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The Living Statue
Every day, Maria Marks makes her living by dressing in an antique (古式的) wedding dress, covering her skin in white clown paint and standing completely still on a pedestal (基座) in London's Covent Garden until a coin is thrown into her hat. So, what exactly draws the crowd when Maria “performs”? “Well, people want me to prove that I'm human. They watch carefully to see if I will breathe,” Maria says.
The Magician
Thirty-one-year-old Matthew Tate has built up many impressive magic tricks to shock and thrill his audience. They watch wide-eyed and open-mouthed. At the end of my interview with Matthew, I ask him if he can tell me just one of his secrets. My question is met with a wide smile and, of course, complete silence!
The Actor
Michael Webster has been an actor in London for almost fifteen years. He tells me all about the ups and downs of a typical actor's life. “You always try to give a perfect performance, often under imperfect conditions. And then there is always the worry about where the next job will come from,” he explains. “But standing in front of an audience knowing that they expressly came to see me perform fills me with great joy!”
The Circus Performer
Twenty-year-old Chinese-born Zhao Jian tours the world as a hand balancer with a circus troupe (马戏班). She has to follow an exceptionally hard programme, waking at 5:30 in the morning each day to begin eight hours of physical exercises. “I practice a move over and over again before I'm ready to perform it. Then when I'm on stage I balance on one hand for six minutes, which needs unbelievable strength and patience,” Zhao says.
1.What attracts people to Maria Marks?
A. Her funny performance.
B. Her strange appearance.
C. Their interest in antique clothing.
D. Their uncertainty about her realness.
2.Who travels widely to perform?
A. Zhao Jian. B. Matthew Tate.
C. Michael Webster. D. Maria Marks.
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An empowering project is offering kids who have spent a long time in the hospital the chance to show how heroic they truly are.
The For The Win Project is a series of superhero movie posters starring kids with serious medical conditions and illnesses. It's co-work between photographer Jaimie Trueblood and creative director Jesse Wilson. They bring cameras, costumes and lighting into Los Angeles-area hospitals to give these little patients their very own photo shoots.
Once they've finished the photography and design, Jaimie and Jesse print out full-size, movie theater quality posters and get signatures (签名) and videos from Hollywood stars like Stan Lee and Carrie Fisher.
For a little girl named Noah, who wanted to be Darth Vader for her poster, the creators arranged for a Darth Vader character to present the finished piece.
“One of the highlights of the evening was when we projected the celebrity videos,” Jaimie said. “There were many happy tears. Noah gave everyone tons of hugs (拥抱), but the moment I will always remember was when things were winding down, Noah grabbed my hand, looked up to me and said it was the most amazing night ever.”
“We want to remind these kids every time they look at their poster that inside them there's a hero with the strength to fight whatever battles they may face,” Jesse said.
Jaimie and Jesse drew inspiration for the project from the story of Batkid, as well as their own children. The creative director had a different opinion of life and people after going through some health problems, losing family members and watching his own son struggle to survive in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).
The photographer has spent years donating gifts and volunteering his time at children's hospitals in Los Angeles. “I try to keep in touch with as many families as I can, and one of them passed away this Thanksgiving. It was a reality check that really hurt, but gives us even more reason to do what we're doing and make these kids happy for whatever time they have left,” Jaimie said.
1.What do we know about the posters?
A. They are designed by kids.
B. They are made in Hollywood.
C. They look the same as film posters.
D. They have Jaimie and Jesse's signatures.
2.When Noah received her poster, she _____.
A. felt very happy and thankful
B. tried to fight back her tears
C. couldn't believe her eyes
D. couldn't control herself anymore
3.What can we infer from Jesse's experience?
A. He nearly lost his life.
B. He struggled to make a living.
C. He never got on with his family.
D. He has changed a lot from his past life.
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The Temple of the Moon is an Incan ceremonial temple on Huayna Picchu near Machu Picchu, in Peru. The site is made up of stone masonry (砌石) and an open-face and shallow cave. In the centre of the cave is a throne carved out of rock. Beside the throne are steps that lead deeper into the cave. The Temple of the Moon dates back 1500 years and was rediscovered in 1936.
The Temple of the Moon consists of three structural parts: an overhanging cave with excellent stone works, a very tall double-jamb (双重门柱) doorway beyond, and farther beyond, several structures. The temple also has niches (壁橱) and fake doors inserted in the stones, with a huge 8 meter high by 6 meter wide entrance. Its three doors are 1.60 meters high (in the front) and 1.00 meter high (at the sides). Inside, there are six niches.
Most scientists and authors believe that the name of the temple is arbitrary (任意的), as many other names given to sites in Machu Picchu. Ruth M Wright and Alfredo Valencia Zegarra, authors of The Machu Picchu Guidebook: A self guided tour say that they find no evidence that the moon played any part in the use of the temple. Others argue that the temple gets its name from the way moonlight radiates (散发) inside the cave at night.
