Jane Austen ever popular

This summer, the UK will honor its favorite writer, Jane Austen (1775-1817), by making her face on the new £ 10 note. In the 200 years since her death, Austen’s fame has increased from the modest amount she enjoyed in her lifetime to the global fame she receives today.

And yet Austen’s work is so very English that it’s rather strange she should be so popular all over the world. Her novels are so of her time that it’s remarkable that she’s still appreciated in this very different age. Her most famous works — including Pride and Prejudice, the one for which she is most known — are set in the world of the English gentry (绅士阶层) in the 18th century.

Most of her fiction is about young women of that time. Women of the gentry could not work so their chances of happiness or even basic living depended upon finding a husband. This is a very serious subject, of course, but the joy of Austen’s stories is her ability to make wonderful, but also touching comedy out of something so serious.

Take Pride and Prejudice as an example. Elizabeth Bennet is one of five daughters in a countryside family that struggles because daughters can’t inherit (继承) the property. Her mother wants to marry off as many of them as possible. The pushy and annoying Mrs Bennet is one of the great comic characters in English literature.

The main plot of the novel is driven by the love-hate relationship between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, a wealthy noble. At first, they don’t get on. Elizabeth finds Darcy too proud; she feels he thinks he is better than everyone else in the countryside. She thinks that he looks down upon her family in particular. Darcy, while admiring Elizabeth, believes that she has treated him unfairly. The pleasure of the novel is reading how these obstacles (阻碍) are overcome and how the comical and unexpected ending is achieved.

If we think about this story, it’s obvious why Jane Austen is still popular 200 years after her death, and why readers can still identify with (与……产生共鸣) characters from the long dead world of the 18th century English gentry. Although there have been many changes since that time, it’s still the greatest challenge in life for men and women to find the partner of their dreams.

【小题1】What can we conclude from Paragraph 2?

A．The author believes Jane Austen’s works are ahead of her time.

B．The author thinks that everyone should read Jane Austen’s books.

C．The author has doubts about Jane Austen’s popularity all over the world.

D．The author is surprised that Jane Austen’s books are still so famous.

【小题2】According to the passage, Pride and Prejudice __________.

A．has a sad and unexpected ending

B．deals with a serious social issue in a lighthearted way

C．centers on countryside people’s struggles in the 18th century

D．tells readers that everyone can succeed through hard work

【小题3】According to the passage, why does Jane Austen remain popular today?

A．Because readers enjoy reading love stories about wealthy nobles.

B．Because readers are attracted by the way people deal with difficulties in the stories.

C．Because readers can always find something new from her novels.

D．Because her works deal with the problems many of today’s readers still face.

【小题4】What’s the main purpose of the passage?

A．To tell us why Jane Austen is chosen to be on the new £ 10 note.

B．To introduce the story of Pride and Prejudice.

C．To explain why Jane Austen is still popular today.

D．To introduce Jane Austen’s creative writing style.

   36-year-old Victoria Murden McClure is a real adventurer. She has been on many mountaineering expeditions（探险）. She was also the youngest person in a team that skied 1，200 kilometers across Antarctica to the South Pole in 1989，and became one of only two women ever to travel to the Pole by land.

The journey across the Atlantic was her third attempt. The first time she failed because of illness，and during her second attempt，in 1998，she nearly died. She had rowed nearly 5，000 kilometers when her boat was hit by Hurricane Danielle. McClure was suddenly in the middle of 80 mph wind，and surrounded by waves that were 20 meters high.

Her little boat turned over five times. McClure was sure that she was going to die —she took the video recorder that she had brought with her and recorded a goodbye message to her family and friends. The hurricane continued into night，and The Pearl turned over five more times.

McClure was determined not to send a signal asking to be rescued-she didn't want other people to risk their lives. But after the eleventh capsizing（倾袭）of her boat，she finally sent it and a large ship came and found her. However，they couldn't get her boat out of the rough sea—it was found months later near the coast of Portugal.

Victoria Murden McClure had concussion（脑震荡）and a dislocated shoulder when she got home. Many people might have given up after an experience like this，but one year later，McClure was back in her repaired boat and tried again. This time she was successful，and although she again met a hurricane on the journey，which stopped her from breaking the record for the fastest transatlantic rowing crossing，she only overturned once！

【小题1】According to the first paragraph，we can know that in 1989 __________.

A．only two women landed on the South Pole

B．more than two people traveled to the South Pole

C．the journey to the Pole was McClure's first attempt

D．McClure was the only woman in the expedition team

【小题2】The reason why McClure nearly died on the journey across the Atlantic was that __________.

A．she was ill	B．she came across a strong wind
C．she lost her way	D．none came to her rescue

【小题3】What does the underlined words "The Pearl" refer to __________.

A．Hurricane Danielle	B．the rescue ship
C．McClure's boat	D．the expedition team

【小题4】What can we learn from the passage？

A．McClure didn't send any signal for rescue on the second journey across the Atlantic.

B．People didn't find her boat any more after the second journey across the Atlantic.

C．McClure was badly physically hurt on the second journey across the Atlantic.

D．McClure said goodbye to the transatlantic rowing crossing after the second journey across the Atlantic.

   Salvador Dali (1904—1989) was one of the most popular of modern artists. The Pompidou Centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings and more. Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces, most importantly The Persistence of Memory. There is also L’Enigme sans Fin from 1938, works on paper, objects, and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist’s showman qualities.

The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning, the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.

