When people hear a president speak, they seldom think about others helping to shape the presentation（报告）. Today, however, presidents depend on writers such as J. Terry Edmonds to help them communicate（交流）effectively. Edmonds is the first African American ever to work as a full-time speechwriter for a U. S. president; he is so the first African American to serve as director of speechwriting for White House. His is an all-American story of success.
Edmonds grew up in Baltimore, Maryland; his father drove a truck, and his mother worked as a waitress. A. great reader, Edmonds 
showed a
gift for writing at his high School, Baltimore City College. After graduating in 1967, Edmonds went on to Morgan State University.
Edmonds began his career in business, with jobs in public relations and communications. He joined the world of politics as news secretary for his congressman （国会议员） from Baltimore During Bill Clinton’s presidency. He wrote speeches for Health and Human Services, Secretary Donna Shalala and
第二部分阅读理解（第一节20小题，第二节5小题；每小题2分，满分50分）
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A, B, C, 和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
Now as a mother myself, I'm anxious about the future, but I'm optimistic at the same time. I have the same concerns that my mother had for me and my brothers when we were growing up and going out into the world. The world it's said has shrunk or become flat. We're connected in ways we never were before. So how do we deal with these new challenges? Well, the other day I was speaking about my concerns for the future. And I said that I wanted to make sure that young people would work hard because we're in competition with jobs. When I was sitting where you are now, I didn't have to worry about competition from China or India. There were no global pressures like you will face as you mark your own way. And we need to get every young person to really get a sense of commitment and to work hard. Well, then my daughter said, "Mom I do work hard and my friends work hard." And I said, "I know that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to convey any impression that you don't work hard. I just want to set the bar high because we are in a competition for the future."
You know, in 1999 when I was thinking of running for the Senate, I did not know what to do. I was really thinking hard because I had to make a decision. And there were a lot of things to consider. Obviously, no first lady had ever sought public office before. I had obviously never run for office before.
You know, often our most fearsome competitor is ourselves. We struggle with all of the internal doubts and anxieties, fears for the future, concerns for the world. Sometimes when I look at what's happening in the world, it's hard to imagine going out and doing anything of meaning. But we can do it and not only that, we must. America needs you to grab hold of this moment. So compete to do the best you can and help make our country the best it can be. So today, after you've accepted your diploma, but before you leave this place, please thank your family for guiding you to this moment. Thank your professors for showing you a new world. Thank your friends for exploring that world and finally remember what this day feels like. Cherish it always. Go for it. The world awaits you.
41．Who is most probably the speaker “I”?
A．a Chinese B．an Indian C．an American adult D．a university student
42．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A．Quite a few first ladies have run for public offices.
B．Only after you’ve got your diploma and before you leave your university should you thank your parents, your professors and your friends.
C．The speaker is always aware of what to do because she is a determined person.
D．The speaker is concerned about the future even though she is optimistic.
43．Why do you think the speaker urge the students to work harder?
A．Because the students are not really working hard at all.
B．Because they are faced with global competition on their way to their future.
C．Because only in this way can they afford to go to an expensive bar for a good drink.
D．Because their most fearsome competitors are themselves.
44．On the whole, the speech is ________ .
A．disappointing B．encouraging C．negative D．necessary
Each year millions of babies are born too soon and too small. Premature or preterm births are defined as births at less than thirty-seven weeks.
Prematurity is the leading cause of death in newborn babies. More than one-fourth of the four million newborns who die each year around the world were born too early.
Preterm babies that survive can suffer a lifetime of serious health conditions. The examples include cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing problems and learning disabilities. Families and communities face emotional, physical and financial costs.
Christopher Howson is the vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes, a nonprofit group. His group and the World Health Organization recently published a report called “The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth.”
CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: “Frankly the crisis of preterm birth is under-recognized, undercounted, undervalued and underfunded. I mean, this report shows that thirteen million babies are born every year preterm, and that over a million of those babies die as a result of being born too early.”
