【推荐1】_______
The China National Opera (CNO) will give a concert to celebrate its 50^th birthday.
Different generations of CNO vocalists(声乐家), like Li Guangxi, Yao Hong and Ma Mei, will present the concert which will feature both songs from famous operas like “The White-haired Girl” and “The Hundredth Bride”, as well as arias(独唱曲) of such Western opera classics as “Madame Butterfly”, “La Traviata” and “Rigoletto”.
Time/Date:7:30pm, September 7,8
Location: Tianqiao Theatre
Tel: 65514787, 83156170
Tickets:60～500 yuan (US $7.3～60.2)
_____
A concert will be held to feature some recently-composed traditional Chinese music works.
The concert, given by the Folk Orchestra of China Opera and Ballet Theatre, will include such pieces as “Memory of Childhood”, “Memorial Ceremony for God” and “Wine Song”.
Time/Date:7:30pm, September 13
Location: Concert Hall at the National Library of China
Tel: 68485462, 68419220
Tickets:30～200 yuan (US $ 3.6～24.1)
_____
A concert of traditional Chinese music will be given on the eve of the Moon Festival which falls on September 21 this year.
The concert will feature a number of famous pieces centered on the theme of the moon, such as “Moonlight”, “Spring Night on a Moonlit River” and “Lofty Mountain and Flowing River”.
A number of established traditional Chinese music performers, like Zhou Yaokun and Fan Weiqing, will play solos as well as collaborate(合作) with the folk music orchestra.
Time/Date:7:30pm, September 20
Location: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities
Tel : 66068888, 66069999
1. If you want to buy tickets for listening to the music “Memory of Childhood”, you will dial ____ .

A．65514787

B．83156170

C．68485462

D．66069999

2. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Li Guangxi, Yao Hong and Ma Mei stand for the same generation of CNO vocalists.

B．“Lofty Mountain and Flowing River” is a traditional Chinese music.

C．“Rigoletto” is a famous piece on the theme of the moon.

D．Zhou Yaokun will play solos and Fan Weiqing will collaborate with the folk music orchestra.

3. “Madame Butterfly” is        .

A．a Chinese opera	B．a song
C．a piece of music	D．a Western opera

4. In which part of a newspaper will the article be published?

A．Entertainment

B．Sports

C．Culture

D．News

【推荐3】Enjoying a musical performance no longer requires a costly ticket or a trip to a theater. These days, musicians are performing in private homes, at haircutting shops, at airports...even on ferry boats.

Musicians like house concerts. At music clubs, they often have to perform over loud conversation or deal with people who have had too much alcohol. People at house concerts are more focused on listening to the music.

Just a few hours before the Bombadils started singing at the O' Hair Salon, Lindsay was cutting hair and Tamera was doing facials. Then, they moved chairs and microphones to create a small performance space. The Bombadils made music in the front part of the hair salon, near the hairdryers and make­up tables.

“This is our first show at a hair salon，” Sarah Frank of the Bombadils told concertgoers at last week's performance. Frank said she and band members, Luke Fraser and Kaitlyn Raitz had a great time “interacting”   with the audience.

Concerts in people's homes, or small businesses such as O' Hair's, are becoming more popular, musicians say.“There is a more relaxed atmosphere，” said Domenic Cicala, a musician who opened up his O' Hair Salon to concerts.“People really get to know the artists.”

At house concerts, people get time before and after concerts to meet the performers. Often, the hosts or guests will provide food and drink.

“People really like listening to music in the living room of a friend，” said Matt Hart, with Aubrey Zoli making up the Local Strangers, a folk­rock group based in Seattle. At many such concerts, the musicians do not need microphones. Yet, every word of their songs can be heard.

1. Why do musicians like house concerts?

A．Because private homes are easier to get to.

B．Because people pay more attention to their music.

C．Because they can do other things while performing.

D．Because they don't have to bring their microphones.

2. What impressed Sarah Frank most at her last week's   performance ?

A．The small performance space.

B．Her first show at a hair salon.

C．Their interaction with the audience.

D．The more relaxed atmosphere.

3. How many music groups are mentioned in the text?

A．One.	B．Two.
C．Three.	D．Four.

4. What may be the best title for the text?

A．Musicians struggle to make a living

B．People really get to know the artists

C．Musicians find new places to perform

D．Concertgoers won't go to music clubs

【推荐1】Learning English can sometimes seem like a difficult thing to do—the grammar can be very confusing and spoken English seems to be changing all the time. But，it is not as hard as it seems and the most important thing for any learner to achieve is confidence with the language. If students are nervous about using English or worried about making mistakes，they won’t feel like practicing，and without practice they cannot make progress.

General English courses aim to give students that confidence. Whether students are complete beginners or advanced learners，schools want them to be confident about using English by the time they finish their course. To do this，schools have developed General English courses which combine a range of different teaching methods.

In class，teachers encourage students to work together so that they can practice new words and grammar. They always try and make this class work interesting and fun. Many schools are equipped with language labs and libraries where students can work on their own with audio tapes and video and computers. And outside the classroom，the learning continues，where students are meeting together socially，visiting local attractions，or at home with a host family.

Most schools offer General English courses which are either part-time—usually 15 hours per week—or full-time，which can be as much as 40 hours. This type of course is available all year round. Students can normally start a General English course every Monday，and can study for as long as they like. Other types of General English courses may last a minimum number of days or weeks. Some of the most popular General English courses are available during the summer holiday period. These are usually part-time，and schools organize social activities for students in their free time. Some schools offer special activities like sports.

