The following is the information about plays which will be on these days.     
Big and Little
      It is a play written by Botho Strauss and directed by Laurence Strangio, featuring (由……主演) second-year Performing Arts students. It is about a lonely woman living in a big city. From the play, we can learn how to get along well with our friends, our family, our lovers, and with ourselves.

When:15-17 March, 7:30 pm
      Where: Drama Theatre, Centre for the Performing Arts, Building 68, Clayton campus (校园)
      Tickets: Adults $10, Concessions (优惠票价) $5
      You can get the tickets at the door.

Love Play
      It is written by Moira Buffini and directed by Trent Baker, featuring Performing First-year Arts students. It follows a series of unexpected meetings that have taken place in the same place in London across 2,000 years, through the centuries from the Romans to the Elizabethans to the present day. Love Play is a comedy that challenges the reasons and ways we want love.
      When: 17-19 April, 8 pm
      Where: Drama Theatre, Centre for the Performing Arts, Building 68, Clayton campus
      Tickets: Adults $10, Concessions $5
      You can get the tickets at the door.

Smashed
      It is a play written by Lally Katz and directed by Suzanne Chaundy, featuring second-year Performing Arts students. Smashed is about friendship, time travel and death. Writing for the age, Helen Thomson calls the play “a wonderful memory of childhood on the edge (边缘) of adulthood.” Smashed thinks well of invention, imagination and girl power.
      When: 24-26 April, 8 pm
      Where: Drama Theatre, Centre for the Performing Arts, Building 68, Clayton campus
      Tickets: Adults $10, Concessions $5

You can get the tickets at the door.
21. We can know from the passage that Moira Buffini ______.

A. is a character in Big and Little         B. is the director of Smashed

C. wrote the play Love Play             D. once wrote for The Age

22. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. All the plays begin at 8 pm on Clayton campus.

B. The tickets have different prices but all are sold at the door.

C. Love Play is a comedy which has a different idea about love.

D. All the plays are performed by second-year Performing Arts students.

23. The play Big and Little is mainly about _________.

A. friendship, time travel and death

B. the life experience of a lonely woman

C. the life of a Performing Arts student on Clayton campus

D. unexpected meetings in London during the past 2,000 years

24. What can we know from the play Smashed?

A. A student has started a dreamlike journey.

B. Love always takes place on an unexpected situation in London.

C. The ability of girls should be thought highly of.

D. We often regret what we have done in our childhood.

For a long time, a boy wondered why his next-desk-pal was always the first in the class, whereas he could only rank the 21st.

At home, he asked his mom: “Am I more stupid than other kids? How can I always fall behind? I just can’t come up with an answer.” Mom was aware that her son’s self-respect had been damaged by the ranking system, but she didn’t know what to say to help.

She intended to say that intelligence differs and that yes, her son’s friend really was the smarter boy. But that would so upset her son. Thank goodness she kept herself from saying it.

Her son and his friend went on to high school that year, but although he tried as hard as he could, her son’s friend still outdid him. But she was proud of her boy for his hard work, sincerely proud. It was around this time that she decided to take him on a trip to the seaside. On the trip, she at last found an answer for him.

Today her son no longer cares about rankings. He doesn’t have to, for he himself is now the top of the class at the top national university he attends. After university his teachers and peers fully expect him to have a bright future.

Invited to speak to his old high school, he mentioned a valuable childhood experience. It concerned that holiday his mother had prepared for them: “Once, on a trip to the sea, my mother and I were lying on the beach. She pointed to the sea and said to me: Do you see the seabirds fighting for food out there? When a wave comes near, the little birds rise quickly. The clumsy(笨拙的） seagulls are far slower and have to struggle to get away from the wave. But these clumsy birds prove to have the biggest, strongest wings, which allow the bird to travel the furthest. When the season changes, they leave for foreign shores, leaving the little birds behind. Son, I have a feeling that you are one of those seagulls. ”

25.Which of the following has the similar meaning with the underlined word “outdid”?

