Published in 1896 and one of the most memorable horror stories ever written, Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker,is the story of a vampire（吸血鬼）,someone who lives on human blood. Stoker wrote the book after reading stories about Central European vampires and set his novel in Transylvania. Even today,there are readers of the book who believe that Transylvania is a mythical（神话的）country,a figment（虚构）of Stoker’s imagination. Nothing could be further from the truth. Transylvania is part of modern-day Central European country Romania,and the country does indeed have a history of mythological vampires.
However,Romanians are always puzzled by the description of the novel’s central character, Count Dracula,a tall,elegant aristocrat（贵族）with impeccable（完美的）manners who also happens to speak very good English. This is a world away from the images of vampires that they have grown up with. Romanian vampires are half-human creatures who live solitary lives in the forests,not aristocrats living in castles with well-stocked libraries.
So where did Stoke get the image for his Dracula? The answer becomes clearer when one learns of his relationship with a man called Henry Irving,the greatest British stage actor of his time.
Stoker was working as a civil servant in his home city of Dublin when he first met Irving. Bored with his tedious life and work, Stoker took every opportunity to visit the theatre and for a while was the drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. One of the reviews he wrote was of a performance of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet,with Irving in the lead role.
Irving was so pleased with Stoker’s review of his performance that he asked to meet him. Stoker couldn’t believe his luck when one night,he was invited to a dinner party where Irving was the guest of honour. Irving entertained the assembled dinner guests with some renditions（表演）of famous poems and speeches from Shakespeare.
Stoker was already writing the first chapters of Dracula and began to base the central character on Irving,in the vain hope that if it ever became a stage play, Irving would play the central character. Sadly,Irving never did,but the two men became close friends,and in 1878 Stoker left the civil service and became Irving’s manager in London.
1.Bram Stoker set his novel in Transylvania because .
A．it is in modern-day Romania
B．Transylvania is a mythical country
C．he wanted to tell a true story
D．he had read stories about vampires from the area
2.The central character of the novel .
A．is very similar to the vampires that Romanians know about
B．Is completely different from the vampires Romanians know about
C．Has impeccable manners,like a real Romanian vampire
D．Is puzzled by the comparison with Romanian vampires
3.What was Stoker’s hope?
A．That the book would become a stage-play.
B．That Irving would play the central character in the stage play.
C．That he could live in London.
D．That Irving would work for him.
Uganda is a country in East Africa and,as in many such countries,a high percentage of the population,about 80 percent,are village-dwellers living in huts,which are often no bigger than a garage. The walls of the huts are made of mud,which is held together by reeds and sticks,and the roofs of the older ones are thatched（覆盖）with grass,although an increasing number of newer village houses have roofs made from corrugated（波纹形的）iron.
Several generations of the same family live together in the huts,which are usually divided into two sections by a curtain. The inner section,the one furthest from the open door of the hut,is where everyone sleeps and food is prepared and served in the outer part. If the family owns chickens or goats,they are kept in a small room attached to the main house.
Food is usually prepared on open fires although some people prefer to cook inside. However,this is quite dangerous and also means that the walls of the hut are stained by smoke and the atmosphere is acrid. The family sit in a circle on mats while they eat.
Newer village houses are almost always made of corrugated iron and are bigger,with one or two separate bedrooms and the kitchen in a smaller building beside the main house. But,old or new,the houses are not powered by electricity,and all homes are lit by paraffin（石蜡）candles called “tadobba”.
Nor is there any running water in the houses. Some villages have their own well,but in many cases,collecting water involves a long and arduous walk to a river or spring,carrying plastic containers or pots made of clay.
Children are the ones who have to fetch water,and they have to do this early in the morning before they go to school,or in the evening when they come home. They often have to climb high hills or walk through valleys with narrow paths through dense vegetation. It is no surprise that they grow up muscular and fit after such daily exercise,walking for several kilometres carrying such heavy weights.
1.Most Ugandans live .
A．with their whole family in large mud houses in the countryside
B．in towns in small houses made of mud and iron
C．in villages in small houses made of wet earth,grass and wood
D．With their parents and children as well as their chickens and goats
2.Where is food usually prepared?
