My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died.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. “I love 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 That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”By saying “Karl became withdrawn”, the author means that the boy changed entirely and ________ .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 his studies |
| 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 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 had 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. |
Some people look at a hole and see empty space. Others see opportunity. That’s what Sheri Schmelzer spotted a few years ago when everyone—including her three children—started wearing Crocs, the colorful shoes dotted with holes.
“My kids and I were clowning around, and my eldest daughter, Lexie, got the sewing kit out. I brought one of the Crocs, pulled some buttons, rhinestones, and fabric out of the kit, and stuck them in the holes. Lexie said, ‘Mom, I love that!’”
Sheri and Lexie, then seven, spent the rest of the day filling holes in the family’s 12 pairs of Crocs. Every look-alike shoe was suddenly unique. When her husband, Rich, experienced in setting up businesses, came home later that day, says Sheri, “I could see the light bulb go on over his head,” Crocs had sold millions of pairs of shoes; the couple figured they could create a business simply by riding the wave. Rich refused to let a decorated Croc leave their Boulder, Colorado, house until he’d filed a patent.
But first they needed a name. “Rich and I had seen a movie where Meg Ryan says to Tom Hanks, ‘I’m such a flibbertigibbet!’ That became my nickname, so I called the business Jibbitz.” While Sheri designed, Rich strategized. They decided to sell the charms through a website, Jibbitz.com<http://www/jibbitz.com.>
Six months later, in February 2006, Sheri was doing so well that Rich left his business to work with her full-time. She was making hundreds of Jibbitz to order, by hand, by herself, in their basement. And filling those holes wasn’t as easy as it looked. The bigger the shoe, the bigger the holes; it took six models before Sheri figured out how to make her charms one-size-fits-all. Later Rich found a way to get plastic Jibbitz manufactured in China.
Someone at Crocs was sure going to notice the charms—after all, the company was headquartered (总部设在) just ten miles down the road. Duke Hanson, one of Crocs’ founders, spotted Lexie and her Jibbitz at the local pool, handed her his business card, and said, “Have your mom call me.”
Sheri and Rich met with Crocs executives, but no one suggested buying the company. Sheri was actually relieved because she wanted to see if she, not Crocs, could make it big. And she did. In December 2006, Crocs bought Jibbitz for $20 million, with the Schmelzers staying on board.
64. The passage is mainly about ____.
A. how the Schmelzers found opportunities out of nothing.
B. how the Schmelzers found opportunities and developed their business
C. how creativity matters to a successful business
D. how the business of Crocs became successful.
65. When Sheri said, “I could see the light bulb go on over his head”, she meant that ____.
A. Rich was really excited B. Rich liked their shoe charms
C. saw this as a business opportunity
D. Rich wasn’t satisfied with the decorations
66. From Paragraph 5, we can learn that ____.
A. the Schmelzers kept improving to make their business successful
B. Sheri does not trust others when it comes to designing Jibbitz
C. making the products unique is key to business success
D. Rich made a lot of sacrifices for their family business
67. Which of the following is arranged in the right order according to the text?
a. the Schmelzers applied for a patent b. Crocs’ shoes sold well
c. the Schmelzers set up their website
d. by making their products in China, the Schmelzers spread their business.
A. acdb B.bacd C. bcad D. adcb
Children are being indirectly affected by the impact of the recession (经济衰退) on their parents, the Children’s society warns.
The chief executive of the Children’s Society, Bob Reitemeier, said that children were “on the front of recession”. He said the recession made it even more important to try to end child poverty.
The answers suggest children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be affected, but over a third of children across all backgrounds said they were aware that the recession was worrying their parents.
Fifteen-year-old Patricia said her family felt the impact of the recession on their everyday budget. “We have to save up our money and do not spend it so much on unnecessary things,” she said.
Those questioned appeared to have great awareness of the economic crisis, which, unsurprisingly, was higher among the older children. But around 15% said they hadn’t been affected by it.
Recent figures showed that in 2007 there were 850,000 young people with no particular occupation. An official from the government said it was so “disappointing” that some young people were concerned about the economy.
Parents are clearly best placed to talk to their children about their worries, but schools also play an important role in teaching young people the skills they need to become healthy, happy and confident individuals.
60.Which of the following is true?
A. It is more important to try to end child poverty in the recession.
B. Children from poorer areas are less likely to be affected.
C. All the children questioned are worried about the economy.
D. That some young people are worrying about the economy is “good news”.
61.What does the underlined word “it” refer to in Paragraph 5?
A. The poorer background. B. The impact of the recession.
C. Everyday budget. D. The government.
62. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Many children are concerned about the recession.
B. Children are being directly affected by the recession.
C. The recession influenced children indirectly.
D. Schools play an important role in teaching young people how to become healthy, happy and confident individuals.
63. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage ?
A. The writer is very disappointed that so many people are out of job.
B. families and teachers should teach children the value of budgeting
C. Children are not supposed to know too much about the impact of the recession
D. Children with good personalities deal with the impact of recession better.
It is midnight on September 22, 2012. The sky above Manhattan，New York is filled with a curtain of colorful light. New Yorkers are fascinated by the beautiful aurora (极光). However, their fascination is short-lived.
Within a few seconds, electric bulbs dim and flicker (闪烁), then become unusually bright for a few seconds. Then all the lights go out. Within 90 seconds, the entire eastern half of the US is without power.
Besides the US, Europe, Japan and China are also hit by the same terrible event. It is a violent solar flare (太阳耀斑) ,150 million kilometers away on the surface of the sun.
