When Elvis Presley died on August 16th, 1977, radio and television programs all over the world were interrupted to give the news of his death. President Carter declared a day of national mourning. Carter said, "Elvis Presley changed the face of American popular culture...He was unique and irreplaceable." Eighty thousand people attended his funeral. The streets were jammed with cars, and Elvis Presley films were shown on television, and his records were played on the radio all day. In the year after his death, one hundred million Presley LPs(密纹唱片)were sold.
Elvis Presley was born on January 8th, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. His parents were very poor and Elvis never had music lessons, but he was surrounded by music from an early age. His parents were very religious, and Elvis regularly sang at church services. In 1948, when he was thirteen, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He left school in 1953 and got a job as a truck driver.
In the summer of 1953, Elvis paid four dollars and recorded a song for his mother's birthday at Sam Phillips' Sun Records studio. Sam Phillips heard Elvis and asked him to record That's All Right. Twenty thousand copies were sold. He made five more records for Sun. Then in July 1955, he met Colonel Tom Parker, who became his manager in November. On January 10th, 1956, Elvis recorded Heartbreak Hotel, and a million copies were sold. In the next fourteen months, he made another fourteen records, and they were all big hits. In 1956, he also made his first film in Hollywood.
In March 1958, Elvis had to join the army. He wanted to be an ordinary soldier. When his hair was cut, thousands of women cried. He spent the next two years in Germany, where he met Priscilla Beaulieu, who became his wife eight years later on May 1st, 1967. In 1960, he left the army and went to Hollywood where he made several films during the next few years.
By 1968 many people had become tired of Elvis. He hadn't performed live since 1960, but he recorded a new LP From Elvis in Memphis and appeared in a special television program. He became popular again, and went to Las Vegas, where he was paid seven hundred fifty thousand dollars for four weeks. In August of 1977, he died from a heart attack. He has been working too hard, and eating and drinking too much for several years. He left all his money to his only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.
1. The first song Elvis recorded was________.| A．a hit overnight | B．played on the radio |
| C．sold well in Las Vegas | D．a gift for his mother's birthday |
| A．By attending church services. | B．By meeting Colonel Tom Parker. |
| C．By recording Heartbreak Hotel. | D．By getting recognized by Sam Phillips. |
| A．Elvis learnt music from his father. |
| B．Elvis once lost his popularity in the 60s. |
| C．Elvis became a drinker when he got a job as a truck driver. |
| D．Elvis's hair was cut in the army because of his wrong doings. |
| A．He gave away all his money to the poor. |
| B．He achieved success in all his records. |
| C．He won unexampled recognition in his performance. |
| D．He contributed to the development of American pop culture. |
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【推荐1】I received my autoimmune disease diagnosis (自身免疫疾病诊断) in 2009, and for the first few months, I was in a very bad place. I was suffering from severe anxiety and panic attacks on a daily basis. I was no longer able to function as a “normal” person. During that time, all I could do at best was to move about the house trying to accomplish a few chores, and prepare meals.
After a few months on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, my intense tiredness improved and I slowly regained some energy. That is when I tried to follow my doctor’s advice to exercise.
I clearly remember my first attempt. I was still weak, but somehow, I thought that if I could push through and pretend I had a normal life that things would get better. So, I went out and started running in the little neighborhood park. Unfortunately, I didn’t last even five minutes and came back home, totally crashed. It took me several days to recover. After that first brush with exercise, I understood that I would have to start slow. I began going on daily walks with my husband around the block. Slowly, we went further and further, and my strength came back progressively.
After walking, I started to attend yoga classes. I remember barely making it through my first class. My muscles were weak and trembling by the time I rolled up my mat. But I was also so happy to be able to get out of the house, mix with other people and have a social life!
After yoga, I ventured into activities a little bit more strenuous, but still gentle on the joints. I was going to the swimming pool to do laps and riding my bike. Recently, after almost four years on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, I was finally able to really up my game and start exercising regularly with a personal trainer.
1. How did the author feel in the first few months after the diagnosis?| A．Confused. | B．Impatient. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Panicked. |
| A．Darkest hour is just before the dawn. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．More haste, less speed. |
| D．Practice makes perfect. |
| A．Tiring but rewarding. |
| B．Fun but helpless. |
| C．Refreshing but exhausting. |
| D．Relaxing but disappointing. |
| A．Mood plays a vital role in one’s recovery. |
| B．Exercising contributes to good health. |
| C．Doctor’s advice should be strictly followed. |
| D．Connecting with people barely makes a difference. |
【推荐2】When Sugar arrived at the Exploits Valley SPCA in July, he had a disease related to breathing that required medication. Therefore, he needed to stay at the shelter a bit longer than other animals before he could be adopted.