A．In the kitchen.
B．On the floor in the middle of the house.
C．On fires in front of the hut.
D．In a small room attached to the main house.
3.How are the old and new houses the same?
A．Both of them have roofs made of corrugated iron.
B．Neither of them have a garage or kitchen.
C．Neither of them have electricity,lights or running water.
D．Both of them have water inside but no electric light.
4.The majority of Ugandan children have to .
A．go to a well or a river and often carry it for a long distance
B．do a lot of work cooking and carrying water
C．collect water on the way home from school
D．get water out of their own well
Edward Sims was born in 1892. He was the fifth child and only son of Herbert and Dora Sims. Herbert was a blacksmith(铁匠), and had a thriving trade making horseshoes. He was determined that his first-born son would follow him into the blacksmith. For this reason, Edward had to leave school at the age of 12,and worked with his father.
However, Edward was not cut out to be a blacksmith. Although he has an athletic body, he didn't have strong arms like his father, and he felt dizzy in the heat of the smithy. When he tried to find alternative employment, he found it difficult because he had never learnt to read or write.
One day, he went for an interview at a solictior’s office. The job was a runner, taking documents from the office to other offices in the city. The solicitor was pleased to see that Edward was physically fit, but when he discovered that the young man couldn't read or write, he decided against employing him. "How can you deliver documents to other offices," he asked, "if you can't read the addresses on them?"
Bitterly disappointed, Edward left the building and went to wait for a tram to take him back to the suburb where his father’s smithy was. Next to the bus stop, a man was selling newspapers from a stand .
"Excuse me, son?" he said. "Would you look after my stand for a moment?"
For the next 20 minutes, Edward sold newspapers, lots of them. When the man came back, he was so delighted with his new assistant's honesty, that he offered him a job. Edward took it immediately.
In the next few months, the two men progressed from working on newspaper stands to selling newspapers, tobacco,confectionery（糖果点心）and other goods in a shop. Then they opened a second shop, and a third. Eventually, they had a chain of 25 shops in three cities.
Edward became very rich, so he employed a tutor to teach him to read and write. The tutor was amazed at what Edward had achieved. "Imagine what you could do if you’d been able to read and write when you were younger!" he said.
“Yes!” said Edward. “I could have run myself to exhaustion delivering documents for a solicitor!”
1.What would be the best title for the text?
A．Success of illiterate newsboy
B．Local blacksmith becomes famous
C．The thriving trade of the blacksmith
D．Reading and writing-the road to success
2.What can you infer from the underlined expression “not cut out to be” in the second paragraph?
A．Edward Sims did not like being a blacksmith.
B．Edward Sims did not like working with his father.
C．Edward Sims was not strong enough and it made him feel ill.
D．Edward Sims was good at it but wanted to do another job.
3.When Edward applied for the job as a runner for a solicitor, .
A．the solicitor turned him down because he wasn’t intelligent enough
B．the solicitor offered him the job because he was so fit
C．the solicitor gave him the job but told him he had to learn to read
D．the solicitor didn’t offer him the job because he couldn’t read
4.Which of the following is NOT ture about Edward Sims?
A．He was such a good salesman that he went on to own 25 newsagent shops with another man.
B．The newspaperman liked him so much he gave him a job.
C．He ran himself into exhaustion delivering papers.
D．He learnt to read and write.
Welcome to this Website on the British Isles. Over the coming months it will be expanded to allow you to find information on all aspects of life in the British Isles. The British Isles is visited by millions of people each year, many returning time and again.
Wales: Wales is full of fascinating places to visit and stay. The castles of Beaumaris, Conwy, Harlech and Caernarfon are officially listed as world heritage sites and provide an insight into the troubled past of this great land. The national park of Snowdonia is stunning and provides walkers and climbers with many opportunities to challenge their limits. South Wales also has interesting places to visit: Pembrokeshire is especially inviting for tourists.
England: We all know about the attractions lf London but England has a lot more to offer outside of the city. The “English Riviers”, Torquay, is blessed with good weather and is a major tourist attraction. This is a great place to stay and explore the local seaside resorts.
