Even if he is not the most liked comedian in China today, his popularity certainly has risen the fastest within the last two months.
He's "Little Shenyang", who came into national fame overnight after his appearance on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala. With his funny cross-dressing, unique northeastern accent and superb imitative(模仿的) skills, Little Shenyang has obvious talent to support his rise to fame.
Hundreds of video clips of his shows have been posted on YouTube and other online video sites, and his performance fees reportedly grew 50-fold in just a few weeks. He has, at the same time, become one of the most controversial of entertainers.
Many have doubted his artistic potential, pointing out that his shows were repetitive and lacked creativity, a key to continued comedic success. Others belittle (轻视) the style of humor, saying it's too crude and appeals only to less-educated people. His defenders were just as up in arms. Many media commentators and bloggers said that his quick rise to star proved the broad appeal of his art form. He became a national champion not because of his "northeastern hick(乡巴佬)" humor, they argued, but because he represented something new on TV, something with a grassroots feel that appealed to millions of ordinary people.
Now, does Little Shenyang really deserve his star status?
【小题1】 Some people belittle Little Shenyang’s humor because _________. 

A．He represents something with a grassroots feel.

B．The style of humor lacked creativity.

C．He speaks with a northeast accent.

D．He became famous overnight.

【小题2】What’s the secret of Little Shenyang’s success?                 

A．His funny cross-dressing.

B．His unique accent

C．His super imitative skills

D．All of the above

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

A．Little Shenyang is the most popular comedian in China.

B．Few people like Little Shenyang’s performance.

C．Little Shenyang earns a lot of money now.

D．The author thinks little of Little Shenyang.

 

A．The great impact and progress in genetic engineering          B．Worries about privacy protection          C．Worries about medical use of genetic engineering          D．Genetic knowledge helps to predict diseases          E．Genetic knowledge may not be properly used          AB．The application of genetic engineering in the medical fields

 

1.__________

Current research into the human gene system is helping us understand why people have predispositions（易患某病倾向）to certain diseases．Knowing our genetic makeup can help us to judge whether or not we may be stricken by particular illness, such as cancer．Even before birth, we are able to do genetic screenings to determine what a child's genetic disorder will be．Scientists have already isolated and identified the genes responsible for the more than 4,000 genetic diseases that affect human beings．

2.__________

The implications of this knowledge are astonishing. In addition to predicting genetic predisposition towards diseases, gene therapies may provide new treatments or cures for serious diseases．Millions of people already use genetically engineered drugs to treat heart disease, cancer, AIDS, and strokes （中风）. But with the research that is now being conducted, we may find cures to many more diseases．In the near future, genetic experimentation will also allow parents to select the traits of their children. Genetic traits that determine height, weight, eye and hair color will be able to be controlled, and many parents are excited about this potential.

3.__________

Many people, however, are unwilling to accept the possibilities genetic research allowsFor example, one reason some women do not use the largest genetic testing for breast cancer is because they are afraid they will be discriminated against．Another problem is that many people do not want to discover their weakness．What if they learn that they have a disease for which there are no medical cures? How will such knowledge affect their lives? Do people really want to know what they will die of?

4.__________

Many people believe that history has not always shown human decision-making to be bright when it comes to ethical（道德的）choices. Jeremy Rifkin is probably the most well known opponent of genetic engineering. He believes that humans are not responsible enough to experiment with genes and should not “play God” He asks, “Just because it can be done, does that mean it should be done?” He points out that our society will eventually look and act the same if parents select the traits of their children, and he questions the desirability of such a society．

5.．__________

One of the fears expressed about genetic experimentation involves privacy. Already blood sample taken from patients in hospitals have been used for genetic research without the patients’ permission. Most people would agree that one’s health and genetic makeup are private concerns. But if insurance companies gain access to this information, it could have a large impact on insurance coverage or costs; if employers gain access to the information, it could have a large impact on hiring or promotion decisions. The possibilities for discrimination are obvious．

 

A long time ago, in an Italian city, the people there built a tower which was admired by everyone passing through. A little further down the road, in a neighboring city, they had built a tower of similar beauty. The two towers were equally well known. The people of the second city, envious (妒忌的) and filled with pride, planned to destroy the neighboring tower so it wouldn’t take attention away from their own. One night, they came to the tower and began to quietly undermine its foundations(地基).

