Few of us haven’t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone’s heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity(默默无闻).

Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school.

Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears.

Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey’s paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked(邪恶的) stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn’t get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her.

The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies.

“The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point,” writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson. “The focus is firmly on following your dream.”

1.The first paragraph is mainly to ____________.

A．build interest and lead us to Mary’s secret dream

B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years

C．inform us of the main topic of the whole passage

D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is

2.In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who _____________.

A．is brave in expressing her love

B．is attended badly by the stepmother

C．has a dream of meeting a prince

D．is embarrassed by the pop singer

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary’s class.

B．Mary’s mother influences her a lot in singing.

C．Not many people have a dream to be realized.

D．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary.

4.The passage is mainly about ___________.

A．an introduction to a film

B．a review about a film

C．an essay about dreams

D．an advertisement of Cinderella

5.According to the passage, Another Cinderella Story ________.

A．follows Cinderella with nothing new

B．pays more attention to the looks of the actors

C．encourages young people to follow their dreams

D．focuses more on materialism than other films

 

Mary Quant was born in 1934. When she was young, there were no teenage fashions （时尚）.Young women were dressed like grown-ups or little girls. At thirteen, she designed （设计）her own school uniform（制服）.She wore short dresses and long socks. After school. Mary went to Goldsmith’s College in London. She didn’t enter the college gate but she met her future husband, Alexander Plunkett-Green Like Mary he wore unusual clothes, such as purple velvet trousers and pajama jackets.

In 1955 Mary left college and worked for a hat-maker in London’s West End. But soon they opened their own shop. It was called Bazaar and it was the first small shop for women in the King’s Road in Chelsea Mary designed all the clothes and made them on her old sewing machine.

The 1960s are often called the “Swinging Sixties”.During these years Mary’s designs became very popular. Everyone loved her mini-skirts（迷你裙）and coloured tights（紧身衣）.Thanks to Mary, London became the fashion capital of the world.

Mary’s fashion shows were quite different from what they had been before. Mary’s models（模特）didn’t walk-they danced to pop music.

Soon Mary’s clothes became popular in America,too.

At the age of 37, Mary had a son, Orlando. She said:“Becoming a mother is quite the most important thing that ever happened to me.”

In 1966, Mary was awarded（获奖）the O.B.E.（a special medal given by the Queen）.She went to Buckingham Palace in a mini-skirt to collect the medal.

Later on Mary started her own cosmetics（化妆品）company.

She designed smart black, white and silver packagings（包装）for it,with the Quant daisy symbol（菊花标志）that is still the same today.

Today, Mary’s business is worth 100 million pounds. She is still designing-not just only clothes,but also a perfume（香水）called“Havoc”and some other things.

She has now opened the Mary Quant Colour Shop in London’s Carnaby Street.

45．When Mary was thirteen, ____________.

A．she dressed like a little girl     B．she designed her school uniform

C．she dressed like a grown-up    D．she became a popular designer

46．In 1960s London became the fashion capital of the world because_______.

A．Mary’s designs became very popular. Everyone loved her clothes.

B．Mary changed fashion shows greatly.

C．of Mary’s business, which was worth 100 million pounds

D．May’s husband also helped to make unusual clothes.

47．Mary’s still designing_______ .

A．just clothes     

B．not just only clothes, but also a perfume called “Havoc”and some other things

C．packaging for cosmetics     

D．beautiful hats

48．The Quants’symbol is _______.

A．a daisy     B．a mini-skirt      C．a sewing machine    D．a hat

 

Writer and power chair adventurer Mary Laver has not walked for twenty years. Yet the cheerful and positive 60 year old is not only refusing to let her disability get her down ---- she is also planning to cross the length of Britain in a power wheelchair.

Getting ready for the trip is not easy. She has already run into many problems - not least officials and organizations who view her as a health and safety risk. One police officer wrote to Mary requesting:

1. The proposed route through our area with road numbers.

2. The dates and times each day that this will be taking place.

3. The location details of the proposed overnight stops.

4. The names and mobile phone contact details of the Support Crew.

Another police officer asked her to travel off road! As Mary told me, this was unacceptable - as a power wheelchair user with limited movement she needs to be "gettable".