  A. did better than                B. was equal to

C. played tricks on                 D. worked harder than

26. From the 2nd paragraph, we can see that         .

  A. the son was more stupid than other kids

  B. the mother saw the bad effects of the ranking system

  C. the mother knew her son was weak in his study

  D. the mother felt sorry for her son’s bad behavior.

27. We can infer from the passage that        .

  A. the son knew intelligence didn’t mean everything

  B. the son did not rely on his mother for help

  C. the son would forget his rankings soon after leaving high school

  D. the mother was careful to protect her son’s self-respect

28. The story mainly conveys the message that        .

  A. competition between students is good for their development.

  B. Ranking system does damage to students’ self-respect

  C. only struggling can help you succeed

  D. parents should build up children’s self-respect

　　Obama, Lady Gaga and Steve Jobs—what do they have in common? They are, of course, all Americans. And according to a survey by social networking site baidu. com, they all best illustrate(举例说明) the word “cool”.

　　But just what does it mean to say someone is “cool”? Most would answer that it is something to do with being independent-minded and not following the crowd.

    Yale University art professor Robert Farris Thompson says that the term “cool” goes back to 15th century West African philosophy.  “Cool” relates to ideas of inner calmness under pressure.

    “In Africa, ” he writes, “coolness is a positive quality which combines calmness, silence, and life.”

    The modern idea of “cool” developed largely in the US in the period after World War II. “Post-war ‘cool’ was in part an expression of war-weariness (厌战情绪), . . . it went against the strict social rules of the time,” write sociologists Dick Pountain and David Robins in Cool Rules:Anatomy of an Attitude.

    But it was the American actor James Dean who became the symbol for “cool” in the hugely successful 1955 movie Rebel without a Cause.  Dean plays a tough guy who disobeys his parents and the authorities. He always gets the girl, smokes cigarettes, wears a leather jacket and beats up bullies. In the movie, Dean showed what “cool” would mean to American young people for the next 60 years.

　 Today the focus of “cool” has changed to athletics (体育运动) stars. Often in movies about schools, students gain popularity on the athletics field more than in the classroom. This can be seen quite clearly in movies like Varsity Blues and John Tucker Must Die.

　 But many teenagers also think being smart is cool. Chess and other thinking games have been becoming more popular in schools.

    “Call it the Harry Potterization of America—a time when being smart is the new cool,” writes journalist Joe Sunnen.

29. If you were considered“cool”in Africa in the 15th century, you_____.

A. thought and acted differently from the majority    B. had a calm and quiet attitude towards life

C. didn’t observe rules and authorities               D. had all kinds of “bad” manners

30. The heroes in Varsity Blues and John Tucker Must Die are likely to be those who ________.

　A. do very well in their studies                       B. are very skilled at sports

　C. are good at chess and other thinking games.  D. have supernatural powers like Harry Potter

31. Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?

