British actor and comedian Rik Mayall died at 56 in London . As one of the leading lights of Britain’s comedy scene in the 1980s , he is best known for starring roles in hit TV series Blackadder , The Young Ones , The New Statesman and Bottom .

His agent, Kate Benson told CNN Mayall died suddenly ; she did not know the cause of his death.

Mayall first found widespread fame in student sitcom（情景喜剧） "The Young Ones," which ran for two years on the BBC, and was later shown on MTV in the United States. The series focused on the lives of four roommates at "Scumbag College."

Writer and comedian Ben Elton told the Press Association Mayall had “ changed his life ” by asking him to work on The Young Ones . “ He always made me cry with laughter , now he’s just made me cry . ”

In the 1990s, Mayall played a role in Bottom , a series about two unemployed flat mates who spend most of their time attacking each other violently with anything that comes to hand . Mayall also branched out into movies , taking the lead role in 1991’s Drop Dead Fred , in which he played the imaginary friend of Phoebe Cates , returning years later to cause trouble in the now grown-up Cates’ life .

Mayall survived a bike accident in 1998; he was unconscious for five days after the crash, on his farm in Devon, southwest England, and developed epilepsy（癫痫）as a result of the severe head injury he suffered in the accident . In an interview several years later, he joked that he "beat Jesus" by coming back from the hell . He said the accident left him more aware of being alive.

House star Hugh Laurie, who worked with Mayall on Blackadder, took to Twitter to recount a story about his co-star: "A young girl, stricken with terminal cancer, once asked Rik Mayall for an autograph. He wrote: 'Young Ones are never afraid.'"

21. It was __________ that made Rik Mayall’s career really take off .

  A. Drop Dead Fred                              B. Blackadder

  C. The Young Ones                                   D. Bottom

22. To Ben Elton , Mayall’s death is rather __________ .

  A. heartbreaking                                        B. acceptable

  C\ridiculous                                                D. inspiring

23. From the passage , we can learn that Mayall __________ .

  A. died of a sudden severe head injury

  B. only devoted himself to TV series

  C. narrowly escaped death in 1998

  D. was revenged for his violent attacks

24. In which section of CNN NEWS can we possibly find the passage ?

  A. Politics                                            B. Opinion

  C. Health                                             D. Entertainment

Last week , US President Barack Obama visited upstate New York’s Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in an effort to highlight some of the United States’ most-loved destinations and increase international tourism . “ When it comes to tourism , we have a great product to sell , ” he said . “ Nothing says ‘ Made in America ’ better than the Empire State Building or the Hoover Dam . ”

According to statistics , a record 70 million international visitors travelled to the US in 2013 . But that was still only 13% of the world’s travelers—a smaller market share than the 17% that visited the United States in 2000 .

Beyond the country’s iconic locations—which travelers know all too well—the US is home to a great many charming and fascinating sights that often fly under the radar . Here are some of our favorites :

The wild woodlands of the Great Smoky Mountains

One of the oldest mountain rages in the world , this tranquil national park , which stretches across the Tennessee-North Carolina border , has a rich biodiversity that’s equaled by few other places on the planet .

Texas : Home to the world’s largest bat colony

Take nature watching to the extreme in the Lone Star State , where 1.5 million bats take flight over Austin every summer night .

Idyllic beach towns—without the crowds

Hidden away from the flood of summer travelers , these five little beach towns offer excellent surf spots , scenic views and Victorian charm .

Philadelphia’s mosaic masterpiece

The city’s downtown offers a one-of-a-kind artistic exploration , with 50,000sqft of tunnels , caves and walls covered in a bright and strange display of glass tiles（瓷砖）, poetry and toys .

Kentucky : An adventure heaven

This state has one of the most amazing environments in the country , featuring both a rock climbing resort and the world’s longest known cave system .

25. The underlined word “ highlight ” in Paragraph 1 probably means “__________” .

  A. promote                     B. criticize                   C. appreciate                     D. avoid

26. If you are interested in the cave adventure , you can go to __________ .

  A. Tennessee          B. Kentucky                C. Texas                      D. New York

27. From the passage , we can learn that __________ .

  A. there were about 90 million international visitors travelling to the US in 2000

  B. the Great Smoky Mountains are the oldest mountain range in the world

  C. not many travelers go to Idyllic beach towns in summer

  D. President Obama is keen on travelling home and abroad

28. What might be the best title for the passage ?

  A. Obama , a Good Seller

  B. See the US Only Locals Know

  C. How to Increase International Tourism

  D. Welcome to the Empire State Building

The findings , recently published by the researchers from Arizona State University ( ASU ) suggest that angry men appear to gain influence in a group , but angry women lose influence .

The study found that when men expressed their opinion with anger , participants rated them as more believable . But when women expressed anger , they were viewed as more emotional and , thus , less convincing . In other words , a man could benefit from using anger in power and persuasion . A woman , however , could be ignored or hurt by her group if she expressed anger .

The study was based on the responses of 210 students . They were shown evidence and photographs online from a real murder trial . A man had supposedly murdered his wife . The students were asked to decide if the man was guilty or not .

Before making their decision , the students discussed the case online with five jurors（陪审员）. But these were not real jurors ; they were computers generating responses and comments back to the students . Some of the fake jurors had male identities . Others had female identities .

Some male jurors were angry about the judgement . When this happened , the students reacted by doubting their own decisions about the case . Confidence in their responses on the judgement “ dropped significantly ” . But when female jurors seemed angry , the student participants “ became significantly more confident in their original judgments ” .

