Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He stopped by the fence in front of the house where he lived with his aunt Polly. He looked at it, and all joy left him. The fence was long and high. He put the brush into the whitewash and moved it along the top of the fence. He repeated the operation. He felt he could not continue and sat down.
He knew that his friends would arrive soon with all kinds of interesting plans for the day. They would walk past him and laugh. They would make jokes about his having to work on a beautiful summer Saturday. The thought burned him like fire.
He put his hand into his pockets and took out all that he owned. Perhaps he could find some way to pay someone to do the whitewashing for him. But there was nothing of value in his pockets —nothing that could buy even half an hour of freedom. So he put the bits of toys back into his pockets and gave up the idea
At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea came to him. It filled his mind with a great, bright light. Calmly he picked up the brush and started again to whitewash.
While Tom was working, Ben Rogers appeared. Ben was eating an apple as he walked along the street. As he walked along, he was making noises like the sound of a riverboat. First he shouted loudly, like a boat captain. Then he said “Ding-Dong-Dong”, “Ding-Dong-Dong” again and again, like the bell of a riverboat. And he made other strange noises. When he came close to Tom, he stopped.
Tom went on whitewashing. He did not look at Ben. Ben stared a moment and then said: “Hello! I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush carefully along the fence and looked at the result with the eye of an artist. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he kept on working.
Ben said, “Hello, old fellow, you’ve got to work, hey?”
Tom turned suddenly and said, “Why, it’s you, Ben! I wasn’t noticing.”
“Say —I’m going swimming. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d rather work — wouldn’t you? Of course you would.”
Tom looked at the boy a bit, and said “What do you call work?”
“Why, isn’t that work?”
Tom went back to his whitewashing, and answered carelessly.
“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to say that you like it?”
The brush continued to move.
“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
Ben stopped eating his apple. Tom moved his brush back and forth, stepped back to look at the result, added a touch here and there, and stepped back again. Ben watched every move and got more and more interested. Soon he said,
“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom thought for a moment, was about to agree; but he changed his mind.
“No —no —it won’t do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. It has got to be done very carefully. I don’t think there is one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it well enough.”
“No —is that so? Oh come, now —let me just try. Only just a little.” “Ben, I’d like to, but if it isn’t done right, I’m afraid Aunt Polly … ”
“Oh, I’ll be careful. Now let me try. Say —I’ll give you the core of my apple.”
“Well, here —No, Ben, now don’t. I’m afraid …”
“I’ll give you all of it.”
Tom gave up the brush with unwillingness on his face, but joy in his heart. And while Ben worked at the fence in the hot sun, Tom sat under a tree, eating the apple, and planning how to get more help. There were enough boys. Each one came to laugh, but remained to whitewash. By the time Ben was tired, Tom sold the next chance to Billy for a kite; and when Billy was tired, Johnny bought in for a dead rat —and so on, hour after hour. And when the middle of the afternoon came, Tom had won many treasures.
And he had not worked. He had had a nice idle time all the time, with plenty of company －and the fence had been whitewashed three times. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, Tom would have owned everything belonging to his friends.
He had discovered a great law of human action, namely, that in order to make a man or a boy want a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to get. How many characters are mentioned in this story?
| A．7 | B．6 | C．5 | D．4 |
Why did Tom take all his bits of toys out of his pockets?
| A．Because he is tired and wanted to play with his toys. |
| B．Because he wanted to throw his toys away. |
| C．Because he wanted to know if he could buy help with his toys. |
| D．Because he wanted to give his toys to his friends. |
Tom was about to agree to let Ben whitewash when he changed his mind because ______.
| A．Tom wanted to do the whitewashing by himself |
| B．Tom was afraid Ben would do the whitewashing better. |
| C．Tom was unwilling to let Ben do the whitewashing |
| D．Tom planned to make Ben give up his apple first |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．Tom was good at whitewashing the fence, so he looked at the result of his work with the eye of an artist. |
| B．Tom was unwilling to whitewash the fence, but he managed to let other boys do it for him |
| C．Tom had a lot of friends who are ready to help others. |
| D．Tom was interested in whitewashing the fence. |
What made Ben Rogers eagerly gave up his apple and offer to brush the fence for Tom?
| A．His curiosity about Tom’s brushing job. |
| B．His warm heart and kindness to friends. |
| C．Tom’s threat. |
| D．Aunt Polly’s idea. |
Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?
| A．Tom And His Fellows |
| B．The Happy Whitewasher |
| C．Whitewashing A Fence |
| D．How To Make The Things Difficult To Get |
Katharine Meyer Graham was once described as “the most powerful woman in America. She was not a government official or elected representative. She owned and published The Washington Post. Under her leadership, it became one of the most important newspapers in the country.
