The slavery drama “12 Years a Slave” won the Academy Award for best picture on Sunday, making history as the first movie from a black director to win the film industry’s highest honor in 86 years of the Oscars. British director Steve McQueen’s brave portrayal of pre-Civil War American slavery won two other Oscars, including best supporting actress for newcomer Lupita Nyong’o and best adapted screenplay based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free man tricked and sold into slavery in Louisiana. “Everyone deserves not just to survive but to live. This is the most important legacy of Solomon Northup,” said McQueen in his acceptance speech.
“12 Years a Slave” was better over space thriller “Gravity” from Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, which nevertheless got the most Oscars of the night with seven, including the best director honor for Cuaron, a first for a Latin American director.The film starring Sandra Bullock as an astronaut lost in space swept the technical awards like visual effects and cinematography, a reward for its groundbreaking work on conveying space and weightlessness. Referring to the “transformative” experience he and others undertook in the four-plus years spent making “Gravity”, Cuaron, whose hair is graying, said, “For a lot of these people, that transformation was wisdom. For me, it was just the color of my hair.”
In one of the strongest years for film in recent memory, the 6,000-plus voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences scattered golden Oscar statuettes among the many acclaimed movies in contention.
It was a good night for the scrappy, low-budget film “Dallas Buyers Club”, directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, a biopic of an early AIDS activist two decades in the making that won three Oscars, including the two male acting awards.
Matthew McConaughey, in a validation of a remarkable career turnaround, won best actor for his portrayal of the homophobe who turned AIDS victim and then turned treatment crusader Ron Woodroof, a role for which he lost 50 pounds (23 kg). His co-star, Jared Leto, won best supporting actor for his role as Woodroof’s unlikely business partner, the transgender woman Rayon, for which he also slimmed down drastically.
Australia’s Cate Blanchett won the best actress Oscar for her acclaimed role as the socialite unhinged by her husband’s financial crimes in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.” “As random and subjective as this award is, it means a great deal in a year of, yet again, extraordinary performances by women,” said Blanchett, who beat out previous Oscar winners Bullock, Amy Adams, Judi Dench and Meryl Streep.
【小題1】The film which won the largest number of Oscar awards this year is ______.

A．12 Years a Slave	B．Gravity
C．Dallas Buyers Club	D．Blue Jasmine

【小題2】Which director spent the least money in making the film?

A．Steve McQueen.	B．Alfonso Cuaron.
C．Jean-Marc Vallee.	D．Woody Allen.

【小題3】How many Oscar best actresses are mentioned in this passage?

A．One.

B．Three.

C．Five.

D．Six.

【小題4】Which of the following statements is WRONG?

A．“12 Years a Slave” won two Oscar awards altogether.

B．The director of “Gravity” is from Latin America.

C．The character Rayon is played by Jared Leto.

D．The woman film star Cate Blanchett comes from Oceania.

When Mary Barra took the wheel at General Motors in January she inherited a company in good shape. Five years after bankruptcy(破產(chǎn)), its profits were beyond expectations and its share price was rising. But the new boss's to-do list was long: fixing GM's loss-making European arm, keeping up momentum(勢頭) in China amid signs of a slowdown and giving new life to the product line. The former CEO, Dan Akerson, warned her that she would also face unexpected challenges. The first has arrived sooner than she might have expected.
What appeared to be a routine recall(召回) of about 800,000 older models, linked to a faulty ignition(點(diǎn)火) switch, has turned out to be anything but. The number of cars recalled has leapt to more than 2.6 million. The company's clumsy handling of a safety problem that first became apparent a decade ago is now linked to the deaths of at least 13 motorists.
Called before Congress to answer for GM's failings Ms Barra said she was “deeply sorry” but insisted that the post-bankruptcy “new GM” was not like the “old GM”, which had failed to deal with the ignition switches for years. Politicians and the public alike want to know how such a problem could have remained unaddressed for so long.
Cars are becoming ever more complex machines, with thousands of mechanical and electronic parts. Last year it happened to 22 million vehicles in America, compared with 18 million in 2012. In fact, GM was one of only three brands that recalled fewer vehicles than it sold. Minor problems, like squeaks(吱吱響) or rattles(卡嗒響), that do not affect safety are more common still. They may be fixed at a routine service; the owner may never know. The growing number of recalls is proof to an improving system for picking up faults.
But it is very complicated. Dealers must record replacements of parts under warranty(保修). The carmaker needs to spot the trend, recognize it as a problem and then determine whether or not it is a design fault that requires an extensive replacement. It relies on accurate recording of every warranty replacement in every region. This system appears to have broken down at “old GM”. Ms Barra needs to find out why.
The core problem is a widely used ignition switch that has a tendency to slip from the “on” position to “off” if a driver uses a heavy key-chain or bounces down a rough road. An improvement was made in 2008 to prevent the problem, which can lead to the engine shutting off, disabling the airbags. But despite a growing list of crashes and deaths, GM failed to order a recall for a component that would have cost a few dollars at most.
This is odd. Most carmakers want to identify and fix problems speedily despite having to bear the cost of buying and fitting a new component. A small part can do great harm, if bad publicity leads to reputational collapse, lost sales and law suits, including heavy penalties. Appearing to put profits before safety is an invitation to battering a firm's shares, as GM has discovered.
So far Ms Barra has handled the situation well. She seems to have acted as soon as she found out something was wrong. GM has appointed a worldwide safety president to cut through the process that may have delayed investigation and action. And in a sweeping housecleaning, GM has recalled another 2 million vehicles in America alone. GM looks set to accept moral, if not legal, responsibility. The terms of its exit from bankruptcy give immunity to lawsuits for injuries arising beforehand. But GM is likely to compensate survivors’ and victims' families anyway.
It is not yet clear how much of a hammering GM will take. But hours before Ms Barra's meeting with Congress, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued a greatly desired “Top Safety Pick” for the new Chevrolet Malibu, one of a growing number of well-received cars from GM.
【小題1】When Mary Barra took office, there was plenty more room for GM's improvement in that ________.
a. the development of Chinese market appears to be slowing down
b. former bosses have failed to fix GM's loss-making European arm
c. some car models lack appeal in the market
d. Mr. Akerson has left some challenges for her to handle
e. GM’s management teams are made up mainly of men

