As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food．Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more． Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping（录像） the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes．They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children．But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make．That can have an important effect on the children．“In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says．“And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is．”
The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings（兄弟姐妹）．Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention．“Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis．“When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child．” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event．”The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______．
| A．show the relationship between parents and children |
| B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table |
| C．report on the findings of a study |
| D．give information about family problems |
Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ______．
| A．they are busy serving food to their children |
| B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table |
| C．they have to pay more attention to younger children |
| D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family |
By saying “Middle children are invisible” in paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children ______．
| A．have to help their parents to serve dinner |
| B．get the least attention from the family |
| C．are often kept away from the dinner table |
| D．find it hard to keep up with other children |
Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?
| A．It is important to have the right food for children． |
| B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner． |
| C．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently． |
| D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner |
第三部分：阅读理解（共20题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
From age eight to eleven, I attended a small school in Bath, England. It was a small school of four classes with about twenty-five children in each class according to age. For the most part, one teacher had to teach all subjects to the children in the class. However, sometimes the headmaster, Mr. Ronald Broaches, would come in and spend an hour or so, teaching some subjects in which he was especially interested. He was a large man with a very happy nature. He had a sense of humor and would delight in telling the children small stories that would make us laugh. He was a very fair man and had a great influence on many of the children. In my own case, I found that he took great interest in me and he quickly found that I enjoyed puzzles. He would often stop me as I was going to class and take a piece of paper out of his pocket, often with a puzzle already on it. The puzzles were usually mathematical or logical. As time went on, they slowly got more difficult, but I loved them. Not only that, they made me interested in math and problem solving that stays with me to this day. They also served to show me that intellectual activity was rewarding when the correct answers were found, but perhaps more importantly it was great fun. To this day, I can remember Mr. Broaches’ cheerful cry of “Well done!” whenever I got a problem right. The simple communication with a man whom I loved greatly has had a deep influence on my life. I shall forever be thankful that our paths crossed. Mr. Broaches died just two weeks after I had won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Unluckily, I had no chance to speak to him before he died. I learnt later that he had heard of my success and I will always hope that he knew the deep influence he had made on my life.
56. There were ________ children in each class when Richard was in the school in Bath, England.
A. 4 B. 8 C. 11 D. 25
57. From the text, we can learn that __________
_.
A. the puzzles made the students laugh
B. the students were afraid of the headmaster
C. the puzzles made Richard enjoy math
D. the headmaster never taught in the school
58. The writer felt sorry because __________.
A. Mr. Broaches had passed away before he won the Nobel Prize
B. he didn’t express his thanks before Mr. Broaches died
C. he couldn’t find Mr. Broaches after he grew up
D. Mr. Broaches didn’t know his success
59. What is the best title（标题）for the text ?
A. The Story of Mr. Broaches.
B. The Story of Richard J. Roberts.
C. My Early School Life.
D. An Important Teacher in My Life.
Do you dream of being a reporter or an editor? Are you a good writer who loves the news? If so, then you may have what it takes to be a winner in the TFK Kid Reporter Talent Search.
We’re looking for 12 students from around the nation to be members of the TFK Kid Reporter Team for the 2008-2009 school year. Next year’s team will continue the tradition of reporting local and regional news stories for TIME FOR KIDS magazine and TIME FOR KIDS online.
Professional（职业的）journalists from TIME magazine and TIME FOR KIDS will select this exclusive team. In the past, TFK kid Reporters have
★Interviewed national leaders, celebrities and other newsmakers.
★Written news stories, reviews and opinion pieces for TIME FOR KIDS.
★Appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Today and The Tonight Show with another famous kid Jay Leno to talk about their work.
How to Enter
Get the official rules at time for kids. com/contest.
Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 20, 2008. Good luck!This ad is written for ___________________.
| A．professional reporters and editors |
| B．student reporters and editors |
| C．kids who are interested in politics |
| D．kids who love to write news |
If you want to become a TFK Kid reporter, you must _________________.
| A．write news stories for local newspapers |
| B．sign up through TFK’s official website |
| C．post your entries before Dec 20, 2008 |
| D．know a lot about the newspaper and its style |
Winners of the talent search will be able to do all the following EXECPT _____.
| A．write reports on celebrities and other newsmakers |
| B．become a professional journalist for TIME magazine |
| C．write down their opinions for TIME FOR KIDS |
| D．share their working experiences with other kids on famous media |
If you're in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you. As a director, I point, I suggest, I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go.
In the 1986 movie Nothing in Common, Jackie Gleason's character, Max Basner, gets fired (or unemployed) from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot (拍) on a boat, shows Max's despair(绝望) about being out of work. I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings.
Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell “The Great One” about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and I sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene. “So Max is sad, right?” I said.
Gleason nodded.
“And he’s probably still carrying his pens with his name on them ---the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?”
Gleason nodded.
“ So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?” He was silent for a moment. “Why don’t I throw them overboard (or all over the boat)?” I stood up and turned toward the crew. “Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let’s shoot it.”
