Loving Legacy
Magic wands, flying broomsticks, terrifying monsters... these are the features of the fantasy genre. And over the last few decades, Harry Potter has remained at the top of the list for
Harry Potter might have started off as
I grew up reading Harry Potter. Like millions of other children, I waited on my eleventh birthday for an owl carrying a letter to inform me that I
Some may think that fantasy or science fiction has no place in literature, as they corrupt the mind and provide no useful lessons. These people are wrong. Characters in popular fantasy or science fiction novels are not much different from those in classic literature novels. Each embodies the emotion, character and thought
2 . The best science fiction books of 2021
We take a look at the most exciting new science-fiction books of 2021. No matter what kind of science fiction fan you are, we're sure you'll find something to add to your reading list.
The Saints of Salvation
By Peter F. Hamilton
The Olyix have laid siege（围攻）to Earth, harvesting people for their god. Cities are ru¬ined by their weapons and millions have either fled to seek refuge in space or are fighting a war that seems unwinnable. As Earth's defeat draws ever closer, a team are sent to enter the Olyix's air-ship secretly. Their plan? This is the final science fiction in Peter F. Hamilton's extremely surprising series The Salvation Sequence.
A Desolation Called Peace
By Arkady Martine
This impressive sequel（续集）to Arkady Martinets Hugo Award-winning science fiction book sees the Teixcalaanli Empire facing an alien threat which could bring about its complete destruction. Fleet captain Nine Hibiscus sends a person to negotiate with the mysterious invaders...
Jack Four
By Neal Asher
Jack Four-one of twenty human clones-has been created to be sold. His purchasers are the aliens and they only want him for their experimentation program. But there is something different about Jack. No clone should possess the knowledge that's been loaded into his mind.
Rabbits
By Terry Miles
Rabbits is a secret, dangerous and sometimes deadly underground game. The rewards for winning are unclear, but there are rumors of money or it might unlock the universe's greatest secrets. Everyone knows that the deeper you get, the more deadly the game becomes-and the body count is rising. Since the game first started, ten rounds have taken place. The eleventh round is about to begin, and what happens in the game, stays in the game...
1. What can we know aboutThe Saints of Salvation?| A．It's about the war among people on earth. |
| B．The Olyix are defeated in the end. |
| C．It belongs toThe Salvation Sequence. |
| D．It's the last novel of Peter F. Hamilton. |
| A．He gives the alien a complete destruction. |
| B．He lets someone negotiate with the alien. |
| C．He fights against the alien bravely. |
| D．He makes the alien face a threat. |
| A．In a book recommendation. | B．In an art magazine. |
| C．In a biography. | D．In a novel |
3 . Fait Diver: More Than Brief Stories
Every day, there are items in the news believed too minor to report at length. For these
Perhaps the finest flowering of fait divers was in the reports filed by the art critic Felix Feneon 1906. He gave the form more wit, more emotional
One can go days in New York without really thinking about how
| A．curious | B．tiny | C．ridiculous | D．detailed |
| A．tragedy | B．coincidence | C．imagination | D．thriller |
| A．turning up | B．putting up | C．showing up | D．taking up |
| A．images | B．imagination | C．figures | D．portraits |
| A．motivative | B．sudden | C．original | D．weak |
| A．Though | B．When | C．Since | D．Before |
| A．expression | B．peace | C．health | D．discomfort |
| A．identification | B．secret | C．appeal | D．approach |
| A．a series of | B．a pair of | C．a collection of | D．a set of |
| A．received | B．inspired | C．eliminated | D．drawn |
| A．finally | B．accidentally | C．previously | D．unexpectedly |
| A．fascinating | B．populated | C．brilliant | D．sophisticated |
| A．previous | B．future | C．present | D．past |
| A．believable | B．considerable | C．understandable | D．approachable |
| A．deadly | B．lonely | C．lively | D．ghostly |
1. What does Andy Weir do?
| A．He’s a writer. | B．He’s an engineer. | C．He’s an astronaut. |
| A．Planets in space. | B．Life on a ship. | C．Survival on Mars. |
| A．He writes a book. |
| B．He grows food in his camp. |
| C．He makes new discoveries. |
| A．Admiring. | B．Doubtful. | C．Dissatisfied. |
5 . Poetry4kids Memberships
Poetry4kids turned 25 this year! It has become the most visited children’s poetry website, thanks to you. Running a website with over 2 million visitors and 15 million views each year is quite expensive. So for years I’ve covered the costs by including advertising on the site. This isn’t an ideal solution, but a necessary one. However, I now have a better solution that 11 remove the advertising for you and give you many additional benefits: Poetry4kids Memberships.
