专题限时训练(十二) [人物型阅读理解]

(限时：25分钟)

A

Patti Page, the top-selling female artist of the 1950s with more than 100 million records sold, died on January 2nd, 2013, when she was 85. She was one of the most beloved singers of the post-war era. Take her Tennessee Waltz for example, it sold more than 10 million copies and was her biggest hit.

Born in Claremore, Oklahoma, a small town near Tulsa, Page originally dreamed of a career in commercial art. Her first job in the art department at a local radio station soon led to performing on her own 15-minute programme.

At the age of 20, Page was discovered by big-band leader Jack Rael, who quit his job to become her manager. In 1948, she signed her first recording contract with Mercury Records and two years later enjoyed her first hit record. She stayed with Mercury for the next 14 years and recorded hit after hit including: With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming, and Old Cape Cod.

Her last hit was Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, recorded for the Bette Davis movie of the same name. And then, there was Doggie in the Window. The creative tune was a huge hit, but with its repeated barking sounds and silly lyrics(歌词), the song has been used by many people as an example of all that was wrong with pop music in the early 1950s.

Throughout the 1950s, Patti Page made regular appearances on television variety shows and in 1957 she was chosen to host the musical programme, The Big Record. The following year, Page appeared in her own CBS television series, The Patti Page Show. She continued to record and perform into the 21st century, most recently releasing an album of songs for children, a Christmas record, and a new “best of” collection.

Besides music, Patti Page did a bit of acting. She co-starred with the Oscar-winning Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry, and also starred on stage in the musical play Annie Get Your Gun.

1. According to the passage, Patti Page ________． A．wanted to be a singer as a child B．was born in a small town in 1927

C．was known mainly for her acting skills D．started her work as a TV programme hostess

2. According to the passage, which one of her following recorded songs was criticized?

A．Old Cape Cod.

B．Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte. C．Doggie in the Window.

D．With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming.

3. Tennessee Waltz is mentioned in the passage in order to show that ________． A．Patti Page was a beloved singer

1

B．Patti Page's songs were successful

C．Patti Page was the top-selling female artist D．Patti Page was good at recording songs

4. We can know from the passage that Patti Page ________． A．got to know Jack Rael in 1945

B．left Mercury Records at the age of 35 C．appeared in The Patti Page Show in 1957

D．wrote many songs for children in her late life 5. It is inferred from the passage that ________．

A．Patti Page gave up singing in public in her late life B．Patti Page's gift in art began to be shown in her teens

C．Patti Page's great success was due to her hard work and others' help

D．Patti Page was not only a successful singer but also a successful actress

B

American actor Johnny Depp can best be described as unconventional. From his early life, his path into acting and even in his choice of movie roles, we can see that Depp has seldom taken the easy road. His willingness to take risks and do the unexpected has made Depp one of the few Hollywood actors able to achieve huge commercial success while maintaining his artistic reputation.

Born in 1963, Depp was somewhat troublesome as a youth, occasionally turning to petty-crime and drugs. When his parents divorced in 1978, Depp dropped out of school against his mother's wishes and started a music band called the Kids. Although the band achieved some success, they were seldom able to make_ends_meet,_with Depp often unable to pay his rent, sleeping on friends' sofas and even in his car.

In 1983, the ever-optimistic Depp and his new wife, Lori Anderson, moved to Hollywood, California to further Depp's musical career. But life there continued to be a struggle and Depp was forced to take a job selling pens door to door to support his new family. His luck changed when Lori's ex-boyfriend, the famous actor Nicholas Cage, impressed by Depp's good looks and intelligence, suggested he become an actor and helped him get a small part in a movie. Several other minor movie roles—and a divorce from Lori—followed, before Depp got his big break three years later. He landed the leading role in the television series 21 Jump Street, playing a youthful undercover police officer. The hugely popular show turned Depp into a teenage heart-throb overnight. He appeared on the cover of countless magazines and was much sought after by movie producers, eager to exploit his popularity with teenage girls.

But Depp left 21 Jump Street after three years, when it was at the height of its popularity, later admitting that he hated the show's unoriginal storylines and his “pretty boy” character. In the decade that followed, Depp rejected repeated offers of “pretty boy” roles in big-budget Hollywood films. Instead he established himself as a serious, somewhat dark, peculiar performer, consistently selecting roles in smaller, independent films that surprise critics and audiences alike.

