1 . Akira Toriyama, one of Japan’s leading comics authors, whose manga (漫画) “Dragon Ball” achieved worldwide success with its mix of comedic characters and rousing martial arts battles, died on March 1. He was 68.
Mr. Toriyama’s body of work is recognizable far beyond Japan’s borders, having influenced generations of manga artists and cartoonists. His best-known work, “Dragon Ball”, follows a young boy named Son Goku who starts a journey to collect the seven magical balls that summon (召唤) a wish-granting dragon. Since its creation in the 1980s, it has spanned 42 volumes, sold millions of copies worldwide and become one of the most famous manga, inspiring television, film and video game adaptations.
Throughout his career, Mr. Toriyama said in a 2013 interview with the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, he did not care if his work did anything besides entertaining its readers. He was, he suggested, unlike “other manga artists concerned about conveying moral messages”.
When “Dragon Ball” was first published in 1984, it was an immediate hit, becoming one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It sold more than 260million copies worldwide, according to Toei Animation, the studio that produced the anime adaptation. “Dragon Ball” was serialized in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump until 1995. In the year after the series ended, the magazine lost about one million of its six million readers, according to “A History of Modern Manga”.
A productive manga artist, Mr. Toriyama did not necessarily have an appetite for this genre as a reader. “I have always had a hard time reading manga, including my own work,” he said in a 2018 interview with Kiyosu City Public Library. He led a private life and gave few interviews. In a 2013 interview with the Japanese singer and actress Shoko Nakagawa, he said that he did not even share all his work with his family. “To tell you the truth, no one in my family has ever seen ‘Dragon Ball’,” he said, laughing. “I am also a hikikomori,” he added, using the Japanese word for a recluse (隐居者). But his stories continued to reach fans around the world years after their creation.
1. Where can you find this article most probably?| A．A news report. | B．An autobiography. |
| C．A manga introduction. | D．A funeral speech. |
| A．It is classical. | B．It is engaging. |
| C．It is advanced. | D．It is educational. |
| A．A thickened size of each issue. | B．A leading magazine worldwide. |
| C．A period of increase in readership. | D．A record holder in manga history. |
| A．Unworldly and genuine. | B．Imaginative and flexible. |
| C．Innocent and well-informed. | D．Knowledgeable and courageous. |
2 . One of the most famous literary challenges in history was when Dr. Seuss received a challenge from his publisher that he could only use 50 words to write an entire book. That’s all well and good, but it’s a tough challenge, to be sure. However, Ernest Vincent Wright would no doubt turn up his nose, as he challenged himself to pen an entire 50,000-word novel without once using the letter “e”.
Wright managed to pull it off. The final product was Gadsby, which is about a man named, well, Gadsby, who tries to save his city with the help of a youth group. It took Wright nearly six months to complete the work, and in his introduction pages he mentioned the challenges along the way.
One of the biggest challenges was replacing pronouns, since it’s tough to write a sentence, let alone a novel, without words like “he” or “she” or “her” and so forth. Additionally, he was forced to find ways to work around using past tense words that typically end in “-ed”, which, as you might imagine, is more than a little tricky.
Still, Wright did manage to come up with 50,110 words and a full story without any cheats, making it one of the most successful lipograms (避讳某字之文) in the history of writing. Wright self-published the book in 1939 and it was read primarily by people who tried to find any cheats, so convinced were they that Wright simply must have used the letter.
The entire novel is available online to read for free, as it entered the public domain in 1968. It’s a good thing, too, as the storehouse that contained the majority of the copies burned down, destroying enough of the books that it has since become a rare book collector’s prize, with copies being valued at thousands of dollars.
At the end of the day, of course, it remains a truly great achievement. After all, “e” is the most commonly used letter in English, with more than 11 percent of all words in the Oxford dictionary containing at least one “e”.