The next morning, the tower was leaning(倾斜) slightly ,but nobody noticed. The same happened for the following few days, until a little girl who was passing by pointed up at the tower and said: “ I think the tower is going to fall down.” And everyone around looked closely, and could see that she was right .Nervousness spread through the city. And they tried many methods to try to straighten the tower, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until one day when the same little girl was walking up again, and she put her arm on the side of the tower to rest. She felt the tower shaking slightly. When she took her hand off it, the movement stopped. And when she put it back on again, the same thing happened. The girl spent a while doing this, until she was completely certain of what she had discovered: “ The tower is ticklish ( 怕痒的) ！” She ran to get some plants, and she planted them right next to the tower. Now if the tower leant over any further it would be tickled by the leaves of those plants. Being a ticklish tower, it would then return to where it had been. In this way, the girl managed to make sure that the tower didn’t fall down, but still kept it leaning a little.

The fact that it was leaning made it even more famous, and this taught a fine lesson to the envious people of the neighboring city.

63. Why did the people of the second city plan to destroy the neighboring tower?

A. Because the tower blocked the way of their tourists.

B. Because the tower had the same building style as theirs.

C. Because they hoped that the tower could lean slightly.

D. Because they hoped that visitors just liked their own tower.

64. The underlined word“undermine”（in Paragraph1）probably mean “_________”．

A. test　 B. raise　 C. damage　 D. strengthen

65. When local people heard the news that their tower was going to fall down, they were _________.

A. very anxious

B. very happy

C. very ashamed of themselves

D. angry at the people in the neighboring city

66. What lesson can we learn from the practice of the envious people in the neighboring city?

A. All that ends well is well.

B. Every dog has his day.

C. A bad beginning makes a bad ending.

D. A friend is never known till a man has need.

　　　　　　　　　　

Electric cars are dirty．In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins．

People in California love to talk about “zero-emissions（排放）vehicles,” but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from．Power plants most all use fire to make it．Aside from the few folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators（发电机）．Generators are fueled by something — usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants．There are a few wind farms and geothermal（地热的）plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something．

In other words, those “zero-emissions” cars are likely coal-burning cars．It's just the coal is burned somewhere else so it looks clean．It is not．It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes — “If I can’t see it, it’s not happening．” Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it．But when you take that gas （or another fuel） and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat — at the generator, through the transmission lines, etc．

A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles．But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won't get you nearly as far — so electric cars burn more fuel than gas-powered ones．If our electricity came mostly from nukes, or geothermal, or hydro, or solar, or wind, then an electric car truly would be clean．But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don’t use much of those energy sources．

In addition, electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill（垃圾）．And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads．When it’s a power plant, though, all the junk is in one place．Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot．

1．What does the author mean by using “ignorant” in paragraph Ⅱ?

       A．The California Greens are covering their eyes．

B．People in California love to talk about zero-emissions vehicles

C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells

D．People there have no idea that so far electricity mainly comes from burning coal, oil, etc

2．According to the passage, why the California Greens hold the idea “If I can’t see it, it’s not happening?”

      A．They do not know those clean cars are likely coal-burning cars．

B．They do believe that the coal is burned somewhere else so it look clean．

C．They tend to hold that electricity is a nice part of energy

D．They tend to maintain that gasoline is a good way to run a vehicle．

3．Compared with cars using gas, electric cars        ．

       A．do not burn fuel and more environmental．

B．are dangerous and it is difficult for nature to clean it up when their batteries are buried in one spot．

C．are very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated．

D．are poisonous for a long time and will eventually end up in a landfill．

4．It can be inferred from the passage that         ．

      A．being green is good and should be encouraged in communications．

B．electric cars are not as clean as people assume in that electricity is mainly got by burning something．

C．zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment．

D．electric cars are now the primary vehicle compared with gasoline powered cousins．

Old Behrman was a painter but was a failure in art. For years, he had always been planning to paint a work of art, but had never yet begun it. He earned a little money by serving as a model to artists who could not pay for a professional model. He was a fierce, little, old man who protected the two young women in the studio apartment above him.