The study could have wider importance .

The results have effects for any woman who is trying to exert influence on a decision in their workplace and everyday lives . This includes governing bodies , task forces and committees . In a political debate , a female candidate might have less influence if she shows anger .

An example is the 2016 Democratic presidential race . This might explain why Bernie Sanders is able to freely express his passion and conviction , while Hillary Clinton clearly regulates her emotions more carefully .

29. According to the study , when women express anger they are thought of as __________ .

  A. believable           B. significant               C. emotional               D. confident

30. In the study by the researchers from ASU , __________ .

  A. there were 210 students expressing their emotions

  B. the jurors were shown evidence and photographs online

  C. female jurors doubted their own decisions about the case

  D. the jurors were actually computers with human identities

31. The purpose of the example in the last paragraph is to __________ .

  A. remind the women to control their emotions in political debates

  B. show the importance of the study extends to many other fields

  C. prove the findings are of great help in our daily life

  D. explain why the researchers carry out the study

Where Virtual Reality Takes Us

No matter how enlightened（开明的）any one of us may be , we are fundamentally limited to our own points of view—but it is human nature to try to broaden our perspective . For me , that’s where V.R. comes in . I have found that the medium has an extraordinary ability to convey the kinds of feelings of presence and place I’ve always desired to capture through photojournalism .

As a young photographer , I was shocked by the wartime images of great photographers like Robert Capa and James Nachtwey . Their vision of the world is far better than my own . Hoping to imitate their effect , I trained myself to follow in their footsteps , covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a photojournalist for The New York Times and Newsweek . But I found that my photographs were not having the impact that I had hoped . There was something too abstract and flat about them , a quality that allowed anyone viewing them to remain distant from images of suffering . Frustrated by the barriers , I built a camera that could shoot steady , cinematic video in a war zone , and I made a feature-length film in Afghanistan .

While the film provided a glimpse into the cruel reality of war , it was only a small window into that world . I wanted to go further , to pull people through that window onto the front lines and let them witness it firsthand . I started the technology company Condition One in order to build a new camera to shoot in 3D , 360-degree video . We want to introduce a new generation of viewers tired of flat images into the emotions of being immersed（沉浸于）in a whole new world .

The power of virtual reality is its command of presence—its ability to transport the viewer into another world , and have him feel present in it . These experiences are technically difficult to create and require significant computing power , but once presence is achieved and maintained , it is breathtaking .

In V.R., we instinctively feel empathy（共鸣）for those whose experiences we are immersed in . The suffering of people in war zones becomes our suffering , just as the killing of animals in the wild becomes a source of our pain as well .

Mentioning his own limitations of perspective , Einstein once wrote with sadness , “ Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of sympathy to hug all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty . ”

Through V.R., we now have a chance to do just that .

32. We can learn from the passage that James Nachtwey is a photographer __________ .

  A. who is only addicted to wartime photography

  B. whose wartime photos are anything but concrete

  C. whose wartime photos well interpret the suffering of wars

  D. who likes to copy from other well-established photographers

33. Why did the author set up Condition One ?

  A. To attract worldwide attention to war-stricken areas .

  B. To help viewers have a better feeling of presence .

  C. To be the best photographer in the world .

  D. To advertise his latest 3D technology .

34. If Einstein were still alive today , his attitude towards V.R. would possibly be __________ .

  A. sympathetic                B. critical                     C. supporting                     D. indifferent

35. In the author’s opinion , with the help of V.R., we can __________ .

  A. stop the killing of animals in the wild

  B. have a better vision of the world

  C. take breathtaking photos

  D release emotions

In China , more and more parents believe the primary role of reading is to shape their children’s minds , not amuse them .

Sales of children’s literature have risen by double figures in most of the past ten years .   36   The richer parents are , the more they spend on children’s books .

Booksellers see a huge moneymaking opportunity .   37   Around half of the 100 best-selling books last year were for youngsters—a higher share than in Britain or America .

There is a growing variety of kinds . Picture books for under-fives have been taking off ; fiction for older teenagers is thriving . Unsurprisingly , given the huge emphasis in China that is placed on passing exams , many titles aim purely to teach facts . Parents like to buy non-fiction , even for children still learning to read . Some books—printed on paperboard and intended mainly for under-twos—aim to teach the Roman alphabet to kids .   38 

The moral is often laid on thick . One provincial publisher (state-owned , like all of them) has titled a six-volume set of nursery rhymes A Good Father is Better Than a Good Teacher .

  39   Paddington , a marmalade-loving bear from darkest Peru , is a model of thoughtfulness , modesty and self-discipline , states the recommendation on the cover of a translation of Michael Bond’s popular stories .

  40   They avoid books with naughty or playful children , or where youngsters outsmart their elders .

Cute animals vastly outnumber rebellious figures such as pirates .

Few books show siblings , aunts , uncles or cousins—relationships little understood by the young , thanks to the one-child policy .

A.      China’s publishers remain profoundly conservative .

B.      Reading books is a good hobby for all kinds of reasons .

C.     The number of children’s titles has more than tripled since 2005 .

D.     Most publishers of literature for adults now offer children’s titles too .

E.      Chinese-language versions of foreign classics often emphasize their moral worth .

F.      Book publishing for children generally has changed very significantly in the last few years .

G.     Volumes for children with titles such as How to be a Meteorologist and Superstars of Science do well .