Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy（遗产） was far greater that just “great-literature”. February 7 marks the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A White Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas” － not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today. In the early 19th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day－unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off. Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth－“home enjoyments, affections and hopes”. In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickens” poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London. He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy(官僚作风) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “life mirroring the times of Dickens”.
1.The article is mainly about .
|
A．a brief introduction to Charles Dickens’ |
|
B．the characters in Charles Dickens’ stories |
|
C．Charles Dickens’ impact（影响力) on the world |
|
D．Charles Dickens’ achievements in literature |
2.Why is Dickens’ called “the man who invented Christmas”?
|
A．Because he created both religious and culture festival. |
|
B．Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations. |
|
C．Because his novels have something to do with Christmas. |
|
D．Because he was the first man to have proposed celebrating Christmas. |
3.We can learn from the passage that .
|
A．Charles Dickens’ novels reflect(反映) the true life at his age |
|
B．Dickensian is widely used to describe the Christmas |
|
C．Every person can take three days off for Christmas |
|
D．The theme of Charles Dickens’ stories is about poverty |
4.What can we infer from the passage?
|
A．Dickens gave the modern world six things. |
|
B．Dickens is still popular today in Britain. |
|
C．Dickens invented Christmas |
|
D．Agreements made by the underclass of society |
In the year after my mother left us, my father was 42 and he knew that he wasn’t going to make it to 43. He wrote a letter to me and hoped that something in it would help me for the rest of my life.
Since the day I was 12 and first read his letter, some of his words have lived in my heart. One part always stands out. “Right now, you are pretending to be a time killer. But I know that one day, you will do something great that will set you among the very best.” Knowing that my dad believed in me gave me permission to believe in myself. “You will do something great.” He didn’t know what I would be, and neither did I, but at times in my life when I’ve felt proud of myself, I remember his words and wish he were here so I could ask, “Is this what you were talking about , Dad ? Should I keep going?”
A long way from 12 now, I realize he would have been proud when I made any progress. Lately, though, I’ve come to believe he would want me to move on to what comes next: to be proud of , and believe in somebody else. It’s time to start writing my own letters to my children. Our children look to us with the same unanswered question we had. Our kids don’t hold back because they’re afraid to fail. They’re only afraid of failing us. They don’t worry about being disappointed. Their fear ---- as mine was until my father’s letter---- is of being a disappointment.
Give your children permission to succeed. They’re waiting for you to believe in them. I always knew my parents loved me. But trust me: That belief will be more complete , that love will be more real, and their belief in themselves will be greater if you write the words on their hearts ：“Don’t worry; you’ll do something great .”Not having that blessing from their parents may be the only thing holding them back.
1.We learn from the text that the author__________.
|
A．lost his father when he was young |
|
B．worked hard before he read his father’s letter |
|
C．asked his father’s permission to believe in himself |
|
D．knew exactly what great thing his father wanted him to do |
2.What does the author tell us in the 3rd paragraph?
|
A．Children need their parents’ letters. |
|
B．Children are afraid to be disappointed. |
|
C．His children’s fear of failure held them back. |
|
D．His father’s letter removed his fear of failing his parents. |
3.Which of the following is true of the author?
|
A．He got no access to success. |
|
B．He wrote back to his father at 12. |
|
C．He was sure his parents loved him. |
|
D．He once asked his father about the letter. |
4.The main purpose of the text is to .
|
A．describe children’s thinking |
|
B．answer some questions children have |
|
C．stress the importance of communication |
|
D．advise parents to encourage their children |
There are four forms about medicine. Every must know how to use the medicine. Because it is very important. Never take any by mistake.
1）Take the medicine with water, followed by one tablet every eight hours as required. For further night-time and early morning, take two tablets at bedtime. Do not take more than six tablets in 24 hours. For Children six to twelve years old, go to your doctor for advice. Reduce dosage(剂量) if nervousness, restlessness or sleeplessness takes place.
2）Each pill of the medicine taken three times every day for fourteen years old. As usual, a pill 6:00 a. m. before breakfast, one before 11:00 and one before sleep. Not for children under six years old and old persons with heart attack.
3）The medicine for a person with a fever. Once two pills a day before sleep for adult. Not take the medicine without fever. Half for Children under 12 years old. Children with a high fever go to see a doctor.
4）The medicine taken three times a day. Once five pills for adult with a cold. Half of the pills for children 10 years old. Take the medicine before breakfast, lunch, supper or before sleep.
1.Obviously a kind of medicine can’t be proper for____judging from the information.
|
A．some old persons with heart attack |
|
B．some old persons with a fever |
|
C．children over twelve years old |
|
D．neither adults nor heart attack |
2.When a person has a cold. he had better .
|
A．have twice a day |
|
B．have about more than fourteen pills a day |
|
C．have four times a day |
|
D．have nine pills a day |
3.How many kinds of medicine are used for the children six years old?
|
A．All of them. |
B．Three kinds of medicine. |
|
C．Two kinds of medicine. |
D．Almost not any medicine. |
At the age of 15，I paid my first visit to Disneyland in America. It wasn't the first time for me to be ___36___ . Like most English children I learned French ___37___school and I had often been to France，and I ___38___ speaking English to people who didn't understand ___39___ . So ___40____ I went to America，I was really looking forward to ____41___ a nice easy holiday without any ___42____problems. ___43___ wrong I was! The misunderstanding ___44___at the airport. I was looking for a ___45___ telephone to give my friend Danny a ___46____ and tell her that I had arrived. A___47___ old man saw me looking lost and asked ___48___ he could help me.“Yes，”I said，“I want to give my friend a ring.”“Well，that's nice，”he said，“Are you getting ____49____ ? But aren't you a bit young?” “ ___50___ is talking about marriage?” I replied. “I just want to call her to tell her I've arrived. Can you tell me ___51___ there’s a phone box?” “Oh!” he said, “there's a phone downstairs.” When at last we did meet up，Danny explained the misunderstanding to me. “Don't worry，”she said to me，“I had so many ___52___ at first. There are lots of words which the Americans ___53___ differently in meaning from us British. You'll soon get used to ___54___ funny things they say. Most of the ___55___, British and American people understand each other!”
|
1. |
|
|
2. |
|
|
3. |
|
|
4. |
|
|
5. |
|
|
6. |
|
|
7. |
|
|
8. |
|
|
9. |
|
|
10. |
|
|
11. |
|
|
12. |
|
|
13. |
|
|
14. |
|
|
15. |
|
|
16. |
|
|
17. |
|
|
18. |
|
|
19. |
|
|
20. |
|
_______, when I went to town to see my sick teacher, he said to me, “I’ll come back to school again _______.”
|
A．One day; the other day |
B．Some day; one day |
|
C．Some day; the other day |
D．The other day; some day |
Sweet memories ______ as I looked at the pictures _____were taken at the beach last summer.
|
A．took out; which |
B． crowded in; which |
|
C．ended up; that |
D．dropped by; that |
