One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister．On this occasion, the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend．I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying the older ones．Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out．I called home with this happy news．But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone．“I’ll give him a lesson,” I said．I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a wintry night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house．After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered．“Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, rational self．After all, one of
the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers．“Where are the children?” I said．He said they were with him．They had done nothing wrong．My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake．This was too good to be believed．Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it．It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday．My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts．Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.
59．The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because _____ _.
A．she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter
B．she believed he could take good care of the younger ones with the help of his girlfriend
C．the older children have always loved the younger ones
D．she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night
60．Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that ______.
A．her son had brought his girlfriend home
B．her son had left home with his girlfriend
C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son
D．she should have taken the children along with her
61．The sentence “It was only part of the truth.” （Para．5） implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also ______.
A．had a birthday party B．framed some photographs
C．had their pictures taken D．showed off their best clothes
62．Which of the following possible titles best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A．An Evening Out B．Modern Teenagers
C．Mother and Children D．A Precious Birthday Gift
The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. In winter, with its cloudy days and bitter cold, we dream of those days at the beach, lying on the sand and enjoying the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.
As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t fair. We suffered through months of school and experienced bad weather for those short ten weeks of freedom.
On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a bird in a cage. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was at work. It was those days that I would watch whatever was on television or read any books that I could find lying around. I’d pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day.
As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as exciting. Everything seems uninteresting. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I hate how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which makes me comfortable. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful — and quite cooler — weather tomorrow.When the author was a child, he ______.
| A．liked staying indoors | B．hated rainy days |
| C．dreamed on summer days | D．preferred cooler weather |
We can learn from the passage that the author ______.
| A．could enjoy the brilliant sun in winter |
| B．preferred reading to playing outside |
| C．had no brothers or sisters |
| D．was often left alone at home |
As an adult, the author views summer rain differently because ______.
| A．rain makes the weather cooler |
| B．his summer holiday is very short |
| C．he knows it won’t last long |
| D．he can better deal with his spare time |
My wife and I have always been friendly with the clerks at the local store. I don’t think many people appreciate what a difficult job these clerks have. They work for a little money and I often wonder how they make ends meet.
One of the clerks, Charlie, was always wearing his glasses but he didn’t one day. I asked him about it and he said they’d been out of order and that he couldn’t afford a new pair. His family needed money. It was clear that he was having a difficult time.
We wanted to help him, so we turned to our own eye doctor for help with a plan. We had his secretary contact him, asking him to come in for an eye exam for free. We told the doctor to let him order whatever glasses he wanted and that we would pay for them. Although Charlie questioned what was going on, the doctor just told him that someone had offered the money for his new glasses. When we went in to pay the bill, the doctor told us he was touched by our idea so that he waived the exam fee and only charged us for half the price of the glasses!
It was so wonderful to see Charlie in his new glasses and he enjoyed telling all the regular customers how the gift came about. I’m sure that upon hearing his story, ideas of kindness may have come in the minds of many people.Why didn’t the clerk Charlie wear glasses one day?
| A．It was very warm and fine. |
| B．His glasses were missing. |
| C．His old glasses were broken. |
| D．He forgot to wear his glasses. |
From the passage, we can infer that ______.
| A．Charlie was a young man with skills |
| B．Charlie knew who paid the money for the new glasses |
| C．Charlie completely accepted the money for the new glasses |
| D．Charlie couldn’t support his family with enough money |
The underlined word “waived” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
| A．took up | B．gave up |
| C．cut down | D．put off |
Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Customers’ Gift to an Employee |
| B．A Friendly Clerk — Charlie |
| C．The Wonderful Feeling of Helping others |
| D．An Expensive Pair of Glasses |
Windows8, apart from Windows95, is the biggest surprise and the only version of Microsoft’s operating system that has been changed from the core（核心）when compared to its former one.
However, a recent study has shown that under 20% of business owners would be willing to upgrade to the new version of Windows. The reason for this remains to be discussed and debated, and we will try to throw light on this research by providing you with some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of Windows8.
Generally speaking, there are a great number of plus sides related to upgrading from Windows7 to Windows8.
Speed—This is the biggest advantage to mention. Boot time has been reported to be up to nine times shorter than that with Windows7.
