Music died here last spring, or rather, it was killed by members of the school committee who ignored the importance of music and drama as part of the high-school curriculum.
The committee decided that teaching students how to take a standardized test is more important than a curriculum in which students can explore their interests in the arts as well as academics. Because the school system is running out of funding, it needs to make sure that students pass the mastery test or even more money will be lost. If students fail the state standardized test, it is not the fault of drama and music classes – they are failing because the academic classes are not sufficient (足够).
It is painful to think of how many students will be discouraged from singing, acting, and playing instruments because school programs are no longer offered. Many families cannot afford private music lessons, and many potential musicians and artists may not find their calling if they are not exposed to it in school. The fact that the school committee thinks the arts are not worth the investment will certainly make some students believe the arts are not worth their time or support and the cycle will continue.
Teaching for a test does not shape students into complete, well- rounded people. It blocks the natural sense to create and express feelings through art – there is more to life than the analytical thinking that math and English provide. What happens after a test? Sure, a student might graduate, but they will have limited knowledge – certainly not a good preparation for the real world.
1. Music and drama are ignored by ________.
A. students B. the school committee C. teachers D. parents
2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Students can get high marks in the standardized test only by attending classes
B. The school committee completely influences students’ attitude towards the arts
C. Students can be musicians and artists only if they can afford private music lessons
D. Quite a few students are discouraged from music and art in today’ s school system
3. We can learn that music and art can ______.
A. provide students with analytical thinking
B. make students round-shaped people in future
C. motivate students in creativity and expression
D. prevent students graduating from high school
4. The best title of the passage can be ______.
A. Who Killed Music and Drama? B. Can Curriculum Go Without Arts?
C. Why is Music So Important? D. How to Prepare For the Real World?
Put an ice cube from your fridge into a glass of water. You have a piece of string(线) 10 centimeters long. The problem is to take out that piece of ice with the help of the string. But you must not touch the ice with your fingers.
You may ask your friends to try to do that when you are having dinner together. There is a saltcellar on the table. You must use salt when you carry out this experiment.
First you put the string across the piece of ice. Then put some salt on the ice. Salt makes ice melt(融化). The ice round the string will begin to melt. But when it melts, it will lose heat. The cold ice cube will make the salt water freeze again.
After a minute or two you may raise the piece of string and with it you will raise your piece of ice!
This experiment can be very useful to you. If, for example, there is ice near the door of your house, you must use very much salt to melt all the ice. If you don’t put enough salt, the water will freeze again.
61. We must use _______ when we carry out this experiment.
A. fridge B. some food C. a table D. some salt
62. How long will it take to carry out this experiment?
A. More than three minutes. B. Five minutes or so.
C. Only one minute or two. D. About ten minutes.
63. What is the task of this experiment?
A. Put the ice 
cube into the glass of water with the help of the string.
B. Take out the ice cube in the glass of water with the help of the string.
C. Take out the ice cube in the glass of water with your fingers.
D. Put some salt on the ice cube and then put the string across it.
64. How many things at least are used in this experiment?
A. Three. B. Four. C. Six. D. Seven.
65. We can learn something about _______ from the passage.
A. physics B. biology C. chemistry D. maths
Have you ever been ill? When you are ill, you must be unhappy because your body becomes hot, and there are pains all over your body. You don’t want to work, and you stay in bed, feeling very sad.
What makes us ill? It is germs(细菌). Germs are everywhere. They are very small and you can’t find them with your eyes, but you can see them with a microscope. They are very very small and there could be hundreds of them on a very small thing.
Germs are always found in dirty water. When we look at dirty water under the microscope, we shall see them in it. So your father and mother will not let you drink dirty water.
Germs aren’t found only in water. They are found in air and dust. If you cut your finger, if some of the dust from the floor goes into the cut(割开处), some of the germs would go into your finger. Your finger would become big and red, and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes the germs would go into all of your body, and you would have pain everywhere.
56. Which of the following is true?
A. If things are very very small, they are germs.
B. If things can’t be seen, they must be germs.
C. Germs are only in dirty water.
D. Germs are everywhere around us.
57. What is a microscope used for?
A. Making very very small things look much bigger.
B. Making very big things look much smaller.
C. Helping you read some newspapers.
D. Helping you if you can’t see things clearly.
58. Why don’t your parents let you drink dirty water?
A. You haven’t looked at it carefully.
B. Water can’t be drunk in this way.
C. There must be lots of germs in it.
D. Water will make you ill.
59. Which of the following is not true?
A. Germs can be found both in water and in the air.
B. Germs can go into your finger if it is cut.
C. If your temperature is not OK, there must be germs in your body.
D. If your finger isn’t cut, there aren’t any germs on it.
60. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Germs may make us ill. B. Germs are in dirty water.
