B
“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” --a document stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores. Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.)
After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled(挫败的),” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press, stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”
Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs, “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----until Bob signed the contract, therefore, she decided to relax and enjoy it.
Although Peters had consulted(咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria, his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative(暂时的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.
45. The couple signed the contract because _______.
A. Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself
B. Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest
C. they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks
D. Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book
46. It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.
A. pay a certain amount of money
B. admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood
C. say sorry to his wife D. do all the housework for years
47. What can we learn about Pat Peters?
A. She was hard-working and selfless. B. She was pretty and kind-hearted.
C. She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks.
D. She did not love Bob any longer.
48. Which of the following can best end the news story?
A. “Wait till your mother gets home!” B. “My experience of being a mother.”
C. “I’m proud of you all, my dear!” D. “Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”
D
What is a good education? The question is far from being answered. Once more, colleges and universities are changing their programs: they drop "fun courses" and restart some of the traditional subjects neglected (忽视) since the 1960s. Many great schools are again requiring the students to take a number of classes in English, history, literature, the social sciences, philosophy, the natural sciences, and art if they want to get a degree. Meanwhile, the experts are trying to describe the good education of our time. Obviously the purely vocational training once favored is not enough. But neither is the gentleman's education of the nineteenth century. Educational programs must meet the demands of a modern world where men and women have to work and to deal with big problems.
What, then, is a good education of this century? Some educators suggest that it should include foreign languages and the study of foreign cultures; a mastery of English, including the ability to write and speak well, because communications have become all-important in the modern world, and also because "a person who doesn't speak and write clearly doesn't reason clearly either"; some knowledge of the social sciences (sociology, psychology) that deal with human relations and human problems; some basic knowledge of modern science, which would enable future voters to be better informed about current problems like nuclear. Finally, many educators insist that all college graduates should be familiar with computers and modern information system since the educated professionals of tomorrow will have to understand their machines. Is that all? "No, of course not." answer the educators. "We have not mentioned the two great building blocks of education: history and literature!"
71.The best title for this passage might be _______.
A.Education B.A Mastery of English
C.A Good Education D.Something About Study
72.The underlined word "drop" in the first paragraph means _______.
A.desert B.dislike C.decline D.neglect
73.The author thinks that the question about what a good education is _______.
A.has been answered fairly well
B.hasn't been put forward yet
C.has been dealt with successfully
D.has not been answered satisfactorily
74.Some educational experts believe a mastery of English should include the ability _______.
A.to read fast B.to write and speak well
C.to write clearly and accurately D.to listen and speak skillfully
75.Which of the following statements is not mentioned in the passage?
A.Educational programs must meet the demand of a modern world.
B.The students will not get a degree unless they take a number of classes in English, history,
literature, the social sciences, philosophy, the natural sciences and art.
C.A good education should include foreign language and the study of foreign culture.
D.Every student ought to take part in military training.
C
Wearing ties was originally the mark of Britain’s most powerful classes, which made the tie itself a symbol of power and respect. And that led it to be adopted by a much larger tribe-the business tribe.
You cannot wear a tie if you work with machinery. So wearing a tie became a sign that you were a man who used your brain to make a living, rather than your hands. It showed you were serious. It showed you were a professional. It meant that everyone who wanted a job in business had to wear one. It was just impossible to take seriously a man who didn’t wear a piece of colored silk around his neck.
This is how millions of people came to be wearing ties across the world. They are part of the uniform of business.
“Ties offer a point of indifference,” says John Milne, head of the British Guide of Tie Makers, “They give a chance to say something about their own personality.”
So if you happen to meet a man with a very brightly colored tie, there is a good chance that he is the office joker. There is also a good chance that he will be wearing brightly colored socks.
Is there a future for ties? The signs are not promising. Tie wearing seems to be rare among the new bread of entrepreneurs(创业者) in the Internet and new technology industries. Many political leaders, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now go without ties. This shows they are men of the people-but not the people wearing ties.
Up until around 1960, it was common for men across the western world to wear hats as part of their business uniform. That changed with the election of John F. Kennedy to the presidency of the United States. Kennedy never wore a hat-in fact his nickname was “hatless Jack”. Seeing that the most powerful man in the world did not have to wear a hat, millions of other men decided that they did not have to, either. Hats simply vanished across the Western world. Perhaps “tieless Tony” (former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair) will have the same effect as “hatless Jack”.
66.In Britain, ties were first used as a sign to show a person’s __________.
A.personality B.social position C.wearing style D.favorite hobby
67.In the business world, wearing a tie was necessary because _________.
A.it showed you used your brain B.it showed you got a good salary
C.it showed you were an employer D.it showed you were well-equipped
68.The underlined word “vanished” in this passage may mean _________.
A.sold B.washed C.appeared D.disappeared
69.The writer may hold the opinion that _____________.
A.Blair is the best leader in the world
B.Kennedy is the best leader in the world
C.millions of people will go to work without a tie
D.people will wear hats instead of ties
70.Which of the following statements is TURE according to the passage?
A.If you are a professional, you can’t wear a tie in Britain
B.The tie will become more fashionable and popular in the future
C.It was the election of John F.Kennedy to the presidency of the United States that changed the fact that wearing hats as part of their business uniform
D.Men across the western world didn’t wear hats as part of their business uniform until around 1960
B
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) - Nepal has given its security personnel permission to shoot pro-Tibet demonstrators during China's Olympic flame climb to Mount Everest's summit early next month.
"About 25 soldiers and policemen have established camps on the mountain and they have been ordered to use force if necessary to stop any anti-Chinese activities," Mod Raj Dotel, spokesman for the home ministry, said Sunday. "This could mean shooting if necessary."
Security personnel will also check mountain climbers for non-essential expedition materials, Dotel added.
