4 . Absolutely Unputdownable Books You Have to Read

Flowers for Algernon

Daniel Keyes

If you’re seeking a fast read, try this short story by Daniel Keyes. He’ll show you how a person who is mentally disabled feels while going from a simple gatekeeper at a bakery, whose IQ is less than 60, to a genius(天才)and the most intelligent person on the planet. In a situation like this, is it possible to overcome your fear and deal with loneliness? Daniel Keyes offers his answer to this question.

A Certain Smile

Francoise Sagan

If you don’t enjoy thrillers or sci-fi and stories about dragon-riding detectives, and if you’re longing for something comforting, slow and gentle, this beautiful little book by Francoise Sagan is just what you need. It’s a pleasant exception among traditional romance novels: you’ll find all of the advantages of high-quality literature here. And yes, it’s a real page-turner.

Orphans of the Sky

Robert A. Heinlein

A giant generation ship is sailing without guidance through the depths of the universe. Its passengers have long forgotten the outside world and believed in a pre-technological culture marked by superstition(迷信). This novel brought Heinlein wide recognition, and will grasp you tight and won’t let you go for months or even years afterward. Are we, the digital generation, different from the passengers of that imaginary spaceship?

95 Pounds of Hope

Anna Gavalda

Referring to a real person’s experiences, this little poetic story is about the main things in life; choices we make, the power of love and devotion. The story of a thirteen-year-old boy who one day has to gather all his strength and courage and take a step towards adulthood proves once again that dreams do come true. After all, no matter how many pounds we have, we’re all trying not to lose hope.

1. Whose book tells the story of a mentally disabled person?

A．Daniel Keyes’s.

B．Anna Gavalda’s.

C．Francoise Sagan’s.

D．Robert A. Heinlein’s.

2. What kind of book might Orphans of the Sky be?

A．A history book.

B．A science fiction.

C．A detective story.

D．A romance novel.

3. What is special about 95 Pounds of Hope?

A．It brings its author high praise.	B．It is just intended for adult readers.
C．It is about how to overcome fear.	D．It is based on true life experiences.

5 . If you enjoy American stories, you’ll have noticed that many of them take place on the road. Many famous American novels are about stories that occur while their characters are traveling along highways. These novels are often celebrations of American life.

Jesmyn Ward’s National Book Award winner Sing, Unburied, Sing is a road novel, but not a celebration. The road journey here is through Mississippi, as an African-American mother and her two children travel to collect her white husband as he’s released from jail.

Neither the mother, Leonie, nor the father, Michael, are ideal parents. Leonie in particular is so full of anger and regret that she takes out her unhappiness on her children, the 13-year-old Jojo and his little sister Kayla.

The telling of the story is divided between various narrators. Jojo, the boy, is the most sympathetic of them. But it is worrying to read about how he experiences the world. Even though he’s young, he’s already experienced the dark side of life. The opening sentence of the book gives a sense of Jojo’s unnatural maturity—“I like to think I know what death is. I like to think that I could look at it straight.”

But who, or what, is to blame for these sad circumstances? For Ward, it’s clearly the past. She admires the work of fellow novelist William Faulkner. When she thinks about the past, she’s of the same mind as him.

Faulkner famously wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” At one point, Ward says that her characters are “pulling the past with them.” like a too-heavy trailer(拖车) coupled to the car, as they journey on through Mississippi to the jailhouse. The biggest part of this past, of course, is racism—the remains of slavery—which is always there, and ruining life.

This is probably why The Washington Post listed Sing, Unburied, Sing as one of its 10 choices of 2017’s Best Books. “The misery of this one family is tied to crimes that stretch over decades,” wrote the newspaper.

1. What can we learn about Sing, Unburied, Sing from the text?

A．It was recently adapted as a film.

B．It’s a celebration of American life.

C．It is a story of a road trip through Mississippi.

D．It’s one of 2017’s best-selling American novels.

2. According to the text, the character Jojo      .

A．is the main narrator of the novel	B．is unusually mature for his age
C．presents less sympathy than others	D．is the youngest child in the family

3. What is the root cause of the family’s difficulty according to the text?

A．The unhappy marriage of the parents.	B．The experience of being in prison.
C．The lack of financial support.	D．The existence of racism.

4. Why is William Faulkner’s line mentioned in the text?

A．To prove Ward shares a similar opinion of the past with him.

B．To show Ward has drawn a lot of inspiration from him.

C．To show Ward is as great a novelist as he is.

D．To compare Ward’s writing style with his.

6 . The True Story of Treasure Island

It was always thought that Treasure Island was the product of Robert Louis Stevenson’s imagination. _________ , recent research has found the true story of this exciting work. Stevenson, a Scotsman, had lived _________ for many years. In 1881 he retuned to Scotland for a _________.With him were his American wife Fanny and his son _________.

Each morning Stevenson would take them out for a long _________ over the hills. They had been enjoying this for several days _________ the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse. Kept indoors by the heavy rain, Lloyd felt the days _________. To keep the boy happy, Robert asked the boy to do some _________

One morning, the boy came to Robert with a beautiful map of an island. Robert _________ that the boy had drawn a large cross in the middle of __________. “What’s that?” he asked “That’s the __________ treasure,” said the boy. Robert suddenly __________something of an adventure story in the boy’s__________. While the rain was pouring, Robert sat down by the fire to write a story. He would make the __________a twelve-year-old boy, just like Lloyd. But who would be the pirate(海盗)?

