Back in the days when I wrote my first songs, I hated my voice. I saw myself as a songwriter and guitarist but never a singer! I continued to write songs, and to search for the perfect singer. After a few years I did discover a singer, so we started a project together. We held a few concerts, and put a lot of work into it. She forces me to sing some songs at concerts myself, so I started going to a bar to practice them. This was my first, small breakthrough.

One day she came round to my flat and informed me that she could no longer work with me, and also that the bar owner at the open mic venue(麥克風(fēng)場地) had replaced us at short notice because some New York jazz star happened to be in town, and was available that evening to perform. The first bit of news made me sad and disappointed, but the second made me angry.

However, that same evening, with as much determination as I could muster (集合), I resolved to play three new songs at the bar, just as I had planned before. I was quite nervous, but I dragged myself down to the bar and sang those songs! I never felt so liberated(無拘束的). That night I couldn’t get to sleep. I was simply astonished, hardly believing that I was a person who acted so courageously, and that I’d been able to sing my songs myself.

Since then I’ve begun to encourage others to adopt a similar approach when they aren’t able to see their own potential. One example is an amateur fiddler (小提琴手) who could barely bring herself to lift her instrument to play in front of people. I forced her to ignore her fear, and simply get on with it. Now, a year or two later, she is a passionate, happy performer in front of any crowd!

Once you get the ball rolling in yourself, you can start inspiring those around you.

1.What was the author’s first breakthrough?

A. She found the perfect singer.

B. She started a project with her partner.

C. She started to practice songs at a bar.

D. She was able to sing all of her songs.

2.How did the author feel when she heard that her partner could no longer work with her?

A. Sad and disappointed.B. Sad and angry.

C. Disappointed and angry.D. Astonished and angry.

3.The amateur fiddler is mentioned in the last but one paragraph in order to show that the author ________.

A. has a good relationship with her

B. encourages others to see their potential

C. can perform in front of any crowd

D. is very interested in making friends

4.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. How to work with other singers.

B. The story of the author and an amateur fiddler.

C. How the author became a singer through her fighting spirit.

D. How to write beautiful songs.

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You may have heard of the book Moby Dick(《白鯨記》), written by the American author Herman Melville. You may also know that Moby Dick is considered one of the greatest novels ever written. However, it might surprise you to find out Herman Melville was not always a highly regarded author.

Melville’s first two novels, Typee and Omoo, were widely read and financially successfully. They were both exciting tales of adventures at sea and experiences with people in foreign lands. Melville became quite famous. However, upon the publication of his third book, Mardi, Melville’s popularity began to weaken. He was no longer interested in telling tales of pure adventure, and his writing took on a style that alienated(使疏遠) the general reading public of his time.

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Melville died in 1891 at the age of 72. At this point, his work had been completely forgotten by the public. His talent was to go unrecognized for the next thirty years. Then, in 1920s, his reputation began to improve as critics and readers rediscovered his work. Today Moby Dick is one of the best-known novels ever penned by an American author.

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A. His travel experience.

B. His successful communication skills.

C. Adventurous experiences in the front line.

D. Adventurous voyages and foreign experiences.

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D. made Melville popular again

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A. a writing guide

B. a literary journal

C. a science magazine

D. a critical book on literature

4.What is the text mainly about?

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Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth.

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B. The mystery about radiation remains unsolved.

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Finding Your Hidden Talents

●1.________

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It is suggested that extinct animals can possibly come back to life through cloning sometimes, but 1. (fortune), this is either impossible 2. unsuitable. The reasons are as follows：

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Tim Cook，the CEO of Apple，showed off their newest device，the Apple Watch．Mr．Cook said it was the most personal device Apple 1. (create)．

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The new mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan, is a man of the people, ready to listen to their problems, but only until 6 p.m. Then he has to do his homework. Michael Sessions, 18, beat former mayor Douglas Ingles, 51, by just two votes and became the new mayor of Hillsdale. He is America's youngest mayor.

As Sessions was too young to enter the election in the spring of 2005, he registered to vote on Sept, 22, one day after his 18-year-old birthday. The day after that he started his write-in campaign, which means he should persuade voters to remember his name and write it by hand on the voting ballots（選票）.

To help get his name known, Sessions earned＄700 by selling apples over the summer. He spent the money on posters and put them on the Hillsdale's lawns.

Sessions' month-long campaign included going door to door, explaining his ideas of the town's future in the kitchens of his neighbors. "They'd look at me, and say‘How old are you again? How much experience do you have?' And I say ‘I'm still in high school', " he said. Sessions promised Hillsdale's voters he would renew local economy. “I was hopeful the whole time, ” he explained. One day he spent so long out on the streets knocking on the doors that he ended up in a hospital emergency room.

Sessions said that his schoolwork will not get in the way of his job as a mayor. “From 7:50 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., I'11 be a student. From 3 to 6, I'11 be the mayor of Hillsdale," he said.

“He did a very brave thing that couldn't have been easy for him to do, "said Jack Vettel, a councilman in Hillsdale, a city of 8,200 about 75 miles southwest of Detroit. " He does care about this town. He's been here all his life.”

Sessions will receive ＄3, 600 a year during this four-year term, and will work out of his bedroom since the town does not provide the mayor with an office.

1.What is TRUE of Sessions' election campaign according to the text?

A．Sessions launched his election campaign on Sept, 22.

B．Sessions worked so hard that he once tried to persuade people in a hospital.

C．Sessions won the election campaign by a very close outcome (結(jié)果).

D．Sessions felt disappointed when asked about his age and experience.

2.In order to gain more support from the voters Sessions had to do all these things EXCEPT ________.

A．put up postersB．renew the economy

C．sell applesD．talk to neighbors in kitchens

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．American mayors usually work from 3 p. m. to 6 p. m.

B．In America, young people are encouraged to get involved in politics.

C．All teenagers are allowed to enter political elections.

D．American mayors receive a salary of 3, 600 a year during their 4-year term.

4.Which of the following would best summarize the text?

A．Schoolboy becomes American's youngest mayor.

B．How to become a teenage mayor.

C．Hard work is the ticket to success.

D．Never too young to shake the world.

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