Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(录取) to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科医师) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women.Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
| A．She couldn’t get admitted to medical school |
| B．She decided to further her education in Paris |
| C．A serious eye problem stopped her |
| D．It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States |
What main obstacle(障碍) almost destroyed Elizabeth’s chances for becoming for a doctor?
| A．She was a woman. |
| B．She wrote too many letters. |
| C．She couldn’t graduate from medical school. |
| D．She couldn’t set up her hospital. |
How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her hospital?
| A．Eight years | B．Ten years | C．Nineteen years | D．Thirty-six years |
According to the passage, all of the following are “firsts” in the life of Elizabeth Blacekwell except that she ______.
| A．became the first woman physician |
| B．was the first woman doctor |
| C．and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children |
| D．set up the first medical school for women |
Eilzabeth Blackwell spent most of her lift in _______.
| A．England | B．Paris | C．the United States | D．New York City |
Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is small. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
Enough laws have been made to fight against pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers' exhibition (展览).There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers' exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent a day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves.
Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.Australia is
| A．the largest country in the world | B．larger than China |
| C．as large as Shanghai | D．not so large as China |
Enough laws have been made to__
| A．increase the population | B．grow more plants |
| C．fight against pollution | D．show wild flowers |
Perth is_
| A．the capital of Australia | B．in the west of Australia |
| C．in the east of Australia | D．the biggest city in Australia |
In Perth you may visit a wild flowers' exhibition in
| A．October | B．January | C．May | D．July |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
| A．All the big cities in Australia are seriously polluted. |
| B．Australia .is famous for its sheep, kangaroos and large population. |
| C．We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of the white sheep.. |
| D．If you go to the countryside in Australia, you will see a large number of White sheep. |
David Beckham was born in 1975, in London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy , his greatest passion was football. He played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award （奖金）. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led him to go for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy he played for the schools of Essex and also for his county team.
In 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under-21 team. In April, 1995, he played his first football league game against Leeds United. During 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won in both football seasons, with David scoring many goals.
His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1996—1997 season, he scored an surprising goal from beyond the halfway line; seeing the goalkeeper a little way out of his goal, Beckham sent the ball over the goalkeeper’s head and into the goal. It was a wonderful goal and Beckham became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free—kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157 kph. He also had the ability to make the ball go from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal.
David Beckham won his first prize for football skills
| A．in 1975 | B．in 1987 | C．in 1991 | D．in 1996 |
Which word can take the place of the underlined word “passion” in paragraph 1?
| A．skill | B．prize | C．success | D．interest |
The unusually surprising way that he scored goals
| A．made him popular in many British homes | B．helped him to gain many prizes for Essex |
| C．kept him playing for Leeds United | D．offered him the chance to join the national team |
Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to Beckham?
a. Beckham played his first football league game.
b. Beckham won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award.
c. Beckham played for Manchester United Youth Cup team.
d. Beckham went to Spain to join a football training camp.
e. Beckham played for the schools of Essex.
| A．e, b, a, d, c | B．e, d, a, c, b | C．b, d, e, c, a | D．b, e, d, a, c |
The passage is mainly talking about
| A．when Beckham became famous all over Britain |
| B．how Beckham became a successful football player |
| C．why Beckham could win in football league games |
| D．what abilities Beckham had to score so many goals |
Billy and Bobby were small boys. They were brothers, and they often fought each other.
Last Saturday their mother said to them, “I’m going to cook our lunch now, go out and play in the garden……and be good.”
“Yes, Mum,” the two boys answered, and they went out.
They played in the garden for half an hour, and then Billy ran in. “Mum,” he said, “Bobby’s broken a window in Mrs Allen’s house.” Mrs Allen was one of their neighbours.
“He’s a bad boy,” his mother said. “How did he break it?”
