Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)
These three short plays by Suzan Lori•Parks are the start of an ambitious attempt to retell the story of the American civil war. The focus is on a slave promised his freedom by his master if he joins in the fight against the Union. Steve Toussaint and Jimmy Akingbola head the cast, and Jo Bonney is in charge.
★15 September to 4 October, Royal Court, London. Box office: 020•7565 5000.
A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer
Bryony Kimmings and Brian Lobel consider our attitudes to cancer and the language we employ to deal with it through the stories of five people. This is an all•singing, all•dancing affair with music by Tom Parkinson, wiping off the pink charity ribbons to look at the realities of diagnosis(诊断) and what it means for the wider family.
★20～24 September, Home, Manchester. Box office: 0161•200 1500.
The Nest
Every parent wants the best for their baby. Kurt and Martha are prepared to work hard to ensure theirs has everything he needs, even if that means Kurt taking on extra work. Franz Xaver Kroetz’s extraordinary play about the damage that profit causes to individuals and the environment gets a new translation from Conor McPherson.
★15～22 October, Lyric, Belfast. Box office: 028•9038 1081.
The Red Barn
David Hare’s new play is based on La Main, a psychological thriller by the great Georges Simenon. The story concerns two couples who, on their way back from a party, struggle through the snow. The play is directed by Robert Icke, and the cast is headed by Mark Strong and Hope Davis.
★6～20 October, Lyttelton, London. Box office: 020•7452 3000.
1.When can you see the play directed by Robert Icke?
A.On 19 September. B.On 3 October.
C.On 10 October. D.On 21 October.
2.In which play can we feel parents’ love for children?
A.The Nest.
B.The Red Barn.
C.Father Comes Home from the Wars.
D.A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer.
3.What do the plays mentioned in the text have in common?
A.They are all comedies. B.They are put on in autumn.
C.They are highly thought of. D.They are works of the same writer.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
After finishing my teaching for a school year, I thought that I should go back to Montreal, Quebec, my hometown for a visit. My main goal was to relax in preparation for the challenges of my retirement(退休) in the coming year.
Through my stay in Montreal, I met lots of Chinese who were trying hard to succeed and then led a better life in Canada. Some travelled thousands of miles to get knowledge. When I spoke with some of them about the major barrier(障碍) they had to face after they arrived in Canada, they all talked about the two official languages of Canada. But I was impressed by their ability to express their ideas while they were changing between English and French.
Almost all of those people said they often felt homesick. They miss their families and friends. Though Montreal has lots of Chinese restaurants, they long for a home•cooked meal.
I met some tourists who were trying to realize their childhood dreams of experiencing the life in a developed country. When I asked them if Montreal had lived up to their expectations, they hesitated. They said that reality never agrees with fantasies. However, they were glad to have the opportunity to visit Montreal and didn't regret taking the trip.
Not all the Chinese people I met were happy. I once met a young lady who met with a gentleman through the Internet. However, to her disappointment, he disappeared after he promised to marry her in Montreal.
I was served by another Chinese person who could not deal with the challenges of studying in an English-speaking environment and ended up working in a restaurant with low pay.
Exploring different parts of the world, without any doubt, is an enriching experience. However, one should be realistic when it comes to leaving his hometown to start a new life in a foreign country. One should take time to examine the advantages and the shortcomings of the adventure before he decides to chase an uncertain dream of achieving success or leading a better life.
1.Why did the writer go to his hometown?
A.To meet his old friends.
B.To study a new language.
C.To go on with his teaching.
D.To prepare for his retirement life.
2.What is the main barrier for some Chinese to get knowledge in Canada?
A.Food. B.Homesickness. C.Language. D.Income.
3.The writer thinks that .
A.overseas Chinese are good at communication in Canada
B.the trip to Montreal is a good chance for people to study
C.overseas Chinese feel disappointed at their life in Canada
D.people should think carefully before chasing their dreams abroad
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A.Improving Life Skills in Canada
B.Exploring Different Parts of Canada
C.Struggling for a Better Life in Canada
D.Going to Canada—Your Ideal Destination
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
People who have seen Trisha Seifried Woodall with her cats say that she has a magic touch. Most people don't know anyone who can order a cat to jump on a table, sit for two minutes, and then jump to the floor and walk backward.
Ms. Seifried Woodall has taught her cats to do all these tricks -- and many more. At her training center. Got Pet-ential, cats learn tricks for TV and magazine ads. Some of her cats have appeared on bags of cat food.
When Ms. Seifried Woodall gets a cat, she first learns what that cat likes and doesn’t like. “Some cats like to stay close to the ground, so I'll teach them how to stand behind me, and walk with me,”she says. “Other cats, like high places, so they'll learn how to jump on my bent knee and then safely leap to my shoulder.”
