That was so serious a matter that I had no choice

Nora: You're late. Now we'll miss the movie.

Alex: ______I was stuck in traffic.

A．Why are you so impatient？

B．Oh, you should go to the movie by yourself.

C．There's nothing serious, I think.

D．I'm sorry, honey, f apologize.

My aunt Edith was a widow(寡妇) of 50, working as a secretary, when doctors discovered what was then thought to be a very serious heart disease.

Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily. She began studying medical reports in the library and found an article in a magazine about a well-known heart surgeon, Dr. Michael DeBakey, of Houston, Texas. He had saved the life of someone with the same disease. The article said his fees were very high; Aunt Edith couldn’t possibly pay them. But could he tell her of someone whose fees she could pay？

So Aunt Edith wrote to him. She simply listed her reasons for wanting live: her three children, who would be on their own in three or four more years, her little-girl dream of traveling and seeing the world. There wasn’t a word of self-pity----only warmth and humor and the joy of living. She mailed the letter, not really expecting an answer.

A few days later, my doorbell rang. Aunt Edith didn’t wait to come in; she stood in the hall and read aloud:

Your beautiful letter moved me very deeply. If you can come to Houston, there will be no charge for either the hospital or the operation.

Signed: Michael DeBakey.

1.Aunt Edith_____when she knew she had a very serious heart disease.

A.stopped working as a secretary

B.didn’t lose hope

C.stayed in the hospital

D.asked many doctors for help

2.From the story we can see _____.

A.Dr. Michael DeBakey was not famous at all

B.Aunt Edith could afford Dr. Michael DeBakey’s fees

C.Dr. Michael DeBakey was experienced in dealing with Aunt Edith’s disease

D.Aunt Edith accepted defeat easily

3.In Aunt Edith’s letter to the doctor, ______.

A.she showed she was warm, humorous and enjoying living

B.she avoided talking about her children

C.she showed she was very sad

D.she said she had a little girl who dreamed of traveling and seeing the world

4.When Aunt Edith mailed her letter, _____.

A.she was determined to move the doctor

B.she expected some wonder would happen

C.she knew it would never reach the doctor

D.she didn’t expect the doctor would give her a reply

5.Michael DeBakey mainly told Aunt Edith in the letter that_____.

A.he was going to operate on her for free

B.he thought he was unable to offer help

C.her letter was well-written

D.her disease was so serious that he couldn’t cure her

that you don't see, isn't it？ Many Americans spend money that isn't even there and get deeper and deeper in debt. Why do so many people spend more than they have？ "Buy now, pay later" has become an American way of life. Recently, American households spent nearly 11 billion dollars more than they earned, creating a negative saving rate.

There are two ideas—one, living within your means, and the idea that living on debt is a great equalizer(平衡装置). They both have validity because it is important that someone live within their means over their lifetime. When people are young and they are earning money, but they have very little savings, they almost have to borrow in order to own a house or own a car. But as they grow older, they should develop the habit of saving, so that by the time they reach the end of their earning life, they have savings to live on in retirement, and live within their means.

"Buy now, pay later" worked very well for us in the 1990s, but one suspects it won't work forever. The only thing that concerns me is that Americans are so contented, so optimistic, so unconcerned about any bumps in the road that many American households, not all of them, but many American households are very heavily extended in personal credit, a lot of credit card debt. People are paying very high prices for houses and borrowing heavily against those prices; and if we do run into a bump in the road, a recession, there are going to be a lot of households, not all of them, but many households that Ml be severely squeezed. That means we're more vulnerable to serious financial distress than Japan is. Japan has been in financial distress for ten years, but one reason it's been able to weather that is that the households had been very conservative, had a lot of savings, were very liquid, and were able to weather difficult times. And many American households would now be less able to do that because they are so heavily in debt.

We know from the passage that credit cards

A．make Americans get deeper and deeper in debt

B．are likely to be abandoned by more Americans

C．will soon become a symbol of American life

D．will help solve potential financial problems

in schools. In Britain, the fact that 30 percent of 16 year olds have a reading age of 14 or less has helped to prompt massive educational changes. The development of literacy has far-reaching effects on general intellectual development and thus anything that impedes the development of literacy is a serious matter for us all. So the hunt is on for the cause of the decline in literacy. The search so far has forced on socioeconomic factors, or the effectiveness of" traditional" versus" modern" teaching techniques: The fruitless search for the cause of the increase in illiteracy is a tragic example of the saying" They can’t see the wood for the trees". When teachers use picture books, they are simply continuing a long-established tradition that is accepted without question. And for the past two decades, illustrations in reading primers have become increasingly detailed and obtrusive, while language has become impoverished---sometimes to the point of extinction. Amazingly, there is virtually no empirical evidence to support the use of illustrations in teaching reading. On the contrary, a great deal of empirical evidence shows that pictures interfere in a damaging way with all aspects of learning to read. Despite this, from North America to the Antipodes, the first books that many school children receive are totally without text. A teacher’s main concern is to help young beginner readers to develop not only the ability to recognize words, but the skills necessary to understand what these words mean. Even if a child is able to read aloud fluently, he or she may not be able to understand much of it: this is called" barking at text". The teacher’s takes of improving comprehension is made harder by influences outside the classroom. But the adverse effects of such things as television, video games, or limited language experiences at home, can be offset by experiencing "rich" language at school. Instead, it is not unusual for a book of 30 or more pages to have only one sentence full of repetitive phrases. The artwork is often marvelous, but the pictures make the language redundant, and the children have no need to imagine anything when they read such books. Looking' at a picture actively prevents children younger than nine from creating a mental image, and can make it difficult for older children. In order to learn how to comprehend, they need to practice making their own meaning in response to text. They need to have their innate powers of imagination trained.