New passwords—Instead of typing your passwords, Windows8 will let you use gestures on your favorite photos to enter your password. This is not only practical but also extremely cool!
Windows8 experience—Apart from computers, Windows8 will be used on all devices, including smart phones, tablet PCs and so on. Also, owing to the fact that it has been specifically designed with touch screen users in mind, Windows8, besides using keyboard and mouse, will offer a whole new user experience.
However, there are still some disadvantages.
The first one that has to be mentioned is that there is no Start Menu from Windows. Yes, there is no Start button in the lower left corner, and this might be a real puzzle of many Windows users. Also, many users have had a problem to get used to the new interface introduced by Windows8. The biggest problem that is worth noticing is that Windows8 was originally designed for touch screen users, and this may have a bad effect on desktop users who have gotten used to doing everything with the help of their keyboard and mouse.What does “plus sides” in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?
| A．Math symbols. | B．Strengths. |
| C．New rules. | D．Messages. |
According to the text the greatest advantage of Windows8 is its ______.
| A．complex passwords | B．high speed |
| C．unique experience | D．new interface |
From the text we can learn that Windows8 ______.
| A．no longer requires a password |
| B．was upgraded from windows95 |
| C．will be popular with desktop users |
| D．can be used on more than computers |
Many Windows8 users face the problem that ______.
| A．Start Menu is hidden in the lower left corner |
| B．they have to use fingerprints instead of button |
| C．keyboard and mouse can’t be used any longer |
| D．they don’t get accustomed to the new interface |
It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver’s seat is another matter.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense too. It takes the most cool-headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarreling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and calm and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don’t even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it．
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who waves to a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may be not able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can’t even learn to drive, let alone master good skills. Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give-and-take from all road users. It is time for all of us to take this message to heart．The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．road politeness | B．traffic jams |
| C．good manners | D．modern drivers |
According to the writer, a good driver should ______.
| A．beat back when forced to face rude driving |
| B．be able to recognize politeness when he sees it |
| C．encourage old ladies to cross the roads whenever they want to |
| D．join in traffic stream quickly however other people feel |
The following statements are right EXCEPT that ______.
| A．some modern drivers are not good at driving |
| B．road politeness is good sense as well as good manners |
| C．it is also right to have a tiger in the driver’s seat |
| D．a friendly driver should nod or wave thanks in answer to an act of politeness |
Do the exercise15 through 25. Give the different forms of the verbs on page50 of your French workbook. Read page12 through 20 of the Shakespeare play, and when you have finished that, don’t forget to fill the missing chemical symbols on the Periodic Table of Elements worksheet.
Homework is a major part of going to class, and it helps students grasp important concepts. Luckily, you can do a few things to make homework less painful.
First, be sure you understand the assignment. Write it down in your notebook or day planner if you need to, and don’t be afraid to ask questions about what is expected. It is much easier to take a minute to ask the teacher during or after class than to struggle to remember later at night!
Second, use any extra time you have in school to work on your homework. Many schools have study halls that are specifically designed to allow students to study or get homework done. It is attractive to hang out with friends during study periods or unscheduled time, but the more work you can get done in school, the less you will have to do at night.
Third, pace yourself. If you don’t finish your homework during school, think about how much you have left and what else is going on that day, and then budget your time. Most high school students have between 1 and 3 hours of homework a night. If it is a heavy-homework day and it seems like you have got an assignment on every subject but gym and lunch, you will need to devote more time to homework schedule, especially if you are involved in sports or activities or have an after-school job.The first paragraph is probably ______.
| A．examination items |
| B．a list of homework |
| C．some teacher training tasks |
| D．some learning methods |
What is the author’s attitude towards homework’s effect on students?
| A．Opposing. | B．Impatient. |
| C．Approving. | D．Concerned. |
One way to reduce your burden of homework at night is to ______.
| A．take part in studying teams |
| B．appeal for teachers’ aid at any time |
| C．focus full attention on teachers’ lecture |
| D．make full use of the time at school |
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Why Students Should Do Homework |
| B．How to Make Homework Less Work |
| C．It is High Time Teachers Gave Less Homework |
| D．Who is to Blame for Children’ s Poor Eyesight |