Jack London, one of America’s great writers of adventure stories, was born in California in 1876. During his life, London did many jobs. His broad life experiences would become the background for his writing.
London loved to read. As a teenager, he spent many hours educating himself at the Oakland Public Library. He attended college at the University of California at Berkeley in 1896, but he stayed for only six months. He thought Berkeley was “not lively enough” and wanted to do something more exciting.
London wrote stories about working people and the hard times they had making a living. He knew their problems at first hand. He worked as a sailor, factory worker, and gold rusher, to name but a few of his many jobs.
Like many people of the time, London caught the Klondike Gold Rush Fever. In 1897, he headed for Alaska. He didn’t find gold, but he discovered something even more valuable. He discovered that people enjoyed listening to the stories he made up. London entertained (使……快乐) the miners with story after story. Later, using his experiences during the Gold Rush, he created many more colorful stories. London decided to live a full, exciting life. Each day, he pushed himself. Once London made up his mind to be a writer, nothing could stop him. His goal was to write at least one thousand words every day. He refused to stop even when he was sick. In eighteen years, the writer published fifty-one books and hundreds of articles. He was the best-selling and highest-paid author of his day. Many people also considered him to be the best writer.
White Fang and The Call of the Wild are his most famous stories and are about surviving in the Alaskan wilderness.
Readers can enjoy Jack London’s talent for telling wonderful stories each time they open one of his novels.
1. What did Jack London think of his college life?| A．It was not very easy. | B．It was not very busy. |
| C．It was not very interesting. | D．It was not very comfortable. |
| A．When he was a teenager. | B．When he was in Alaska. |
| C．When he went to college. | D．When he worked as a sailor. |
| A．Strong-minded. | B．Big-mouthed. |
| C．Well-educated. | D．Sort-hearted. |
| A．The Klondike Gold Rush Fever | B．The Background of White Fang |
| C．Jack London—A Great Writer | D．Jack London’s Later Life |
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【推荐1】This was an ordinary day, nothing special. Mike was walking on the street when he returned to the shop on the corner. He stopped to look at the front row of shoes, and he felt happy to see that the pair of shoes he wanted very much was still there. He looked down at his old shoes, and he felt sorry for himself, because he wanted very much to own them for his coming birthday.
Sadly, the boy walked away, deep in thought — how to tell his mother about it. He knew very well his mother had very little money. He decided not to go home at once, because he looked sad and his mother would notice it. So he went to the park and sat on the grass. There he saw a boy moving a wheelchair with his hands. Mike looked at him and was surprised to see that the boy had no feet. He looked at his own feet. “It’s much better to be without shoes than without feet.” he thought. There was no reason for him to feel so sorry and sad. So he went away with smile, thinking that he was much luckier and happier.
1. How did Mike pass the shop on the street corner?| A．In a wheelchair. | B．By bike. |
| C．On foot. | D．By bus. |
| A．To buy the shoes. |
| B．To get something for his birthday. |
| C．To buy a present for his friend. |
| D．To look at the shoes he liked. |
| A．Because many nice shoes were sold there. |
| B．Because he didn’t want to make his mother worried. |
| C．Because he wanted to see his disabled friend. |
| D．Because he wanted to play there for a while. |
| A．Mike liked new shoes very much. |
| B．Mike had no feet. |
| C．Mike didn’t want to stay at home. |
| D．Mike loved his mother very much. |
【推荐2】It was the holidays and I was in a zoo with my family when we spotted a group of flamingos (火烈鸟), whose legs are so skinny. My brother shouted to me while pointing at the pink crowd, “Patricia! Your real family!” I glanced down at my skinny knees before realizing he thought our similarity lay elsewhere. My parents asked me to stand in front of my new-found relatives and directed me to bend my legs into a similar pose. Click.
“Why don’t you have a boyfriend yet?” my aunt asked, as if this were a choice of mine. “We were talking about you the other day and saying how pretty you are, Patricia,” she told me. “But we all agreed that if you just took off a little bit of length from that nose, you could be more beautiful.”