Sue found Behrman in his room. In one area was a blank canvas(画布) that had been waiting twenty – five years for the first line of paint. Sue told him about Johnsy and how she feared that her friend would float away like a leaf on the old ivy vine climbing hopelessly up the outside block wall.

Old BeYucman was angered at such an idea. “ Are there people in the world with the foolishness to die because leaves drop off a vine?”

“She is very sick ,” said Sue, “and the disease has left her mind full of strange ideas.”

“This is not any place in which one so good as Miss Johnsy shall lie sick, “  yelled Behrman .  “Some day I will Paint a masterpiece,and we shall all go away.”

Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue pulled the shade down to cover the window. She and Behrman went into the other room. They looked out a window fearfully at the ivy vine. Then they looked at each other without speaking. Beluman sat and posed as the miner.

The next morning, Sue awoke after an hour’ s sleep. She found Johnsy with wide – open eyes staring at the covered window.

“Pull up the shade; I want to see,” she ordered, quietly. Sue obeyed.

Despite the strong wind, yet there was one ivy leaf against the wall. It was the last one on the vine. It was still dark green at the center. But its edges were colored with the yellow. “It is the last one,” said Johnsy.“I thought it would surely fall during the night. It will fall today and I shall die at the same time.”

“Dear, dear!” said Sue,“Think of me, if you won’t think of yourself. What would I do?”

But Johnsy did not answer.

The next moming, when it was light, Johnsy demanded that the window shade be raised. The ivy leaf was still there.

“I’ ve been a bad girl, “  said Johnsy ,  “Something has made that last leaf stay there to show me how bad I was. It is wrong to want to die. You may bring me a little soup now.”

An hour later she said: “Someday I hope to paint the Bay of Naples.”

Later in the day, the doctor came, and Sue talked to him in the hallway.

“Even chances.  With good care,  you’ll win, “ said the doctor.  “And now I must see another case I have in your building. Behrman, his name is-some kind of an artist, I believe. Pneumonia（肺炎）,too. He is an old, weak man and his case is severe. There is no hope for him; but he goes to the hospital today to ease his pain.”

The next day , the doctor said to Sue:“She’ s out of danger. You won.．”

 “I have something to tell you, Johnsy, “ she said.“Behrman died today. And look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn’ t you wonder why it never moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it is Behrman’ s masterpiece—he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell.”

75. What was in Johnsy’ s mind all the time?

A. When the last leaf falls I must go.

B. The old ivy leaves have little to do with my getting well.

C. I am such a bad girl as to make everything messy.

D. Someday I hope to paint a masterpiece.

76. Which detail in the passage suggests that Behnnan was a failure?

A. He worked as a miner to make ends meet.

B. His drawing board had waited 25 years to receive the first line of his masterpiece

C. He was protective of the two girls but mostly sensitive and fierce.

D. He was a professional model waiting for his great opportunity.

77. We can learn from the story that_____.

A. The relationship between the two artist girls was developed on material comfort

B. The three artists mentioned in the story shared a studio apartment

C.Behnnan showed great sympathy for the two youth

D. Johnsy was somehow annoyed to be accompanied by a never – succeeded artist

78. What does the underlined part “Even chances.” mean ?

A. The doctor indicated that Johnsy was doomed to die.

B.The doctor thought that they should let her go.

C. The doctor believed that Johnsy had every chance of recovery

D. The doctor put her chances at fifty – fifty.

79. When Johnsy said she had been a bad girl, she meant that_____.

A. asking for death was not right

B. she deserved more severe punishment

C. she should never forget about her dream.

D. she was ashamed not to be able to support the other two.

80. The short story can be listed as a typical example of stories with_____.

A. surprise endings                   B. vivid contrasts ( 对比)

C. artistic imagination                D. attractive openings