For the 17 years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill, and soon she knew that she was dying. Just before she died, she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She held our hands and said, “Victor and Elizabeth, my children, I’m very happy because you love each other, and because one day you’ll get married. Everyone in the family loves you, Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family, my dear? I can die happy if you look after them when I have gone.”
My mother died and we were very sad, because we loved her dearly. Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother’s death. The time came for me to go to university. I didn’t want to leave my sad family, but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave, too, because the parents of my good friend Henry would not let him go to university with me. So I had gone alone.
On my first day at university I met my teacher, Professor Waldman, who was one of the greatest scientists in the world. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students who were starting at the university. He ended his talk by saying, “Some of you will become the greatest scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can. This is why God made you intelligent—to help other people.”
After the professor’s talk, I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was 15; I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. From then on, I wanted to use electricity to help people, and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things.
I started to work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.
The professor helped me very much, and other important scientists who were his friends helped me, too. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day’s holiday during the next two years, I did not go home, and my letters to my family were very short.
After two years, I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was the best in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university, I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day, month after month, I followed death, so it was a dark and terrible time.
I built a tall mast about 150 meters high, which is higher than the tallest building in the city, to catch lightning and send the electricity down to my machine in the lab. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.
Then one day, the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Elizabeth married shortly after Victor’s mother died. |
| B．Elizabeth was a brave girl who loved Victor and gave him much help. |
| C．Victor’s mother was very angry when she knew he loved Elizabeth. |
| D．Victor did not want to leave his family because his mother died not long before. |
Victor did all the following during his research in the university EXCEPT that .
| A．he discovered many things and built a scientific machine |
| B．he learnt much about death both in the hospitals and in the university |
| C．he worked hard and took only one day’s holiday during the next two years |
| D．he built a tall mast to catch lightning and send the electricity down to the lab |
According to the author, the secret of life is to .
| A．give life to things that were dead |
| B．use electricity to help others |
| C．build the best machine to learn about death |
| D．become the greatest scientist of tomorrow |
Which is the correct order about the life of Victor?
① Victor’s mother passed away.
② Victor got help from the professor and other scientists.
③ Victor went to university and attended the professor’s talk.
④ Victor found the answer to giving life to things that were dead.
⑤ Victor experienced a storm, seeing the lightning destroying the tree.
| A．①②③④⑤ | B．⑤①②④③ | C．①③②⑤④ | D．⑤①③②④ |
When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously（同时的）about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what' s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen -- they can' t do both -- and they don' t understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships -- not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen.
During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle body language signals that reveal how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts.
Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a means of bonding. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.
There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls' mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Lewis, author Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at, baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents res the brain bias of their children. Since a girl' s brain is better organized to send and receive speech ,
we therefore talk to them more. Consequently, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short grunts in reply.
56.While watching TV with others, women Usually talk a lot because they
A. are afraid of awkward silence with their families and friends
B. can both talk and watch the screen at the Same time
C. think they can have a good time and develop relationships
D. have to explain the plot and body language to their husbands
57. After a vacation with her girlfriend, a woman would talk to her again on the phone for hours in order to .
A. experience the happy time again B. keep a close tie with her
C. recommend her a new scenic spot D. remind her of something forgotten
58. What does the author want to tell us most?
A. Women' s brains are better organized for language and communication
B. Women love to talk because they are more sociable than men.
C. Men do not like talking because they rely more on facts.
D. Social conditioning is not the reason why women love talking.
59. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Women Are Socially Trained to Talk B. Talking Maintains Relationships
C, Women Love to Talk D. Men Talk Differently from Women
A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.
I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.
It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.
As a child visiting my father’s office，1 was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting 1 would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.
All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey. Sire shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.
I don’t buy it.
I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.
What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However，they have worked in many school systems.
51. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?
A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.
B. His colleague’s handwriting was SO beautiful.
C. His colleague’s handwriting was SO terrible.
D. He still had a 1ot of Work to do.
52. People working together in an office used to ____________.
A. talk more about handwriting
B. take more notes on workdays
C. know better one another's handwriting
D. communicate better with one another
53. The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________.
A. to both his family and his staff
B. to his family in small letters
C. to his family on the fridge
D. to his staff on the desk
54. According to the author，handwritten notes _______.
A. are harder to teach in schools
B. attract more attention
C. are used only between friends
D. carry more message
55. We can learn from the passage that the author __________.
A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting
B. does not want to lose handwriting
C. puts the blame on the computer
D. does not agree with Florey
We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.
“You could win prizes，’’our teacher told US as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing，“The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster. ”
We studied the board critically. Some of US looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard，rocking the sheets to the fight or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten—dollar grand prize，each and every one of US. I'm going to spend mine on candies，one hopeful would announce，while another practiced looking serious，wise and rich.
Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins，while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of US used big designs，and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one comer of our poster and let the space draw the viewer's attention to it. Some of US would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the soil they seemed especially fond of。making all of US believe we had a fair chance，and then always—always—rewarding the same old winners.
I believe I drew a sailboat，but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen，and then I turned it in.
Minutes passed.
No one came along to give me the grand prize，and then someone distracted me，and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.
I was still sitting at my desk，thinking，What poster? When the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.
46. What was the teacher's requirement for the poster?
A. It must appear in time.
B. It must be done in class.
C. It must be done on a construction sheet.
D. It must include the words on the blackboard.
47. The underlined phrase in paragraph 3 most probably means _____________.
A. formed an idea for
B. made an outline for
C. made some space for
D. chose some colors for
48. After the teacher’s words，all the students in the class _________.
A. 1ooked very serious
B. thought they would be rich
C. began to think about their designs
D. began to play games
49. After seeing the good students’ designs，some students _________.
A. 1oved their own designs more
B. thought they had a fair chance
C. put their own designs in a comer
D. thought they would not win the prize
50. We can infer from the passage that the author ______________.
A. enjoyed grown-up tricks very much
B. 1oved poster competitions very much
C. felt surprised to win the competition
D. became wise and rich after the competition
Lisa was running late. Lisa，25，had a lot to do at work，plus visitors on the way: her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown. But as she hurried down the subway stairs，she started to feel uncomfortably warn. By the time she got to the platform，Lisa felt weak and tired--maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to give blood the night before，she thought. She rested herself against a post close to the tracks.
Several yards away，Frank，43，and his girlfriend，Jennifer，found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop. They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying.
But when he heard the scream，followed by someone yelling，“Oh，my God，she fell in!” Frank didn’t hesitate. He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails. “No! Not you! ”his girlfriend screamed after him.
She was right to be alarmed. By the time Frank reached Lisa，he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming. The train was about 20 seconds from the station.
It was hard to lift her. She was just out. But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the grins and drag her away from the edge. That was where Lisa briefly regained consciousness，felt herself being pulled along the ground，and saw someone else holding her purse.
Lisa thought she’d been robbed. A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head. And she tried to talk but she couldn’t，and that was when she realized how much pain she was in.
Police and fire officials soon arrived，and Frank told the story to an officer. Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40-minute train ride downtown—just as he had been seconds after the rescue，which made her think about her reaction at the time. “I saw the train coming and 1 was thinking he was going to die，”she explained.
41. What was the most probable cause for Lisa’s weakness?
A. She had run a long way.
B. She felt hot in the subway.
C. She had done a 1ot of work.
D. She had donated blood the night before.
42. Why did Jennifer try to stop her boyfriend?
A. Because they would miss their train.
B. Because he didn’t see the train coming.
C. Because she was sure Lisa was hard to lift.
D. Because she was afraid the train would kill him.
43. How did Frank save Lisa?
A. By lifting her to the platform.
B. By helping her rise to her feet.
C. By pulling her along the ground.
D. By dragging her away from the edge.
44. When did Lisa become conscious again?
A. When the train was leaving.
B. After she was back on the platform.
C. After the police and fire officials came.
D. When a man was cleaning the blood from her head.
45. The passage is intended to _____________
A. warn us of the danger in the subway
B. show US how to save people in the subway
C. tell US about a subway rescue
D. report a traffic accident
An increase in students applying to study economics at university is being attributed to （归因于）the global economic crisis awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financia
l system works. Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A. spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up. Professor john Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecture at St Andrews University, said his first-year lectures-which are open to students from all departments—were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250. “There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it. One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasn’t traditionally done. ” He added. University applications rose 7% last year. But there were rises above average in several subjects. Nursing saw a 15% jump, with people’s renewed interest in caters in the pubic sector（部门）, which are seen as more secure in economic crisis. A. recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain. Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said: “It’s possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that’s financially wiser and better equipped to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty.” 71. Professor John Beath’s lectures are ______ . A. given in a traditional way B. connected with the present situation C. open to both students and their parents D. warmly received by economics 72. Incomes in the public sector are more attractive because of their_____. A. greater stability B. higher pay C. fewer applications D. better reputation 73. in the opinion of most parents ______ . A. eccentrics should be the focus of school teaching B. more students should be admitted to universities C. the teaching of financial matters should be strengthened. D. children should solve financial problems themselves 74. According to Hocking, the global economic crisis might make the youngsters_____ . A. wiser in money management B. have access to better equipment C. confide about their future careers D. get jobs in Child Trust Funds 75. What’s the main idea of the text? A. Universities have received more applications. B. Economics is attracting an increasing numbers students C. college students benefit a lot from economic uncertainty D. parents are concerned with children’s subject selection.