In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to leave college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic—and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed Son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how busy I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo—a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each term.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to give up, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be ______.
| A．a writer | B．a teacher | C．a judge | D．a doctor |
The author quit school in her second year of college because she ______.
| A．wanted to study by herself |
| B．fell in love and got married |
| C．suffered from a serious illness |
| D．decided to look after her grandma |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
| A．She was busy yet happy with her family life. |
| B．She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons. |
| C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife. |
| D．She was too confused to make a correct choice. |
What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．Little by little, one goes far. |
| C．Every coin has two sides. |
| D．Well begun is half done. |
Which of the following can best describe the author ?
| A．Caring and determined. | B．Honest and responsible. |
| C．Ambitious and sensitive. | D．Innocent and single-minded. |
D
His first fight was for the equal rights of black people in South Africa. Then, as the first black president he fought to unite the country and organize the government. Now Nelson Mandela has set his sights on a new enemy, AIDS.
On March 19 the 82-year-old, former president, hosted his second AIDS-awareness concert. He warned that 25 million people in Africa were already infected with the fatal disease.
Mandela was born in a small village in South Africa in 1918. He was adopted (收养) by the chief of his tribe (部族) and could have been a chief himself and lived a happy country life.
But he refused to be a chief when his people lived under racial discrimination ( 种族歧视). He decided to fight for equal rights for all the people in South Africa. Before 1990, under the country’s Racial Segregation Law (种族隔离法), colored and white people lived separately. Black people were treated unfairly even when taking a bus. Blacks had to stand at the back of the bus to make room for white people even when there were only a few of them on board.
For his opposition (反对) to the system Mandela was arrested (被捕) and spent 27 years in prison. He was freed in 1990 and become the president of the country after the first elections were held in which everyone could vote.
Mandela was not only a political fighter who attacked with speeches. He was also a trained boxer (拳击手) and fought in the ring when he was young.
“ Although I did not enjoy the violence of boxing, I was interested in how one moved one’s body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat (撤退),” he wrote in his autobiography.
As a skillful fighter, he chose music as his weapon against AIDS. He hopes to win another victory against AIDS.
52．Nelson Mandela succeeded in doing the following except _____.
A. winning the equal rights for the black people in South Africa
B. uniting South Africa
C. organizing a government in South Africa
D. controlling the spread of AIDS
53．If Nelson Mandela hadn’t fought against racial discrimination, he _____.
A. could easily have been the president of South Africa
B. could still have lived a happy life
C. could have been in a difficult situation
D. would have been an excellent boxer
54．It can be inferred that Nelson Mandela _____.
A. continues to help the black people with the political struggle
B. is taking a position in a music group
C. is taking on the world’s greatest fight against AIDS
D. is preparing for the next election of president
55．Which statement can best describe the life of Nelson Mandela?
A. Struggle is his life. B. Sports make his fame.
C. Fight for equal rights. D. Great fighter against government.
C
Classified Ads（广告）
For direct classified service, call 800-0667 10 a.m.—4 p.m., Monday---Friday.
For Rent
Best on Campus
Excellent Room for girls, begins Jan. , 2, 4, or 8 months lease. Single, $ 105. $125. Double, $ 140. Call 800-1932.
Family Home, 3 bedrooms, large yard. $ 275. Call 800-4300.
For Sale
Sheepskin Coat, men’s size 42, 1year old. $ 85. After 6 p.m. call 800-5224.
Moving: Must sell. Color TV 21, $ 150; transistor radio, $ 15; recorder, $ 25. Call 800-0739.
Help Wanted
Babysitter—My home
If you could find a few hours during the day, some evenings and weekends to care for 2 school- age children, please call 800-1111.
Lost
A black bag with a pencil-box and some books left in the reading room. Will the finder please come to Class 3, Grade 1?
Found
A green jacket was left on the sports ground yesterday afternoon ( April 15th). Will the owner please ring 656-6688?
49．If you wanted to place an ad. , what number would you call?
A．800-0739 B．800-1932 C．800-5224 D．800-0667
50．“Classified Ads” may probably mean “________”.
A. ads about everyone’s life
B. ads giving one some necessary information
C. ads divided into different groups according to a certain rules
D. ads for which you needn’t pay any money
51．If you want to find a part-time job, you will look at________.
A. For Rent B. For Sale C. Help Wanted D. Lost
B
How does a place become a World Heritage Site ( 世界遗产 ) ? It takes a lot of people to decide.
1 ) If a country wants one of its places to be on the World Heritage List, it has to ask UNESCO ( 联合国教科文组织 ) . The place must be important and special. UNESCO put the Great Wall on the list in 1987 because, it said, it was a great part of Chinese culture and beautifully made to go with the land. When a country asks, it must also make a plan for taking care of the place.
