When I met him, I had a lot of anger inside of me. I’ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time. I know kids who have been shot or beaten up. I have friends who ended up in prison. I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr. Clark wouldn’t let that happen.
Mr. Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work. My grades rose. In fact, the scores of our whole class rose. One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem. Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full. We did not want to let him down.
Mr. Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year. He said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angeles to get the award. But when the time came to draw names, Mr. Clark said, “You’re all going.”
On graduation day, there were a lot of tears. We didn’t want his class to end. In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch. He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55. In 2003,
Mr. Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit the orphanages (孤儿院). It was the most amazing experience of my life. It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs, helping people from all backgrounds.Without Mr. Clark, the writer .
| A．might have been put into prison |
| B．might not have won the prize |
| C．might have joined a women’s club |
| D．might not have moved to Atlanta |
The Essential 55 is .
| A．a show | B．a speech | C．a classroom rule | D．a book |
How many students’ names were finally drawn out of a hat by Mr. Clark?
| A．None | B．Three | C．Fifty-five. | D．All. |
What can we learn in the short reading?
| A．It was in Harlem that we saw The Phantom of the Opera for the first time. |
| B．Mr. Clark taught us not to talk with our mouths full, and we did. |
| C．Mr. Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year in Los Angeles. |
| D．In 2003, Mr. Clark moved to Atlanta, and he always kept in touch with us. |
In the passage, the writer intends to tell us that .
| A．Mr. Clark went to South Africa because he liked traveling |
| B．Mr. Clark helped to set up a group of women’s clubs |
| C．a good teacher can help raise his or her students’ scores |
| D．a good teacher has a good influence on his or her students |
It was the last time Susan Butcher ran the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1992. An hour into the race, Susan and her sled dog team sped down a hill and crashed into a fallen tree. Although hurt, Susan continued the difficult race.
The Iditarod Race started in 1925 when a doctor in Nome, Alaska was desperately in need of medicine to stop the spread of a deadly disease. Only a hospital had what he needed, but it was 700 mile-away! In January, it was too dangerous to send a boat and too stormy for his tiny airplane. The only hope was to use several sled dog teams following a trail, called the Iditarod Trail. They passed the medicine from one sled team to another. Wind and snow did not stop the men and their dogs. The medicine was delivered in record time. The race follows the route of the famous medicine run. Over 1,000 miles long, it is considered the toughest race in the world.
Susan Butcher was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In her teens Susan was given a Siberian husky dog and became very interested in huskies as sled dogs. After reading about the Iditarod Race, Susan moved to Alaska. She got several jobs to earn money to buy herself a sled and a team of huskies. After years of hard work and training, Susan achieved her dream of racing on the Iditarod Trail.
In 1978, at the age of 24, Susan entered the race for the first time and became the first woman to finish in the top 20. In 1982 she came in second. In 1984 she was leading her team across a frozen waterway when they fell into the water. Her lead dog managed to pull Susan and the other dogs out of danger. Remarkably, she came in second.
In her fourth race, in 1985,a starving moose(驼鹿) attacked her dogs, killing two and injuring eleven. Susan had to leave the race. In 1986 Susan joined the race again. This time, she won. She won again in 1987. In 1988 she became the first person ever to win three Iditarod races in a row. Unbelievably, Susan won for the fourth time in 1990.According to text, Susan Butcher entered the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race at leasttimes.
| A．six | B．seven | C．eight | D．nine |
In Paragraph 2, the author wants to tell us .
| A．how the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began |
| B．how the spread of a deadly disease was stopped |
| C．how tough the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was |
| D．how Susan Butcher began to show interest in the race |
In the year , Susan Butcher won three races in a row.
| A．1984, 1985 and 1986 | B．1985, 1987 and 1988 |
| C． 1986, 1987 and 1988 | D．1987, 1988 and 1990 |
What led to some of Susan Butcher’s failures?
| A．Snowstorm. | B．Lack of food. |
| C．Accidents. | D．Lack of experience. |
In all the world’s cultures, people sing, play instruments, and celebrate with music. It plays such an important role in our lives that all fields focus on its study, including one looking at the biology of music. Experts find that because of the way our brains process music, learning to play an instrument or just listening to music can have a wide range of benefits.
