When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard. I remember him as someone who was a lot nicer than most of the adults in our community.
When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. His house sat on ten acres, and his life’s goal was to make it a forest.
The good doctor had some interesting theories concerning plant care and growth. He never watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them so that each successive tree generation would grow weaker and weaker. So you have to make things rough for them and weed out(淘汰) the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of moisture. I took him to mean that deep roots were to be treasured.
So he never watered his trees. He planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. Smack! Slap! Pow! I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.
Dr. Gibbs passed away a couple of years after I left home. Every now and again, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty-five years ago. They’re extremely tall, big and robust since they have deep roots now. However, the trees in my garden trembled in a cold wind although I had watered them for several years.
It seems that adversity(逆境) and suffering benefit these trees in ways comfort and ease never could. I stood there deep in thought.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I stand over them and watch their little bodies, the rising and falling of life within. I often pray for them. Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy. But I think that it’s time to change my prayer(祷词) because now I know my children are going to encounter hardship.According to Dr. Gibbs’ theories, trees will become weaker if they _________.
| A．are lack of care | B．are watered | C．are weeded out | D．are beaten |
According to Para.3 and Para.4, we can infer that Dr. Gibbs’ motto(座右铭) may be .
| A．“Seeing is believing” | B．“Put everything in proper use” |
| C．“Practice makes perfect” | D．“No pain, no gain” |
The underlined word robust in Para.5 most probably means _________.
| A．strong | B．strange | C．deep | D．old |
Which of the following may be the author’s best prayer for his two sons now?
| A．I wish them strong wings, with which they can fly higher and touch the sky. |
| B．I wish them nice fortune so that they can meet people like Dr. Gibbs in the future. |
| C．I wish them deep roots into the earth since the rains fall and the winds blow often. |
| D．I wish them great shades under the tree since the sunlight is always sharp and bitter. |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．A Nice Doctor | B．The Deep Roots | C．Adversity and Suffering | D．My Childhood Memory |
Top lists are lecturing people on everything from"100 books to visit " to "100 books to read ".
Aren't you just tired of being told what to do with your time?
Now you have a list to end all lists!
Take a look at the following two examples from the list of "101 things not to do":
Swim with Dolphins（海豚）？
Swimming with dolphins is one of the world’s most profitable tourist activities. However, every dolphin will welcome having their busy, tiring day interrupted by tourists screaming and pushing around them in the water. Worse yet, when dolphins get too near to the boats loaded tourists, they could get caught up in ropes and killed by propellers(螺旋桨).
Here’s a little secret. Dolphins look like smiling at you, but actually they’re just opening mouths.
Go to See the Mona Lisa?
There must be something about the mysterious(神秘的)smile. The 6 million people who visit the lady in the Louvre every year can’t all be wrong, after all. But they can be quite annoying standing in front of you, holding up their cameras to prevent you from seeing anything. In fact, it is hard for you to see the painting clearly because you have to stay away from it for security reasons. After queuing for hours, many tourists can remain in front of the painting only for 15 seconds at most.
If the mysterious lady in the picture knew her fate, she wouldn’t just be smiling, she’d be laughing.
So, still long to see the Mona Lisa? If you want to find out more about the list, read 101 Things NOT to Do Before You Die. Visit www.not2dobeforeidie.co.uk and buy the book at a 20％ discount.According to the passage, swimming with dolphins________.
| A．is the world’s most popular tourist activity |
| B．gives fun to both tourists and dolphins |
| C．can cause danger to dolphins |
| D．will make tourists busy and tired |
What does the author think about going to see the Mona Lisa?
| A．It is wrong to go and see the mysterious smile. |
| B．Queuing for hours is worthwhile. |
| C．Fifteen seconds in front of the painting is enough. |
| D．It is not as satisfying as expected. |
The list of “101 things not to do” is made most probably because its author_______.
| A．thinks it boring to do the things suggested by other lists |
| B．believes other lists are not humorous enough |
| C．intends to persuade people to read more lists |
| D．wants to provide a list different from other lists |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To introduce a website. |
| B．To advertise a book. |
| C．To comment on popular lists. |
| D．To recommend tourist activities. |
Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A—F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
A. When a child should learn to read
B. Why it is fun to teach a child reading
C. What if a child has reading problems
D. How you prepare a young child for reading
E. What is the best way to teach a child reading
F. Whether reading early promises later achievements
Learning to read early has become one of those indicators—in parents' minds at least—that their child is smart. In fact, reading early has very little to do with whether a child is successful academically. Research has shown that difficulty with reading is often due not to inferior intelligence but to differences in the developmental wiring of each individual child. In some cases, there are neurological problems and developmental lags that can be overcome with proper training.
Traditionally, American schools teach children at age six, but many schools begin teaching informally in kindergarten and pre-kindergarten. If parents start too early to encourage reading, and a child does not immediately succeed, the parent has a hard time relaxing and letting the child go at his or her own pace.
