Marlon Brando, the son of a salesman and an actress, was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1924. His parents drank a lot of alcohol and argued often. His father sent him to a military school, but he did not do very well in the classes there.

　　 Marlon Brando moved to New York when he was 19. He took acting classes at the New School for Social Research. One of his teachers was Stella Adler, who taught the 'Method’style (方法派) of realistic acting. The Method teaches actors how to use their own memories and emotions to identify with the characters they are playing. Critics (评论家) say he was probably the greatest Method actor ever. His teacher commented on his natural ability by saying that teaching him the Method was like sending a tiger to jungle school.

　　 Marlon Brando appeared in several plays. He got his first major part in a Broadway play in 1947. He received great praise for his powerful performance as Stanley Kowalski in the play A Streetcar Named Desire. He was nominated (提名) for an Academy Award for his performance in the film version of the play.

　　 Marlon Brando acted in about forty movies. He was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards. Brando did not win an Oscar for Best Actor until 1954 for the movie On the Water front. The film’s director, Elia Kazan, said it was the best performance by a male actor in the history of film. Brando also won an Oscar for Best Actor in The Godfather in 1972, but he rejected it.

　　 The actor was also active in the civil rights movement. He often spoke out forcefully against racism (种族歧视).

　　 Brando’s influence on the American film industry was huge. When he died in 2004, many famous actors expressed regret. One of them said simply, "He was the best."

60. According to the first paragraph, we can infer that Marlon Brando _________.

A. did very well in his lessons

B. didn’t have a happy childhood

C. really wanted to become a solider

D. was gifted because of his mother

Farmer Ed Rawlings smiles as he looks at his orange trees. The young oranges are growing well in Florida’s weather. Warm sunshine and gentle rains, along with Ed Rawlings’ expert care , will produce a good crop of oranges this year.

But Ed has to fight against Florida’s changeable winter weather. In January and February. temperatures can destroy Ed’s entire orange crops. Having farmed in Florida for the past 35 years, Ed Rawlings is prepared for the frosts（霜）. When temperatures drop below freezing. Ed tries to save his crop by watering his orange trees. The water freezes and forms a thin layer（层）of ice on the trees. Strange as it may sound, this thin layer of ice actually keeps the fruit warm.

What happens is simple. When the trees are watered, the water loses heat and becomes ice. The warmth of the heat it loses is sucked in by the fruit and keeps its temperature at a safe level. Ed Rawlings has effectively used this method（方法）to save many orange crops.

But Ed still faces some difficulties. The trees should be watered at the exact moment the temperature drops to the freezing point. Also just the right quantity of water must he used. Too much water can form a thick layer of ice that will break the trees’ branches. Another difficulty is that wind blows away the heat. So Ed has to worry about not only when but also how often his trees should be watered, and how much water should be used.

Computer technology may help Ed Rawlings with some of these worries. With equipment, air and soil temperatures and wind speed can be measured. The information is fed into a computer which can tell when temperatures drop to freezing. The computer can correctly decide the quantity of water to be used and how frequently the trees should be watered. Ed Rawlings will find looking after his orange trees a lot easier with the help of a computer, and we’ll all have the benefits（or advantages） of computer – age oranges.

1．The passage is mainly about          .

       A．a farmer’s expert care for his orange trees                           

       B．the different uses of computers

       C．growing oranges in Florida’s changeable weather

       D．different ways of frost protection

2．In the writer’s eyes, computers          .

       A．are too expensive for small farmers

       B．can be a valuable tool for the farmer

       C．can be used to help oranges grow bigger                              

       D．cannot take the place of the farmer’s experience and judgment

3．Which of the following is NOT NECESSARY for Ed Rawlings to do?

       A．He should water the orange trees as soon as the temperature drops to the freezing point.

       B．He should decide the quantity of water for the orange trees.

       C．He has to water the orange trees more often in January and February.

       D．He has to judge how often he should water the orange trees.

4．According to the passage, the computer technology can          .

