Roberta appeared on the stage.She took a deep breath and began to   16   .Now she was Portia,a strong-willed   17    in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.The theater was filled with people.She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced,the words flowing

   18    from her.

  19  .Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition(选拔试演).She  20    being in front of other people.She was very   21    at school.She had never thought she was good enough at anything to  22   much attention.She stayed mostly to herself,making  23   friends.She had excellent grades,   24    she always thought that something was missing.

Two weeks before the audition,Roberta’s mother had heard about it and   25    her to join in.

“I can’t think of anyone else better suited to   26    the part.Remember all the plays you used to act out for us?”

Roberta looked down.“I’m not interested.”

Her mother wouldn’t let the   27    drop.“You’re just a little scared(害怕).Everyone gets scared.You know you   28   do it.The trick is to look past the   29    to find the love of what you’re doing.”

So Roberta had made an appointment(预约)with the head of the Drama Club.She had read the play and found herself excited by the  30  of speaking such rich words.In secret she practiced Portia’s part,  31   the lines by repeating them over and over.It wasn’t hard;she  32    every minute of it.Every time she spoke the words,she had a new  33    of the lines,as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels.

On the day of the audition,she   34    two of Portia’s famous speeches for the auditors.When she had finished,the head of the Drama Club announced the   35    was hers.

A.sing                       B.dance                      C.speak                        D.report

A.member                  B.actress                       C.player                       D.character

A.weakly                   B.rapidly                      C.smoothly                   D.slowly

A.At first                   B.In fact                       C.After all                    D.In all

A.hated               B.enjoyed                     C.appreciated                D.regretted

A.honest                    B.shy                           C.polite                        D.patient

A.avoid                     B.focus                        C.pay                           D.attract

A.few                        B.a few                        C.several                      D.many

A.or                          B.so                             C.for                            D.but

A.forced                  B.requested                   C.encouraged                D.reminded

A.accept                   B.play                          C.offer                         D.learn

A.role                      B.matter                       C.interest                      D.grade

A.can                       B.must                         C.may                          D.should

A.anger                    B.pain                          C.sadness                      D.fear

A.purpose                B.way                          C.idea                          D.importance

A.memorizing                 B.organizing        C.checking     D.improving

A.disliked                B.loved                        C.expected                    D.bore

A.consideration       B.description   C.selection     D.understanding

A.practiced               B.planned                     C.performed                 D.delivered

A.part                      B.play                          C.speech                       D.position

 

    When Lew Alcindor was 13, and obviously still growing, a group of schools began offering him scholarships (奖学金). The Alcindors decided to send their only child to Power Memorial Academy, a small school on Manhattan’s West Side.

    At Power, Alcindor came under the control of Coach Jack Donohue, a strict young man who already gained his fame as one of the best coaches in the city. Donohue brought Alcindor along slowly. As a first-year student, the boy was not able to do much but wave his long skinny arms and shoot a basket now and then. But by the second year, when he was 15 years old and nearly 7 feet tall, Alcindor was quick and skillful enough to make the high school All-American team and to lead Power to an undefeated season.

    From then on he simply got better. Some rival coaches(对方教练) used to take their teams quickly away from the floor before Power warmed up so that their players would not see him any sooner than they had to. Wearing size 16 D shoes and sucking a lollipop(棒棒糖), Alcindor would loosen up by starting his leaping lay-ups(擦板球). Then he would casually shoot the ball with either hand, to the delight of the fans.

    When reporters and photographers began to follow Alcindor closely, Donohue protected his boy firmly. He simply ordered Lew to talk to no member of the press, and this suited Lew fine. He was not comfortable talking to grown-ups, perhaps because he towered over them. Discouraged photographers began following him in secret as though he were an easily-frightened giraffe. Once after ducking into a subway to escape, Alcindor told a friend that it was all becoming like policemen and robbers. “People want you not for yourself,” Donohue warned him, “but because you’re a basketball player. Don’t forget that.”

1. Many schools offer Alcindor scholarships because ______.

  A. he was young                                    B. he was hardworking

  C. he was tall for his age                    D. he was skillful at playing basketball

2.. Which of the following best describes Donohue as a young coach?

  A. serious, popular and slow                          B. tall, skillful and successful

  C. kind, powerful and undefeated                   D. well-known, strict and experienced

3.. Why did some rival coaches take their teams away from the floor before Power warmed up?

  A. Their teams refused to play Power.             B. Their teams feared to see Alcindor.

  C. Their teams would lose courage.                 D. Their teams would lose interest.

4.. What does the last paragraph mainly discuss?

