It was Christmas 1961. I was teaching in a small town in Ohio where my twenty seven third graders eagerly anticipated the great day of gift giving.
Each day the children made some new wonder – strings of popcorn, hand-made decorations, and German bells made from wallpaper samples, which we hung from the ceiling. Through it all she stayed indifferent(漠不关心的), watching from afar, seemingly miles away. I wondered what would happen to this quiet child, once so happy, now so suddenly unsociable. I hoped the festivities would light her up. But nothing did.
The day of gift giving finally came. We oohed and aahed over our handwork as the presents were exchanged. Through it all, she sat quietly watching. I had made a special package for her, red and green with white lace. I wanted very much to see her smile. She opened it so slowly and carefully. I waited but she turned away.
After school the children left in little groups, but she hesitated, watching them go out of the door. I sat down to catch my breath, hardly know what was happening when she came to me reaching out her hands, holding a small white box, unwrapped and slightly soiled, as though it had been held many times by unwashed, childish hands. “For me?” I asked with a weak smile. She said not a word, but nodded her head. I took the box and carefully opened it. There inside, lay a golden chain. In a flash I knew – she had made it for her mother, a mother she would never see again, a mother who would never hold her or brush her hair or share a funny story, a mother who would never again hear her childish joys or sorrows, a mother who had taken her own life just three weeks before.
I held out the chain. She took it in both her hands, reached forward, and put it on at the back of my neck. She stepped back then as if to see that all was well. I looked down at the golden chain, then back at the giver, “Maria, it is so beautiful. She would have loved it.” Neither of us could stop the tears. She threw herself into my arms and we were in tears together. And for that moment I became her mother, for she had given me the greatest gift of all: herself.The underlined “anticipated” (Paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to _________.
| A．prepared | B．expected | C．talked | D．kept |
We can learn from the story that_________.
| A．the beautiful chain was put inside a beautiful box |
| B．Maria made a golden chain of popcorn for her mother |
| C．the teacher made a special package for Maria so as to see her smile |
| D．Maria oohed and aahed over the handwork as the presents were exchanged |
Maria became quiet and unsociable because_________.
| A．she was a shy girl |
| B．her teacher didn’t give her any gift |
| C．her mother passed away three weeks ago |
| D．she didn’t have any friends in the class |
The underlined sentence (Paragraph 5) mostly means_________.
| A．Maria found her biological mother |
| B．Maria asked her teacher to be her mother |
| C．the teacher promised to be Maria’s mother after receiving her greatest gift |
| D．Maria believed in her considerate teacher and opened her heart to the teacher |
The BEST title for the passage is _________.
| A．The kid’s gift | B．A quiet girl |
| C．The greatest teacher | D．The great day of gift giving |
信息匹配（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
请阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。
首先，请阅读下列不同类型汽车的信息：
| A．Toyota Electron - 2006 (new): Toyota's new car is both powerful and economical. Using a combination of fuel and electricity this car will not only save money on petrol bills, but it will also save the environment. Has air conditioner and leather seats. Price: $17,500 |
| B．BMW Series 7 - 2006 (new): Judged the "Car of Year" by Wheels Magazine this is the best high-class car on the market. It is big enough for 5 people but is smooth and fast. Has all the latest safety equipment and computer mapping system. Price: $84,900 |
| C．Porsche 911 - 2006 (new): This newest Porsche is packed with the latest safety equipment and engine technology. It can hold 2 people and the roof can come down automatically for you to enjoy the fresh air. Has DVD entertainment system and computer mapping system. Price: $72,000 |
| D．Chrysler Minibus - 2005 (second-hand): With its unique seating design, this vehicle can hold up to 14 people. Silver outside with black leather inside and in excellent condition. |
Has 2 automatic sliding doors plus DVD entertainment system. Price: $19,200
E.Ford Fairlane - 1998 (second-hand): With a traditional Ford design, this car is dark blue and is an ideal second car for the family. Mechanically in good condition. Has air-conditioner and CD player. Price: $6,900
F.Honda Civic - 1996 (second-hand): This small, white, two-door car is easy to park and cheap to run. Inside and outside both in excellent condition. It uses very little fuel and is the perfect car for city driving. Has CD player. Price: $2,500
请阅读下列购车者的信息，然后匹配购车者与拟购买的汽车：
Robert Anderson. Robert has just been appointed the manager of a large international company. He wants to get a car that will impress his business colleagues yet is also suitable for transporting his wife and three children.