1. What did Wright challenge himself to write?| A．An entire book with 50 words. |
| B．A 50,000-word book in six months. |
| C．A 50,000-word book without the letter “e”. |
| D．An entire book including “e” 50,000 times. |
| A．The difficulties Wright faced. |
| B．The plot of Wright’s final product. |
| C．The popularity of Wright’s final product. |
| D．The smart ways Wright used to replace pronouns. |
| A．They considered the book a great success. |
| B．They expected the book to be available online. |
| C．They wondered what lipograms mean. |
| D．They doubted if Wright really made it. |
| A．Due to their rarity. |
| B．Because Wright won a big prize. |
| C．Because they had a really long history. |
| D．Due to book collectors’ recommendation. |
1. In your opinion, is Yang Liwei a hero? Why, or why not?
2. What do you think a true hero should be like?
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4 . Time magazine named its choice of the 100 “Most Influential (有影响力的) People in the World” on Wednesday. On the
Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks starting point guard, is a person that many
“Jeremy Lin’s story is a great lesson for kids everywhere. In life, there are many prejudices (偏见) that
“It’s great to see good values and the right attitude
We spoke to Lin’s
| A．road | B．way | C．world | D．list |
| A．children | B．stars | C．athletes | D．players |
| A．criticised | B．praised | C．attacked | D．disliked |
| A．influential | B．skilful | C．talented | D．selfless |
| A．lesson | B．skill | C．move | D．knowledge |
| A．graduate | B．professor | C．student | D．coach |
| A．fortunately | B．surprisingly | C．amazingly | D．unfairly |
| A．common | B．untrue | C．necessary | D．useful |
| A．coach | B．work | C．succeed | D．fail |
| A．useful | B．possible | C．easy | D．difficult |
| A．poor | B．lazy | C．excellent | D．normal |
| A．rewarded | B．forgotten | C．replaced | D．covered |
| A．country | B．fame | C．money | D．team |
| A．family | B．teammates | C．friends | D．parents |
| A．modest | B．optimistic | C．excited | D．happy |
5 . “Hello, boys; make lots of toys,” said A.C.Gilbert in magazine ads for the erector set (立体拼装玩具). The building set, using tiny, metal girders (大梁), was popular for many years.
As a small boy, Gilbert couldn’t sit still for long. When he was 12, he started a sports club for his friends and got their school to have a field day. After watching pole vault (撑杆 跳), Gilbert took a cedar rail from a farmer’s fence, shaped it, and began to practice.
Gilbert won a gold medal in pole vault at the Olympic Games in 1908. By that time, he had a diploma in physical education and had nearly finished medical studies. However, he later started his first business: making and selling magic kits, with which Gilbert had amused friends and earned college money.
One day, Gilbert saw workers using steel girders to build towers for power lines. That gave him the idea for the erector set.
In 1917, the Council of National Defense thought no toys should be sold for Christmas because the country was fighting in World War I. Gilbert, with other men from the Toy Manufacturers, went to Washington, D. C. with about 40 different toys. and they were given 15 minutes to speak.
This meeting was at the end of a long, hard day. Gilbert exclaimed how toys helped children learn while his helpers brought out the toys. Soon, tired government men were on the floor, playing with building sets, models of navy ships, and other toys. The time limit was forgotten; so was the Christmas toy ban.
Gilbert spent the rest of his life improving erector sets. When he died in 1961, he had 150 patents for his many inventions. But his chief joy was in helping children learn and have fun at the same time. He once said, “I have never worked on anything to make money unless it was fun too.” As a matter of fact, the fun always came first.
1. What do we know about Gilbert according to paragraphs 2-3?| A．He was unwilling to sit down as a small kid. |
| B．He convinced his school to establish a sports club. |
| C．He absorbed himself in coming up with new ideas. |
| D．He demonstrated his interest and gift in various fields. |
| A．Asking workers for assistance. | B．Observing a construction work. |
| C．Designing towers for power lines. | D．Selling magic kits in previous years |
| A．they were impressed by Gilbert's words |
| B．they forgot the time limit arranged earlier |
| C．they were exhausted after playing on the floor |
| D．they experienced the pleasure of playing toys |
| A．Talented and committed. | B．Friendly and considerate. |
| C．Brilliant and cold-hearted. | D．Generous and strong-willed. |
1. What does Robert do?
| A．A golfer. | B．A club organizer. | C．A coach. |
| A．She was a friend of his. |
| B．She admired him. |
| C．She wanted to get money from him. |
| A．He paid all hospital bills for her. |
| B．He gave his own prize to the woman. |
| C．He sent the woman’s son to the hospital. |
| A．Happy. | B．Angry. | C．Sad. |
7 . It is difficult to name a female architect more iconic than Zaha Hadid, whose name can be translated from Arabic as glorious. She passed away five years ago at the age of 65, but the impact she has left on the world of architecture is profound.
Hadid was born into an upper-class Iraqi family in 1950. At the very beginning, she wanted to become a mathematician and studied science at the American University of Beirut, But at some point she realized that she preferred shapes to numbers. And she turned her concentration to architecture and went to London where she met the famous Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.
“There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?” Hadid once said. Despite her abundance of amazing ideas, before the beginning of the 90s, not a single building based on her blueprints had been built. Her highly expressive style, while initially criticized and believed to be crazy, is now regarded as pioneering work. Her striking contemporary architecture, inspired by natural landforms, has graced the skylines of major metropolitan cities.
“Women are always being told, ‘you’re not going to make it; It’s too difficult. You can’t do that Don’t enter this competition; You’ll never win it’,” Hadid said. “They need confidence in themselves and people around them for support.”
Never one to be boxed in by conventions, Hadid proved society wrong. She received her first prize, the “Gold Medal Architectural Design” for her British Architecture in 1982. From then on, the awards kept rolling in. But the true triumph for Hadid came in 2004. Her project for the London Olympics Aquatic Center won her the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She became the first woman and first Muslim to earn the award, making a name for herself and paving the way for female architects.
Hadid’s genius lives on in the array of many other spectacular buildings she has left behind in the world. Among them are the Guangzhou Opera House, the Beijing Daxing International Airport, as well as the Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held.
