"S. H.E. is going to sing at the CCTV annual Spring Festival Evening Party, is that true?" cried out Peng Weiye, a Senior 2 girl in Shanghai and die-hard S. H.E. fan.
After checking it on the Internet, Peng quickly phoned friends to spread the news. For fans like her, S. H. E. ’s performance is perhaps the only part of the old fashioned evening to get excited about.
The Taiwanese band is made up of Selina, Hebe and Ella. Their name comes from the first letter of each of the singers' English names.
Last week S. H. E. announced they would perform in Las Vegas, US, over Christmas and then in Guangzhou on January 15.
At their Shanghai show on October 30, hundreds of parents waited outside the Hongkou Stadium. Inside, thousands of teenagers sang, cried and shouted as the band performed.
"I love their music, healthy image and everything related to them. Thank God that, although my parents don't understand why I love them so much, they still bought me a ticket for that show," said Peng about the Shanghai performance.
It is not just on the mainland that the three girls have made audiences much excited. In the past year the band has passed through Taiwan, Hong Kong and even Singapore and Malaysia.
When the three high school girls entered a singing contest in Taiwan in 2000, none of them ever dreamed of being a superstar. "We had never met before, and we didn't talk at all at the beginning," recalled Ella.
When asked about the secret of their success, she said, "Our average looks and not-so-expensive clothes keep us close to our fans. We are happy to be the girls next door, your singing sisters."
"It's really a magical journey, from day-dreaming high school girls to singers performing on the same stage as our idols(偶像). Nothing but magical," she said.
【小题1】 Why was Peng Weiye, a Senior 2 girl, so excited?

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"S. H.E. is going to sing at the CCTV annual Spring Festival Evening Party, is that true?" cried out Peng Weiye, a Senior 2 girl in Shanghai and die-hard S. H.E. fan.

      After checking it on the Internet, Peng quickly phoned friends to spread the news. For fans like her, S. H. E. ’s performance is perhaps the only part of the old fashioned evening to get excited about.

      The Taiwanese band is made up of Selina, Hebe and Ella. Their name comes from the first letter of each of the singers' English names.

      Last week S. H. E. announced they would perform in Las Vegas, US, over Christmas and then in Guangzhou on January 15.

      At their Shanghai show on October 30, hundreds of parents waited outside the Hongkou Stadium. Inside, thousands of teenagers sang, cried and shouted as the band performed.

      "I love their music, healthy image and everything related to them. Thank God that, although my parents don't understand why I love them so much, they still bought me a ticket for that show," said Peng about the Shanghai performance.

      It is not just on the mainland that the three girls have made audiences much excited. In the past year the band has passed through Taiwan, Hong Kong and even Singapore and Malaysia.

      When the three high school girls entered a singing contest in Taiwan in 2000, none of them ever dreamed of being a superstar. "We had never met before, and we didn't talk at all at the beginning," recalled Ella.

      When asked about the secret of their success, she said, "Our average looks and not-so-expensive clothes keep us close to our fans. We are happy to be the girls next door, your singing sisters."

      "It's really a magical journey, from day-dreaming high school girls to singers performing on the same stage as our idols(偶像). Nothing but magical," she said.

Why was Peng Weiye, a Senior 2 girl, so excited?

     A. S.H.E. band will get the old fashioned evening exciting.

     B. S. H.E. will perform in Las Vegas over Christmas.

     C. Her parents bought her a ticket for S. H. E.’s Shanghai show.

     D. S. H.E. will perform on the CCTV Spring Festival Evening Party.

How did the Taiwanese band get the name?

     A. Their fans gave the name to them.

     B. Their idols had a deep influence on them.

     C. A singing contest gave their idea of the band name.

     D. The first letters of Selina, Hebe and Ella form the band name.

What do you know about Peng Weiye?

     A. she stayed outside the Hongkou Stadium to listen to S. H. E. 's performance.

     B. She will watch the performance in Guangzhou on January 15.

     C. She pays close attention to everything about S. H. E.

     D. She was grateful that her parents understood and supported her.

Which is true about S. H. E. ?

     A. The secret to their success is their pretty faces and lovely clothes.

     B. They were close friends when they entered a singing contest.

     C. They caused a storm of excitement in Southeast Asia.

     D. They have well prepared to perform with their idols.

Which do you think is NOT the reason for S. H. E’s popularity among their fans?

