The 47-year-old singer talks about the new album Symphony（交響樂） that came out of a “very dark time”, including her decision to give up trying to have children. “People have suggested I could adopt,” Brightman says. “But work is central to my life now. And so I am going to put it to one side. After a while not having children becomes the norm and perhaps that might sound alarming, to parents especially, but I have never known anything different. I’m not hurt by not having children. My life and career are incredibly rich.”
Talking about growing up in a large family in Berkhamsted (father a property developer who later committed suicide), she says: “I was gifted as a child, and very musical. I seemed to be good at anything to do with the arts. At 5，I understood the music I was dancing to and had an eye for costume.” She first appeared in a West End musical at 11 and hated boarding school.
Brightman led the saucy dance troupe（辣妹三人舞） Hot Gossip and had her first hit with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper in 1978. At 18 she married a music manager called Andrew Graham Stewart. “I was probably in love but I can’t remember. Girls change such a lot between 18 and 22. It didn’t really work out.” In 1981 she was spotted by Lloyd Webber. She became his leading lady in Song and Dance, Requiem and Phantom of the Opera. They married in 1984.
Brightman says she felt hostility(敵意) “from the beginning. I haven’t tried to understand it. I’ve done very well everywhere else, especially the US, where I now live, I just accept it for what it is. The more you are away from Britain, the more you appreciate it. But I don’t miss it, although I miss my family. Our profession can be uncomfortable but I enjoy what I do. I get on with it.”
【小題1】 The first paragraph tells us that _____.

My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult.
For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess（承認(rèn)）to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball. I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred（神圣的） thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog that my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.
Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve, I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy, I screamed to Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is if it hurts you first. And then you think a long, long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.
【小題1】 What is the main subject of the passage?

A．he felt surprised	B．he was light-hearted
C．he felt frightened	D．he knelt before her

For any person who must speak in public, to business or pleasure groups, humor is a helpful, and necessary, tool for getting your message across. Why does humor work a lot? There are several reasons.
People will enjoy what you have to say if it is presented with humor. But, more importantly, if you are in a situation where important, and perhaps controversial（有爭議的）, ideas must be presented to less than open minds, humor allows those ideas to be presented in a non-threatening (無威脅的) manner. Abraham Lincoln was famous for his ability to relate humorous stories to make a point. Humor used carefully throughout a presentation will also keep the listener’s interest high. In a word, individuals learning how to use humor in their speeches can strengthen arguments, support interesting presentations and, most of all, entertain their audience in a positive and comfortable way. 
While popular culture may well hold many kinds of humor, some of it has no place in presentations that are designed to educate and encourage the audience. If you want to become a professional stand-up (單人表演的) comedian whose goal is 100% entertainment, then you may be able to use some of the reference materials like The Art of Using Humor in Public Speaking. They can help you develop your skills and sources of humor. To that end, your participation in this study of humor will become necessary. Hopefully, you will come to appreciate the special difficulty of entertaining the audience with good and clean humor.
【小題1】 How many reasons does the author give for using humor?

Last year I had a wonderful experience. I went on a student exchange to Japan. It was an exciting time of my life and I   learned many things about the school system in Japan. I was in Grade 11, which is second year of high school in Japan, but I was younger than most of my classmates. That’s because Japanese children enter first year of elementary school (小學(xué)) in April following their sixth birthday. I started school when I was still five years old.
In Japan, Children attend elementary school for six years, where they study Japanese, arithmetic, science, social studies, music, crafts, physical education, and home economics (simple cooking and sewing skills). During their three years in middle school, English is added to this list. Most schools have access to computers and the Internet.

【小題1】

【小題2】

【小題3】

【小題4】

In the past, people who graduated from college felt proud of their academic (學(xué)業(yè)的) achievements and felt confident that their degree would help them to find a good job.
However, in the past five years the job market has changed greatly. This year’s college graduates are facing one of the worst job markets. For example, Ryan Stewart, a graduate of San Jose State University, got a degree in religious studies, but no job prospects. He points out that many people already working are getting laid off and don’t have jobs, so it’s even harder for new college graduates to find jobs.
Five years ago, the future looked bright for the class of 2006. There were many high-tech job chances. Graduates received many job offers, and they were able to get jobs with high salaries and benefits such as insurance (保險) and paid vacations. However, "Times have changed and it's a new market," according to an officer of the San Jose State Career Center.
The officer says students who do find jobs started preparing two years ago. They worked during summer vacations, they have had several short-time jobs, and they’ve majored in one of the few fields that are still hot, like chemical engineering, accounting, or nursing, where average starting salaries have actually increased over last year. Other popular fields (like information system management, computer science, and political science) have seen big declines (下降) in starting salaries.
Ryan Stewart (he had hoped to become a teacher) may go back to school in order to become a college teacher. He thinks college teaching could be a good career even in a bad economy.
In conclusion, these days a degree may not be a ticket to instant wealth for some students. For now, they can only hope the value of their degree will increase over time.
【小題1】The underlined word in the second paragraph probably means _____.

