Check your understanding:

1. All of the following belongs to Blunt EXCEPT ____.

A. Back to Bedlam B. Silent Night

C. Goodbye My Lover D. You're Beautiful

2. Which of the following proves "Blunt took an unusual path to stardom"?

A. Blunt was 34 when be became famous.

B. Blunt recorded his most famous song in a bathroom.

C. Blunt's father wanted him to have a secure job.

D. Blunt began to pursue a career in music after military service.

3. We can infer from the passage that ____.

A. Blunt is living in Los Angeles at present

B. Blunt rose to fame two years after he left the army

C. Blunt became successful immediately he recorded his first song

D. Blunt has changed his father's attitude towards music

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Blunt's visit to China .

B. Blunt's military life.

C. How Blunt became famous.

D. How Blunt's father fell in love with music.

1. B 。由第四段“ The only music he heard growing up was ‘Happy Birthday' and ‘Silent Night'. ”可知 Silent Night 非 James Blunt 创作。

2. D 。第三段至第九段都是讲 Blunt 不平凡的成功之路，而我们可看出他最大的特别之处在于他出生于军人家庭，自己又是军人退伍之后才走上音乐生涯的，故 D 项符合题意。

3. D 。文中第八段提到了“ So, after leaving the British Army he moved to Los Angeles and worked on his first album. ”第九段又提到了“ Blunt took his new album back to England where it was not very successful. ”可知他现在应该是住在英国，而且他的第一部作品并不成功，故 A 、 C 项不对；由第七段“ One of his final duties in the army before retirement was carrying the coffin at the funeral of the Queen Mother of England in 2002. ”可知 Blunt2002 年退伍，由第一段“ His first album, Back to Bedlam, and his number one hit, You're Beautiful, brought him fame in 2005. ”可知他成名于 2005 年，即退伍后第三年，故 B 也不对。由最后一段“ But his greatest accomplishment might be that his father now enjoys music! ”可知 D 项正确。

4. C 。全文主要是讲述了 Blunt 不平凡的成功之路，由一名退伍士官转变为歌手，故 C 项较好地概括了文章主题。

1. What's the main idea of the passage?

A. Sarkozy had his first state visit to Britain with his wife.

B. Brown greeted the French First Lady with a kiss on the cheek.

C. How to kiss politely puzzles both the socially shy and outgoing people.

D. Kissing is different in different cultures.

2. Why was kissing a problem for Brown when he greeted Carla Bruni-Sarkozy?

A. Because Brown is a typical British conservative.

B. Because it was the first time Brown had met Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

C. Because the social kissing culture in Britain and France are quite different.

D. Because Brown didn't know much about France .

3. We can learn from the text that in Britain, ____.

A. people only kiss their family members and close friends

B. people usually greet their friends with one kiss on either side of the cheek

C. it's more often for a man to kiss a woman's hand than to kiss her cheek

D. it's considered better manners for a man to kiss a woman's hand

4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?

A. In the Netherlands , when greeting, most people move first to the right side.

B. In Belgium, people usually kiss each other twice on each cheek.

C. Austrian guys/girls are likely to greet each other by the double kiss.

D. In Spain, it's polite to kiss your friends' right cheek first.

1. D 。本文介绍了不同国家的亲吻社交礼仪，因此 D 项为最佳选项。

2. C 。结合文章主题以及下文谈到的英法两国不同的亲吻礼仪，可以看出 Gordon Brown 的问题主要是由于英法两国亲吻礼仪存在差异。

3. B 。第四段详细介绍了英国的亲吻礼仪，由“ In Britain, however, people usually kiss on one cheek and either side will be fine. ”可知 B 项正确，英国人一般只会亲吻一次，左右脸颊都可； A 项文中没有提及；由“ In the country, it used to be common for a man to kiss a woman's hand. This was considered good manners but nowadays only the upper classes would do something so old-fashioned! ”男士亲吻女士的手只是在以前常见，现在并不流行了；既然现在已经不流行了，那么也就不会被认为是更有礼貌了。

4. B 。由 Kissing mystery: how they do it across Europe 部分的 Belgium: If you are the similar age to the other person, one kiss is the rule. 可知 B 项不对。由 Netherlands ： Right cheek first ； Spain and Austria: They are content with the two kisses ritual. In Spain, the rule is strictly right cheek first. 可知 A 、 C 、 D 项所述都是正确的。

1. Which of the following is NOT true about Arthur Clarke?

A. He wrote more than 100 science fictions.

B. All of his predictions turned out to be correct.

C. He believed in extra-terrestrials.

D. He once studied at King's College.

2. By saying "Sir Arthur's feet were firmly on the ground", the writer means ____.

A. Sir Arthur had never voyaged into space

B. Sir Arthur observed stars on the ground

C. Sir Arthur was too heavy to fly into space

D. Sir Arthur was always realistic and sensible

3. What's the writer's attitude towards Sir Arthur?

A. respectful B. negative C. doubtful D. critical

1. B 。由第六段的“ He also got things wrong, of course. He predicted that humans would land on Mars by 1994… ”可知 B 项所述不正确，故选 B 。

2. D 。由第四段进一步所述“ His visions did not predict the future in his science fiction, he insisted. He simply extrapolated. After all, he had written six stories about the end of the Earth; they couldn't all be true. The point was never to say what would happen for certain, but to ask what might happen. ”可知第三段的“ Sir Arthur's feet were firmly on the ground ”表示 Sir Arthur 是一个脚踏实地，实事求是的人，所以 D 项为最佳选项。

3. A 。由最后一段“ We don't know whether those predictions will come true or not, but we are sure Clarke will live long in our hearts and memories. ”可知 A 项符合题意。

1. This story aims at ____.

A. covering some facts

B. delivering a lesson

B. giving people a good laugh

D. promoting the business of Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

2. What can we infer from the text?

A. The old couple made a reservation in the hotel in advance.

B. The old couple was too poor to afford a glamorous hotel.

C. The clerk was willing to help those in need.

D. The clerk didn't feel surprised when receiving the old man's invitation.

3. The word "conventions" in paragraph 3 means ____.

A. businessmen B. rooms C. hotels D. meetings

4. Which proverb suits the story best?

A. Every little thing helps.

B. Every dog has its day.

C. One good turn deserves another.

D. Make hay while the sun shines.

1. B 。本文通过讲述 George C. Boldt 由一个小旅店的前台工作人员变为 Waldorf-Astoria Hotel 酒店经理的故事，告诉我们在生活中要多做善事，多关心帮助周围的人。因此 B 项符合题意。

2. C 。由第 3 — 6 段可以看出 the clerk 是一个很乐于助人的人，故 C 项正确。由第一、二段可知这对老夫妻并没有预先订房；由倒数第二段“ “I can assure you I am not,” said the old man, whose name was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. ”可知这个老人很富有，故 B 项错误；由第八段“ Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man. ”可推知他收到信的时候肯定很惊讶，故 D 项也不对。

3. D 。第三、四段提到了“镇上有三个 ____ ，因此所有房间都已经满了。”因此只有 D 项满足语境，三个会议同时召开，导致住店旅客多，以至于酒店满员了。

4. C 。文章主要是告诉我们善有善报，平时要多行善，所以 C 项谚语（善有善报）最贴近文章主题。

A 项“千里之行始于足下”、 C 项“人人皆有得意时”、 D 项“趁热打铁”与文章主题还是有出入。