NEW YORK (AP) — The investigation into the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz has gone through decades and countries, from basements to rooftops and seemingly everywhere in between.
No one has ever been charged criminally — and the little boy with sandy brown hair and a toothy grin was declared dead in 2001.
This week, the six-year-old boy who went missing from the Soho area of New York City in 1979 is back in the news. Police and the FBI are investigating a possible lead into the 33-year-old case of Etan Patz, the first missing child to appear on the side of a milk box.
The child disappeared on the way to school on the morning of May 25, 1979. It was the first time he was allowed to walk the two blocks to the bus stop alone.
A tip seemed to have led officials to the basement of a building on the corner of Prince and Wooster streets, about a block and a half from where Etan had lived with his family.
The name Etan Patz has become a hot topic on Twitter as people weigh in on the case. Shirley Brady noted: “As mom to a 6 years old in Soho, it’s still held out by locals as cautionary tale (警示故事).” Another wrote, “Boy who disappeared on his way to school in 1979 has been REOPENED! Crazy.” One wondered, “Why is FBI and NYPD searching for a kid that disappeared in 1979?”
Good question. This is a case that Stuart Gra Bois, as an assistant U.S. lawyer under Rudolph Giuliani, followed for years. It became the most famous missing-person case in New York City, turned a nationwide spotlight on missing children, and created headlines around the globe. No one was ever stated guilty of the crime.
The case led to the creation of National Missing Children’s Day, marked on May 25, the day the blond-haired, blue-eyed child went missing.
The case has even pointed to a suspect, charged with child molester (猥亵者) Julio Antonio Ramos, who is currently in prison. Patz’s babysitter had been dating the man, and Ramos did know the kid, but has denied taking him away.
New evidence in the case suggests another suspect who lived in the apartment at the time: a local handyman named Othniel Miller, who gave Etan $1 for helping him the night before the disappearance.
The man’s name had come up in an earlier investigation, but he was a friend of the Patz family, and the NYPD did not follow the lead.
Investigators plan to be at the site, 127 B Prince St., which is now a Lucky Brand jeans store, for the next two to three days to search for human remains. The Associated Press reports that the excavation (挖掘) has been the result of a recently ordered review of the case by Manhattan’s police. We can learn from the first three paragraphs that ________.
| A．The 6-year-old missing boy was found by the side of a milk box |
| B．Police and the FBI have not been following the case of Etan Patz for 33 years |
| C．The investigation into the disappearance of boy has worked fruitlessly for decades |
| D．Etan Patz went missing from the Soho area of New York city in 1979 and died in 2001 |
What does the underlined phrase “weigh in on the case” mean?
| A．ignore the case | B．feel stressed on the case |
| C．reopen the case | D．begin to discuss the case |
What was a possible cause of reopening the case of Etan Patz?
| A．Local lawyers strongly demanded the reopening of the case. |
| B．The Associated Press reported the result of the review of the case. |
| C．New evidence appeared which led officials to the basement of a building. |
| D．Local people realized the importance of the case without criminal being charged. |
Which of the following statements is true in the text?
| A．The National Missing Children’s Day was created on May 25, 1979. |
| B．The search for human remains will be carried out at 127 B Prince Street. |
| C．The NYPD didn’t follow the lead of Julio Antonio for he had been dating Patz’ babysitter. |
| D．Othniel Miller, a local handyman assisted Etan and gave him $1 before the disappearance. |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．People air the same view about the case on the Internet |
| B．People reject the reopening of the case of the missing boy |
| C．The missing-person case still has a long-lasting influence on people |
| D．Twitter is the only place for people to discuss about missing-person cases |
（D）
As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have．It’s likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen will have a washing machine and a microwave oven．Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need． You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week．
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for．Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world．They feel that the long-hour work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes．Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting_is one of them．
Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year．One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz．They used to work in central London．He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank．They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs （郊区）, leaving their two children with a nanny（保姆）．Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings．They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by．
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales．“I always wanted to have a farm here,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift．It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it．We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays．However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier．”
Liz, however, is not quite sure．“I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours．I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals．One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children．My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all．”
68．What do the first two paragraphs tell us?
A．People seldom work long hours to make money．
B．People hardly buy more things than necessary．
C．People are sure everything they own is in the right place．
D．People realize more is involved in life than just making money．
69．Daniel agrees that the move to the farm __________．
A．was easy to organize B．has improved family life
C．was extremely expensive D．has been a total success
70．The underlined word "downshifting" in the second paragraph means ________．
A．repairing your car by yourself
B．spending money carefully
C．moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life
D．living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week
（C）
Within fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes for the recycling of waste．The word rubbish could lose its meaning because everything that goes into the dumps would be made into something useful．Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else．
The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out．The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city．This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber as well．
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish．When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this: first, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that grounders and rollers break up everything that can be broken．Finally the rubbish will pass under magnets, which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage．
The first full scale giant recycling plants are, perhaps, fifteen years away．Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long．
64．The main purpose of the passage is ____．
A．to show us a future way of recycling wastes
B．to tell the importance of recycling wastes
C．to warn people the danger of some wastes
D．to introduce a new recycling plant
65．What is the main reason for big cities building their own recycling plants?
A．To deal with wastes in a better way．
B．It’s a good way to gain profits．
C．It’s more economical than to dump wastes in some distant places．
D．Energy can be got at a lower price．
66．The first full-scale huge recycling plants ____．
A．have been in existence for 15 years B．takes 15 years to build
C．can’t be built until 15 years later D．will remain functioning for 15 years
67．Which of the following statements is true?