The purpose of the temple’s being built is not exactly known. There is a theory that it must have been a royal tomb, a place of worship and a look-out post. Some believe that this was a place for sacrifices (献祭), because the structure has beautiful niches and in front of the cave, there is a rock carved in the shape of an altar (祭坛). Others think it was a ceremonial bathing complex.
The trail that leads from the summit of Huayna Picchu to the temple is very exposed and can be quite slippery (滑的). A few spots have a steel handrail, but a fall in many places would have serious results. The trail that leads off from the main Huayna Picchu trail is easier and safer, but still presents dangers.
1.Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraphs 1 and 2?
A. There are wonderful stone works inside the cave.
B. There are numberless steps outside the cave.
C. The temple is factually a huge cave.
D. The temple was rebuilt in 1936.
2.What can we learn from Paragraph 3?
A. Ruth M Wright and Alfredo Valencia Zegarra named the temple.
B. There’s evidence that the temple is related to moonlight.
C. Scientists proved the moon played a role in the temple.
D. Many sites in Machu Picchu were named at will.
3.The last paragraph is mainly about the temple’s _____.
A. construction B. access
C. location D. size
4.The author writes this passage to _____.
A. introduce a site in Peru
B. ask people to protect historical sites
C. encourage people to visit the temple
D. convince people to learn Peruvian culture
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When growing old, most of us will get grey hair, wrinkles (皱纹), and suffer from weakness, loss of memory and illness. However, it isn’t all bad news. With ageing, we can gain wisdom and often become more emotionally stable (稳定的) and at ease with life. But the downsides seem to far outweigh the advantages. We live in a youth-oriented world.
California is a perfect example. There people don’t like being old, looking old and acting old so much that the Ageing Centre of the University of California in Los Angeles, after operating for many years, was renamed the Longevity Centre. “The name was changed to give it a more positive spin,” according to its director, Dr. Gary Small. “Ageism, prejudice (偏见) against old age, is a terrible problem,” says Dr. Small. “People need to understand that older people are just people. As soon as you understand that, you can get over ageism.”
Scientists have long been searching for the key to a long and healthy life and a stress-free existence is often put forward as a recipe (秘诀) for a long life. But it is refuted (反驳) by Dr. Lewis Terman at Stanford University, who refutes many commonly held beliefs about lifestyles and lifespans.
He researched about 1,500 people from childhood to death and the result was really surprising and against what we had heard before. People who were the most hard-working and achieved the most success — who often were stressed — usually stayed healthier and lived longer. On the contrary, people who said “I am not stressed and I take it easy” tended to die at a young age.
According to the study, the advantages enjoyed by people who lead a responsible (负责的) life were also highlighted. “They tend to have healthier habits,” the researcher said. “They’re less likely to smoke and drink to excess (无度). And we also found that people who were responsible tended to be more successful in careers, which is a good predictor of a long life.”
But the physical process of ageing continues to challenge scientists. We are all familiar with the way our bodies change, but the changes that occur at a cellular (细胞的) level are more complex. One area of research into ageing, at a cellular level, focuses on the role of telomeres (粒端染色体). They are the protective tips found at the end of chromosomes (染色体). Their role is to safeguard the end of the chromosome and to prevent the loss of genetic information during cell division. Telomeres shorten or become damaged every time a cell divides and cell replication stops altogether when telomeres become too short. Therefore, shorter telomeres have been linked with high risks for some diseases.
“Shortened telomeres are clearly bad,” says Coles. “Anything that one can do to lengthen them would be advantageous.”
There are a number of products on the market to lengthen telomeres. The producers claim that these products could lengthen people’s life because they can stop cells from ageing, although it has not been proved whether it could extend to an anti-ageing effect on the entire body.
1.Why is California mentioned in Paragraph 2?
A. To show we live in a world with youth focused.
B. To show the aging centre is important.
C. To show the advantages of being young.
D. To show how huge the elderly population is.
2.What problem does the old face, according to Dr. Small?
A. Prejudice. B. Misunderstanding.
C. Illness. D. Stress.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to Dr. Lewis Terman’s research?
A. Hard-working is important for people’s health.
B. Stress is a great disadvantage to longevity.
C. Successful people are often stressed.
D. Responsibility can affect people’s lifespan.
4.What can be inferred from Paragraph 6?
A. Long telomeres are the key to longevity.
B. Scientists have found the secret of aging.
C. That telomeres become short is unavoidable.
D. Damaged telomeres can cause some diseases.
5.Coles might think products to lengthen telomeres are _____.
A. useful B. harmful
C. useless D. criminal
6.Which is the best title of the passage?
A. The advantage of a long life
B. The science of a long life
C. How to treat the old
D. How to stop aging