General English courses also give students the chance to discover new parts of Britain. With so many schools offering this type of course，students can go almost anywhere，and while they are studying，they will have a chance to explore the countryside or towns and meet local people. Whenever they go in Britain they are assured high quality courses.

1. If English learners are nervous about using English，        .

A．they won’t feel like practicing

B．they won’t go to England

C．they won’t go to any language class

D．they won’t talk to teachers

2. Teachers help students practice new words and grammar in class by means of         .

A．encouraging students to work together

B．trying and making the class work interesting and fun

C．making students speak English all the time

D．both A and B

3. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．General English courses help students practice English not only in classroom but also outside the classroom.

B．We can learn from the passage that there are many schools offering General English courses across Britain.

C．General English courses are designed for beginners of English as a second language.

D．The aim of General English courses is to make students confident about using English.

【推荐3】A new study recently found that elephants in central African forests can encourage the growth of slow-growing trees and increase the ability of the forest to store carbon.

“As a tree, there’s a trade-off you can’t have it all,” explained Fabio Berzaghi, who led the study. “You either invest in growing fast, or in building a lot of structure with carbon to be more resistant.” Elephants prefer to eat fast-growing trees in more open spaces. As they feed and walk, they cause damage to these species, knocking over trees or breaking off branches, which results in an ecosystem that favors large, slow-growing hardwood trees. “As the elephants thin the forest, they increase the number of slow-growing trees and the forest is capable of storing more carbon, ” said Stephen Blake, one of the paper’s authors.

Scientists collected field measurements in the Congo Basin and used a computer model to predict how elephants would affect forest structure, and carbon storage potential in the long term. The data confirmed that when elephants are present, the forest contains larger trees and higher abundances of species with high wood density. Conversely (相反地)，should forest elephants go extinct, leaving those slow-growing trees struggling to compete with fast-growing species, it would result in a 7 percent loss of above-ground biomass (生物总量). As a result, central African forests could lose up to three billion tons of carbon, potentially accelerating climate change.

The sad reality is that humans are doing their best to rid the planet of elephants. “This study comes at a time when forest elephants are threatened as never before,” said Iain Douglas Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants. “It is shocking that just as we are beginning to understand how elephants might have a key role in Africa in storing carbon, they are under real threat of extinction.” One limitation of the study, Mr. Berzaghi said, is that we do not know how much carbon has already been lost because of the elephants’ decline. But it does seem certain, he added, that putting a stop to illegal hunting and restoring forest elephant populations would bring climate benefits.

1. What can we infer about slow-growing trees in Paragraph 2?

A．They are elephants’ favorite food.	B．They are easily hurt by elephants.
C．They can help forests store carbon.	D．They may reduce elephant populations.

2. What would happen without elephants living in central African forests?

A．Climate change would possibly be sped up.

B．The forest structure would remain unchanged.

C．The forests would lose more fast-growing trees.

D．Larger trees would defeat fast-growing species.

3. What did Mr. Berzaghi suggest people do?

A．Lead a low-carbon life.	B．Evaluate the carbon loss.
C．Stop destroying forests.	D．Protect forest elephants.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Humans and Nature Live in Harmony

B．Elephants Disappear in Parts of Africa

C．Climate Change Affects Forest Structure

D．Elephants Defend Against Climate Change

【推荐1】Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, while her wealthy English parents were travelling in Europe. As a child, she travelled to many places with her family and learned how to speak several languages.

When Nightingale was 17, she told her family that she was going to help sick people. Her parents did not approve, but Nightingale was determined.

She travelled to hospitals all over Europe. She saw that doctors were working too hard. She saw that patients died because they did not get enough care. Nightingale felt that women could be doing more to help doctors take care of sick people.

Nightingale knew that in order for nurses to do more, they needed special training in how to take care of sick people. Nightingale went to a hospital in Germany to study nursing. Then she returned to London and became the head of a group of women called Gentlewomen During Illness. These women cared for sick people in their homes.

In 1854, England was fighting a war with Russia. No reporters wrote about the terrible conditions in the hospitals that cared for the wounded. People demanded that something be done about it. A leader of the government asked Florence Nightingale to take some nurses into the war hospitals. So, in November 1854,Nightingale finally got to work in a hospital.

She took along 38 nurses whom she had trained herself.

At first, the doctors on the battlefields did not want Nightingale and her nurses in their hospitals. They did not believe that women could help. But in fact, the nurses did make a difference. They worked around the clock, tending the sick. Thanks to their hard work, many wounded soldiers survived.

After the war, Nightingale and her nurses were treated like heroes. Finally, in 1860, she started the Nightingale School for Nurses. In time, thanks to Florence Nightingale, nursing became an important part of medicine.

1. Florence Nightingale was born into a rich 　　　.

A．Italian family

B．Russian family

C．English family

D．German family

2. Nightingale’s parents did not approve of her decision 　　　.

A．to work as a doctor	B．to care for sick people
C．to fight in the war with Russia	D．to travel to hospitals all over Europe

3. It was not until the War with Russia that Nightingale 　　　.

A．began to study nursing	B．got to work in a hospital
C．started to care for sick people in their homes	D．became the head of Gentlewomen During Illness

4. Nightingale played a great role in 　　　.

A．the education of women	B．the development of nursing
C．the building of war hospitals	D．the improvement of working conditions for women