Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory, communicational and social development．Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten．
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education．Studies have shown that orphaned children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life．Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in
Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to jail．
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early．Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” I have personally witnessed many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school．Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better off he or she is, so they push to start children earlier．
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years．It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life’s success than early education．Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap in poor and middle school children．Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap．
1．The purpose of the government valuing the early childhood education is ________．
A．to develop the children’s communication
A．to give orphaned children good care and education
C．to get the children prepared for the kindergarten
D．to train the children formally and regularly
2．According to the studies, which of the following is True?
A．Children with good early education may have a rich life．
B．The orphaned children are usually unhappy in their life．
C．Children without early education can do well at school．
D．Head Start programs are helpful to the poor children．
3．“the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” suggests that _________．
A．the early childhood education is helpless to the child’s grade
B．it is good for the young children to receive early education
C．the early education can help the children follow the grade
D．the younger the children are, the cleverer they will be
4 The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________．
A．puzzling B．objective C．indifferent D．approving
5．The main idea of the last passage is that __________．
A．the early childhood education is very necessary
B．Head Start programs have helped the children a lot
C．environment is the most important to life’s success
D．better ways should be found to help the poor children
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题：每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节阅读下列短文，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。
When I was a boy, my father told me that he could do anything he wanted to. Dad said that he wanted to be the first to develop color prints in our city. And so he did.
When I was 16, Dad looked closely at the violin I played and announced that he wanted to make one. He read about violinmaking, and then became a violinmaker at the age of 43. He bought the tools and materials, opened a small store and set Mom up as the shopkeeper, while he worked at a local company. He retired from the company 17 years later and continued to make violins and other instruments.
Dad often guessed why the Stradivarius violins sound so beautiful. Some experts claimed that it was the unique varnish(清漆) that gave those instruments their beautiful sound. Dad argued that chemists could analyze the varnish---if that were the answer.
One of Dad’s friends asked him once which kind of wood was used to make violins. When Dad explained that the top was made of spruce（云杉）, his friend said that he had an old piece of spruce Dad might be interested in.
He worked for the next 12 months making a violin from the wood that his friend had given him. It proved to be a superior violin and it would become Dad’s masterpiece. He was convinced that the secret of the Stradivarius sound was in the wood itself.
Later, the instrument was stolen. Dad’s spirit was broken by the robbery, and he stopped making instruments. But he kept the music shop until he was 80 years old, selling guitars and violins.
My father has been gone for 14 years now. The violin has been missing for more than 25 years. Somewhere a musician is playing a late-20th-century violin with an excellent tone. The owner today may never understand why this ordinary-looking violin sounds so much like Stradivarius.
41. The author mentions his father’s developing color prints .
A. to show that his father’s real interest was not in making violins
B. to prove that his father could do anything he wanted to
C. to give an example proving that his father was an inventor
D. to describe the real thing that made the author believe his father
42. What did the author’ father think about Stradivarius violins?
A. The varnish was different from others.
B. The way of making them was special.
C. The wood of the violins was special.
D. They could only be analyzed by chemists.
43. From the underlined sentence, we can learn that the author’s father .
A. liked the violin very much B. got crazy after this happened
C. lost interest in instruments D. didn’t want to become famous
44. We can infer from the last paragraph that the author .
A. really hates the thief B. misses his father a lot
C.really wants to play the violin D. wonders who’s playing the violin now
When someone says, “Well, I guess I'll have to go to face the music,” it doesn’t mean he is planning to go to a concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you did not do this or that. Terrible music, indeed, but it has to be faced. At some time or another, every one of us has had to “face the music”, especially as children. We can remember father’s angry voice: “I want to talk to you!” And only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!
The phrase “face the music” is known to every American, old and young. It is at least one hundred years old. Where did the expression come from?
The first explanation came from the American novelist James Fenimore Cooper. He said, in 1851, that expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings (舞台的两侧) to go on stage. After they got their clue(暗示) to go on , they often said, “It’s time to go to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did face the orchestra (乐队) which was just below the stage. An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience(观众) that might be friendly, or perhaps unfriendly, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So “face the music” came to mean: having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.The expression “face the music” means ______.
| A．plan to go to a concert |
| B．get one’s clue to do something |
| C．have to go through something far less pleasant |
| D．disobey what one's father says |
The passage tells us that the expression was first used by _____.
| A．children | B．novelists | C．actors | D．audience |
In the last paragraph the Chinese meaning of the word “line” is _______.
| A．老板 | B．同事 | C．角色 | D．台词 |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The expression came from James Fenimore Cooper, an American novelist |
| B．The expression has a history of 100 years. |
| C．If someone doesn’t obey his boss, he will have to face the music. |
| D．Almost everyone once had an experience to face the music. |
Ever since farmers began to grow grain, they have had to protect their crops from birds. In the 1300's, English farmers hired children to protect their crops. They were called “bird scares”. The children chased birds and threw stones at them.
Bird scares were replaced in the 1800's by scarecrows. A scarecrow is anything that is set in a field to scare birds away. Often it is a pole dressed like a person. Some farms with small fields still use scarecrows today.
Farming became big business in the twentieth century. Scarecrows could no longer protect the huge fields of grain, so farmers used poisonous chemicals on the fields. The poison made the grain bitter. The birds usually would not eat the bitter grain.