Over the years, research has proved that the use of both the “whole language” method and the “phonic” method works best for a child to master reading. While the whole language approach, which includes reading to children and getting them interested in both the activity of reading and the story they are reading, is helpful, phonics must be taught. Children must be taught that one of the squiggles they see is a “p” and another a “b”. Getting the print off the page requires a different ability than being able to understand the meaning of what is written.
You can start developing the skills needed in reading at a very young age without putting any pressure on children. Besides reading to them, parents can start “ear training” their child by playing rhyme games. This develops the child's ability to recognize different sounds. In reading to children, parents also can point to words as they go, teaching the child that the funny lines on the page are the words you are saying. All this should be a fun activity.
Once a child is in school, the learning of reading is inevitably more serious. For children who have some kind of reading difficulty, you must get a professional diagnosis. While the teacher might say the child is merely disinterested but will get over it, disinterest or poor performance in reading can stem from a number of things, some being very specific learning disabilities that can be identified and worked on. But it is very tricky for parents to deal with their own child's learning disabilities.
In 1974, after filling out fifty applications, going through four interviews, and winning one offer, I took what I could get ----- a teaching job at what I considered a distant wild area: western New Jersey. My characteristic optimism was alive only when I reminded myself that I would be doing what I had wanted to do since I was fourteen ------- teaching English.
School started, but I felt more and more as if I were in a foreign country. Was this rural area really New Jersey? My students took a week off when hunting season began. I was told they were also frequently absent in late October to help their fathers make hay on the farms. I was a young woman from New York City, who thought that “Make hay while the sun shines” just meant to have a good time.
But, still, I was teaching English. I worked hard, taking time off only to eat and sleep. And then there was my sixth-grade class ---- seventeen boys and five girls who were only six years younger than me. I had a problem long before I knew it. I was struggling in my work as a young idealistic teacher. I wanted to make literature come alive and to promote a love of the written word. The students wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room.
In college I had been taught that a successful educator should ignore bad behavior. So I did, confident that, as the textbook had said, the bad behavior would disappear as I gave my students positive attention. It sounds reasonable, but the text evidently ignored the fact that humans, particularly teenagers, rarely seem reasonable. By the time my boss, who was also my taskmaster, known to be the strictest, most demanding, most quick to fire inexperienced teachers, came into the classroom to observe me, the students exhibited very little good behavior to praise.
My boss sat in the back of the room. The boys in the class were making animal noises, hitting each other while the girls filed their nails or read magazines. I just pretended it all wasn’t happening, and went on lecturing and tried to ask some inspiring questions. My boss, sitting in the back of the classroom, seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. After twenty minutes he left, silently. Visions of unemployment marched before my eyes.
I felt mildly victorious that I got through the rest of class without crying, but at my next free period I had to face him. I wondered if he would let me finish out the day. I walked to his office, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
He was sitting in his chair, and he looked at me long and hard. I said nothing. All I could think of was that I was not an English teacher; I had been lying to myself, pretending that everything was fine.
When he spoke, he said simply, without accusation, “You had nothing to say to them.”
“You had nothing to say to them”. he repeated.” No wonder they are bored. Why not get to the meat of literature and stop talking about symbolism. Talk with them, not at them. And more important, why do you ignore their bad behavior”? We talked. He named my problems and offered solutions. We role-played. He was the bad student, and I was the forceful, yet, warm teacher.
As the year progressed, we spent many hours discussing literature and ideas about human beings and their motivations. He helped me identify my weaknesses and strengths. In short, he made a teacher of me by teaching me the reality of Emerson’s words: “The secret to education lies in respecting the pupil.”
Fifteen years later I still drive that same winding road to the same school. Thanks to the help I received that difficult first year, the school is my home now.It can be inferred from the story that in 1974 ________________.
| A．the writer became an optimistic person |
| B．it was rather difficult to get a job in the USA |
| C．the writer was very happy about her new job |
| D．it was easy to get a teaching job in New Jersey |
According to the passage, which of the following is most probably the writer’s problem as a new teacher?
| A．She didn’t like teaching English literature. |
| B．She didn’t ask experienced teachers for advice. |
| C．She took too much time off to eat and sleep. |
| D．She had blind trust in what she learnt at college. |
What is the writer’s biggest worry after her taskmaster’s observation of her class?
| A．She couldn’t ignore her students’ bad behavior any more. |
| B．She migh t lose her students’ respect. |
| C．She couldn’t teach the same class any more. |
| D．She might lose her teaching job. |
Which of the following gives the writer a sense of mild victory?
| A．Her talk about symbolism sounded convincing. |
| B．She managed to finish the class without crying. |
| C．Her students behaved a little better than usual. |
| D．She was invited for a talk by her boss after class. |
The students behaved badly in the writer’s classes because
| A．They were eager to embarrass her. |
| B．They didn’t regard her as a good teacher. |
| C．She didn’t really understand them. |
| D．She didn’t have a good command of English. |
The taskmaster’s attitude towards the writer after his observation of her class can be described as________________.
| A．cruel but encouraging | B．sincere and supportive |
| C．fierce but forgiving | D．angry and aggressive |
Although in the 17th century in the United States fine art and folk art had similar qualities, a difference between them began to appear as time went on in the 18th and 19th centuries artists with ambition studied abroad and came back to paint portraits(肖像) of upper-class families in American society. The less ambitious or less fortunate artists traveled around their own areas and created pictures of countryside society. Anyway, artists got trained and those simple creations improved a lot.