It’s 2012 and the performer Ashlee Simpson had just had a fantastic nose job done. I was convinced I needed to get one for myself. Having heard this, my mother — who barely used make-up，had an actually straight smile and had never bought an anti-aging cream in her life would laugh and tell me there was an easier way to fix my dilemma. “If you believe you’re beautiful, people will see you that way,” she would say.
I must have worn down my mother because she finally agreed to book me a doctor’s appointment. Before the plastic surgery, the doctor showed me his designed work. I was shocked. I’ve seen that nose before on so many people. I hated it. Since then, I never mentioned a nose job again. I realized this was my mother’s plan all along.
1. Why are flamingos thought to be Patricia’s family?| A．She loves flamingos very much. |
| B．She envies the beautiful knees of flamingos. |
| C．Her legs are also skinny. |
| D．Flamingos are her new-found relatives. |
| A．She is strict. | B．Her mind is behind the times. |
| C．She has an ugly appearance. | D．She seldom wears make-up. |
| A．Appreciated. | B．Persuaded. | C．Annoyed. | D．Moved. |
| A．Love breaks down barriers |
| B．Beautiful words are not true |
| C．Beauty belongs to the confident |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way |
【推荐3】A winter storm hit overnight. I opened my back door only to find six inches of wet, heavy snow piled up against it. I knew I had quite a job of shoveling out ahead of me, so I grabbed my snow shovel. It looked a lot more ready to work than I did. I sighed and pulled on my boots, gloves and heavy coat.
The cold wind was below zero and cut into my face as I slowly shoveled off my car roof. After that, I started my way to my daughter's house, shoveling the path as I walked. It took a while to get her driveway clear and I knew I still had a lot to do. Next came the paths down the hill to my own car covered in snow. I grabbed the broom to sweep them off as well. I felt uncomfortable when the wind blew the swept snow back. Then I started to shovel out my driveways. My back was aching as I worked. I wished I could be building a snowman instead of shoveling. Winter sure had seemed a lot more fun when I was a boy.
When I finished, I examined my work. It didn't look half bad. I smiled and looked at the woods covered in white. They were such a special sight. I leaned on my shovel and took it all in. Then I thanked God for the beauty of the day and started up the hill with the snow shovel in one hand and the broom in the other. Suddenly, an urge came over me and I dropped them both. I spread my arms, fell back into the blanket of white and happily moved my arms and legs to make an angel in the snow.
As you go through the seasons of this life, take joy in your work, take joy in your play, take joy in your life. Remember that the course of your days rests in your own hands. And always know in your heart that God loves you through the snowstorms as well as in the sunshine.
1. According to the first paragraph, why did the author sigh?| A．He would have large amounts of work to do. |
| B．The wind blew the swept snow back time and again. |
| C．No one could help him to sweep the snow on the way. |
| D．He couldn't go to his daughter's house on such weather. |
| A．The wind hurt the author's face. |
| B．The author found it little fun to make a snowman. |
| C．The author had wanted to go to his daughter's house. |
| D．The author made great efforts to sweep the snow on his driveways. |
| A．he was too tired. | B．he slipped over in the snow. |
| C．he hoped to build a snowman. | D．he wanted to regain the fun in the snow. |
| A．Seek Pleasure Whenever Possible | B．Caution! Snowy Days! |
| C．A Fascinating Shoveling Experience | D．God Loves Everyone |
【推荐1】Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His unique writing style greatly influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and public image. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Many of his works are classics of American literature. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works during his lifetime; a further three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After leaving high school he worked for a few months as a reporter for The Kansas City Star, before leaving for the Italian front to become an ambulance driver during World War I, which became the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms.
In 1922 Hemingway married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives, and the couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent. During his time there he met and was influenced by modernist writers and artists of the 1920s expatriate(侨居海外的) community known as the “Lost Generation”. His first novel, The Sun Also Rises, was published in 1926.
