Do’sandDon’tsinWhale(鲸)Watchin-优题课

B
About forty years ago, I was an instructor in the military academy at Woolwich, when young Scoresby was given his first examination. Everybody answered the questions well, intelligently, while he—why, dear me—he did not know anything, so to speak. It was painful to see him stand there and give answers that were miracles(奇迹) of stupidity.
I took him aside and found he knew a little about Julius Ceasar’s history. So, I worked him like a slave on a few questions about Ceasar. If you will believe me, when examined again, he was asked no questions but those I made him study. Such an accident does not happen more than once in a hundred years. Well, all through his studies, I stood by him, with the feeling a mother has for a disabled child. And he always saved himself by some miracle.
Then, the Crimean War broke out. Nervously, I waited for the worst to happen. It did. He was appointed an officer. Who could have dreamed that they would place such a responsibility on such weak shoulders as his! I said to myself that I was responsible to the country for this. I must go with him and protect the nation against him as far as I could. So, I joined up with him.
And there, oh dear, he never did anything but mistakes. But, everybody misunderstood his stupid mistakes as works of great intelligence. The battle grew hotter. The English soldiers were steadily withdrawing all over the field. An order came for him to fall back and support our right. Instead, he moved forward and went over the hill to the left. We were over the hill before this crazy movement could be discovered and stopped. And what did we find? A large and unsuspected Russian army waiting! But those surprised Russians thought that no single team by itself would come around there at such a time. It must be the whole British army. They turned tail, away they went over the hill and down into the field in wild disorder, and we after them. In no time, there was the greatest turn around you ever saw.
Until now, nobody knew it but Scoresby and myself. He has filled his whole military life with mistakes, every one of which brought him another honorary title. They are proof that the best thing that can happen to a man is to be born lucky.
46. How was Scoresby doing academically?
A. His answers to the questions were miracles.
B. He was good at military history.
C. He received help because of his disability.
D. He did rather poorly in his study.
47. “I” join up with Scoresby in the Crimean War because “I” ________.
A. wanted to see the worst happen
B. had no confidence in him
C. liked to fight against Scoresby
D. wanted to protect my student
48. Why did the Russian army flee?
A. Because Scoresby mistook his left hand for his right hand.
B. Because Scoresby failed to recognize the direction.
C. Because they thought the whole British army were coming.
D. Because they wanted to go down into the field.
49. What is the secret of Scoresby’s military “success”?
A. Good luck. B. Hard work. C. Help from others . D. Mistakes.
50. The tone(语调) of the passage is _____________.
A. Relaxing B. Encouraging C. Sarcastic(讽刺的) D. Humorous

III阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
As summer comes near, many children are really happy to forget about school for a few months. However, studies have found that children typically forget between one and three months’ worth of school learning during the summer months. Spelling and math abilities suffer the most, while reading is not really influenced by the time off. The most probable reason for this is that most children read at least occasionally outside of the classroom, whether newspapers, magazines, books, or video game guides. However, their math and spelling skills only get exercised in the school setting.
The original purpose of summer vacations was to let farm children have time off to help work in the fields in the high growing season, but this reason is no longer valid since fewer kids actually work on farms today. Some cities in the United States, such as Los Angeles, have moved to a year-round school calendar, which may help reduce the academic decline that occurs during the long summer vacation. Most cities still use the normal nine and a half-month calendars. To improve skills and to maintain a good level of preparation, experts recommend trips to museums, summer camps, and visits to libraries to keep kids mentally active and interested throughout the summer.
There are other educational systems that provide vacations while still keeping students’ skills sharp(敏锐的). For example, in Japan students attend class for seven weeks continuously, followed by two weeks of vacation. This continues throughout the year. In Italy, students attend class six days per week, but finish at 1:30 PM each day, so that school does not dominate their life the way that it does in America.
Educational specialists fear that the three-month summer vacation stops the continuity of learning. Just as students become accustomed to new concepts in reading, writing, or critical thinking skills, they “shut down” for an extended period. When they go back to school after the long summer vacation, they take up to two months to return to their previous level of understanding. And so the debate continues: whether to continue the present vacations or to seek changes.
41. Spelling and math abilities suffer the most during the summer months because children _____.
A. take the summer vacation too seriously
B. do little work of math or spelling
C. don’t like spelling and math
D. have to help work in the fields
42. What can be learned from the passage?
A. Students read in summer vacations.
B. Nowadays no children work on farm in summer vacations.
C. The United States has cancelled summer vacations.
D. The nine and a half-month calendars help improve skills.
43. What is one of the advantages of Japan and Italy’s educational systems?
A. They provide students with shorter vacations every year.
B. The students have more free time of their own to play.
C. They offer vacations without affecting students’ skills.
D. The students attend classes for longer time every week.
44. What does the underlined phrase “shut down” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A. Stop learning. B. Get sick.
C. Go on vacation. D. Concentrate on their studies.
45. What is the best title for the passage?
A. How to Spend Summer Vacations.
B. No More Summer Vacations.
C. Summer Vacations: Change or Not
D. New Educational Systems Needed

D
“I started going to clubs when I was nineteen. My friends went and they told me that I’d love it. They were right.” –Lara
Lara is a twenty-one-year old student who loves dancing. “At the moment, my favorite kind of music is acid jazz. I’d love to go to a Fatboy Slim or Ken Ishii gig. They’re so cool,” says Lara. Fatboy Slim and Ken Ishii are not pop stars—they are famous DJs. Being a DJ these days means more than playing records at a nightclub. DJs like Fatboy Slim have also produced a lot of successful CDs of their own music.
Nightclubs have been popular since the seventies but today’s clubs are different. They don’t usually open until at least 11 pm, and people often stay until 7 or 8 o’clock the next morning. Some clubbers will keep on dancing until 12 o’clock in the morning.
Why has dance music become so popular? Some people believe that clubs give young people what the hippies found in the sixties. They have somewhere to meet people just like them. Many clubbers say that dance music helps them to escape from their problems. They feel they are part of a big happy family. But most people just love to dance.
Dance Dictionary
So, what is the difference between Garage and High Energy? Not sure? Well, you’re not alone! There are lots of different types of dance music. A few are described below.

