一、阅读理解
Absolutely Unputdownable Books You Have to Read
Flowers for Algernon
Daniel Keyes
If you’re seeking a fast read, try this short story by Daniel Keyes. He’ll show you how a person who is mentally disabled feels while going from a simple gatekeeper at a bakery, whose IQ is less than 60, to a genius(天才)and the most intelligent person on the planet. In a situation like this, is it possible to overcome your fear and deal with loneliness? Daniel Keyes offers his answer to this question.
A Certain Smile
Francoise Sagan
九校联盟If you don’t enjoy thrillers or sci-fi and stories about dragon-riding detectives, and if you’re longing for something comforting, slow and gentle, this beautiful little book by Francoise Sagan is just what you need. It’s a pleasant exception among traditional romance novels: you’ll find all of the advantages of high-quality literature here. And yes, it’s a real page-turner.
Orphans of the Sky
Robert A．Heinlein
A giant generation ship is sailing without guidance through the depths of the universe. Its passengers have long forgotten the outside world and believed in a pre-technological culture marked by superstition(迷信). This novel brought Heinlein wide recognition, and will grasp you tight and won’t let you go for months or even years afterward. Are we, the digital generation, different from the passengers of that imaginary spaceship?
95 Pounds of Hope
Anna Gavalda
Referring to a real person’s experiences, this little poetic story is about the main things in life; choices we make, the power of love and devotion. The story of a thirteen-year-old boy who one day has to gather all his strength and courage and take a step towards adulthood proves once again that dreams do come true. After all, no matter how many pounds we have, we’re all trying not to lose hope.
1．Whose book tells the story of a mentally disabled person?
A．Daniel Keyes’s. B．Anna Gavalda’s. C．Francoise Sagan’s. D．Robert A．Heinlein’s.
2．What kind of book might Orphans of the Sky be?
A．A history book. B．A science fiction. C．A detective story. D．A romance novel.
3．What is special about 95 Pounds of Hope?
A．It brings its author high praise. B．It is just intended for adult readers.
C．It is about how to overcome fear. D．It is based on true life experiences.
Anne Lacaton and Jean-Phippe Vassal, this year’s Pritzker Prize winners, were as surprised as anyone else when the most famous award in architecture was made public yesterday.
“Of course it’s very pleasant, and we are very pleased,”Lacaton said at a conference with her partner, both smiling broadly from their black eyeglasses.
Putting aside their eyeglasses, Lacaton and Vassal could not be more different from an earlier generation of Pritzker winners, known for their easily recognizable styles and grand work. Instead, the two apply their simple guideline to their work on old urban buildings for low-income families: Never destroy, never remove or replace, always add, transform, and reuse!
When Lacaton and Vassal were asked to redesign a particularly large and over-crowded public housing block in Bordeaux in 2017, the residents (居民) told them they could not afford to move, even temporarily, but they wanted bigger units. Their solution was to replace the folding wooden front door with sliding glass door to each unit and painted the ugly walls with something bright. Suddenly, everyone had roomy outdoor space, some of which could be used during the winter as “winter gardens.”
“So, people can not only get sun and light and spend time with family, but it’s also open to neighbors,” Columbia University architecture professor Mabel Wilson.“I would love to live in one of the apartments t they’ve redesigned.”
Their approach of cheap and creative re-adaption could be a model for urban planning in the US, Wilson adds, where destruction has been seen as a solution to old public housing in such cities as Chicago and St. Louis.
There’s a lot of violence in architecture and urbanism. We try to be precise. We try to work with kindness,” Lacaton once explained.“Buildings are beautiful when people feel well in th
em, when the light inside is beautiful and the air is pleasant, when the exchange with the outside seems easy and gentle, and when uses and sensations are unexpected,”
Lacaton and Vassal started their firm in Paris in 1987. Together, they worked primarily in France.
4．Why are Lacaton’s and Vassal’s eyeglasses mentioned in paragraph 3?
A．To draw readers attention to their unusual color.
B．To show that Pritzker Prize winners need eyeglasses.
C．To tell us how surprised and happy they are for the prize
D．To stress their only possible similarity with other Pritzker winners.
5．What did Lacaton and Vassal do in the Bordeaux public housing project?
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