“I threw a stone at him,” Billy answered, “and he quickly moved down.”Billy and Bobby were .
| A．sisters | B．classmates | C．not often kind to each other | D．always kind to each other |
Last Saturday their mother asked them .
| A．not to play in the garden | B．to cook their lunch |
| C．not to go out | D．to be good |
broke the window.
| A．Mrs Allen | B．Billy | C．Bobby | D．The mother |
Mrs Allen was .
| A．Billy’s mother | B．their neighbour | C．their mother | D．Bobby’s aunt |
I stood up to speak and my mind went blank .Has this ever happened to you? You may be nervous in front of an audience（观众）.You may be worried that you didn’t prepare enough, You may have forgotten some of your facts. What can you do? Sometimes people prepare too much and become terrified if they can’t remember the words they have practised. It is a good idea to bring some notes to help you organize, but don’t memorize your speech. If you “go blank”,begin by explaining the purpose of your speech, and the test will probably follow.
“Go blank” here means
| A．to be absent-minded | B．to think too much suddenly |
| C．to be afraid of the audience | D．not knowing what to say at the moment |
Before the listeners, the speakers who have pre-pared enough
| A．never go bland | B．never feel afraid |
| C．may forget the prepared words | D．may forget the opening speech |
A good way to make to made a good speech is
| A．to memorize the speech | B．to organize the audience well |
| C．to have some brief motes at hand | D．to have the audience take notes |
The man who goes blank in front of the listeners should .
| A．begin with the purpose of his speech | B．cut off the rest of his speech |
| C．see his notes right away | D．find some way to draw the audience’s attention |
Crazy is our new normal. With two teenage boys and three little boys, our family is restless—to the baseball field, track field(田径场)and piano lessons. Even though we’ve limited each boy’s activities and try our best to defend our family time, it seems that we’re in a constant state of flight.
“Embrace it. Roll with it,” my husband, Lonny, says, “It’s going to be like this for a while.”
He is right. It’s likely that life will continue to go forward before it slows down. But I remembered the still, quiet days that our family used to enjoy. I missed long walks through the park when we held the boys’ little hands. I longed for(渴望) lazy Saturday afternoons under the tree in our backyard. I wanted to slip back a few years, when busyness was the exception and not the rule.
One night, after a particularly full day and evening games, our family gathered on the porch(门廊)for ice cream. Two parents, two teens, and three small boys piled on one old swing and a couple of rocking chairs. We were together, in one place, for a small slice of time.
The moon was full. The Mississippi River, flowing past our home, was smooth as glass. I wrapped my own arms around the son who sat on my lap and breathed deeply to inhale his little-boy scent(气味)—dirt and sweat. My heart was still and content(满足的).
I realized that while crazy is our new normal happiness is as usual. They may look different from before, but they are still there—even if they’re in the form of a single moment on the porch. Maybe I just need the eyes to see.What does the author mainly talk about?
| A．Her anger at her busy life. |
| B．Her family’s struggle for a better life. |
| C．Her new feelings about the present life. |
| D．The pleasure of staying with her children. |
How did the author feel about life before the night sitting on the porch with the family?
| A．Confused. | B．Satisfied. | C．Bored. | D．Terrified. |
The underlined word “inhale” in the fifth paragraph probably means ______.
| A．describe | B．breathe out | C．remove | D．breathe in |
Which of the following could describe the author’s present life?
| A．Busy and boring. | B．Busy but happy. |
| C．Crazy and unbearable. | D．Normal but exciting. |
Which of the following statements might the author agree to?
| A．Life is nothing but bitterness, busyness and horror. |
| B．Happiness is everywhere, but we have to discover it. |
| C．Parents should earn much money for their kids’ better life. |
| D．Life in the countryside is charming, wonderful, and sweet. |
When Dean Arnold got his first job, he was miserable Each time he went to work, he coughed and he couldn’t breathe. Working in a bakery when you are allergic（过敏的）to flour can be painful.
But Arnold stayed with the National Biscuit Company for ten years. He was a businessman and he helped them improve production. At last his health problems became too serious. He left and formed his own company.