Ms. Seifried Woodall grew up in a family with many pets, and she was first paid to work with animals when she was 18. At a summer job at an amusement park, she learned how to train a few of the animals for performances. She continued to train and learn about animals for 20 years before starting her own animal-training center.
Ms. Seifried Woodall is proud of the skills her cats have learned, but she is also proud that her center’s cats are healthy and social. She believes her cats enjoy learning new tricks.
In Ms. Seifried Woodall’s experience, no breed(品种) of cat is easier to train than others. All of her cats came from shelters. They have become pets in her home.
Like most animal trainers, Ms. Seifried Woodall uses a reward system. Cats that are successful during training get food or a new toy. A cat that doesn’t enjoy eating or playing will probably not be interested in being trained. She never scolds(责骂) them. “Cats need a lot of encouragement when they are performing, she says." I say good job or that’s right several times during a single minute.”
1.What are the cats trained by Ms. Seifried Woodall mainly used to do?
A.Work for amusement parks. B.Act in TV and magazine ads.
C.Become people’s family pets. D.Set a good example to other cats.
2.What can we learn about Ms. Seifried Woodall and her cat-training job?
A.She usually trains cats at her home.
B.She prefers training cats that are active.
C.She trains cats according to their characters.
D.She can train any cat to be well-behaved.
3.What did Ms. Seifried Woodall do before becoming a cat trainer?
A.She took care of pets for families.
B.She performed at an amusement park.
C.She worked in an animal shelter.
D.She worked with animals for years.
4.Which of the following can best describe Ms. Seifried Woodall?
A.Brave and strong B.Polite and friendly
C.Caring and patient D.Humorous and talkative
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Gwendolyn Brooks wrote hundreds of poems during her lifetime. She had more than 20 books published. She was known around the world for using poetry to increase understanding about black culture in America.
Her poems described conditions among the poor, racial inequality and drug use in the black community. She also wrote poems about the struggles of black women. But her skill was more than her ability to write about struggling black people. She was an expert at the language of poetry. She combined traditional European poetry styles with the African American experience.
In her early poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the South Side of Chicago. The South Side of Chicago is where many black people live. In her poems, the South Side is called Bronzeville. It was A Street in Bronzeville that gained the attention of literary experts in 1945. Critics praised her poetic skill and her powerful descriptions about the black experience during the time. The Bronzeville poems were her first published collection.
In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She won the prize for her second book of poems called Annie Allen. Annie Allen is a collection of poetry about the life of a Bronzeville girl as a daughter, a wife and mother. She experiences loneliness, loss, death and being poor. Ms. Brooks said that winning the prize changed her life.
Her next work was a novel written in 1953 called Maud Martha. Maud Martha received little notice when it was first published. But now it is considered an important work by some critics. Its main ideas about the difficult life of many women are popular among female writers today.
In some of her poems, Gwendolyn Brooks described how what people see in life is affected by who they are. One example is this poem, Corners on the Curving Sky.
By the end of the 1960s, Gwendolyn Brooks's poetry expanded from the everyday experiences of people in Bronzeville. She wrote about a wider world and dealt with important political issues.
1.What can we learn about Gwendolyn Brooks from the second paragraph?
A.She mainly wrote about struggles of black women.
B.She was good at using the language of poetry.
C.Her writing skills were a little worse than her ability.
D.Her poems were mainly about the African experience.
2.The author develops the passage mainly by .
A.providing examples
B.using statistics
C.comparing opinions
D.describing her experiences
3.What does the text mainly talk about?
A.The life of Gwendolyn Brooks.
B.The poems of Gwendolyn Brooks.
C.The understanding about black culture.
D.The struggle of black women.
4.In the next part, the author would most probably talk about ?
A.the difficulties Gwendolyn Brooks would meet
B.the poems related to political issues
C.the award Gwendolyn Brooks had gained
D.the racial inequality the black had to face
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Giving advice is not one of the easiest tasks. You can be put under a lot of pressure especially if you generally give bad advice. With these tips, you'll be a professor at giving good advice!
1.Every situation is unique, so never assume you know all you need to know about a problem. Listen carefully to the person who wants advice, and learn as much as possible about this situation.
Put yourself in the advisee's shoes. 2.If you've been in a similar situation, think about what you learned, but don't rely solely on your experiences to give advice—imagine that you are giving yourself advice for the unique circumstances(情况) that the other person is facing.
3.If you can have a few hours to think about the problem and possible solutions, take that time to really think about every possible solution. You could even take the opportunity to ask someone who's more knowledgeable for advice.
