1 

 was born in Brussels, on June 25th, 1928. His real name was Pierre Culliford. At first, he almost became a dentist’s assistant. Luckily, he got a job in a cartoon studio. There he met and worked with some of Europe’s most famous comic book artists such as Franquin and Morris. Unfortunately the studio closed down and Peyo decided to become a full-time comic artist. He found himself a pen name from his childhood nickname ‘Pe- yot’.

Peyo became successful as a comic (連環(huán)畫) artist. He decided to draw what he really loved,

stories based in the Middle Ages. He created the character Johan and drew some Johan strips (漫畫) for the Belgian daily newspaper ‘Le Soir’ and then for ‘Spirou’ magazine. Johan soon became a huge success and one of the magazine’s main characters.

For Johan’s ninth book of adventures, Peyo needed a group of imps (小精靈) to build a magic flute. At a meal with his friend Andre Franquin. he asked Franquin to pass him the salt. But he couldn’t remember the word so he said, “Pass me the … um… the smurf!”. Franquin handed it over and answered, “Here’s the smurf. Onee you’ve smurfed with it you can smurf it back to me!” And so the name and language of the little imps were invented. The readers soon fell in love with these little smurfs, who love having fun, live in mushroom-shaped houses and speak a strange and wonderful language.

The Smurfs films were first seen on Belgian television and then in France and the Netherlands. In 1981. The Smurfs was on the American NBC TV Channel for the first time, but the success didn’t stop there. The success of the Smurfs became planetary in the 80’s because of the cartoons. There are few regions left where people don’t know smurfs, but their name changes in every county; the Smurfs, die Schlümpfe, Los Pitufos, I Puffi. de Smurfen, les Schtroumpfs… and 藍(lán)精靈 in Chinese.

In August 2011, the Smurfs make their return to the big screen again, this time in 3D! Peyo left us on December 24, 1992, but the Smurfs have continued their many adventures and are today looking forward to a bright and even more exciting future.

1.Peyo’s real name was       .

A. Pierre           B. Franquin

C. Morris           D. Johan

2.Peyo tried many different jobs except       .

A. as a dentist’s assistant     B. the one in a cartoon studio

C. as a full-time comic artist      D. as a newsagent

3.The Smurfs        .

A. are a group of blue imps from Peyo’s book

B. are serious and hate having fun

C. soon became one of the ‘Spirou’ magazine’s main characters

D. will be in the movie on December 24th, 2011

4.The last paragraph tells us        .

A. The Smurfs have come back to their big screen home.

B. Peyo has left for another country.

C. The Smurfs’ story stops after Peyo left us.

D. There might be more works about Smurfs in the future.

 

 was born in Brussels, on June 25th, 1928. His real name was Pierre Culliford. At first, he almost became a dentist’s assistant. Luckily, he got a job in a cartoon studio. There he met and worked with some of Europe’s most famous comic book artists such as Franquin and Morris. Unfortunately the studio closed down and Peyo decided to become a full-time comic artist. He found himself a pen name from his childhood nickname ‘Pe- yot’.
Peyo became successful as a comic (連環(huán)畫) artist. He decided to draw what he really loved,
stories based in the Middle Ages. He created the character Johan and drew some Johan strips (漫畫) for the Belgian daily newspaper ‘Le Soir’ and then for ‘Spirou’ magazine. Johan soon became a huge success and one of the magazine’s main characters.

For Johan’s ninth book of adventures, Peyo needed a group of imps (小精靈) to build a magic flute. At a meal with his friend Andre Franquin. he asked Franquin to pass him the salt. But he couldn’t remember the word so he said, “Pass me the … um… the smurf!”. Franquin handed it over and answered, “Here’s the smurf. Onee you’ve smurfed with it you can smurf it back to me!” And so the name and language of the little imps were invented. The readers soon fell in love with these little smurfs, who love having fun, live in mushroom-shaped houses and speak a strange and wonderful language.
The Smurfs films were first seen on Belgian television and then in France and the Netherlands. In 1981. The Smurfs was on the American NBC TV Channel for the first time, but the success didn’t stop there. The success of the Smurfs became planetary in the 80’s because of the cartoons. There are few regions left where people don’t know smurfs, but their name changes in every county; the Smurfs, die Schlümpfe, Los Pitufos, I Puffi. de Smurfen, les Schtroumpfs… and 藍(lán)精靈 in Chinese.
In August 2011, the Smurfs make their return to the big screen again, this time in 3D! Peyo left us on December 24, 1992, but the Smurfs have continued their many adventures and are today looking forward to a bright and even more exciting future.
【小題1】Peyo’s real name was       .