With his wife and mother, he founded Arnold Bakery. They tried new recipes,（调制法）,changing the kind and amount of flour used. This enabled Arnold to work there without too much pain The bread, made with unbleached（未漂白的）flour, was baked in brick oven.（烤箱）
They began by baking two dozen loaves. The bread was sold door to door for fifteen cents a loaf. Winning customers to his usual, old fashioned bread took time. But Arnold. Struggling against his allergy, built his bakery into one of the largest in the United States. According to context, the underlined word “miserable” means
| A．quite pleased | B．rather unhealthy | C．too lucky | D．very unhappy |
A good title for the passage would be
| A．A Sick Baker | B．A Brick Oven Bread Baker |
| C．An Old Fashioned Baker | D．How to Overcome Allergy |
Dean left the National Biscuit Company because he
| A．suffered from allergy to flour | B．didn’t like the job |
| C．wanted to form his own company | D．wanted to make more money |
Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?
| A．Arnold’s bread was baked in a brick oven |
| B．Arnold’s bread was made with unbleached flour |
| C．Arnold’s bread was sold at a low price |
| D．Arnold’s bread was of poor quality |
From the passage we can conclude that Arnold was
| A．determined | B．brave | C．unusual | D．unhealthy |
Thanks a Million, Dad
I was born disabled．A difficult birth, feet first, my head stuck．By my first birthday, I couldn't stand or walk．
When I was three, the doctor told dad I had cerebral palsy （脑瘫）．A loss of oxygen to my brain had destroyed brain signals to the right side of my body．
But no son of my dad' s was going to be disabled．Every morning before breakfast and every evening before bed, my dad placed me on the bedroom floor to exercise my right leg．The muscles were shrunk and twisted together．Back and forth up and down, my dad pushed and pulled the muscles into shape．
But my dad' s exercise of passion didn't stop there．For my 13th birthday, he threw me a special party．When everybody was gone, he brought me to open a large box, it was a-set of boxing gloves．We put them on．My dad kept on beating me mercilessly．Each time I tried to get up, leather kissed my nose, eyes and jaw．I "begged him to stop．He said he beat me to get me ready for the tough world．
That same year, I was the only kid in my neighbourhood that wasn't picked for Little League．Two weeks later．Dad started the Shedd Park Minor League, and every kid played．Dad coached us and made me a pitcher （棒球投手）．
The power of my dad' s love guaranteed I walked and more．In high school, I became a football star．
In 1997, a brain surgeon in San Jose told me I didn’t t have cerebral palsy after all．He explained how and where the doctor' s forceps （镊子） at birth had damaged my brain．
My dad never knew the whole truth since he passed away years ago．But all that counts is the bottom line．After all his madness, on this Father' s Day, like every Father' s Day, I' m no longer disabled．What caused the author' s disability?
| A．A failed operation． | B．The doctor's forceps． |
| C．An accident in a game． | D．Shrunken and twisted muscles． |
What do we learn from the passage?
| A．The author has a talent for boxing． |
| B．The author achieved a lot thanks to his father' s love． |
| C．The author became a baseball star with the help of his father． |
| D．The author doesn't think his father should be so strict with him． |
Paragraph 3 suggests that the author' s father____．
| A．wouldn't give up hope easily |
| B．believed his son was a normal child |
| C．blamed the doctors for his son' s disability |
| D．couldn't accept the truth that his son was disabled |
The author wrote the passage to ____．
| A．remember his father |
| B．encourage disabled children |
| C．show the difficulty the disabled face |
| D．give advice to the parents of disabled children |
February 24,2008 saw thieves break into the showroom of an Italian jeweler liked by Hollywood stars and stole things worth up to 10 million dollars while its owners were in Los Angeles hosting a party to celebrate the Oscars．
The robbery，which took place at the Damiani showroom in Milan’s fashion district that morning，was compared later with the“perfect scenes”in films such as Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job．
The thieves had spent more than a month digging a tunnel from a disused cellar(地下室)in a building joined to the showroom．The digging had been heard for weeks but was thought to be part of continuing building works next door. The four thieves，dressed in balaclavas，sunglasses and fake uniforms of the Guards, used an inside stair to reach the first floor，thus avoiding alarms(警报器) and video cameras．
The showroom had been opened for a private viewing and there were five employees inside，including a cleaning lady and a member of the staff，as well as the manager. The thieves said they were there to check the accounts(账目)，then knocked down the staff，tied them up with ropes，covered their mouths with tape and locked them in the washroom. They then helped themselves to jewelry and left the way they had come．
The entire operation had taken little more than 40 minutes．The employees managed to free themselves and raise the alarm，but by then the thieves were long gone．The police said that they were looking into whether the robbers had“inside assistance”that had helped them to avoid the alarms and cameras．
45．Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A．A perfect robbery B．10 million of Jewelry Stolen
C．The Italian Thie
ves D．An Italian Jeweler
46．Why didn’t the thieves appear in the cameras? Perhaps because ．
A．there was something wrong with the cameras then
B．the thieves entered the showroom through an inside stair
C．the employees were too frightened to open the cameras then
D．the cameras didn’t work with the uniforms of the guards
47．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．The Italian jeweler was popular with some famous American film stars．
B．The thieves went into a disused tunnel into the showroom．
C．When the robbery took place，there was no one in the showroom．
D．One of the jeweler employees must have helped the robbery secretly．
48．We can learn from the passage that
A．The items were so dear that no one coul
d afford to buy one．
B．The thieves left the showroom from where they came into it．
C．The most valuable jewels survived the robbery．
D．The jeweler had to close down because of the showroom robbery．
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own。We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies Beyond our everyday lives.
This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists（幻想）literature or movies like the lord of the rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other，to the world around us ,and to the world of make-believe.but have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?
Human beings，as biologists have suggested，possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms，However, people，especially in big eities，often lead rather isolated lives，In a study of British schoolchildren，it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than common wildlife.without modem technology，a small Pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants，insects，birds，and animals 。when we lack meaning（交互）with the world around us,and somethings even with our families and friends，we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen。
The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad,but when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet（出路）for our sense of wonder，then we are really missing something，we are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful wonderful worlds exist all around us.but even more interesting is that if we look closely enough，we can see that these worlds,in a broad sense,are really part of our own.The popularity of the lord of the rings.proves
| A．the close connection between man and the fantasy world |
| B．the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature |
| C．the fine taste of moviegoers around the world |
| D．the general existence of the sense of curiosity |
What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?
| A．people are far less familiar witn the world of fantasy |
| B．the world around us could serve as a source of wonder |
| C．the world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond. |
| D．Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder |
If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make-believe,we will
| A．fail to appreciate the joy in our lives |
| B．be confused by the world of make-believe |
| C．miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world |
| D．be trapped by other worlds existing all around us |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To show us the hidden beauty in our world. |
| B．to warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world. |
| C．To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder. |
| D．To discuss the influence of the world of make-believe. |
A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town. But it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.
On his way home he saw a person lying on the snow. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking the baskets with him.
The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked: “Are these yours?” “Yes, sir.” the farmer answered timidly(胆怯地)。”Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” the farmer said in a hurry.” When did you see the dead man?” ”About seven last evening.” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, Sir.” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” ”No, Sir.’ The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and send him into prison.
That evening the officer went on trying .Pointing to the knife, he asked again,” Have you seen it yet?” ”Yes, Sir.” The officer was happy and asked,” When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”The farmer decided to sell the vegetables to .
| A．buy some food for his family |
| B．buy some medicine for his wife |
| C．go to see a doctor |
| D．go to the cinema |
The farmer didn’t sell out his vegetables until the evening because .
| A．they were too bad |
| B．they were very expensive |
| C．it rained hard that morning |
| D．few people liked to go out on such a bad day |
As , the farmer decided to help the person to stand up.
| A．he wanted to get some money from him. |
| B．the person was one of his friends |
| C．he thought the person would thank him. |
| D．he thought the person had drunk too much |
The farmer ran away quickly because .
| A．the policemen were coming towards him. |
| B．his wife was waiting for him at home |
| C．he was afraid to see a dead man. |
| D．it was so late that he couldn’t stay there any longer. |
The officer tried the farmer to .
A know who had killed the man.
B. know if he had seen the dead man
C .ask when he saw the dead man
D .ask if he had seen the knife
Thomas Alva Edison was awarded more patents on inventions than any other American. When he died in 1931, Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him. One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout. All electric power would be shut off in homes, streets, and factories. Perhaps this suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions mean to them. Electric power was too important to the country. Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion. A blackout was impossible.
On the day of Edison's funeral, many people silently dimmed their lights. In this way they honored the man who had done more than anyone else to put the great force of electricity at his countrymen's fingertips.This selection says that Thomas Edison ________.
| A．was the only important American inventor |
| B．received the first American patent |
| C．received more patents than any other American |
| D．was the first American inventor |
People decided to honor Edison when ________.
| A．he made the first electric light |
| B．electric power was 100 years |
| C．the country realized electricity's importance |
| D．he died in 1931 |
The suggested plan was to ________.
| A．turn off the lights in factories and schools |
| B．observe a few minutes of total silence |
| C．dim all electric lights |
| D．shut off all electricity for a short time |
Dad came in the midnight. We heard every sound, but we pretended to be asleep.
Next morning he looked weak and thin, sitting in a chair by the kitchen fire. The light of the fire shone through his long empty sleeve. Everything went as usual. Grandma found something to do in the bedroom. Grandpa went out for some water. Mother, with her back to us, was getting the cakes ready for breakfast.
But nothing was right. When grandma came out of the bedroom, she walked on tiptoe. When grandpa came back, he said nothing about the weather. At breakfast Mother passed us the fruit and said something, but her voice was too high.
At last my sister, Lou, pushed back her chair. “It’s your turn to wash the dishes.” But I had washed the dishes the night before. I said nothing because it was not right to quarrel in front of Dad just home with the empty sleeve.
“It is your turn,” Lou said again. I looked at her in surprise.
“It is not,” I said because I suddenly remembered Mother had told us to go on as usual.
“Children, children,” Mother said in a quiet, glad kind of voice.
And Dad was smiling because he felt at home at last.What do you know happened to Dad in the story?
| A．He was badly ill. | B．He had a long journey. |
C．He drank too much. |
D．He lost one of his arms. |
The family when they saw Dad’s empty sleeve.
| A．was too surprised to do anything | B．felt sad and cried a lot |
| C．tried not to show their feelings | D．showed no worry at all |
From the story, we know .
| A．the two sisters often quarreled about who should wash the dishes |
| B．the family liked seeing the two sisters quarrelling after breakfast |
C．Dad loved the two sisters very much though they oft  en quarreled |
| D．Mother told the two sisters to quarrel with each other the night before |
Which of the following can be the best title of the story?
| A．The Quarrelling Sisters | B．Dad Was Back |
| C．After the Accident | D．An Empty Sleeve |
Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous（宽厚的）conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”
“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.” Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr. Briggs?______.
| A．He was a worker. | B．He was an official. |
| C．He was a student. | D．He was a businessman. |
The word “ruin” in the second paragraph means .
| A．lose | B．break | C．leave | D．destroy |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Mr. Briggs had studied the figures for deaths for several years. |
| B．Mr. Briggs began to look at the figures after he started work. |
| C．A great number of very old people die every year. |
| D．The number of the very old people who died every year is small. |
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
From its opening lines – “ ‘You my lucky piece,’ Grandma says.... Her hand is wrapped around mine” – Heidi W. Durrow pulls us into her first novel, a moving story encircling us as firmly as that protective grandmotherly grip.
