【推荐1】Films to watch in March

Greta

A lonely young waitress finds a handbag on a New York subway train. Luckily, the address is inside, so she returns it to the piano teacher who left it there. She then discovers that the piano teacher makes a habit of dropping bags around the city on purpose to make new friends. Directed by Neil Jordan, the actors are attractive. Grace Moretz is the waitress and Isabelle Huppert is the one who admires her. Thanks to them, Greta winds up being far more enjoyable than it has any right to be.

The Aftermath

The Aftermath is one of the few World War Ⅱ-related films. Based on Rhidian Brook’s novel, this touching romantic movie is starred by Keira Knightley, who is the wife of a British officer. She hates the Germans because her son was killed in an air raid (抢劫). But is there a chance that a tall, dark and handsome man might persuade her to overcome her hate?

Captain Marvel

It took Marvel Studios a decade to finally make a female superhero. It’s also the first Marvel film to be directed by a woman, who has directed Half Nelson and Missisippi Grind. Captain Marvel is set in the 1990s. The Oscar-winning Brie Larson stars as Carol Danvers, a US Air Force fighter pilot, while Samuel L Jackson, as usual, plays Nick Fury.

Dumbo is, a classic Disney cartoon, who has big ears and there have been plenty of those kind of movies in recent years. Burton always has inspirations to direct such kind of movies from Edward Scissorhands to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Magical figures have always been his favorite characters.

1. Who works on a different job?

A．Isabelle Huppert.	B．Keira Knightley.
C．Rhidian Brook.	D．Brie Larson.

2. What makes Captain Marvel special?

A．Winning Oscar.	B．Its female director.
C．Time setting.	D．A woman pilot.

3. Which film is better for a 7-year-old kid to watch?

A．The Aftermath	B．Captain Marvel
C．Grete	D．Dumbo

4. Where can you most probably read the text?

A．Reader’s Digest	B．Nature
C．Scientific American	D．National Geographic

【推荐2】Kindle E-reader, 8 th generation

Free Touchscreen Display

Price: $79.99

● Thin and light for one-handed reading

New Kindle is 11% thinner and 16% lighter than the previous generation Kindle, making it easy and comfortable to hold in one hand.

● Read like real Paper

Kindle creates text similar to what you see in a physical book. The blacks and whites on the screen are uniform, improving text and image quality.

●Long-life battery

Kindle doesn't need power to show a page of text, allowing you to read for weeks on a single charge.

● Thousands of books, no distraction (分心)

Kindle is designed to be an e-reader. It satisfies your love of reading without interruptions like e-mails and phone calls.

●Look it up without leaving your page

Smart Lookup combines entries from The New Oxford American Dictionary with information from Wikipedia, so you can know meanings, characters and more without losing your place.

●Adjust your text size

Choose from eight text sizes to prevent tired eyes, so you can keep reading longer.

Customer reviews:

※ Damon, May 21,2019

The price is great with an extra $ 20 off and this new Kindle is smaller in my hands than my old one. I was sad to lose my old Kindle, but this one is terrific.

※ Jason, January 26, 2019

I miss the original Kindlers size - this one is too small. Also, the screen is overly sensitive and things pop up (弹出)and the battery doesn't last as long as the original Kindle. But my biggest disappointment is that this Kindle doesn't allow you to transfer everything from the original Kindle、so I lost all of the information from my old one. Overall, disappointing.

※ Susan, November 17, 2018

I had the original Kindle, and the battery lasted for weeks. This battery only seems to last a few days, however. The other problem I have with this version of the Kindle is the touch screen. It is annoying when you are reading and start turning the wrong way. Sometimes, it's hard to get the page to turn the way you'd   like it to.

1. Which is a feature of the 8th-generation Kindle?

A．It is 16% thinner than the previous one.

B．It is user-friendly with a built-in dictionary.

C．It can run for several months on a single charge.

D．It is designed to receive e-mails and make calls.

2. In which way does Jason's new Kindle bother him most?

A．Its screen is much too sensitive.

B．It is not as large as he expected.

C．Its battery life isn't as long as his original one.

D．Documents can't be transferred between different Kindles.

3. What problem do Jason and Susan have with their new Kindle ?

A．There are always messages popping up.

