Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.
For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(適合大眾口味的音樂) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".
What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.
It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.
In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.
For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.
【小題1】Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________.

A．the sales of her second album achieved an incredible success last week in the UK

B．her second album ranked first in a row with the incredible average sales per week

C．Madonna was the last female singer in the UK to stay at No. 1 as long as she did

D．she is such an ordinary singer with so fascinating a voice in the music industry

【小題2】According to the author, the success of Adele’s second album __________________.

A．to a large extent depends on her apparent talent for music

B．is because of her extraordinariness and the wonderful voice

C．lies in gift, timing and something beyond sex, age and trust

D．is largely due to the state of the music industry currently

【小題3】Compared with other female pop stars, what does the author think of Adele?

A．She stands out in a totally different way from Gaga and Beyonce.

B．She and Madonna are contemporary megastars in music.

C．Only she and Madonna spent that long at No.1 in the UK.

D．Jessie J and she both have an American habit of expressing themselves.

【小題4】What helped Adele successfully turned her gift of singing into sales?

A．Her musical talent.

B．The joint work of musicians in the album.

C．Her incredible voice.

D．Her universality and broad appeal.

【小題5】The author thinks that the current musical trend in the UK is _______________.

A．satisfying

B．disappointing

C．dangerous

D．desperate

Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.

For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(適合大眾口味的音樂) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".

What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.

It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.

In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.

For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.

1.Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________.

A．the sales of her second album achieved an incredible success last week in the UK

B．her second album ranked first in a row with the incredible average sales per week

C．Madonna was the last female singer in the UK to stay at No. 1 as long as she did

D．she is such an ordinary singer with so fascinating a voice in the music industry

2.According to the author, the success of Adele’s second album __________________.

A．to a large extent depends on her apparent talent for music

B．is because of her extraordinariness and the wonderful voice

C．lies in gift, timing and something beyond sex, age and trust

D．is largely due to the state of the music industry currently

3.Compared with other female pop stars, what does the author think of Adele?

A．She stands out in a totally different way from Gaga and Beyonce.

B．She and Madonna are contemporary megastars in music.

C．Only she and Madonna spent that long at No.1 in the UK.

D．Jessie J and she both have an American habit of expressing themselves.

4.What helped Adele successfully turned her gift of singing into sales?

A．Her musical talent.

B．The joint work of musicians in the album.

C．Her incredible voice.

D．Her universality and broad appeal.

5.The author thinks that the current musical trend in the UK is _______________.

A．satisfying          B．disappointing       C．dangerous         D．desperate

 

You might say that Barack Obama was elected President of the US because he knows how to give a good speech. In 2004, the little-known Obama gave a speech at the Democratic national Convention(民主黨全國會議). It was a great speech---poetic, and inspiring. The people who heard it would remember it for a long time.

  Since 2004, Obama has written and delivered thousands of speeches. These are usually praised for two reasons: he treats the audiences like intelligent adults, and he is able to express difficult ideas in a straightforward, natural way.

  Before becoming President, Obama was a lawyer, a college professor, and a successful writer---his two memoirs have become best-sellers. The skills he needed to succeed in his previous jobs have also contributed to his success as a speechmaker.

  As a lawyer, Obama learned how to make strong, convincing arguments. As a professor, he learned how to explain complex subjects in ways that helped students understand without boring them. As a writer, he learned how to use language to have a powerful influence on his audience.

     Secret weapons of Obama 

     Writing team: Obama has a team of people who write his speeches. The writers chat with Obama for hours about what he wants to say. They listen to recordings of past presidential addresses and seek advice from advisers. Obama usually edits and rewrites the drafts several times.

     Make fun of the guests: Obama starts his speech by gently making fun of his guests. His opening lines attract the audiences’ attention while giving them an opportunity to relax and laugh at themselves and each other.

     Making fun of himself: Obama laughs at his past mistakes and is never afraid of showing them to the public.

     Obama delivers speeches to audiences large and small. He can make his audiences laugh or cry. His speeches are always thoughtful, well written, and just right for each occasion.

 1... The third and fourth paragraphs mainly talk about _____.

     A. why Obama’s speeches are praised       B. how Obama acquired his speaking ability     C. what subjects Obama’s speeches about    D. Obama’s success as a writer and a lawyer

  2.. When delivering a speech, Obama ______.

     A. usually starts with some famous sayings    B. sometimes turns his speech into a song

     C. sometimes shares a joke with the audience  D. is very strict most of the time

 3.. What is the main idea of the passage?

     A. Obama won the election campaign.       B. Obama is a brilliant speechmaker

     C. Obama had taken a couple of jobs.        D. Obama is good at writing.

 

There is a measurable relation between how much a person learns and that individual’s attitude toward the subject to be learned. When faced with a difficult learning assignment, one path toward success is to seek out and concentrate on the positive aspects of the subject matter. If a student has boring and ineffective teacher in a required course, one solution is to look for the positive aspects of completing the course, regardless of how boring the instructor happens to be. To accomplish this might require a private tutor or some independent reading, but with the right attitude, success is possible.

Over-achievers---those students who do better than their test scores indicate ---- usually have a positive interest toward learning. They may learn some things more slowly, and it may take more effort, but, to compensate, they are often better at applying what they have learned. As long as they do not stress themselves into emotional problems, they are successful.

Under-achievers--- those who function below their ability indicated by test scores ---- often tend to permit a few negative factors to sidetrack them. Because of their negative attitudes, they sometimes become unfairly critical of teachers. They allow themselves to get bored when it is not necessary. In short, their attitudes often cause them to learn less than over-achievers.

If you learn to replace a negative mind---set toward learning with something more positive, you are on the road to achieving virtually any goal you desire. For example, if you realize a personal computer with a word processor would improve your performance, but have an attitude that keeps telling you that you cannot learn to operate a computer you tend to make all kinds of excuses. In short, you resist making full use of a terrific tool, simply because your negative attitude prevents you from learning.

1. The writer thinks that over-achievers and under-achievers mainly differ in ____________.

   A. their test scores                               B. their judgment of the teachers         

C. their attitudes toward learning            D. their skills in using computers

2. What does the author suggest if a student has a boring teacher?

   A. To be critical of the teacher.                                 

B. To read more on one’s own.

   C. To have a right attitude toward the teacher.            

D. To complete the course without the teacher.

3. The phrase function below their ability indicated by test scores ( in Para.3) means the under-achievers ________.

   A. often get low scores in tests                 

B. do worse in actual learning than in the tests.

   C. usually do better in tests than the over-achievers            

D. are always slow in learning and have to make more efforts

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

   A. Attitudes play very important roles in learning.  

B. Teachers are not so important in the learning process.

   C. Students should learn how to use personal computers.

   D. There are many differenced between over- and under- achievers