Robert Frost was one of America’s best known and most honored serious writers. But his fame came late in his life.
He was born in San Francisco, California in 1874. He lived in California during his early childhood. He was named after the chief Southern general in America’s Civil War. The general’s name was Robert Edward Lee. The poet was named Robert Lee Frost, because his father wanted to honor the general.
Someone once asked another American writer, Ernest Hemingway, how to become a writer. The best thing, he said, was to have an unhappy childhood. If this is true, Robert Frost’s childhood was unhappy enough to make him a very good writer. Robert Frost’s father was a reporter who wanted to be a politician. He often drank too much wine and became angry. Robert was the victim of his anger.
Robert Frost finished high school in 1891. After high school, Robert’s grandfather offered to pay his costs at Dartmouth College. But Robert left the school after a few months. He did not like it. He spent the next few years working at different jobs. At one time, he worked in a factory. Later, he repaired shoes. He was a teacher. He was a reporter. Always, he wrote poetry.
Robert Frost attended Harvard University for two years. After that, he returned to the many jobs he held before. For a while, Frost tried to take care of a farm in the state of New Hampshire. He was not a successful farmer. And he continued to write poetry. He said that until 1930, he earned only about ten dollars a year from writing.
In 1912, he decided to try to make a new start. He took his family to Britain. The cost of living was low. In Britain, Frost found a publisher for his first book of poems. The book was called A Boy’s Will. When it appeared in 1913, Frost received high praise from British readers. Praise was something he had not received in his own country.
Ezra Pound, another American poet living in Britain, read the poems and liked them very much. He wrote a magazine article about Frost. He also helped get Frost’s second book of poems published in America. That book was called North of Boston.
1.The followings are writers EXCEPT __________.
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A．Robert Edward Lee |
B．Robert Lee Frost |
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C．Ernest Hemingway |
D．Ezra Pound |
2.The passage wrote about Hemingway in order to show that __________.
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A．he had great influence on Frost’s poetry and life |
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B．Frost’s poetry style was the same as Hemingway’s |
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C．Frost was unhappy because he was the victim of his father |
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D．Frost spent his childhood unhappily |
3.What can we learn from the passage?
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A．Once Frost’s first book was published he gained great praise in his country. |
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B．After leaving Harvard University, he began to learn to write poetry. |
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C．Frost was found lo have a gift in poetry while he studied in high school. |
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D．Robert Frost’s father was angry and drank a lot because he didn’t realize his dream. |
4.What’s the passage mainly about?
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A．Robert Frost’s unhappy childhood. |
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B．Robert Frost’ s first and second book. |
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C．Robert Frost’s family and jobs. |
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D．Robert Frost’s life and poetry. |
New York has taken the title of the world’s top fashion capital from Milan. The annual survey suggest that the top five fashion cities are facing competition from Asia and Australia. New York had been the top fashion city for five years, but Milan took the title in 2009. The survey was made by the Global Language Monitor, a US based organization. It tracks the frequency（频率） of words and phrases in the media, on the Internet and throughout the blog. With the US economy recovering, New York once again took the top title. Hong Kong took second place. It was followed by London, Paris and Los Angeles. The other top 10 cities were Milan, Sydney, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid.
“Because of the new economic situation, the global fashion centers have also changed a lot, ”said Bekka Payack. the Manhattan-based fashion reporter for the Global Language Monitor. “The new list shows that global fashion centers will change now and then. Compared with the traditional fashion cities, some new ones are performing better and better. ”She said that perhaps this is new trend, and it is the first sign that the traditional top five fashion cities——New York, Paris, London, Milan, and Rome——do not control global fashion any more.
The biggest changes in the list are Hong Kong, Madrid and Melbourne. The Group said that the top newcomers to the list include Amsterdam at number 17, Cape Town at 23, Johannesburg at 25 and Vienna at 27.
The following are the 10 top fashion cities of 2010 and the changes from 2009.
1. New York（up 1） 2. Hong Kong（up 5）
3. London（up 2） 4. Paris（down 1）
5. Los Angeles（up 1） 6. Milan（down 5）
7. Sydney（up 2） 8. Miami（up 5）
9. Barcelona（up 5） 10. Madrid（up 11）
1.New York has regained the title of the world’s top fashion capital mainly because __________.
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A．the US economy has been recovering |
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B．Milan faced competition from other cities |
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C．few big cities took part in the competition |
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D．the survey was made by an American organization |
2.Compared with the 2009 list, which of the following has the greatest change?
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A．Hong Kong |
B．Milan |
C．Madrid |
D．Barcelona |
3.We can infer from the text that __________.
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A．New York has lost the top title several times |
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B．all the traditional fashion cities are in the 2010 list |
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C．economic situations influence global fashion centers |
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D．new fashion cities have performed better than traditional ones |
4.The text is probably taken from a __________.
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A．science report |
B．fashion magazine |
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C．geography textbook |
D．history book |
Use your American Express Card to enjoy one-day visit at four of America’s greatest museums. Note the participating museums, and their exciting special exhibitions that you will not want to miss, listed below.
Boston
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Chairs
February 11-May 8, 2012
Italian furniture expert Fausto Calderai and Indian photographer Dayanita Singh present an exhibition of chairs from the museum’s collection and “chair photographs” from around the world presented in a Venetian-style hall housing world-famous masterpieces.
