Mary-Jess Leaverland

When 19-year-old Mary-Jess Leaverland sang for 70 million TV viewers nobody back home in England knew anything about it. Her victory in the talent show, I Want to Sing to the Stars was seen by five times as many people as watch a similar UK show, called The X Factor, but they were all from the Chinese region of Jiangsu, as that’s the only place the programme is shown.

Mary-Jess was in China to study the language as part of her university course when she entered the competition. A friend had invited her to watch him in a TV quiz show. On their way they passed the talent show’s studios. Mary-Jess went in, found a producer and sang for him. During the competition she had classes as usual then went to the studios in the evenings. When she wasn’t on stage she was busy doing her homework.

Mary-Jess used her £900 prize money to fly home to see her mum. When she returned there were no recording contracts to sign or concerts to perform in. She told her mum, who’s also a good singer, how amazed she was that she was chosen as the winner, then the two of them chatted happily about their plans to start singing together again at clubs around their home town. It was only later that Mary-Jess's mum thought it might be fun to tell the local newspaper about her daughter’s win. Yet, within 24 hours, Mary-Jess’s story had appeared nationally and just weeks later she had a manager, a lawyer and was off to New York with record companies fighting to sign her as one of their artists. Mary-Jess’s singing career had started.

33.  What is the writer trying to do in this text?

A. encourage people to watch a particular TV music programme

B. suggest how to get a career as a professional singer

C. describe someone’s life-long ambition to become world famous

D. explain what happened to someone after winning a competition

34.  What does the text say about I Want to Sing to the Stars?

A. It’s less popular than The X Factor.                                    B. It’s shown in several countries across Asia.

C. It's a talent competition made in China.                   D. It’s the most popular TV show in China.

35.  What was Mary-Jess’s reason for going to China?

A. She went there to be in a singing competition.         B. She was there learning to speak Chinese.

C. She was teaching at a Chinese university.                D. She was visiting a friend there.

36.  How did Mary-Jess feel when she first returned to England?

A. surprised that she had won the competition                        B. annoyed that she got so little in prize money

C. worried about the concerts she would have to do    D.amazed by the attention from the UK newspapers

37.  Which text message might Mary-Jess’s mother have on her mobile phone?

A. Where did I get my talent from, Mum? There are no other singers in our family that I know about.

B. I’ve never sung in front of anyone in my life! Why did I ever agree to be in this competition?

C. I’ve got so much work to do for my teacher! Do you think I should take it with me to the TV studios?

D. A Chinese TV company has offered me my own weekly show! Should I sign the contract, Mum?

SOS!!!Cứu

Fqafyq^UKc7iy,QO?*ycqhKdqio

P

9FWOjdpi

O.CQ

DAUO

HUODUOA

OI

DAO

IHDQIO

LOIDHQ

OID

OAO

ỈA8R89UQOIRO

IQRW

OĂ

PỊdpi

Jajkp

CạIppdIodqo

Djwal

Ld

QjdPaPJOdapOJdJa

JO

JKQ

FJopjQopjPdoj

O

O

OOdQIODokd

AO

D

QJ

ƯpOfp

Ịq

PồPQOopjcipjdlKJwdapojAdaopapojAPOJLZX

ZXC.a

O

ODAoadAF

Write a letter (150-180 words) to an English speaking center to request information about the course you intend to take, using the suggested information in the box.

11.I am going to wait right here until Jessica ________.

A. comes                     B. will have come       C. is coming                D. came

12. As soon as the war ________over, there will be great joy throughout the land.

A. are                          B. will be                     C. is                             D. would be

13. _____ is the natural environment in which an animal or plant usually lives.

A. Resource                B. Campfire                C. Habitat                   D. Green park

14. We bought some snacks at the _____________store at midnight. It serves us all the time.

A. retail                       B. department C. convenience            D. online

15. As a_____________, Jane loved looking for new clothes with her two daughters.

A. shopaholic  B. shopkeeper C. shop assistant         D. retailer

16. It has a _____________ of more than $2,000.

A. price control           B. price tag                  C. price war                 D. priceless

17. We often go to an _____________ swimming pool to enjoy sunlight.

A. open day                B. open-ended                        C. open air                   D. open-air

18. 23. Students are from a wide _____________ of backgrounds.

A. limit                        B. distance                  C. range                       D. group

19.  Duong bought a new pair of shoes during ___________ and he could save a lot of money.

A. sales                        B. peak season            C. low season D. promotion

20. Ann tried to ___________ with the vendor and got the price down.

A. discuss                    B. request                    C. bargain                    D. demand

21. I ________ eat junk food because I know it’s not healthy.

A. usually                    B. rarely                      C. always                    D. often

22. A(n) _________ price is a non-negotiable sum charged for a product, service or piece of work.

A. bargaining              B. fixed                       C. discount                  D. expensive

23. They reduced street advertisements to free the city from ______________ pollution.

A. visual                      B. view                        C. viewer                     D. vision

24. The melting of the earth’s ice masses has increased due to the ______________ of fossil fuels.

A. reducing                 B. cutting                    C. rising                       D. burning.

25. A(n) ______________ is a tropical cyclone with maximum wind speed of 118 to 184 kph.

A. earthquake  B. typhoon                  C. landslide                 D. tsunami

26. A _________ store is usually open in a convenient location that is close to customers.

A. home-grown           B. convenience            C. homemade              D. convenient

27. Our shop has a wide ________ of tools, gardening and home improvement products.

A. type                        B. rank                        C. kind                        D. range

More than two hundred years ago, the term “environmental pollution” was quite strange to people. They lived healthy, drank pure water, and breathed fresh air. Nowadays, the situation is quite different. People all over the world are worried about things that are happening to the environment. Actually it is man that is destroying the surroundings with many kinds of wastes. Everybody knows that motorbikes and cars emit dangerous gases that cause poisonous air and cancer, but no one wants to travel on foot or by bicycle. Manufacturers know that wastes from factories make water and soil polluted, but they do not want to spend a lot of their money on treating the wastes safely. Scattering rubbish is bad for our health, but no one wants to spend time burying it. Is it worth talking a lot about pollution?

1.More than two hundred years ago, _____________.

A.the environment was polluted as much as it is today.

B.people knew nothing about environmental pollution.

C.air was polluted badly

D.people faced with pollution.

2.Nowadays, many people are concerned about ___________.

A.the destruction of the poisonous air. B. the polluted water

C.the wastes from the factories. D. the pollution of the environment

3.The word “they” in the passage refers to _______.

A.no one B. factories C. manufacturers                   D. wastes

4.The word “emit” in line 4 is the closest in meaning to _____________.

A.release B. intake                C. keep                             D. absorb

5.According to the passage, _______________.

A.people should protect the environment

B.people shouldn’t protect the environment

C.people don’t have to be worried about the environment

D.people can destroy the environment