( B )
In communities north of Denver, residents are pitching in to help teachers and administrators as the Vrain school District tries to solve a $13.8 million budget shortage blamed on mismanagement. “We’re worried about our teachers and principals, and we really don’t want to lose them because of this,” one parent said. “If we can help ease their financial burden, we will.”
Teachers are grateful, but I know it may be years before the district is solvent(有综合能力的). They feel really good about the parent support, but they realize it’s impossible for them to solve this problem.
The 22,000-student district discovered the shortage last month. “It’s extraordinary. Nobody would have imagined something happening like this at this level,” said State Treasurer Mike Coffman.
Coffman and district officials last week agreed on a state emergency plan freeing up a $9.8 million loan that enabled the payroll(工资单) to be met for 2,700 teachers and staff in time for the holidays.
District officials also took $1.7 million from student-activity accounts of its 38 schools.
At Coffman’s request, the District Attorney has begun investigating the district’s finances. Coffman says he wants to know whether district officials hid the budget shortage until after the November election, when voters approved a $212 million bond issue for schools.
In Frederick, students’ parents are buying classroom supplies and offering to pay for groceries and utilities to keep first-year teachers and principals in their jobs.
Some $36,000 has been raised in donations from Safeway. A Chevrolet dealership donated $10,000 and forgave the district’s $10,750 bill for renting the driver educating cars. IBM contributed 4,500 packs of paper.
“We employ thousands of people in this community,” said Mitch Carson, a hospital chief executive, who helped raise funds. “We have children in the school, and we see how they could be affected.”
At Creek High School, three students started a website that displays newspaper articles, district information and an email forum. “Rumors about what’s happening to the district are moving at lighting speed,” said a student. “We wanted to know the truth, and spread that around instead.”
46. What has happened to the Vrain School District?
A. A huge financial problem has arisen.
B. Many schools there are mismanaged.
C. Lots of teachers in the district are planning to quit.
D. Many administrative personnel have been la
id off.
47. How did the residents in the Vrain School District respond to the budget shortage?
A. They felt somewhat helpless about it.
B. They accused those responsible for it.
C. They made their efforts to help solve it.
D. They demanded a thorough investigation.
48. In the view of State Treasurer Mike Coffman, the educational budget shortage is ________.
A. unavoidable B. unbelievable C. insolvable D. invisible
49. Why did Coffman request an investigation?
A. To see if the financial problem was covered up on purpose
B. To find out how serious the consequence of the case would be.
C. To make sure that the school principals were innocent.
D. To stop the voters approving the $212 million bond issue.
50. Three high school students started a website in order to ________.
A. attract greater public attention to their needs
B. appeal to the public for contributions and donations
C. expose officials who neglected their duties
D. keep people properly informed of the crisis
Reading to oneself is modern activity which was almost unknown to the learned in the early days of the history, while during the fifteenth century the term “reading” undoubtedly meant reading aloud. Only during the nineteenth century did silent reading become popular.
One should be careful, however, of supposing that silent reading came about simply because reading aloud is distraction（分散注意力）to others. Examination of reasons connected with the historical development of silent reading shows that it became the usual mode of reading for most adult reading tasks mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character.
The last century saw a gradual increase in literacy（读写能力）and thus in the number of readers. As readers increased, so the number of listeners dropped, and thus there was some reduction in the need to read aloud. As reading for the benefit of listeners grew less common, so came the popularity of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, trains and offices, where reading aloud would disturb other readers in a way.
Towards the end of the century there was still heated argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully, and over whether the reading of material such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening. Indeed this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its advantages, the old shared literacy culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand and by books and magazines for a specialized readership on the other.
By the end of the century students were being advised to have some new ideas of books and to use skill in reading them which were not proper, if not impossible, for the oral reader. The social, cultural, and technological developments in the century had greatly changed what the term “reading” referred to.Why was reading aloud common before the nineteenth century?
| A．Because silent reading had not been discovered. |
| B．Because few people could read for themselves. |
| C．Because there were few places for private reading. |
| D．Because people depended on reading for enjoyment. |
The development of silent reading during the nineteenth century showed .
| A．a change in the nature of reading | B．a change in the position of literate people |
| C．an increase in the number of books | D．an increase in the average age of readers |
Educations are still arguing about .
| A．the amount of information provided by books and newspapers |
| B．the importance of silent reading |
| C．the value of different types of reading material |
| D．the effects of reading on health |
What is the writer of this passage attempting to do?
| A．To show how reading methods have improved. | B．To encourage the growth of reading. |
| C．To change people’s way to read. | D．To explain how present-day reading habits developed. |
My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said, "How would you like to go to Eton?"
"You bet," I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.
This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict(冲突) with his fear of drawing attention to himself.
It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛) and my hands shaking with the puzzlement of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.