B．Ifs difficult to turn on the touch screen.

C．Page turning doesn't work well sometimes.

D．The battery lasts shorter than the original one.

【推荐3】Below are the best four applications to help you organize your closet(橱柜)—and trust us, there really is something for everyone.
Closet
If you’re looking to create your own digital closet, then this app is for you. Closet helps you categorize your outfits and keeps you up-to-date on what you’ve already worn.
PROS:Very simple and user-friendly. Great for helping you look at your own closet without feeling overwhelmed.
CONS: No social interactions. This app is strictly for having a mobile version of your closet.
Pose
The app makes things insanely easy for the indecisive shopper. So if you’re debating whether or not to buy something, you can get a second opinion. The app also gathers photos of items that you wish to buy and items you already own, so they are all in one spot.
PROS: When you sign up, you fill out a short survey that helps identify your personal style and subsequently finds people with similar taste that you can follow for inspiration.
CONS:The phone application is more visually appealing than the actual website.
Stylitics
it allows you to categorize your clothes by color, brand, pattern and more. And if you’re wondering whether you have already worn an outfit, simply check your style calendar.
PROS:The app comes with a“Today in Fashion History”tip so you can brush up on your style knowledge.
CONS:You can’t view your style profile using the app yet unless you log on to the site.
Walk in My Closet
If you’re browsing the Internet, looking for something to buy, you can instantly add the item to your virtual closet so that your wish list items are all one place. Besides sharing your closet with other users, you can also sell items you no longer want.
PROS:The“Moodboard”is a great way to gather inspiring looks that you like from other users and fashion experts.
CONS:The luggage feature, which allows you to prepare outfits for an upcoming trip, is only available on the site; it would be useful if it were on the app.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word?

A．Instantly.	B．Accurately.
C．Deliberately.	D．Incredibly.

2. Which of the following is designed for people who often hesitate when buying clothes?

A．Closet.	B．Pose.
C．Stylitics.	D．Walk in My Closet.

3. What can we learn about Walk in My Closet from the passage?

A．It is a simple and user-friendly app.

B．It helps you confirm your personal style.

C．It combines both shopping and organizing your closet.

D．It requires you to log on the site to view your style profile.

4. The passage mainly tells us        .

A．about the four best fashion apps to help organize your closet

B．how to use these fashion apps

C．that everyone can find their own personal style

D．that we should share our closet with friends

【推荐2】The earliest known copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—thought to have been painted at the same time as the original masterpiece—has been discovered at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain. The work offers art-lovers an attractive clue to what the model for the world’s most famous painting really looked like. Controllers of the museum found the picture hidden beneath layers of paints during restoration work on a picture initially thought to have been a later replica(exact copy) of the Mona Lisa.

The restored version shows the same woman that Leonardo depicted (描画), against a landscape similar to that shown in the background of the original, which now hangs in the Louvre in Paris. And while the features of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa have been dulled by centuries of dirt and layers of cracked paints—which are unlikely ever to be removed—in the recently-rediscovered copy, she appears fresher-faced and younger than her better-known “twin”.

News of the find was revealed at a meeting at London’s National Gallery, linked to its “Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan” exhibition. “This sensational (轰动的) find will transform our understanding of the world’s most famous picture,” the Art Newspaper reported, adding that the clues found on the Madrid version suggest that the original and the copy were begun at the same time and painted next to each other, as the work went on.

Miguel Falomir, manager of Italian painting at the Prado, told reporters that expert analysis suggested a strong link between Leonardo and the artist who painted the copy. “The painting was done in the painter’s own workshop,” he said. “It is absolutely consistent with Leonardo’s work, but Leonardo didn’t actually do any work on it himself.”

1. Which of the following is TRUE about the new version of the Mona Lisa?

A．It was a restored version by Leonardo.

B．It was painted much later than the original version.

C．It is better preserved than the original one.

D．It has been dulled by layers of cracked paints.

2. We can learn from the third paragraph that ________.

A．the new version of the Mona Lisa went on display at a meeting.

B．there would be two versions of the Mona Lisa at the exhibition.

C．Leonardo was made to paint with another painter meanwhile.

D．the new finding affects the understanding of the original version.

3. What can we infer from the text?

A．The artist painted the copy in his home.

