Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.
For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(适合大众口味的音乐) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".
What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.
It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.
In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.
For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.
【小题1】Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________.

A．the sales of her second album achieved an incredible success last week in the UK

B．her second album ranked first in a row with the incredible average sales per week

C．Madonna was the last female singer in the UK to stay at No. 1 as long as she did

D．she is such an ordinary singer with so fascinating a voice in the music industry

【小题2】According to the author, the success of Adele’s second album __________________.

A．to a large extent depends on her apparent talent for music

B．is because of her extraordinariness and the wonderful voice

C．lies in gift, timing and something beyond sex, age and trust

D．is largely due to the state of the music industry currently

【小题3】Compared with other female pop stars, what does the author think of Adele?

A．She stands out in a totally different way from Gaga and Beyonce.

B．She and Madonna are contemporary megastars in music.

C．Only she and Madonna spent that long at No.1 in the UK.

D．Jessie J and she both have an American habit of expressing themselves.

【小题4】What helped Adele successfully turned her gift of singing into sales?

A．Her musical talent.

B．The joint work of musicians in the album.

C．Her incredible voice.

D．Her universality and broad appeal.

【小题5】The author thinks that the current musical trend in the UK is _______________.

A．satisfying

B．disappointing

C．dangerous

D．desperate

Keving Rogers used to be my boss.At that time he always told us to sell more.As soon as I could,I left his shop and got a new job in another place.The last time I saw Rogers was more than ten years ago.At least that’s what I thought.But now I am not so sure.
I was on my way to my office in the centre of town.There is a small park nearby,which I sometimes walk through after lunch.The park was almost empty except for a shabby-looking man on one of those benches（凳子）.The man looked about fifty years old and was wearing an old gray coat.It was cold and windy,and he was trembling(哆嗦).
“It’s a long time since I had a meal.Can you help me?”he said.There was something about his voice that sounded familiar.I gave him a few pennies.As he went past me I looked at his face closely.I wondered where I had seen him before.Then it suddenly came to me.Could it possibly be…? No!Impossible,I thought.I watched him walking away.He was the same height as Rogers but looked a lot thinner than I remembered.
Yesterday I ran into someone who had worked for Rogers at the same time as I did,and had stayed on longer.I started telling him about the man I had seen in the park.”For a moment I thought it was our old boss.But it couldn’t have been.Rogers must be the head of a company now.”I said.
My ex-workmate shook his head,”I thought you knew.” “Knew?Knew what?What are you talking about?”
“Rogers was sent to prison six years ago.He’s probably been out by now.For all I know he is sleeping on park benches and begging money from passers-by.”
【小题1】Where did the writer last meet Rogers?

A．In a restaurant.	B．In a small park.
C．In the centre of town.	D．In his office.

【小题2】Which of the following happened first?

A．Rogers was sent to prison.

B．The writer saw Rogers ten years ago.

C．The writer got a job in another place.

D．The ex-workmate left Rogers’ company.

【小题3】The sotry doesn’t mention anything about______.

A．what happened to Rogers six years ago

B．what Rogers looked like

C．why Rogers was sent to prison

D．how Rogers was living on

【小题4】The reason why the man was trembling was that______.

A．he was ill	B．he was very excited
C．he became very poor	D．he felt cold and hungry

Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.

For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(适合大众口味的音乐) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".

What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.

It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.

In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.

For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.

1.Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________.

A．the sales of her second album achieved an incredible success last week in the UK

B．her second album ranked first in a row with the incredible average sales per week

C．Madonna was the last female singer in the UK to stay at No. 1 as long as she did

D．she is such an ordinary singer with so fascinating a voice in the music industry

2.According to the author, the success of Adele’s second album __________________.

A．to a large extent depends on her apparent talent for music

B．is because of her extraordinariness and the wonderful voice

C．lies in gift, timing and something beyond sex, age and trust

D．is largely due to the state of the music industry currently

3.Compared with other female pop stars, what does the author think of Adele?

A．She stands out in a totally different way from Gaga and Beyonce.

B．She and Madonna are contemporary megastars in music.

C．Only she and Madonna spent that long at No.1 in the UK.

D．Jessie J and she both have an American habit of expressing themselves.

4.What helped Adele successfully turned her gift of singing into sales?

A．Her musical talent.

B．The joint work of musicians in the album.

C．Her incredible voice.

D．Her universality and broad appeal.

