When most people turn 21, they spend too much time partying and having fun. But when Adele turned 21, she did something completely different. After going through a tough breakup , the British singer turned her pain into glory and recorded one of the most moving albums of the year. The album,21, which was _ in January, has already hit the charts in 14 countries, according to the Billboard magazine. It also noted that Adele made history as the first artist since the Beatles to have two top five singles and two top five albums in the charts at the same time (Adele's first album,19, was released in 2008. Each album is named for her age when she wrote it). Now, after touring around the world for almost a year, the DVD of her live concert, released on November 29, is Adele's latest work. Having topped the pre-order list ofAmazon. comfor over a month already, this one seems set to stay on top for a while. Born in north London, Adele sang her way up honestly: In 2006, she was signed by England's XL Recordings on the strength of a three-song demo a friend of hers had posted on MySpace;within two years she had won the BRIT Awards 'Critics' Choice prize and been tipped by the BBC as the "Sound of 2008". In 2009 she got the best new artist Grammy Award, and went on a world tour in support of the album19with a sold-out show in Los Angeles. According to Adele herself, much of the inspiration of her music comes from one single breakup. That's probably what has made the singer's success-that emotional certitude , according to Dickins. "The key to great singers is believing every single word they sing, " he said. "And I think you believe every word that comes out of Adele's mouth. You can feel her life force through her voice. " How many awards did Adele get? A) One. B) Two. C) Three. D) Four.
C
We Americans are wasteful people, not used to saving. The frontiersmen began this pattern, for natural resources were so plentiful that no one ever imagined a shortage, within a few years of the first Virginia settlement, for example, pioneers burned down their houses when they were ready to move west. They wanted to have the nails for future use. No one ever gave a thought to the priceless hardwoods that went up in smoke. As a people,we destroy many things that other people save. I noticed a letter from one of England's largest banks. It was enclosed in a used envelope that had been readdressed to me. Such a practice would be unthinkable in the United States. American banks, even the smallest, always use expensive stationery with the names of all twenty-eight vice-presidents listed on one side of the page. The author's purpose of writing this passage is _ . A) To compare American banks with English banks. B) To criticize American's bad habit. C) To tell a story of the frontiersmen. D) To show how the frontiersmen move west.
B
Q: A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday. Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost. Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes. The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005. Roughly half of new subscribers converted from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access. "The industry continues to chip away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted. According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service? A) making the Internet look more similar to TV set B) applying the Internet more to entertainment C) providing more pay-TV programs D) chipping away at the core of non-subscribers
A: B
Q: Each of us would like to be trusted by parents, because we all want to get freedom. Parents are more likely to give us our freedom if they trust us. If you want your parents to trust you more, you have to show them through your actions. Let your parents know what's going on at school and with your friends. If you truly can be trusted, then you have nothing to hide, right? Keep your bedroom door open when you are back. Do not be crazy when they see what you are looking at on the Internet. Invite your friends to your house to meet your parents. When you do something wrong, it can break trust. Broken trust takes a long time to rebuild. It's not easy dealing with your parents when you've broken their trust. But, it can be done. It's not talking about groveling and sweet-talking them into trust. I'm talking about getting them to respect you again. I find it easy to make the mistake of no telling my parents things I've done wrong, hoping they won't find out. There are lots of reasons: I don't want to get into trouble; I don't want them to be disappointed or get mad at me; I don't want to lose their trust; I don't think they will ever find out. And the list goes on and on. But they find out somehow, and then you're in hot water. Of course, even if Mom and Dad never find out, you still know about. Most parents will respect you more for coming to them and telling them yourself. Doing so shows honesty, responsibility and maturity . If you can't tell them face to face, you can try writing a note. Trust can't be built in a day or even a week, but you can gradually do things to help your parents build trust in you. The best title of the passage is _ . A) Parents Should Respect Children B) Children Want More Freedom C) How Can Children Be Trusted Again D) How Can Children Get out of Trouble
A: C