And these are just estimates; the true numbers could be even higher. More than eighty-five percent of preterm births happen in Africa and Asia. Africa has the highest rate, with about four million cases each year.
Chris Howson says many of the causes of preterm births are related to poverty and weak health-care systems.
CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: “For example, the poor overall health and nutritional status of women. A high burden of infectious diseases. Lack of provision of family planning – allowing a woman to decide when to start and end having children and how to space her children. And also the lack of good prenatal care programs that might identify problems early on in pregnancy.”
Preterm births are a problem not just in the developing world. The combined rate in the United States and Canada is the second highest in the world. Preterm birth rates in the United States have increased thirty-six percent in the last twenty-five years.
This has been largely the result of two reasons. One is an increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five. The other is an increase in the use of reproductive therapies.
49．This passage is mainly about ________.
A．the causes of people’s bad health throughout the world
B．how to improve people’s health throughout the world
C．premature or preterm births throughout the world
D．Christopher Howson, vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes
50．All of the following are causes of preterm births except ________.
A．too many deaths of newborn babies B．poverty
C．Lack of provision of family planning D．the lack of good prenatal care programs
51．Which of the following is a true statement according to the passage?
A．Preterm birth rates in developing countries are dropping and they are increasing in some developed countries like the US and Canada.
B．The increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five and the increase in the use of reproductive therapies result in the increase of preterm birth rates.
C．Fortunately, many people have already realized the seriousness of the problem of preterm births.
D．Preterm births must be a problem for only poor areas because of poverty.
52．Which is the best title for the passage?
A．Chris Howson, an Excellent Vice President
B．Preterm Births
C．“The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth”
D．Emotional, Physical and Financial Costs
Attitude isn’t quite everything when it comes to being successful, but attitude plays a part in every stage of your life. A poor attitude gets more people fired than any other single factor, and a good attitude gets people jobs and helps them keep those jobs more than any other factor.
Your attitude affects many people, from your family to the stranger on the street corner. Your attitude is particularly important when you face seemingly hopeless situations. Losing a job or friend because of a poor attitude is unfortunate.
You can find at least two ways to look at everything. A pessimist looks for difficulty in the opportunity, while an optimist looks for opportunity in the difficulty. A poet of long ago put the difference between optimism and pessimism this way: Two men looked out from prison bars – one saw mud; the other saw stars.
Unfortunately, many people look only at the problem and not at the opportunity that lies within the problem. Many employees complain about the difficulty of their jobs, for example, not realizing that if the job were simple, the employer would hire someone with less ability at a lower wage. A small coin can hide even the sun if you hold the coin close enough to your eye. So when you get too close to your problems, to think objectively about them, try to keep in mind how your vision can be obstructed. Take a step back, and look at the situation from a new angle.
You can’t do anything to change the fact that a problem exists, but you can do a great deal to find the opportunity within that problem. You’re guaranteed a better tomorrow by doing your best today and developing a plan of action for the tomorrows that lie ahead. Just remember to maintain a positive mental attitude.
45．What does the author mean by saying the first sentence in Paragraph 1?
A．If you have a good attitude, you will be successful.
B．Your attitude has nothing to do with your success.
C．Your attitude makes a great influence on your life.
D．Your success is very important to your life.
46．The author mentions the example of many employees in Paragraph 4 to tell people to ______.
A．look for problem in the opportunity
B．look for opportunity in the problem
C．ignore the problem
D．make their jobs easy to do
47．In Paragraph 3, the author shows us ______.
A．two ways to look at everything
B．the ways to look for opportunity
C．the ways to look out from prison bars
D．the definition of pessimist and optimist
48．The underlined word “obstructed” in the passage probably means ______.
