I was 68 when I first stepped on stage as a standup comedian in 2003.I'd never set foot in a comedy club before.I've always been a performer - I've worked as a singer，actor and musician - but all that came to an end after 9/11.I live in New York，and we watched the twin towers fall from my apartment building.For a year afterwards，nobody wanted to go out or be entertained.
It was then that I started to think about comedy.I realised people needed to laugh，to enjoy themselves again，and thought that with a little training I could do it.I took a few classes，tried to work out a routine，and finally plucked up the courage to get up on stage.That first time was terrifying.I had no idea what the audience would make of me.
In New York，comedians are typically young men with beards.It's hard enough to break through as a woman，even harder as someone old enough to be their grandmother.As I stepped on stage that first time，people laughed nervously.They were clearly surprised to see me.I introduced myself，stated my age and tried my first joke.There was silence.But by the time I got to the third line，people were properly laughing，I was addicted.
Now my sets differ.I might be on stage for 10 minutes in front of a dozen people，or my one-woman show is a full hour in front of a crowd of 100.Even today，I'm nervous before I step out.My first line is， "Hello，everybody.I'm 88 and three-quarters years old.I'm telling you that in case I don't make it all the way through the show." Then people laugh and I relax.
After a show，people young and old come up to me，saying what an inspiration I am.They say they want to be as active as me when they reach my age.I'm pleased I can show that as an older person you don't need to take a back seat in life.
I've no intention of stopping comedy.I'm taking all these pills，trying to stay alive，and I hope to still be performing when I'm 100.My goal is to still be up there making people laugh.It's hard work，but it stops me being bored.I'd only be playing golf otherwise
（1）What made the writer take up comedy？ BB
A．She wanted to overcome her fears
B．She wanted to brighten others' lives
C．She was unwilling to quit performing
D．She wanted to work out a routine
（2）Why does the writer mention young men with beards in Paragraph 3？ AA
A．To show the challenge she was facing
B．To explain her attraction to the job
C．To illustrate her special advantage
D．To describe her new friends in comedy
（3）How has the writer made progress since her first performance？ DD
A．She now performs before larger audiences
B．She no longer feels nervous before performances
C．She remains on the stage for a longer time
D．She has learned to make a joke of her age
（4）Which of the following statements would the writer agree with？ AA
A．Age is just a number
B．Advancing years bring greater wisdom
C．Old age means a chance to sit back
D．Being elderly means you have to slow down
【考點(diǎn)】記敘文；義務(wù)與責(zé)任．
【答案】B；A；D；A
【解答】
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發(fā)布：2024/5/11 8:0:9組卷：19引用：6難度：0.3
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1．Roald Dahl was a spy，an ace fighter pilot，a chocolate historian and a medical inventor.He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory，Matilda，The BFG，and a treasury of original，evergreen，and beloved children's books.He remains for many the world's No.1 storyteller.
Born in Llandaff，Wales，on 13th September 1916 to Norwegian parents，Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg，Dahl was named after Roald Amundsen，the Norwegian who had been the first man to reach the South Pole just four years earlier.A heroic start in life.
Wanting the best for her only son，his mother sent him to a boarding school - Repton，a renowned British public school.With schooldays happily behind him，Dahl's lust for travel took him first to Canada，then to East Africa，where he worked for an oil company until the outbreak of World War Ⅱ.He enlisted in the Royal Air Force at 23 years old.In 1953 Roald Dahl married the American actress，Patricia Neal，with whom he had five children.
There followed a burst of literary energy as his endless creativity led to one wonder after another：in 1961 James and the Giant Peach was published in the US，followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.Fantastic Mr.Fox was published in 1970，the year before the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was released.The rest of the decade saw the publication of many other classics，including Danny the Champion of the World，The Enormous Crocodile，and My Uncle Oswald.
Roald Dahl died on 23 November 1990，aged 74.He was buried in the parish church of St.Peter and St.Paul in Great Missende - the Buckinghamshire village where today The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre continues his extraordinary mission to amaze，thrill and inspire generations of children and their parents.
