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The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony（交响乐） that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the norm and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”
Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a property developer who later committed suicide), she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5，I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.
Brightman led the saucy dance troupe（辣妹三人舞） Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.
Brightman says she felt hostility(敌意) “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the US, where I now live, I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”
1. The first paragraph tells us that _____.
A. Brightman is very popular around the world except in America
B. Brightman’s musical style is a mixture of opera, pop and jazz
C. the British people don’t like her for her style of music
D. Brightman is much older than Andrew Lloyd Webber
2. Brightman decided to give up having children because _____.
A. she could adopt one
B. her life and career were unbelievably rich without children
C. she felt it normal not to have children
D. she was too busy
3.The following statements are true except ______.
A. Brightman first appeared in a West End musical at 5
B. Brightman disliked life on the campus
C. Brightman was very gifted when she was young
D.The saucy dance troupe made Brightman famous
4.The underlined word in the fourth paragraph probably means _____.
A. located B. admired C. followed D. found
5. What does the author try to say in the last paragraph by quoting Brightman’s words?
A. Brightman has to accept the fact that she is not liked in Britain
B. Brightman lives in America but she loves her own country
C. The British coldness towards Brightman led to her hatred to her homeland
D. Brightman was at a loss why she was not welcome in Britain
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Pushy parents and teachers who “hothouse” the under-5s risk causing damage to the children’s long term development, a leading education expert said.
Lilian Katz, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois, said that four-year-olds engaged in reading and writing went on to perform worse academically than those engaged in imaginative learning. They scored higher in tests at the age of 5, but children whose first year at school was stimulating outstripped them four years later.
The findings suggest that the government's structured approach to early years' learning could be storing up problems for children. They also raise serious questions about the plan for all children to be able to read by the age of 6.
In many countries formal teaching does not start until children are 6 or 7 and have improved their social and manual skills. Children start learning to read and write at 6 in the United States, France and Germany, and at 7 in Finland and Sweden.
Professor Katz said that in many schools the courses were "boring children to tears". Much academic teaching required children to learn by memorizing pieces of information out of context, she said. Teaching in reception class should instead allow children to develop their intellect by exploring their environments and asking questions.
"Research suggests the benefits of formal academic instruction for four- and five-year-olds seem to be promising when they are tested early, but considerably less so in the long term. When these children are followed over a period of three or more years, those who had early experience in more intellectually engaging curricula were more likely to do well in school than their peers, who had received early academic instruction." She advocates teaching children through first-hand experience and play, in mixed-aged classes. This can include puppet shows, drawing or running a pretend shop in the classroom.
1.According to the passage, those who “hothouse” the under-5s would probably _________.
A. prefer a lot of interaction and stimulation while teaching
B. teach in a lively way to motivate kids’ interest
C. push the kids to memorize pieces of information
D. care about the kids’ physical development
2.What does the underlined word “ outstripped” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. did better than B. looked down upon
C. caught up with D. performed worse than
3.According to Lilian Katz, the government’s structured approach to early-years learning __.
A. is necessary for improving children’s reading and writing ability
B. needs to be improved to develop children’s academic ability
C. will cause problems to children in their future learning
D. has more advantages than disadvantages
4.The message the author wants to deliver through the passage is that formal teaching _____.
A. can start at different times in different countries. B. should not be started too early
C. is best carried out in Finland and Sweden
D. should include teaching children social and manual skills
5.Which of the following is NOT the opinion of Lilian Katz?
A. Children should be taught through first-hand experience.
B. Learning in a mixed-age class is good for children.
C. Running a shop can help children get good marks.
D. Puppet shows and drawing are useful in teaching children.
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1.The main aim of Environment Awareness Week is to _____．
A．educate the public on protecting the environment
B．discuss global warming and other environmental problems
C．explain ways for producing freshwater to save the environment
D．learn about renewable energy sources that protect the environment
2.The organizer of the event is _____．
A．Global Gaia Network B．Clean Energy Agency
C．Green Earth Foundation D．International Environment Fund
3.If you are interested in renewable energy sources, you should go to _____．
A．Hall 1 B．Hall 2 C．Hall 3 D．Hall 4
4.The "3 Rs" stand for _____．
A．Read, Realize and Remember B．Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
C．Green Earth Foundation D．Global Gaia Network
5.Which of the following statements is NOT true of the event?
A．It will last a week and the halls will be open 11 hours a day．
B．You can send an email to Mrs．Daisy Soh for more information．
C．Each hall charges the same amount of money as the other．
D．Lectures in Hall 1 will be given by university students．
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Self-employed private physicians who charge a fee for each patient visit are the foundation of medical practice in the United States. Most physicians have a contract relationship with one or more hospitals in the community. They send their patients to this hospital, which usually charges patients according to the number of days they stay and the facilities(operating room, tests, medicines that they use). Some hospitals belong to a city, a state or, in the case of veteran's hospitals, a federal government agency. Others are operated by religious orders(教会) or other non-profit groups.