A． a, b, and e

B． b, c, and d

C． a, b, and c

D．a(chǎn), c and d

【小題2】What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?

A．Problems like squeaks or rattles are frequent reasons for recalls.

B．Recalls are not uncommon in the auto industry.

C．Car companies welcome recalls to demonstrate improved products and services.

D．Minor problems may be fixed at a routine service without the owners’ knowledge.

【小題3】Mary Barra has carried out the following strategies to manage the crisis and quiet the critics EXCEPT that ________.

A．a(chǎn)s soon as she learned about the problem, she acted without hesitation

B．she faced facts and apologized sincerely

C．she took the legal responsibilities for their previous mistakes

D．she appointed a new president for global safety for GM

【小題4】What does the underlined word “battering” in paragraph7 probably mean?

A．Benefiting.

B．Regulating.

C．Purchasing.

D．Damaging.

【小題5】What can we infer from GM's new Malibu being awarded “Top Safety Pick”?

A．GM's new model Malibu is specially designed to solve ignition problems.

B．GM products are gaining more and more popularity around the world.

C．GM seems to be on the road to saving itself from mistakes.

D．GM has worked out a solution to the broken-down recall system.

MONTAGNE: In the summer of 2011, the world first heard of a small island in Norway under the most terrible of circumstances. Utoya Island was a youth camp run by Norway's Labor Party. One day in July, a heavily armed, right-wing extremist stepped onto the island and began shooting at random. Sixty-nine people died, over 100 were wounded; almost all, young people. This month, artist Jonas Dahlberg was appointed to create a memorial. He described to us the experience he imagines for those who come to the island.
DAHLBERG: You start your walk through a forest of evergreens on a wooden pathway. After a while, this pathway starts to go down into the landscape.
MONTAGNE: Down into the landscape, and into a short tunnel. When you come out, you are unable to go any farther. You can't get to the tip of the island because it has been cut off. So all you can do is look across a narrow channel of water at what is now a wall of polished stone, carved with the names of the dead.
DAHLBERG: It becomes almost like a gravestone. You cannot reach it. It's close enough to be able to read, but it's forever lost for your possibility to reach.
MONTAGNE: It's being called a memory wound. Exactly what do you mean by that?
DAHLBERG: During my first site visit, the experience of seeing those gunshots—and you can see it was like being in an open wound. And it took me to a stage of deep sadness where it was hard to breathe. So I didn't want to illustrate loss; I wanted to make actual loss. It's just a cut through the island.
MONTAGNE: On the day of the massacre, just hours before launching his shooting on the island, the killer set off a bomb in downtown Oslo, leaving eight people dead. As those events were unfolding, artist Jonas Dahlberg had been out with his brother, and stopped in at a seaside village.
DAHLBERG: In the harbor, it was silent, and this is the higher end of summer. So, it's normally a very lively place. And it was total silence there; and it was a very, very strange feeling in the whole small village. And it's totally impossible to grasp what is going on. And then it just kept on. It's still almost impossible to understand it. It's also one of the reasons why it's so important with memorials for these kind of things. It's to maybe help a little bit to understand what was happening. So it's not just about remembering. It's also about trying to just understand.
MONTAGNE: Artist Jonas Dahlberg designed the memorial for the 69 who died at a youth camp on Utoya Island. The attack was the deadliest in Norway since World War II. That memorial will open in 2015. And to see a virtual version of what it will look like, go to our website, at npr.org. This is Renee Montagne at NPR news.
【小題1】Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Utoya Island was the only bloody shooting spot planned by the killer.

