The writings of William Shakespeare are today little read by young people in Britian.His young
readership is limited to those who choose to study literature at university.
Still,in British schools,____________to study the poet, and when something is made compulsory,
usually the result is boredom,resentment or both.Shakespeare,Charles Dickens,Jane Austen-for many of
the young,reading them can seem like being forced to eat medicine,especially when people are at an age
when they are beginning to discover themselves and warning to claim their independence.
This was my experience of the classics at school.But when I reached my late teenage years,I had a
change of heart.Like every other young person since the dawn of time,the world confused me.I wanted
answers,so I turned to books to find them.
I went on to take a PhD in literature and have taught the subject in universities in Britain and China.I
have never regretted it.There is something in literature that people want,even if they don"t read books.
You see this in the popularity of TV and movie adaptations of great works,the recent film version of Jane Austen"s Pride and Prejudice being a case in point.These popular adaptations may help increase people"s
interest in the classic.
Reading a simplified Romeo and Juliet may perhaps lead to a reading of Shakespeare"s actual play.If
that is the case then I welcome the trend.But do not make the mistake of thinking that it is the same thing.
Shakespeare is a poet and his greatness is in his language.Reading_someone_else"s rewriting_of_his_work
_is_like_peeling_(剥皮)_a_banana,throwing_away_the_fruit,and_eating_the_skin.Take on the original.It
really is worth the effort.
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2.it is compulsory/required
3.They may help increase people"s interest in the classic.
4.Yes,it is.Reading the original,we can really grasp the spirits of his works and can enjoy its language.
(Answers may vary.)
5.读他(莎士比亚)的作品的改写本就如同将香蕉剥皮后,弃其肉而吃其皮.
(答案不唯一)
Thomas A. Edison was bom in Milan, Ohio, on February 11,1847. His family moved to Port Huron, Michigan,when he was seven years old. Surprisingly,he attended school for only two months. His mother, a former teacher,taught him a few things,but Thomas was mostly self-educated. His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a young age with electrical and mecharucal things at home.
When he was 12 years old,he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train that ran between Port Huron and Detroit. He set up a laboratory in a baggage car of the train so that he could continue his experiments in his spare time. Unfortunately,his first work experience did not end well. Thomas was fired when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the baggage car.
Thomas then worked for five years as a telegraph operator,but he continued to spend much of his time on the job conducting experiments. He got his first patent in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity. However, the vote recorder was not a success. In 1870,he sold another invention,a stock ticker,for $40 000. A stock ticker is a machine that automatically(自动地) prints stock prices on a tape. He was then able to build his first shop in Newark,New Jersey.
Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other,but thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He called himself a "two-shift man"because he worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes he worked so intensely that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
Thomas Edison died at the age of 84 on October 18,1931,at his estate in West Orange,New Jersey. He left numerous inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world.
1. Thomas Edison did things in this order .
A. he became a telegraph operator,a newsboy,and then got his first patent
B. he became a newsboy, got his first patent, and then became a telegraph operator
C. he got a patent,became a telegraph operator,and then became a newsboy
D. he became a newsboy,a telegraph operator,and then got a patent
2. Of all the inventions, was probably the most important for civilization.
A. the vote recorder
B. the stock ticker
C. the light bulb
D. the motion picture camera
3. The main idea of this passage is that ___ .
A. Edison was always interested in science and inventions ,and he inventea many important things
B. Thomas Edison could not keep a job
C. Thomas Edison worked day and night on his experiments
D. deaf people make good inventors without the distraction of spoken conversation
mother was his first music teacher.As a young man,he continued his music study in Indianapolis,
Indiana.
In 1930,he completed more musical education at Columbia University in New York City.
Then he moved to Washington.For fifteen years,he taught music at Howard University in
Washington.At that time,not many black musicians wereknown for writing or performing
classical music.Teachingat Howard gave Duncan the chance to share his knowledgeof
classical European music with a mainly black student population.He taught special ways
to present the music.These special ways became known as the Duncan Technique.
Besides teaching,Duncan sang in several operas with performers who were all black.
