When we asked Oprah to pick the 10 books she‘s read in the past decade that have mattered to her most, she was momentarily stumped． For someone who describes herself as ―inspired, challenged, and sustained‖ by books, it was almost impossible for Oprah to stay within our limit of 10． Still, she offered up the following, but she emphasized that it was only a sampler of delightful titles that have also managed to teach her --- and all of us --- a few things．
1． Discover the Power Within You
By Eric Butterworth
256 pages; Harper One
Advice from the internationally known spiritual teacher．
2． A New Earth
By Eckhart Tolle
316 pages; Plume
There‘s a reason Oprah picked this for her Book Club in 2008 --- and that she gave audience members Post-it pens along with their copies． So much wisdom, so little time! A real-life guide to living your best life．
3． The Poisonwood Bible
By Barbara Kingsolver
576 pages; Harper Perennial
This novel is about a family involved in the political trouble of postcolonial Africa． It established Kingsolver as one of our wisest observers of history, politics, and human nature．
4． Night
By Elie Wiesel
120 pages; Hill and Wang
A memoir（回忆录） of a childhood suffered in concentration camps during the Holocaust． It‘s horrific but
uplifting． ―I gain courage from his courage,‖ Oprah says．
5． A Fine Balance
By Rohinton Mistry
624 pages; Vintage
A Dickensian novel about India during the Emergency． Like the aftermath of September 11, it teaches us about cultures we haven‘t understood． “It takes us out of our own little shell and exposes us to a whole other world out there．“ Oprah say．
6． East of Eden
By John Steinbeck
608 pages; Penguin
This classic is about good and evil as played out in a late-19th-century California ranch family． If you didn‘t read it in high school, read it now． If you did, reread it!
7． The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
By David Wroblewski
576 pages; Harper Collins
A kind of Hamlet on the prairie, this is the wrenching（令人痛苦的） story of a mute boy and his dog． Oprah compares it to East of Eden and To Kill a Mickingbird．
8． The Pillars of the Earth
By Ken Follett
973 pages; Penguin
About the challenges of building cathedrals in 12th-century England． This novel couldn‘t be more different in setting, time, and plot from the author‘s breakthrough success, Eye of the Needle． Oprah declares it simply
“great”．
9． The Bluest Eye
By Toni Morrison
224 pages; Penguin
How to choose among the great Morrison‘s novel? Start with this one about a girl who thinks she has to have blue eyes to be beautiful． Oprah considered it one of the best in a crowded Morrison field．
10． The Known World
By Edward P． Jones
400 pages, Harper Collins
When this book was published in 2003, it shocked everybody with its description of slave-owning blacks before the Civil War． A daring, unusual examination of race．
1.The passage is mainly about _______．
A． ten books that have made greatest difference to Oprah
B． an inspiring , challenging and sustainable woman
C． Oprah‘s picks from what has taught her a few things
D． the unwillingness of Oprah to share books within a limit of 10．
2. Why did Oprah add A Fine Balance to her list?
A． She gained courage from it．
B． It tells about wisdom of human nature．
C． It‘s a guide to living a best life．
D． Culture of a different world is exposed．
3. What makes Oprah declare The Pillars of the Earth great?
A． The advice on discovering the power．
B． The story of a mute boy and his dog．
C． The challenges of building cathedrals．
D． The good and evil in a California family．
4. In which book the story was set before the Civil War?
A． In The Bluest Eye B． In East of Eden
C． In A New Earth D． In The Known World
Qixi Festival, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine‘s Day that fell yesterday, was not only a disappointment for forgotten lovers, but also for businessmen left with empty pockets．
The cold reception has prompted cultural experts to seriously worry that the lovers‘ festival, marked for generations since the Han Dynasty （206 BC-AD 220），is dying out． Some have even called for legislation to make the festival a legal ―Chinese Lovers‘ Day‖, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar year．
But the effectiveness of such a measure is in doubt, although efforts to preserve traditional festivals deserve highly praise．
A growing number of traditional Chinese festivals, such as the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn
Festival, share the same fate of the Qixi Festival．
Young people are showing less interest in traditional culture as symbolized by these festivals． Even if all traditional festivals are finally made legal, the risk of them becoming purely formalized celebrations with little meaning is not removed． If the younger generation fails to identify with the cultural significance of these holidays, there is little that can be done．
While complaining about traditional festivals‘ fading appeal, decision-makers should reflect on cultural protection． Undeniably, our country has done a bad job of preserving culture and traditional festivals, compared to neighbouring Japan and the Republic of Korea（ROK）．
The 2,500-year-old Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month． The traditional customs and ceremonies of the occasion, which originated in China, have been better preserved in the ROK．
Only a few years ago did China begin to realize the significance of preserving intangible（无形的）cultural heritage when the ROK planned to apply to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to list its version of the Dragon Boat Festival as an important example of intangible culture．
Concern about the traditional holidays also reminds people of the growing influence of foreign cultures as the country opens wider to the outside world． With traditional festivals becoming less important and imports such as Christmas and Valentine‘s Day gaining widespread popularity, the public including cultural professionals have tended to measure traditional Chinese festivals in economic terms．
Business rather than culture has begun to play a dominant role． More and more people are preoccupied with how much money can be made during the holidays．
In fact what makes traditional festivals unique and what keeps them alive is their cultural elements． After all, it is unique culture that contributes to the world‘s diversity with globalization．
1.What makes Chinese cultural experts worry that the lovers‘ festival is dying out?