Julie Sunderland. Julie has recently moved into the city where she is studying. She needs a car that is cheap to buy and run so she can get to university and to her part-time job.
Bill Woodward. Bill is the coach of the local football team and needs a car that can take the players and equipment to and from their games.
Mary Alderson. Mary's rich dad promised he would buy her a new car for graduating from university. She wants something that is safe, that will allow her to enjoy listening to music and show off to her friends.
Kate Power. Kate needs to get a car to travel to her new job. But she feels guilty about the pollution she will cause so she wants a car that will do the least amount of harm to the environment.
(C)
Most American students said goodbye to expensive fruits these days. In school canteens across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges heave replaced them. “People are afraid to spend now” said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store. “They basically don’t know what the future will bring and keep waiting till after the Presidential Election.”
The current financial crisis(金融危机)， during which several of the country’s biggest banks have been forced to sell or close, has made lots of Americans unwilling to buy expensive goods.
Samira Martino, a restaurant owner in Miami, found everyone is ordering water instead of juice and more people are sharing meals. In more than two dozen interviews with the Associated Press across the country last month, American talked about their concerns, from worries about small businesses to doubts about simply making ends meet.
The crisis began last year. Experts blame it on U.S. banks lending money too easily. A lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, have found themselves unable to pay it back. This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money. Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders, the whole world’s financial markets were involved.
This month the U.S. government agreed on a $ 700 billion plan to try to save the financial market. But a turn-around(转机) is not sure. President George W. Bush has warned it will take some time for the full effects of the plan to take hold in an economy that has had a world of trouble.
Last week top finance officials from 20 major economies promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble. They believe the current crisis is the worst since the Great Depression in 1929. And they all think international cooperation is the key to solve it.
51. From the first paragraph, we can infer that______
A. apples and oranges become more expensive
B. people are worrying about the Election
C. people are expecting a turn-around after the Election
D. expensive fruits are in short supply in American markets
52. Samira Martino’s restaurant is mentioned in the passage in order to ______
A. show that people cut down their expenses.
B. attract more people to come to his restaurant
C. show how hard he is trying to run his business
D. encourage people to start businesses like him
53. What is the cause of the current financial crisis of America?
A. The Presidential Election
B. U.S. banks lending money too easily.
C. The decreasing economy.
D. America’s rapid development.
54. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Many students can not eat expensive fruits in school canteens.
B. Americans are very worried about their lives.
C. The international cooperation is most needed.
D. The current financial crisis is the worst in American history.
55. This passage mainly talks about______
A. the terrible life of Americans
B. the situation of the financial crisis
C. the way to go through the crisis
D. the world financial market
(B)
Last week, while visiting my dad with my daughter, we went to a restaurant for dinner. When we were seated, my dad asked the waitress if there were any soldiers eating at the restaurant. Then waitress said there was a soldier having dinner with his friend. My dad told the waitress to tell the soldier and his friend that their dinner was paid for! He also said that he did not want to be known as the benefactor(施主).
Then waitress later commented on my dad’s thoughtful behavior saying that she had never seen anything like this before. At a local college, she had studied opera and so she used this to thank my dad by performing a piece from The Pearl Fisherman. Her voice brought me to tears because it sounded perfect!
After a while, the soldier appeared at our table (I don’t know how he knew my dad paid the bill for him.) and said that he would be sent to the front the next morning and that he could not leave this country without saying “thanks” to my dad. My dad replied that it was he who wanted to say “thanks”. They shook hands as the soldier left.
Before we left, the waitress came by again. She did a magic show as another way to show her “thanks” to my dad. Her show was really great. My dad left her a note with email address asking for her next performance time in addition to a $ 50 tip.
Everyone witnessed something exemplary in the human spirit that night. I can only hope to see more of this in the future.
46. My dad offered help to the soldier and his friend in the restaurant probably because________.
A. he wanted to thank them for all they had done
B. he wanted to know more about then
C. he wanted the waitress to thank him
D. he wanted the soldiers to know his kindness
47. The waitress performed The Pearl Fisherman in the restaurant because____.
A. she was asked to perform to the guests
B. she wanted to show off her wonderful skills
C. she wanted to show her respect and thanks to the author’s dad
D. she wanted to attract more and more guests
48. What did the soldier do in response to the author’s father’s kindness?
A. He gave something to author’s dad.
B. He gave a big tip to the waitress.
C. He said thanks to the author’s dad in person.
D. He did a magic show for the author and her father.
49. The author considered her father’s action to be ____.
A. funny B. understandable C. worthless D. honorable
50. The passage mainly tells us that we should ____.
A. learn to be grateful to others B. find ways to thank others
C. try to learn from each other D. respect soldiers and waitresses
第三部分阅读（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，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
（A）
In 2008, the main candidates（候选人）for President each used this expression: “You can put lipstick（口红）on a pig, but it is still a pig.” This means that it is a waste of time to change something from ugly or unpleasant–looking to beautiful.
