How hard we have all prayed(祈祷) to grow up quickly, and looked forward to the happy days of being a grown-up and enjoying the many interests that a youth should have.
At last, you have grown up. At least you are no longer a child. They call you “young lady”. You then enjoy the pleasure of being a young lady. You are proud of being a grown-up teenager. People welcome you-this young lady-heartily. You are glad that your prayer has been answered.
But there is always something that troubles you a lot. You say; “Papa and Mama, give me some money please. My pocket money is all gone already. ”
“No”, they say, “your age is a dangerous age. If you have too much money to spend, it won’t do you any good. ” Then you have to stay at home because you dare not go out with an empty pocket.
Another time you tell your grandma, “Grandma, see, I am a grown-up now. ”
“Good, now, you can sit here and knit (编织) this for me while I go and have a rest. ” To show that you are no more a child, you have to sit there the whole afternoon doing the work, which only a grown-up can do. After an hour, you find it hard to do, and give the knitting basket back to your grandma. Your grandma criticizes your work. You hear what she says, “Such a big girl can’t do such easy work. ” You wish then you were a child again.
But the fact is, you are growing up, and you can’t help it. That’s the way it goes!
67. The passage is told about _______ problems.
A. a growing-up boy’s B. a teenage girl’s C. an old woman’s D. a grown-up’s
68. It is clear that the writer, as a teenager, ________.
A. is pleased with the present life B. is unhappy about growing up
C. doesn’t think her, present life happy enough D. knows happy life will come to her soon
69. How does she know her prayer has been answered?
A. People treat her as a young lady. B. She is no longer a kid.
C. People begin to call her teenager. D. She can join women in all kinds of activities.
70. From what her parents say, we know _________.
A. they don’t believe she is already a teenager B. it’s dangerous for a girl to spend money
C. they love her more than before D. they still regard her as a child
Nobody Benefits
NEW YORK—America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history．Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings．
But just a short walk from Manhattan's skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel．
Brown is homeless — one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street．
During the day, Brown collects aluminium cans and sells them for five cents a piece．At night, he sleeps on the street．
"I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that," said the 62-year-old former construction worker．
Brown admits he's had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine．But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement．He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available．
However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York．
With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand．
A US report shows rents in New York city rose more than 27 percent between 1984 and 1999, from US $549 to US $700 a month．
One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up．
The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help．
But few housing companies have been built for the poor．Many small apartments in the city now rent for US $1,500 a month or more．
Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her．She is angry about his drinking and won't allow it in her house．
Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he'd like to see more often．
"All I've got to do is clean up my act," he said．What kind of life does George Brown lead?
| A．Homeless and dangerous． |
| B．Homeless and childish． |
| C．Homeless and miserable （痛苦的）． |
| D．Homeless and sleepless． |
From George Brown's life we can find that ______.
| A．old Americans lead a hard life |
| B．old Americans want to live alone |
| C．American cities are crowded with poor people |
| D．bad habits play a role in some poor people's Life |
It can be inferred from this passage that ______.
| A．America is short of housing companies |
| B．the poor can't benefit from the increasing economy |
| C．poor people in America will become rich |
| D．housing companies will build more houses for the poor |
If this passage comes from a paper, on which page would it be?
| A．Society． | B．Science． | C．Economy． | D．Business． |
8:30 PM
Outlook
Outlook is back with a new series of reports to keep you up date with all that’s new in the world of entertainment．Stories go all the way from the technical to the romantic, from stage to screen．There will be reports of the stars of the moment, the stars of the future and the stars of the past．The director with his new film, the designer with the latest fashion, and the musician with the popular song are part of the new Outlook．The program is introduced by Fran Levine.
9:00 PM
Discovery
When a 10-year-old boy gets a first class degreein mathematics or an 8-year-old plays chess like a future grand master, they are considered as geniuses．Where does the quality of genius come from? Is it all in the genes or can any child be turned into a genius? And if parents do have a child who might become a genius in the future, what should they do? In this 30-minute film, Barry Johnson, the professor at School of Medicine, New York University, will help you discover the answer.
