People fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor in 1944, when she acted in the movie National Velvet — the story of Velvet Brown, a young girl who won first place in a famous horse race. At first, the producers of the movie told Elizabeth Taylor that she was too short to play the part of Velvet. However, they waited for four months until three inches (英寸) added to her height. Elizabeth Taylor’s acting in National Velvet is still considered to be the best and National Velvet became Elizabeth Taylor’s first success.

Elizabeth Taylor was born in London in 1932. Her parents, both Americans, had moved to London for business. When World War II started, the Taylors moved to California, where Elizabeth Taylor started acting in movies. After her success as a child star, Elizabeth Taylor had no trouble moving into adult roles and won the Academy Award twice for Best Actress for her performance in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1966).

Elizabeth Taylor is a legend (傳奇人物) of our time. Like Velvet Brown in National Velvet, Elizabeth Taylor was very lucky, and she was hard-working, beautiful, famous and rich. When Elizabeth Taylor got older, she seldom acted in movies. Instead, she spent most of time on her business, and she often helped others. Several years ago, she raised more than $40 million for research and education. In March, 2011, Elizabeth Taylor died at the age of 79.

1.The producers didn’t let Taylor play the part of Velvet at first because ______.

    A. she was not tall enough              B. she didn’t show interest

    C. she was not beautiful enough         D. she did not play well enough

2.Where did Elizabeth Taylor start acting in movies?

A. In New York.                         B. In Los Angeles.

C. In California.                           D. In London

3.When did Elizabeth Taylor win her first Academy Award for Best Actress?

    A. At the age of 12.                        B. At the age of 28.

    C. At the age of 31.                        D. At the age of 34.

4.What do you know about Velvet Brown in National Velvet?

A. She was not rich.                B. She was a famous actress.

    C. She was not well-known.      D. She won first place in a famous horse race.

5.The writer wrote this article to _______.

    A. encourage us to help others

B. advise us to watch National Velvet

    C. tell us how to be successful and famous

    D. give us some information about a successful star

Alan worked in an office in the city. He worked very hard and really looked forward to his holiday. He usually went to the seaside, but one year he saw an ad. in a newspaper “Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at William Farm. Good food, fresh air, horse riding, walking, fishing…”
“This sounds like a good idea.”he thought, I’ll spend a month at William Farm. I’ll go horse riding, walking and fishing. It’ll be different from the seaside.” Four days later, he returned home.
“What’s wrong with William Farm?”His friend Jack asked him.“Didn’t you enjoy country life?”
“Country life was fine,”Alan said.“But there was another problem.”
“Oh, what problem?”
“Well, the first day I was there, a sheep died, and we had roast(烤肉) mutton for dinner.”
“Fresh meat is the best.”
“I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner.”
“Lucky you!”
“You don’t understand,”Alan said,“On the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner.”
“A different roast every day.”Jack said.
“Let me finish.”Alan said,“On the fourth day a farmer died and I didn’t want to stay there for dinner.”
【小題1】Alan saw ________ in a news paper.

交際應用

從A－G選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項補全對話。（選項中有兩項是多余的）

A: Hello, Xiao Hong!

B: Hello!

A: You look a little upset.   76   .

B: Yes. It’s just my mom. She always nags(嘮叨)me.

A: Really? What does your mother nag you about?

B:  77  “ Get up now... Everything must be in place... Don’t forget your piano lesson...”

A: Well, all the mothers like saying these words to their children.

B: Also, I’m fond of pop music.  78  We don’t have the same interest in many things.

A:  79  But I should say she nags you because she cares about you. You’re lucky to have such a good mother.

B: I agree with you.   80  .

A: That’s right. Understanding is important. If your mom knows that everything is fine, she will never nag.

1. _______  2._______  3._______ 4._______5._______

Most people have jobs. They go to work nearly every day. Some people are lucky, because they have very interesting jobs. Some people must take a long time to learn how to do their jobs. For example, to be a doctor, one should study for at least five years.

Some young people have very interesting and high-paying jobs. Many young athletes are very successful. Football and tennis players are usually under 35 years old, for older people can’t play these sports very well. They can’t move fast enough. Golf, however, is a good sport for older people. Many golf players are quite old, but they can still play golf very well.

Most people work until they are about 60 years old. Then they retire and have a lot of free time. Some people never retire. These people usually have interesting jobs. Writers, artists, scientists and actors usually work till they are very old.

根據(jù)短文內容，選擇正確答案。

1.One should study for at least _________ years to be a doctor.

A. three         B. four          C. five         D. six

2.Which sport can old people play?

A. Football.      B. Tennis.       C. Basketball.    D. Golf.

3.What does the underlined word “retire” mean in Chinese?

A. 鍛煉         B. 學習        C. 退休        D. 養(yǎng)老

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Some people have interesting jobs, but some don’t.

B. People usually stop working when they are about 60 years old.

C. Football and tennis players can work as long as they like.

D. According to the passage, writers, artists and doctors have interesting jobs.

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Good jobs.                   B. Interesting jobs. 

C. Different jobs.                D. High-paying jobs.

Dear Dad，
Happy birthday to you !
On this special day I’d like to talk to you 16 a special way．
I don’t think I am good at  17 you my thought face to face with you，so I’m writing to show my deep love for you．
You’re not a rich man or a famous person．But in my heart，you are one of the greatest  18 in the world．I am  19  you．
You are  20 interested in fame and wealth．You do  21 things like paying phone bills on time，and working as a worker in your factory．The smile on your face shows you are pleased with the family．You take good care of my grandparents．You help me with my schoolwork and do some shopping with Mom on Sundays．
In the past，I didn’t care  22 you were with me or not．Now I am sorry to say I  23 you the respect before．But I am thankful for what you have done for me． I am quite lucky that I have  24  a great father．And I feel happy that now I can let you  25 how much I love you．You are successful as a son，a husband，a father，and a friend．
Wish you happy forever!
Yours，David