For many writers, writing stories or plays is a part-time job: to support themselves they take on other jobs, such as teaching. It is one sign of August Wilson’s success that for many years he has been able to make a living only by writing plays.

Wilson was born in Pittsburgh and dropped out of school in the ninth grade. He was a good reader, however, and continued his education by reading library books, learning about black nationalist movements of the time, and closely observing(觀察) the lives of the poor people.

In the late 1960’s Wilson set up a theater company called Black Horizons and began to think of ways to describe African-American life on the stage. He had the idea of a cycle of plays, each of which was set in a different decade(十年) of the 20^th century, showing how African-American life has developed.

The first successful play of this series was Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom about black musicians in Chicago in the 1920s, who are not accepted by white society. Other plays in the series include Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, about blacks in the 1910s who had moved north to Pittsburgh in search of a new identity; Fences, which focuses on a father–son conflict(沖突) in the1950s; and The Piano Lesson, about a 1930s family that was uncertain about whether to sell the family’s treasure. For the last two of these plays Wilson was awarded Pulitzer Prizes.

Wilson has written eight plays in his cycle, the most recent being King Hedley the Second, a play set in the 1980s. His plays are enjoyed by both the blacks and the whites and engage anyone who is interested in African-American experience.

1.Wilson won Pulitzer Prizes for ________.

A．The Piano Lesson & Fences

B． Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom & Fences

C．The Piano Lesson & King Hedley the Second

D．King Hedley the Second & Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

2. It is possible that in his series of the 20^th –century plays, Wilson plans to write ________.

A．no more          B．two more          C．three more        D．four more

3.The underlined word “engage” in the last paragraph means ________.

A．a(chǎn)ward            B．benefit           C．please            D．a(chǎn)ttract

4.What’s the passage mainly about?

A．The life of August Wilson.                 B．The growth of August Wilson.

C．A cycle of plays of August Wilson.           D．August Wilson’s theater company.

A German company was concerned about talks in Moscow trying to sell some 100 million dollars worth of equipment to a Russian State company. Talks went smoothly but differences remained. So Martin Bayer himself, the CEO of the German Company, decided to come to Moscow to head the talks. Besides caring about his business, the CEO wanted to go to Russia to hunt bears.
Martin Bayer was one of the greatest hunters of our time (and the Russians knew about it). He went to the Sahara more than hundred times and hunted lions, crocodiles; he hunted polar bears in the North Pole and tigers in the rain forests of India. But he had never hunted Russian bears.
So the Russians decided to organize a bear hunt for Mr. Bayer to sweeten the talks. This wasn't a simple task. Some people in the west still believe that bears may be found and seen everywhere in Russian cities just like squirrels may be seen in our back yards. This is not true. The closest place one may find bears in the wild is maybe 2,500 miles away from Moscow. However, a solution was quickly found. The Russian businessmen went to Moscow Circus（馬戲團）and for $2,000 bought a very old bear. This bear used to amuse and amaze audiences in many countries for 30 years, but got and looked too old, and was retired.
“Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening,” they told to Mr. Bayer. “If compared to the Russian bears, your African lions are nothing more than harmless cats.” The bear was brought to a forest 50 miles from Moscow and was left there. Mr. Bayer was told that bears were plentiful in that forest and that many cattle and even people had been eaten in the surrounding villages.
Meanwhile, an 18-year old female drove through the forest on a motorcycle and suddenly saw a bear (no bears had been seen in those places for 200 years). She was frightened, fell, left her helmet and her motorcycle and ran away.
Mr. Bayer was excited and ready to hunt. This could become the most successful part of his extraordinary hunting experience. The next moment Mr. Bayer saw a bear in a helmet driving on a motorcycle through the forest in front of him. The bear had a happy expression on his face, as he was doing something he had been doing in the circus for 30 years: circling on a motorcycle!
Mr. Bayer lives in a private mental institution near Hamburg happily ever after. The equipment was never sold to Russia. It was sold to Iraq instead.
1. Why did the Russians invite Mr. Bayer to hunt bears?
A. Russian bears are famous for their cruelty.
B. They managed to find a bear for hunting.
C. They expected the trade to be successful.
D. There was a bear in Moscow Circus.
2. Why did the Russians say “Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening”?
A. To tell Mr. Bayer that many people had been killed by bears.
B. To make Mr. Bayer feel the hunting really challenging.
C. To warn Mr. Bayer to mind his safety while hunting.
D. To tell Mr. Bayer that the bear is really dangerous.
3. We can infer from the last paragraph that __________.
A. Mr. Bayer has gone ma   
B. the bear injured him badly
C. he has worked in a mental institution since then
D. the trade has gone smoothly between Russian and Iraq
4. Which would be the best title of the passage?
A. Mr. Bayer, a Brave Hunter     B. Russian Bears, Dangerous Animals
C. Don’t Hunt in Russia       D. Don’t Deal with the Russians

◆1. Malan Flower: China Children's Art Theatre stages a fairy tale musical (音樂劇) "Malan Flower" this weekend.

Beautiful Malan flowers were blossoming everywhere on Malan Mountain, and hard-working girl Xiao Lan was married to the god of flowers, Ma Lang. They lived a happy life in harmony with Grandpa Tree. and all the lovely little animals. However, greedy Old Cat made use of the jealousy of elder sister Da Lan to kill Xiao Lan, in an attempt to keep the magic Malan flower under her possession.

This fairy tale entertained three generations of Chinese youth.

Time: 7: 30 p. m., until August 21

Place: The Great Theatre of the Cultural Palace of the Nationalities, west of Xidan Area

Tel: 6602-2530

◆2. Joyful jugglers: The China Acrobatic Troupe is staging a nightly variety show at the Tiandi Theatre, where the seemingly impossible becomes a reality, where performers spin (旋轉(zhuǎn)) plates and juggle umbrellas.

Contortionists (柔術(shù)演員) show incredible feats of flexibility and acrobats leap through the air. Integrating juggling, unicycling, balancing and jumping through hoops with the finest ancient Chinese dancing, the performance will amuse you.

Time: 7: 15 p. m., daily

Place: 10 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Chaoyang District

Tel: 6502-3984

◆3. Tour of love: Taiwan singer David Tao (Tao Zhe), who is on a global tour, will arrive in Beijing next month.

Tao Zhe was born into a musical family. His father is an expert in Western pop music while his mother is from a family famous for playing Peking Opera. This probably explains why Too approaches pop music from a unique angle (角度), which separates him from the average pop singer.

With the song "Forever Love You" as the theme of the concert, Tao will share his love and ideas for life and music with his fans.

Time: 7: 30 p. m. , September 10

Place: Capital Gymnasium, Baishiqiao Lu

Tel: 6835-4055

◆4. Army artist: An exhibition featuring artist Li Shaozhou's personal and meticulous (注意細節(jié)的) style of painting will be held at the National Art Museum of China.

Born in Henan Province, Li showed strong interests in art during his childhood, and was a specialized artist in the army.

The exhibition will present 65 paintings of modern figures, birds and flowers that he has made over the past decade, during which he has formed his own style by absorbing other painting techniques.

Time: 9 a. m. ~ 5 p. m., August 23 ~ 29

Place: 1 Wusi Dajie

Tel: 8403-3500

Which advertisement will Michael be most interested in if he likes fairy tales?

A. Malan Flower.   B. Joyful jugglers.        C. Tour of love.    D. Army artist.

What phone number should you dial for further information if you are a pop song fan?

A. 6602-2530.       B. 6502-3984.      C. 6835-4055.     D. 8403-3500.

On which page do the above passages most probably appear in the newspaper?

A. Opinions. B. Business.         C. Sports.          D. Listings.

For many writers, writing stories or plays is a part-time job: to support themselves they take on other jobs, such as teaching. It is one sign of August Wilson’s success that for many years he has been able to make a living only by writing plays.
Wilson was born in Pittsburgh and dropped out of school in the ninth grade. He was a good reader, however, and continued his education by reading library books, learning about black nationalist movements of the time, and closely observing(觀察) the lives of the poor people.
In the late 1960’s Wilson set up a theater company called Black Horizons and began to think of ways to describe African-American life on the stage. He had the idea of a cycle of plays, each of which was set in a different decade(十年) of the 20^th century, showing how African-American life has developed.
The first successful play of this series was Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom about black musicians in Chicago in the 1920s, who are not accepted by white society. Other plays in the series include Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, about blacks in the 1910s who had moved north to Pittsburgh in search of a new identity; Fences, which focuses on a father–son conflict(沖突) in the1950s; and The Piano Lesson, about a 1930s family that was uncertain about whether to sell the family’s treasure. For the last two of these plays Wilson was awarded Pulitzer Prizes.
Wilson has written eight plays in his cycle, the most recent being King Hedley the Second, a play set in the 1980s. His plays are enjoyed by both the blacks and the whites and engage anyone who is interested in African-American experience.
【小題1】Wilson won Pulitzer Prizes for ________.

When Jack Ma founded the Alibaba Group in 1999, he had 500,000 yuan in his hand and the support of 17 friends. Now eight years later, Alibaba has become China’s largest online commerce company, earning a profit of 1.36 billion yuan in 2006.
But when asked what makes him proud, Ma surprised many people by putting his employees way ahead of his legendary e-commerce websites.
“I feel most proud of my team, and the least of the websites,” Ma said. “The secret of my success is relying on team work and having a sense of mission（使命）”
Ma made the remarks on the eve of Alibaba Group’s shares becoming available for trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last Tuesday. On the first day of trading, the shares more than doubled in value.
Eight years ago, when Ma created Alibaba, he envisioned（預(yù)想）that the Internet would change people’s lives. But the former English teacher knew little about computer science. “So I decided to hire someone who knows technology and respected his decisions,” he said.
Ma said he trusts his employees fully as long as they are diligent and have a sense of purpose.
“When people apply to work for Alibaba, I talk with them for two hours to lower their expectations. I tell the applicants not to expect a pay raise or promotion, but to prepare to work long hours and to be criticized by the boss, “ Ma said.
But Ma is not a rigid（嚴厲的）boss. He is like a friend in the eyes of most his employees. Unlike traditional companies where most of the people do just what their boss asks, he treats them as partners and encourages them to present their own ideas.
“I have confidence in the online commercial service in China and encourage my more than 4,000 staff to remain united to make Alibaba the biggest ecommerce supplier for China, Asia and even the world,” said Ma.
He promotes company values of honesty, passion and teamwork. Those who don’t accept these principals will find it hard to work there, no matter how talented they are.
“I have seen many who are more clever and hardworking than my team and me,” Ma said. But “we have a loyal team which has stayed on the same course, no wavering（搖擺）.” And Ma pursuing his dream is the magnet（磁鐵）that draws talents in.
57. What did Jack Ma do before he founded Alibaba?
A. He was a waiter.                B. He was a technician.
C. He was a teacher.               D. He was a manager of a small company.
58. What is Jack Ma’s characteristic in terms of his management?
A. Trusting his employees fully.
B. Putting his employees ahead of himself before performing and trade.
C. Promoting company values of honesty, passion and team work.
D. Pursuing his dream is the magnet that draws talents in.
59. What does Ma take the most pride in?
A. His employees.            B. His website.
C. Alibaba Group’s Shares.     D. His efficient management.
60. According to the text, which remarks following is NOT reasonable?
A. Jack Ma believes an employee’s talent is less important than the acceptance of the company’ principals.
B. Alibaba is an online commerce company started eight years ago.
C. Alibaba has become the biggest e-commerce company in China.
D. Alibaba’s shares rocketed after they made their first public appearance on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week.