Katharine Meyer was born in New York City in 1917. Her father was a successful investment banker and became an important financial official. Her family was very rich. Katharine grew up in large houses in New York and Washington. Her parents were often away from home, traveling and working, Katharine was often lonely. Katherine Meyer graduated from the University of Chicago in Illinois in 1938. In 1933, her father bought a failing newspaper, The Washington Post. It was the least successful one of five newspapers in Washington.
Katharine Graham returned to Washington and got a job editing letters to the editor of her father's newspaper. She married Philip Graham. He was a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter but soon accepted a job at his wife's father's newspaper. Mr. Graham improved The Washington Post. He bought Newsweek and several television stations. He also established close ties with important political leaders. However, Mr. Graham treated his wife badly. He had an affair with a young reporter. For many years, Mr. Graham suffered from mental illness. He killed himself in 1963.
Katharine Graham had four children to raise and a newspaper to operate. At first, she was only concerned about finding a way to keep control of The Washington Post until her sons were old enough. She did not think she had the ability to do an important job. She had no training in business or experience in operating a large company. In those days, it was unusual for a woman to be the head of a business. Women were expected to look after their homes and children.
Katharine Graham met with officials of the Washington Post. She was elected president of the Washington Post Company. She had no idea about how to operate a newspaper. So she decided to learn. She began by hiring Benjamin C.Bradlee. He later became chief editor. Mr. Bradlee improved the newspaper. He hired excellent reporters and editors. They began doing important investigative reporting. In 1969, Mrs. Graham became publisher as well as president of the Washington Post Company. In the 1970s, the Washington Post became famous around the world because of two major successes.Katharine Graham is considered powerful because____________.
| A．she was born of a very rich family |
| B．she had the most important newspaper. |
| C．she was in charge of the The Washington Post |
| D．she gained much money from newspapers |
We can infer from the second paragraph that Katharine Graham_____________.
| A．was one of the top students at university |
| B．helped her father in purchasing the paper. |
| C．didn’t take interest in managing a bank. |
| D．lived a rich life when she was young. |
After Katharine Graham got married___________.
| A．her husband gave up his previous job. |
| B．she got a job editing letters for the editor |
| C．she made The Washington Post improved. |
| D．her husband wanted to be a political leader |
Faced with the death of Mr. Graham________________.
| A．the four children felt lonely and hopeless |
| B．Katharine Graham made up her mind to raise the kids. |
| C．Katharine Graham thought more about gaining experience. |
| D．Katharine Graham seemed to be trapped in the dark world. |
What do you think of Benjamin C. Bradlee?
A. He was an expert when it comes to earning money
B. He brought The Washington Post back to life
C. He intended to buy The Washington Post.
D. He should have given more help to Katharine Graham.
Dear Guys,
I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.
One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly (勉强地) agreed.
Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request.
However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.
It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.
Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, and then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.
The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.
This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.
Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel.
Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.
“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.
“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.
And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”
I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.
Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.
It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.
I surprised myself—and I’m sure you as well—by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery.
Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”
Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period were just enough blows for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”
And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.
Sincerely, Jen CorderyThe writer agreed to throw the ball because ______.
| A．she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries |
| B．she wanted to refresh her childhood memories |
| C．she could not refuse the polite request from the young man |
| D．she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight |
Which of the following is closet in meaning to the underlined word “game”?
| A．anxious | B．brave | C．afraid | D．curious |
Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?
| A．To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back. |
| B．To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills. |
| C．To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were. |
| D．To express her dislike towards softball. |
What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer ________.
| A．encouraged | B．moved | C．awkward | D．depressed |
What happened to the ball at last?
| A．The writer managed to throw the ball back. |
| B．The boy got the ball back by himself. |
| C．The writer threw the ball away out of anger. |
| D．The boys got angry and left without the ball. |
What’s the writer’s purpose in writing this open letter?
| A．To express her regret over what she did the day before. |
| B．To announce that she would never play all games again. |
| C．To reflect upon an embarrassing incident in her life. |
| D．To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity. |
A student walks into his first class and realizes he forgot all about the midterm exam. He knows he needs to bring his grades up, and getting a zero will make it nearly impossible. He quickly jots down some notes and shoves them under his lap hoping it will help him pass. Cheating is a major concern in all academic environments. Students are creating new and more outrageous(令人吃惊的) ways of cheating every day; some claim that certain accounts of cheating can be justified, but overall it can always be prevented.
