Ludwig van Beethoven is the most famous classical composer of the Western world. He is known for his powerful music and for continuing to compose after he became deaf.

Born to a musical family in the small German city of Bonn in December 1770, Beethoven was an excellent pianist and violinist as a boy. He soon became the first important composer to earn a successful living without working for the church or court. Beethoven began to lose his hearing in the late 1790s and by 1819 he was totally deaf. When he heard nothing, in order to hear the notes (音符), he cut the legs off the piano so that he could feel the vibrations (震动)as he played.

Beethoven enjoyed taking long walks in the countryside. The villagers respected him a lot and would not bother him when they passed him. He was a strange man with his untidy clothes, wild hair and a bad temper.

For his last 15 years Beethoven was regarded as the world’s best composer. The four-note beginning to his Fifth Symphony is one of the most famous moments in all of music. The notes were described as “Fate knocking at the door”. He wrote the popular Moonlight Sonata in 1801.

Beethoven never married. After his death in March 1827, his friends found his letters to a lover, but they never found out who she was.

Besides lots of concerts and broadcasts, over 200 films use Beethoven’s music. Although he died many years ago, Beethoven is still influencing the music world.

【小题1】Most of Beethoven’s works are of___________.

A．light music	B．powerful music
C．sad music	D．violin music

【小题2】According to the passage, what can we know about Beethoven?

A．He was totally deaf at the age of 28.

B．He didn’t like working for the church or court.

C．His family had some effect on him in music.

D．Many of Beethoven’s works were composed for a girl.

【小题3】Why did many people think of Beethoven as a strange man?

A．Because he continued to compose after his deafness.

B．Because he never married all his life.

C．Because he enjoyed taking long walks in the countryside.

D．Because he didn’t care for his appearance and had a bad temper.

【小题4】What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Beethoven, the world’s best composer

B．Beethoven, a very strange composer

C．Beethoven, a struggling composer

D．Beethoven, the world’s most productive composer

Do you suppose Darwin, one of the greatest scientists of all time, really did foolish experiments? Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish?

Sometimes, people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution to a problem. Sometimes, they really do know an answer or a solution, but without thinking they are important.
Charles Darwin didn’t settle for(满足于)just thinking he knew something. And, he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.
Suppose you drop sheets of paper that are of exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place, they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight little ball and let it drop along with the other sheets. What happens? You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldn’t be worth anything.
But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our present-day understandings of physics, ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.
Scientists sometimes stop to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea, which we might think is foolish, can shake the foundations of science.
【小题1】The passage tells us that Charles Darwin　　　　.

A．was a great English scientist

B．always liked doing the experiments that others thought difficult

C．thought even the simplest thing was important

D．didn’t get well with others

【小题2】The underlined phrase “set aside” most probably means　　　　.

A．throw away	B．store up
C．put to use	D．realize

【小题3】The author of the passage tries to　　　　.

A．convince us that Charles Darwin, Galileo and Newton are the greatest scientists in the world

B．draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things

C．prove that two sheets of paper, with the same size and shape, will fall at the same speed

D．draw our attention to everyday happenings around us

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Darwin really did foolish experiments.

B．According to some people Darwin did foolish experiments.

C．It is believed by all the people that things could be important though they seemed to be simple.

D．Galileo and Newton worked out ancient Greek physics.

Steve Jobs knew from an early age that he was adopted (收养). “My parents were very open with me about that,” he recalled. He had a clear memory of sitting in the yard of his house, when he was six or seven years old, telling the girl who lived across the street. “Does that mean your real parents didn’t want you?” the girl asked. “My whole world was falling apart,” according to Jobs. “I remember running into the house, crying. And my parents said, ‘No, you have to understand.’ They were very serious and looked me straight in the eyes. They said, ‘We specially picked you out.’ Both of my parents said that and repeated it slowly for me. And they stressed every word in that sentence.”
Abandoned (被抛弃). Chosen. Special. These words became part of who Jobs was and how he thought of himself. His closest friends think that the knowledge that he was given up at birth left some scars (伤疤). “He wants to control everything because of his personality and the fact that he was abandoned at birth,” said one longtime colleague (同事), Del Yocam.“He wants to control his environment, and he sees his product as a part of himself.” Greg Calhoun, who became close to Jobs right after college, saw another effect. “Steve talked to me a lot about being abandoned,” he said. “It caused great pains and made him independent. He was different from others because he was born into a different world.”
Later in life, Jobs became a father and abandoned one of his children. Andy Hertzfeld, who worked with Jobs at Apple in the early 1980s, is among the few who remained close to Jobs. “To understand Jobs, you have to know the reason why he can’t control himself and is sometimes cruel and harmful to others,” he said. “That goes back to being abandoned at birth. The real problem was the theme of abandonment in Steve’s life.”
【小题1】Which of the following is true about Jobs’ childhood?

A．He left his parents at the age of six or seven.

B．He was shocked knowing he was abandoned.

C．He couldn’t remember how he was abandoned.

D．His parents chose him because his family was poor.

【小题2】What did Del Yocam think of Jobs?

A．He hated to be born with scars.

B．He liked to get things under control.

C．He enjoyed good working environment.

D．He wanted to influence everyone.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refer to?

A．The fact that Jobs was abandoned.

B．Jobs’ pain from the abandonment.

C．Jobs’ talk with Greg Calhoun.

D．The world where Jobs lived.

【小题4】What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Jobs didn’t bring up any children.

B．Jobs had a lot of close friends.

C．Abandonment influenced Jobs.

D．Nobody likes Jobs’ character.

【小题5】What is the best title for this text?

A．Steve Jobs	B．Jobs’ Childhood
C．The Abandonment	D．A Terrible Memory

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.

请结合以下要点,写一篇有关史蒂芬·霍金（Stephen Hawking）的文章。要点:
1. 他于1942年1月8日出生于英国。
2. 他在20多岁的时候,患上了一种无法治愈的疾病;
3. 1988年，他出版了《时间简史》（A Brief History of Time） ;迄今为止这本书已销售逾1亿册;
4. 他于2018年3月14日去世,享年76岁;
5. 人们因他在物理学上作出的巨大贡献而尊重他。
注意:1. 词数100左右;2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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