A． The disappointment for both businessmen and lovers．
B． The cold reacting of the public to Qixi Festival．
C． The failure to make traditional Chinese festivals legal．
D． The action to preserve culture and traditional festivals．
2. The public look at the effectiveness of the legalization of the Qixi Festival with a（n） _______ attitude．
A． indifferent B． positive
C． doubtful D． hopeful
3. From Paragraph 5 we can learn that _______．
A． traditional festivals are thought more highly of by the young people．
B． legal celebrations reduce the risk of disappearing of traditional culture．
C． the significance of traditional festivals should be more identified with．
D． young people value traditional culture more while they can do little．
4. It is implied by the writer that traditional Chinese festivals should be measured _______．
A． by legal decision
B． in economic ways
C． by professional rules
D． in cultural terms
5.The writer‘s purpose for writing this article is to _______．
A． remind us that the cultural elements make traditional festivals live on．
B． complain that Japan and ROK do a better job in preserving culture．
C． inform the public of the dying out of traditional Chinese festivals．
D． warn people against business role in celebrating traditional festivals．
“Wanted: Violin
Can’t pay much
Call … ”
Why did I notice that? I wondered, since I rarely looked at the classified ads． I laid the paper on my lap and closed my eyes, remembering what had during the Great Depression, when my family to make a living on our farm． I, too, had wanted a violin, but we didn‘t have the ．
When my older twin sisters began showing an interest in music, Harriet Anne learned to play Grandma‘s upright piano, Suzanne turned to Daddy‘s violin, simple tunes soon became 24 melodies as the twins played more and more． in the rhythm of the music, my baby brother danced around while Daddy hummed（哼唱）and Mother whistled． I just ．
When my arms grew enough, I tried to play Suzanne‘s violin, I loved the beautiful sound drawn across the strings． Oh, how I wanted one! But I knew it was the question．
One evening as the twins played in the school orchestra, I closed my eyes tight to capture the picture firmly in my ． “Someday, I‘ll sit up there．” I vowed（发誓） ．
Unfortunately, it was not a year． At harvest the crops did not bring as much as we had hoped． I, however, couldn‘t any longer to ask, “Daddy, may I have a violin of my own?”
“Can‘t you use Suzanne‘s?”
“I‘d like to be in the orchestra, too, and we can‘t use the same violin at the same time．”
Daddy‘s face looked ． That night, and many following nights, I heard him God in our family devotions: “… and Lord, Mary Lou wants her violin．”
One evening we all sat around the table． The twins and I studied． Mother sewed and Daddy wrote a letter to his friend, George Finkle, in Columbus． Mr．Finkle, Daddy said, was a fine violinist．
As he wrote, Daddy read of his letter out loud to Mother． Weeks later I he‘d written one line he didn‘t read aloud: “Would you watch for a for my third daughter? I can‘t 40 much, but she enjoys music． And we‘d like her to have her own instrument．”
1.A． managed B． promised C． struggled D． forced
2.A． luck B． money C． choice D． hope
3.A． while B． since C． after D． before
4.A． soft B． fluent C． gentle D． lovely
5.A． Picked out B． Caught up C． Taken on D． Called for
6.A． shouted B． laughed C． listened D． cried
7.A． long B． tough C． old D． slim
8.A． far from B． next to C． out of D． along with
9.A． dream B． hand C． life D． mind
10.A． faithfully B． silently C． frequently D． patiently
11.A． hopeless B． stable C． good D． difficult
12.A． stand B． help C． wait D． risk
13.A． both B． ever C． either D． still
14.A． angry B． sad C． pale D． weak
15.A． demand B． inform C． commit D． remind
16.A． favourite B． private C． own D． individual
17.A． parts B． lines C． contents D． purposes
18.A． heard B． conveyed C． discovered D． observed
19.A． musician B． favor C． gift D． violin
20.A． owe B． order C． charge D． pay
—How do you find my purse?
—__________． victim
A． On the playground B． It‘s modern and nice
C． Sorry, I didn‘t． D． From the police
Dozens of family members of the victim __________ at the gate of embassy requesting a report with concrete evidence of the accident．
A． collected B． removed
C． separated D． gathered
The shelter is expected to help the homeless live __________ the bitter winter．
A． across B． with C． through D． against
