FOUR BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ | |
 | Cruel Beautiful World Written by Caroline Leavitt At age 16, Lucy is a lonely orphan living with older sister Charlotte and devoted aunt Iris in Waltham, Massachusetts. On the last day of school, she runs away with her 30-year-old teacher, William, and settles in a hillside cottage in rural Pennsylvania, near his new teaching job. Though Lucy feels increasingly isolated, William won't allow her any outlet. Leavitt draws upon a real-life crime that involved a girl she knew in high school. She tells her story from multiple viewpoints, building tension and sympathy for Lucy and Charlotte as tragedy swallows them. |
 | By Gaslight Written by Steven Price Price, an award-winning Canadian poet, achieves an extraordinary achievement of Dickensian storytelling in his weighty second novel. His hero is William Pinkerton, son of the founder of the legendary detective agency, who finds clues in his late father's safe to the case of William Shade. This mythic thief had disturbed and upset his father. William tracks a Shade accomplice (共犯), Charlotte Reckitt, to London, only to find she's been found dead in the Thames. Price ably arranges dozens of interlinking plotlines as he spans three continents and several decades, from American Civil War battlefields to Scotland Yard at the end of the 19th Century. |
 | The Invisibility Cloak Written by Ge Fei Beijing-based Ge Fei (pen name for Liu Yong) won the 2015 Mao Dun Literature Prize for fiction “describing the changing spirit of Chinese society” over the past century. The Invisibility Cloak, his first English publication, revolves around Cui, a divorced man who creates customized hi-fi speakers for Beijing's newly wealthy and a few intellectuals. Beijing's rapid expansion has left Cui longing for an invisible life away from the city. His chance comes when he agrees to build a world-class sound system for a gangster (匪徒). Ge Fei's nice work, translated from the Chinese by Canaan Morse, should find many fans. |
 | Messy Written by Tim Harford The temptation to be neat and tidy may be powerful, but “we would be better served by embracing a degree of mess,” Harford argues. His defense of the creative potential of the imperfect, random, vague, difficult, diverse and even dirty is refreshing. Reaching into the arts, politics, business, science and technology, Harford makes an appealing case for opening up to disorder and luck. |
| A．Caroline Leavitt. | B．Steven Price. |
| C．Ge Fei. | D．Tim Harford. |
| A．Cruel Beautiful World | B．By Gaslight |
| C．The Invisibility Cloak | D．Messy |
| A．buy newly-published books at a discount |
| B．market latest books to friends and family |
| C．know what books are worthwhile to read |
| D．understand the current trend in literature |
2 . 18-year-old Alison Sanger is an amazing student. Maybe too amazing— the book opens with Alison lying to her mother about having food poisoning so she can take a test on Shakespeare. More than getting good grades, her true motivation is to beat her opponent, Ethan Molloy.
Ethan has gone toe-to-toe with Alison on everything throughout school. They’re both honors students. They are co-vice presidents of the senior class. They both hope to get into Harvard. The fact that Ethan and Alison seem to always do everything at the same time turned into a competition a long time ago. Whoever does worse on an exam must do an unpleasant task of the winner’s choosing. If someone misses the exam, they forfeit.
This unfriendly competition is so famous that everyone at Fairview knows about it, students and staff. They’re even more annoyed by it than Alison. The principal takes matters in hand by asking the two to co-plan a previous class’s ten-year reunion after someone else dropped the ball. As you might imagine, tensions arise and passion is aroused. In a certain way, What’s Not to Love is a little like The Hunger Games. Like Katniss with Peeta, Alison is constantly evaluating her own emotions against Ethan’s supposed strategy.
While reading this book, I was forced to wonder exactly how healthy this relationship was. I assumed everyone’s intentions in the book were honorable—the authors themselves turned out all right in the end, and I’m incredibly glad for that. Wibbroka fans will not be disappointed—What’s Not to Love is story of soulmates and passion; its short chapters and tight pacing carry the reader along all the way to the satisfying conclusion. Despite its faults—which the text itself calls to attention—fans of enemies-to-lovers stories like How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days will feel right at home here.