2 ) The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO talks about different places and decides whether to put them on the list. The committee meets every June. Many experts help the committee to decide.
3 ) After a new place goes on the list, UNESCO gives money to help keep it looking good. If a place is in serious danger, it may be put on the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. UNESCO gives special care and help to those places.
4 ) Countries have to give UNESCO regular reports about places on the list. If UNESCO thinks a country isn’t taking good enough care of a place, the site will be taken off the list.
45．The passage implies that ________.
A．becoming a world heritage site takes hard work.
B．a place with beautiful scenery is often on the World Heritage List.
C．a place which was taken good care of is often on the World Heritage List.
D．the Great Wall become a World Heritage Site for its history.
46．If a place successfully becomes a World Heritage Site, the country ________.
A．can ask UNESCO for more money and help
B．should continue to take special care of it
C．won’t take trouble of caring for it
D．will try to put it on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger
47．The passage mainly discusses ________.
A．how the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO decides a World Heritage Site
B．how the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO protects a World Heritage Site
C．how the Great Wall becomes a World Heritage Site
D．how a place becomes s World Heritage Site
48．The purpose of putting a place on the World Heritage List is ________.
A．to attract more tourists from other countries
B．to get more money and help from other countries
C．to have it taken better care of
D．to make it known to other countries
第三部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从短文中所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Balzac was good at buying things at its lowest price. One day he wanted to buy a vase in a shop window that was much more expensive than he could offer. Not being able to make the shopkeeper cut down its price very much, he left without further talking. Collecting a half dozen of his friends, he explained his wish to them and they worked a plan. The first would enter the shop and make an offer, lower than the marked price. Not getting the vase at his price, he would walk out. Shortly after another would enter and ask for a price lower than the first. In this way, each of the others would offer a price lower than the one before, and the last of his friends made a great effort to attempt to get it at the lowest price. Before long Balzac himself would return, offer more than the last two or three persons made and trust to luck. The plan worked--- Balzac got the vase at his price!
41．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．vase in the window was placed much higher than Balzac could reach.
B．At first the price of the vase was much higher than Balzac could offer.
C．Balzac always wanted to buy a vase that was much more expensive than he could pay
D．Balzac was very poor. He couldn’t buy the vase at a high price.
42．How many friends did Balzac gather?
A．Six B．Twelve C．Ten D．Five
43．Who asked for the lowest price?
A．The first one.B．The second one. C．The last of his friends.D．Balzac.
44．What kind of person does the writer try to tell us about Balzac and his friends?
A．Unkind B．Dishonest C．Selfish D．Clever
E
One reaction to all the concern about tropical deforestation（砍伐森林） is a blank stare that asks the question, "Since I don't live there, what does it have to do with me?"
The answer is that your way of life, wherever you live in the world, is tied to the tropics in many ways. If you live in a house, wash your hair, eat fruits and vegetables, drink soda, or drive a car, you can be certain that you are affected by the loss of tropical forests.
Biologically, we are losing the richest regions on earth when, each minute, a piece of tropical forest, the size of ten city blocks ,disappears. As many as five million species of plants, animals, and insects (40 to 50 percent of all living things) live there, and are being lost faster than they can be found and described. Their loss is immeasurable.
Take rubber for example. For many uses, only natural rubber from trees will do. Synthetics are not good enough. Today over half the world's commercial rubber is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia, while the Amazon's rubber industry produces much of the world's four million tons. And rubber is an important material in making gloves, balloons, footwear and many sporting goods. Thousands of other tropical plants are valuable for their industrial use.
Many scientists strongly believe that deforestation contributes to the greenhouse effect -- or heating of the earth from increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As we destroy forests, we lose their ability to change carbon dioxide into oxygen.
Carbon dioxide levels could double within the next half-century, warming the earth by as much as 4.5 degrees. The result? A partial melt-down of polar ice caps, raising sea levels as much as 24 feet; even 15 feet could threaten anyone living within 35 miles of the coast. Unbelievable? Maybe. But scientists warn that by the time we realize the severe effects of tropical deforestation, it will be 20 years too late.
Can tropical deforestation affect our everyday lives? Now, you should have got the answer.
58．The underlined word "synthetics" probably means a kind of _________.
A．natural rubber B．tropical material C．man-made material D．tropical tree
59．In the last paragraph the author tries to__________.
A．tell people how to avoid the tropical deforestation
B．show us how important it is to protect the tropical forests
C．persuade people to buy something synthetic
D．let people realize the effect of tropical deforestation
60．The author's attitude towards the tropical deforestation is____________.
A．puzzling B．cold C．supporting D．opposed