Windsor castle is a great place to visit and the town and surrounding areas are beautiful. Warwick castle in the centre of England is world famous and holds regular evens (同额赌注) to show how life was like in the time it was built.
Scotland: A great place to visit, Scotland still has many places that are relatively uninhabited(杳无人迹的) and are great for getting away from it all. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles and the numerous lakes provide great fishing. In parts you can still hear Gaelic spoken and we all know about the Scottish expertise in making Whisky! You can also visit the ski resorts of Aviemore in the Cairngorms. Glasgow, the capital is now recognized as a centre of culture as well as being a great shopping centre.
1.The highest mountain in the British Isles is in ________.
A．Wales B．England C．Scotland D．Chester
2.A mountain-climber will probably visit ________.
A．Wales and England B．Wales and Scotland
C．England and Wales D．Pembrokeshire and Torquay
3.Which of the following is NOT true about England?
A．Windsor castle is in the center of England.
B．London is the capital city.
C．You can enjoy good weather in Torquay.
D．There are more than one castles.
4.Where are you likely to get such information?
A．A TV program on tourism. B．A newspaper.
C．A geography book. D．The Internet.
Have you ever wondered what you’d do in a moment of danger and how you’d 36 to a terrorist on the plane or a guy wearing a mask and waving a gun while you’re standing 37 at the bank?
Stephanie Davies 38 .
The 21-year-old girl 39 such a moment last week in a 40 in Aurora, Colo., where she went to a late night showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” with her 41 , Allie. All of a sudden, a gas can flew by close to the two girls. 42 , Allie stood up and was shot in the 43 by a gunman. Stephanie saw Allie fell down in the aisle(过道), blood pouring out of her neck. 44 she moved on her knees to her friend, pulled her out of the aisle and pressed the wound with her fingers 45 the gunman moved around, firing into the 46 crowd. When the gunman again walked past the aisle, they played dead until he 47 .
Heroic? Well, clearly heroic.
“ 48 Stephanie’s timely actions, I just talked with Allie, who is going to be fine,” said President Barack Obama after meeting the two girls in the hospital.
And Stephanie wasn’t the 49 hero in the theater that dark night in Aurora. Three young men---Jon,26, Matt,27 and Alex, 24---used their own 50 to protect their respective(各自的) girlfriends from the gunman’s bullets. Jon took a bullet for his girlfriend. The stories were 51 for Matt and Alex. The three men were among the 12 who didn’t come out of the theater alive.
“The 52 actions of these young Americans,” President Obama said, “represent what’s best in us, and they 53 us that out of this darkness a brighter day is going to come. I have the greatest 54 for people like Stephanie, Jon, Matt and Alex who don’t 55 to do what the situation demands, bringing heroic light to the darkest of dark nights.”
1. A．refer B．respond C．adapt D．talk
2. A．in turn B．in silence C．in time D．in line
3. A．knows B．appears C．wonders D．imagines
4. A．missed B．faced C．expected D．enjoyed
5. A．street B．restaurant C．theater D．stadium
6. A．friend B．sister C．aunt D．cousin
7. A．Tired B．Annoyed C．Frightened D．Puzzled
8. A．leg B．wrist C．arm D．neck
9. A．Madly B．Suddenly C．Secretly D．Hurriedly
10. A．since B．as C．until D．because
11. A．waiting B．chatting C．staring D．screaming
12. A．passed B．stopped C．hid D．escaped
13. A．In spite of B．Regardless of C．Because of D．In terms of
14. A．typical B．unique C．usual D．only
15. A．methods B．bodies C．tools D．hands
16. A．common B．strange C．similar D．different
17. A．brave B．immediate C．generous D．active
18. A．warn B．show C．promise D．inform
19. A．hope B．concern C．pity D．respect
20. A．hesitate B．regret C．pretend D．refuse
What he wants is _______ his mother as quickly as he can; and what he must do is ____ to the hospital at once．
A．to see; going B．to see; go C．see; to go D．see; go