B．Utoya Island used to be a youth camp site and now has been reduced to total silence.

C．Dahlberg and his brother witnessed the shooting on Utoya Island.

D．Visitors to Utoya Island can touch the names of the victims carved on the polished stone.

【小題2】By the underlined phrase “a memory wound”, Dahlberg means all the following EXCEPT that ________.

A．the artist plans to slice through the end of an island to make actual loss

B．memorials are supposed to be not only about remembering but helping people to understand what was happening

C．this memorial shows the gunshots vividly to the visitors for them to understand what was happening

D．the space between is meant to symbolize how those who were killed are gone but are not forgotten

【小題3】 Which of the following pictures shows the design of the memorial?

A．	B．
C．	D．

News that Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid to buy Yahoo resulted in heated discussions made by many Internet users. Here are some responses:
Diane Burke of Weeks bury, Kentucky
I think it would definitely be an interesting combination. Everyone recognizes the names Yahoo and Microsoft, but everyone also says, “Did you Google it?” Such a catchphrase is going to be hard to beat.
Shaun Carney of Laurelville, Ohio
I think the merger will provide more competitions for Google. I don’t think the merger will allow Microsoft to develop faster than Google, though. I believe the increased competition this merger brings will force Google to stay on top of its game by offering more fresh and original Internet tools and expanding on the tools it already offers.
Toni Suarez of Hacienda Heights, California
I view the merger as a necessary element in preventing a monopolization. Perhaps it would bring better high technology innovations to e-mail and help in researching and developing a better Internet!
Rick R. of Edgewater, Florida
It sounds like a disaster to me. If this were to happen, I would stop using my Yahoo e-mail account because I don’t like the feeling of Microsoft spying upon my business. I will sign up for Google.
Antonio Glosser of Kansas City, Missouri
Right now, Yahoo offers a lot of features and tools at no cost for all different levels of Internet users. Microsoft seeks nothing but profit. Undoubtedly, they’ll do nothing other than find ways to start removing Yahoo’s formerly non-priced features. Microsoft’s greed will ruin the great thing that Yahoo currently is.
【小題1】 How many companies are mentioned in the passage?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

【小題2】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Shaun’s attitude towards Google is passive.

B．Toni believes the Internet will have a promising future.

C．Rick will support Google after the merger.

D．Antonio is afraid that the merger will cost Yahoo’s free features.

【小題3】The passage is mainly about ______.

A．opinions on the merger of Yahoo and Microsoft

B．the strengths of Yahoo and Microsoft

C．the strengths and weaknesses of large companies

D．the future of Yahoo and Microsoft

Cities need to put efforts to deal with pollution and clear the air.
Chinese cities will need to put efforts to clear up the sky when a new department to improve regional air quality is set up by 2015, according to the latest plan released by the State Council.
Besides the existing pollution control program for SO2, regional emission caps (區(qū)域排放上限) for other certain chemicals will be established in the three key air polluting areas— the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Coal-consumption caps will also be tried out in some areas, according to the plan.
“The plan is aimed at dealing with regional air pollution—such as acid rain and smog—which have become increasingly obvious in China in recent years and caused a severe threat to people’s health,” Zhang Lijun, vice-minister of environmental protection, said in an interview on Monday.
“The air quality in a city affects the regions nearby because pollutants (污染物) Can travel through the atmosphere,” said Chai Fahe, vice-director of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.
“So efforts to reduce air pollution in a single city, targeting a certain pollutant will not be enough,” Chai said.
Zhang said, “The country’s major industrial districts—the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region—have recorded more than 100 misty days annually in recent years.”
These three regions, home to at least 200 million people, occupy only 6. 3 percent of the country’s area but consume 40 percent of the country’s coal and produce half of its steel, according to official figures.
Studies also show that the visibility (能見度) in eastern regions of China has dropped by 7 to 15 km compared to that in the early 1960s, as a result of air pollution.
Liaoning province, the Shandong Peninsula, Wuhan in Hubei province and its surrounding area, the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region in Hunan province, the Chengdu-Chongqing region, and the western coast of the Taiwan Straits are also listed as areas to carry out such regional air pollution control programs, according to the plan.
The new plan also requires an improved air quality system, which will measure the pollution levels. “The current system, which only measures some major pollutants, cannot reflect the true picture.” said Chai.
【小題1】 It will not be enough to reduce air pollution in a single city because　　　.