Robert had a good friend named Henley, who walked around with the __________ of a wooden leg. Robert had always wanted to __________ such a man in a story. __________ Long John Silver, the pirate with a wooden leg, was __________.

So, thanks to a __________ September in Scotland, a friend with a wooden leg, and the imagination of a twelve-year-old boy, we have one of the greatest __________ stories in the English language.

1.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Besides

D．Finally

2.

A．alone

B．next door

C．at home

D．abroad

3.

A．meeting

B．story

C．holiday

D．job

4.

A．Lloyd

B．Robert

C．Henley

D．John

5.

A．talk

B．rest

C．walk

D．game

6.

A．since

B．after

C．because

D．before

7.

A．quiet

B．dull

C．busy

D．cold

8.

A．cleaning

B．writing

C．drawing

D．exercising

9.

A．doubted

B．noticed

C．decided

D．recognized

10.

A．the sea

B．the house

C．Scotland

D．the island

11.

A．forgotten

B．buried

C．discovered

D．unexpected

12.

A．saw

B．drew

C．made

D．learned

13.

A．book

B．reply

C．picture

D．mind

14.

A．star

B．hero

C．writer

D．child

15.

A．help

B．problem

C．use

D．bottom

16.

A．praise

B．produce

C．include

D．accept

17.

A．Yet

B．Also

C．But

D．Thus

18.

A．read

B．born

C．hired

D．written

19.

A．rainy

B．sunny

C．cool

D．windy

20.

A．detective

B．love

C．real-life

D．adventure

7 . 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10 处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改 10 处，多者(从第11 处起)不计分。

Jane Eyre is a world-famous storybook, which is very popular to middle school students. The main character Jane is one of my favorite heroine. The book tells us not only about her hard life and about her efforts to gain her happiness. It were her perseverance and determination which helped her to get what she deserved at last. I liked Jane very much, and her story leaves a great effect on her life and study. I make up my mind work hard at my lessons. Meanwhile, I will try to make the full use of any opportunity to train my characters, especial my tolerance and perseverance to solve all of the difficulties in my life.

8 . The room in the workhouse where the boys were fed was a large stone hall. At one end the master, in his cook’s uniform, and two women served the food. This ________ a bowl of thin soup three times a day, with a piece of bread on Sundays. The boys ate ________ and were always hungry. The bowls never needed ________. The boys polished them with their spoons until they ________. After three months of this slow starvation, one of the boys told the others that so hungry was he ________ one night he might eat the ________ sleeping next to him. He had a wild ________ eye, and the other boys ________ him. After a long ________, they decided that one of them should ask for more food after supper that evening, and Oliver was ________.

The evening arrived: the soup was served, and the bowls were ________ again in a few seconds. Oliver went up to the master, with his bowl in his hand. He felt very ________, but also ________ with hunger.

“Please, sir, I want some more.”

The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very pale. He looked at the little boy in front of him with ________. Nobody else spoke.

“What?” he asked at last, in a   ________ voice.

“Please, sir,” replied Oliver, “I want some more.”

The master ________ him with the serving spoon, then seized Oliver’s arms and ________ for the beadle (执事). The beadle came quickly, heard the terrible news, and immediately ran to tell the board.

“He asked for more?” Mr. Limbkins, the fattest board member, asked in ________. “Is this really true?”

_____, Oliver was led away to be locked up, and a(n) ________ of five pounds was offered to anybody who would take him away and use him for work.

( Adapted from Oliver Twist《雾都孤儿》)

1.

A．belonged to

B．turned to

C．accounted for

D．consisted of

2.

A．nothing

B．everything

C．anything

D．something

3.

A．washing

B．cleaning

C．buying

D．changing

4.

A．finished

B．starved

C．shone

D．slept

5.

A．that

B．until

C．when

D．before

6.

A．boy

B．master

C．bowls

D．spoons

7.

A．big

B．bad

C．angry

D．hungry

8.

A．hated

B．feared

C．believed

D．trusted

9.

A．quarrel

B．bargain

C．argument

D．discussion

10.

A．elected

B．chosen

C．determined

D．recognized

11.

A．full

B．empty

C．broken

D．available

12.

A．shy

B．brave

C．worried

D．frightened

13.

A．pleased

B．hopeful

C．desperate

D．exhausted

14.

A．amusement

B．amazement

C．intention

D．appreciation

15.

A．calm

B．clear

C．faint

D．cautious

16.

A．hit

B．treated

C．greeted

D．warned

17.

A．begged

B．sent

C．shouted

D．asked

18.

A．horror

B．sadness

C．curiosity

D．frustration

19.

A．Besides

B．Therefore

C．However

D．Eventually

20.

A．award

B．praise

C．reward

D．punishment

9 . 假定你是李华，你的英国网友Peter上周在邮件中提到想阅读中国著名的小说，就此请你用英语给他写封回信。内容包括：
1. 推荐一本小说；
2. 此书内容简介；
3. 给出阅读建议。
注意：1. 词数100左右；

2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Peter,

I’m very glad to know that you have interest in Chinese novels.        _____________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua