Ban Zhao (Chinese: 班昭; 45-117 CE) , courtesy name Huiban, was a Chinese historian, philosopher, and politician. She was the first known female Chinese historian. She
Ban Zhao was born in Anling, near
Ban Zhao contributed greatly to the completion of Hanshu literally the Book of Han, the official dynastic history of the Western Han. After Ban Gu
Ban Zhao’s Lessons for Women, originally only
2 . Yue-Sai Kan was born in China. In 1972, she moved to New York. When Kan was a child, she was told by her father that she should always aim to (力争) be the first because no one remembered the second. What her father said has been a driving inspiration over the years for her to become a bestselling author and a successful businesswoman.
Her new book Be a Pioneer, which is the tenth she has written and her first Chinese-language autobiography (自传), was produced after three years, inspired by her father’s words.
When writing an autobiography, the biggest challenge is not how to present one’s life, but to remember it. To help with reconstructing her story, Kan asked many friends and colleagues she made over the years to write down their memories of her from earlier times. So besides featuring Kan’s own words, the new book is also filled with those of her friends’s, which gives Kan a new understanding of herself — a woman who works hard, studies hard. and the most important thing is that she is a woman filled with a sense of responsibility.
“My helper Stephanie mentioned that I was worried because we were running out of money for the company. My housekeeper reminded me that before the start of one of my events she found that I had fainted (晕倒) in the bathroom. I was so tired that I was getting sick. They know more about me than myself,” Kan says.
“Writing a book is a good business to be in, not so much to make money but to grow the brain. I believe what I do will benefit the world. All the things I have done in Be a Pioneer — my successes and my failures — can be a good example to young people in particular. That’s the main reason why I wrote the book,” adds Kan.
1. What can we know about Kan’s book Be a Pioneer?A.It took her 10 years to finish. |
B.It is full of her father’s words. |
C.It was completed with her friends’ help. |
D.It tops the tenth on the bestseller list. |
A.Being short of money. | B.Having no supporters. |
C.Having to write it in Chinese. | D.Remembering her past. |
A.To tell Kan is weak in health. |
B.To show Kan is a worried woman. |
C.To report the path of writing is difficult. |
D.To state how Kan’s story was reconstructed. |
A.Setting an example. | B.Earning money. |
C.Making herself popular. | D.Proving herself to her father. |
3 . Kafka was hired in an Italian insurance company on November 1, 1907. He worked there for a year, during which period his letter witnessed that he was unhappy with his working time schedule — from 8 pm until 6 am — as it made it extremely difficult for him to concentrate on his writing. On July 15, 1908, he resigned, and two weeks later he got employed by the Worker’s Accident Insurance Institute. Both in his letter and his diaries, Kafka frequently complained about his life at work.
Though Kafka despaired of his twelve-hour shifts that left no time for writing, he was promoted to the position of chief clerk at the Workers’ Accident Insurance Institute, and he worked from 8:30 am until 2:30 pm. Then he had lunch around 3:00 pm, slept until 7:30 pm, did some exercise and had a family dinner, after which he started work around 11:00 pm (the letter-and diary-writing took up at least one hour a day, and more usually two). “Depending on my strength, inclination and luck, until one, two, or three o’clock, once even till six in the morning.” This routine left him permanently on the verge of collapse. It would be wrong, however, to consider him a long-suffering official depressed by his work or even found it detestable. On the contrary, he was a model official, precise and efficient, who successfully climbed the career ladder.
Kafka is one of the highest regarded writers of the German language, although he achieved little to no fame during his own lifetime. During his lifetime, Franze Kafka burned an estimated 90 percent of his work. After his death at age 41, in 1924, a letter was discovered in his desk, addressed to his friend Max Brod. “Dearest Max,” it began. “My last request: Everything I leave behind me... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others’), sketches and so on, to be burned unread.” Less than two months later, Brod, disregarding Kafka’s request, signed an agreement to prepare a posthumous edition of Kafka’s unpublished novels. Thanks largely to Brod’s efforts, Kafka’s slim, mysterious works were gradually recognized as one of the great monuments of 20th century literature.
1. Why did Kafka quit the job on July 15, 1908?A.Because he had to work ten hours a day. | B.Because he found a better job. |
C.Because he found it affected his writing. | D.Because he hated the job. |
A.Boring | B.Hateful | C.Enjoyable | D.Satisfying |
A.He had a preference for writing. | B.He did poorly in his work. |
C.He was famous when he was alive. | D.He got his works published. |
A.His talent. | B.His luck. | C.His diligence. | D.His friend’s efforts. |
4 . 阅读下面材料,在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
At first glance, the words alligator, bedroom, eyeball, gossip, hurry, and kissing may not have anything obvious in common,
More than four centuries after his death in 1616, Shakespeare’s plays remain
The collection of Shakespeare’s plays
5 . 听下面一段对话,根据所听内容将下列句子补充完整。
W: Who do you think is
M: Jane Austen.
W: Hmm. She’s good, but I like D. H. Lawrence and Charles Dickens
6 . What is Amy Black?
A.A bookseller. | B.A writer. | C.A teacher. |
7 . 听下面一段独白,回答以下小题。
1. What did Tanya begin to do at school?A.Write short stories. | B.Write short poems. | C.Act in films. |
A.She wanted to get more experience of life. |
B.She couldn’t afford her education. |
C.She had got a very good full-time job. |
A.In 1956. | B.In 1971. | C.In 1979. |
A.It was performed in Hollywood. |
B.It was a story written in 1984. |
C.It won an important prize. |
1. What was George R. R. Martin like when he was young?
A.He was popular with his classmates. |
B.He didn't have many friends. |
C.He loved to play sports. |
A.Turtles. | B.Dragons. | C.Spiders. |
A.A famous actor. | B.A comic book writer. | C.A sci-fi movie director. |
The Analects of Confucius (《论语》) records the words and deeds of the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius,
Ren is a core concept in the book adopted by Confucius with original meaning of loving others.
Society has developed greatly and huge changes
The Analects of Confucius is a fine example of world literature, and the publication of its
1. What does Mr. Henry Stone do?
A.A bank clerk. | B.A teacher. | C.A writer. |
A.Watching people. | B.Telling stories. | C.Reading magazines. |
A.A valuable suitcase was missing. |
B.A man stole money from a bank. |
C.A woman ran away from home. |
A.She was traveling on business. |
B.She was seeing the man off. |
C.She was leaving for Greece. |