Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Oliver Twist, one of the most famous works of Charles Dickens, is a novel reflecting the tragic fact of the life in Britain in the 19th century.

The author who himself was born in a poor family wrote this novel in his twenties with a view to reveal the ugly masks of those cruel criminals and to 36  the horror and violence hidden underneath the narrow and dirty streets in London.

The hero of this novel was Oliver Twist, an orphan, who was thrown into a world full of  37

and crime. He suffered enormous pain, 38  hunger, thirst, beating and abuse. While reading the tragic experiences of little Oliver, I was shocked by his sufferings. I 39  the poor boy, but at the same time I detested the evil Fagin and the brutal Bill. To my relief, as was written in all the best stories, the goodness eventually conquered  40   and Oliver lived a happy life in the end. One of the plots that attracted me  41  is that after the theft, little Oliver was allowed to recover in the kind care of Mrs Maylie and Rose and  42   a new life.

How can such a little boy who had already suffered oppressive pain 43  pure in body and mind? The reason is the nature of goodness. I think it is the most important information 44  in the novel by Dickens --- he believed that goodness could conquer  45  difficulty.

Goodness is to human what water is to fish. He who is without goodness is an utterly  46  person. On the contrary, as the famous saying goes, “ The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.” He who is with goodness undoubtedly is a happy and useful person. People receiving his help are grateful to him and he also gets gratified from what he has done, and thus he can do  47  to both the people he has helped and himself.

36. A. open        B. exploit          C. expose           D. cover

37. A. honor                  B. poverty         C. glory            D. imagination

38. A. such like               B. for example    C. such as          D. for instance

39. A. looked down upon                       B. made an apology for

   C. played a joke on                          D. felt sorry for

40. A. relationship     B. kindness          C. carelessness   D. devil

41. A. mainly     B. most           C. mostly          D. best

42. A. began               B. launched         C. set                D. changed

43. A. bear                          B. remain            C. hold          D. maintain

44. A. contained            B. implied             C. imported      D. added

45. A. every               B. some             C. little            D. much

46. A. gracious            B. worthless      C. modest       D. earnest

47. A. harm              B. damage       C. good              D. justice

Doctors in Britain are warning of an obesity time bomb, when children who are already overweight grow up. So, what should we do? Exercise more? Eat less? Or both? The government feels it has to take responsibility for this expanding problem.

The cheerful Mr. Pickwick, the hero of the novel by Charles Dickens, is seen in illustrations as someone who is plump and happy. In 18th century paintings, beauty is equated （使…等同） with rounded bodies and soft curves. But nowadays being overweight is seen as indicating neither a cheerful character nor beauty but an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

So what do you do? Diet? Not according to England's chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson. He says that physical activity is the key for reducing the risks of obesity, cancer and heart disease. And the Health Secretary John Reid even said that being inactive is as serious a risk factor in heart disease as smoking.

So, having bought some cross trainers, how much exercise should you do? According to Sir Liam Donaldson, at least 30 minutes of moderate activity five days a week. Is going to the gym the answer? Luckily for those who think that running machines are boring, the Health Development Agency believes that physical activity that fits into people's lives may be more effective. They suggest taking the stairs rather than the lift, walking up escalators, playing active games with your children, dancing or gardening. And according to a sports psychologist, Professor Biddle, gyms "are not making the nation fit", and may even cause harm.

There's new scientific evidence that too much exercise may actually be bad for you. Scientists at the University of Ulster have found that unsuitable exercise releases dangerous free radicals that can adversely （oppositely） affect normal function in unfit people. The only people who should push their bodies to that level of exercise on a regular basis are trained athletes.

So, should we forget about gyms and follow some expert's advice to reduce sedentary （久坐不动的） activities and increase exercise in our daily life? After all, getting off the bus a stop early and walking the rest of the way can't do any harm! One final thought. How come past generations lacked gym facilities but were leaner and fitter than people today? 

1.Mr.Pickwick and the paintings of the 18m century are used as examples to show that_____.

A. beauty should be overweight

B. a fat man is usually a cheerful character

C. fatness was considered something good at one time

D. fatness leads to an increased risk of disease

2.According to Sir Liam Donaldson, we should_____.

A. go on a diet                  B. do regular physical activity

C. give up smoking                            D. go to the gym

3.The underlined phrase cross trainers probably refers to _____.

A. people who help you do exercise                   B. places where you can do exercise

C. a kind of shoes                               D. a form of vehicles

4.At present being overweight indicates _____.

A. an increased risk of diseases                   B. a happier life

C. a cheerful character                          D. a beauty

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A. how to keep fit and avoid fatness.          B. increased risks for overweight people.