There are other problems in her way though - she is, after all, in her 60’s and has severe rheumatoid arthritis(风湿性关节炎). However, unlike many other people with arthritis, she is no longer in pain.

"When you are in a power chair and it is going at eight miles an hour, believe me it feels fast … to me it is the Formula One(一级方程式赛车) chair of electric wheelchairs."

At the end of the interview, I asked Mary if she had a message for any other power chair users who wanted to do a challenge, and her reply was simple："Just do it!"

1.What is Mary Laver planning to do？

A. Travel to write a power wheelchair adventure.

B. Travel across Britain in a power wheelchair.

C. Prove she can do what a man can in driving.

D. Try a fast Formula One power chair sport.

2. Why did a police officer write to Mary requesting the four points? 

A. He tried to stop her.              B. Mary’s adventure is valueless.

C. The power chair is too fast.           D. He wanted to ensure her safety.

3.The underlined word “She needs to be gettable” in the passage probably means          “_______”

A. She’ll have a try whatever difficulties she may have.

B. A road for a power wheelchair user is a must for her.

C. Mary has to jump off her wheelchair once on the road.

D. With rheumatoid arthritis, she need some field help.

4.When Mary said “Just do it !” at the end of the interview, she meant “_______”

A. Be brave though disabled.                B. Fear no challenges at all.

C. Take action right away.                  D. Make it whoever you are.

 

D

When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on." Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.

The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her mom," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.

Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says." I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease."

But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow up ---again---and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.

Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be."

1.We can know that before 1995 Mary ___________.

A．had two books published

B．received many career awards

C．knew how to use a computer

D．supported the JDRF by writing

2.Mary's second book Growing Up Again is mainly about her _________.

A．living with diabetes

B．successful show business

C．service for an organization

D．remembrance of her mother

3.When Mary received the life-changing news, she __________ .

A．lost control of herself                    B．began a balanced diet

C．meant to get a treatment                  D．behaved in an adult way

4.What can we know from the last paragraph?

A．Mary feels pity for herself.

B．Mary has recovered from her disease.

C．Mary wants to help others as much as possible.

D．Mary determines to go back to the dance floor.

 

Mary and Peter were having a picnic with some friends near a river when Mary noticed an object overhead. "Look!" she shouted to her friends. "That's a spaceship up there and it's going to land here."

    Frightened by the strange silver-colored spaceship, most of the young people got in their cars and drove away quickly. Peter was fond of Mary and always stayed close to her. They, more curious than frightened, watched the spaceship land and saw a door open. When nobody came out, they went to the spaceship and entered inside. Peter followed Mary into the spaceship and did not hear the door closed behind him. The temperature fell rapidly and the two young people lost consciousness.

    When they woke up, they were surprised to see that they were back by the river again. The spaceship had gone. Their car was nearby.

   "What happened?" asked Mary.

   Peter scratched (?) his head, saying slowly, "Don't ask me. Perhaps we had a dream. Did you...Did you see a spaceship?"

   "Yes," said Mary. "And we both went into it. Then..." she looked at her wrist. "That's funny. My watch has stopped. Oh, well, come on. It's time to go home."

    Driving about fifty meters, they found their way blocked by a thick wall made of something like glass. They got out of the car and tried to find their way round the wall but discovered that they were inside a circular wall. It was like a mirror and prevented them from seeing through it.

   On the other side of the wall, strange creatures walked past slowly. A few stopped to stare through the wall and read a new notice which, translated into English, said: "New arrivals at the zoo: a pair of Earthlings in their natural surroundings with their mobile house."

1. When the spaceship arrived, why didn't Peter drive away?

A. He did not like leaving Mary.

B. He knew that the spaceship was harmless.

C. He was too frightened to drive.

D. There was a wall blocking the road.

2.Why did Peter enter the spaceship?

A. He saw the food and was hungry.

B. Mary told him to enter it.

C. He just followed Mary.

D. He wanted to study it.

3. Peter scratched his head so we know that _____.

A. he had lost consciousness

B. he was puzzled and did not know what to say to Mary

C. he had lost his memory

D. he was still half asleep

4.What do the words "strange creatures" mean to tell us?

A. They were wild animals in a zoo.

B. They were robbers.

C. They had landed on Earth in a spaceship and lived there.

D. The young couple were on another planet.