As they grow older, many children turn aside from books without pictures, and it is a situation made more serious as out culture becomes more visual. It is hard to wean children off picture books when pictures have played a major part throughout their formative reading experiences, and when there is competition for their attention from so many other sources of entertainment. The least intelligent are most vulnerable, but tests show that even intelligent children are being affected. The response of educators has been to extend the use of pictures in books and to simplify the language, even at senior levels. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge recently held joint conferences to discuss the noticeably rapid decline in literacy among their undergraduates. Pictures are also used to help motivate children to read because they are beautiful and eye-catching. But motivation to read should be provided by listening to stories well read, where children imagine in response to the story. Then, as they start to read, they have this experience to help them understand the language. If we present pictures to save children the trouble of developing these creative skills, then I think we are making a great mistake.

Academic journals ranging from educational research, psychology, language !earning, psycholinguistic, and so on cite experiments, which demonstrate how detrimental picture a

A．they read too loudly

B．there are too many repetitive words

C．they are discouraged from using their imagination

D．they have difficulty assessing its meaning

adults experience. And they also need to give serious【C1】______to how they can be best【C2】______such changes. Growing bodies need movement and【C3】______, but not just in ways that emphasize competition.【C4】______they me adjusting to their new bodies and a whole host of new intellectual and emotional challenges, teenagers are especially self-conscious and need the【C5】______that comes from achieving success and knowing that their accomplishments are【C6】______by others. However, the typical teenage lifestyle. is already filled with so much competition that it would be【C7】______to plan activities in which there are more winners than losers,【C8】______publishing newsletters with many student-written book reviews,【C9】______student artwork, and sponsoring book discussion clubs. A variety of small clubs can provide【C10】______opportunities for leadership, as well as for practice in successful【C11】______dynamics. Making friends is extremely important to teenagers, and many shy students need the【C12】______ of some kind of organization with a supportive adult【C13】______visible in the background.

In these activities, it is important to remember that the young teens have【C14】______attention spans. A variety of activities should be organized【C15】______participants can remain active as long as they want and then go on to【C16】______else without feeling gusty and without letting the other participants【C17】______. This does not mean that adults must accept irresponsibility.【C18】______they can help students acquire a sense of commitment by【C19】______for roles that are within their【C20】______and their attention spans and by having clearly stated rules.

【C1】

A．thought

B．idea

C．opinion

D．advice

ortune in the gold fields. But strangely enough, this man made his fortune on heavy canvas that he found suitable for working clothes. Strauss' jeans were particularly good for prospectors and cowboys. In the early days of jeans, this man couldn’t have guessed that his pants, made only for rough work, would become so popular at all levels of society. Yes, this is a fact. jeans have become fashionable in our society. Furthermore, these pants have come to symbolize changes in social attitude.

In the last decade or two we have seen movements toward equality as well as defiance of authority. Jeans, now worn by everybody, can be said to symbolize these changes for the better. In the past, only men wore jeans, and these men were at the bottom—socially and economically. Jeans were worn by truck drivers, farm and factory workers. Today, jeans no longer are looked down upon. They are worn by both men and women, by both skilled and unskilled workers, by both employees and employers. This common way of dressing symbolizes respect for individuality, no matter what your occupation or sex. In the fight against authority, young people have been the leaders. So it is natural that teenagers would defy parents and school administrators over the right to wear jeans to class and win. Jeans are the typical dress of civil rights marchers, fans at rock concerts, "hippies" returning to nature, and serious college students.

Because everyone can be comfortable in them, the blue jeans invented for the use of workers are now accepted almost anywhere, anytime. This is true not only in the United States, but in many other countries in the world. I strongly agree with the following statement: "Old or new, glorified or plain, jeans are likely to be around for a long time to come. Already they have succeeded where statesmanship has failed. Although unable to speak the same language, the inhabitants of this embattled planet have at least agreed to wear the same pants."

Jeans, originally designed by Levi Strauss, ________.

A．have become a symbol of the fashionable class

B．have come to symbolize changes in social attitude

C．are suitable wear for rough work only

D．are no longer so popular as they used to be

An Organization that Supports the Arts

Aside from perpetuating itself, the sole purpose of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters is to "foster, assist and sustain an interest" in literature, music, and art. This it does by enthusiastically handing out money. Annual cash awards are given to deserving artists in various categories of creativity: architecture, musical composition, theater, novels, serious poetry, light verse, painting, sculpture. One award subsidizes a promising American writer' s visit to Rome. There is even an award for a very good work of fiction that failed commercially--once won by the young John Updike for The Poorhouse Fair and, more recently, by Alice Walker for In Love and Trouble.