C. Don’t drink dirty water. D. Take care of your fingers.
第三部分阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳答案。
We’ve talked about snails (蜗牛) and their slow move. But much of the time snails don’t move at all. They are in their shells (壳) —sleeping.
Hot sun will dry out a snail’s body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell. A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for as long as it needs to. It spends all the winter months in its shell, asleep.
In the spring the snail wakes up. Its body, about three inches long, comes out from the shell. When hungry, the snail looks for food. Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers (触角), are very weak. But its sense (感觉) of smell is very strong. It helps the snail to find food and the new greens.
A snail’s mouth is no bigger than the point of a pin (大头针). Yet it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very small, and you can’t see them. If you put a snail in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out! And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones.
51. A snail _________.
A. moves more slowly at night B. has thousands of feet
C. doesn’t move at all D. sleeps much of the time
52. In the sentence “A snail draws i
ts body into its shell”, the word “draw” means _____.
A. to make with a pencil B. to push C. to pul D. to move away
53. From the story, we know _________.
A. a snail’s shell is very thin B. a snail can’t see well
C. a snail’s nose is quite shortD. a snail’s body changes
in different seasons
54. A snail goes to sleep when _____.
A. it feels hungry B. it is put into a paper box C. spring is coming D. it rains heavily
55. Which of the following is wrong?
A. In winter the snail doesn’t eat or move.
B. A snail doesn’t like living under the sun.
C. The snail’s teeth can’t be worn out.
D. The snail’s nose helps to find food.
I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader.Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes-anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲讽) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever
read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times.(How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)
There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had
a list of the "hundred most important books of Western Civilization." "More than
anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality, "these books have made me all that I am." That was the kind of words I couldn't ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about.However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic,and seriously crossed Plato off my list.
51.On heating the teacher's suggestion of reading, the writer thought______.
A. one must read as many books as possible.
B. a student should not have a complicated idea.
C. it was impossible for one to read two thousand books.
D. students ought to make a list of the books they had read
52. While at high school, the writer_________.
A. had plans for readingB. learned to educate himself
C. only read books over 100 pages D. read only one book several times
53. The underlined phrase "with finality" in the second paragraph probably means_________.
A. firmly B. clearly C. proudly D. pleasantly
54. The writer's purpose in mentioning "The Republic" is to________.
A. explain why it was included in the list.
B. describe why he seriously crossed it offthe list.
C. show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand
D. prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word
55. The writer provides two book lists to________.
A. show how he developed his point of view.
B. tell his reading experience at high school.
C. introduce the two persons' reading methods.
D. explain that he read many books at high school.
You're in a bit of a dilemma standing in front of the produce section of your local supermarket. In one hand, you're holding a conventionally grown Granny Smith apple.In your other hand, you have one that's been organically grown. Both apples are firm,shiny and green. Both provide vitamins and fiber, and both are free of fat, sodium and cholesterol.
The conventionally grown apple costs less and is a proven family favorite. But the organic apple has a label that says "USDA Organic". Does that mean it's better? Safer? More nutritious? Several differences between organic and non-organic foods exist. Become a better informed consumer for your next trip to the supermarket.
The word "organic" refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution.Farmers who grow organic produce and meat don't use conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock disease.
Here are other differences between conventional fanning and organic farming:
* Organic or not? Check the label.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established an organic certification program that requires all organic foods to meet strict government standards. These standards regulate how such foods are grown, handled and processed.Any farmer or food manufacturer who labels and sells a product as organic must be USDA certified as meeting these standards. Only producers who sell less than $5,000 a year in organic foods are exempt (免除) from this certification.
If a food bears a USDA Organic label, it means it's produced and processed according to the USDA standards. The seal is voluntary, but many organic producers
use it.
46. The main purpose of the passage is_________.
A. to promote the sales of organic food
B. to inform people organic food is better for their health
C. to persuade people to become informed consumers
D. to compare conventional and organic foods
47. According to the passage, organic farming is intended to_________.
A. improve the quality of the soil and water
B. take the place of the traditional agriculture entirely
C. adopt eco-friendly methods to grow plants and feed animals
D. prevent livestock from getting disease more effectively
48. According to the passage, the conventionally grown apple_________.
A. costs less but tastes worse than an organic one
B. doesn't look the same as an organic one
C. has proven itself acceptable by the family
D. contains more fat, sodium and cholesterol
49. Which of the following methods belongs to organic farming?
A. Using chemicals to kill insects and prevent disease.
B. Using rotted plants as fertilizer to promote plant growth.
C. Using growth hormones to speed up animals' growth.
D. Using pests to reduce insects and disease.
50. From the passage we know the organic certification program________.
A. is not meant for all producers of produce
B. makes it compulsory to attach a USDA Organic label
C. sets restrictions on the sales of organic produce
D. requires all foods to satisfy the strict government standards