Notmanyyearsago,awealthyandrat-优题课

More teachers are starting off the school year with letters to parents and students to introduce themselves and set a tone (基调) for the year. The letters are a good way to start positive communication with parents, several teachers told Education World.
“I think it’s professional, ”said Dorothy Peselli, an English teacher at Sparta High School in Sparta, New Jersay, Peselli, who gives out the letters the first day of school, told Education World. “It gives parents an image of you as a professional. If you start communication off in a positive manner, you will have the parents on your side when you need them.”
In her letter to parents, Peselli encourages them to call or e-mail her with specific concerns about their children. “I want to work as a team to make sure that your child becomes an independent lifelong learner,” Peselli wrote to parents last September. She also telephones the parents of all her students at the beginning of the year.
Peselli includes with the letter a classroom handbook (手册) listing plans and rules. And she requires that both parents and students read and sign statements (included in the letter) when they read the handbook. The student letter also lists needed supplies and gives encouragement. “Please come to class ready to work and learn. This will be an exciting year for all of us,” it says.
Last year, Peselli taught at a different high school and parents there were “shocked”, but appreciative, that she had so much contact with them. “I received roses and a thank-you note from one boy and his mother,” Peselli said. She wished her own children’s teachers would take the time to write notes as well. “I never got a letter home from any of my daughter’s high school teachers.” she said, “It would be nice to know the background of some of the people who are teaching my daughter.”
1. We may learn from the text that ______.
A. most teachers are writing letters to parents and students
B. the handbook is used to list supplies and give encouragement
C.Peselli believe it important for teachers to exchange information with parents
D. Peselli mainly introduces her background and teaching experiences in the letters
2. The underlined word “it” in the fourth paragraph refers to _____.
A. the handbook B. the requirement
C.the school D. the letter
3. We can infer from the last paragraph that ______.
A. parents were satisfied with Peselli’s way of working
B. Peselli means to surprise parents by writing students
C.Peselli seemed to be popular among boy students
D. all Peselli’s children are studying in high schools
4. The purpose of the text is to ______.
A. introduce an English teaching method
B. give advice on how to teach students
C.encourage teachers to keep in touch with parents
D. show us how Dorothy Peselli makes teaching plans

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
There was room for all of us, and the sleeping bags kept the night coldness away. We would listen to the sound of the river, and hear the coyotes (土狼) howling along the hills not far away.
Those were the cool summer nights of the mid-nineties in Southern Alberta, Canada, when the four children were young and we would lie on the trampoline (蹦床) in the backyard late at night, for the sun would not set till late in July and August. We would look at the stars up above and never grow tired of it.
These were the times when I would tell the stories of my own childhood and teach the kids life’s lessons that have been remembered to this day. I chuckle (轻声地笑), as I recall the time when we heard a coyote not far away, and then I started a story about a bear approaching the trampoline. The bear came close (in the story), and the kids snuggled up to mom and me, until suddenly I’d let out a howl and grab all the kids and they would be frightened and jump up and then all laugh, “Daddy, you scared us!”
Now the children are in their mid and late teens, but they fondly remember the starry nights on that trampoline. Recently my oldest daughter on her wedding day sang a song for her parents, entitled “I’ll always be your little girl”. She wrote the music and words and yes indeed: it included a memory of those starry nights.
I have learned as a parent that one of the greatest gifts we can give our children as they are growing up is the time to tell them stories, or if telling stories is not that simple, perhaps read them a story. They can read their own books, but telling or reading them a story will create a close relationship with pleasant memories such as those late summer nights under the starry sky.
1. The passage is mainly about _____.
A. coyotes’ effects on children B. the relationship between children
C.the author’s unforgettable experiences D. the author’s memories of starry nights
2. The underlined part “snuggled up” probably means _____.
A. lay down B. got close
C.gave in D. struggled forward
3. How do the children feel about their childhood?
A. Very enjoyable.B. A bit regretful.
C.Rather busy. D. Sort of dull.
4. In the last paragraph, the writer mainly wants to express _____.
A. it is easy to tell stories to children B. kids should read stories themselves
C.it is important to tell or read stories to kids
D. it’s necessary to spend summer nights with kids

Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager’s intended major, one located near a large city, and a campus where their daughter would be safe.
“The safety issue is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer — “That’s not a problem here.” — Mahoney began to feel uneasy.
“No crime whatsoever?” comments Mahoney today. “I just don’t buy it.” Nor should he: in 1999 the U.S. Department of Education had reports of nearly 400,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to colleges,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation.”
But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics （统计数字) by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity, leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be obvious,” warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc., the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog group.
To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.
1.The Mahoney’s visited quite a few colleges last August ______.
A. to express the opinions of many parents B. to choose a right one for their daughter
C. to check the cost of college education D. to find a right one near a large city
2.It is often difficult to get correct information on campus crime because some colleges ______.
A. receive too many visitors B. mirror the rest of the nation
C. hide the truth of campus crime D. have too many watchdog groups
3.The underlined word “buy” in the third paragraph means ______.
A. mind B. admit C. believe D. expect
4.We learn from the text that “the honest ones” in the fourth paragraph most probably refers to colleges ______.
A. that are protected by campus security B. that report campus crimes by law
C. that are free from campus crime D. the enjoy very good publicity
5.What is the text mainly about?
A. Exact campus crime statistics. B. Crimes on or around campuses.
C. Effective solutions to campus crime. D. concerns about kids’ campus safety.

As you may expect, life in space is much different from life on earth. So of course people need some time to get used to it. How do they live, work and play up there?
Space food keeps getting more like the food we eat at home on the earth. In the past, astronauts could eat only freeze-dried food. But now the space station has water, microwave ovens and fridges. So astronauts can eat more usual kinds of food, like fruit, vegetables and ice cream!
All people in the ISS（国际空间站）have their own rooms. There’s no gravity, so they have to attach themselves to their beds, or they’ll float away! That may seem like a hard way to sleep, but astronauts say that sleeping in space is actually not too bad.
This is more important in space than on Earth. There’s not much gravity in space. Astronauts don’t stand up, sit down or walk in space, so their muscles don’t have to work much. They exercise on bikes and other machines for about two hours every day while they’re in space. In this way, they can still keep strong and healthy when they get back home.
Easy things like brushing your teeth can be hard in space with low gravity. Water doesn’t flow out of a tap, it floats in a bubble（水泡）! Astronauts used a special hose（软管）to take showers. And when they’re finished, they use a vacuum（真空的）hose to suck the dirty water off of their bodies. How do you go to the toilet in space? They use a special “air toilet”. It uses air, not water, to take everything away.
What do astronauts do when they aren’t working? They read books, play cards, listen to music or send e-mail to their friends and family. Sometimes they just sit and look out the window. Doesn’t sound like much fun? But what if you could see planet Earth out of your window, with a sunset or sunrise every 45 minutes?
1．Which of the following can be the title of this passage?
A. Life In Space. B. Space Food. C. Showers In Space. D. A Visit To Space
2．From this passage we know that _______.
A. astronauts eat quite different food in space from what they eat on the earth
B. astronauts ate only fruit in space in the past
C. astronauts can only eat freeze-dried food now
D. astronauts can only eat fruit and vegetables now
3．Astronauts attach themselves to bed so as to ________.
A. keep themselves warm B. prevent themselves from floating away
C. have a good sleep D. feel better
4．Astronauts have to do exercise for two hours every day because ________.
A. they have nothing to do in space B. they are told to do so
C. they do so to keep healthy D. they do so to prevent them from sleeping
5．From the last paragraph we can guess that ________.
A. the sun moves fast around the earth
B. the earth circles round the sun very fast
C. the earth is very small
D. the spaceship circles round the earth once every 90 imnutes

1970 was “World Conservation Year”. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped that the governments would act quickly in order to conserve nature. Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 remain. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology. We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives. We can't live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves.
What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask “What must we do now?” The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conservation is necessary. Many are hoping to save our world. They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests and so on. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of eleven kilometres of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called “No, One's Going to Change our World. ” It was made by Scatles, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve wild animals.
1. There are few plants, trees and flowers in Holland now because _______.
A. there has been a lot of conservation in Holland
B. Holland does not need so many plants, trees and flowers
C. many plants, trees and flowers don't grow there any more
D. some plants, trees and flowers are dangerous
2. We shall destroy ourselves if we don't _______.
A. improve our technology in planting trees
B. hear about the record called “No, One's Going to Change our World”
C. try our best to save the world
D. change the earth
3. “No,One's Going to Change our World. ” was _______.
A. an important book published in 1970 B. a record calling on people to conserve nature
C. an idea that nobody would accept D. a rule worked out by the United States
4. What is the most important thing for us to do to save our world?
A. We should clean the banks of our rivers.
B. We should know what will happen in the future.
C. We should know what we should do and do it now.
D. We should plant more trees and flowers.
5. What's the main idea of the passage?
A. 1970 was “World Conservation Year”.
B. The United Nations wanted everybody to know that the world is in danger.
C. Conservation is necessary.
D. It is the young people who are helping to save our world .

A．doing business	B．making whisky
C．cheating	D．buying and selling land

A．had no children.	B．was a strange man.
C．was very fond of children.
D．wanted people to know how rich he was.