     A. Their music and their healthy image.

     B. They can make audience much excited.

     C. Their success meets their fans’ day dream of becoming others’ idols.

     D. Their average looks and not-so-expensive clothes keep them close to their fans.

America’s greatest technological achievement, the Hoover Dam, now has a companion piece, a bridge held up by the longest arch in the Western Hemisphere（半球）. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened this month and connects the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, crosses the vast chasm（峡谷）890 feet above the Colorado River that is controlled by the dam.

The striking 1,900-foot-long structure will improve traffic in the region and help protect the dam from being destroyed. It is the seventh highest bridge in the world, behind four in China, one in Papua New Guinea and one in the US state of Colorado.

“The Hoover Dam is the greatest civil engineering achievement in America’s history,” said the bridge project manager Dave Zanatell. “Our goal was not to outdo or outshine it. Our goal was to, in a respectful way, do something that would be great for our generation and that would stand besides Hoover Dam in a respectful and quality way that would become a part of Hoover’s legacy（遗产）.”

Just as the Hoover Dam was built in the heart of the Great Depression（大萧条）and was seen as an example of the nation’s can-do spirit, some hope this project can also provide some uplift.

The bridge is surprising: at 1,050 feet, its support arch holds up a roadway that lies on 300-foot-long concrete pillars（柱子）, some of the tallest in the world. It contains 16 million pounds of steel.

　　The idea of the bridge came into being in the 1960s because the top of the Hoover Dam has been a narrow two-lane road that is the fastest route from Arizona to Las Vegas and then the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

  　Access to the dam from each direction is a dangerously winding route, but massive trucks and passenger vehicles shared it for decades. During the day, when thousands of tourists travel to the dam from Las Vegas three times as many accidents as on a normal road will happen.

  　The bridge has a sidewalk on the side facing the dam. The wall on both sides is 54 inches high, so walkers can take photos there.

Which of the following is true of the Hoover Dam?

   A. It was completed recently.

   B. It was built during the hard times.

   C. It has the longest arch.

   D. It’s the seventh highest dam in the world.

What is one of the purposes of building the bridge?

   A. To protect the dam.                                 B. To save the cultures.

   C. To outdo the dam.                                       D. To develop the tourism.

The underlined word “uplift” in Paragraph 4 means _____.

   A. lift of the heavy object                            B. support in money

   C. spiritual encouragement                           D. instruction in technology

Which of the followings shows the right position of the bridge and dam?

The text is mainly about ______.

   A. the Hoover Dam                                    

   B. American western development

   C. a tour along the Colorado River               

   D. a recently built bridge

The Apple iPhone’s impact was widely evident (明显的) at the Consumer Electronics Show, as new touch－screen devices could be found everywhere.

The consumer electronics industry came unbuttoned in Las Vegas this week. At the annual Consumer Electronics Show, companies from around the world unveiled many devices boasting (以拥有…而自豪) touch – sensitive technology, rather than traditional push-button controls.

Motorola, Sony, and LG Electronics all showed off touch-screen phones this week. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates praised and offered a touch-screen computer, the Surface, related to a flat panel TV for a tabletop. Even camera makers, such as Kodak，included touch-screen LCDs in their devices. Touch-screen tech has been in use for years，but the push to develop and weave it into consumer electronics gathered steam with the June introduction of Apple’s iPhone. “The touch-screen industry is really getting hot,” says Jennifer Colegrove, a senior analyst at iSuppli. “Since the iPhone came out, there are a lot of companies that did not have a relationship with touch screens before that decided, ‘OK, I want to make a touch screen, too.’”

The touch－screen tech ecosystem now includes more than 100 companies specializing in everything from smudge-proof (防污的) screens to sensors (传感器) able to detect fingers before they even contact the screen. Sales of leading touch-screen technologies，such as those used in mobile phones and navigation (航行) devices，are expected to rise to $ 4.4 billion in 2012, up from $ 2.4 billion in 2006，according to iSuppli estimates.

What did the writer think about the Apple iPhone？

A. The Apple iPhone was beautiful.       

B. The Apple iPhone was popular.

C. The Apple iPhone was expensive.                 

D. The Apple iPhone was attractive.

What is the meaning of the underlined word “unveiled” in the second paragraph？

A. Invented.                                              B. Unlocked.        

C. Discovered.                                           D. Showed.

The touch-screen tech was used in consumer electronics mainly because of _______.

A. traditional push-button controls                    

B. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates

C. the introduction of Apple’s iPhone                

D. the touch-screen tech ecosystem

What can we learn from the passage?

A. The touch-screen technology will disappear.

B. The touch-screen technology will be replaced by traditional push-button controls.

C. The touch-screen technology will be as important as traditional push-button   controls.

D. The touch-screen technology will be more widely used in electronics devices.