After divorcing Hadley Richardson in 1927, Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer; they divorced following Hemingway’s return from covering the Spanish Civil War, after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940, but he left her for Mary Welsh after World War Ⅱ.
Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952, Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in a plane crash that left him in pain or ill-health for much of the rest of his life.
Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida, and Cuba during the 1930s and 1940s, but in 1959 he moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.
1. Hemingway’s unique writing style has the most influence on ________.| A．his life of adventure | B．his public image |
| C．20th-century fiction | D．American lifestyle |
| A．Oak Park, Illinois | B．his high school |
| C．The Kansas City Star | D．the Italian front |
| A．By popularity. | B．By time. |
| C．By importance. | D．By subject. |
【推荐2】For many, college is a means to a good job. For Hollywood stars, college is an opportunity to be like everyone else.
Jodie Foster
By age 14, she had appeared in two dozen television series and 10 feature films, including Taxi Driver. Yet, she stepped away from the film business at the height of her career to attend Yale University. It paid off Foster graduated in 1985 with a degree in literature, and she was later awarded a degree in fine arts. Her career didn’t suffer, either. She went on to win two Oscars, for The Accused and The Silence of the lambs, and to direct several films.
Jerry O’Connell
Actor Jerry O’Connell made a name for himself at age 11 as the star of Stand by Me. After a few more projects, h took a break from acting to attend New York University. Now he is finishing up his law degree at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. He enrolled in night classes in 2009 before playing a lawyer in the television series The Defenders.
Natalie Portman
The Black Swan star, who first acted in The Professional at 13, reportedly skipped Star Wars: Episode I to study for her high school finals. She went on to Harvard and graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2003. After Harvard, Portman took graduate courses at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later appeared as a guest lecturer at a Columbia University course. And in 2011, she won her first Oscar for Black Swan.
Brooke Shields
Actress Brooke Shields basically came of age on screen, playing in Pretty Baby, The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love. Later, she went for her bachelor’s degree at Princeton University and it was the degree, in the end, that served her. “Without those four years of learning and growth, I would have never survived my industry, a business that eats its young. I would never have been able to adapt and to reinvent myself from movies to television, to stage, to author,” Shields told The Washington Post.
1. According to the text, Jodie Foster__________.| A．won two Oscars when studying in college | B．had directed some films by age 14 |
| C．began her acting career in 1985 | D．got two degrees in college |
| A．Yale University | B．Harvard University |
| C．Princeton University | D．New York University |
| A．She never dreamt she could be a star. | B．She became famous due to her degree. |
| C．She greatly benefited from her college study. | D．She hated the competition in the film business. |
| A．They are all Oscar winners. |
| B．They majored in psychology in college. |
| C．They went to college in order to get better jobs. |
| D．They were child stars who became college graduates. |
【推荐3】Because my work involves so much mandatory reading (强制性阅读), I don’t get to do lots of pleasure reading. There is just too little time for short stories or poetry. I typically only get to the things friends have already read and recommended to me. They are my book reviewers. They keep me from wasting time.
My favorite popular author is John Grisham. He has written twenty-two novels, one work of non-fiction, a collection of stories, and a novel for young readers. I respect good story-tellers, and he knows how to tell a good story.
Although his books have sold some 300 million copies, people sometimes pan him. “He’s no Hemingway or Faulkner!” says one reviewer. “He is not a particularly good writer,” says another, “and it is unlikely that anyone will be reading his ‘potboilers’ in another generation.”
However, I like the fact that Grisham doesn’t take himself too seriously. In one interview with the Associated Press, Grisham denied any visions of great literary fiction. “It’s pure entertainment,” he said. Sounds quite humble, doesn’t it? And that quality is most refreshing and rare these days.
In the course of that same interview, he mentioned a fact from his earliest days of attempting to write that grabbed my most attention. “The alarm clock would go off at 5, and I’d jump in the shower,” he said. “My office was five minutes away. And I had to be at my desk, at my office, with the first cup of coffee and a legal pad, and write the first word at 5:30, five days a week.” His goal was to write one page every day. If it took ten minutes, so be it. Sometimes he would write for two hours before starting his job as a lawyer.