Music education has received a lot of attention. Learning to play an instrument can help children improve math, science, and language skills. One study in Canada tracked children’s IQ scores for nine months, discovering that children who studied music had the biggest test score improvements. The secret may lie in the way reading music and playing notes use several areas of the brain, increasing our ability to learn school subjects. For example, reading notes improves spatial(空间的) reasoning skills, which are helpful in solving math problems like fractions(分数).
Music is also used for medical purposes, such as the treatment of diseases which affect memories. The secret lies in the way the brain processes music. One area near the forehead, the medical prefrontal cortex, connects music with memories stored in two other areas: the amygdale and hippocampus. That’s why an old song can remind you of something that happened years ago. For patients suffering from diseases like Alzheimer’s, listening to music can help unlock buried memories by strengthening musical pathways to memories.
With the evidence of music’s benefits, it’s no wonder some countries make music study a part of their education system. People are recognizing that more than just a form of entertainment, music is also great for the brain.Scientists are studying music because .
| A．music can be used for medical treatment. |
| B．music plays a very important role in our lives |
| C．our brain can process music in different ways |
| D．music education has received a lot of attention |
According to the Canadian study, which children increased IQscores?
| A．Those who already had high IQ scores. |
| B．Those who always played music. |
| C．Those who could not play any instrument. |
| D．Those who studied music for a period of time. |
Which of the following is a kind of disease?
| A．Spatial reasoning. |
| B．Alzheimer’s. |
| C．The amygdale and hippocampus. |
| D．The medial prefrontal cortex. |
Which can be the best title for the text?
| A．Music and health | B．Music and the mind |
| C．Music and the education | D．Music and instruments |
Are GM（转基因的) foods safe for people? Can they help solve the poverty problem? They have been the subjects of a hot debate.
This debate is related to increasing challenges from rising climatic change, population growth, urbanization（城镇化), and natural resource consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, food production needs to increase by 60 percent by 2050 in order to feed 9 billion people. Scientists and policymakers are searching for effective ways to gain nutritious food, for today and future. Unlike previous agricultural methods (such as the Green Revolution), GM crops are to fight food safety and poverty challenges.
The great expansion of GM crop varieties over the last two decades can be seen easily. The total area devoted to GM crops has increased 100 times from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 170 million hectares in 2012. Developing countries now grow more GM crops than developed countries (in terms of area), largely driven by Brazil’s rapid adoption of GM crops. China is home to about 4 percent of the total global area devoted to GM crops. Beans, corn, and cotton are main global GM crops, while China’s focus is on cotton, papaya, and poplar.
Recently, a scientific study shows that GM crops are safe for people and the environment. According to a 2010 report on the safety of GM crops by the EU, “the main conclusion to be drawn from the efforts of more than 130 research projects, covering a period of more than 25 years of research, and involving more than 500 research groups, is that biology methods, are not more risky than traditional planting technologies, for example.” Other international and national scientific bodies, such as the World Health Organization, have reached the same conclusion. Nowadays, people are developing GM foods mainly to fight against______.
| A．urbanization |
| B．population growth |
| C．rising climatic change |
| D．natural resource consumption |
As for GM crops, what do people mainly focus on ?
| A．Food production. | B．Food nutrition. |
| C．Food safety. | D．Food variety. |
What does Paragraph 3 talk about?
| A．More GM crops in developing countries. |
| B．Less GM crops in developed countries. |
| C．Rapid adoption of GM crops in Brazil. |
| D．The expansion of GM crop varieties of the world. |
From a recent scientific study, we can infer that______.
| A．traditional planting technologies are more risky |
| B．the safety of GM crops has been proved in many ways |
| C．the safety of GM crops was reported by the EU in 2010 |
| D．present GM crops are safe for people and the environment |
What’s the writer’s attitude towards GM crops?
| A．Supportive. | B．Opposed. |
| C．Unknown. | D．Indifferent. |
In a society such as the United States or Canada, which has many national, religious and cultural differences, people highly value individualism--the differences among people. Teachers place a lot of importance on the qualities that make each student special. The educational systems in these countries show these values. Students do not memorize all possible basic knowledge. Instead, they work individually and find answers by themselves. There is often discussion in the classroom. At an early age, students learn to form their own ideas and opinions.
In most Asian societies, by contrast, the people have the same language, history and culture. Perhaps for this reason, the educational system in much of the orient reflects society’s belief in group goals and purposes rather than individualism. Children in China, Japan and Korea often work together and help one another on assignments.