There are other expressions about improving a pig’s appearance, like this one: “A hog in a silk waistcoat is still a hog.” Hogs are similar to pigs, only bigger. Americans use many other expressions about pigs, hogs and female hogs called sows, like this one, “You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” This means you cannot create something valuable from something that has no value. Then there is the expression “Cast pearls before swine（猪）.” That means wasting something valuable on someone who will not be thankful or care about it.
Hogs, which are very large animals, take up a lot of space but people should not take up more than their share. If one of your children is taking up too much space sitting in front of the television, other children might say: “Do not hog the couch.” And a road hog is a driver who uses more than his share of the road. Such a driver increases dangers for other drivers.
Pig terms are also used in American politics. Farmers mark their pig’s ears to identify them. In politics, earmarks are money set aside for projects in a congressman’s home state.
In many areas, pigs provide ham, bacon and other pork products to eat. All Americans want to be able to bring home the bacon because they want to earn enough money to provide the necessities of life. Experts say this term was first used in the 1920s. But it is believed to come from the much older game of catching a greased（涂了油的）pig. This was a popular event at country fairs in which the winner was awarded the pig.
41. The author writes this passage mainly to _________.
A. express his support for the Presidential Election
B. introduce some expressions used in Americans’ daily life
C. criticize the bad influence caused by expressions about pigs
D. discuss some problems caused by expressions about pigs
42. If you give a good book to a person who can’t read, which of the following is the most suitable to describe it?
A. Cast pearls before swine.
B. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.
C. A hog in a silk waistcoat is still a hog.
D. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
43. A driver who takes up too much space on the road is often referred to as _________.
A. a greased pig B. a couch hog
C. a road hog D. a road earmark
44. How many words which refer to the same animal are mentioned in this passage?
A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six
45. Which of the following expressions are similar to “You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”?
A. When pigs fly! B. To eat like a pig
C. To sell a pig in a pork. D. To sweat like a pig.
第Ⅱ卷 (非选择题共35分)
第四部分写作(共两节，满分35分)
第一节任务型阅读(共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分)
认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡相应题号的横线上。
Fairview Elementary School, Modesto, California, with some 1,000 students from kindergarten through sixth grade (about 80 percent of them Latino), has long suffered from discipline (纪律) problems, poor test scores, and a near total lack of parental involvement. The difficulties aren't surprising given that many of the parents -- immigrants who work on farms or in factories -- speak little or no English.
Since 2002, Fairview Elementary School has been a First Amendment School, one of 97 developed across the country by the First Amendment Center. The idea behind the five-year-old program: To keep America strong, children must be trained to respect many points of view, weigh complex issues, and understand the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution (宪法). As students learn good citizenship, the theory goes, they'll develop the skills and attitude to do well academically.
Fairview students enjoy" freedoms" other kids might envy (they voted to abolish school uniforms, for example). But the children don't just exercise rights. They also accept such responsibilities as speaking up during class discussions, and keeping the school clean and safe (Fairview is rated the cleanest of 33 schools in its district). In one departure from tradition, there’s no hand-raising in class. "Instead," says teacher Deborah Supnet, "we teach them to listen for when the other child stops talking. "Call it an exercise in respect.
Last year, the number of students evaluated advanced in math increased, from 15 to 30 percent. And Fairview graduates in their first middle-school mid-term exam averaged B grades; 96 percent passed all subjects. Particularly encouraging to Principal Rob Williams, the school now has an active parents' group, Parents With a Voice. One of those parents, Laura Malagon, praises the program for convincing her to play a more active role in her children's school fife.
Fresh ideas that are making the grade
| The 76. ______ |
Students of Fairview Elementary School used to have trouble 77, ______ themselves and getting good grades. Their parents didn't get actively 78. ______ in their children’s school life. |
| The strategy |
Students are trained to 79. ________ different opinions and get a better 80. ________ of the freedoms. Students learn to be good 81. ______ and improve their 82._______ per- formance. |
| The signs of success |
Students 83. ________ on more responsibilities. A(n) 84. ________ number of students do well in math. Parents take a more active 85. ________ in their children’s school life. |