"If anyone is found with anti-Chinese material their permit will be canceled and returned from the mountain," he said.
Chinese climbers plan to take the Olympic flame to the top of the world's highest peak, at 8,848 meters (29,028 feet) as part of the global relay leading up to the August 8 opening of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Spring is the most popular season for climbing Mount Everest, which straddles(跨越) the border between Nepal and Tibet, an autonomous region of China.
The Nepali government has given permits to dozens of climbers from 30 expeditions this season.
But between May 1 and May 10, climbers are barred from going above 6,400 meters until the torch run is completed. China plans to take the Olympic flame to the summit sometime then.
Bad weather conditions allow only about two opportunities in May for a push to the summit.
The Chinese have not allowed any expedition to climb the mountain from the north side, according the Kathmandu representative of the Tibet China Mountaineering Association.
Almost every day in the past month, Nepalese police have arrested pro-Tibet protesters from in front of the Chinese Embassy and the United Nations offices. The demonstrators are released later in the evening.
Supporters of Tibet punish the government's attitude toward the autonomous region, and many believe China should not have been awarded the honor of hosting the Olympic Games.
Earlier torch relay stops in London, England; Paris, France; and San Francisco, California attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators. They led to attacks on the torch and relay participants, and prompted police to make dozens of arrests.
Subsequent stops in Argentina, Tanzania and Oman were trouble-free.
In Pakistan, authorities closed the relay to the public. And India shortened the relay and kept thousands of anti-Chinese protesters at bay by sealing off roads and shuttering buildings along the route.
The relay went smoothly in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, amid heavy security and scattered protests along the route.
The flame arrived in Malaysia on Sunday. About 1,000 police officers will be on hand to watch for protesters during a relay in the capital city Kuala Lampur Monday.
61.When will China's Olympic flame probably reach Mount Everest's summit?
A.April 28 B.May 12 C.June 10 D.May 7
62.The underlined word “barred” means_____________.
A.permitted B.stopped C.encouraged D.introduced
63.How many times Climbers can reach the top of the mountain at most in May?
A.once B.twice
C.three times D.as many times as they can
64.Where did the torch relay meet no trouble?
A.India B.Nepal C.Tanzania D.France
65.What is the attitude of the Nepali government towards towards China's Olympic flame climb to Mount Everest's summit?
A.negative B.positive C.ambiguous D.Indifferent
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
A punctual person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.
The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he has to do at the proper time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact, time is life itself. The unpunctual man is for ever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable asset as well as others’. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters, or return calls or keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it. He knows that he can not get through huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to.
Failure to be punctual in keeping one’s appointments is a sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time, he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.
Unpunctuality, moreover, is very harmful when it comes to doing one’s duty, whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men.
56.What is an unpunctual person like?
A.He always does a thing when it should be done.
B.He is always very busy.
C.He always does a thing at the wrong time.
D.He always keeps the appointments.
57.Why is unpunctuality very harmful?
A.Because it makes a man lose many chances of doing important affairs.
B.Because it makes a man lose friends.
C.Because it makes a man work quickly.
D.Because it makes a man be more respected by others.
58.According to the passage, which is right?
A.The punctual person has no much work to do.
B.The unpunctual person is very rich
C.The unpunctual person is often respected by his friends.
D.The unpunctual person loses what can’t be regained again.
59.According to the passage, what are good manners when you are invited to a party?
A.Arriving at the appointed time. B.Arriving before all other guests.
C.Arriving after all other guests. D.Keeping all other guests waiting.
60.Why is a person always unpunctual?
A.He is too busy. B.He has too much work to do.
C.He does care much about time. D.He doesn’t manage his time properly.
E
People often ask me how, as a man, I became so devoted to improving the quality of women’s lives. It wasn’t until age forty that I realized what had started me down my career path.
One morning more than thirty-seven years ago, I was awakened by the passing school bus. I was thirteen years old, living at home with my two younger brothers and our mother, Doris Joy Heavin. She had just passed her fortieth birthday. She was a mother of five children and had suffered emotional and physical problems most of her life. Her doctor had tried various treatments on her with little benefit.
As I awoke to the sound of the passing school bus, my brother Paul came in and told me that I’d better come quickly because mother was sick. As I knelt beside her bed, I could feel the absence of warmth. I put my arms around her, first to feel for a sign of life, and then as a final hug. I took my younger brothers, aged eight and nine, in my arms and gently told them that our mother was in heaven.
Her death was unnecessary. The high blood pressure causing the blood clot(血栓) that took her life was unnecessary. Rather than medicate the symptoms, she could have dealt with the cause of her high blood pressure: we now know that exercise and proper nutrition will almost always reduce the causes of high blood pressure and most other chronic(慢性的) diseases.
Many years later, while teaching a fitness and weight loss class to a group of about eighty women, I realized I was subconsciously(下意识地) searching the crowd for the face of my mother.
57.The underlined part “medicate the symptoms” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______ .
A.provide proper nutrition
B.take exercise regularly
C.give up the treatment
D.treat the disease using medicine
58.What made the author devoted to improving the quality of women’s lives.
A.His mother’s illness and death.
B.The early loss of both his parents.
C.His support to the rights of women.
D.His knowledge of high blood pressure.
59.From the passage we learn that ________ .
A.the author was the oldest child in his family
B.the author’s father died long before his mother
C.high blood pressure is a kind of chronic disease
D.many women were found with blood clot at the time
60.Why did the author think his mother’s death was unnecessary?
A.Because her blood clot wasn’t a deadly disease at the time.
B.Because his mother wouldn’t have died if she had a job.
C.Because her high blood pressure could have been prevented.
D.Because his mother was not treated in the local hospital.