People in the United States honor their parents with 2 special days: Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May and Father’s Day on the 3rd Sunday in June. These days are to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home and more fathers must help with childcare.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On mother’s Day, people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It’s also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery(grave). On these days families get together at home as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecue for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are more valued than those bought in stores. It’s not the value of the gift that is important, but “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakers, phone companies and other stores do lots of business during these holidays.Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
| A．Parents bring up children. |
| B．Parents give love and care to children. |
| C．Parents educate children to be good persons. |
| D．Parents pass away before children grow up. |
What do you know from the passage?
| A．Both festivals are in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents. |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
Which do you know about “carnation”?
| A．It only has two kinds of color. |
| B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day. |
| C．It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear them only on the second Sunday in May. |
On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day ___________.
| A．people sometimes have family parties |
| B．everyone goes to the cemetery |
| C．children always go to parents’ home |
| D．hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts. |
What do you think “florists” do ?
| A．They sell flowers. |
| B．They make bread or pastry. |
| C．They offer enough room for having family parties. |
| D．They sell special clothes for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. |
C
Being able to multitask—doing several things at the same time—is considered a welcome skill by most people. But if we consider the situation of the young people aged from eight to eighteen, we should think again.
What we often see nowadays is that young people juggle an ever larger number of electronic devices(电子产品)as they study. While working, they also surf on the Internet, send out emails, answer the telephone and listen to music on their iPods. In a sense, they are spending a significant amount of time in fruitless efforts as they multitask.
Multitasking is even changing the relationship between family members. As young people around them. They can no longer greet family members when they enter the house, nor can they cat at the family table.
Multitasking also affects young people’s performance at university and in the workplace. When asked about their opinion of the effect of modern gadgets(器具)on their performance of tasks, many young people gave a positive response(反应). However, the response from the worlds of education and business was not quite as positive. Educators feel that multitasking by children has a serious effect on later development of study skills. They believe that many college students now need help to improve their study skills. Similarly, employers feel that young people entering the job market need to be taught all over again, as modern gadgets have made it unnecessary for them to learn special skills to do their work.What does the underlined word “juggle” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?
| A．Want to buy | B．Take the place of. |
| C．Use at the same time | D．Seek for information from. |
In Paragraph 3, the author points out that .
| A．family members do not cat at the family table |
| B．family member do not greet each other |
| C．young people live happily in their families |
| D．young people seldom talk with their family members |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．Multitasking is harmful to young people’s development. |
| B．Young people benefit a lot from modern gadgets |
| C．Multitasking is an important skill to young people. |
| D．Young people must learn skills for future jobs. |
The author develops the passage mainly by .
| A．providing typical examples | B．following the natural time order |
| C．comparing opinions from different fields | |
| D．presenting a cause and analyzing its effects |
While all my classmates seen to be crazy about a one-way ticket to Mars(火星), I’d rather say Mars is totally unsuitable for human existence. People won’t have enough food supplies there, and the terrible environment would make it impossible for them to live a long life. Besides, the journey won’t be safe. Can anybody explain to me just why people would go to Mars, never to return?
Steve Minear, UK
Here are the things you can think of: the desire to explore a foreign and unique environment, the excitement of being the first humans to open up a new world, the expectation of fame and glory…For scientists there is another reason. Their observations and research will probably lead to great scientific achievements.
Donal Trollop, Canada
There are already too many people on the Earth. I think that sometime before the end of the century, there will be a human colony(殖民地)on Mars. It will happen when people finally realize that tow-way trips to the red planet Mars are unnecessary. Most of the danger of space Flight is in the launches(发射) and landings. Cutting the trip home would therefore reduce the danger of accidents, save a lot of money, and open the way to building an everlasting human settlement on another world.
Enough supplies can be sent on ahead. And every two years more supplies and more people will needs, and Mars is far more pleasant than the other planets in the outer space.
Paul Davies. USA The main purpose of Steve Minear’s writing is .
| A．to report his classmates’ discussion | B．to invite an answer to his question |
| C．to explain the natural state of Mars | D．to show his agreement on going to Mars |
Which of the following best states Donal Trollop’s idea?
| A．There is a plan to send humans to Mars. |
| B．There are many reasons for going to Mars. |
| C．Scientists become famous by doing research on Mars. |
| D．It is possible to build an Earth-like environment on Mars. |
Paul Davies points out that .
| A．humans need only a one-way ticket to Mars. |
| B．two-way trips to Mars will be made safe soon |
| C．it is easy to reduce the danger and cost of flights to Mars |
| D．it is cheap to build an everlasting human settlement on Mars |
What does Paul Davies think of human existence on Mars?
| A．Humans will have to bring all they need from the Earth. |
| B．Humans will find Mars totally unsuitable for living. |
| C．Humans can produce everything they need. |
| D．Humans can live longer in the colony on Mars |
I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt(被子)after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.
“Oh?” Mom said, “That’s Mama’s quilt.”
I spread the quilt. It looked at if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.
“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.
“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said. “I’m still working on it. See, this is what I’ve done so far.”
I looked at it more closely. She had made straight a crooked line. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched(缝) a piece of cloth with these words: “My mother made many quilts. She didn’t get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”
“Ooh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said. It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.Why did the author go to mother’s home?
| A．To see her mother’s quilts. | B．To help prepare for a show. |
| C．To get together for the family dinner. | D．To discuss her grandmother’s life. |
The author was surprised because .
| A．the quilt looked very strange. | B．her grandmother liked the quilt. |
| C．the quilt was the best she had seen. | D．her mother had made some changes |
The underlined wood “crooked” in the passage most probably means .
| A．unfinished | B．broken | C．bent | D．unusual |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Quilt Show | B．Mother’s Home | C．A Monday Dinner | D．Grandmother’s Quilt |
In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually was made up of saying poetry aloud and giving speeches.
In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discuss questions in their field of study with people who had made a special study of the subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testing candidates (应试者) for the doctor’s degree.
Generally, however, modem examinations are written. The written examination, where all students are tested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenth century. Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in population and the development of modem industry. A room full of candidates for a state examination timed exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over by managers, looks like a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines.
One type of test is sometimes called an “objective” test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series (一系列)of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly.
4. The main idea of Paragraph Three is that ________.
A. workers now take examinations B. the population has grown
C. there are only written exams today D. examinations are now written and timed
5. The kind of exams where students must select answers are
A. objective B. personal
C. spoken D. written
6. Modem industry must have developed ________.
A. around the 19th century B. before the Middle Ages
C. in Greece or Rome D. machines to take tests
7. It may be concluded that testing ________.
A. should test only opinions B. should always be written
C. is given only in factories D. has changed since the Middle Ages
I grew up in a small town. My father raised chickens and ran a construction company. I was barely 10 years old when my dad gave me the responsibility (责任) of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable. He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace, I washed dishes and cooked from 4: 00 pm to 9: 00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged. One night, a woman executive (懂事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I released my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man. Knowing that I had done my best filled me with pride. I still feel that way today, even though I have become a well-known singer.Why was the writer once known as the singing cook?
| A．Because he was a cook at a country-music club. |
| B．Because he sang for guests while he worked as a cook. |
| C．Because he often sang while cooking. |
| D．Because he liked singing better than cooking. |
Who first recognized his talents and helped make his career successful?
| A．Wamer Brothers. | B．His manager. |
| C．His father. | D．A businesswoman. |
What made the writer proud of himself?
| A．His ability to live independently. |
| B．His sense of responsibility in whatever he did. |
| C．His courage in the face of rejections. |
| D．His hard work in his early days. |