When we meet Rachel Morse, the daughter of an African-American GI and a Danish woman, she is just moving into the Portland, Oregon., home of her strong-minded paternal grandmother and her warm, classy Aunt Loretta. We soon learn that Rachel has survived a fall from a nine-story apartment building in which her mother, brother, and baby sister all died. Three months earlier, Rachel’s mother had left her alcoholic husband in Germany, following her “orange-haired” lover to Chicago. But Nella hadn’t been prepared for boyfriend’s drinking and racism, or for the looks and questions she gets as the mother of three brown children.
Rachel’s “new-girl feeling” in her grandmother’s home goes beyond her recent tragedy. Having grown up with a Scandinavian mother in the more colorblind society of an overseas Army base, this is her first time in a mostly black community. Her light-brown skin, “fuzzy” hair, and blue eyes raise questions about her racial identity that are entirely new and puzzling to her.
Starting sixth grade in her new school, Rachel notes, “There are fifteen black people in the class and seven white people. And there’s me. There’s another girl who sits in the back. Her name is Carmen LaGuardia, and she has hair like mine, my same color skin, and she counts as black. I don’t understand how, but she seems to know.” Several years later, in high school, her status remains uncertain. “They call me an Oreo. I don’t want to be white. Sometimes I want to go back to being what I was. I want to be nothing.”
Winner of the Bellwether Prize, created by Barbara Kingsolver to celebrate fiction that addresses issues of social injustice, “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” comes at a time when bi-racial and multicultural identity – so markedly represented by President Obama – is especially topical.
But set in the 1980s and focusing on one unusually sympathetic girl overcoming family tragedy and feeling her way through racial tensions, Durrow’s novel surpasses topicality.
Like Rachel, Durrow is the light-brown-skinned, blue-eyed daughter of a Danish mother and an African-American father enlisted in the Air Force. With degrees from Stanford, Columbia Journalism School, and Yale Law School, it’s no wonder she gives her heroine discipline and brains.
Rachel’s life, however, is clearly not Durrow’s. No, there’s alcohol and drug addiction; deaths by fire, trauma, and infection. There are mothers who lose their children, and a saintly drug counselor who loses his beloved girl-friend. Through it all, what makes Durrow’s novel soar is her masterful sense of voice, her assured, delicate handling of complex racial issues – and her heart.
After hearing the blues music for the first time, Rachel feels what her mother called hyggeligt – “something like comfort and home and love all rolled into one.” She wonders what might have happened if her mother had known about such soulful music, “that sometimes there’s a way to take the sadness and turn it into a beautiful song.”
This, of course, is precisely what Durrow has done in this powerful book: taken sadness and turned it into a beautiful song.
60. What should be the direct cause of Rachel coming to Portland, Oregon?
A. Her mother left her alcoholic father.
B. A deadly tragedy happened to her family.
C. Her grandmother wants her to come and stay with her.
D. There was too much racism where she used to live with her mother.
61. Durrow’s life is different from Rachel’s in that _____________.
A. Durrow has to struggle through her life, depending on herself.
B. Durrow is troubled in her life by racism, living in a poor neighborhood.
C. Durrow has come through life much easier, with a better family background.
D. There’s alcohol and drug addiction in Durrow’s suffering-laden neighborhood.
62. Why does the writer of the book review mention President Obama in this writing?
A. To show the progress in America’s black community.
B. To highlight the racial harmony in the United States.
C. To indicate Obama’s influence in helping Durrow win the Bellwether Prize.
D. To remind readers of the background when the novel was written and won the Bellwether Prize.
63. The blues music Rachel hears is, deep at the bottom of her heart, most suggestive of ______.
A. bravery B. hope C. sadness D. beauty
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