There are advantages and disadvantages of both systems of education. For example, one advantage of the system in Japan is that students there learn much more about math, physics, biology and chemistry than American students by the end of high school. They also study more hours each day and more days each year than North Americans do. The system is difficult, but it prepares students for a society that values discipline and self-control. There is, however, a disadvantage. Memorization is an important learning method in Japanese schools, yet many students say that after an exam, they forget much of the information that they have memorized.
The advantage of the educational system in North America, on the other hand, is that students learn to think for themselves. The system prepares them for a society that values creative ideas. There is, however, a disadvantage. When students graduate from school, they haven’t memorized as many basic rules and facts as students in other countries have. The reason why American teachers attach much importance to individualism is that
_________.
| A．they are required to do so |
| B．their students do not memorize information |
| C．the United States is a country of many cultures |
| D．their students work individually |
Which of the following statements applies to Asian methods of education?
| A．Each child in a classroom draws a different picture. |
| B．students have to find information themselves. |
| C．Students are prepared for a society that values discipline. |
| D．Teachers serve as a guide in discussion. |
Which is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The system of education in the West is more creative than that in the East. |
| B．Japanese students learn much more about science than American students. |
| C．Canadian students are more individual than Korean students. |
| D．Students in North America are not so friendly as those in Asia. |
From the facts, we can infer that ______ .
| A．Asian students are more likely to do better in teamwork than American students |
| B．Chinese students are more hard-working in their studies than Mexican students |
| C．the Western educational system is much better than the Eastern educational system |
| D．the Eastern educational system is as difficult as the Western educational system |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Advantages and Disadvantages of Educational System. |
| B．The Value of Individualism. |
| C．Educational System-an Obvious Difference between the East and the West. |
| D．Memorization-an Important Learning Method. |
Several years ago, I had to replace a receptionist for my unit. Before I advertised for the position, I was approached by another manager, and asked if I would consider a transfer from his staff instead of opening a new competition. My natural question was to ask who he wanted me to consider and why.
It appeared from his description of this employee, Maria, that she was having a lot of problems performing her duties and had difficulties with her boss and did not appear to respond to any attempts he, the manager, had made to settle the issues. Now, after listening to his explanation, I really had severe doubts. What crossed my mind, after this discussion, was that he wanted me to take a problem off his hands.
I told him I would think about it and would let him know the next day. As promised, after thinking more about this potential performance issue, I decided that I would agree to speak with Maria privately before I made any decision.
And, what I found out during this interview, left me deep in thought. As it turned out, the performance issue appeared to result from working for a boss who never extended a good morning greeting, never gave a word of encouragement, and was constantly changing the work load and routines. The end result was a totally ruined employee who was unconfident and hated to see a new work day start.
I decided to accept her transfer to my unit. What started out as a shy, withdrawn and frightened employee turned out to be one of the most productive and loyal employee that I had ever worked with. Maria couldn’t do enough and was constantly asking for more responsibility. I was more than happy to give her what she needed – praise for work well done, respect as a person, and encouragement for doing well in anything she dealt with.
Sometimes we are guilty of holding others back from accomplishing or doing, or developing as they should or could. It may be a wise idea that we all look in the mirror, from time to time, to see what we are really like. What can we learn about the writer from the first paragraph?
| A．He is a manager in the company. |
| B．He doesn't like his receptionist. |
| C．He likes to compete with others. |
| D．He wants to find another position. |
After hearing his colleague's description of Maria, the writer thought that Maria ____ .
| A．attempted to settle the issues |
| B．was a problem to her boss |
| C．shouldn't stay in the company |
| D．could get on well with others |
Why did Maria fail to perform well in her previous job?
| A．Her previous job was not suitable for her. |
| B．She had difficulty responding to her manager. |
| C．Her boss didn't inspire her working enthusiasm. |
| D．Her boss showed no trust in her ability. |
We can infer that before working with the author, Maria ______.
| A．was not welcome by her colleagues |
| B．wanted to transfer her position |
| C．didn't like her boss |
| D．felt frustrated at her work |
The writer probably believes that a good boss should ______.
| A．praise and award his employees a lot |
| B．respect, praise and encourage his employees |
| C．greet his employees and give them much work |
| D．always give his employees guidance in working |