Around 1930，folk art began to take on a new meaning and was considered as an expression of a small cultural class. Folk art is never the product of art movements, but comes out of craft traditions. This art is based not on measurements or calculations and rarely goes with the standards of realism. It goes straight to the bases of art which the folk artists feel naturally.
The period 1930~ 1960 was the time when folk artists began to receive recognition. They often began their art careers late in life and used art as an outlet（出口） for their energy. Their materials were cheap and simple, their subjects were different, but their creativity flowed. Doing their own things became the norm（标准）, and was what made folk art so desirable.
Although it is hard to define folk art, one thing is certain --- it touches us in a special way because the artists show us how he or she brought beauty into their everyday life. Since folk artists come from all walks of life, each piece of art created is one of a kind, emphasizing color, simplicity of line and brave, simple form. Most importantly, it exemplifies（作为…的例子） the history of American life.What similar qualities did folk art and fine art probably have in the 17th century?
| A．They were both simple creations. |
| B．The artists of both focused on family life. |
| C．The artists of both came from the lower class. |
| D．They were both gifted creations by trained artists. |
What was folk art around 1930 based on according to the second paragraph?
| A．The traditions of the upper class. |
| B．The progress of art in that period. |
| C．The standards of realism. |
| D．The feelings of the artists. |
Which of the following statements can be used to describe the works of folk artists?
| A．They are difficult to understand. |
| B．They help artists let out their energy. |
| C．They show pictures of unreal life. |
| D．They are similar to one another. |
Why did folk art become popular during the period from 1930 to 1960?
| A．It offered artists the freedom of expression. |
| B．Artists didn’t need to spend much on materials. |
| C．Other kinds of art couldn’t express the beauty of life. |
| D．Artists could express their dissatisfaction towards society. |
The author’s purpose in writing the text is to ___________.
| A．speak highly of folk art |
| B．compare folk art and fine art |
| C．explain the history and characteristics of folk art in America |
| D．explain the development and changes of American art |
As demand for power and fuel grows steadily in the coming decades, we must consider every possible energy source（来源）on hand if we're to meet the world's needs. And because clean natural gas is found in great plenty, there is little doubt that it will play a major role on the world energy stage in this century, much like oil did in the last. But, like oil, gas reserves are concentrated in just a few places in the world, usually far from where they're needed most. And that's only part of the challenge. The world has had well over 100 years to search for oil and to build the necessary facilities（设施）to bring it to market; the natural gas facilities, particularly when it comes to liquefied（液化）natural gas（LNG）, are not nearly as developed.
So what needs to be done? On the supply side, producing nations need policies that allow for better development of their natural gas in an open, stable business environment, not one in which the rules of the game change without warning. The governments of consuming nations, on the other hand, must make policies for sustainable（可持续的）development to ensure they'll have enough supplies in the future. That means building the related facilities, including LNG stations. This, in turn, will require coastal areas to allow these necessary, but not necessarily pretty, facilities to be built in their backyards. And energy companies have a responsibility to be good neighbors in those areas by operating these facilities responsibly and safely. They must also continue to put in the billions of dollars needed to build the complex transport and storage facilities required to bring more gas to market.
Expanding and diversifying（使多样化）energy sources by using more natural gas could lead to lower fuel prices and to greater energy security. We've taken some of the steps to get started, but we need your help to get the rest of the way.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Gas played a major part in the 20th century. |
| B．Natural gas facilities are far from satisfactory. |
| C．Gas reserves are widely spread around the world. |
| D．Necessary facilities are ready to bring gas to market. |
The underlined word "one"（in Paragraph 2）refers to _____________.
| A．a gas supply side | B．a business environment |
| C．a gas consuming nation | D．a policy for gas development |
Consuming nations of natural gas need to ___________.
| A．change the rules of the game |
| B．open markets in their backyards |
| C．build pretty facilities along the coast |
| D．have long-term policies for gas supply |
The main purpose of the passage is to _______.
| A．warn people of the lack of power and fuel |
| B．discuss the importance of oil and natural gas |
| C．call for better use and development of natural gas |
| D．instruct people how to make use of energy sources |
The passage might be followed by a paragraph about
| A．what kind of help you can offer |
| B．where energy sources are concentrated |
| C．which countries are in great need of gas |
| D．what problems of energy sources we may face |