In short, for a small monthly subscription fee, you can become a member of Poetry4kids and enjoy all of the following rewards:
Reader Level—$ 5/ month
● Ad-free access to poetry4kids. com
● Two free e-books: The Armpit of Doom and The Biggest Burp Ever
● Access to all poems on the website, organized by book
● Early access to new YouTube videos, including poetry-writing lessons
● Connect with me via a members only email address
Poetry Lover—$ 10/ month
● All the benefits of the Reader Level
● Two additional free e-books: My Cat Knows Karate and My Dog Likes to Disco
● Monthly live, interactive and online poetry- writing workshops, throughout the school year
Super Member—$ 20/ month
● All the benefits of the Poetry Lover and Reader Level
● One free online author visit for your class each school year
● Free and early access to all future e- books and audio books (有声书籍)
Your support will help me create new animated videos and fully- produced audio books!
To become a member of Poetry4kids, simply visit my Buy Me a Coffee page and click on the Join button for your selected level.
Thank you for your support. I look forward to the next 25 years of Poetry4kids with a lively community of teachers, librarians, parents, and other fans of poetry for kids!
—Kenn Nesbitt
1. What is the present problem with Poetry4kids for its visitors?| A．It has too many visits. | B．It offers limited poems. |
| C．It has advertisements. | D．It charges too much. |
| A．Four free e-books. | B．Free access to audio-books. |
| C．Daily poetry-reading guidance. | D．Interviews with favorite poets. |
| A．A grateful coffee shop owner. | B．A poet supporting Poetry4kids . |
| C．A faithful member of Poetry4kids. | D．A person running a poetry website. |
6 . “The Life of Pi” is about a teenage boy from India, called Pi, who travels across the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat. His companion (同伴) in the lifeboat is an enormous tiger. It was written by the Canadian author Yann Martel, and has sold seven million copies worldwide.
At the start of the book, we learn about Pi's childhood in India. His father is a zookeeper and the family live in a house in the zoo. Pi and his brother help their father in the zoo and learn to look after the animals. When Pi is sixteen, his family decide to close the zoo and move to Canada. They sell some of the animals to zoos in North America and the family take the animals with them on a ship to Canada. On the way, there is a terrible storm and the ship sinks. Sadly, Pi's family and the ship's sailors die in the storm. Pi finds himself in a lifeboat with a hyena, zebra, orangutan and a tiger. When he sees the animals, Pi is scared and he jumps into the ocean. Then he remembers there are sharks in the ocean and he climbs back into the lifeboat. One by one, the animals in the lifeboat kill and eat each other, till only Pi and the tiger are left alive. Luckily for Pi, there is some food and water on the lifeboat, but he soon needs to start catching fish. He feeds the fish to the tiger to stop it killing and eating him. He also uses a whistle and his knowledge of animals from the zoo to control the tiger.
Pi and the tiger spend 227 days in the lifeboat. They live through terrible storms and are burnt by the Pacific sun. They are often hungry and ill. Sometimes, Pi is happy and hopeful, but sometimes he feels sad and lonely. Finally, they arrive at the coast of Mexico, but you will have to read the book to find out what happens in the end!
1. What is the purpose of the text?| A．To tell us a story. | B．To introduce a book. |
| C．To make an advertisement. | D．To introduce a film. |
| A．They don't want to leave them in India. |
| B．They want to make them a home on the ship. |
| C．They don't want to sell the animals to others. |
| D．They take them along to their new owner. |
| A．They meet a storm and only Pi survives. |
| B．The tiger kills Pi's family and the sailors. |
| C．Pi finds a lifeboat and saves all the animals. |
| D．Pi lives peacefully with the animals. |
| A．Kind, honest and helpful. | B．Weak, selfish and careless. |
| C．Playful, naughty and energetic. | D．Clever, brave and strong minded. |
7 . Good books are essential for children. The best materials are the ones that not only entertain, but also expand the imagination, educate the mind, and let the next generation know that they have a place in this world. Here are some good books for you.
