Anthony Horowitz was miserable as child. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded(懇求) with his parents year after year not to send him. “The thought was, It’ll be good for him,” he recalled.

It was not. Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied (欺負) for five years. “My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn't even smart enough to rebel . The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”

Now, at age of 55, Horowitz is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month.

The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.

Horowitz said he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way. “I have a feeling it's to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.

The style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story.

Now, Horowitz couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success: “…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”

In the boarding school, Horowitz’s teachers           .

    A．often criticized him B．showed great concern for him

    C．taught him how to write stories  D．thought little about his ability

Which of the following is true of Anthony Horowitz?

    A．He was the beloved child of his family.

    B．He benefited a lot from boarding school.

    C．He emphasizes the plot rather than character in stories.

    D．Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy.

What advice does Horowitz have for readers?

    A．Confidence is the key to success.    B．Hardship teaches valuable lessons.

    C．Interest is the best teacher.    D．Industry is the parent of success.

In which section can you most probably read the passage?

    A．Campus Trends        B．Culture & Leisure

    C．Our World        D．Science Life

Anthony was sad. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Anthony was sent away to a boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded with（懇求）his parents year after year not to send
him. “The thought was ,it would be good for me,” he recalled.
It was not. Anthony did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied for five years. “My teachers couldn’t have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn’t even smart enough to rebel. The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was the desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”
Now, at 55, Anthony is one of the world’s most successful children’s book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies，and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, has come out.
The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.
Anthony says he doesn’t try to write for kids; it just comes out that way.“ I have a feeling that it has something to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.
The style has also made Anthony a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it’s all about entertaining people with a good story.
Now, Anthony couldn’t be happier with his life. He sums up his success:“…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”
【小題1】Which of the following is true of Anthony?

A．He was the beloved child of his family.

B．Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy.

C．He places more emphasis on the characters’ behavior in his stories.

D．Studying in a boarding school proved a good choice for him.

【小題2】At boarding school , Anthony’s teachers_____________.

A．often criticized him.	B．showed great concern for him.
C．encouraged him to be a writer.	D．thought little of his ability.

【小題3】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Anthony’s popular books—Alex Rider series

B．Alex Rider, a popular character

C．Anthony, a successful children’s book author

D．Special writing style

【小題4】What advice does Anthony give to readers?

A．Confidence is the key to success.	B．Hardship teaches valuable lessons.
C．Internet is the best teacher.	D．Failure is the mother of success.

More than half of rich Americans have not shown their full wealth to their children, a new survey showed last Tuesday.
The survey, published by the Bank of America, studied the rich with＄3 million or more in possessions. It found that “surprisingly few of those surveyed have well-developed plans to preserve and pass on their possessions to their children”.
The majority of the 457 people surveyed are self-made, first-generation rich. Fifty-two percent of parents have not chosen not to tell their children just how wealthy they are，and 15 percent have given away nothing about the family wealth. One in three parents said they had never thought to do it.
They are worried that their children would become lazy, spend money freely，make bad decisions and even become a target for attractive women who use their looks to get money from rich men.
Only 34 percent strongly agreed that their children would be able to handle any inheritance（遺產）they plan to leave them.
“There is an expectation about the wealthy parents that they have a responsibility to pass down their fortune to the next generation,” said Sallie Krawcheck，president of the Global Wealth and Investment Management of the Bank of America. “Our research, however, uncovered changing views of what one generation owes the next.”
The trend is led by the world’s richest man Bill Gates, who promised in 2008 that he would leave his $58 billion fortune to the charity started by him and his wife, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation（基金會），and not to his children.
“ We want to give it back to society in the way that it will have the most positive effect,” he said.
Of his plans for his children , Gates said: “I will give the kids some money but not a meaningful percentage… they will need to work but they will feel reasonably taken care of.”
【小題1】We can learn from the passage that              .

