Who is the best-known host for talk show in the USA? Oprah Gail Winfrey, of course! So when she said she would stop hosting the talk show in the new year，other talk show hosts are mad with joy!

Oprah Gail Winfrey is a black woman．She was born in a small village in America on January 29，1954．Her parents were very poor．For her family，life seemed to hold no promise．Being black and a woman made life even more difficult in America at that time．But there was nothing that could stop Oprah．She was a bright girl at school．In 1971，while still in high school，she began working part-time on a radio program．After graduation at the age of 19，she started working for television and began hosting the local evening news．A few years later，she won a college scholarship（ 獎學金 ）that allowed her to go to university．In 1984，she moved to Chicago．There she became the hostess of talk show．

Oprah is quick-minded．Many famous people appear in her talk show，including Michael Jackson，who never accepted such interview before 1993．Her talk show has become the best programme of its kind in history．Viewers like her programme because she does her work in a natural way and she is just like a close friend，sharing with them everything she knows，from the diet to the outside world．

Oprah has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century and beyond，the greatest black philanthropist（慈善家）in American history，and was once the world’s only black woman billionaire（億萬富翁）。She is als0，according to some survey，the most influential woman in the world．

1．What programme does Oprah Winfrey host?

A．Talk show．        B．Game show．       C．Documentary．     D．News．

2．Which of the following did NOT make life difficult for Oprah in her early life?

A．She was born in a poor family．              B．She was black．

C．She was born in a small village．              D．She was a woman．

3．When did Oprah start working for television?

A．In 1954．          B．In 1971．          C．In 1973．          D．In 1984．

4．Which of the following is RIGHT according to the passage?

A．Oprah has never interviewed Michael Jackson．

B．Oprah doesn't like doing charities．

C．Oprah is the only black woman billionaire in the world now．

D．Oprah is a black woman of great achievements．

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have just opened a small restaurant. In order to attract customers, they put a notice in front of the restaurant, which said: “Meals on the house for three days.”

A foreign student who didn’t know much English passed by the restaurant on the second day. It was lunchtime and he felt hungry. “Well, here is a restaurant. I’m going to have something to eat,” he said.

He saw the notice when he walked towards the restaurant. “American people are really strange. They even eat dinners on the house! But how can I get onto the top of the house?” he asked himself.

He looked around and found a ladder（梯子）against a tree nearby. He was very glad. But as he reached the top, he heard someone shouting at him: “Hey, what are you doing up there?” Mr Smith was looking at him angrily. Beside him was a policeman.

“Doesn’t your notice say ‘Meals on the house for three days’? Is it just a joke?” the foreign student answered.

On hearing this, both Mr Smith and the policeman burst into laughter(開懷大笑). “Do you know what On The House means?”

Do you know the meaning of On The House?

1.The Smiths have ____________.

A. opened a restaurant      B. built a house

C. climbed onto the top     D. been policemen

2.The student walked past the restaurant ___________.

A. when the Smiths started their business

B. when the Smiths put on the notice

C. when the policeman came to the restaurant

D. when it was time to have lunch

3.The student ____________ so Mr Smith shouted at him.

A. was very hungry

B. knew little about English

C. climbed onto the top of the house

D. took away the ladder

4.“On the house” may mean that the meal _____________.

A. is had on the house     B. is paid on the house

C. is made on the house    D. is free for the customers

 

 

Garden Hotel Address: 222 People’s Street Phone: 514-6023 The number of rooms: 120 Single room: $25  Double room: $35 Special attractions (吸引人的東西): French restaurant, swimming pool, coffee shop, phone and TV in each room, near the city center

Gloria Hotel Address: 129 North Street Phone: 595-5620 The number of rooms: 50 Single room: $12  Double room: $18 Special attractions: Close to the airport, phone in each room, restaurant

Dreamers’ Hotel Address: 233 People’s Street Phone: 641-6946 The number of rooms: 120 Single room: $15  Double room: $20 Special attractions: Near the gym, Chinese restaurant, coffee shop

No.1 Hotel Address: 1264 Children’s Street Phone: 643-8211 The number of rooms: 180 Single room: $30  Double room: $50 Special attractions: Japanese restaurant and Chinese restaurant, swimming pool, large garden

1. _____ and _____ have the same number of rooms.