After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile, “Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?” You and your team can discover the answers to problems together. When there are no prizes or gold stars for who gets the solution (or the way to work out a problem) first, you'll all benefit (or get something of use or value) when everything turns out right.The author tells us that to succeed in a project you are in charge of, you should __.
| A．make everyone work for you |
| B．get everyone willing to help you |
| C．let people know you have the final say |
| D．keep sending out orders to them |
It can be inferred(推断) that ______________.
| A．Jackie Gleason is the director of the film Nothing in common |
| B．Jackie Gleason is very angry when he is fired from his job |
| C．Max, a character in a film, is in very low spirits(情绪) when he loses his job |
| D．Jackie Gleason is the writer of the film Nothing in common |
The Great One” in paragraph 3 refers to ___________.
| A．Gleason | B．the director himself |
| C．Max | D．Max's boss |
Why did Gleason call the director over and smile at him? That’s because Gleason ___
| A．thought his wonderful idea was accepted by the latter(后者) |
| B．succeeded in hitting upon (or think of) a wonderful idea |
| C．was certain about his work the next day |
| D．appreciated the latter's way of directing films |
The best title for the passage is ____________.
| A．Directing a Film | B．The Key to Success |
| C．A Wonderful Experience | D．Working with Film Stars |
Business people must keep records of the money they take in and the money they spend. The work of keeping such records is called book keeping. The work of deciding how the records should be set up is called accounting. An accountant also finds out, from the records, whether or not a business is doing well. Suppose a man owns a small clothing store. He keeps records that show that he spent money for newspaper advertising, and for suit, coats, shoes, and neckties to sell to his customers. He had to pay a young man to help him in the store. He also paid rent and had other expenses.
At the end of the year. He must take an inventory. That is, he counts how many pieces of clothing he has on hand. Then he must find out exactly how many he sold, how much money he spent in running the business. If he took in more than he spent, he made a profit(利润) for the year. If he spent more than he took in he suffered a loss.
The owner of a small clothing store can keep accounting records without much trouble. But a giant(庞大的) oil company or a big bank has many difficult accounting problems. The company must know how much money is to be paid by its debtors (债务人) and how much it owns other companies for supplies. It must know how much the company’s buildings and machines are worth, and how much the company has lost in depreciation(折旧), or wear and tear, of its equipment. All of this information must be kept in the company’s accounts. Big companies employ many accountants.In which following way does the passage develop?
| A．It develops by time | B．It develops by space |
| C．It develops by order | D．It develops by examples |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．Good Records |
| B．How to Make Profit |
| C．How to Run a Clothes Store And a Company |
| D．Accounting And Bookkeeping |
How many examples does the writer use in the passage?
| A．three | B．two | C．four | D．five |
According to the passage,_________.
| A．bookkeeping seems more difficult from accounting. |
| B．bookkeeping seems as difficult as accounting. |
| C．bookkeeping seems less difficult than accounting. |
| D．bookkeeping seems no more difficult than accounting. |
Who doesn’t love sitting beside a cosy fire on a cold winter’s night ? Who doesn’t love to watch flames (火苗) curling up a chimney? Fire is one of man’s greatest friends, but also one of his greatest enemies. Many big fires are caused by carelessness. A lighted cigarette thrown out of a car or train window or a broken bottle lying on dry grass can start a fire. Sometimes, though, a fire can start on its own. Wet hay (草) can begin burning by itself. This is how it happens: the hay starts to rot (腐烂) and begins to give off heat which is trapped inside it. Finally, it bursts into flames. That’s why farmers cut and store (贮存) their hay when it’s dry.
Fires have destroyed whole cities. In the 17th century, a small fire which began in a baker’s shop burnt down nearly every building in London. Moscow was set on fire during the war against Napoleon. This fire continued burning for seven days. And, of course, in 64 A.D. a fire burnt Rome. Even today, in spite of modern fire-fighting methods, fire causes millions of pounds’ worthy of damage each year both in our cities and in the countryside. It has been wisely said that fire is a good servant but a bad master . The writer considers it ________ to sit beside a fire on a cold winter night .
| A．nice | B．dangerous | C．unhappy | D．painful |
Which of the following describes the way how hay begins burning on its own ?
| A．wet hay ---- becomes dry ---- gives off heat ---- burns |
| B．dry hay ---- gets too much heat from the sun ---- gives out heat --- starts to burn |
| C．wet hay ---- begins to rot ---- gives out heat ---- starts to burn |
| D．dry hay ---- gives off heat ---- starts to rot ---- starts to burn |
Many big fires are caused __________ .
| A．by cigarette | B．by their own |
| C．by dry grass | D．by people’s carelessness |
How many examples did the writer give to show fires can destroy the whole city ?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
Which of the following statement is not true ?
| A．Fires still cause much damage now although there are modern fire - fighting methods . |
| B．Fires cause less damage in the country than in the city . |
| C．Fire can be man’s good friend and also great enemy . |
| D．One should be careful not to throw a lighted cigarette everywhere . |