoul, South Korea, is home to the headquarters of some of the country’s most influential companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG. The region also makes up 7% of South Korea’s GDP. 41% of students at Seoul University, a very famous college, come from Gangnam. The lyrics of PSY’s song describe the personality of a girl and a guy.

He studied in the U.S. Born in South Korea on December 31, 1977, PSY attended Banpo Elementary School, Banpo Middle School and Eva High Sch ool. But when it came time to achieve a college degree, the rapper attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music in the U.S.

“Gangnam Style” is giving K-pop international fame. “Gangnam Style” is currently No.1 on the iTunes music video chart. The video has surpassed Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”; Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”; and Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake”. This is the first time a Korean artist has ranked this high on iTunes.

1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．The success of “Gangnam Style”.

B．The origin of “Gangnam Style”.

C．The result of the Music Award.

D．The childhood of PSY.

2.According to the text, PSY              .

A．is already in his forties now

B．made his first album in 2003

C．danced only in his “Gangnam Style”

D．has developed his special comedic style

3.Which of the following about Gangnam is TRUE?

A．It is the capital of South Korea.

B．It is rich and better developed.

C．Seoul University lies in it.

D．It covers about 90 square miles.

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．“Gangnarn Style” isn’t popular in English-speaking countries.

B．PSY will be given another big prize for music in the future.

C．iTunes is the No.1 music company on the internet.

D．“Gangnam Style” has won the most worldwide popularity.

 

Picasso, the famous Spanish painter, was born in 1881. His father was an art teacher. Picasso began to paint very early. He was admitted to the Royal Academy of Art at the age of 15. After 1900, he spent much time in Paris, living there from 1904 to 1947, when he moved to the south of France.

Throughout his career, Picasso moved from style to style with ease. He practiced sculpture, illustrated books and also showed great interest in pottery design and other fields of art.

　　Picasso produced a great number of drawings during his lifetime. No later artist of the School of Paris has replaced him in international influence.

　　Picasso is generally considered to be the foremost figure in 20th century French art. His paintings are now exhibited in leading European and American galleries.

1.The main idea of the passage is _____.

A．Picasso is considered to be the foremost figure in the 20th century French art

B．Picasso is a famous Spanish painter

C．Picasso spent much time in Pairs, living there from 1904 to 1970

D．Picasso’s life and art

2.According to the writer, Picasso was _____.

A．more important than any other French artist in international influence

B．more important than any other Spanish artist in international influence

C．the most important figure in Spain

D．the most important figure in France

　3.Picasso moved from style to style with ease. It means _____.

A．he did not like only one style

B．he changed his style without difficulty

C．he not only liked sculpture, but also pottery design

D．he showed great interest in other fields of art