The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities (无限). ＂From the infinity small to the infinity large, contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus: amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,＂ explains the Pompidou Centre.

The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration (合作) with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.

【小题1】Which of the following best describe Dali according to Paragraph 1?

A．Optimistic.	B．Productive.
C．Generous.	D．Traditional.

【小题2】What is Dali’s The Persistence of Memory considered to be?

A．One of his masterworks.	B．A successful screen adaptation.
C．An artistic creation for the stage.	D．One of the beat TV programmes.

【小题3】How are the exhibits arranged at the World of Dali?

A．By popularity.	B．By importance.
C．By size and shape.	D．By time and subject.

【小题4】What does the word ＂contributions＂ in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Artworks.	B．Projects.
C．Donations.	D．Documents.

William Herschel was born on November 15th, 1738 in Hanover in a family of musicians. In 1757,he fled to England and began earning a living as an organist and later composer and conductor. In 1772, he convinced his sister Caroline to join him as a singer. In their spare time the brother-sister team became occupied in astronomy. William died at his home in Slough, near Windsor on August 25th,1822,and Caroline on September 1st,1848.
Herschel’s first major discoveries were to show that Mars and Jupiter exhibit axial rotation(绕轴自转). Herschel struck fame in 1781,when on March 13th he discovered the planet Uranus(天王星) while engaged in work aimed at determining stellar parallax(恒星视差).This being the first new planet discovered since ancient times, Herschel, until then a mere amateur astronomer relatively unknown even in England, became world-famous. Adopting a historically proven strategy, Herschel named the new planet Georgium Sidum,in honor of the then ruling English king GeorgeⅢ. The trick worked once again, as King GeorgeⅢ gave William and Caroline the titles of“The King’s Astronomer”and“Assistant to the King’s Astronomer”, an honor which came with a life’s pension for both. In 1782 they moved to Bath, and shortly thereafter to Slough, and from this point on William and Caroline could devote themselves entirely to astronomy. The Herschels went on to discover two moons of Uranus in 1787.
While Caroline became increasingly occupied with the search for comets at which she was quite successful, William became for a time interested in the Sun. Inspired by Wilson’s 1774 work, he put forth the theory of sunspots(太阳黑子),an opinion that continued to exist well into the nineteenth century. In 1800,he became interested in the solar spectrum(太阳光谱),and uncovered the first evidence for solar energy output outside of the visible spectrum, in what is now known as the infrared(红外线).In 1801, he published two papers that effectively started the field of solar influences on Earth’s weather.
【小题1】Herschel made himself known to the world mainly by .

A．discovering the planet Uranus

B．determining stellar parallax

C．discovering two moons of Uranus

D．uncovering the evidence for the infrared

【小题2】It can be inferred from the passage that George Ⅲ .

A．liked science and technology

B．liked Herschel’s naming of the new planet

C．was interested in astronomy

D．gave Herschel a lot of useful suggestions

【小题3】What do we know about Caroline from the passage?

A．She was successful in music.

B．She was given the title of“The King’s Astronomer”.

C．She died later than her brother.

D．She published two papers.

【小题4】This passage mainly tells readers .

A．some information about Herschel and his sister

B．how Herschel and his sister discovered the planet Uranus

C．Herschel and Caroline got along well with each other

D．Herschel and Caroline’s major scientific publications

   Ed Murrow was a famous radio program producer in the 1940s.In the United States，the rise of television in the 1950s ended the period called the Golden Age of Radio Broadcasting. Most of the popular shows vanished. More and more people started watching television. Ed Murrow and his boys moved to television as a result. He joined with Fred Friendly to create the series See It Now.

This show lasted from 1951 to 1958.Some broadcasts on See It Now concerned important issues（议题）of race，war and government dishonesty. Experts said the program was important in the history of television.

Murrow also started another television show called Person to Person. He spoke with famous people in their homes. One episode（一集）visited Eleanor Roosevelt，wife of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The show also visited actress Marilyn Monroe，actor Marlon Brando and Senator John F. Kennedy.

Ed Murrow also produced a number of special programs for CBS. One such program was called Harvest of Shame. It showed the hard life and poor living conditions of farm workers who moved from place to place. Some people said this program was so powerful that it influenced American lawmakers to take measures to protect these migrant workers.

After John F. Kennedy was elected president，he asked the newsman to lead the United States Information Agency. Murrow served as the agency's director from 1961 to 1964.Then he retired from the job. He died in 1965 at his farm in Pawling，New York. He was fifty-seven years old.

Today, Edward Murrow is remembered for his influence on broadcasting and the quality of his reporting. Former CBS chairman William Paley once said Murrow was a man born for his time and work.

Paley called him a student, a thinker, and at heart, a poet of mankind. As a result, he said Murrow was a great reporter.

【小题1】The underlined word "vanished" in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to"______".

A．changed	B．Improved
C．succeeded	D．disappeared

【小题2】According to Paragraph 3, the television show Person to Person was most probably a _______.

A．talk show	B．soap opera
C．talent show	D．documentary

【小题3】Some people believed that Harvest of Shame _______.

A．was called the best program of CBS

B．was created mainly for lawmakers

C．once influenced American lawmakers

D．encouraged farm workers to move around

【小题4】What does the writer mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．Ed Murrow greatly influenced the development of TV shows.

B．Ed Murrow still has an effect on TV shows today.

C．Ed Murrow was a man good at many things.

D．Ed Murrow was a great reporter.