Mary Jean Price Walls graduated second in her class in 1950.She had high hopes when she applied to a local college,Southwest Missouri State College.But after sending off her application,she spent months waiting for a reply.It never came.
Worse than simply being denied admission(拒绝接收),the school didn’t reply to her at all.It wasn’t a matter of her school records,but of her skin color:Wallsis African American,and in those days,that fact alone closed a lot of doors. “I was sad and I was hurt,”Walls told ABC News.“I did not expect the skin color would affect my application.I thought I could go to university like other students.”
Four years later,the government declared that all schools should not discriminate against(歧视)African Americans— but it was too late for Walls.She’d moved on with her life, becoming a wife and a mother,and working as an elevator operator.She retired last year,at the age of 77.
She stayed quiet about the unfairness she’d faced in Missouri State.Her son,Terry,went through school records and found that she’d been the first black student to ever apply to the college.Today,four percent of the Southwest Missouri State College body is African American—including Terry.
Although it’s too late for Missouri State to change the past,the school is awarding Walls with an honorary degree(荣誉学位)from the school.While she knows it’s too late for herto change the course of her own life with the degree,it’s a chance for her to show her family that Missouri State has changed in the last 60 years,and there’s not a single door closed to them anymore.Walls couldn’t enter the local college because________.
A.her examination performance is too bad |
B.girls were not allowed to go to college |
C.she was an AfricanAmerican student |
D.her parents had no enough money to support her |
Before she was denied Walls thought that________.
A.her application would be accepted as others’ |
B.it was hard to become a college student |
C.it was impossible for her to be admitted |
D.she could be the best student in her college |
What can we know about Walls’s son?
A.He helped his mother get the honorary degree. |
B.He is a good student who teachers like best. |
C.He was admitted by the college once his mother applied to. |
D.He wants to be a government official who can help his mother. |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.Walls did not fight for her right to education. |
B.The college did not receive Walls’s application. |
C.Walls got a good job after she received the degree. |
D.The government gave Walls some money for the wrongs. |
Walls’s honorary degree suggests that________.
A.she could change her life with the degree |
B.her dream of going to college has come true |
C.she has been leading a happy life with her family |
D.great changes have taken place in Missouri State |
How to Make the Most of Your Time
Time management is important in our daily life. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all you need to do. Here are some tips that might be of some help to you .
1. Set up a plan. Go for a week at a time, and prioritize the most important ones. Include things you want to accomplish. Focus mostly on the things that are important to you.
2. Control your stress. No matter what kind of pressure mounts on you, try to keep cool. Stressing out can lead to an early breakdown, which is definitely counter-productive (事与愿违) when you have a list of things to do. It's easier to take a 10-minute break and cool off than work all week with built up stress.
3. Shut your door. When working under a schedule, perform your important tasks with your door shut to get them done. This will ensure a better quality time to get what needs to be done done.
4. Focus on one thing at a time. Forget trying to multi-task! You will lose concentration, and it will take you longer to accomplish what you set out to do.
5. Just say "no." If you are constantly interrupted, and you really don't have the time to help out, just say "no." You're only one person, and you can't save the world by yourself!
6. Stop wasting time on the phone. While talking on the phone, keep your conversations short, and to the point and you'll waste much less time.
7. Be realistic. You can only do what you can do. Don't set out to accomplish the impossible. Do your best, but keep realistic expectations of yourself.
8. Relax. The most important thing is remember to take time to relax, and regroup. You need a break every now and then to keep working efficiently. Even if it's a 10-minute walk, get away from your list and get refreshed.
As families today get busier and busier, it's important to your own mental health to keep things on track. Don't delay; get your life in order now.
64. What does the underlined word “prioritize” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. choose something by thinking carefully
B. recognize the difference between things
C. put many things in order of importance
D. get rid of something that is unwanted
65. We should avoid stressing out because ____________.
A. it may cause us to fail to work normally
B. it may limit the speed to get things done
C. we don’t have enough energy to keep working
D. we are supposed to have a break while working
66. Which statement would the author agree to?
A. Try multi-tasks, and we can get more done.
B. It is impolite to refuse to help others at work.
C. Having breaks regularly may delay our tasks.
D. It is wise to be aware of what we can achieve.
67. By writing the text, the author would like to ___________.
A. ask readers to share their time management skills
B. offer some advice on how to make full use of time
C. invite readers to discuss how to improve life quality
D. persuade readers to spend less time on daily routine
It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech.At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned.Fortunately, the moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why ? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser.When such moments occur, don’t worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that don’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech – “ I have a dream”, you may notice that he stumble(结巴)his words twice during the speech.Most likely, however, you don’t remember.Why? Because you were fixing your attention on its message rather than on his way of speech-making. People care a lot about making mistakes in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition.But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that expresses the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly.Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker’s attractiveness by making him more human.
As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being imperfect.Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely.