Although they can prevent crops from being destroyed by insects and birds, some chemicals can be harmful to humans. Therefore, farmers are using fewer chemicals now than they did twenty years ago. Perhaps scarecrows may be seen more often in the fields in the future.English farmers began to hire children to get away birds since_____.
| A．the twelfth century | B．the fifteenth century |
| C．the sixteenth century | D．the fourteenth century |
“Bird scares” keep birds away from crops by_____.
| A．feeding them bitter grain | B．pretending to be scarecrows |
| C．spreading chemicals in the fields | D．chasing them and throwing stones |
Which statement from the passage supports the idea that scarecrows may be seen more often in the fields in the future?
| A．Scarecrows could no longer protect fields. | B．They were called “bird scares”. |
| C．English farmers hired children. | D．Farmers are using fewer chemicals. |
The author's purpose is to ________.
| A．give information about children who worked as bird scares |
| B．tell how crops have been protected from birds |
| C．make the readers feel sorry for birds that eat poisoned grain |
| D．entertain the readers with a funny story |
What's on Oscar Film Themes Symphony Concert
Film highlights accompanied by live performances of movie theme music by the China Opera and Dance Drama Theatre Symphony Orchestra, which has recorded the music for many films. Familiar tunes will come from such flicks as Titanic, Jurassic Park and Waterloo Bridge.
Where: Nationality Cultural Palace Theatre
When: March 8, 7:30 pm
Admission：80-380 yuan
Tel：6528 7674 ext 508
Fantastic View All the Way
The mountains in this area are not very high, but the vistas are excellent. This walk is gentle and very interesting, going through valleys, over passes, along a ridge and through a few little tranquil villages that are located in amazing places. Many sites along the walk offer panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.
Where: Pinggu, northeast of Beijing
When: March 9, meet 8：30 a.m. outside Starbucks at Lido Hotel, or 9 am at Capital Paradise front gate, return 5 p.m.
Admission: adults 150 yuan, children 100 yuan
Tel: 13701003694 Email: fjhikers @ yahoo. com..uk
Spring Greetings
Paintings in bold colors in a traditional Chinese style by young artist Tian Xifeng are displayed to welcome the spring. Tian is a student of famous bird-and-flower painting artist Wang Qing. He has won several prizes at various national painting exhibitions and developed a style emphasizing vivid close-ups of natural scenes.
Where: Melodic Gallery, 14 Jianwai Dajie, opposite Friendship Store
When：till March 31, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Admission: free
Tel: 65188123
Cala, My Dog
Directed by Lu Xuechang, starring Ge You. The story is about a middle- aged working man, known as Lao Er, whose chief source of stability and comfort in life is his dog, Cala . One day, when his wife is out walking Cala, a policeman confiscates the unregistered canine. As Lao Er endeavors to recover his dog , the difficult circumstances of his life are revealed. Chinese with English subtitle(字幕).
Where: Dongchuang Theatre, 3 Xinzhongjie, Dongzhimenwai
When: March 13 and 20, 8: 30 p.m.
Admission: 20 yuan
Tel: 64169253 If you are a music lover you can go to ________ on Women's Day.
| A．Capital Paradise | B．Dongchuang Theatre |
| C．Capital Gymnasium | D．Nationality Cultural Palace Theatre |
The exhibition held in Melodic Gallery ________.
| A．is open to the public from 7:30 am - 5pm till April lst. |
| B．presents the works by Tian Xifeng and his teacher |
| C．is to display some bird-and-flower paintings |
| D．costs the art lovers much money to visit |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Both adults and children can take part in the walk in Pinggu. |
| B．Even you don't know English you can enjoy Cala, My Dog. |
| C．You'll have to dial 65188123 to book a ticket for the film. |
| D．You'll have a choice of two meeting places on March 9th. |
All the advertisements in this passage are about ________.
| A．music | B．movies | C．exhibitions | D．entertainments |
Milan, the second largest city of Italy, has won an undesirable world record. Of the 54 big cities studied by the World Health Organization and the United Nations, Milan is considered to have the worst air pollution. According to these two10-year studies, the level of air pollution in Milan is twice as high as the levels in Paris and Beijing and three times those in Tokyo and London, and four times that in New York. The reason for Milan's bad pollution, to some experts, is that the city lies in a valley that holds back the poisonous gases. Though Milan has taken some measures to lower the level of pollution, the situation is still worrying. People joke to each other, "If you are traveling to Milan, be sure to bring your gas mask." In order to reduce the use of private cars, in 1979, the government in Milan began an interesting experiment: passengers in the city buses did not have to pay for their tickets.Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the text?
| A．Milan's air is considered to be worst polluted in Europe. |
| B．Experts think that the air in Milan is badly polluted. |
| C．The reason for the air pollution in Milan. |
| D．Measures have been taken by Milan to reduce the air pollution. |
Which of the following cities keeps the lowest level of air pollution?
| A．London. | B．Tokyo. |
| C．New York. | D．Paris. |
Why is the air pollution in Milan so serious?
| A．Because too many cars are being driven in the city every day. |
| B．Because the city lies in a place where there are some mountains near it. |
| C．Because Milan has taken some measures to encourage people to buy private cars. |
| D．Because the city lies in a place where it is difficult for polluted air to move away. |
According to the text, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Milan has taken some measures and the air pollution is being reduced. |
| B．Milan has taken some action, but the air pollution is still troublesome. |
| C．Milan has made no effort so far to lower the level of pollution. |
| D．Milan will taken every step to reduce the air pollution |