A．improved B．shared C．changed D．blocked
The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all around you and that it proves down upon you．Air pressure is a wonderful force．When you swim underwater, you can feel water push down your body．The air all around you does the same．However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this．The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere．This layer surrounds the Earth, extending to about five kilometers above the Earth's surface．
The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home．But make sure that you are supervised, because you will need to use matches．
What you need
·A hard-boiled egg without the shell
·A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg
·A piece of paper
·A match
Method
1）Check that the paper will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle．
2）Tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle．
3）Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle．
4）Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle．
Result
Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle．Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment．But be careful when you handle matches．
Why it happened
As the paper burns, it needs oxygen and uses up the oxygen （air）in the bottle．The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle, so no more air can get inside．This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle．The air pressure must equalize, so more air from outside must enter the bottle．The outside air presses against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle! That proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on it．
72．Why is there the need to take care when you are doing the experiment?
A．The bottle could break．
B．You need to light the paper with a match．
C．The egg needs to be shelled．
D．The egg has to be perfectly placed on the neck of the bottle．
73．In the experiment, the burning inside the bottle can__．
A．equalize the air pressure inside and outside
B．make a seal in the neck of the bottle
C．finish up the oxygen inside the bottle
D．produce more oxygen inside the bottle
74．How did the egg put into the bottle?
A．The oxygen inside the bottle sucked the egg in．
B．It became salt without the shell．
C．The neck of the bottle was wide enough．
D．The outside air pressure forced it into the bottle．
75．The experiment is carried out to prove ____．
A．water pushes on your body when you swim underwater
B．the earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere
C．the pressure of air around us has a powerful force
D．the air pressure is not equalized around us
Preparing for the Next Job Market
The latest spike in the unemployment rate is being felt across the board ?in 98 percent of metropolitan areas, in high-wage and low-wage jobs, among young and old, women and men, but especially men．
This landscape means that young Americans who are trying to plan their futures right now have some hard choices．Do they go to college and take on debt without hope of getting a job? And what about high school students? Do they have any chance of securing a job without a college degree? Perhaps the education system needs to react to this rapidly moving economic crisis．
In our current economic collapse, the connection between education and employment could not be more different than it was during the Depression．Education must now hold center stage, not because of an enemy abroad but because of the global economy．The jobs of the future will demand levels of education, particularly skills in mathematics, technology and science, which exceed those now taught in high school．
A healthy society should strive for full employment．In our times, that goal cannot be realized, or even approximated by creating jobs for the unskilled．The long-term prospect for economic recovery depends on the extent to which we improve our educational system．And this is where America is now at its weakest．
Our high schools produce graduates who do not write well enough, have limited reasoning skills and are unable to use the tools of mathematics．Their command of science is far inferior to that of their counterparts in other nations．And all too many young people drop out．We may still have the best university system, but it benefits only a minority．
We will need more engineers, scientists and service providers, particularly in the health professions, with a quality of education that cannot be obtained in the current system．Radical change, not reform, is called for．
What should be done? First, high school should be cut short and end when students are 16．Second, a new generation of two-year college programs tied to a wide range of specific skills that the economy needs should be created．Third, access to four-year colleges should be expanded, giving more Americans the chance to acquire the deep learning that makes breakthroughs in technology possible．Fourth, we need to recruit more public school teachers and train them better, particularly in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics, so that our children can be prepared to compete．
68．Nowadays, students graduating from high school____．
A．write well enough
B．have limitless reasoning skills
C．can't use the tools of mathematics
D．command science as much as their counterparts in other nations
69．What should we do to improve the quality of education?
A．Students shouldn't study in high school until 16．
B．We should create a new generation of two-year college programs tied to a wide range of specific skills the economy needs．
C．We should limit access to four-year colleges．
D．We ought to recruit more private school teachers and train them better．
70．What does the word "collapse" in the third paragraph mean?
A．success B．failure C．development D．booming
71．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Young Americans planning their futures have difficult choices．
B．Education must hold center stage due to the global economy．
C．The best university system benefits a majority．
D．A health society should struggle for full employment．