While Sugar recovered, he developed a close relationship with all of the shelter staff members and volunteers, and loved showing off what a sweet little kitten he was. “He was extremely popular from the beginning,” Sarah, a worker of the Exploits Valley SPCA said.
One of the volunteers who Sugar saw a lot was Glen. Glen has been volunteering at the shelter for the past 30 years and really loved it. He was often arranged to clean the room where Sugar was staying, and every time Sugar saw Glen, he got so excited. “Sugar would shout loudly at Glen to make him stop doing his work,” Sarah said. Every time Glen passed by Sugar, Sugar would meow endlessly until Glen finally gave him some love and attention.
Over the past 30 years, Glen had fallen in love with countless cats, but still managed to see them off to their forever homes. Something about Sugar was different, though. The relationship between Glen and Sugar was clearly special. Glen certainly hadn’t had any plans to adopt a kitten. After a while, though, it became clear that Sugar wasn’t going to be happy unless he was always by Glen’s side. He knew what he had to do.
Sugar has now settled into his new home and loving life. Every time Glen wakes up and sees Sugar, he knows he made the right decision.
1. What can we know about Sugar at the shelter?| A．He failed to find an owner. |
| B．He came with a badly hurt body. |
| C．He had to live there to receive treatment. |
| D．He liked making fun of the workers there. |
| A．Friendly and sociable. | B．Hardworking and careful. |
| C．Talented and confident. | D．Thoughtful and helpful. |
| A．To push Glen to clean his room quickly. | B．To hope for Glen’s attention and care. |
| C．To remind Glen of the danger. | D．To try to cheer Glen up. |
| A．Help Sugar get a trustful owner. | B．Adopt many cats from the shelter. |
| C．Make Sugar a member of his family. | D．Look after Sugar carefully at the shelter. |
【推荐3】This weekend a marathon took place in Salzburg, the city where I’m living. I admired the runners who ran 42.2 kilometers if they finished the course. I’ve never run for more than half an hour, so I’m amazed that some people manage to keep going for over four!
At university I play korfball. This is a team sport with eight people on each team. The aim is to shoot the ball into the hoop(篮圈), which is like basketball hoop, only higher! All players get a chance to attack and defend during the game and it’s very fast-paced.
When I started korfball, I wasn’t very good at it. I could throw and catch but I wasn’t very fast on my feet. Shooting was also difficult for me. Moreover, you often have to shoot on the move in korfball, and I found it hard to balance and shoot straight while running backwards away from my defender!
However, I really enjoyed the sport and made friends in the club, so I attended training twice a week. Two years later I am in the first team for my university and have played in many matches. This just shows if you train hard, you can succeed.
Running is difficult because you have to make yourself willing to keep going. I used to get really out of breath while running and I didn’t feel good at all! Now I actually enjoy going for a run along the river in Salzburg, feeling my muscles(肌肉) working and breathing in the fresh air.
Challenging exercise is always rewarding. Hiking is fun because all the hard work—walking uphill—comes at the beginning of the day. Then at the top of the mountain you can enjoy the view and some well-earned chocolate! At the end of the day you feel like you’ve really achieved something.
I will never be a marathon runner, but I would like to try a 10-km run sometime, or perhaps even a half-marathon. Seeing how happy the runners were as they crossed the finishing line made me want to have that feeling—the months of training paying off as you achieve your goal.
1. How did the author feel about running the marathon at first?| A．Tough. | B．Strange. |
| C．Enjoyable. | D．Exciting. |
| A．It helps him sleep well. | B．It gives him a sense of achievement. |
| C．It helps him lose weight. | D．It makes him become a marathon runner. |
| A．The meaning of keeping going. |
| B．The ways of doing sports. |
| C．The importance of regular exercise. |
| D．The benefits of running the marathon. |
【推荐1】Huang Gongwang was a famous Chinese artist in the Yuan Dynasty. He was good at music, poetry, writing and especially painting.
Huang was born in 1269 in Jiangsu Province. Sadly, when he was young, his parents died and he lived a poor life. But then, a nice man from Zhejiang Province adopted (收养) him and took care of him. The kind man was impressed by the boy’s talent. Later Huang began to learn painting under the guidance of Zhao Mengfu.