1. Why does Alison lie to her mother?| A．To treat her food poisoning. |
| B．To prove that she’s also amazing. |
| C．To be able to be tested on schedule. |
| D．To please her friend with good grades. |
| A．Compete. | B．Withdraw. |
| C．Cooperate. | D．Succeed. |
| A．They prove their abilities separately. |
| B．They get the final result of their competition. |
| C．They set up a better relationship between them. |
| D．They use it as another chance to continue the competition. |
| A．Worth reading. | B．Useless. |
| C．Unreasonable. | D．Perfect. |
Author: Margaret Mitchell ￥25（in bookstores） ￥18（online）
Gone With the Wind is a best-seller, which tells a story that happened in the American Civil War（美国内战）. Scarlett O'Hara is a woman in the story who is full of energy. She is strong and saves her family but is very selfish at the same time.
A LITTLE PRINCESS
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett ￥18.3（online）
Motherless Sara Crewe was sent home from India to school at Miss Minchin's. Her father was very rich and she lived a rich and comfortable life. Then her father died and Sara lost everything. She had to learn to do with her changed life. Her strong character made her able to fight successfully against her poverty and the scorn（嘲笑）of her fellows. It's an excellent book for children（with 4 tapes 磁带）.
PETER PAN
Author: J. M Barrie ￥15（in bookstores） ￥12（online）
It is a children's story full of imagination and adventures（冒险）, which is about Wendy, John, and Michael Darling's adventures in Never-Never Land with Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up. The children are happy and lovely.（with 2 tapes）
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe ￥20（in bookstores）
The most famous novel in American history, Uncle Tom's Cabin talked about the struggle between free states and slave（奴隶）states during the American Civil War and is as powerful today as when it first came out 150 years ago.
THE SECRET GARDEN
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett ￥35（in bookstores） ￥30（online）
Mary Lennox, a sickly orphan（孤儿）, finds herself in her uncle's dark house. Why are so many rooms locked? Why is one of the gardens locked? And what is that crying she hears at night? Through the power of hope, friendship, and the magic of nature, the brave girl brings the house and a long-lost garden back to life.
1. We can know from the passage that ________.| A．there is only one book with tapes. |
| B．we can buy all the above books in bookstores. |
| C．THE PETER PAN is ￥3 cheaper in bookstores than online. |
| D．two of the books are written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. |
| A．￥48 | B．￥12 |
| C．￥50 | D．￥42 |
a. the power of hope b. friendship c. nature's magic d. her uncle
| A．a, b, c | B．a, c, d | C．b, c, d | D．a, b, d |
| A. stranded B. unsettling C. vast D. alternating E. titled F. breaking G. unparalleled H. unfolding I. sprung J. distress K. solidity |
Finding Comfort in War and Peace
Over the past 15 years, Yiyun Li, a Chinese-American author, has read War and Peace at least a dozen times. Her hardback copy of Leo Tolstoy's 1,200 - page saga bristles with colored notes, like some exotic lizard's spine. The novel is not just a masterclass in fiction, Ms. Li believes, but a cure for
War and Peace - originally
So large is Tolstoy's world, Ms. Li reckoned, that there could be no better companion for people
Other book clubs have
| A．A library. | B．A writer. | C．A book. |
There are various reasons
When people sit together and enjoy the glorious moon
But should we get bogged down (陷入) by the suffering of things with which we can't change? Su Shi gives his answer, a very
To this day, people still use this poem
The Flight of Youth
By Richard Henry Stoddard
There are gains for all our losses,
There are balms ( 止痛膏) for all our pains,
But when youth, the dream, departs
It takes something from our hearts,
And it never comes again.
We are stronger, and are better,
Under, manhood's sterner (严峻的) reign (驱使).
Till we feel that something sweet
Followed youth, with flying feet,
And will never come again.
Something beautiful is vanished (使消逝),
And we sigh (叹息) for it in vain;
We behold (看到) it everywhere,
On the earth, and in the air,
But it never comes again!
1. Is this poem written using personification (拟人法)?2. When does youth take something from our hearts?
3. Which word does the poet use to describe manhood's reign?
4. Where does the poet think we can find youth?
5. What does this poem want to tell us?
9 . Known as “China’s most popular love comedy”, Romance of the Western Chamber is regarded as one of the best works of its time. The play was written over 700 years ago by Yuan Dynasty dramatist Wang Shifu (1260-1336).
Set in the Tang Dynasty, the play tells the secret love story between a young scholar Zhang Sheng, who is on his way to take the highest imperial exam in the capital city, and Cui Yingying, daughter of a chief minister of the Tang court.