B．The artist who painted the copy must have been Leonardo’s student.

C．The artist finished painting the copy under Leonardo’s guidance.

D．The artist who painted the copy had close relation with Leonardo.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．The Prado Museum has discovered the earliest copy of the Mona Lisa.

B．The Prado Museum restored the earliest copy of the Mona Lisa.

C．The Prado Museum displayed the recently-rediscovered copy of the Mona Lisa in Spain.

D．The Prado Museum offers art-lovers a better understanding of Leonardo.

【推荐3】根据短文内容, 从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Africa is a very diverse land with many different tribes. One tradition that many of these groups share is painting or marking their bodies and faces in color. They do this for many reasons. Some marks are used to identify people as part of a group.    1     Let’s look at some different examples of body painting.     2     Among the Masai of East Africa, when men are old enough to marry and make decisions for their people, they participate in a special ceremony in which they paint their heads and faces red. This ceremony take place every seven to fourteen years, so there is not an exact age for participating in it. The Samburu, also from East Africa, like to paint their faces and hair red because they think it looks attractive.     3     To show that he has killed a lion, a man will paint his body with a natural white material, making special marks to represent this accomplishment. The Masai men also use this white to show that they are on longer boys and are considered adults.One quite unusual example of face painting is done by the Wodaabe people of West Africa. Once a year, they have a beauty contest for men.     4     Then they add white and black circles and lines. Black paint is used near the eyes and on the lips to draw attention to the whiteness of their eyes and teeth, which the Wodaabe consider most beautiful.    5    .As you travel, enjoy the beautiful and bright colors of Africa.

A．Red is the common color in body painting because it often represents health and long life.

B．Other marks are used for ceremonies such as weddings and during times of war.

C．The ceremony expresses hope for rain.

D．The Masai men also have a unique way of showing that they are brave.

E．The women then decide which man they like best.

F．The men pretend to fight each other.

G．The men paint their faces yellow and red.

【推荐1】Want to know what is coming soon to a cinema near you? Probably not a 1.5-hour-long movie, as in the old days. On October 20th comes Killers of the Flower Moon. At nearly three and a half hours, its length is nearly double that of the average film last year. Even movie fans struggle to concentrate for that ridiculously (荒谬地) long time and some viewers even nod off. Afterwards, there is a mad run for the toilets. When does watching a film become such an effort?

The Economist analyzed over 100,000 feature films released internationally since the 1930s, the start of Hollywood's golden age, using data from IMDb, a movie database. The average length of productions rose by around 24%, from 1 hour and 21 minutes in the 1930s to 1 hour and 47 minutes in 2022. For the ten most-popular titles, the average length grew to around two and a half hours in 2022, nearly 50% higher than in the 1930s.

One driver of this trend is that studios want to squeeze the most out of their costly intellectual property, but they are competing with streaming platforms for eyeballs. The hope is that a spectacular, drawn-out “event” movie will draw audiences away from the small screen and into cinemas. This approach has often paid off: Avengers: Endgame Marvel's three-hour superhero masterpiece was the highest-grossing (票房最高的) film in 2019. Last year, long movie series made up most of the highest-grossing films in America.

Another explanation for longer films has to do with directors’ growing influence. Who would dare tell the likes of Mr. Nolan to cut out their masterpieces? Moreover, streaming platforms, which do not have to worry as much about the length because viewers can pause whenever they like, may attract big names by promising them sufficient fund and creative freedom. Netflix funded and released three-hour The Irishman in 2019, a film that would have benefited from a decisive editor, Irish or otherwise.

1. How does the author organize the second paragraph?

A．By listing numbers and making comparisons.	B．By giving examples and explaining theories.
C．By telling stories and showing experiments.	D．By asking questions and offering solutions.

2. Why is Avengers: Endgame Marvel mentioned in paragraph 3?

A．To introduce its impact.

B．To explain why its gross is the highest.

C．To prove that the studio’s strategy is working.

D．To summarize the secret of the studio's success.

3. What is probably Mr. Nolan?

A．A photographer.

B．A director.

C．An actor.

D．An audience.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A brief history of long movies.	B．How film studios distribute their movies.
C．The production process of a movie.	D．Why films have become so ridiculously long.