Cheating has been around forever, and millions of ways to cheat have been fashioned. Copying homework and cheat sheets are some of the most basic ways students in all education levels have cheated. Some students think nothing about writing a few answers on their hand, in a gum wrapper, or boldly using a study guide to cheat. Desperate students have even gone as far as to steal the test or scan in bottle wrappers and put answers into the nutrition label. The Internet has now become available in almost every location. Computers can be accessed at school, at home, and now even on cell phones. This opens a doorway for even more methods of cheating to be born.
There are countless opinions on whether or not cheating can be justified. The truth is this behavior will always be a matter of opinion with each scenario of cheating. Students often rationalize their cheating by claiming they forgot to look over the material or did not understand what the teacher or professor was saying. Some may counter these arguments by saying that the students could have set reminders or asked the teacher to explain the material before the day of the test. Some other reasons why students believe cheating is justified are their heavy workloads and trying to find time for school, sports, friends, and family. This may be true in certain instances, however, all students have these problems, and it is unfair to the students who refrain(忍耐，节制) from cheating when the student who is dishonest receives a better grade. The majority of students who think cheating is acceptable may believe the reason for this is that sometimes students are unaware they are cheating, there is not enough time given for assignments, or that the information is too much for the course.
It may be difficult to accomplish, but cheating can be prevented. Teachers and professors have tried many options to stop cheating. These options can range anywhere from simply spreading testtakers out in a room, to expelling(驱逐) a student, which will most likely hinder their plans of getting into another college. One simple way to fix the problem is to scold the student when caught. They may be so scared or embarrassed that they never do it again. This is a risky way to prevent cheating in some cases, however, because it can possibly damage selfesteem. Another simple way to avoid cheating is to create many different kinds of the same test. This prohibits(阻止) students from getting the answers off of a neighbor's test, but students still have the option of using other cheating tactics.
There may be a million ways to cheat and get away with it, but there are few times, if any, that it is justified. Cheating never has to be a necessity and it is never worth compromising morals and losing years worth of working towards a degree. This problem is spreading throughout America; with everyone's help, it can be stopped.Which is the best title of this passage?
| A．To cheat or not to cheat |
| B．Show your opinion on cheating |
| C．Debates on cheating |
| D．Different ways of cheating |
The second paragraph mainly tells us that ________.
| A．cheating through the Internet is the most basic way |
| B．students who cheat in exams are cleverer |
| C．millions of ways to cheat have been fashioned |
| D．students cheat in exams to score better grades |
The reason that is given by most students who think cheating is understandable is that ________.
| A．they don't understand their teachers' words |
| B．they bury themselves in a lot of homework |
| C．they don't have enough time to complete the study tasks |
| D．they forget to look over the material |
What does the underlined word “hinder” in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Prevent. | B．Benefit. | C．Confuse. | D．Protect. |
What is the author's attitude toward cheating?
| A．It is reasonable. | B．It is necessary. |
| C．It can be praised. | D．It must be prevented. |
Tests can be stressful even for the most prepared students，and，unfortunately，test anxiety can actually have a negative impact on your performance．（Just having that knowledge adds to the stress，doesn’t it?）Well，the following tips can help you get through your next test with much greater ease—and likely more success!
Get Enough Sleep
Getting 6 hours of less can put you into what’s called a sleep deficit，or lack of sufficient sleep，which can actually make you less sharp mentally and thus negatively affect your performance on tests，even if you spent those missed hours of sleep studying．So it’s very important for you to get all of your studying done so you can get a good night of sleep before your big day．
Study Smarter
Being organized with your studies can help you keep from pulling all-nighters to get all of your studying in and blowing the test because you’re exhausted．How do you study ‘smarter’? Make a list of the most important things you need to learn，in order of importance，and hit the items at the top of the list first．That way，if you run out of time，you’re mostly covered．Make a list of all the work you have to do，estimate how much time each item will take，and compare that with the amount of hours you have available；this will tell you if you can carefully read or just skim，how many times you can afford to revise papers，and other ways to pace yourself so you can get everything done．If you’re pressed for time，it’s important to learn to let go of being perfect．Oh，and turn off the TV as much as possible until your tests are behind you．
Visualize（想象）Success
Before you fall asleep each night，it is a great way to visualize yourself taking the tests and doing wonderfully．Detailed visualizations can help you feel like you’re really experiencing something，and visualizing yourself doing well is a way to ‘practice’ success in a way that can actually help you perform better and feel confident．Being confident as you take your exams can keep you from choking because of the stress．Visualizations can also help you to remember facts: you can create detailed scenarios that involve the information you’re trying to remember，and this can help cement the facts in your memory．
Stay Calm
Because stress can impair your memory，it’s important to stay calm before and during tests．While that’s easier said than done，there are several stress relief techniques that can help you calm down quickly whenever you feel overwhelmed．For example，breathing exercise has been shown by research to reduce test anxiety，and can be extremely effective in helping you relax and reverse your stress response in a variety of situations: just take deep breaths，expanding your belly on the inhale，and let the stress come out with your exhales．According to the passage，which of the following about sleep is true?