A．Pierre	B．Franquin
C．Morris	D．Johan

【小題2】Peyo tried many different jobs except       .

A．a(chǎn)s a dentist’s assistant	B．the one in a cartoon studio
C．a(chǎn)s a full-time comic artist	D．a(chǎn)s a newsagent

【小題3】The Smurfs        .

A．a(chǎn)re a group of blue imps from Peyo’s book

B．a(chǎn)re serious and hate having fun

C．soon became one of the ‘Spirou’ magazine’s main characters

D．will be in the movie on December 24th, 2011

【小題4】The last paragraph tells us        .

A．The Smurfs have come back to their big screen home.

B．Peyo has left for another country.

C．The Smurfs’ story stops after Peyo left us.

D．There might be more works about Smurfs in the future.

People have used pigeons to carry messages to one another for hundreds of years. In the 12th century, the royal palaces of Iraq and Syria included pigeon houses so the kings could be kept informed of their generals’ victories and defeats on the battlefield. In fact, pigeons were a common way to send messages right up through World War II.

Many countries, such as the United States, England, France, Germany, and Italy, in both World War I and World War II, used carrier pigeons. Not only were the birds often the fastest, most reliable way to send messages, they could also be used to reach soldiers far behind enemy lines, where radios and field telephone lines were useless. Since they could easily be released (釋放) from airplanes or ships, every branch of the armed services used the birds. In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers and 150 officers were needed to care for and train the tens of thousands of birds in the U.S. Pigeon Service.

Carrying messages could be a dangerous job. Some pigeons performed with such bravery that they became famous and were even awarded medals, such as England’s Dicken Medal of Gallantry. In a few cases, pigeons even became prisoners of war. In 1918 American forces captured a pigeon named Kaiser, which had been trained to fly special missions for Germany during battle. He was taken to America, where he lived to the age of 32. The most famous pigeon of all may have been Cher Ami. Stationed in France during World War I, he carried twelve important messages for American forces. On his last mission, though wounded, he carried a message that saved the lives of 194 American soldiers. For his extraordinary service, he was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre.”

Carrier pigeons are a slightly different breed (品種) from the kind of pigeons you see on city streets. They are much thinner and taller, with longer legs. Many people find carrier pigeons ugly because of their big wattle, a bent buildup of skin on the beak（鳥嘴）; however, people who raise pigeons often enjoy this strange appearance and consider carriers the best of their breed.

Today, modern communication methods can carry information from one place to another hundreds of times faster than a pigeon could do. However, few people would argue with the fact that carrier pigeons—especially those that served in the military—have earned their place in history. Stories about brave pigeons such as Cher Ami, President Wilson, and Colonel’s Lady have the power to inspire us as no fax machine or high-speed Internet connection could ever do.

1.Many countries used carrier pigeons in the war because_______.

A．they could be believed in

B．they were easily raised

C．they could reach the enemy lines

D．they could hardly be found by airplanes

2.Which is the best example to show the bravery of carrier pigeons?

A．Carrier pigeons could fly to places where radios and telephone lines were useless.

B．For his extraordinary service, Cher Ami was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre”.

C．In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers were needed to care for and train the pigeons.

D．In the 12th century, kings in Iraq were kept informed of the victories and defeats by pigeons.

3.From the passage, we can learn _________.

A．how carrier pigeons developed in history

B．how to train carrier pigeons to get victory

C．carrier pigeons played an important role in the wars in the old days

D．pigeons inspired soldiers to fight before high-speed Internet invented

 

先通讀下面的短文，然后根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容和所給首字母，在空格內(nèi)填入一個適當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~。使短文完整。所填單詞必須在答題卡標(biāo)有題號的橫線上完整寫出。（本大題共10空，每空0.5分，共5分）

Do you like listening to radio? For some people, listening to radio programs has become a part of their d__1.lives. How did this start?

   Radio began as ship-to-ship and ship-to-land c__2.. In the early 1900s, several people showed that radio could do more than that. Dr. Lee De Forest, is w____3. known as the father of radio. He made the first p___4. radio broadcast. As a fan of opera, De Forest wanted to s__5. the musical entertainment into homes. His first try was on January 13,1910, from the Metropolitan Opera House (大都會歌劇院) in New York City. However, the signal was not good enough. Only a few listening stations and a___6.in the harbor (港灣) area were able to hear this broadcast. Although there was a lot to do to improve, it s__7.what radio could do.

   Look at the world around us. Radio broadcasts are e___8.. Information now travels at the speed of l____9.. Music, news, traffic reports and speeches from world leaders are all on the radio. Can you imagine a world w___10.radio?