Where have all the boys gone？You may be able to find them in the gym, at work or hanging out, but there’s one important place where boys are underrepresented, and the problem seems to be getting worse. These days, at high school graduation ceremonies, there are a lot more girls than boys.
In fact, every year, 10 percent more girls graduate from high school than boys. “I think that there’s a tendency to focus on boys as problems at this point, rather than recognize that boys have problems,” says Joanne Max, PhD. Experts say the problems start in grade school, where there’s often an emphasis on sports instead of reading, for example. “I think that with boys there’s some idea that it’s not masculine(男子汉的)to read,” says Rob Jenkins, an English professor.
There’s also a shortage of male teachers as role models. “I think boys need role models, so if you’re a boy and you don’t have a dad in your home and then you have one male teacher and it’s your athletic coach then I don’t think you have a message that education is very important,” says Carol Carter, another expert. In addition, classrooms often have too little activity and too much passive listening, which is not conducive(有益的)to boys’ learning.
Experts say parents can fight back in many ways. Read to your sons early and often; show by your actions that you value their education. Ask them about their schoolwork, offer help, drop by their classroom and finally, appeal to their competitive spirit: challenge them to do better and help them understand that their future depends on it.The underlined part “one important place” in Paragraph 1 refers to “______”.
| A．classrooms | B．factories |
| C．high school graduation ceremonies | D．gyms |
According to the passage，boys have the problem that they think ______.
| A．reading is more important than sports |
| B．it is shameful for boys to read |
| C．boys should not work as a teacher |
| D．boys lack the gift for reading |
Carol Carter’s words implied that ______.
| A．parents play an important role in education |
| B．athletic coaches contribute a lot to education |
| C．lack of male teachers affects boys’ attitudes to school work |
| D．classrooms lack enough activities that are suitable for boys |
According to experts，parents should do the following except ______.
| A．often read to their sons when they are young |
| B．keep an eye on their sons’ studies at school |
| C．encourage their sons to compete with others |
| D．prevent their sons from taking part in sports |
.
第二部分阅读理解（共两节；满分45分）
第一节阅读短文（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
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。
It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a pale sky and a muzzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o’clock in the afternoon the gray of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, surrounding them in mist. It would be dark by four. The leather seats felt damp to the hands, and there must have been a small crack in the roof, because now and again little drips of rain fell softly through, polluting the leather and leaving a dark – blue stain like a spot of ink. The wind came in, at times shaking the coach as it traveled round the bend of the road, and in the exposed places on the high ground it blew with such force that the whole body of the coach trembled and swayed, rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man.
The driver, muffled （裹住） in a greatcoat to his ears, bent almost double in his seat in a faint endeavor to gain shelter from his own shoulders. The few passengers pressed together for warmth, exclaiming all together when the coach sank into a heavier rut （车辙） than usual, and one old fellow, who had kept up a constant complaint ever since he had joined the coach at Truro, rose from his seat in anger; and, feeling with the window – frame, let the window down with a crash, bringing a shower of rain upon himself and his fellow – passengers. He thrust his head out and shouted up to the driver, scolding him in a angry voice for a rogue and a murderer; that they would all be dead before they reached Bodmin if he persisted in driving at dangerous speed; they had no breath left in their bodies as it was, and he would never travel by coach again.
41．What is the main image the author gives in this description?
A．In terrible weather, a coach was running fast in mud with complaining passengers on it.
B．On a cold and rainy day the coach broke and the driver was repairing it on the road.
C．On a cold night the driver and the passengers felt very cold and struggled in the rain.
D．The bad condition of the road resulted in the bad mood of the passengers.
42．Which of the following is correct according to the text?
A．The windows were tightly closed, so the cold air was kept outside the coach.
B．The spot of ink stained leather, so the seats felt damp to the hands.
C．Most probably the roof of the coach was broken.
D．There was a drunken man swaying constantly on the coach.
43．The expression “muffled in a greatcoat to… his own shoulders” implies .
A．the driver felt very cold and tried to change his seat
B．the driver felt comfortable by doing in that way
C．The driver felt very cold and tried to gain warmth
D．The driver tried to protect his ears and shoulders
44．We can learn from the text that .
A．the coach was running slowly due to the bad weather
B．an old passenger who got on the coach at Truro was angry about the windows
C．one of the passengers on the coach was a murderer
D．the few passengers let out exclamations as the coach moved violently
.
Most people think that the older you get, the harder it is to learn a new language. That is, they believe that children learn more easily and efficiently than adults. Thus, at some point in our lives, maybe around age 12 or 13, we lose the ability to learn languages well. Is this idea a fact or myth(悬念)？
Is it true that children learn a foreign language more efficiently than adults? On the contrary, research studies suggest that the opposite may be true. One report, on 2,000 Danish children studying Swedish, concluded that the teenagers learned more, in less time, than the younger children. Another report, on Americans learning Russian, showed a direct improvement of ability over the age range tested; that is, the ability to learn increased as the age increased, from childhood to adulthood.
There are several possible explanations for these findings. For one thing, adults know more about the world and therefore are able to understand meanings more easily than children. Moreover, adults can use logical(逻辑的) thinking to help themselves see patterns in the language. Finally, adults have more self-discipline (self-control) than children.
All in all, it seems that the common idea that children are better language learners than adults may not be a fact, but a myth.