Hadid may be gone, but her global influence on a new generation of female architects is here to stay.
1. What made Hadid quit science to learn architecture?| A．Her talent in architecture. |
| B．Her interest in architecture. |
| C．Her difficulty in learning science. |
| D．Her encounter with Rem Koolhaas. |
| A．Her architecture was inspired by mathematics |
| B．Her British Architecture won her the Pritzker Architecture Prize. |
| C．Her architecture style was too bold to be accepted at the very beginning. |
| D．Her works can only be found in European countries and the Middle East. |
| A．The talk between Hadid and her colleague. |
| B．The reason why women fail to be architects. |
| C．The prejudice from society against women. |
| D．The difficulty Hadid faced being an architect. |
| A．She formed a unique style. |
| B．She broke away from the convention. |
| C．She received various architecture awards |
| D．She encouraged other women architects. |
8 . Ever since humans began adventuring into space, 227 astronauts have performed activities outside the spaceship. While 14 of those have been women, the female astronauts have always been with a male partner. On October 18, 2019, US astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir became the first all-female team to carry out a spacewalk to replace a failed battery controller.
The historic event began at 7: 38 a. m. when Koch and Meir set their spacesuits to battery power. Live-broadcast by NASA, it was watched by thousands of space fans, particularly young girls dreaming to be astronauts. The scientists, who spent seven hours and 17 minutes fixing the controller and completing other tasks for the station, were able to observe the Earth passing under their feet. Koch and Meir returned to the International Space Station at 2: 55 p.m., where they were welcomed with cheers by their four male workmates.
When asked about the importance of this spacewalk, Koch said, “In the end, I do think it’s important because of the historical nature of what we’re doing. In the past, women haven’t always been at the table. It’s wonderful to be contributing to the space program at a time when all contributions are being accepted and everyone has a role. That can lead in turn to increased chance for success. There are a lot of people who get encouragement from people who look like them, and I think it’s an important story to tell.”
Meir added, “What we’re doing now shows all the work that went in many years ago, and all of the women that worked to get us where we are today.”
1. What was the task of Koch and Meir?| A．Change a controller | B．Walk in space |
| C．Carry out an experiment | D．Watch the earth |
| A．It was a very adventurous task. |
| B．It was carried out by 227 astronauts. |
| C．It was all done by women astronauts. |
| D．It was watched by many young girls. |
| A．Women are still looked down upon. |
| B．Women should fight for equal rights. |
| C．Women can contribute as much as men. |
| D．Women have a better chance to succeed. |
9 . In the late 1930s, people could donate blood, but very few hospitals could store it for later use. Whole blood breaks down quickly, and there were no methods at the time for safely preserving it. As a result, hospitals often did not have the appropriate blood type when patients needed it. Charles Drew, a Black surgeon and researcher, helped solve this monumental problem for medicine, earning him the title “Father of the Blood Bank.”
In 1938, while obtaining his doctorate in medicine, Drew became a fellow at Columbia University’s Presbyterian Hospital in New York. He studied the storage and distribution of blood, including the separation of its components, and applied his findings to an experimental blood bank at the hospital.
As Drew was finishing his degree at Columbia, World War II was erupting in Europe. Great Britain was asking the United States for desperately needed plasma (血浆) to help victims. Given his expertise, Drew was selected to be the medical director for the Blood for Britain campaign. Using Presbyterian Hospital’s blood bank as a model, Drew established uniform procedures and standards for collecting blood and processing blood plasma from nine New York hospitals. The five-month campaign collected donations from 15,000 Americans and was considered a success. His discoveries and his leadership saved countless lives.
With the increasing likelihood that the nation would be drawn into war, the United States wanted to capitalize on what Drew had learned from the campaign. He was appointed as the assistant director of a three-month pilot program to mass-produce dried plasma in New York, which became the model for the first Red Cross blood bank. His innovations for this program included mobile blood donation stations, later called bloodmobiles.
1. What problem did hospitals face in the late 1930s regarding blood donations?| A．The shortage of blood donors. | B．The inability to preserve blood. |
| C．The challenge of blood infection. | D．The failure to identify blood types. |
| A．He gathered different standards for the blood collection. |
| B．He worked on the bloodmobiles for easy access to donors. |
| C．He helped send life-saving drugs overseas to aid in the war. |
| D．He organized the collection and processing of blood plasma. |
| A．Groundbreaking. | B．Unpredictable. | C．Economical. | D．Controversial. |
| A．The life of Dr. Charles Drew. | B．The inventor of the Blood Bank. |
| C．A Savior of Lives during Wartime. | D．A Pioneer in Blood Transportation. |
1. Which country is Stephen from?
| A．The United States. | B．Mexico. | C．Australia. |
| A．His family. | B．The books he read. | C．His friend’s death. |
| A．In 1970. | B．In 1972. | C．In 1974. |
| A．Stephen didn’t make money from it. |
| B．Stephen almost gave it up. |
| C．Stephen didn’t finish it. |