Science fiction? No. A report funded by NASA and issued by the US National Academy of Sciences in January this year says it could happen.
A massive solar flare is most likely on a spring or autumn night in 2012, according to the report.
Solar flares are huge explosions on the surface of the sun. In a matter of just a few minutes they heat material to many millions of degrees and release as much energy as a billion megatons (百万吨) of TNT explosives. Solar flares release a stream of charged high-energy particles (粒子). They are called “solar winds”.
If one solar “wind” should hit the Earth’s magnetic shield (磁场), the result could be terrible for humans.
But there’s no need to run for cover from solar winds. They do not harm life on Earth, they only affect the way we live, especially since we depend so much on modern technology. They can pump extra electricity into power lines and pipelines, causing blackouts and fuel leaks. Solar winds are also known to affect mobile phone operations and may disrupt wireless Internet services.
Moreover, solar winds can prevent normal satellite operations, and disrupt radio communications and navigation systems such as the Global Positioning System.
Auroras are powered by solar wind. This wind blows past the Earth at about 400-700 km per second and creates storms in the Earth’s magnetic environment. In the polar regions these explode into southern or northern polar lights.
The most serious solar storm that hit Earth in history happened in 1859. It caused the failure of telegraph systems in Europe and North America.
So, for humans, the sun is a double-edged sword. Without the sun, there would be no life on Earth. Without the sun, Earth would be a frozen dark ball floating in space. However, on the other hand, the sun can disorder our lives from time to time.
56. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. It introduces to readers the advantages and disadvantages of the sun.
B. It describes a science fiction set in Manhattan on 22 September 2012.
C. It shows readers the way in which solar winds form inside the sun.
D. It explains what solar flares are and their effects on human life.
57. The first two paragraphs are written ____.
A. to show a beautiful scene in a true story
B. to describe the beautiful scenery of Manhattan
C. to describe the power problem around the world
D. to introduce the topic of this passage
58. What can we conclude from the passage?
A. Solar flares will do great harm to those who are using the Internet.
B. Solar flares cannot reach as far as the polar regions.
C. Solar flares are huge explosions that happen inside the sun.
D. But for our reliance on technology, solar flares wouldn’t
affect us so much.
59. Solar winds will likely affect us in the following ways EXCEPT that ____.
A. normal satellite operations will be stopped
B. the lights in the areas affected will go out at the same time
C. people on the streets will be struck to death
D. some navigation systems will be out of order
When you buy a T-shirt, or a fur coat in a store , it often carries a label(标签) telling who made it or from what store it was bought. Indeed, some labels show the dress is famous and it is very expensive, so buyers who deal with the cheapest products would be pleased to do away with labels entirely.
However, there is another label more important than the one showing from which store the dress was bought. When a person buys a fur coat, or a jacket , from a store , a label telling what the product is made of should be carried to it.
This label is required by law. Besides telling what the product on show is made of , the label should be in clear English and be where one can find it easily. The information on the label must be the truth.
The reason for this label is that most buyers today aren’t expert enough to know exactly what kind of fur or material they are buying. The buyer must believe in the store that sells the products or in what the labels say.The author doesn’t agree that_______.
| A．some clothes may carry more than one label |
| B．some clothing stores sell cheap dresses |
| C．shops can sell products with or without labels |
| D．buyers will believe what the label says |
This article mainly refers to__________.
| A．making furs and clothes | B．protecting buyers with law |
| C．keeping the buyers informed | D．businessmen and sellers |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Not all buyers know the materials they are buying. |
| B．A fur coat with a high price often carries a false label. |
| C．A label only says what material the product is made of . |
| D．A T-shirt seldom carries a label. |
In many homes, divorce is caused by the “battle between the sexes.” To understand the problem, one must remember that the modern American woman is freed. During childhood and adolescence(青少年期), the American girl is given freedom and education which is equal to a boy's. After completing school, she is able to get a job and support herself. She doesn't have to marry for financial security. She considers herself an independent, self-sufficient person. She wants a husband whom she can respect, but she doesn't want to be dominated(控制) by him. She wants a democratic household in which she has a voice in making decisions. When a husband and wife are able to share decisionmaking, their marriage is probably closer, stronger, and more satisfying. Otherwise, the couple is likely to wind up in the divorce court.
When a couple gets divorced, the court usually requires the man to pay his former wife a monthly sum of money. If the couple has children, they usually remain with the mother, and the father is expected to pay for their support.
Although divorce is quite common in the United States, 80 percent of those who get divorced remarry. The remarriages allow thousands of people, especially children, to enjoy family life again, but at the same time many troubles have arisen. A well-known American joke tells of a wife calling to her second husband, “Quick, John! Come here and help me! Your children are beating up our chidlren!”What causes most of the divorce cases in the U.S.A.?
A.Financial trouble in the family.
B.Women's liberation movement.
C.Different attitudes towards children's education.
D.Lack of democratic atmosphere in the household.What do you know of modern American women, according to the passage?
| A．They are overbearing and hardworking. |
| B．They are more independent than ever. |
| C．They do not have much say in the household. |
| D．They respect their husbands, but do not rely on them. |
What kind of marriage can be successful?
| A．Both the man and woman are financially secure. |
| B．Husband and wife share housework. |
| C．Both the man and woman are well-educated. |
| D．Decisions are made by the man and woman together. |
What happens when a couple is divorced, according to the passage?
| A．The children become homeless. |
| B．The man is still responsible for the welfare of his children. |
| C．Life becomes difficult for the woman and her children. |
| D．The man, rather than the woman, remarries soon. |