Dear Parents,
It is almost a week since school began. I hope that you and your child are settled and comfortable in the arrangement of the new school year. I would like to take this opportunity to give you news about the art project that the eighth grade students and I will be working on during this unit.
My name is Molly Atkinson and I am a new middle school teacher here at MSAE in Kauai. I feel that it is important for you to know that my approach to classroom management is inspired by Maharishi’s Principle of Ideal Teaching. I believe that it is the most positive method for guiding our students’ education. I also believe that by keeping the lessons interesting, the classroom will be a creative environment for the students to explore the artistic process. My experience with the class this week makes me believe that the students and I will have a fruitful and caring experience in our time together.
The students’ first project is a three-part work that begins with the creation of a collage (拼贴画). A pencil drawing of the collage will follow. The third part of the project will be a geometrical three-dimensional (几何三维的) drawing of the collage. The students have jumped right into the project with enthusiasm (热情) and focus. I can tell that we are going to have a very productive unit.
On October 30th, the students will have a showing of their work for you. I look forward to meeting all of you that day. If you would like to get hold of me before that time I will be here after school until 4:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays and can be available on other afternoons by appointment (预约). I may also be reached at my e-mail address: matkinson@kdsi.net. I am very happy to be here and look forward to working with the eighth grade students.
Sincerely,
Molly AtkinsonIt can be learned that the letter was written _____.
| A．after the school year ended |
| B．before the new school year started |
| C．in the middle of the school year |
| D．at the beginning of the new school year |
The letter was most probably written by _____.
| A．an art teacher |
| B．an eighth grader |
| C．a school gardener |
| D．a head teacher |
In Paragraph 2, Atkinson mentions _____.
| A．her long work experience |
| B．her close relationships with the students |
| C．the teaching method she applies |
| D．the training aim of the new term |
The underlined words “that time” in the last paragraph refer to _____.
| A．October 30th |
| B．4:30 on Mondays |
| C．4:30 on Wednesdays |
| D．other afternoons |
第三部分阅读理解(共10小题；每小题2分,满分20分)
How many times have you laughed today? Have you ever wondered what makes you laugh? In the whole animal kingdom, only we humans are capable (有能力的) of laughter. On average, we laugh about 17 times a day.
Laughter is a spontaneous reaction of the body to some-thing funny or pleasant. Have you noticed that when you laugh, many parts of your body respond (反应)? Your face changes expression, your breathing changes, and muscles throughout your body are affected.
An interesting story dates back to 1962. In a school in Tanganyika, in Africa, a group of schoolgirls started laughing uncontrollably over a joke. This laughter became epidemic (传染的), jumping from one person to the next, spreading across communities, and lasting for six months! So strong was the "laughter epidemic" that schools had to shut down till it ended.
How we laugh remains a mystery. Whatever the reasons, laughter, as the saying goes, "is the best medicine." In fact, science has proven that being happy and laughing can not only keep us healthy and fit but help deal with serious illnesses.
Laughing exercises all the important muscles, and keeps you fit. People have started forming laughter clubs that use laughter to treat illnesses. They meet at specific places at fixed times and laugh together. Laughter spreads, so this exercise works best in groups; once one person starts laughing, others automatically (自动地) join in.