（1）What do you know about Ronald Dahl？
A．He was born in Norway.
B．He was talented in many fields.
C．His mother worked in a school.
D．His father reached the South Pole.
（2）What does the underlined word "lust" in Paragraph 3 mean？
A．Vain hope.
B．Special care.
C．Strong desire.
D．Main concern.
（3）How is Paragraph 4 mainly developed？
A．By giving examples.
B．By analyzing causes.
C．By presenting figures.
D．By making comparisons.
（4）Which words can best describe the children's books penned by Ronald Dahl？
A．Amazing and humorous.
B．Educational and serious.
C．Imaginative and scary.
D．Fascinating and encouraging.發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：3引用：2難度：0.5 -
2．On Thursday，many people were remembering the American writer Theodore Seuss Geisel -better known as "Dr Seuss"．
Geisel is one of the world's most famous authors of books for children．March 2 would have seen his 113th birthday．He was born in 1904 in Springfield，Massachusetts．He died in 1991．In his honor，March 2 is known as both "Dr Seuss Day"and，in many places， "World Book Day"．The aim of the observance（慶祝）is to celebrate literature and urge children around the world to read．
On Thursday，the hashtags（話題標(biāo)簽）#DrSeuss and #WorldBookDay were two of the top trending topics on Twitter．
Dr Seuss is known for his fantastical and humorous books for young children．His books are filled with colorful pictures and fun rhymes（韻）．Dr Seuss'works include The Cate in the Hat，Green Eggs and Ham and The Lorax．He helped generations of children learn to read - and to love reading．His books have been published in some 20 languages．
Many people used "World Book Day"to express thanks for Dr Seuss'books．One person tweeted "Thank you for making life more colorful"．Others honored other favorite authors，including Roald Dahl，Maurice Sendak and J．K．Rowling．
For bookworms，however，every day may seem like a World Book Day．A "bookworm"is an informal name for someone who loves to read．As one person tweeted， "In my world，every day is World Book Day"．
If you missed out on World Book Day，you will have another chance later this year to celebrate books and reading．The United Nations marks World Book and Copyright Day on April =23．That is the date that several of the world's greatest writer died．They include England's William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes of Spain．
（1）What can we infer from the passage？
A．De Seuss'books have been influential in Children's reading．
B．Dr Seuss was best remembered because of his book The Lorax．
C．Books with colorful pictures and fun rhymes are attractive to people．
D．Dr Seuss，Roald Dahl，J．K．Rowling lived in the same age．
（2）Who is remembered on World book and Copyright Day？
A．Roald Dahl．
B．Maurice Sendak．
C．Miguel de Cervantes．
D．J．K．Rowling．
（3）What can be the best title of the passage？
A．The Life of Dr Seuss
B．Children's Books Written by Dr Seuss
C．Trending Topics on Twitter
D．Dr Seuss Honored on World Book Day發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：6引用：1難度：0.5 -
3．When Laura wanted to go into the garden by the back door，it was blocked by servants．
Something had happened．
"What's the matter？What's happened？"
"There's been a horrible accident/ said the cook． "A man killed．"
"A man killed!Where？How？When？"
"Know those little cottages just below here，Miss？" Know them？Of course，Laura knew them． "Well，there's a young guy living there，name of Scott，a carter His horse shied （受驚）at a traction-engine，and he was thrown out on the back of his head．Killed．"
"Dead!" Laura stared at the cook．
"Dead when they picked him up，" said the cook． 'Just now they were taking the body home．He'﹩left a wife and five little ones．"
"Jose，come here．" Laura caught her sister's sleeve and dragged her through the kitchen into the garden．There she paused． "Jose!" she said，horrified， ''however are we going to stop everything？'
"Stop everything，Laura!" cried Jose in astonishment． "What do you mean？"
"Stop the garden party，of course．Why did Jose pretend？"
But Jose was still more amazed． "Stop the garden party？My dear Laura，don't be so absurd．Of course we can't do anything of the kind．Nobody expects us to．Don't be so extravagant．"
"But we can't possibly have a garden party with a man dead just outside the front gate．"
That really was extravagant．Those little cottages，those miserable houses，had no right to be in that rich neighbourhood in the first place．When Laura and Jose were little they were even forbidden to set foot there because of the rude language and of what they might see．It was dirty and disgusting．
"And just think of what the band would sound like to that poor woman，" said Laura．
"Oh，Laura!" Jose began to be seriously annoyed，"If you're going to stop a band playing every time some one has an accident，you'll lead a very difficult life，I'm every bit as sorry about it as you．But you won't bring a drunken workman back to life by being sentimental（多愁善感的）．"
"Drunk!Who said he was drunk？" Laura turned angrily on Jose， "I'm going straight up to tell mother．"
"Do，dear，" said Jose，gently．
"Mother，can I come into your mom？" Laura turned the big glass door-knob．
"Of course，child．Why，what's the matter？What's given you such a colour？" And Mrs．Sheridan turned round from her dressing-table．She was trying on a new hat．
"Mother，a man's been killed，" began Laura．
"Not in the garden？" interrupted her mother．
"No，no!"