10:00 PM
Science / Health
Is it possible to beat high blood pressure without drugs? The answer is “yes”, according to the researchers at Johns Hopkins and three other medical centers．After a study of 800 persons with high blood pressure, they found that after 6 months, those devoted to weight loss-exercise and eating a low-salt, low-fat food lost about 13 pounds and became fitter．Plus, 35% of them dropped into the normal category （范畴）．This week, Dr．Alan Duckworth will tell you how these people reduce their blood pressure to a level similar to what’s achieved with Hypertension drugs.The main purpose of writing these three texts is ______.
| A．to invite people to see films |
| B．to invite people to topic discussions |
| C．to attract more students to attend lectures |
| D．to attract more people to watch TV programs |
From Outlook, you can get a great deal of information about ______.
| A．story tellers | B．famous stars |
| C．film companies | D．music fans |
Who will be most probably interested in Discovery?
| A．Parents who want to send their children to a school of medicine. |
| B．Children who are good at mathematics. |
| C．Parents who want their child to become another Albert Einstein. |
| D．Children who are interested in playing chess． |
According to the third text, which of the following has almost the same effect as Hypertension drug?
| A．Exercise plus a healthy diet. |
| B．Loss of thirteen pounds in weight. |
| C．Six months of exercise without drugs. |
| D．Low-salt and low-fat food. |
Death Valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its alkali sand．Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and Badwater, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and the lowest point in the United States．
Long ago the Panamint Indians called this place “Tomesha”— the land of fire．Death Valley’s present name dates back to 1849, when a group of miners coming across from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story．Today Death Valley has been declared a National Monument and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily．Luckily the change created by human settlement has hardly ruined the special beauty of this place．
Here nature created a lot of surprising, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors．One of the most astonishing and colorful parts of Death Valley is the Devil’s Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from dreams．Sand sculptures stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen．The present name of the valley comes from _______．
| A．an Indian name | B．the death of the miners |
| C．the local people | D．a National Movement |
From the passage we can learn that _______．
| A．no one had ever known the desert before the miners |
| B．it’s still not easy to travel across the desert |
| C．people can find gas-stations, cafes and hotels in the desert |
| D．people have changed the natural sight of the desert |
The Devil’s Golf Course is famous for _______．
| A．the terrible sights | B．the moon-like sights |
| C．dream-like sights | D．the ever-changing sights |
From the passage we can see that the writer _______ the Death Valley．
| A．appreciates | B．is fearful of | C．dislikes | D．is tired of |
My teenage son Karl became withdrawnafter his father died．As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him．But the more I tried, the more he pulled away．When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year．At this rate he would never graduate．I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him．Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help．“Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son． I’m at the end of my rope．I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call．A man introduced himself as the headmaster．“I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger．“Ilove my son but I just don’t know what to do．I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked．It’s out of my hands．“For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line．The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.
Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades．Finally, he even made the honor roll .In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl．I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around．On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded．“That was me．I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you．That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”By saying “Karl became withdrawn”, the author means that the boy changed entirely and______.
| A．preferred to stay alone at home | B．lost interest in any activity |
| C．refused to talk to others | D．began to dislike his mother |
There was silence on the other end of the line because______.
| A．the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother |
| B．the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking |
| C．the speaker didn’t want the mother to recognize his voice |
| D．the speaker was unable to interrupt the mother |
The underlined sentence “…he even made the honor roll” means that “______”.
| A．he was even on the list to be praised at the parent-teacher meeting |
| B．he was even on the list of students who made progress in grades |
| C．he was even on the list of students who turned themselves around |
| D．he was even on the list of the best students at school |
What is the main idea of this passage ?
| A．Children in single-parent families often have mental problems. |
| B．Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life. |
| C．Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers. |
| D．School education doesn’t work without full support from parents. |
The other day I heard a few local musicians talking:
“I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can’t even understand a bit of music.”
“I’m never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us.”
But, one younger musician said, “There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also looking to book a few summer festivals this year.”
I’ve heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative, they’re rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame (责怪) others, and you play the role of victim (受害者), chances are you will start to as well. So it’s time to take a look at the people you call “friends”.
This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard (标准) for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you’re looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．How to make friendship last for ever |
| C．You are who your friends are |
| D．Friends are the most important in one’s success |
The underlined sentence “they’re rubbing off on you” in Paragraph 6 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead |
| B．they’ll influence you |
| C．they’ll cover your shortcomings |
| D．they’ll help you achieve your goal |
The musicians’ words at the beginning are written mainly to show ______.
| A．the musicians’ living conditions are quite poor |
| B．people have poor taste in music |
| C．people have different attitudes towards the same thing |
| D．young people have greater chances of succeeding |
By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can ______.
| A．improve a lot in making more friends |
| B．come to the right way of making friends |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．arrange the time with your friends properly |
The passage is mainly written for ______.
| A．musicians |
| B．managers |
| C．negative people |
| D．people wanting to succeed |