A．a(chǎn)ir pollution has been becoming more and more serious in recent years

B．a(chǎn)ir pollution like acid rain and smog is threatening people’s health

C．a(chǎn)ir pollutants in a city can travel in the sky and affect nearby areas

D．a(chǎn)ir pollutants stay in fixed places over the cities

【小題2】. Suppose the visibility in eastern regions of China was 130 km in the early 1960s, the visibility there nowadays is　　　.

A．123 to 115 km	B．137 to 145 km
C．123 to 145 km	D．115 to 137 km

【小題3】. The main purpose of the passage is　　　.

A．to inform readers of the damage caused by air pollution

B．to introduce the new plan to control air pollution

C．to provide official figures of air pollution levels

D．to point out the regions affected by air pollution

【小題4】. What does the underlined phrase“the true picture”in the last paragraph mean?

A．The major pollutants.

B．The key polluted areas.

C．The major polluted cities.

D．The pollution levels.

That the Leaning Tower of Pisa no longer leans quite so much after a ￡20 million project to save it has proved to be a great success.The tower, which was on the edge of collapse, has been straightened by 18 inches, returning it to its 1838 position.

“It has straightened a little bit more than we expected, but very little helps, ”said Prof.John Burland, the only British member of the rescue committee.“The tower is still very slightly moving towards being upright. ”
The tower, which has been leaning almost since building work first began in 1173, was closed to the public in 1990 because of safety fears.The 183?foot tower was nearly 15 feet off vertical and its structure was found to have been weakened by centuries of strain(作用力).
Prof.Burland said it could have collapsed “at any moment”．However, it took nine years of quarreling before any work was done.The last attempt at straightening the tower was carried out. Concrete was poured into the foundations, but the result was that the tower sank further into the soil.
The straightening work involved digging out around 70 tonnes of earth from the northern side of the tower, causing it to sink on that side.Before the digging started, the tower was fixed with steel ropes and 600 tonnes of lead weights.
However, halfway through the project, concerns at the ugliness of the weights led to their removal and the tower leaned greatly.The weights were hurriedly reattached. In one night, the tower moved more than it had averaged in an entire year.The tower's stonework has also been restored.
The Italian government stepped in after a tower collapsed in Pavia in 1989, killing four people.Experts suddenly realized that the tower at Pisa, which was similarly built and on the same sort of earth, could do the same.
【小題1】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．The Building of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

B．Saving the Leaning Tower of Pisa

C．The Collapse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

D．The History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

【小題2】According to the passage, the Leaning Tower of Pisa_________________.

A．closed for the straightening work in 1990

B．began to lean more than 800 years ago

C．has a history of more than 1, 000 years

D．has become vertical

【小題3】What drove the Italian government to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

A．The development of new technology.

B．The advice of Prof. John Burland.

C．The expectation of the rescue committee.

D．The collapse of a tower in Pavia.

【小題4】What most probably played the most important part in straightening the tower?

A．The lead weights fixed to the tower.

B．Restoring the stonework.

C．Pouring concrete into the foundations.

D．Digging earth from the southern side of the tower.

More than a hundred reporters from around the world thronged and bustled in the Stock Exchange Building in Stockholm's Old Town for about an hour before the doors to the Swedish Academy swung open. Notably, there were many Japanese reporters present, hoping to break the news that Haruki Murakami had won the prize. Finally, the Swedish Academy's Permanent Secretary Peter Englund stepped out from the doors and said Canadian short story writer Alice Munro has won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature.
The following is a truncated Q&A with reporters and Englund. (The questions have been simplified and clarified.)
Why did Alice Munro win?
We gave her the Nobel Prize in Literature because she is a master of the contemporary short story.
Which book to begin with?
One of the amazing things about her is that she has no weak works in her writing. She has always worked to the best of her ability; she has always cultivated the short story to perfection. And she has never really written a weak or bad book. So you can take your pick. 'The Moons of Jupiter' was the first book I read by her and you can see both her different themes in that book and also her very special narrative mode, you can find it there. She tells her stories a bit like nobody else. She has a very economical language and sparse style. You can find that in 'The Moons of Jupiter.' You can take your pick. The latest one is obviously very interesting, 'Dear Life,' which contains a number of autobiographical sketches at the end that gives a key to the entire authorship of Alice Munro.
How was she informed?
Well, I left a message on her answering machine. I couldn't reach her and it was of course pretty early in the morning. But she will be notified by courier, by email to her both agents, by standard mail and so on.
What kind of message did you leave?
Basically, congratulations! You've won the Nobel Prize in literature.
What's the Importance of a woman winning?
Don't ask me. We picked her for excellence, nothing else. Of course it matters when you start doing the headcount. But she is no representative. She has received this prize just because of what she has done. Nothing else.
So the sexual balance doesn't count?
We don't have these kinds of quotas; thank god ... We don't have any quotas. We could, if we wanted to, award this prize four times in a row to a children's book writer working in the United States. If we wanted to. We can do as we please. We don't have to fill any quotes in any direction. We just give it to authors who show an extraordinary literary quality. One of these is Mrs. Alice Munro.
【小題1】Why were there so many Japanese reporters in the Stock Exchange Building in Stockholm's Old Town?