But it seemed that he always would be known mainly as a concert artist.However,his life
took a different turn in the middle 1930s.At that time,the famous American music writer
George Gershwin was looking for someone to play a leading part in his new work Porgy
and Bess.The music critic (评论家) of the New York Times newspaper suggested Todd
Duncan.Duncan had almost decided not to try for the part as he knew it would not be
easy to get it.But he changed his mind.He sang a piece from an Italian opera for Gershwin.
He had sung only a few minutes when Gershwin offered him the part.He became famous
because of the part in Porgy and Bess.
Todd Duncan gained fame as an opera singer and concert artist.But his greatest love
in music was teaching.When he stopped teaching at Howard,he continued giving singing
lessons in his Washington home until the week before his death.
B.How Robert Todd Duncan became famous.
C.Robert Todd Duncan and his works of music.
D.A brief introduction to Robert Todd Duncan.
B.opened doors for other black classical singers
C.had the chance to know many famous black musicians
D.became known for writing and performing classical music
B.He was introduced by the New York Times in detail.
C.He was asked to be in charge of the opera Porgy and Bess.
D.He was given a big opportunity to become an opera singer.
because________.
B.he was not interested in it
C.he was not confident enough
D.he didn"t want to become famous
B.Writing music.
C.Singing opera.
D.Teaching music
A few famous left-handed persons
Bill Gates
Claiming the nation’s richest man among their number is a source of considerable pride for America’s
society of southpaws (左撇子).In fact,the Microsoft titan (巨人) and philanthropist (慈善家) is one of a surprising number of U.S.business areas to be left-handed,including Henry Ford,John D.
Rockefeller and former IBM head Lou Gerstner.But the club seems to be a guys-only fraternity(联谊会).Research suggests that while left-handed men tend to earn more than their right-handed
colleagues, there is no similar advantage for women.A study by the National Bureau of Economic
Research floated the idea that left-handed men favor “divergent” (发散性) thinking,a form of
creativity in which the brain moves “from conventional knowledge into unexplored association”.Maybe
that’s what it takes to develop a net worth estimated at least $570 billion.
Oprah Winfrey
The talk-show queen doesn’t need much more to set her apart from the rest.She has herestimated $2.7 billion fortune and a magic ability to sell books just by glancing at them,but she also has the
distinction of being a member of the left-handed club.Men are more likely to be left-handed than
women which makes Oprah more impressive.She’s “in good company”:other showbiz ladies of the southpaw persuasion include Whoopi Goldberg,Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie(her husband Brad Pitt is also a lefty).
Napoleon Bonaparte
Legend has it that Napoleon objected to the time-honored military practice of marching on the left
side of the road with weapons at the ready in the right hand: it put lefties (左撇子) like him at a strategic
disadvantage.Once in power,the story goes,the French emperor,whose queen,Josephine,was
also a southpaw,ordered his armies to change sides.Civilians in countries he conquered had to do the
same.Hence,it’s said that the rules of the road were born,which also explains why the British (who,
along with the Prussians,defeated Napoleon at Waterloo) still drive on the left.
Marie Curie
Not only was atomic scientist Marie Curie left-handed,but she was the matriarch (女家长) of a
whole family of accomplished,southpaw scientists.Curie,who discovered the principles of radioactivity
and won two Nobel Prizes,was married to fellow lefty Pierre Curie,who was playing an important
part in helping Marie’s atomic research and shared one of her Nobel awards.Historians believed their
daughter,Irene,was also left-handed.Irene went on to win a Nobel Prize of her own with her
husband,who,you guessed it,was also left-handed.Lefty scientists are hardly unusual.In addition to
the Curie clan,Einstein,Newton and Alan Turing-founder of modern computer science were all left-
handed as well.
B.Napoleon Bonaparte made the rules of the road in England
C.Oprah Winfrey had nothing but $7 billion fortune at that time
D.4 persons were not only successful but all left-handed
A.Club of southpaw
B.Woman advantage
C.Divergent thinking
D.Conventional knowledge.?
B.Oprah Winfrey is completely different from other left-handed women.
C.Oprah’s appearance makes her doubly impressive in the left-handed club.
D.Oprah Winfrey and her husband are both southpaws.
B.Marie Curie and her husband are both left-handed.
C.Irene,Marie Curie’s daughter,and her husband are left-handed.
D.Brad Pitt’s wife,Julia Roberts,is also left-handed.