Even in the movie that made Depp an international superstar, The Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), he was barely recognizable as Captain Jack Sparrow, the British, long-haired golden-toothed pirate. This and subsequent hit movies have placed Depp

2

at the very top of the commercial film industry (with a pay-check of $20 million for each such movie), but he still continues to make the smaller, stranger films for which he is so greatly admired.

1. As a youth, Depp could be described as a ________． A．serious criminal B．trouble maker C．drug addict

D．successful musician

2. The underlined expression “make ends meet” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “________”．

A．get together after a show B．meet their audience C．play to the end D．earn enough to live

3. In which order did the following events take place in Depp's life? a. met Nicholas Cage

b. started a band called the Kids c. played a British pirate d. sold pens door to door

e. got married to Lori Anderson f. starred in a TV show A．d, b, e, a, c, f B．b, e, d, a, f, c C．a, b, f, c, d, e D．e, d, a, c, f, b

4. Why did Depp leave the TV show 21 Jump Street? A．The show was no longer popular. B．He wanted to perform in movies. C．He thought the show was terrible.

D．He rejected planned changes to his role.

5. Depp's choice of movie roles throughout most of his career suggests that ________．

A．he valued interesting work over money

B．he believed he couldn't play “pretty boy” roles well C．he was very popular with Hollywood movie producers

D．he was more interested in shocking audiences than entertaining

C

Greg Woodburn, a student at the University of Southern California, spends a lot of time cleaning sneakers he collected. But soon the shoes will be sent to poor children in the United States and 20 other countries, thanks to Woodburn's Share Our Shoes (S. O. S．) charity.

A high school track star in the town of Ventura, California, Woodburn was treated in hospital for months with knee and hip injuries.

“I started thinking about the health benefits, the friendship and the

3

confidence I got from running, ” he says, “And I realized there are children who don't even have shoes. ”

Woodburn gathered up his old sneakers, then asked his friends to donate. His goal was to have 100 pairs by Christmas 2006. When he collected more than 500 pairs, he decided to turn the shoe drive into a year-round endeavour.

Back then, the sneakers came from donation boxes at the YMCA and the local sporting goods store and from door-to-door pickups. Woodburn has now set up collection boxes at two high schools, city gym and recreation centre. He has started accepting adult sizes and sandals(凉鞋). So far, S. O. S. has collected and donated more than 3, 000 pairs.

Woodburn has cleaned all the shoes. After sorting the shoes by size, Woodburn selects the good shoes for the washing machine and the worn-out ones for recycling.

To ship the footwear, Woodburn teamed with Sports Gift, a non-profit organization that provides soccer and baseball equipment to children around the world. Keven Baxter, founder and president, says, “We'd send kids balls and shoes. I've heard that for many of these kids, these old sneakers are the only shoes they had. They wear them to school and to do sports. So Greg's running shoes were a nice addition for us.”

For many recipients(接受者), the shoes represent opportunity. Two young boys in Southern California attended school on alternate days because they shared a pair of shoes. They were too big for one boy and too small for the other. Thanks to S. O. S．， each brother received his own pair of shoes. The boys now attend school daily and enjoy their learning. When they graduate, they say, they will help a stranger, just as Woodburn helped them.

1. What caused Greg Woodburn to donate old shoes for poor children? A．The benefits from playing sports. B．News about some poor children. C．His reflection on school life. D．The medical treatment he received.

2. When collecting more sneakers than expected, Woodburn decided to________． A．include adult sizes and sandals B．set up branches in different cities C．collect shoes throughout the year

D．expand his endeavour in the whole city

3. How did Woodburn manage to deliver the shoes collected? A．By sending them by mail. B．By working with Sports Gift.

C．By advertising for those in need. D．By offering them from door to door.

4. What can we learn from Keven Baxter's remarks? A．Sports Gift is popular around the world. B．Many children need Greg's old sneakers.

C．Greg's running shoes are the best gifts for children.

D．Children need more soccer and baseball equipment than shoes.

4