A．The word “rubbish” will soon disappear from dictionaries．
B．Dangerous wastes can be recycled into nothing but energy．
C．To recycle paper and rubber will still be impossible even with the new recycling methods．
D．Big cities will soon have their own recycling plants．
（B）
The U．S．birthrate began to decline in the middle 1950’s, resulting in a smaller college age population starting in the middle 1970’s．Something else happened in the 1970’s: the price of oil increased greatly, driving up the price of almost everything and making Americans aware that their large automobiles used a lot of gasoline．At the same time, foreign car manufacturers had begun to produce small fuel efficient cars in large quantities for the export market．Suddenly, the large, gas guzzling American cars were no longer attractive to American buyers, who began buying foreign cars by the thousands．The American automobile industry went into a recession．Thousands of automotive workers were laid off, as were thousands of people in industries indirectly connected with the auto industry．
People who are laid off tend to keep what money they have for necessities, like food and housing．They do not have the extra money needed to send their children to college．Their children cannot pay their own college costs, because during a recession they cannot find jobs．High unemployment means that more state funds must be used for social service-----unemployment benefits, and to aid dependent children, for example-----than during more prosperous times．It also means, that the states have fewer funds than usual, because people are paying fewer taxes．Institutions of higher education depend on two major sources of income to keep them functioning: tuition from students and funds from the states．At the present time, there are fewer students than in the past and fewer state funds available for higher education．The colleges and universities are in trouble．
60．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．The rising of oil price drove up the price of everything．
B．There were many reasons why higher education was in trouble in the 1970’s．
C．Birthrate began to decline in the USA in 1950’s．
D．High unemployment caused a lot of social problems．
61．American cars were not popular in their domestic markets because they were____．
A．small B．gas consuming
C．fuel efficient D．not attractive
62．The colleges and universities were in trouble because of the following reasons except that ____．
A．they couldn’t get enough income to keep them running
B．young people couldn’t afford the tuition fees
C．keeping them running at the same level would cost much more
D．social services need more state funds because of the recession
63．All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ____．
A．young people couldn’t afford their own tuition in the 1970’s
B．it’s difficult for graduates from colleges to find a job in the 1970’s
C．fewer parents could afford to send their children to college because of the recession in 1970’s
D．Birthrate dropped in the 1970’s because of the recession
第三部分：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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
（A）
According to the dictionary definition of “create”, ordinary people are creative every day．To create means “to bring into being, to cause to exist”— something each of us does daily．
We are creative whenever we look at or think about something in a new way．First this involves an awareness of our surroundings．It means using all of our senses to become aware of our world．This may be as simple as being aware of color and texture, as well as taste, when we plan a meal．Above all, it is the ability to notice things that others might miss．
A second part of creativity is an ability to see relationships among things．If we believe the expression, “There is nothing new under the sun,” the creativity is remaking or recombining the old in new ways．For example, we might do this by finding a more effective way to study or a better way to arrange our furniture, or we might make a new combination of camera lenses and filters to create an unusual photograph．
A third part of creativity is the courage and drive to make use of our new ideas, to apply them to achieve some new results．To think up a new concept is one thing; to put the idea to work is another．
These three parts of creativity are involved in all the great works of genius, but they are also involved in many of our day-to-day activities．
56．Which of the following activities is NOT a creative one according to the passage?
A．To prepare a meal． B．To arrange the furniture in a peculiar way．
C．To buy some books from a bookstore． D．To “write” a letter with the computer．
57．The author holds the opinion that ____．
A．creativity demands genius
B．creativity is connected with a deep insight （洞察力） to some extent
C．creativity is to create something new and concrete
D．to practise is the only way to cultivate one’s creativity
58．What does the author think about the relationship between a new thought and its being put into practice?
A．It’s more difficult to create a new thought than to apply it in practice．
B．To find a new thought will definitely lead to the production of a new thing．
C．One may come up with a new thought, but whether or not to put it into practice all depends．
D．A man with an excellent ability of practice can easily become an inventor．
59．The best title for this passage is ____．
A．How to Cultivate One’s Creativity B．What is Creativity?
C．The Importance of CreativityD．Creativity——a Faraway Thing
E
Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory, communicational and social development．Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten．
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education．Studies have shown that orphaned children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life．Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in
Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to jail．
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early．Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” I have personally witnessed many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school．Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better off he or she is, so they push to start children earlier．
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years．It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life’s success than early education．Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap in poor and middle school children．Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap．
71．The purpose of the government valuing the early childhood education is ________．
A．to develop the children’s communication
A．to give orphaned children good care and education
C．to get the children prepared for the kindergarten
D．to train the children formally and regularly
72．According to the studies, which of the following is True?
A．Children with good early education may have a rich life．
B．The orphaned children are usually unhappy in their life．
C．Children without early education can do well at school．
D．Head Start programs are helpful to the poor children．
73．“the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” suggests that _________．
A．the early childhood education is helpless to the child’s grade
B．it is good for the young children to receive early education
C．the early education can help the children follow the grade
D．the younger the children are, the cleverer they will be
74 The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________．
A．puzzling B．objective C．indifferent D．approving
75．The main idea of the last passage is that __________．
A．the early childhood education is very necessary
B．Head Start programs have helped the children a lot
C．environment is the most important to life’s success
D．better ways should be found to help the poor children