The awards and prizes are total about 750,000 a year, but most of them range in size from 5,000 to 12,500, a welcome sum to many young practitioners whose work may not bring in that much money in a year. One of the advantages of the awards is that many go to the struggling artists, rather than to those who are already successful. Members of the Academy and Institute are not eligible for any cash prizes. Another advantage is that, unlike the National Endowment for the Arts or similar institutions throughout the world, there is no government money involved.

Awards are made by committee. Each of the three departments----Literature (120 members), Art (83), Music (47)-----has a committee dealing with its own field. Committee membership rotates every year, so that new voices and opinions are constantly heard. The most financially rewarding of all the Academy - Institute awards are the Mildred and Harold Strauss Livings. Harold Strauss, a devoted editor at Alfred A. Knopf, the New York publishing house, and Mildred Strauss, his wife, were wealthy and childless. They left the Academy -Institute a unique bequest: for five consecutive years, two distinguished (and financially needy) writers would receive enough money so they could devote themselves entirely to "prose literature" (no plays, no poetry, and no paying job that might distract). In 1983, the first Strauss Livings of 35,000 a year went to short -story writer Raymond Carver and novelist- essayist Cynthia Ozick. By 1988, the fund had grown enough so that two winners, novelists Diane Johnson and Robert Stone, each got 50,000 a year for five years.

Which of the following can be inferred about Alice Walker' s book In love and Trouble？

A．It sold more copies than The Poorhouse Fair.

B．It described the author' s visit to Rome.

C．It was a commercial success.

D．It was published after The Poorhouse Fair.

(阅读理解题)Advertisements make us want too much, so we get the idea that the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods.But it is not completely right.Advertisement has another equally important function—to inform.A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods derives largely from the advertisements we read.Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about.Supposing you wanted to buy a washer, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted.It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days.And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements.Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway byelaws while waiting for a train？ Would you like to read only closely printed columns of news in your daily paper？ A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or a newspaper full of bad news.We must not forget that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets.Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not subsist without this source of revenue.The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programs is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers.Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price! Another thing we mustn’t forget is the ‘small ads.’ in virtually every newspaper and magazine.What a tremendously useful service they perform. for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns.For instance, you can find a job; buy or sell a house; announce a birth, marriage, or death in these small ads.

(1).What will you possibly want to know from a washer advertisement？

A、some details

B、how much it will cost

C、its functions

D、all of the above.

(2).What is the author’s attitude towards most people’s claim that they never read advertisements？

A、doubt

B、agreement

C、acceptance

D、in favor of

(3).According to the text, which of the following statements is true？

A、only TV commercials are useful in daily life

B、advertisements help to change our life

C、advertisements should be serious

D、advertisements make us spend more money on newspaper, magazines and broadcast programs

(4).In the passage, the author is focusing on ____________.

A、how people buy things through advertisements

B、the useful service of advertisements to the community

C、how advertisers spend their money

D、the advantages and disadvantages of advertisements

(5).According to the passage, advertisements will NOT make us ____________.

A、buy something

B、know the functions of some new goods

C、learn some knowledge

D、forget the old things that are already known by people

men’s times are always slower than men’s, but some facts are a surprise. Some of the fastest women swimmers today are teenage girls. One of them swam 400 meters in 4 minutes 21.2 seconds when she was only 16. The first ‘Tarzan’ in films was an Olympic swimmer, Johnny Weissmuller. His fastest 400 meters was 4 minutes 59.1 seconds, which is 37.9 seconds slower than a girl 50 years later! This does not mean that women are catching men up. Conditions are very different now, and sport is much more serious. It is so serious that some women athletes are given hormone(荷尔蒙) injections. At the Olympics a doctor has to check whether the women athletes are really women or not. It seems sad that sport has such problems. Life can be very complicated when there are two separate sexes!

（1）In this passage the author implies that .

A) women are weaker than men, but faster

B) women are slower than men ,but stronger

C) men are not always stronger and faster than women

D) men are faster and stronger than women

（2）“That at least is what people say.” Means people .

A) say other things too

B) don’t say this much

C) say this but may not think so

D）only think this

（3）Which of the following is true？

A) Boys and girls study separately everywhere.

B) Women do not run or swim in races with men.

C) Famous Prime Ministers are women.

D) Men can expect to live longer than women in Europe.

（4）Women are called ‘the weaker sex’ because .

A) women do as much work as men

B) people think women are weaker than men

C) sport is easier for men than for women

D）in sport the two sexes are always together

（5）What problems does sport have？

A) Some women athletes are actually men.

B) Some women athletes are given hormone injections.

C) Women and men do not run or swim in the same races.

D）It is difficult to check whether women athletes are really women.