Between the ages of 50 and 62, Huang often travelled in nature. During the long-term travelling, he developed an interest in rivers and mountains. When living in Songjiang, Huang often watched and enjoyed the fantastic scenery there. Sometimes he sat in the mountains all day, even forgetting to eat and have a rest. While enjoying the beauty of nature, he got lots of good ideas about what to paint.
Huang drew lots of paintings during his later life. But most of them have gone missing over the centuries. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (《富春山居图》) is one of the few surviving works and it is considered to be among his greatest works. It describes the autumn scenery along Fuchun River in southern China with ink and wash. After years of efforts, Huang finished painting Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains. Unluckily, this painting was later burnt into two pieces. Now, the two pieces are carefully kept in two different museums.
During Huang’s life, he made great achievements in painting. Because of his great ability in art, Huang was considered one of the Four Great Masters of the Yuan Dynasty.
1. Why did the man adopt Huang Gongwang?| A．Because he was young. | B．Because he lost his parents. |
| C．Because he got different talents. | D．Because he was good at painting. |
| A．He tried to stay away from social life. | B．He liked travelling when he was young. |
| C．He often drew creative ideas from nature. | D．He had an unhealthy eating and sleeping habit. |
| A．It has been lost in history. | B．It’s a painting created by two painters. |
| C．It describes the beauty of four seasons. | D．It’s a valuable work that is kept in two places. |
| A．A Famous Artist | B．A Touching Story |
| C．An Old Valuable Painting | D．An Introduction to Art History |
【推荐2】With smiling eyes, a quick wit and a good sense of humor, Jia Ling has long been a well-known female comedian.
Jia, 39, starred in and directed the film, Hi, Mom, which by Feb 23rd has earned more than 4 billion yuan. Jia became the top box office grossing female director in China and is on the path to becoming an international name in the filmmaking industry.
One factor may be her passion for comedy. Jia graduated from Beijing's Central Academy of Drama in 2003. In the last 18 years she has performed crosstalk in various competitions and shows. She has also played comedic roles in many comedies on the big screen,
| A．So what is the secret behind Jia's success? |
| B．Another factor is that the approach to the film also makes Jia's works stand out. |
| C．which ultimately led to the connection between the stage and film. |
| D．making her an outstanding comedian welcomed by many viewers. |
| E．This film truly breaks the happy atmosphere with its sentimentality. |
| F．But recently, she has gained another title. |
| G．Hi, Mom appears to have hit all the right notes. |
【推荐3】World-famous music and movie star Olivia Newton-John has died in southern California. The highly awarded Newton-John sold more than 100 million record albums during her career. From 1973 to 1983, she was among the world’s most popular entertainers. She had 14 top 10 singles in the United States alone and won four Grammy Awards.
Newton-John is perhaps most remembered for her performance in 1978’s wildly popular musical movie Grease. She starred as a high school student Sandy, and was partnered with John Travolta. One song the two shared in the film, You’re the One That I Want, sold more than 15 million copies.
“I was afraid that at 30 I was too old to play a high school girl,” Newton-John told The Telegraph in 2017. “Everything about making the film was fun, but if I had to pick a favorite moment, it was the transformation from what I call Sandy 1 to Sandy 2. I got to play a different character and wear different clothes, and when I put on that tight black clothes to sing You’re the One That I Want, I got a very different reaction from the guys on the set.”
Physical, Newton-John’s biggest single, came out in 1981. The energetic dance song was hugely popular, holding Number One position on Billboard’s hit list for 10 weeks straight. Later, the music industry magazine named Physical the Song of the Year. A video linked to the song won a Grammy Award as well.
In 1992, Newton-John faced loss and sickness. Her father died and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then Newton-John created an album, Gaia: One Woman’s Journey, about her battle with cancer and the loss of her father.
Newton-John married John Easterling in 2008. She became involved in several causes, serving as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme and a national spokeswoman for the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition. She also founded the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Center in Melbourne, Australia.
1. What is Sandy in paragraph 2?| A．A film director. | B．A music teacher. |
| C．A film character | D．A music composer. |
| A．Because of her age. | B．Because of her gender. |
| C．Because of her acting skills. | D．Because of her tight clothes. |
| A．Her film. | B．Her dance songs. |
| C．Her sufferings. | D．Her husband’s encouragement. |
| A．Newton-John’s physical pain. |
| B．Newton-John’s social activities. |
| C．Newton-John’s happy marriage. |
| D．Newton-John’s artistic achievements. |
