B

Tony Bennett, the American singer recently touring Britain, can't remember how many times he has sung his standard hit "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". He sang it again to his audience at the London Palladium last night.

"I never get tired of singing it," he said, "I like it very much. It's a great city and it's a good song."

Bennett is to record a TV special with the American singer Lena Horne while he is here. And a new LP recorded by him in London for Philips titled "Listen Easy" will be published in June.

"I like it here," he added quietly over whiskey. "I would like to live here so many months of the year."

He already keeps a large flat in Grosvenor Square, where he is staying with his actress wife Sandie Grant and their three-year-old daughter Joanna. It has a studio where he likes to paint. Tony plans to have his first exhibition later in the year and he has already sold one picture for $4,000. At the end of the year Tony is to star in a musical film which has been specially written for him called "Two Bits", an informal expression for 50 cents. It's about an Italian immigrant(移民) who goes to America, but he becomes a failure.

"In many ways it's very close to my life the way the story has been written," said Bennett. "My father, an Italian, was ill and died when I was nine. He always wanted me to sing, but he never lived long enough to be a part of my success."

The film is to be made by Italy's top director Vittoria De Sica.

60. The underlined phrase "standard hit" in the first paragraph most probably means "_____".

A. Bennett's favorite song that's not very popular

B. a song that is always popular

C. a song which is like a heavy blow to his audience

D. a song which makes him standard

61. According to the text, which of the following is NOT true?

A. "Two Bits" is a musical film.

B. Tony is to star in a film.

C. "Listen Easy" is a new record by Bennett.

D. "Listen Easy" has been published.

62. What does Tony Bennett want to do?

A. Buy a house and live in England.

B. Stay with his wife and daughter in England.

C. Live part of each year in England.

D. Leave America and settle in England.

63. What can we learn about Tony Bennett's father from this text?

A. He liked his son's singing.

B. He was born in Italy and died in America.

C. He was a part of Bennett's achievement.

D. He was glad that his son became famous.

Every pet owner loves his pet. There is no argument here.

　　But when we asked our readers whether they would clone （克隆， 复制）their beloved animals, the responses（反应） were split almost down the middle. Of the 228 readers who answered it, 108 would clone, 111 would not and nine weighed each side without offering an opinion.

　　Clearly, from readers’ response, this is an issue that reaches deeply into both the joy and final sadness of owning a pet. It speaks, as well, to people’s widely differing expectations over the developing scientific procedure.

　　Most of the respondents who favored the idea strongly believed it would produce at least a close copy of the original; many felt the process would actually return an exact copy. Those on the other side, however, held little hope a clone could never truly recreate a pet, many simply didn’t wish to go against the natural law of life and death.

　　Both sides expressed equal love for their animals. More than a few respondents owned “the best dog/cat in the world”. They thought of their pets as their “best friend”, “a member of the family,”“the light of my life.” They told moving stories of pets’ heroism, intelligence and selfless devotion.

　　Then the loss is so disturbing---and the cloning so attractive. “People become very close to their animals, and the loss can be just as hard to bear as when a friend or family member dies,” says Gary Kowalski, author of Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. “For me, cloning feels like an attempt to turn death away…It’s understandable. Death is always painful. It’s difficult to deal with. It’s hard to accept.”

　　But would cloning reduce the blow? This question seemed to be at the heart of this problem.

1.So far as the cloning of pets is concerned, a recent survey shows that, of all pet owners, ____.

A．a lot more of them are for it

B．a lot more of them are against it

C．very few of them are willing to tell their opinions

D．about half of them are for it and the other half against it

2.While talking about the respondents from the readers, the expression “final sadness of owning a pet” refers to ____.

A．the death of one’s pet

B．the high cost of owning a pet

C．the troubles one has to deal with in keeping a pet

D．the dangers about the cloning of a pet

3.From what Gary Kowalski says, we can know that he ____.

A．has never thought about the problem of cloning

B．is going to write another book on pets

C．is in favor of the idea of cloning pets

D．is all against the cloning of pets

4.What is the key question at the heart of the problem of cloning pets?

A．Can cloning make the pain one suffers less when a pet dies?

B．Can pet owners afford the cost of cloning?

C．Does cloning go against the law of nature?

D．How reliably does cloning produce an exact copy of one’s pet?

 

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard. I remember him as someone who was a lot nicer than most of the adults in our community.

When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. His house sat on ten acres, and his life’s goal was to make it a forest.

The good doctor had some interesting theories concerning plant care and growth. He never watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them so that each successive tree generation would grow weaker and weaker. So you have to make things rough for them and weed out(淘汰) the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of moisture. I took him to mean that deep roots were to be treasured.

So he never watered his trees. He planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. Smack! Slap! Pow! I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.

Dr. Gibbs passed away a couple of years after I left home. Every now and again, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty-five years ago. They’re extremely tall, big and robust since they have deep roots now. However, the trees in my garden trembled in a cold wind although I had watered them for several years.

It seems that adversity(逆境) and suffering benefit these trees in ways comfort and ease never could. I stood there deep in thought.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I stand over them and watch their little bodies, the rising and falling of life within. I often pray for them. Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy. But I think that it’s time to change my prayer(祷词) because now I know my children are going to encounter hardship.

According to Dr. Gibbs’ theories, trees will become weaker if they _________.

A. are lack of care　　　　　B. are watered      C. are weeded out　　　　　D. are beaten

According to Para.3 and Para.4, we can infer that Dr. Gibbs’ motto(座右铭) may be       .