56. The underlined word "spontaneous" in the second paragraph probably means "______".
A. perfect B. strange C. naturalD. terrible
57. People have formed laughter clubs to ______.
A. kill time B. relax C. meet others D. keep healthy
58. The best title for the passage would be ______.
A. A Laughter Epidemic
B. Laughter, What It Is, and What It Can Do
C. The Relationship Between Laughter and Health
D. How Laughter Helps Cure Disease
59. The passage is probably taken from a(n) ______.
A. ad B. novel C. magazine D. medical book
Robots are smart。 With their computer brains, they help people work in dangerous places or do difficult jobs。 Some robots do regular jobs。Bobby, the mail carrier, brings mail to a large office building in Washington, D。C。 He is one of 250 mail carriers in the United States。
Mr。 Leachim, who weighs two hundred pounds and is six feet tall, has some advantages as a teacher。 One is that he does not forget details。 He knows each child’s name, the parents’ names and what each child knows and needs to know。 In addition, he knows each child’s pets and hobbies。 Mr。 Leachim does not make mistakes。 Each child goes and tells him his or her name, then dials an identification (身份证明) number。 His computer brain puts the child’s voice and number together。 He identifies the child with no mistakes。 Then he starts the lesson。
Another advantage is that Mr。 Leachim is flexible。 If the children need more time to do their lessons they can move switches。 In this way they can repeat Mr。 Leachim’s lesson over and over again。 When the children do a good job he tells them something interesting about their hobbies。 At the end of the lesson the children switch Mr。 Leachim off。
58。 The first paragraph of the passage tells us _______。
A。 human beings are not as smart as robots
B。 robots will take the place of man to rule the earth
C。 we can only use robots to do some regular jobs
D。 robots can help people in many different ways
59。 Mr。 Leachim’s ______ makes him a good teacher。
A。 knowledge B。 appearance C。 advantage D。 energy
60。 The word “flexible” in the last paragraph means _______。
A。 not strict B。 not hard C。 suitable D。 changeable
Growing numbers of people are becoming addicted to text messaging（手机信息）, a German doctor warned recently。
Psychotherapist(采用精神疗法的医生) Andreas Herter estimated that there were some 380,000 sufferers in Germany。 Herter based his prediction（预测）on the growing number of manic mobile phone users among patients arriving at his Hanover clinic （诊所）for addiction treatment。
“Text message addiction is a real and serious illness because it causes mental and financial damage,” said Herter。 “The problem leads to depression and personality disorders, not to mention skyrocketing （飞涨的）phone bills。”
For example, a teenage boy spent 8,900 euros (US$11,000) texting people he didn’t even know and a married couple could only communicate by text message, even when they were sitting side by side。
55。 The passage is mainly to tell us ______。
A。 why people like text messaging B。 text messaging has many advantages
C。 overusing text message does great harm D。 text messaging does no good
56。 Herter thinks text message addiction is ______。
A。 acceptable B。 easy to deal with C。 unreasonable D。 worrying
57。 The examples given in the last paragraph are used to show ______。
A。 text message addiction is a serious diseas
B。they care about nothing else but text message
C。 sending text message is their only hobby
D。 they are very rich
Switzerland(瑞士) is famous for its watches。 However, this country didn’t invent the watch。It was the British who did it。 Here is a story of how the watch was brought to Switzerland。
Many years ago , an Englishman was travelling to Italy 。 On his way he stopped in a small town in South Switzerland。 This Englishman travelled in a carriage(马车) inside which there was a carriage watch。 This was the earliest kind of watch。 A native shop assistant (售货员) happened to see the watch 。 He wondered what it was and asked the Englishman about it。 “ It is a carriage watch 。” said the man 。 This machine tells the time but now it isn’t working 。
At once the shop assistant offered to try to repair it 。 So the traveller handed him the watch。 The assistant was a very wise man 。 So it was not surprising that he managed to repair it 。 He even remembered how it was made。 As soon as the traveller had gone on his way , he made a watch exactly the same type。
Thus the watch-making was started in Switzerland。 Today Swiss watches are sold in stores all over the world。
50 Switzerland is famous for ____________。
A 。making watches B selling watches C inventing watches D the carriage watch
51。It was ______who brought a watch to Switzerland earliest 。
A a SwissB an Italian C an Englishman D a shop assistant
52。 The earlist watches were made in __________。
A SwitzerlandB EnglandC ItalyD a small town
53 The first Swiss watch was made by ___________。
A an Italian shop assistant
B an English shop assistant
C a man who came from Switzerland
D。 a man who was travelling to Italy。
54。 The carriage watch was a machine which __________。
A was put in the carriageB wasn’t working
C told people timeD had to be repaired
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Long long ago, there was an old merchant who had three sons。 “To which one shall I leave my fortune?” he wondered。 “It must be to the cleverest son。 But which one is the cleverest?”
He called his three sons to him。 “Here is some money,” he told them, “you must each take one coin to buy something that will fill this room。 Anyone who can do this shall have my fortune。”
“It is a big room,” said the eldest son。
“One coin will not buy very much,” said the second son。
But the youngest son said nothing。 He stood and thought, and then he smiled, “Come, brothers,” he said, “let us go to the market。”
The eldest son bought straw with his coin。 But one coin bought only a bit of straw。 Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the straw covered only a corner of the room。
The second son bought sand with his coin。 But one coin bought only a bit of sand。 Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the sand covered only half of the floor。
“What did you buy?” the eldest son angrily asked the youngest son。 “You don't have any straw。”
“Yes, what did you buy?” the second son asked angrily。 “You don't have any sand。”
“I bought this,” said the youngest son。
“A candle！” cried his brothers。 “What good is a candle?”
“Watch”, said the youngest son。
He lit the candle, and all at once the room was filled from wall to wall, from ceiling to floor。 It was filled with light!
“Although you are the youngest, you are indeed the cleverest of my sons,” the old merchant said。
And that is how, the old merchant left his fortune to his youngest son, the one who could fill a room with light。
46。 Who would get father's fortune according to his requirement?
A。 The oldest son。 B。 The richest son。
C。 The cleverest son。 D。 The silliest son。
47。 The merchant left his fortune to the son
A。 who would fill the room by using something which is worth one coin
B。 who would take care of him when he became old
C。 who wanted to get his fortune
D。 who got married first
48。 How do you think of the youngest son?
A。 He is very clever。 B。 He is very lazy。
C。 He is very mean。 D。 He is very diligent。
49。 The youngest son used _____ to fill the room。
A。 straw B。 candle C。 sand D。 water