"Oh，what a fright you gave me!" Mrs．Sheridan sighed with relief and took off the big hat and held it on her knees．
"But listen，mother，" said Laura，Breathless，half-choking，she told the dreadful story． "Of course，we can't have our party，can we？" she begged． "The band and everybody arriving．And the poor family would hear us，mother；they're nearly neighbours!"
"Oh，Laura's astonishment her mother behaved just like Jose；it was harder to bear because she seemed amused．She refused to take Laura seriously．"
"But，my dear child，use your common sense．If some one had died there normally 一 and I can't understand how they keep alive in those little holes 一 we should still be having our party，shouldn't we？"
Laura had to say "yes" to that，but she felt it was all wrong．
"Mother，isn't it terribly heartless of us？" she asked．
"Darling!" Mrs．Sheridan got up and came over to her，carrying the hat． "My child!" said her mother， "the hat is yours．It's made for you．Wow!Look at yourself!And she held up her hand-mirror．
"But，mother，" Laura began again．She couldn't look at herself；she turned aside．
This time Mrs．Sheridan lost patience just as Jose had done．
"You are being very absurd，Laura，" she said coldly． "People like that don't expect sacrifices from us．And it's not very sympathetic to spoil everybody's enjoyment as you're doing now，"
"I don't understand，'' murmured Laura．Then，quite by chance，she saw this charming girl in the mirror，in the beautiful hat．Never had she imagined she could look like that．Is mother right？she thought．And now she hoped her mother was right．Am I being extravagant？Perhaps．Just for a moment she had another glimpse of that poor woman and those little children，and the body being carried into the house．But it all seemed blurred，unreal，like a picture in the newspaper．I'll remember it again after the party's over，she decided．And somehow that seemed quite the best plan …
（1）Laura suggested stopping everything because．
A．something bad had happened in the garden
B．her neighbours were experiencing great grief
C．the servants blocked the back door of the garden
D．she wanted to provide material help for the poor family
（2）What does the last paragraph mainly tell us？
A．Laura was trying to submit herself to her family．
B．The news of the carter's death finally hit the headlines．
C．Laura hoped mother was right in choosing that hat for her．
D．A poor man's death was little more than an unimportant thing．
（3）What will most probably happen following this story？
A．Laura came up with a best plan to solve all this．
B．Laura managed to persuade her mother and sister．
C．The party just continued as planned in the garden．
D．The poor widow came over to scold the band．
（4）Which of the following can best describe Laura？
A．Sentimental and persistent．
B．Optimistic and easy-going．
C．Considerate and sympathetic．
D．Hardworking and open-minded．
（5）What does the underlined word "extravagant" probably mean？
A．Too sensible．
B．Not practical
C．Too upright．
D．Not sympathetic．
（6）Which of the following can be the best title of the story？
A．The garden party．
B．The quarrel．
C．The rich and the poor．
D．The death of a neighbour．發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：15引用：1難度：0.7
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