The campaign is over. The celebrations have ended. And the work for US president-elect Barack Obama has begun.
The 47-year-old politician rose to the highest post because of his stand against the war in Iraq and his plans to fix a weak economy. But what will the first 47-year-old African-American president do for race relations?
Obama’s victory appears to have given blacks and other minorities a true national role model. For years, many looked to athletes and musicians for inspiration. As Darius Turner, an African-American high school student in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times, “Kobe doesn’t have to be everybody’s role model anymore.”
Recent polls（民意测验）also suggest that Obama’s victory has given Americans new optimism about race relations. For example, a USA Today poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe relations between blacks and whites “will finally be worked out”. This is the most hopeful response since the question was first asked during the civil rights revolution in 1963.
However, it’s still too early to tell whether Obama’s presidency will begin to solve many of the social problems facing low-income black communities.
Although blacks make up only 13 percent of the US population, 55 percent of all prisoners are African-American. Such numbers can be blamed on any number of factors on America’s racist past, a failure of government policy and the collapse(瓦解)of the family unit in black communities.
It is unlikely that Obama will be able to reverse (扭转) such trends overnight. However, Bill Bank, an expert of African-American Studies, says that eventually young blacks need to find role models in their own communities. “That’s not Martin Luther King, and not Barack Obama,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s actually the people closest to them. Barack only has so much influence.”
In the opinion of black British politician Trevor Phillips, Obama’s rise will contribute more to multiculturalism than to race relations in the US.
“When the G8 meets, the four most important people in the room will be the president of China, the prime minister of India, the prime minister of Japan and Barak Obama,” he told London’s The Times newspaper. “It will be the first time we’ve seen that on our television screens. That will be a huge psychological shift (心理转变) for both the white people and the colored ones in the world.”For years, before Obama was elected president of the US, __________.
| A．Kobe was the only role model for all the blacks |
| B．blacks could only find role models on the basketball court |
| C．minorities in America couldn’t find role models in their real life |
| D．American blacks had no role model who was successful in political area |
According to Bill Bank, ____________.
| A．it’s better for young blacks to find role models in those who are close to them |
| B．young blacks should not be so much influenced by Obama |
| C．blacks should find other role models because Obama is far from their reality |
| D．Obama is not the proper role model for African-Americans |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The First African-American President | B．America’s New Role Model |
| C．Obama-- A Successful Black . | D．Choosing a Right Role Model |
What will be the huge psychological shift Trevor mentioned at the end of the passage?
| A．The other three leaders all support Obama. |
| B．Obama is an African-American president. |
| C．None of the four leaders is white. |
| D．The other three leaders except Obama are from Asian countries. |
For many years, I was sure that my suffering was because of my size. I believed that when the weight disappeared, it would take old wounds, hurts, and rejections with it.
Many obese people also mistakenly believe that changing our bodies will fix everything. Perhaps our worst mistake is believing that being thin means being loved, being special, and being cherished. We imagine what it will be like when we reach the long-awaited goal. We work very hard to realize this dream. Then, at last, we find ourselves there.
But we often gain back what we have lost. Even so, we continue to believe that next time it will be different. Next time, we will keep it off. Next time, being thin will finally realize its promise of happiness, and of course, love.
It took me a long while to know that there was something more for me to learn about beauty. Beauty standards are different with culture. In Somoa a woman is not considered attractive unless she weighs more than 200 pounds. More importantly, if it’s happiness that we want, why not put our energy there rather than on the size of our body? Why not look inside? Many of us try hard to change our body, but with no result. We have to find a way to live comfortably inside our body and make friends with and cherish ourselves. When we change our attitudes toward ourselves, the whole world changes.
67．The passage tries to tell us the importance of ______.
A. body size B. attitudes toward life
C. culture difference D. different beauty standards
68. What does the underlined word “everything” (paragraph 2) mean?
A. All the problems. B. All the bodies.
C. The whole world. D. The truth.
69. What can be inferred about the author?
A. The author is a Samoan.
B. The author succeeded in losing weight.
C. The author has been troubled by her/his weight.
D. The author probably got wounded in wars or accidents.
70. According to the author, what is the common view of those who have lost some weight first and gained it back later?
A. They feel angry about the regained weight.
B. They don’t care about the regained weight.
C. They feel optimistic about future plans on weight control.
D. They think they should give up their future plans on weight control.
During my first stay in the south of France, I rode my bike down a quiet road. Round a corner, I passed by a little old house. In its yard, there was a ruddy (气色好的) -faced woman. I waved at her as I went by, and she must have thought I was some silly tourist, because she didn’t wave back.
The same thing happened the second day. But on the third day, the old woman returned a tentative（试探性的）wave, and by the fourth day, she nearly got out of her chair as I called out.
“Good morning, Madam!” It became a small ritual (程序) between us. Once she even brought her husband out with her, and they both waved to me.
On my last day, my last ride, I cycled down to the little house but the lady wasn’t there. Back at my house, I told Roger, the gardener, of my missed connection.
“The old lady has a bad leg,” Roger said, “so she has gone to the hospital for surgery.”
“Who is she?” I asked.
Roger started to explain: the quiet road used to be a railway. The old lady’ husband was once the stationmaster, and their house was the stationmaster’s house. Several times a day, whenever a train passed, the couple would see the passengers waving excitedly, especially the children for them. However, the station was moved away. Everything is gone except for this couple.