71. The main idea of the passage is ____.
A. teenagers are more difficult to teach
B. Danish teenagers can learn Swedish faster than younger children
C. adults are more logical than children
D. the ability to learn languages increases with age
72. If most people’s idea of learning languages is true, people may lose ability to learn languages well ____.
A. at an early age B. when they reach their twenties
C. at an old age D. after they become young men
73. According to the passage, teenagers can learn a foreign language _____ than younger children.
A. harder B. more efficiently(有效率)
C. more slowly D. more carefully
74. The reason why adults understand meanings more easily than children is that ____.
A. adults have more self-discipline
B. adults like to play more than children
C. adults have more knowledge than children
D. adults accept new things more easily than children
75. Which of the following possible explanations for older student’s better achievement is NOT mentioned in the above passage?
A. Adults know more about the world.
B. Adults can use logical thinking
C. Adults have more self-discipline.
D. Adults can read better.
.
Teenagers at one German school are learning how to achieve happiness alongside other traditional subjects such as math and languages.
The class sit in a circle with their eyes shut and they count from one to ten: someone starts, the next voice comes from the far right, a third from the other side.
The aim of the game is to listen for an opportunity to shout out the number without clashing (冲突) with another voice or leaving a pause. On the first try, most of the young Germans try to be first, while a few are too shy to join in, but by the fifth time round, they develop a rhythm. The message: give other people space but also confidently claim your own. This is a requirement for social well-being.
The Willy Hellpach School in Heidelberg is the first in the nation to develop a happiness course. It is intended for students preparing for university entrance exams.
“The course isn’t there to make you happy,” Ernst Fritz-Schubert, the school principal, warned pupils, “but rather to help you discover the ways to become happy.”
Cooking a meal together is one of the class exercises. Improving body language under the guidance of two professional actresses is another.
The course is taught for three periods a week. Despite the happy subject, the pupils themselves insist it is no laughing matter.
“In the first period, we had to each say something positive about another member of the class and about ourselves. No laughing at people,” said Fanny, 17.
Research by the school shows it is not the first to start happiness classes: they also exist at some US universities, mainly based on positive thinking, using findings from studies of depression.
68. This passage is written to .
A. introduce the happiness course in a German school
B. describe all the traditional courses in a German school
C. arouse the readers’ interest in happiness
D. help students struggle against being sad
69. According to the passage, the happiness course is__________.
A. created by the Willy Hellpach School
B. to make all the students happy all the time
C. required to be taken by the first year students
D. to help students discover the way to happiness
70. It can be inferred from the passage that__________.
A. the students’ self-respect can also improve happiness
B. the students just took the course as a laughing matter
C. the students can certainly become happy after the course
D. the students waste time learning something without value
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If there is something that appears most frequently on Chinese dining tables, it is beancurd（豆腐）. Beancurd looks like soft cakes and it’s made from dried soybeans. Beancurd used to be considered a favourite of the poor because of its low cost. Beans have high yields (产量) every year with their short growing period and suitability for various (各种各样) soil both dry and wet.
Historical records show beancurd was invented by Liu An, Prince of Huainan and uncle of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty（206BC—220AD）. He had a dream of finding the pill for longevity (长寿). He traveled all over the country and found soybeans, which looked much the same as gold in terms of colour. He collected soybeans, put them in the water and crushed them into pulp (浆). It got solidified and became known as doufu. Although it’s not able to keep longevity, it’s really good for one’s health with high protein and low fat.
With a long history, beancurd is rooted deep in Chinese culture. People eat more meat and fish than beancurd. But they are encouraged to have beancurd every once in a while for it’s really good for health. Most Chinese people still keep beancurd as one of their favourite dishes.
64. Why was beancurd considered to be liked by the poor?
A. It’s easy to make. B. It’s easy to cook. C. It’s cheap. D. It’s good for health.
65. Where can beans grow well?
A. Only in wet soil. B. In dry soil. C. In soft soil. D. In any soil.
66. Why did Liu An travel all over the country?
A. He had a dream.
B. He wanted to find something that could make people live longer.
C. He wanted to invent beancurd.
D. He wanted to find gold.
67. How long has beancurd been invented?
A. It’s about 1 700 years.
B. It’s less than 2 000 years.
C. It’s 500 years.
D. It’s more than 2 000 years.
.
The Internet has become part of teenager life.
A new report on 3,375 students aged from 10 to 18 in seven Chinese cities found that 38 percent of them believe they use the Internet often.
While most of them get useful information and use the Internet to help in their studies, some are not using it in a good way.
In order to help young people use the Internet in a good way, a textbook on good Internet behavior(行为) has started to be used in some Shanghai middle schools this term. The book uses real examples to teach students all about good ways of using the Internet. The book gives useful advice such as it is good to read news or find helpful information to study.
Some students also make online friends. But if you are meeting a friend offline, make sure your parents know. Teachers and parents all think the book is of great help. A teacher said the book would be a guide for teens using the Internet. She believes it will keep students away from bad sites. “Many students are using the Internet without guidance from their parents,” she said. “The book will teach students how to be a good person in the online world.”
60. The textbook mainly tells us ____.
A. why we should use the Internet B. how to study using the Internet
C. how to use Internet correctly D. how to get help from others
61. What’s the attitude(态度) of teachers and parents towards the textbook?
A. They are against it. B. They are for（支持） it.
C. The passage doesn’t mention. D. They don’t care about it.
62. According to the passage, teenagers are NOT encouraged to ____.
A. read online news
B. go online
C. find helpful information online
D. meet a friend offline without letting their parents know
63. From this passage we know that ____.
A. more and more students have given up visiting bad Web sites
B. schools and teachers begin to pay attention to students’ use of the Internet.
C. no more homework will be given in Shanghai middle schools
D. less and less information can be found on line