Reading Comprehension
A
“It’s funny. I think a lot of people, a lot of writers, try to take shortcuts in their assignments and just regurgitate (照搬) what somebody else may have written, you know, instead of truly saying what’s going on,” Kobe says. “I’m no different than anybody. Basketball to me is a game that I want to try to be the best at, and try to work at it as much as possible. But I understand it’s a game. But I’m extremely outgoing. People say, ‘He’s quiet’ and all that stuff. That’s crazy. They obviously don’t know me. So, I mean, people that know me and people that see me interact... stuff like that... I’m completely opposite of what they read. And a lot of people actually tell me that. They’ll say, ‘Man, you’re nothing like I thought you were.’”
?I just go. I just go. I just keep going until it feels right to me,” Kobe says of his habits. “If something doesn’t feel right, I’m gonna stay there until I get it right. I just continue to keep pushing and pushing and pushing. That’s all I’ve known. That抯 how my parents raised me. If you抮e going to be focused on something, if you want to do something, you can抰, you can抰 go about it halfway. You really gotta dedicate (ht. 奉献) yourself to it. Try to be the best at it. That’s the only way.”
“I’m playing against great players, playing against the best in the world. The competition — that’s what I’ve always wanted.”
“My parents are my backbone. Still are. They’re the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot. As far as carrying the torch (火炬) for the years to come, I don抰 know. I just want to be the be st basketball player I can be.”
To Kobe, everything negative — pressure, or challenges — is all an opportunity for him to rise.
1. In Kobe’s opinion, some writers just ____.
A. want to say something bad
B. parrot others’ words
C. get a shorter way than others
D. say what is going on
2. According to Kobe himself, what kind of person is he?
A. He is a little talented at basketball.
B. He is more hard-working than other players.
C. He is the same as what people think of him.
D. He is just like common people.
3. In the second paragraph, Kobe mainly talks about ____.
A. his experiences of growing up with basketball
B. his advantages and disadvantages in basketball
C. his own attitude towards basketball training
D. his great contribution to the basketball career
4. What can we infer from the last four paragraphs?
A. Kobe handed water to his teammates before he began his career.
B. Kobe is very thankful for his parents’ unconditional support.
C. Winning a game requires a player to do all kinds of jobs.
D. It is Kobe’s first aim to play against the best players.
B
Lei Tongxia first knew Longju Drama, a unique traditional opera from Northwest China’s Gansu Province, when she was 12 and living in a local village. Since then, she has been addicted to it.
?At the beginning, I sang and danced with old villagers for fun, or I just performed it to kill time and wanted to perform with others in this way,” said Lei, 50, who is vice-president of the Gansu Dramatists Association. “But to my surprise, Longju Drama, which is filled with magic power, has influenced my growth since then. I went on to learn a lot about the traditional drama and decided to be a professional performer after I went to a local art school.”
As a first-class State artist, Lei often took the piece to grassroots(基层的) areas where such entertainment originated during the Han Dynasty out of the folk tradition, with narration and singing first accompanied by percussion instruments(打击乐器) and later by the melodic sounds of shadow puppetry(皮影戏的旋律音色).
As a deputy(代表) to the 12th National People抯 Congress, she now has concerns a bout how to protect, develop or even 搑escue?such drama as it disappears across the country. 揘ow, the number of performers of such work in the province抯 State-owned theaters i色).
s fewer than 300,” she said. Only around 80 of those based at her workplace, the province’s Longju Drama theater, are still able to perform the work. The drama is faced with the danger of being lost.
?The problem of preserving such traditional arts has been serious in recent years because people, especially young people, have no idea about them and do not know how to learn the skills, even if they are interested in them,” she said.
Lei submitted a suggestion during this meeting, suggesting governments find ways to mix traditional drama-related knowledge into music classes and popularize them among students in primary schools.
1. Longju Drama, filled with magic power, ____.
A. dates back to the modern times
B. is popular with young people
C. is a unique traditional local opera
D. is a kind of film without sound
2. For what purpose did Lei Tongxia perform Longju Drama at first?
① To enjoy it.
② To make a living.
③ To pass the time.
④ To carry it forward.
A. ②③
B. ①③
C. ②④
D. ①④
3. It can be known from the passage that ____.
A. it is urgent to preserve Longju Drama
B. ways have been found to preserve Longju Drama
C. Longju Drama will be popularized in primary schools
D. Longju Drama is not worth to be preserved
4. Why has preserving Longju Drama been serious in recent years?
A. Because people don’t like it.
B. Because it is hard to learn.
C. Because it is out of date.
D. Because people don’t know about it.
5. As a first-class State artist, Lei ____.
A. is working hard to protect Longju Drama
B. makes great contributions to shadow puppetry
C. was addicted to Longju Drama when she was at the art school
D. is also interested in entertainment originated during the Han Dynasty
C
Whether they have worked to develop their abilities or were simply born with them, some of us are able to accomplish things that most would think possible only in comic books. While some of the unbelievable abilities are as a result of highly specialized changes in the physical make-up of the body, others have trained their natural abilities beyond what we would consider possible.
Michel Lotito had the ability to eat and digest something special, including metal glass and even poisonous material. He cuts up and consumes a variety of objects during his life, like bicycles and old televisions. Michel has a stomach twice as thick as normal, and he swallows around nine tons of things mentioned above during his life before dying of natural causes.
Scott Flanzburg has such great math skills that he抯 regarded as the fastest human calculat or. He is able to add, subtract(减), multiply, divide and even calculates square and cube roots in his head faster than the most gifted mathematicians. He is often invited to various TV shows and conferences.
15 years ago, Ma Xiangang saw a sudden flash of light and found a broken electrical wire outside his house. While trying to move it he suddenly realized that the line he was holding was alive, leading him to discover he was immune to electricity. Later tests showed that Ma could bear 220 volts(伏) of electricity without injury. Gradually, Ma became addicted to electricity, to the point that he now says he actually feels active by touching it.
Wim Hof’s ability to bear extreme cold may not seem like a superhuman power unless you consider he can do it for 5 hours and 25 minutes straight, wearing no shoes and only a pair of shorts in the arctic circle, or the temperature is nearly -4°F. Wim says that he can bear extreme cold temperatures because he can turn his own thermostat (恒温器) up by using his mind.
Scientific studies have suggested anyone can develop their own talents to such a degree as to be even considered amazing superhumans.
1. According to the author a superhuman is the one ____.
A. whose ability was formed when he was just born
B. who can finish what most people think impossible
C. who developed his ability when he was a child
D. who eats or digests anything you think difficult to eat
2. Who has the strongest ability of the stomach?
A. Wim Hof.
B. Ma Xiangang.
C. Michel Lotito.
D. Scott Flanzburg.
3. Ma Xiangang discovered he was immune to electricity by ____.
A. holding a wire alive by chance
B. experiencing a number of tests
C. experiencing a sudden flash of light
D. moving the electrical wire by his body
4. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Wim uses his mind to turn on the thermostat of his body.
B. Scott Flanzburg is able to calculate faster than a calculator.
C. It is possible for everyone to become an amazing superhuman.
D. Scott Flanzburg has attended many TV shows.