A．Garden Hotel, Gloria Hotel                B．Garden Hotel, Dreamers’ Hotel

C．Gloria Hotel, NO.1 Hotel                  D．Dreamers’ Hotel, NO.1 Hotel

2.What can we know about Garden Hotel and Gloria Hotel?

A．They both have a phone in each room.       B．They both have a swimming pool.

C．They are both near the city center.          D．They both have a TV in each room.

3.The most expensive double room is _____ dollars in _____.

A．50, Dreamers’ Hotel                   B．50, NO.1 Hotel

C．35, NO.1 Hotel                          D．20, Dreamers’ Hotel

4.In Dreamers’ Hotel and NO. 1 Hotel, you can _____.

A．have a good time swimming                B．enjoy delicious Chinese food

C．eat great French food                    D．have coffee in a large garden

5.Which of the following is TRUE?

A．We can call NO.1 Hotel at 595-5620.         B．Dreamers’ Hotel is on North Street.

C．Only Gloria Hotel is near the airport.         D．Gloria Hotel is near Garden Hotel.

 

A fish that lives in America can live out. of water for months at a time, similar to how animals got used to land millions of years ago, a new study shows.
The Mangrove Rivulus, a kind of little fish, lives in small pools of water. When their living place dries up, they live. on the land, said Scott Taylor, a researcher in Florida.                        
The fish can grow as large as three inches. They group together and breathe air through their skin before they can find water again.
The new scientific discovery came during a trip.
"We were travelling for fun. and one day I kicked over a log (圓木) and the fish came out," Taylor told reporters by telephone. He said he would make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year.
In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating.
Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at a time, while lungfish(肺魚) found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in a not active(活波的)way. But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and keep active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at a Canadian University.
More studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time.
"These animals live in conditions similar to those millions of years ago, when animals began to move from water onto land," Wright said.
【小題1】The Mangrove Rivulus is a type of fish that_________.

A．lives on land in Africa

B．can stay alive for months out of water

C．prefers living in dry places

D．is the longest living fish on earth

【小題2】Who will write a report on Mangrove Rivulus?
A, Scott Taylor.                     B. Some reporters.
C. Patricia Wright.                   D. Scientists from Europe.
【小題3】According to the passage, lungfish can___________.

A．breathe through its skin	B．be found in Asia
C．keep alive out of water	D．keep alive and walk on land

【小題4】Which one of the sentences below is not true?

A．The Mangrove Rivulus fish can live out of water as long as other animals if it has something to eat.

B．Millions of years ago, animals began to live onto land from water.

C．Lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water in a not active way.

D．The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at a time.

【小題5】What can we say about the discovery of Mangrove Rivulus?

A．ft was made by Scott Taylor, a researcher in New york.

B．It was helped by an American magazine.

C．It was helped by Patricia Wright.

D．It was made by a researcher while travelling.

1 

Once there was a piano player in a bar. People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.

"I don't sing," said the man.

But the lady told the waiter, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!

The waiter shouted across the room, "Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!'

So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!

He had talent(天賦) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.

1.The lady asked the player to sing a song because _____.

A. she had paid him for this

B. she knew him very well

C. she wanted to have a change

D. she enjoyed his singing

2.Nat King Cole succeeded because _____.

A. the lady helped him a lot

B. he caught the chance

C. he continued to play in the bar

D. he stopped playing the piano

3.The words "sit on" in the passage probably mean"

A.參加                 B.擱置            C. 開發(fā)                D.展示

4.Which could be the best title for the passage?

A. Sing in the Bar

B. Achieve Success in Life

C. Never Lose Heart

D. Find Your Hidden Talent