Some medical doctors are on salary. Salaried physicians may work as hospital staff members, or residents, who are often still in training. They may teach in medical schools, be hired by corporations to care for their workers or work for the federal government's Public Health Service.
Physicians are among the best paid professionals in the United States. In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for medical doctors to earn incomes of more than $ 100 000 a year. Specialists, particularly surgeons, might earn several times that amount. Physicians list many reasons why they deserve to be so well rewarded for their work. One reason is the long and expensive preparation required to become a physician in the United States. Most would-be physicians first attend college for four years, which can cost nearly $ 20 000 a year at one of the best private institutions. Prospective physicians then attend medical school for four years. Tuition alone can exceed $ 10 000 a year. By the time they have obtained their medical degrees, many young physicians are deeply in debt. They still face three to five years of residency(实习阶段) in a hospital, the first year as an apprentice physician. The hours are long and the pay is relatively low.
Setting up a medical practice is expensive, too. Sometimes several physicians will decide to establish a group practice, so they can share the expense of maintaining an office and buying equipment. These physicians also take care of each other's patients in emergencies.
Physicians work long hours and must accept a great deal of responsibility. Many medical procedures, even quite routine ones, involve risk. It is understandable that physicians want to be well rewarded for making decisions which can mean the difference between life and death.
1. According to the passage, it is very unlikely that an American hospital is owned by ______.
A. a church B. a corporation C. a city D. a state
2.The expenses for becoming a doctor are spent on _______.
A. schooling and retraining B. practice in a hospital
C. facilities he or she uses D. education he or she receives
3.According to the passage, how long does it take for a would-be physician to become an independent physician in the USA?
A. About seven years. B. Eight years. C. Ten years. D. About twelve years.
4.Sometimes several physicians set up a group medical practice mainly because _______.
A. there are so many patients that it is difficult for one physician to take care all of them
B. they can take turns to work long hours
C. facilities may be too much of a burden for one physician to shoulder
D. no one wants to assume too much responsibility
5. Which of the following statements could fully express the author's view towards physicians’ payment in the USA?
A. For their expensive education and their responsibility, they deserve a handsome pay.
B. It is reasonable for physicians to have a large income because their work is very dangerous.
C. Physicians should be better paid because they work long hours under bad conditions.
D. Physicians have great responsibility, so it is understandable that they should be well rewarded.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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阅读下面短文，并根据短文后的要求答题（请注意问题后的字数要求）。
[1]Global difference in intelligence is a sensitive topic, long filled with a large number of different opinions. But recent data has indeed shown cognitive (认知的) ability to be higher in some countries than in others. What's more, IQ scores have risen as nations develop—a phenomenon known as the "Flynn effect". Many causes have been put forward for both the intelligence difference and the Flynn effect, including education, income, and even non-agricultural labor. Now, a new study from researchers at the University of New Mexico offers another interesting theory: intelligence may be linked to infectious-disease rates.
[2]The brain, say author Christopher Eppig and his colleagues, is the "most costly organ in the human body". Brainpower consumes almost up to 90 percent of a newborn's energy. It's clear that if something affects energy intake while the brain is growing, the impact could be long and serious. And for vast parts of the globe, the biggest threat to a child's body—and therefore brain—is parasitic (由寄生虫引起的) infection. These illnesses threaten brain development________________. They can directly attack live tissue, which the body must then try every means to replace. They can invade the digestive pipe and block nutritional intake. They can rob the body's cells for their own reproduction. And then there's the energy channeled (输送) to the immune system to fight the infection.
[3]Using data on national "disease burdens" (life years lost due to infectious diseases) and average intelligence scores, the authors found they are closely associated. The countries with the lowest average IQ scores have the highest disease burdens without exception. On the contrary, nations with low disease burdens top the IQ list.
[4]If the study holds water, it could be revolutionary for our understanding of the still-confusing variation in national intelligence scores.
1.What is the main idea of the text？(no more than 10 words)________________________
2.Complete the following statement with proper words.(no more than 4 words)
Those countries that have the ________________ are always at the bottom of the IQ list.
3.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words.(no more than 5 words)
___________________
4.What can cause intelligence difference？(no more than 8 words)
________________________________________________________________________
5.What does the word "they" (Line 2, Paragraph 3) probably refer to？(no more than 8 words)
________________________________________________________________________
难度: 简单查看答案及解析