A. “Seeing is believing”                                    B. “Put everything in proper use”

C. “Practice makes perfect”                               D. “No pain, no gain”

The underlined word robust in Para.5 most probably means _________.

A. strong　　                      B. strange　　       C. deep　　                        D. old

Which of the following may be the author’s best prayer for his two sons now?

A. I wish them strong wings, with which they can fly higher and touch the sky.

B. I wish them nice fortune so that they can meet people like Dr. Gibbs in the future.

C. I wish them deep roots into the earth since the rains fall and the winds blow often.

D. I wish them great shades under the tree since the sunlight is always sharp and bitter.

Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A Nice Doctor  B. The Deep Roots  C. Adversity and Suffering  D. My Childhood Memory

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard. I remember him as someone who was a lot nicer than most of the adults in our community.
When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. His house sat on ten acres, and his life’s goal was to make it a forest.
The good doctor had some interesting theories concerning plant care and growth. He never watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them so that each successive tree generation would grow weaker and weaker. So you have to make things rough for them and weed out(淘汰) the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of moisture. I took him to mean that deep roots were to be treasured.
So he never watered his trees. He planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. Smack! Slap! Pow! I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.
Dr. Gibbs passed away a couple of years after I left home. Every now and again, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty-five years ago. They’re extremely tall, big and robust since they have deep roots now. However, the trees in my garden trembled in a cold wind although I had watered them for several years.
It seems that adversity(逆境) and suffering benefit these trees in ways comfort and ease never could. I stood there deep in thought.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I stand over them and watch their little bodies, the rising and falling of life within. I often pray for them. Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy. But I think that it’s time to change my prayer(祷词) because now I know my children are going to encounter hardship.
【小题1】According to Dr. Gibbs’ theories, trees will become weaker if they _________.

A．are lack of care

B．are watered

C．are weeded out

D．are beaten

【小题2】According to Para.3 and Para.4, we can infer that Dr. Gibbs’ motto(座右铭) may be       .

A．“Seeing is believing”	B．“Put everything in proper use”
C．“Practice makes perfect”	D．“No pain, no gain”

【小题3】The underlined word robust in Para.5 most probably means _________.

A．strong

B．strange

C．deep

D．old

【小题4】Which of the following may be the author’s best prayer for his two sons now?

A．I wish them strong wings, with which they can fly higher and touch the sky.

B．I wish them nice fortune so that they can meet people like Dr. Gibbs in the future.

C．I wish them deep roots into the earth since the rains fall and the winds blow often.

D．I wish them great shades under the tree since the sunlight is always sharp and bitter.

【小题5】Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A．A Nice Doctor

B．The Deep Roots

C．Adversity and Suffering

D．My Childhood Memory

Norah has a cottage on a cliff above a big bay. In winter it could be very nasty because of strong winds and sea spray. In fact, when a gale was blowing, Norah and her husband got used to sleeping in a small room downstairs, because their bedroom upstairs, which faced the gales, had a very big window, and they were afraid that an extra violent gust might break it and blow pieces of broken glass over them.

Also, the salt spray from the sea put an end to many of the colorful plants Norah planted in the garden. She tried putting up a fence to protect them, but the wind just hit it, went up over the top and then down the other side, so in the end she filled the garden with trees and bushes that liked salt.

But most of the summer Norah enjoyed her cottage and garden very much. At weekends she could sit out-of-doors in the sun, looking at the beautiful view, with interesting ships and boats passing by, and she could very easily cycle down to the sea for a swim.

Now, Norah and her husband had plenty of friends and relations. In the summer most of them used to come to enjoy the beautiful place, and in the end it really became quite annoying for Norah and her husband. When they were at home, they found friends and relations arriving, expecting to be given unlimited drinks and meals, and to sit in the sun for hours, talking as if Norah and her husband had nothing else to do but entertain and listen to them.

This went on for several years. Norah did not wish to appear rude by refusing to let her friends and relations in, but on the other hand, she was getting tired every summer.

Then one day Norah was complaining about this to her hairdresser while she was doing her hair. “You’re disturbed by too many uninvited guests, are you?” said the hairdresser. “Why don’t you try my way of escaping?”

“What’s that?” asked Norah.

“Well,” the hairdresser answered, “when the bell rings, I put on my coat and take my shopping bag. If it’s someone I don’t want to see, I say innocently, ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go out. But…’”

1.In paragraph one the underlined word “spray” probably means 　　　. 

A. wastes produced by some birds living near the sea

B. great waves caused by strong wind

C. plants floating on the surface of the sea

D. very small drops of sea water sent through the air by something

2.We can infer that 　　　. 

A. a lot of friends came to visit them in winter

B. few friends came to visit them in winter.

C. Friends came to visit them only for drinks and meals

D. Norah was a good cook

3.The best title for the passage might be 　　　. 

A. A Good Place of Enjoying the Sea

B. A Warm-hearted Couple

C. A Clever Way of Escaping

D. A Visit to Norah

4.What the hairdresser is likely to continue to say in the end is “　　　” 

A. If I am tired, I say, ‘Sorry, can you come next time?’

B. If it’s someone I like to see, I say, ‘How lucky! I’ve just come in!’

C. If it’s someone I like to see, I say, ‘How happy to see you! I was going shopping, but now I’ve changed my mind.’

D. If it is fine that day, I say, ‘I am tired, but I’ll show you around the place, anyhow.’