1. The underlined word “pan” (in Paragraph 3) probably means ______.| A．praise | B．criticize | C．respect | D．cheat |
| A．He is a modest person. | B．He likes entertaining himself. |
| C．He tends to look down upon other writers. | D．He compares himself to Hemingway. |
| A．Grisham was always friendly to others |
| B．Grisham was often staying up late for work |
| C．Grisham was a productive writer with all kinds of works |
| D．Grisham had a good habit of getting up early to write |
| A．Short Stories: Source of My Pleasure | B．John Grisham: My Great Admiration |
| C．My Impressive Interview with John Grisham | D．The Effect of Mandatory Reading on My Life |
【推荐1】Picture a young woman picking flowers from a field to make a natural blush for her cheeks, making a sofa from bamboo, making soy sauce（酱油）from scratch and cooking up all sorts of delicious Chinese food. It may sound unreal, but such a person exists in real life, and her name is Li Ziqi.
Her videos cover a wide variety of crafts related to traditional Chinese culture. From making paper and ink to weaving cloth, from making a silk quilt for her grandmother to building her own bread kiln（面包窑）with blocks, nothing seems impossible with Li's crafty hands as they work their magic to bring these things into existence.
"Watching her videos, it is difficult not to have the sense of longing for home. My heart warmed up as I watched her flip soybeans in the video for making soy sauce. I was really moved. I used to do this kind of work when I was young," comments the Weibo user July of Jiangnan.
The success of Li Ziqi and her video lies in her passion—passion for life, for her home and for her culture. She does not say much, but she tells the stories of China's culture.
"I started it because I wanted to create something for people to watch and relax. We are all under a lot of stress. I hoped that after a long and busy day, they could click on my videos and relieve some of their anxiety and pressure," Li said.
But her videos did more than that. Viewers from both home and abroad are attracted. Li now enjoys a fan base of more than 21 million people on Sina Weibo and 7 million strong followers on YouTube. She has made a name for herself in her videos that highlight a traditional Chinese way of life in the rural areas.
Li is not without criticism, such as remarks about her "beautifying" life in the country and her use of a professional production team to help her film. Others have expressed skepticism about how "real" her videos are, and how "amazing" it is that she looks so picture perfect after a long day of work in the fields.
1. Why was July of Jiangnan moved when watching Li Ziqi's video for making soy sauce?| A．Because he loves soy sauce made by hand. |
| B．Because he was touched by Li Ziqi's creativity. |
| C．Because it taught him how to make soy sauce. |
| D．Because it reminded him of his own experience. |
| A．To make a lot of money. |
| B．To become famous on the internet. |
| C．To help watchers relieve their stress. |
| D．To spread Chinese traditional culture. |
| A．Doubt. | B．Interest. | C．Curiosity. | D．Concern. |
| A．Li's crafty hands can do everything |
| B．Some people don't think highly of Li Ziqi's videos |
| C．Li Ziqi talks a lot in order to introduce Chinese culture in her videos. |
| D．Li Ziqi's videos focus on the traditional Chinese way of life in the city. |
Radcliffe, who failed to complete the Olympic marathon and the 10,000m last August, said: "Athens made me a stronger person and it made me care less about criticism"
"In the past I wanted to please everyone, but now I am going to listen even more to the people around me."
She didn't care about criticism made at the weekend by Liz McColgan, who felt Radcliffe should have rested and let her body recover after her failure in Athens.
"Liz is someone I look up to but she hasn't spoken to me since last year and if she really cared for me, I'm sure she would have contacted me."
Instead Radcliffe won the New York City marathon just 11 weeks after Athens.
"In New York I wasn't in my best state but I did know I was good enough to win the race."
Radcliffe insisted her only goal in Sunday's race would be winning a third title and not chasing world records.