After bandits(土匪) surround Cui at a temple, her mother promises her daughter’s hand in marriage to whoever can defeat them. Zhang manages to drive the bandits away, but Cui’s mother takes back her word because Zhang is poor. However, Zhang and Cui have already fallen in love. With the help of Cui’s maid Hong Niang, the two continue their romance and break many barriers.
The play incorporates much of the beauty of the poetry from the Tang and Song eras in Chinese history. Part of its appeal to readers is found in the style, grace and flow of the language. In fact, the play represents a high mark of achievement in romantic Chinese literature, and is quite popular. It has given rise to many sequels and rewritings, and also influenced countless plays, short stories and novels. The Peony Pavilion and Dream of the Red Chamber probably wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Wang’s classic play.
The play also inspired generations of artists across various mediums such as woodblock prints, paintings and porcelain. This fine art is still on display at places such as Freer Gallery of Art in the US and Kwun Tong’s Sun Museum in Hong Kong.
The ancient porcelain pieces depicting iconic scenes from the tale are indeed impressive. The characters are like “the superheroes from another time”, Rachel Leung, associate curator(副馆长) of Sun Museum told China Daily. “It’s exactly like the Marvel franchise.”
“This story is basically about trying to break the societal strictures. It’s about courage and perseverance to pursue true love,” Leung said. “It’s surprising to know that centuries ago our ancestors imagined a story like that. They proved that they were not rigid or passive and they could be creative enough to make things for themselves.”
Indeed, Romance of the Western Chamber is known for opposing traditional norms associated with marriage and love during a more orthodox era. It has a positive take on marriage, emphasizing that true love should prevail(占上风).
1. What can we know about Romance of the Western Chamber?| A．It was composed earlier than The Peony Pavilion. |
| B．The characters in the story have supernatural powers. |
| C．It represents the highest achievement in Chinese literature. |
| D．The appeal of the play is mainly found in its complex plot. |
| A．Courage and perseverance are of vital importance to social connections. |
| B．It was believed that our ancestors were conservative and lacked creativity. |
| C．Romance of the Western Chamber enjoys popularity among the Marvel fans. |
| D．Everyone should take a positive and unconventional attitude toward marriage. |
| A．Open-minded. | B．Dynamic. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Conventional. |
| A．The Rise of China’s Love Comedies |
| B．Wang Shifu and His Most Popular Works |
| C．Marriage and Traditional Norms |
| D．Love Comes First |
Epic Fails: The Wright Brothers: Nose-Diving into History By Erik Slader and Ben Thompson. Ages 6 to 12. The first book in the Epic Fails series deals with one of the most ambitious goals humans have pursued: the quests to fly. Authors Slader and Thompson focus on life-or-death scenes, such as when the Wright brothers crashed their glider over and over on the sandy coast of North Carolina; it took them two more years to get it right. |
Epic Fails: The Race to Space: Countdown to Liftoff By Erik Slader and Ben Thompson. Ages 6 to 12 Today, everyone is familiar with Neil Armstrong’s famous words as he first set foot on the moon, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” He made it look easy, but America’s journey to the moon was anything but simple. Our first attempt was a failure. Still, we didn’t give up. We tried again. And again. And each time we failed, we failed a little bit better. |
Fantastic Failures: True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First By Luke Reynolds. Ages 6 to 12. Teacher Luke Reynolds opens each chapter with a quick, impossibly perfect version of one person’s life and then says how that person actually had to face huge challenges to accomplish goals. In this book, Reynolds writes about various common men, women and children. |
Cyrus Field’s Big dream：The Daring Effort to Lay the First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable By Mary Morton Cowan. Ages 6 to 12. In 1853，it took at least a week to relay a message between the United States and Europe because people had to be transported on ships over the Atlantic Ocean. Cyrus Field tried to reduce that transmission（传送）time to just minutes by laying a long undersea cable. In this book，Cowan describes many failures Field suffered before he achieved this major breakthrough. |
1. Who are the four books intended for?
| A．Children. | B．Teenagers. | C．Adults. | D．Old people. |
| A．It was written by a famous actor. | B．It tells stories of ordinary people. |
| C．It is about science fiction stories. | D．It is a picture book by a teacher. |
| A．All roads lead to Rome. | B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．An early bird catches worms | D．Actions speak louder than words. |