A．rich parents may not know how to manage their inheritance

B．rich parents don’t equal rich kids, at least in the US

C．American children don’t get to inherit their parents’ wealth

D．poor children don’t expect themselves to be as rich as their parents

【小題2】According to the survey, most rich Americans                   ．

A．think they owe their children nothing

B．think it best to give their money back to society

C．doubt their children’s ability to handle wealth

D．are confident of their children’s ability to handle wealth

【小題3】The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refers to                 ．

A．responsible children

B．Bill Gates and his wife

C．first-generation rich

D．rich parents

【小題4】From the last paragraph，we can see that Bill Gates wants to show              .

A．the trend of leaving no inheritance to children

B．the positive effect of charity on society

C．the way of giving back to society

D．the importance of independence for children

More than half of rich Americans have not shown their full wealth to their children, a new survey showed last Tuesday.

The survey, published by the Bank of America, studied the rich with＄3 million or more in possessions. It found that “surprisingly few of those surveyed have well-developed plans to preserve and pass on their possessions to their children”.

The majority of the 457 people surveyed are self-made, first-generation rich. Fifty-two percent of parents have not chosen not to tell their children just how wealthy they are，and 15 percent have given away nothing about the family wealth. One in three parents said they had never thought to do it.

They are worried that their children would become lazy, spend money freely，make bad decisions and even become a target for attractive women who use their looks to get money from rich men.

Only 34 percent strongly agreed that their children would be able to handle any inheritance（遺產）they plan to leave them.

“There is an expectation about the wealthy parents that they have a responsibility to pass down their fortune to the next generation,” said Sallie Krawcheck，president of the Global Wealth and Investment Management of the Bank of America. “Our research, however, uncovered changing views of what one generation owes the next.”

The trend is led by the world’s richest man Bill Gates, who promised in 2008 that he would leave his $58 billion fortune to the charity started by him and his wife, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation（基金會），and not to his children.

“ We want to give it back to society in the way that it will have the most positive effect,” he said.

Of his plans for his children , Gates said: “I will give the kids some money but not a meaningful percentage… they will need to work but they will feel reasonably taken care of.”

1.We can learn from the passage that              .

A．rich parents may not know how to manage their inheritance

B．rich parents don’t equal rich kids, at least in the US

C．American children don’t get to inherit their parents’ wealth

D．poor children don’t expect themselves to be as rich as their parents

2.According to the survey, most rich Americans                   ．

A．think they owe their children nothing

B．think it best to give their money back to society

C．doubt their children’s ability to handle wealth

D．are confident of their children’s ability to handle wealth

3.The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refers to                 ．

A．responsible children

B．Bill Gates and his wife

C．first-generation rich

D．rich parents

4.From the last paragraph，we can see that Bill Gates wants to show              .

A．the trend of leaving no inheritance to children

B．the positive effect of charity on society

C．the way of giving back to society

D．the importance of independence for children

 

Anthony Horowitz was miserable as child. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded(懇求) with his parents year after year not to send him. “The thought was, It’ll be good for him,” he recalled.

It was not. Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied (欺負) for five years. “My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn't even smart enough to rebel . The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”

Now, at age of 55, Horowitz is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month.

The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.

Horowitz said he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way. “I have a feeling it's to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.

The style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story.

Now, Horowitz couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success: “…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”

1.In the boarding school, Horowitz’s teachers           .

    A．often criticized him             B．showed great concern for him

    C．taught him how to write stories  D．thought little about his ability

2.Which of the following is true of Anthony Horowitz?

    A．He was the beloved child of his family.

    B．He benefited a lot from boarding school.

    C．He emphasizes the plot rather than character in stories.

    D．Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy.

3.What advice does Horowitz have for readers?

    A．Confidence is the key to success.                  B．Hardship teaches valuable lessons.

    C．Interest is the best teacher.    D．Industry is the parent of success.

4.In which section can you most probably read the passage?

    A．Campus Trends                    B．Culture & Leisure

    C．Our World                        D．Science Life