New Kid
The book features the story of middle school student Jordan Banks, who struggles not only with being the new kid at a private school in the Bronx, but also with being an African American student in the midst of a mostly white class. In his acclaimed graphic novel, Jerry Craft addresses important issues of race and class through lively visuals and a likable protagonist.
The Undefeated
It was written by Kwame Alexander and drawn by Kadir Nelson. The poem details the history of African Americans, emphasizing the triumphs of the civil rights movement as well as the trauma of slavery, along with the mention of several globally known heroes. There are also quotes from influential figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Langston Hughes and alongside there are beautiful illustrations from Nelson.
Other Words for Home
The character of Jude teaches us empathy as we read what it’s like to be a young teenager immigrating from Somalia trying to fit in in America. She tries to learn the English language while tackling discrimination and classmates unwilling to understand and accept her, including her cousin of the same age. Jasmine Warga has created a story that is both powerful and gentle, big but full of small moments, a happy but sad story that will live in your heart.”
1. Who is the author of New kid?| A．Kwame Alexander | B．Jerry Craft |
| C．Jasmine Warga | D．Kadir Nelson |
| A．The Undefeated | B．New Kid |
| C．Other Words for Home | D．Bear came along |
| A．All are about stories of kids |
| B．All about stories in Africa |
| C．All are related to African Americans |
| D．All mentioned globally known heroes |
8 . “Who loves pizza?” is a question you almost never have to an American. A better question might be “Who doesn’t love pizza?” Now, there’s a place for all pizza lovers to gather: the Museum of Pizza. It can be found in America’s pizza capital—New York City.
A company called Nameless Network came up with the idea for the museum, known as “MoPi” for short. “It’s often that the simplest ideas are the best. The company used the popularity of pizza as a way to get people “looking at art and hearing about history in a different way,” said Alexandra Serio, who is with Nameless Network. Many kinds of artists were asked to create art works about pizza. They, in turn, provided large photographs, sculptures and huge installations. So far, the museum has had lots of visitors. More than 6,000 people came through the door when it opened this month.
Visitors seem to love MoPi’s bright colors, which makes it perfect for taking selfies and other photographs for social media.
Nene Raye, from New Jersey, was a recent visitor. Raye didn’t expect to see what she saw—and she was happy about that. “Honestly, I thought it would be, like, more of a traditional museum,” She said. But instead, Raye got some of everything. “So You get a little bit of education and then some fun, which I love,” she said.
Lydia Melendez made plans to visit the pizza museum in April. For her, the experience was worth the wait. “I thought it was going to be kind of boring,” she said. She had imagined walking in and finding books on how to make pizza. But she was very pleased when her actual experience was different than what she had imagined.
While pizza may be what has captured the interest of crowds, the point of the Museum has been to help people exposed to fine arts world.
1. What’s the function of the two questions in the first paragraph?| A．To make a comparison |
| B．To introduce the topic—the Museum of Pizza. |
| C．To inform people of the popularity of Pizza. |
| D．To advertise the food. |
| A．The Museum took advantage of the long history of Pizza to attract visitors. |
| B．The Museum received over 6000 visitors during the first two months. |
| C．Both Nene Raye and Lydia Melendez didn’t expect the Museum to be so different. |
| D．The Museum is appealing in that it combines education and fun. |
| A．To make art available to people |
| B．To draw attraction and earn more money |
| C．To change people’s attitude to museums |
| D．To enrich city people’s daily life. |
| A．Bored? Go To The Museum Of Pizza! |
| B．Pizza Museum Serves Up “Tasty” Art. |
| C．The Hook Of The Museum. |
| D．Simplicity Has Its Power |
9 . Science fiction pioneer and writer Wu Yan won this year’s National Outstanding Children’s Literature Award for his latest work China Orbit. The book focuses on the development of the Chinese aerospace (航空航天) industry, and it was inspired by the planning and preparation for China’s first but canceled manned spacecraft, “Shuguang 1”, also known as Project 714, during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“I collected many historical documents and stories and started writing decades ago,” Wu remembered. Partly based on Wu’s own experiences in the 1970s, the book is a combination of reality and fiction, and in some ways his own memoir (回忆录) was added into the science fiction. This innovative and unique writing method makes the book stand out and has even stirred up a debate on how to categorize it. Is it science fiction, popular science, children’s literature, or aerospace literature?