  A. How Donohue protected Alcindor from the press.    

B. How Alcindor disliked meeting reporters.

  C. Why the press followed Alcindor closely.                 

D. Why the public wanted Alcindor badly.

 

Have you heard of the movie Benji off the Leashf This Benji story7 begins when his mother, a pretty black furry dog, escapes from the puppy mill with Colby, a boy who loves her．He tries to hide her in an abandoned house．The boy' s father discovers her there and takes mother and pups back home to the puppy mill, but leaves Benji behind because he doesn't look purebred （纯血统的） enough to be sold for money．Colby comes back later to rescue the tiny puppy and keeps Benji in his wooden clubhouse, bringing Mom to come to visit him in secret．
As Benji grows bigger, it becomes harder to keep him in the clubhouse, and eventually the boy' s father discovers him and Benji is forced to flee to the streets．But despite his fear of Colby' s father, Benji cannot forget about his mother, who is growing steadily weaker and sicker．He continues to sneak back to the puppy mill yard to spy on the goings-on there and plan a way to rescue her．
Benji's doggie pal, Scrappy enters the story when he is pushed out of a car into a country lane．Once his paws hit the ground, Scrappy wags his tail once helplessly after the car as it drives away, and then is immediately up to his neck in hapless mischief （顽皮）. Scrappy is a lovably stupid little dog who barely manages to escape the animal control officers who are determined to catch him．
One of the wonderful things about this movie is that the two stars are not highly trained purebred dogs．Both Benji and Scrappy were rescued mixed breed dogs found at local animal shelters．Adorable Benji and his stupid pal, Scrappy, demonstrate that mixed-breed rescue dogs are just as intelligent and trainable as any purebred dog．
Benji Off the Leash clearly demonstrates the connection between people who abuse animals and people who abuse people．Colby' s father takes out his anger on those who are weaker than him, namely by frightening his wife and the dogs．He attempts to frighten Colby, but the boy bravely refuses to let him．
Children who are used to fast-paced action films with catchy theme songs may not have the patience for the slower pace of this film．But for rescue volunteers, older children, and anyone who loves dogs, this is a heartwarming movie that shows how even in today' s world of deserted dogs and backyard puppy mills, there can still be happy endings for homeless dogs．
【小题1】What can be learned from the passage?

A．Two dogs star the movie．

B．The boy' s mother is very disgusting．

C．The movie will be liked by all the children．

D．The movie is fast-paced．

【小题2】We can infer from the passage that _____．

A．The movie is in praise of deserting homeless dogs．

B．We shouldn't have mercy on homeless dogs．

C．We human beings need to love animals because they are our friends．

D．mixed-breed rescued dogs are less intelligent and trainable than purebred dogs．

【小题3】What' s the passage mainly about?

A．Reviewing a Him．

B．Giving a summary of a movie．

C．Thinking highly of the relationship between animals and humans．

D．Criticizing people deserting animals．

【小题4】What' s the purpose of writing the passage?

A．To attract more people to see the movie．

B．To call on children to help homeless pets．

C．To show anger about abusing animals．

D．To urge people to care and love animals．

Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers．He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry．The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products．
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday．
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit．Every now and then he still smokes in secret．
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time．Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes．Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No．” Obama said at a news conference．
“I don' t do it in front of my lads．I don 't do it in front of my family．I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said．
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important．The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up．What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said．
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases．
【小题1】The new law makes life difficult for             ．

A．Obama	B．tobacco industry
C．White House	D．US Food and Drug Administration

【小题2】What do we know about Obama?

A．He no longer smokes．

B．He still smokes as usual．

C．He began to smoke at eighteen．

D．He is trying hard to give up smoking．

【小题3】According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about           ．

A．children

B．officials

C．his family

D．businessmen

Yesterday was my stepmom’s birthday. I hadn’t been home for a long time so I wanted to stop by the house to see her on this special day.
I have been struggling financially so I was afraid of the long trip. Gas is so expensive nowadays! Anyway, I filled my tank with gas and set off.
I stopped at the shopping mall and found a present. It was the perfect gift and I knew she
would love it. But when I got to the cashier my card was declined! I did not have enough money in my account to pay for the gift!
So I pondered the issue for a few minutes. I could put it back and get something cheaper, but I knew there was nothing else in the store she would like as much. So, I got on my smart-phone and transferred some money from my savings account so I was able to pay for the gift. It took a big chunk of my savings but I wanted her to have something special.
She loved the gift and I felt that even though I had spent almost all my money my stepmom deserved the best and I was glad I gave her the best that I could.
Before leaving my parents’ house, my dad took me to one side and, with our secret hand-shake, he gave me some money. I had not said anything to him about my finances but I guess my dad had just known it. When I got to the car, I saw the amount he gave me was three times what I had spent on the gas and the gift!
It goes to show that doing the right thing always comes with great rewards.
【小题1】Why was the writer unwilling to have a long trip？

A．Because gas was hardly available.	B．Because the writer was short of money.
C．Because the writer didn’t like driving.	D．Because the road was difficult to drive on.

【小题2】The underlined word “pondered” in Para. 4 means ________.

A．thought about	B．tried on
C．depended on	D．got through

【小题3】From the passage, we can infer that ________.

A．the writer loves his/her stepmom very much

B．the gift the writer bought was loved by his/her father very much

C．the writer spent all his/her savings buying the gift for his/her stepmom

D．the gift the writer bought was the most expensive one in the shop

【小题4】Why did the writer’s father shake hands with the writer in secret?

A．Because he wanted to ask the writer for something special.

B．Because he wanted to give the writer some money.

C．Because he knew the writer had been struggling financially.

D．Because he didn’t want others to copy their handshake.