       A．get rid of the need for frost protection

       B．help the farmer get a better harvest

       C．tell the farmer why outdoor temperature changes

       D．prevent the temperature from dropping to the freezing point

I recently heard a story about a famous scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs（突破）. He was being interviewed by a reporter who asked him    1   he thought he was able to be so much more    2   than the average person.
He responded that it all came from a(n)   3   with his mother that occurred when he was about 2. He had been trying to   4  milk from the fridge when he    5   the slippery(光滑的) bottle, its contents running all over the kitchen floor.
When his mother came in,    6   shouting at him or giving him a lecture, she said, “Robert, what a great and wonderful    7   you have made! I have    8   seen such a huge pool of milk. Well, the damage has already been    9  . Would you like to get down and    10   in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”
Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge(海绵), a towel or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the sponge.
His mother then said, “ You know, what we have here is a    11  experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two    12   hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can   13 .” The little boy learned that if he    14   the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful    15  !
This scientist then said that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be    16  to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just    17   for learning something new, which is,    18  , what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn't   19 ,” we usually learn something    20   from it.

Last weekends, my kids along with few other kids from the neighborhood volunteered to help me wash my car. My 10-year-old daughter came up with the idea of   31   other people’s cars as well. It was pretty   32  outside and I had no plans to   33   to be in the bright sun. She   34   wanted to give lemonade（柠檬汽水）to passersby for free. I had seen little kids  35   and sell fresh lemonade for a small cost but not free. Although I felt   36   , I decided to help her.  37  she asked me, “What if we   38   this a smile car wash?” I couldn’t hold back my tears and   39   her and the other kids to go outside the house and come up with   40   ideas. While I kept myself busy in drying the car, the gang walked up to me with a(n)   41   with beautiful images of smiles. They had “Free Car Wash” written on it and the   42  of their exercise was “smile”. It was pretty neat to see a team of kids ranging 5－11 years with the   43   to do something for others.

All that seemed   44   and came right from their heart. Nothing seemed to   45   to them: their playtime, the heat outside—they just wanted to   46   others and do something nice in the community!

I helped them make some fresh lemonade and brought out some additional   47   to help clean cars. The passersby were   48   and one even shouted back to them saying “God Bless You, my kids…” One of them even tried giving them 5 dollars, which they refused. A pretty heartwarming   49  ! I feel blessed by being   50   by such wonderful and loving souls.

1. A. decorating               B. repairing                C. washing                  D. drying 

2. A. dirty                   B. hot                        C. different                D. quiet    

3. A. practice              B. avoid                      C. continue                 D. suggest       

4.A. hardly                B. therefore                C. already               D. further 

5. A  serve                     B. enjoy                      C. buy                    D. choose

6. A. difficult                B. popular                   C. confused             D. worried 

7.A. Luckily                   B. Simply                    C. Then                  D. Finally 

8.A. order                      B. leave                     C. make                 D. show 

9.A. encouraged              B. expected                C. invited                   D. challenged     

10.A. familiar                 B. ready                     C. changed             D. creative 

11.A. board                      B. picture                   C. idea                   D. car

12. A. purpose                      B. trouble                  C. secret                D. theme

13.A. need                       B. duty                   C. imagination         D. skill

14.A. important                B. disappointing          C. hopeful             D natural

15.A. matter                    B. object                     C. belong               D. refer

16.A. relax                      B. try                         C. help                      D. smile

17.A. friends                   B. rags                       C. children                 D. Fruit

18.A. interested                   B. amazed                    C. bored                     D. frightened

19.A. scene                      B. gift                        C. story                     D. explanation

20. A. supported                    B. understood            C. refused                D. surrounded

When creating a digital advertisement or something to promote a product or service ,music is one of the most important aspects. Whether it is simply a jingle（短歌）,musical note or any other use of sound，music can play a huge role in attracting a customer’s attention or being noticed by your target audience.
Music can work hand-in-hand with what you are advertising. Many times the advertising jingle, or saying, is what the audience remembers. Companies such as McDonald’s and Subway have used this method many times with different jingles and little sayings that are easy to remember and fun to sing along with.
Usually concepts that are part of a jingle would sound conceited(自负的)  and pompous(浮夸的) when said in a normal conversation. When put to music however, and sung in a rhythm，it suddenly sounds attractive. For example, if someone said,” No one does it better than me” in a normal statement, this would sound very conceited. Add music and a tune to this statement and it becomes attractive and fun for others to sing along with.
While understanding how important music is for your advertising needs, it is also important for you to know the best way to get special music.
Having people from many different backgrounds all over the world write something specifically for you is one of the best ways to get songs written just for you. You simply choose which one you believe is best for the project. So instead of hiring a single songwriter to compose your music, you can run a contest for you advertising jingle and songwriters around the world write you a finished jingle in an attempt to win your contest.
【小题1】What does the passage mainly tell us?