Almost all theme park accidents can be prevented. Here, based on coverage of theme park safety, are some tips to help you and your family stay safe on your next visit.
If you are visiting with a child, take a moment to explain the ride to them, and tell them what they should do. They are depending upon you to keep them safe. Set a good example for them by following the rules of the park, and make sure that they know you expect them to follow those rules, too.
Tell them to stay seated, to hold the grab bar or put their hands in the laps, and not to stick their knees and feet outside a ride vehicle. Make them look to you for the okay to get on or off a ride, too. And never put a crying child on a ride. If your child starts to cry, let others pass you in line until your child is calmed. Or, gently exit the queue and find something more relaxing to do. 
Young kids can’t keep an adult’s pace in a theme park. Let them take plenty of breaks.
“Kids get tired,” said TPI reader Matt Johnson, a father of four. “Tired kids make parents even more tired. And tired kids and parents may get hurt — physically and emotionally.” He advises that parents plan a mid-day break, perhaps a swim back at the hotel, to avoid mid-day heat and crowds. “You will see cranky families having a miserable time while you are refreshed and having a great evening.”
【小題1】The second paragraph tells readers that ______.

Uncle Tom gave little Vicki Black a birthday gift one week before her birthday. He told her not to open it until her birthday. She knew her mother wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect to the kind man who helped them out after Vicki’s father passed away. Besides, Vicki didn’t want Uncle Tom to get angry. But little Vicky didn’t want to just hold it and guess what was in it. After all, she looked forward to his coming to show her interesting things, like how to turn an old sock into a doll.
All the day, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about the gift. While her teacher was giving a lecture¸ Vicki sat still in her seat, drawing paper dolls inside the box. When school was done, she raced home. Walking into the room, again, she shook the present, but she heard nothing. Holding her breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Seconds later, she cried. When Mrs. Black saw the box, she said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you to leave it alone?” Vicki sobbed and said, “Mommy, you don’t understand.”
“Don’t cry to me. You have missed everything now, just because you couldn’t wait,” Mrs. Black accused. “What will Uncle Tom think now?”
“Uncle Tom gave me nothing,” Vicki cried and handed the empty box to her mother. “He played a trick on me.”
Mrs. Black said doubtfully, “Uncle Tom is not like that. You must have dropped it.”
Vicki kept crying. Only a rapid knock on the door made the house quiet. It was Uncle Tom. He looked at the empty box. “You have already done it? I told you to wait for your birthday.”
“You didn’t give me a gift.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.
“I try to give you something. I know your birthday is a special day. I tell myself to give you something valuable to last your whole life. I think hard and get the idea to give you an important lesson. If you open it on birthday, I see you learn. Then I will make a big party to celebrate. Maybe next year you listen and then you will understand the gift better.
Vicki’s cheeks flushed.
【小題1】We can learn from the text that Vicki_______.

Almost all theme park accidents can be prevented．Here, based on coverage of theme park safety, are some tips to help you and your family stay safe on your next visit．
If you are visiting with a child, take a moment to explain the ride to them, and tell them how they should behave．They are depending upon you to keep them safe．Set a good example for them by following the rules of the park, and make sure that they know you expect them to follow those rules, too．
Tell them to stay seated, to hold the grab bar or put their hands in the laps, and not to stick their knees and feet outside a ride vehicle．Make them look to you for the okay to get on or off a ride, too．
And never put a crying child on a ride．If your child starts to cry, let others pass you in line until your child is calmed．Or, gently exit the queue and find something more relaxing to do． 
Young kids can’t keep an adult’s pace in a theme park．Let them take plenty of breaks．
“Kids get tired,” said TPI reader Matt Johnson, a father of four．“Tired kids make parents even more tired．And tired kids and parents may get hurt — physically and emotionally．” He advises that parents plan a mid-day break, perhaps a swim back at the hotel, to avoid mid-day heat and crowds．“You will see cranky families having a miserable time while you are refreshed and having a great evening．”
【小題1】The second paragraph tells readers that ________．

The story of English language is a story of change．The old English language, or old English, is quite different from Modern English．If we do not study old English, we can’t understand it．Some of the words are the same, but many are not used now．The story of the English language begins some time after the year 400 AD．At this time, some people came to England from North-west Europe．There were many groups of people．They were called Angles （盎格魯人）, Saxons（撒克遜人）and Jutes（朱特人），whose language, old English, is like some of the modern language of North-West Europe．In old English, the ending had many meanings．They showed past time and present time and many other things．In Modern English, most of these endings are gone．This is the biggest difference between Old and Modern English．
【小題1】What does the first sentence of the passage mean?

Recently in the hope of earning both money and social experience, I became a door-trw door salesman.
I once read a saying. “If somebody wants something of yours, you will be treated as warmly as spring, but if they don’t you may be treated as coldly as winter.” You may consider this an exaggeration (夸張), but if you are a salesman, it is clearly correct.
You would never have found it to be so true if you hadn’t been a salesman. You needn’t stand doubtful looks and unfriendly comments; you needn’t listen to something completely wrong and nod to say that it was quite right, you needn’t worry about being refused time after time; you needn’t always keep patience and a smile; you needn’t repeat the same sentences over and over again; you needn’t talk to somebody you dislike ....
I did this work for a month, then I decided to give it up; Apart from the reasons above, I found I was paying too much attention to the job and thus sacrificing my study time. The latest test result proved that my grades were getting worse.
Even worse, I hadn’t enough time to join my classmates in college activities. Some times 1 felt lonely and unhappy because of both my study and my part-time job. Now I don’t think it is worth doing such a thing for even though I was earning money it came at great cost.
Newspapers and magazines often publish stories about excellent students who do part-time work while also keeping high scores in class. But according to my experience, park-time work can have some strong negative influences on study.
Most students don’t view the relationship between study and work correctly. In my opinion, if it isn’t a must for financial reasons, students should be careful about taking up a part-time job.
【小題1】 From the text, we can tell that the writer is _____.