A．They were waiting there to report who would win the 2013 Nobel Prize in 2013.

B．They had expected that Haruki Murakami would win the prize.

C．They just wanted to be the first to report the 2013 Noble Prize winner.

D．They were waiting in the stock market to give the world a big surprise.

【小題2】Alice Munro would most probably be informed of her winning by ________?

A．picking up her answering machine	B．email from both of her agents
C．standard mail	D．The passage doesn’t clarify it.

【小題3】According to the passage, Alice Munro was awarded the 2013 Noble Prize in Literature mainly for ________.

A．she has an obvious advantage over Haruki Murakami

B．it is rare for a woman to have written so many perfect stories

C．she is a master of the contemporary short story

D．she deserves a prize for her hard work for so many years

【小題4】Alice Munro is best known for her work ________.

A．“Dear Life”, which contains a number of autobiographical sketches that gives a key to her entire authorship

B．“The Moons of Jupiter”, which represented both her different themes and also her very special narrative mode

C．“DanceoftheHappyShades”, which helped her win the first Governor General’s Award

D．no specific work, but the uniqueness and perfection reflected in all her works

 “Here is the Eight O’ Clock News.”
“Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year. This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan.”
“The children of Beijing No.2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20^thanniversary. They had been sister schools since 1986. They spent about two weeks together in Beijing. They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park.”
“Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by Japanese company could be the answer. The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags. The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006. ”
“About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors(剪刀)” World Match in Canada. This event was founded in 1842. It is said playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people.”
“And now it’s time for Morning Music.”
【小題1】The students from Canada and Beijing No. 2 Middle School didn’t ________.

A．take photos	B．visit places of interest
C．sing songs	D．have a football match

【小題2】 This year during the first three days of the May Golden Week, it cost Chinese people ___________ yuan more than that of last year.

A．260,000,000,000	B．120,000,000,000
C．140,000,000,000	D．20,000,000,000

【小題3】Which of the following is not talked about in the news?

A．The robot can help with shopping bags.

B．A Japanese company invented the robot.

C．The robot was tested at a shopping centre.

D．There are such robots in people’s homes now.

【小題4】The underlined word “anniversary” means           .

A．birthday	B．yearly return of the date of an event
C．university	D．the new beginning of something important

【小題5】 Which of the following is a game?

A．Rock Paper Scissors	B．May Golden Week
C．Shopping assistant robot	D．A visit to the school

Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity — or  extreme overweight — among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% — and is growing.
【小題1】In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola?

A．They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently.

B．They squeeze eating between the other daily activities.

C．They regard eating as a key part of their lifestyles.

D．They usually eat too much canned and frozen food.

【小題2】This text is mainly the relationship between _________.

A．Americans and the French

B．life style and obesity

C．children and adults

D．fast food and overweight

【小題3】The text is mainly developed __________.

A．by contrast

B．by space

C．by process

D．by classification

【小題4】Where does this text probably come from?

A．A TV interview	B．A food advertisement
C．A health report	D．A book review

Our warming planet is expected to face serious water crisis（危機(jī)）in the coming decades — which means each nation’s natural resource will be more important than ever.

【小題1】According to the statistics, what is the world average of freshwater resource per person?

A．244,973 cubic kilometers

B．241 cubic kilometers

C．3,642 cubic kilometers

D．6,122 cubic kilometers

【小題2】Which country or region has the most freshwater resource per year?

A．Guyana

B．Brazil

C．Iceland

D．China

【小題3】Which country or region appears twice on the top 5 lists?

A．Bhutan

B．Seychelles

C．Canada

D．Suriname