Type of music	Speed	Description
High Energy	Very fast	Lots of remixed seventies songs
Garage	Fast	Lots of bass and keyboards
Acid Jazz	Quite fast	A mix of old and new jazz
Ambient	Slow or fast	Sometimes difficult to dance to

CITY CLUB GUIDE
Club Blue Cover charge: $12 (includes two drinks) Music: mostly acid jazz Free on Sunday night Closes at 3 a.m.	99 Cover charge: $6 Music: garage, Closes at 2a.m.	The Warehouse Cover charge: $15($12 after 3am) Music: high energy	SOHO No cover charge, but drinks are $6 each. Music: ambient Open from 10p.m to 2 a.m.

71. Which of the following is not right about DJs?
A. They not only play records art a night club.
B. They are very cool in the eyes of music lovers.
C. Fatboy Slim and Ken Ishii are famous DJs.
D. Every DJ can produce his own CDs.
72. Many clubbers day that dance music helps them _________.
A. forget about their problems B. escape from their families
C. keep fit D. become famous
73. Which of the following clubs is the cheapest?
A. 99 before 2 a.m. B. Club blue on Sunday night
C. The Warehouse after 3 p/m/ D. SOHO after 10 p.m.
74. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. These days nightclubs usually stay open until 7 or 8 pm.
B. Most people go to the dance club because they like to meet people.
C. The Warehouse has the fastest dance music of all the clubs.
D. Now music played in the clubs are only new music.
75. If you like dancing to the fast and a mix of old and new Jazz, you’d better to ________.
A. Club Blue B. 99 C. The Warehouse D. SOHO

C
When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess wings of their own and who will fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate (照亮) me and train me up for love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper and one of us would say: “Let’s start with a train whistle today.” We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we, too, were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend. He was in despair and I was in despair. But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we had felt bad at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things. We walked until our despairs disappeared, and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
For almost four years I have had remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine. We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other’s dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think: “Yes, I must tell…” We have never met.
It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist, who will only fill up the healing (愈合的) silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend.
66. In the eighth grade, what the author did before developing proper social behavior was to _________.
A. become serious about her study B. go to her friend’s house regularly
C. learn from her classmates at school D. share poems and stories with her friend
67. In Paragraph 3, “We gave London to each other” probably means _________.
A. our exploration of London was a memorable gift to both of us
B. we were unwilling to tear ourselves away from London
C. our unpleasant feeling about London disappeared
D. we parted with each other in London
68. According to Paragraph 4, the author and her friend _________.
A. call each other regularly B. have similar personalities
C. enjoy writing to each other D. dream of meeting each other
69. In the darkest moments, the author would prefer to ________.
A. seek professional helpB. be left alone
C. stay with her best friend D. break the silence
70. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Unforgettable Experiences B. Remarkable Imagination
C. Lifelong Friendship D. Noble Companions

B
A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can combine the two to do something for your local environment? As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in a garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower.
A biodegradable (生物所能分解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage consumers to recycle.
Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and is able to change shape. Over time it can also break down into the soil without giving out any poisonous chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When this new type of cover turns into wastes, it forms fertilizers. These feed the seed and help the flower grow.
Engineers have designed a small transparent (透明的) window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grown when the phone is thrown away. “We’ve only put sunflower seeds into the covers so far. But we are working with plant experts to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time.” said one scientist.
As phone technology is developing so quickly, people are constantly throwing their mobiles away. This means manufacturers are under pressure to fine ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief for nature, according to the scientists.
“The seed comes out and the flower grows in the pot so you don’t have to concern yourself with the phone when you have finished using it,” said Kerry Kirwan. She leads the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain.
61. What is the purpose of this passage?
A. Tell the popularity of biodegradable cell phone.
B. To persuade the reader to buy the biodegradable cell phone.
C. To discuss the development of phone technology.
D. To introduce an environmental-friendly cell phone to readers.
62. People throw away their cell phones most probably because _________.
A. there is something wrong with them B. no sunflowers can grow out of them
C. they are out of fashion D. they are becoming cheaper and cheaper
63. It could be learned from the passage that __________.
A. developing the new type of phone is mainly to protect the environment
B. phone-makers will benefit much more from the new type of phone
C. the new type of phone will certainly be popular with users all over the world
D. the phones that can be recycled are available only in Britain now
64. According to the passage, which of the following statements is right?
A. The new material for the biodegradable phone was found by British scientists.
B. The cover of the new type of mobile can bread down and become fertilizers after it becomes waste.
C. The sunflower seed in the best to be put into the phone cover.
D. The biodegradable cover must be very expensive.
65. What might be the most suitable title for this passage?
A. Sunflower and Phone. B. Plant Your Phone.
C. Protect Our Environment. D. No Worry about Phone.