C. the dangers of exercise in the gym.                 D. the benefit of a balanced diet.

 

It happened to me recently. I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father and how it had changed my views of our President. A friend I was talking to agreed with me that it was ,in his words, “a brilliantly（精彩地）written book”. However, he then went on to talk about Mr Obama in a way which suggested he had no idea of his background at all. I sensed that I was talking to a book liar.

And it seems that my friend is not the only one. Approximately two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven’t. In the World Book Day’s “Report on Guilty Secrets”, Dreams From My Father is at number 9. The report lists ten books, and various authors, which people have lied about reading, and as I’m not one to lie too often (I’d hate to be caught out ),I’ll admit here and now that I haven’t read the entire top ten . But I am pleased to say that, unlike 42 percent of people, I have read the book at number one, George Orwell’s 1984. I think it’s really brilliant.

The World Book Day report also has some other interesting information in it. It says that many people lie about having read Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky(I haven’t read him,but haven’t lied about it either )and Herman Melville.

Asked why they lied, the most common reason was to “impress” someone they were speaking to. This could be tricky if the conversation became more in –depth!

But when asked which authors they actually enjoy, people named J. k. Rowling, John Grisham, Sophie Kinsella (ah, the big sellers, in other words). Forty-two percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story(I’ll come clean: I do this and am astonished that 58 percent said they had never done so).

64. How did the author find his friend a book liar?

A. By judging his manner of speaking.

B. By looking into his background.

C. By mentioning a famous name.

D. By discussing the book itself.

65. Which of the following is a “guilty secret”according to the World Book Day report?

A. Charles Dickens is very low on the top-ten list.

B. 42% of people pretended to have read 1984.

C. The author admitted having read 9 books.

D. Dreams From My Father is hardly read.

66. By lying about reading, a person hopes to      .

A. control the conversation

B. appear knowledgeable

C. learn about the book

D. make more friends

67. What is the author’s attitude to 58%of readers?

A. Favorable.

B. Uncaring

C. Doubtful

D. Friendly

Disease, poverty, hate, love—Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy(遗产) was far greater than just “great literature”
February 7 marks the 200^th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A white Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas”—not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today. In the early 19^th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day – unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth –“ home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “ Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickensian” poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian (the period during British Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901) London.
He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy（官僚作风） in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about deprivation in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “life mirroring the times of Dickens”. 
【小题1】What is the main idea of the article?

A．An introduction to Charles Dickens’ classic novels.

B．Charles dickens’ impact on the world.

C．Charles Dickens’ amazing characters.

D．Why Charles Dickens is popular across the world.

【小题2】Why is Dickens called “the man who invented Christmas”?

A．Because he created the religious festival.

B．Because many of his novels have something to do with Christmas.

C．Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations.

D．Because he was the first man to have proposed celebrating Christmas.

【小题3】According to the article, the phrase “red tape” refers to _______.

A．rules or procedures that are required to accomplish a task

B．a situation in which poor members of society are hurt.

C．conflict between people in power and weaker people

D．pointlessly time-consuming official procedures

根据短文内容，从下框的A-F选项中选出能概括每一段主题的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余项。

A．The secret of the writer’s success

B．A writer with enduring popularity

C．Well-received creation to encourage Brits

D．The insight into human nature

E. Writing styles in different stages

F. The story appreciate for school students

1. ____________

Charles Dickens is often thought of as one of England’s great writers. Yet for many his language is old-fashioned and his story plots often improbable. Why, Dickens, out of so many other great English writers, has made the list? How then to explain Dickens’s enduring popularity?

2. _____________

One reason undoubtly is the British government’s insistence that every child studies a Dickens novel at school. Alongside Willian Shakespeare, Charles Dickens is a compulsory (必读的)writer on every English literature school reading list. His stories, though often over-long by today’s standard, are superbly written moral tales. They are filled with colorful characters.

3. ______________

But what makes his books stand out from other English writers is his insight into human nature. Dickens, like Shakespeare, tells us truths about human behavior that are as true to citizens of the 21st century as they were to his readers in the 19th century. Readers have returned to Dickens’s books again and again over the years to see what he has to say about readers’ own time.

4. _______________

The BBC adapted one of his less well-known novels, Little Dorrit, into a popular television drama that introduced many Brits to the novel for the first time. A dark story about greed and money, it was the perfect story to illustrate the bad times. No surprise then that it was Dickens Britons turned to, during the economic crisis last year, to make sense of world rapidly falling apart.

5. _______________

Readers of the 19th and early 20th century usually prized Dickens’s earlier novels for their humor and pathos(悲痛). While recognizing the virtues of these books, critics today tend to rank more highly the later works because of  their formal coherence and acute perception(洞察力) of the human condition. For as long as Dickens’s novels have something to say to modern audiences, it seems likely that he will remain one of Britain’s best loved writers.