| A．Sleep has nothing to do with test anxiety． |
| B．Less sleep can actually save you more time to study． |
| C．Lack of enough sleep can make you slower in mind． |
| D．Less than 6 hours of sleep will lead to your failure in tests． |
To study smarter，you’d better ______．
| A．finish the most important things first |
| B．stay up to prepare for the coming exams |
| C．try to be perfect in every part of your study |
| D．divide your available time equally among all work |
According to the passage，which part can help build up your confidence?
| A．Get Enough Sleep | B．Study Smarter |
| C．Visualize Success | D．Stay Calm |
The passage is written to ______．
| A．encourage students to face test anxiety bravely |
| B．provide students with ways to get over test anxiety |
| C．describe bad effects test anxiety can have on students |
| D．tell students how to overcome test anxiety during exams |
Every one of the gymnasts who went to National Qualifiers (国家冠军赛资格赛) showed up with that goal in mind. Everyone gave it their all.
And I hate admitting it, but I was an exception. I did not do my best. Not for the ribbon exercise, nor for the club exercise. Knowing that I could have reached a little further to catch my ribbon, focused a little more so the stick wouldn’t slip through my fingers, tried a little harder to clean up those errors, but I didn’t, still bothers me.
After my disappointing competition, I tried my best to keep my eyes dry. But soon tears burned the edges of my eyes, and as I blinked, the first tear rolled down my cheek. Even though I angrily wiped my tears away before she looked at me, the evidence of my self-pity session presented itself clearly in the form of dirty makeup and reddened eyes.
My mom hated to see me cry, especially because I had no right or reason to. I had messed up — that wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine — and crying wouldn’t help at all. “Why are you crying, Amanda?” she asked, perhaps more pointedly (尖刻地) than intended, but I heard the concern in her voice. Unable to form all the emotions into words, I just looked away and avoided her questions.
“Tell me now why you’re crying.” Her voice this time wasn’t as gentle as it was before; it was filled with frustration and impatience. “Why are you crying?” she whispered again, but this time her voice was shaky and flooded with pain. This was the first time I’d ever seen my mom cry; my mom, who was always so strong and was there to encourage me through the roughest times, was now crying, and I was the reason for it. Finding my voice, I tentatively asked, “Why are you crying?”
She looked at me and answered exactly what I was afraid to hear, “I hate to see you hurting yourself.” So it was my fault. I had put those tears in her eyes. I had filled her with pain, with helplessness and with sadness.
I’ll never forget her pained expression. It forced me to realize how shortsighted and close-minded I’d been. I decided that no matter what happens in the future, I will never lose myself to regret.Why did Amanda feel regretful after the competition?
| A．Because she wasn’t admitted to the club. |
| B．Because she dropped her ribbon suddenly. |
| C．Because she broke the rule of the competition. |
| D．Because she didn’t try her best to compete. |
What did Amanda try to hide on the way back?
| A．Her silent tears. | B．The disappointing scores. |
| C．Her dirty makeup. | D．The evidence of failure. |
Which words reflect the change of the mother’s emotions?
| A．Painful — impatient — concerned |
| B．Concerned — frustrated — painful |
| C．Satisfied — painful — frustrated |
| D．Frustrated — angry — painful |
What did Amanda determine to do?
| A．Never cry in face of her mom. |
| B．Never compete as a gymnast. |
| C．Never involve herself in self-pity. |
| D．Never make up before games. |
The best title of the passage is probably _________.
| A．My painful experience as a gymnast |
| B．The tears I wiped away for my mother |
| C．The fiercest competition I lost |
| D．The worst thing I ever felt: regret |