It seems that my bicycle was a reminder of the past to her. As Roger said, “ She has missed the trains and the waves. You brought them back to her.”
By reaching out, in a way that cost me nothing, I gave more than I realized.
63Which of the following is TRUE?
A. She was a ruddy-faced woman so she was healthy.
B. Her husband also had leg disease but he didn’t tell others.
C. She and her husband didn’t like to live in the station.
D. Though she was a ruddy-faced woman, something was wrong with her leg.
64Why did the old woman bring her husband out and waved to me?
A. They wanted to go to the hospital.
B. They wanted to experience what they used to do.
C. They wanted to ask me for dinner.
D. They wanted to go to the city by train.
65. What can we infer from the sentence “However, the station was moved away. Everything is gone except for this couple”?
A. They enjoyed living where they had lived.
B. They had no house to live in.
C. They had no children to live with.
D. They were living nearest the hospital.
66. What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. An old couple and I B. Bicycle and railway
C. Train and passengers D. Wave and love
Every weekend, many Americans drive around looking for things to buy. They are taking part in an unusual kind of outdoor treasure hunt: the yard sale (旧货出售). In some parts of the country, such a sale might be called a garage sale or a moving sale. Whatever the name, the activity is the same. People sell things they no longer want.
The sellers put a paid announcement in a local newspaper. It tells when and where the yard sale will take place. It lists some of the things to be sold. Early in the morning, all the things to be sold are carried out of the house. Then they sit all day waiting for someone to take them home. Usually, the seller puts a price on each object at a yard sale. However, that price can almost always be negotiated (谈判).
Serious buyers also spend time getting ready for yard sales. They collect the newspaper announcements. Then they make lists of the sales they want to attend.
Most people who go to yard sales are not looking for anything special. They might buy an object simply because it costs so little. They enjoy bargaining over prices, even if they may hold their own yard sale to sell all the things they have bought.
To other people, yard sales are simply a way to have fun. In some communities, they are important social gatherings. Other people say yard sales help the environment. Old things are re-used instead of being thrown away.
In any case, yard sales are very popular in America. Hunting for unusual items is a sport for some people. For others, it is a way of life.
59 What can’t you get to know about the yard sales announced in a local newspaper?
A.When to attend the yard sale.
B. Where to attend the yard sale.
C. What is to be sold at the yard sale.
D. The prices of the things to be sold at the yard sale.
60 Before a yard sale, the sellers need to do all the following things EXCEPT ______.
A. putting a paid announcement in a local newspaper
B. bargaining over the prices with the buyers
C. putting the price of each object
D. carrying all the things to be sold out of the house early in the morning
61 Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. A yard sale can also be called a garage sale or a moving sale.
B. The sellers need to pay for putting an announcement in a local newspaper.
C. The sellers collect the newspaper announcements before the yard sales.
D. The prices for the items to be sold at a yard sale can be negotiated.
62.Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned as the reason why yard sales are very popular in America?
A. People can buy something special at yard sales.
B. People can buy something they really want.
C. People can enjoy bargaining over prices.
D. People regard yard sales as social gatherings.
Several southwestern provinces in China are now experiencing the worst drought(旱灾) since the 1950s. The drought has left 18 million people and 11 million farm animals in Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Chongqing without enough water supplies. And it has affected 5 million hectares of crops in the provinces.
According to China’s Meteorological Administration (中国气象局), the average daily temperature in Yunnan over the past six months has been two degrees higher than normal. And the province has had only half the rainfall of an ordinary year. In Qinglong county, Guizhou, there had been no rain for 268 days until March 25, when it finally rained for three hours.
To ensure the safety of drinking water, local governments have taken emergency action. Workers in parts of Yunnan are drilling (钻空) daily in the hope of digging 1035 wells by mid-May. Among them, 52 have already started working and 288 are under way, providing 20 percent of the required drinking water. Meanwhile, Yunnan province intends to send more migrants (农民工) to work outside the province as the drought worsens. This will not only help to deal with the drinking water shortages, but also increase those farmers’ income. The government will offer free skill training and organize job fairs.
56 The word “This” in paragraph 3 refers to______.
A. the worsening drought
B. the shortage of drinking water
C. sending more migrants to work outside
D. providing 20 percent of the required drinking water
57 Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The drought in southwestern provinces has been the worst ever in China.
B. Guizhou province has had only half the rainfall of an ordinary year.
C. The average temperature in Yunnan is two degrees lower than normal.
D. 1035 wells are expected to be drilled by mid-May in parts of Yunnan.
58 What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Local governments have taken action to deal with drought.
B. Serious drought hits southwestern provinces in China.
C. More migrants work outside the southwestern provinces.
D.Yunnan government offers free skill training and organizes job fairs.
We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively（被动地）. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor(谣言).
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping（打上标记）it with their own personal style. Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be re-stated as fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.
57. According to the passage, passive learning may occur in _______.
A. doing a medical experiment B. solving a math problem
C. visiting an exhibition D. doing scientific reasoning
58. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A. active learning B. knowledge
C. communication D. passive learning
59. The author mentions the game Rumor to show that _____.
A. a message may be changed when being passed on
B. a message should be delivered in different ways
C. people may have problems with their sense of hearing
D. people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor
60. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Active learning is less important.
B. Passive learning may not be reliable.
C. Active learning occurs more frequently.
D. Passive learning is not found among scholars.