5.The author thinks that the current musical trend in the UK is _______________.

A．satisfying          B．disappointing       C．dangerous         D．desperate

 

Keving Rogers used to be my boss.At that time he always told us to sell more.As soon as I could,I left his shop and got a new job in another place.The last time I saw Rogers was more than ten years ago.At least that’s what I thought.But now I am not so sure.

I was on my way to my office in the centre of town.There is a small park nearby,which I sometimes walk through after lunch.The park was almost empty except for a shabby-looking man on one of those benches（凳子）.The man looked about fifty years old and was wearing an old gray coat.It was cold and windy,and he was trembling(哆嗦).

“It’s a long time since I had a meal.Can you help me?”he said.There was something about his voice that sounded familiar.I gave him a few pennies.As he went past me I looked at his face closely.I wondered where I had seen him before.Then it suddenly came to me.Could it possibly be…? No!Impossible,I thought.I watched him walking away.He was the same height as Rogers but looked a lot thinner than I remembered.

Yesterday I ran into someone who had worked for Rogers at the same time as I did,and had stayed on longer.I started telling him about the man I had seen in the park.”For a moment I thought it was our old boss.But it couldn’t have been.Rogers must be the head of a company now.”I said.

My ex-workmate shook his head,”I thought you knew.” “Knew?Knew what?What are you talking about?”

“Rogers was sent to prison six years ago.He’s probably been out by now.For all I know he is sleeping on park benches and begging money from passers-by.”

1.Where did the writer last meet Rogers?

A．In a restaurant.	B．In a small park.
C．In the centre of town.	D．In his office.

2.Which of the following happened first?

A．Rogers was sent to prison.

B．The writer saw Rogers ten years ago.

C．The writer got a job in another place.

D．The ex-workmate left Rogers’ company.

3.The sotry doesn’t mention anything about______.

A．what happened to Rogers six years ago

B．what Rogers looked like

C．why Rogers was sent to prison

D．how Rogers was living on

4.The reason why the man was trembling was that______.

A．he was ill	B．he was very excited
C．he became very poor	D．he felt cold and hungry

 

It is generally accepted that the experiences of the child in his first years determine his character and later personality. Every ex- perience 　 1　 the child something and the effects are 　 2　 ."Upbringing" normally used to refer to the treatment and training of the child　　3　 the home. This is closely 　 4　 the treatment and training of the child in school, which is usually distinguished(区别)by the 　 5　　 "education". In a society such as ours, both 　 6　 and teachers are responsible for the chances provided for the development of the child, 　　7　 upbringing and education depend on each other.

The ideals and practices of child upbringing are different from culture to culture. 　 8　 , the more rural(农村的) the group, the more 　 9　 the customs of child upbringing. In more technologically developed societies, childhood and adolescence(青春期)are likely 　 10　 a long time,　　 11　 more chances for education and greater variety in 　 12　 development.

Early upbringing in the 　 13　 is naturally affected both by the cultural pattern of the group and by the parents' 　　14　 and their aims and depends not only on upbringing and education but also on the 　 15　 abilities of the child. Wide differences of intelligence(智力)and character 　 16　 even in children of the same family.

Parents can 　 17　 what is normal in physical, mental and social development, by 　 18　 some of the many books 　 19　 on scientific knowledge in these areas, or less dependable since the sample (实例)is smaller, by comparing 　 20　 with friends and relatives who have children.

1. A. takes B. affords C. teaches D. pays

2. A. dangerous B. limited C. immediate D. increasing

3. A. from B. for C. out of D. within

4. A. covered with B. devoted to C. made from D. related to

5. A. term B. time C. kind D. age

6. A. children B. parents C. students D. classmates

7. A. so that B. so long as C. because of D. even if

8. A. Surprisingly B. Beside C. Generally D. However

9. A. strange B. unchangeable C. unusual D. curious

10. A. to cover B. to change C. to spend D. to walk

11. A. resulting in B. beginning with C. hoping for D. waiting for

12. A. school B. parents C. character D. education

13. A. school B. home C. society D. world

14. A. meals B. luck C. ability D. room

15. A. wonderful B. poor C. named D. born

16. A. happen B. make C. exist D. hold

17. A. bring down B. find out C. work out D. make up

18. A. referring to B. looking into C. holding out D. taking up

19. A. called B. decided C. based D. carried

20. A. books B. letters C. notes D. answers