A. It is generally considered “cool” to be independent-minded and not to follow the crowd.

　B. “Cool” was used as early as the 15th century.

C. Disobeying one’s parents and the authorities is considered “cool” among American young people nowadays.

　D. Getting the first place in an exam can also be considered “cool”.

32. What does the article mainly talk about?

　A. The origin of the word “cool”.                 B. The kinds of people who are “cool”.

　C. The changing meaning of the word “cool”.     D. How to be a “ cool” person.

In the famous fairy tale, Snow White eats the Queen’s apple and falls victim to a curse; in Shakespeare’s novel, Romeo drinks the poison and dies; some ancient Chinese emperors took pills that contained mercury, believing that it would make them live for ever, but they died afterward.
   Poison has long been an important ingredient in literature and history, and it seems to always be connected with evil, danger and death. But how much do you really know about poison?
   An exhibition, The Power of Poison, opened last month at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, intended to give the audience a more vivid understanding of poison. The exhibition will continue until August, reported The New York Times.
   The museum tour starts in a rainforest setting, where you can see live examples of some of the most poisonous animals: caterpillars(毛虫), frogs and spiders. Golden poison frogs, for instance, aren’t much bigger than a coin, but their skin is covered in a poison that can cut off the signaling power of your nerves, and a single frog has enough venom（毒液） to kill 10 grown humans.
   The exhibition also features interactive activities. In an iPad-based game, visitors are presented with three puzzling illnesses and asked to identify the poisons based on signs and symptoms. In one case, for example, a pet dog is found sick in a backyard and visitors have to figure out whether it was the toad (蟾蜍), the leaky batteries in the trash or the dirty pond water that did it.
   ''Poisons can be bad for some things,'' Michael Novacek, senior vice president of the museum, told NBC News. ''Yet they can also be good for others.''
   This is what visitors learn from the last part of the exhibition, which displays how poisons can be used favorably by humans, including for medical treatment.
   The blood toxins of vampire bats, for example, can prevent blood from clotting (凝结), which may protect against strokes（中风）. A poisonous chemical found in the yew tree is effective against cancer, which is what led to the invention of a cancer-fighting drug called Taxol. One chemical in the venom of Gila monsters can lower the blood sugar of its victims, so it has been used to treat diabetes.
   The benefits from natural poisons are not limited to just medicine. Believe it or not, many things that we regularly take in – chili, coffee and chocolate, etc. – owe their special flavors or effects to chemicals that plants make to poison insects.

33. By mentioning Snow White and Romeo at the beginning of the story, the author intends to ________.

A. draw readers’ attention to the topic of the article

B. show that poison is always linked with evil and death
C. show that poison has long been involved in literature

D. get readers to think of more examples of the use of poison in stories

34. What is the main purpose of the exhibition The Power of Poison?

A. To inform people about which animals are the most poisonous.
B. To teach people how to handle poisonous animals.
C. To give people more in-depth knowledge about poison.

   D. To show how poison has been used for medical treatment.

35. Which of the following statements about the exhibition is TRUE according to the article?

A. The exhibition will lead visitors to a real rainforest.
B. Those who visit the exhibition can join in some iPad-based interactive games.
C. Golden poison frogs are the most poisonous animals on display.
D. Visitors can listen to lectures on recent studies of poisonous animals.

Planning a September trip to France

    September is one of the very best months to visit France. Not only will you enjoy plenty of sunshine and warm weather, but the tourist season is beginning to wind down-which means cheaper airfares, lower prices at hotels, and fewer crowds.36  

    ●Go wine tasting

    37  And there are plenty of wine-related events and festivals around the country. So September is a great time to visit the vineyards around the country and go wine tasting. The Bordeaux, Loire and Burgundy regions are all lovely and great places to visit vineyards. Besides that, going to the castles of the Loire region in between visiting vineyards on such warm and Sunny days is also very enjoyable.

    ●  38 

    The temperatures are slightly lower，but plenty of sunshine makes for perfect conditions to enjoy a barge cruise on the canals of France. With such comfortable weather and beautiful scenery at this time of year, nothing equals hanging out on the deck of a barge.

   ●Visit the museums

   Many museums in France have extended opening hours during the summer to accommodate the extra tourists and locals. And some museums also have extended opening hours into September. Wandering around the Louvre will take you into a wonder world，where you can enjoy the world-famous art.  39 

   Besides the above，riding a bike through France’s villages is also a welcome activity for young visitors in September. You call shop for the most fashionable clothes or goods here.You can see the beautiful and fantastic scenery along the road.  40 

A. Take a barge cruise.

B. Enjoy the music concerts.

C. So, don’t hesitate and start to plan your September trip to France flow!

D. France is a beautiful country.

E. September is the beginning of the grape harvest season in France.

F. Going out of the Louvre, you can walk to the modern and fashionable Champs Elysees to do some shopping.

G. If this is your first trip to France, here is some handy information to help you get started planning your vacation!