For more information：www. gardnermuseum. org
New York
The Noguchi Museum
Noguehi and Graham
December 1, 2011-May 1, 2012
Noguchi’s long-term collaboration（协作） with dancer Martha Graham is regarded by many as a high point in the history of both modern dance and art. The exhibition highlights nine of the sets created through this collaboration.
For more information：www. noguchi. org
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
In Full View：American Painting（1720—2012）
January 11--April 10, 2012
Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy has been home to America’s artists for more than 200 years. The Academy collects and exhibits the works of famous American artists, and is well-known for training fine artists. 2012 at the Academy begins with the largest exhibition of Academy’s distinguished American collection in the institution’s history.
For more information：www. pafa. org
Seattle
Seattle Museum of Glass
Murano：Glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection
Through November 7, 2011
This exhibition includes over 200 pieces of beautiful glass from Murano, the island of glassblowers near Venice, Italy. Watch live glass-blowing shows in the Hot Shop and see other modern glass exhibitions.
For more information：www. museumofglass. org
1.Which of the following websites offers information about the furniture show?
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A．www. pafa. org |
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B．www. museumofglass. org |
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C．www. noguchi. org |
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D．www. gardnermuseum. org |
2.We learn from the text that Martha Graham is ___________.
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A．a dancer |
B．a glassblower |
C．a painter |
D．a photographer |
3.If you want to know the history of American painting, you may visit ___________.
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A．the Noguchi Museum |
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B．Seattle Museum of Glass |
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C．Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum |
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D．Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |
Now we’re always hearing about road accident, and when we’re in a car we try to drive carefully, but how many of us take the same degree of care in our homes? Any large hospital will tell you the number of the accidents that happen in the home is almost the same as those on the road.
One of the commonest and most dangerous causes of home accidents is wrong and careless use of electrical equipment. People will continue to use a loose plug or pull out a plug without first turning off the power. In spite of warnings, one will carry an electric heater into the bathroom when he is going to have a bath. Sometimes one forgets to cut off the power before mending a lamp or something else. All this will cause accidents. So the rule about anything that work by electricity is：Switch off before you touch anything and don’t pretend you know when you actually don’t.
If you’ve got children in the house, it's always best to keep medicines of any kind out of their reach. Otherwise, they may be taken for candies or a new kind of drink. When there are older people living with you, you have to take particular care in a number of ways in order to make them safe and happy.
Fire, of course, is always a risk. So, remember not to dry clothes in front of fires, or leave stoves in the middle of rooms where they can easily be knocked over. And don’t forget to keep the children away from fire. Smoking, too, may cause fire. So you’d better give it up. Safety first may mean a little more time and care, but it may save you a lot of trouble.
1.According to the writer, we try to drive carefully in a car while __________.
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A．we take the same degree of care in our homes |
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B．We don’t care much about the accidents in large hospitals |
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C．We don’t pay enough attention to home accidents |
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D．We seldom think a lot about the road accidents |
2.We can learn from the text that __________.
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A．people should never be allowed to carry an electric heater into the bathroom |
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B．the improper use of the electrical equipment is the most dangerous cause of home accidents |
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C．people should cut off the power first before using the electrical equipment |
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D．both the children and the older people should be taken special care of at home |
3.It can be inferred in the text that our life at home will be much safer if __________.
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A．we know more about the accidents that happen in the home |
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B．all of us give up smoking as soon as possible |
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C．we take more time and care in our life |
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D．we keep the stoves at the corner of the rooms |
4.The main purpose of writing the text is __________.
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A．to tell how and why home accidents happen |
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B．to persuade people to get rid of bad habits |
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C．to explain how to use electrical equipment |
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D．to instruct people how to prevent home accidents |
The Catherine family enjoyed the good things in life as much as anyone else. They ___36___games, books, music, toys, good food and good times. But sometimes ___37___seemed, especially to Mrs. Catherine who ___38___the house, that they had too much stuff in the closets, in the drawers, in the basement, and almost ___39___. It made Mrs. Catherine a little ___40___.
One day, at breakfast, Mrs. Catherine made a（n） ___41___. “This family,”she said firmly, “has too much stuff. It's time to get ___42___of some of them. ”The three children all ___43___with this idea and helped pile used things and unused things they were never going to use into the car.
Their first ___44___was Home for the Aged where the older went to live. Nurses and doctors looked after them, but sometimes the older got a little lonely and ___45___. They liked visitors and things to do. When the family arrived at Home for the Aged, they ___46___out their games and puzzles to the older and then sat down to play games and do puzzles with them. They had a ___47___time and they were sorry when it was time to leave.
Their next stop was the Young Cubs Hospital. The Catherine family dropped ___48___their load of used toys which were very welcome. The hospital workers said the toys would be given out at the hospital ___49___party.
Their last stop was People Who Care store. This was a store that sold things to ___50___money for those who needed warm clothes and good food. The Catherine family lugged all their old clothes and furniture into the store.
After that, the Catherine family ___51___home with warm feelings about what they had done. ___52___they drove along, they passed the lighted ___53___of supermarkets which were beautifully decorated for Christmas. There was window after window of the very latest things, but they were so filled with special thoughts about helping others that they ___54___noticed the wonderful things in the windows except maybe out of the ___55___of their eyes.
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By popular consensus, great painters can mix the colours together within a short period of time to get the __________colour.
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A．explicit |
B．desired |
C．generous |
D．romantic |