"Oh, he doesn't want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn't go on like this.” “It's up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind."The house the writer's family lived in was ________.
| A．the best they could afford | B．right for their social position |
| C．for showing off | D．rather small |
His father sold his Roils-Royce because ________.
| A．it made him feel uneasy | B．it was too old to work well |
| C．it was too expensive to possess | D．it was too cheap |
The writer's father enjoyed being different as long as ________.
| A．it drew attention to him | B．it didn't bring him in arguments |
| C．it was understood as a joke | D．there was no danger of his showing off |
What was the writer's reaction to the idea of going to Eton?
| A．He was very unhappy. | B．He didn't believe it. |
| C．He was delighted. | D．He had mixed feelings. |
We can know from the passage that ________.
| A．Children who can go to Eton are very famous |
| B．Children can go to Eton if they will |
| C．It is very difficult for a child to get admitted by Eton |
| D．Children don't have the right to decide whether they will go to Eton |
Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous（宽厚的）conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”
“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.”Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr.
Briggs?
| A．He was a worker. | B．He was an official. |
| C．He was a student. | D．He was a businessman. |
The word “ruin” in the first paragraph means .
| A．lose | B．break | C．leave | D．destroy |
As a salesman with the company, Mr. Brigs .
| A．visited people to ask them to work with him |
| B．called on people to make them join the company |
| C．saw old people in order to help them |
| D．visited many people so as to offer insurance |
What was it that surprised the manager?
| A．Mr. Briggs sold life insurance only to 95 people. |
| B．Mr. Briggs sold insurance only to people of more than 95. |
| C．Mr. Briggs had ruined the insurance company. |
| D．Mr. Briggs gave people generous conditions. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Mr. Briggs had studied the figures for deaths for several years. |
| B．Mr. Briggs began to look at the figures after he started work. |
| C．A great number of very old people die every year. |
| D．The number of the very old people who died every year is |
small.
Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends . A new device called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English , Korea or Japanese.
Bow-Lingual’s Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks . They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions : happiness , sadness , frustration , anger , assertion and desire .
Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar . The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner . When the dogs barks , the unit displays translated phrases .
Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual. “Who would pay US$ 120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask .
But those who have purchased Bow-Lingual praise the device . Pet owner Keiko Egawa , of Japan , says it helps her empathize with her dog , Harry . “Before we go to the park , he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa , “and after a walk , he always says he is hungry.”
Bow –Lingual is not yet available in Chinese . So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom , or soon your dog may know more English than you do !This passage is mainly talking about .
| A．Bow-Lingual’s inventors | B．dog barks and their different emotions |
| C．talking dogs | D．a little help for dog owners |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage ?
| A．Dog owners now can understand their dogs better . |
| B．Bow-Lingual is a new device that enables dogs to talk in English , Korean or Japanese . |
| C．More and more Chinese dog owners would keep studying Studio Classroom in order to know more English than their dogs . |
| D．People who have used the Bow-Lingual say it helps them better understand their dogs . |
What does “scoffed at” mean in the 3rd paragraph ?
| A．shouted at | B．questioned at | C．laughed at | D．doubted about |
How do you understand the sentence “Bow-Lingual is not yet available in Chinese” in the last paragraph ?
| A．Bow-Lingual has not yet appeared in Chinese market . |
| B．Bow-Lingual can not yet recognized Chinese dogs’ barks . |
| C．Chinese dog owners do not know yet how to use Bow-Lingual . |
| D．Dog barks can not yet be translated into Chinese phrases with Bow-Lingual . |
The writer of this passage is most likely to be .
| A．a dog owner | B．a reporter | C．an advertiser | D．an expert on dog barks |
Most people think their time problems are outer, and that they are caused by the telephone, meetings, visitors, and delayed information or decisions. Although these problems often have a bad effete on them, as when people call or drop in, we usually contribute to them. We fail to have calls screened by a skillful secretary or assistant, or we leave our door open, actually assuring constant interruptions.
In almost all cases, it is possible to influence, if not control, it usually can cause problems, such as, slowness and indecision, lack of self-discipline, the inability to delegate, or the tendency to fight fires, to act without thinking, and to jump from task to task without finishing any of them.
Time is constant that cannot be changed. The clock cannot be slowed down or speeded up. Thus we cannot manage time itself. We can only manage our activities with respect to time.
The same skills are needed as those used in managing others—the abilities to plan, organize, delegate, direct, and control. Time management is simply self-management. It is impossible to be effective in any position without controlling one’s time effectively.
Successful time management does not mean working harder, but working smarter. All kinds of management skills must be used in the home and office to get most value from time. You must think ahead about what to do, and timely than others, making it get maximum results in the shortest possible period.According to the writer, time problems .
| A．are caused by the telephone, meetings and visitors |
| B．are caused by delayed information or decisions |
| C．can be solved by self-management |
| D．can’t be controlled |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as tile internally generated time wasters?
| A．slowness and indecision. |
| B．Lack of self-discipline. |
| C．Jumping from task to task without finishing any of them. |
| D．Working hard. |
It can be concluded from the passage that the abilities to plan, organize, delegate, direct and control should .
| A．be used in managing others’ activities |
| B．be used in managing one’s own activities |
| C．not be used in time management |
| D．be used in managing both others’ and one’s activities |
We can also draw a conclusion that the key to successful time management is .
| A．working harder and harder |
| B．clever self-management |
| C．thinking of what to do, and how and when to do it |
| D．employing a skillful secretary |