His fellow science fiction writer Liu Cixin, author of The Three-Body Problem, sees it more deeply, and believes China Orbit is not really children’s science fiction or popular science. He thinks it is too complicated to be classed under a single category. He speaks highly of China Orbit as a unique science fiction novel that vividly shows a child’s real-life experience in a military camp of a specific era.
In Wu’s opinion, China is a big market for children’s science fiction, but it still lacks extraordinary works. He warned people not to try to earn quick money from it after The Three-Body Problem frenzy and movie blockbuster The Wandering Earth because Chinese science fiction still has a long way to go. “We need to build Chinese science fiction step by step, with an accumulation (积累) of really great works. We need to innovate, and treat it as part of building China’s new culture,” Wu said.
1. What is the book China Orbit mainly about?| A．The space industry in China. |
| B．The introduction to Project 714. |
| C．Stories about Chinese outstanding astronauts. |
| D．Preparations for China’s first manned spacecraft. |
| A．He organizes the writing by time. |
| B．He tells the story in the form of debate. |
| C．He focuses on creating the role of children. |
| D．He combines his personal experiences with fiction. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unclear. |
| C．Favorable. | D．Tolerant. |
| A．China Orbit has great commercial value. |
| B．Chinese science movies are of poor quality. |
| C．Innovation is crucial to Chinese science fiction. |
| D．Wu Yan is disappointed at the Chinese film market. |
10 . The Swedish Academy announced on Thursday, 7 October that the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021 is awarded to Abdulrazak Gurnah. The 73-year-old author of 10 novels including well-renowned works such as Paradise and Desertion, received 10 million Swedish crowns.
After getting the award, Gurnah not only said he was grateful to the academy but added, “It’s just great—it’s just a big prize, and such a huge list of wonderful writers—I am still taking it in... I really had to wait until I heard it announced before I could believe it. ”
Born in 1948, Gurnah mainly grew up on the island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean. Gurnah was forced to leave his farmily and his country in December 1963 just because he belonged to the victimized (受害的) ethnic group, Then he arrived in England as a refugee (难民) at the end of the 1960s, Until his recent retirement, he has been the Professor of English Literature at the University of Kent in Canterbury and he mainly focused on writers including Wole Soyinka and Salman Rushdie. In total he has published 10 novels along with short stories. The Royal Academy has noted that the theme of the refugee’s suffering runs throughout Gurnah’s work.
While Swahili was his first language, English became his tool for literature. His first novel was Memory of Departure in 1987 and it is about the failed uprising in the African continent. His second work. Pilgrims Way was published in 1988 in which the newest Nobel winner explored the various reality of life in exile. His third novel was Dottie in 1990 which is a portrait of a Black woman with immigrant background. His other works include Paradise in 1994. Admiring Silence in 1996, Gravel Heart in 2017. His latest novel is Afterlives which was published in 2020 and it takes up where Paradise ends. “I just want to write as trustfully as I can, without trying to say something noble,” he said.
1. How did Gurnah feel when he received the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021?| A．Surprised. | B．Confident. |
| C．Worried. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．The refugee’s miserable life. | B．The uprising life in England. |
| C．The rough road to writing. | D．The Friendship with other writers. |
| A．Admiring Silence. | B．Dottie. |
| C．Afterlives. | D．Gravel Heart. |
| A．Gurah’s writing career and his famous novels. |
| B．Gurah’s tough life experience as a refugee. |
| C．Gurah’s contribution to the literature world. |
| D．Gurah’s winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. |