60. The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ___________.
A.be smarter than you
B.notice your mistakes
C.do better than you
D.know what you are talking about
61. You don’t remember obvious mistakes in a speech because ___________.
A.your attention is on the content
B.you don’t fully understand the speech
C.you don’t know what the speaker plans to say
D.you find the way of speech-making more important
62. It can be inferred from the passage that ___________.
A.giving a speech is like giving a performance
B.one to two mistakes in a speech may not be bad
C.the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made
D.the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be
63. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. How to Be a Perfect Speaker
B. How to Make a Perfect Speech
C. Don’t Expect a Perfect Speech
D. Don’t Expect Mistakes in a Speech
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,从每题所给的选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day. Some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other place.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a batter future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job---eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.
56. From paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers __________.
A. worked very hard for centuries B. dreamed of having a better life
C. were poor but somewhat content D. lived a different life from their forefathers
57. Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
A. the frogs were easy money B. They needs money to buy medicine
C. they wanted to please the visitors D. the frogs made too much noise
58. What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
A. the crops didn’t do well B. there were too many insects
C. the visits brought in diseases D. the pesticides were overused
59. What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?
A. Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country
B. Health is more important than money
C. The harmony between man and nature is important
D. good old day will never be forgotten
Museums & Attractions—Things to do in London
In the Company of Cooks
Until Sat Jun 19Imperial War Museum
These cookery exhibits and talks are inspired by the museum’s ‘The Ministry of Food’ exhibition and look at how wartime advice was put into practice. ‘The Kitchen Front’ (May 29) with Valentine Warner and Marguerite Patten explores recipes during the war and tricks and tips used to make the most of limited food supply.
Transport Lambeth North
Telephone 020 7416 5320
http://www.iwm.org.uk
Italian Renaissance Drawings
Until Sun Jul 25British Museum
Bringing together artwork from the Uffizi and the BM’s own collections, this major exhibition focuses on 100 drawings made by Italian artists between 1400 and 1510. The show examines how drawing changed from a means of preserving artistic reality to a way of perfecting naturalistic forms, through original works of Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Titian and other masters.
Transport Holborn/Russell Square
Telephone 020 7323 8181
http://www.britishmuseum.org
The Deep
Until Sun Sep 5Natural History Museum
This exhibition leads visitors into the deep sea, showing them the environment of sea livings that have to fit themselves in their world in unusual ways. During this special voyage, visitors will learn about the history of deep-sea exploration and how scientists use technology to preserve this ecosystem which is easily destroyed.
Transport South Kensington
Telephone 020 7942 5000
http://www.nhm.ac.uk
Marvel Super Heroes 4D
Jun 2-Aug 31Madame Tussaud’s
A new three-story display combining models, 3D animation with special effects to bring to life some of Marvel’s most famous names—including Spider-man, Iron Man, Wolverine and The Invisible Woman. There’s also a chance to ‘turn hero’ in a series of experiences including walking on the ceiling with Spider-Man and stepping into Iron Man’s chest shield.
Transport Baker Street
Telephone 0871 894 3000
http://www.madametussauds.com/london
60. Who will be interested in this guide information?
A. People who like art and culture. B. People who like adventures and travels.
C. People who like sports and music. D. People who like museums and attractions.
61. According to the information where can you go if you arrive in London on Sep. 1st?
A. Madame Tussaud’s. B. Imperial War Museum.
C. Natural History Museum. D. British Museum.
62. Which website will be visited by one who wants to know more about Italian Renaissance Drawings?
A. http://www.iwm.org.uk B. http://www.britishmuseum.org
C. http://www.nhm.ac.uk D. http://www.madametussauds.com/london
Mariah Evans at the University of Nevada, Reno, led a 20-year study which asked adults in 27 countries to tell the number of books that were in their home while they were growing up. Their answers showed that children raised around books spend more years in school, even if their parents are poor and illiterate (没文化的).
Mariah Evans said, “What we found was that there is a very big effect of growing up in a bookish home on children’s success in school. Children who grow up in homes where there are more books go further in education. And additional(额外的) books are especially important for children who come from families where the parents aren’t terribly highly educated. The books can be stories, sports, travels and anything. But there, we’re seeing that the books that have the most effect are history and science.”
“It says that there really is a contribution that parents can make to their children’s education. And it doesn’t mean that you have to turn into somebody like me whose walls are lined with books. “But it really does mean that if you spend a few minutes most days a week reading to your children, and if they see you reading from time to time, and if you talk about books with them from time to time, and when somebody asks a question, say ‘let’s look it up’ instead of discussing it as a matter of opinion—that all those things can actually make quite a great difference to children in their education.”
56. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. it is more difficult for children raised around books to finish school
B. highly educated parents prevent a child going further in education
C. more books are needed by children from poor and illiterate families
D. children with poor parents don’t spend as many years in school
57. According to the author, the books most important for the children are _______.
A. history and science B. sports and education
C. stories and travels D. all kinds of subjects
58. Wise parents can make quite a great difference to children in their education by_______.
A. turning themselves into somebody whose walls are lined with books
B. spending some minutes most days a week playing with their children
C. discussing them rather than looking up questions with their children
D. talking about books with their children from time to time
59. This passage mainly talks about_______.
A. the effect of bookish home on children B. the importance of parents
C. the necessity of reading more books D. the interest of children in books