Think about the results of taking your advice and not taking your advice. If there's no obvious difference between the results, your advice might not be bad, but it's not useful either. 4.
Be honest. If your advised course of action has possible problems, tell the person about them. 5.Your goal should not be to blindly lead the person, but rather to help him or her make a good decision, so don't act like a salesman.
A.Listen to the person asking you for advice.
B.Take time to think about the issue if you can.
C.Try to imagine yourself in the other person's situation.
D.Understand that the person may not take your advice.
E.If your advice leads to a worse result, your advice probably is bad.
F.You can never be sure that your advice is really the best for him or her.
G.Be honest about this fact if you don't really feel knowledgeable enough about the problem.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
完形填空（共1小题）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Once there was a family of squirrels who lived in a large oak tree．They had lived there for many generations and it gave them all that they needed to_______,so they never left its branches．Then the tree started to die and it stopped producing _______for them, so the family of squirrels had a_ ________to decide what they should do next．
The oldest son, Nifty, said,“ We need to______．we will starve to death ______we stay here ,”Uncle Nutty answered,“We can't do that．We'll be ______for sure．The hawks, foxes and bears are just waiting for us to leave this________．”After much discussion, the whole family decided to_______in the old oak tree except for Nifty, Nifty_______the tree and was never heard again．“See?” Uncle Nutty said to the________of the family, “I told you that the hawks, foxes or bears would get him!”
However, the squirrel were________, so one by one they left．Eventually, only Uncle Nutty was left in the old oak tree．You could ________his ribs(肋骨) through his skin as it had been a long time since he had last________．Meanwhile, just 100 meters away in the same________,the rest of the squirrel family were living________together in a lovely oak tree that was supplying all of their needs．
The world is always changing．Book publishers, DVD rental companies and car manufacturers might be______a few years ago, but they are hurting now．Yet some people are_______hanging on, thinking that the_______to change is greater than that to stay where they are．They're_______.Don’t be Uncle Nutty．Change now before it's too ________．
1.A.hide B.produce C.grow D.live
2.A.protection B.clothes C.food D.apartment
3.A.performance B.class C.meeting D.plan
4.A.improve B.move C.try D.develop
5.A.if B.unless C.before D.though
6.A.met B.remembered C.killed D.discovered
7.A.mountain B.village C.family D.tree
8.A.jump B.stay C.lie D.sit
9.A.left B.cut C.planted D.watered
10.A.children B.member C.rest D.other
11.A.brave B.angry C.bored D.hungry
12.A.imagine B.see C.touch D.count
13.A.eaten B.rested C.fought D.walked
14.A.pool B.garden C.forest D.sea
15.A.worriedly B.carelessly C.fearlessly D.comfortably
16.A.upset B.popular C.grateful D.disappointed
17.A.even B.still C.always D.never
18.A.aim B.reaction C.answer D.risk
19.A.wrong B.smart C.dishonest D.proud
20.A.obvious B.worrying C.late D.far
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
根据汉语提示填写适当单词
1.She was (颁发；授予) the prize for both films.
2.What will happen to you if you don’t eat a (平衡) diet?
3.On the (对立面；反面), I don’t think it is very funny.
4.Reptiles produced young by (产卵；下蛋) eggs.
5.The house is more than 20 metres long and (测量) six metres in width.
6.You have added too much liquid to the (混合物) .
7.Jane Goodall spent years (观察) and recording the chimps' daily activities.
8.Lin Qiaozhi went late at night to (接生) a baby for a poor family who couldn’t pay her.
9.Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to (摆脱)
the world of hunger.
10.I am (后悔的) for what I have done.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
单句改错（注意：只改一处）
1.The teacher and writer have written five books for teenagers.
2.Not only the Greens but also their daughter are leaving for New York by plane.
3.The problem is more and more young people are getting into the habit of smoking.
4.The reason why he failed in the exam was because he was too careless.
5.John dare not to say what he thinks.
6.The good news mustn’t be true.
7.Canada’s population is slight over thirty million.
8.I realized the book was intending for women in the countryside.
9.My father is satisfying with his life.
10.I'm very glad to see that your vocabulary is gradually building on.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，你校外籍教师 Peter 计划在暑假期间回国，他想送给母亲几件可以代表中 国文化的礼物。请你给他写一封邮件，向他推荐礼物。内容包括： 1．推荐礼物：旗袍和中国结；2．推荐原因；3．表达祝福。
注意：1.词数 100 左右(开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数)；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：代表 represent; 旗袍 cheongsam; 中国结 Chinese knot
Dear Peter,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析