However, Radcliffe has not ruled out in the future chasing her "final" world record time and questioned sayings that marathon runners have the ability in their career to produce only four or five world-class times.
"I don't think that ——although I can't put a number on it," said. Radcliffe. "That changes from person to person."
Radcliffe is sure she can better her winning London 2003 performance at some point in the future. Following a successful three-month training period in the United States, the 31-year-old will chase a third title on Sunday after her first victory in 2002 and again 12 months later.
Radcliffe clocked a time of 2:18:56 in her first 42.2-kilometre race three years ago.
Afterwards she set a "mixed course" mark of 2:17:18 five months later in Chicago before lowering that to a time of 2:15:25 in the 2003 London event.
1. Radcliffe’s failure in Athens made her___________.
| A．develop respect for Liz | B．love people around her more |
| C．rest for five months | D．face criticism calmly |
| A．Radcliffe broke the world record in the New York City marathon. |
| B．Radcliffe didn’t fully recover before the New York City marathon. |
| C．Radcliffe won her first marathon title in the New York City marathon. |
| D．Radcliffe had a 3-month training before the New York City marathon. |
| A．if she has the ability to set a new world record |
| B．if she can win another race though she has won many times |
| C．how many times a marathon runner can set the world record |
| D．if she has the ability to produce four or five world-class times |
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Well begun is half done. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. | D．A friend in need is a fried indeed. |
【推荐3】Visitors to the Yangguan Museum in Dunhuang, Northwest China’s Gansu Province, over the recent May Day holiday had the opportunity to see the first restored Mingguang armor (铠甲) from the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The 1.86-metertall suit of armor gave visitors a window through which they could appreciate the wisdom of ancient Chinese artisans and the charm of China’s armor culture.
Wen Chenhua, the artisan who restored the armor that played a significant role on the battlefield more than 1,000 years ago, is one of the biggest fans of ancient armor in China. Following his passion, he has made the restoration of armor his lifelong career.
Since 2008, Wen and his team of over 30 people have produced more than 10,000 armor replicas according to ancient samples, gradually gathering thousands of followers from around the world who have been caught up by the charm of Chinese armor culture.
Armor from the Tang and Song dynasties are Wen’s favorites. He pointed to the Mingguang armor as a specific example. Mingguang means “ bright and shiny ” and in this case refers specifically to glittering nature of the breastplate of the armor, according to Wen. Due to prohibitions against privately storing suits of armor in ancient times, there are very few complete suits of armor that have been well preserved in China and detailed written records remain scarce.
Although Wen found many mentions of ancient armor in historical records, most records did not discuss what the armor actually looked like. He also used the statues of goddesses in the Mogao Grottoes as references, as the armor on one of these statues still had color. It took Wen and his team several months to restore the Mingguang armor. It is composed of more than 1,300 iron pieces and weighs nearly 25 kilograms in total. They used modern technology to create patterns that were inspired by a traditional forging technique popular in the region during the Tang Dynasty. Wen said that all of these endeavors are aimed at getting as close as possible to historical reality, noting that “ no one can see the real Mingguang armor but I will try my best to restore the truth. ”
1. What inspired Wen Chenhua to restore the armor?| A．Visitors appreciation | B．The charm of China’s culture |
| C．The wisdom of ancient Chinese artisans | D．His enthusiasm for ancient armor in China |
| A．Products | B．Displays | C．Copies | D．Sculptures |
| A．There were few complete suits and detailed written records left. |
| B．Suits of armor were stored privately in the past. |
| C．The color on the armors were completely destroyed. |
| D．The ancient government banned storing suits of armor privately. |
| A．Wen used modern technology to create the statues of goddesses. |
| B．Wen and his team tried to restore the truth of the ancient China’s armor. |
| C．Wen and his team found enough records to figure out what the armor actually looked like. |
| D．The Mingguang armor consists of about 1,300 iron pieces and weighs exactly 25 kilograms in total. |