B.lefty scientists are hardly common
C.lefty scientists come from the west
D.scientists are all left-handed
the bow tie and ,of course, the beard.You might be surprised to find out that it was an elevenyearold girl
who urged Lincoln to grow his famous whiskers.
In the fall of 1860,a beardless Abraham Lincoln was running for President of the United States when he
received a letter from elevenyearold Grace Bedell of Westfield,New York.In her letter,Grace told him that
he should let his whiskers grow because his face was "so thin".She explained that "ladies like whiskers"
and that if he grew a beard,"they would ask their husbands to vote" for him.
Lincoln responded with the following letter:
My dear little Miss,
Your very agreeable letter of the 15th is received.
I regret the necessity of saying I have no daughters...
As to the whiskers,having never worn any,do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affection
(感情) if I were to begin it now?
Your sincere wellwisher,
A.Lincoln
Mr Lincoln was elected the sixteenth President of the United States on November 6,1860.Shortly after
the election,he had a change of heart about growing facial hair.By the time he left Springfield on February
11,1861,to begin his journey to the White House,he had a full beard.Lincoln had his picture taken,and this
image is what we see on the fivedollar bill today.
On his train ride to Washington D.C.,Lincoln made a stop in Westfield, New York. He greeted the
cheering crowd. Then he asked if the girl who wrote him a letter was present. Grace emerged from the
crowd carrying roses. He kissed her and announced that he had let his whiskers grow because of her
advice.Grace,who felt at a loss,ran all the way home still holding the flowers,which she had forgotten to
give to Mr Lincoln.
B.it would improve his appearance
C.most gentlemen liked whiskers
D.President of the US should wear whiskers
B.Grace came up with a silly idea.
C.Wearing whiskers could be troublesome.
D.It was a pity that he hadn"t daughters.
B.He was not satisfied with his image.
C.He kept Grace"s advice in mind for a long time.
D.He went to Washington D.C.by bus after being elected President.
C.confident D.proud
poverty but became one of the richest men in the world.
Carnegie was born in Scotland in 1835, the son of a weaver.In 1848, the family moved to the United
States and at 13 Carnegie began to work in a cotton mill, earning $1.5 per week.About three years later,
he found a better job as a telegraph messenger boy.At work, his superiors (上级) were impressed by his
abilities and willingness to work hard.In 1853, he gained an office job at the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company.This was his first big break.He continued to impress and rose rapidly through the company,
gaining_more_and_more_responsibility.At the same time, Carnegie loved reading very much and made
use of every opportunity to visit the library.He read widely on all subjects, particularly literature.
Carnegie now began to save a little money and, with the help of his employer, began to make some
successful investments.He invested in the iron industry and eventually set up in business himself, owning
several iron and steel plants.This was where he made his fortune.By the 1890s, the Carnegie Steel
Company was the biggest and most profitable business in the world.
Carnegie had always believed that the pursuit (追求) of wealth was never an end in itself.In his view,
successful, wealthy people should redistribute their wealth for the benefit of everyone in society.True to
his word, in 1901, at the age of 66, he retired from business and devoted the rest of his life to charity
work.
Carnegie"s lack of formal education and his poor family background clearly didn"t put barriers in the
way of success.His rapid rise from poverty to wealth was due to his willingness to work hard, his
intelligence and good business sense, and his talent for making things happen.He died in 1919 at the age
of 83.
1. What can be learnt from the text?
A. Carnegie"s employers had a high opinion of him.
B Carnegie made the investments independently after saving enough money.
C. Carnegie believed that we should try to earn as much money as possible in our life.
D. Carnegie could have been more successful if he had been formally educated.
2. What does "gaining more and more responsibility" in the second paragraph most probably mean?
A. Becoming more and more intelligent.
B. Being promoted to higher ranks.
C. Having a better sense of confidence.
D. Reading more and more books.
3. When did Carnegie get his first big success in his life?
A. When he took a job as a telegraph messenger boy.
B. When he worked at the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
C. When he made investments in the iron industry.
D. When he founded the Carnegie Steel Company.
4. Which of the following will be the suitable title for the text?
A. Andrew Carnegie:A Wealthy Man
B. Steel & Iron:The Most Profitable Business
C. From Rags to Riches:The Story of Andrew Carnegie
D. Intelligence and Good Business Sense:Two Factors in Becoming Wealthy
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