The other day my aunt paid me a visit. She was overjoyed. “I got the highest mark in the mid-term examination!” She said. Don’t be surprised! My aunt is indeed a student, exactly, a college student at the age of 45.
“Compared with the late 70s,” she says, “now college students have many doors.” I was shocked when she first told me how she had had no choice in her major. Look at us today! So many doors are open to us! I believe there have never been such abundant opportunities for self-development as we have today. And my aunt told me that we should reach our goals by grasping all these opportunities.
The first door is the opportunity to study different subjects that interest us. My aunt was happy to study management, but she could also attend lectures on ancient Chinese poetry and on Shakespearean drama. As for myself, I am an English major, but I may also go to lectures on history.
The second door is the door to the outside world. Learning goes beyond classrooms and national boundaries. I have many fellow international classmates, and I am applying to an exchange program with a university abroad. As for my aunt, she is planning to get an MBA degree in the U.K.
The third door is the door to life-long learning. Many of my aunt’s contemporaries say she’s amazingly up-to-date for a middle-aged woman. She simply responds, “Age doesn’t matter. What matters is your attitude. I don’t think I’m too old to learn.” Yes, she is right. Since the government removed the age limit for college admissions, there are already some untraditional students, sitting with us in the same classrooms. Like them, my aunt is old but young in spirit with incredible energy and determination.
The doors open to us also pose challenges. For instance, we are faced with the challenge of a balanced learning, the challenge of preserving our fine tradition while learning from the West, and the challenge of learning continuously while carrying heavy responsibilities to our work and family. So, each door is a test of our courage, ability and judgment, but with the support of my teachers, parents, friends and my aunt, I believe I can meet the challenge head on. Which of the following words can best replace the “door” in the passage?
| A．challenge | B．knowledge | C．learning | D．opportunity |
What made the writher’s aunt overjoyed?
| A．Having a chance to visit the writer |
| B．Having lots of choices in subjects |
| C．Getting the highest score in her exam |
| D．Getting admission to a university |
Which of the following statements will the writer’s aunt agree with?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．One is never too old to learn. |
| D．Rome isn’t built in a day. |
The following word can be used to describe the writer’s aunt EXCEPT __________.
| A．fashionable | B．traditional | C．energetic | D．determined |
Which chart shows the correct structure of the passage?
When a first-time father saw his newborn son, he immediately noticed the baby's ears obviously standing out from his head. He expressed his concern to the nurse that some children might tease his child. A doctor examined the baby and reassured the new dad that his son was healthy- the ears presented only a minor problem with its appearance.
But the nervous father persisted. He wondered if the child might suffer psychological effects of ridicule, or if they should consider plastic surgery. The nurse assured him that it was really no problem, and he should just wait to see if the boy grows into his ears.
The father finally felt more optimistic about his child, but now he worried about his wife's reaction to those large ears. She had been delivered by operation, and had not yet seen the child.
“She doesn't take things as easily as I do,” he said to the nurse.
By this time, the new mother was settled in the recovery room and ready to meet her new baby. The nurse went along with the dad to lend some support in case this inexperienced mother became upset about her baby's large ears.
The baby was in a receiving blanket with his head covered for the short trip through the cold air-conditioned corridor. The baby was placed in his mother's arms, who eased the blanket back so that she could look at her child for the first time.
She took one look at her baby's face and looked to her husband and gasped, “Oh, Honey! Look! He has your ears!”
No problem with Mom. She married those ears...and she loves the man to whom they are attached.
The poet Kahlil Gibran said, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” It's hard to see the ears when you're looking into the light.When the father first saw his baby, he was worried that________.
| A．The baby might not grow up healthily |
| B．The baby might be laughed at by others. |
| C．The baby might disappoint its mother |
| D．the baby might have mental problems. |
According to the doctor and nurse, the baby’s ears________.
| A．could not function well. | B．looked the same as others. |
| C．only caused a small problem. | D．needed to have plastic surgery. |
What is true about the baby’s mother?
| A．She blamed her husband for the baby’s big ears. |
| B．She was the first to discover the baby’s large ears. |
| C．She suggested having an operation on the baby immediately. |
| D．She found something similar between the baby and its father. |
What does the underlined word they refer to?
| A．The ears. | B．The parents |
| C．The doctor and nurse. | D．The problems |
What’s the function of the last paragraph?
| A．To advise readers to listen carefully. |
| B．To draw a conclusion from the story. |
| C．To criticize the wrong attitude to physical beauty. |
| D．To stress the importance of doctor-patient relationship. |
Most students try to learn English grammar using grammar textbooks. They study grammar rules and take grammar tests. They use an analytical approach, attempting to memorize, and then apply, a great number of rules.
However, research has proved this method inefficient and ineffective. The truth is, the human brain simply cannot consciously remember process and use hundreds of or thousands of grammar rules. Real speech is too fast.
Native speakers do not learn grammar in this way, but rather intuitively (凭直觉地) and unconsciously. They learn in a complete way, not by attempting to memorize individual grammar rules. As a result, native speakers use correct grammar fluently and easily.
Fortunately, it is possible for English learners to learn grammar this way. Language teacher Blaine Ray has developed a unique "intuitive" approach to teach English grammar. Her system uses "point of view" stories to teach the patterns of English grammar, allowing students unconsciously to acquire correct grammar without ever studying grammar rules.
In this system, the teacher first tells a simple story from one point of view. It may be told about the past, then repeated, but beginning with "since he was a child"; then repeated again, but this time about the future.
Listening to these stories allows students intuitively and effortlessly to learn English grammar and makes them be able to use it correctly when they speak.
Point of View Stories is a creative new way to study English grammar, and offers hope to millions of frustrated English learners.
| A．Remembering grammar rules |
| B．Taking grammar tests. |
| C．Analyzing grammatical structure |
| D．Applying language to situations. |
| A．Talking to native speakers when learning. |
| B．Learning English grammar in a complete way. |
| C．Using correct English grammar. |
| D．Learning English grammar 4from a teacher. |
| A．native speakers learn English grammar by listening to stories |
| B．Blaine Ray’s method gets students to grasp correct grammar unconsciously |
| C．Blaine Ray teaches grammar rules by asking students to tell stories |
| D．it’s hard for students to speak correct English in the new system |
| A．criticize the traditional way of learning grammar |
| B．introduce a new way to study English grammar |
| C．ask students to learn English grammar by listening to stories |
| D．tell us how the native speakers learn English grammar |
| A．because the analytical approach can let them learn English grammar effortlessly |
| B．because the analytical approach makes them be able to use English correctly when they speak. |
| C．because the analytical approach can’t let them memorize and then apply a great number of rules. |
| D．because Real speech is too fast. |
Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
Many roads and places in Singapore（新加坡）are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay（马来语）. Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent（月牙） because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.
| A．the government is usually the first to name a place |
| B．many places tend to have more than one name |
| C．a ceremony will be held when a place is named |
| D．people prefer the place names given by the government |
| A．Change suddenly. | B．Change significantly. |
| C．Disappear mysteriously. | D．Disappear very slowly. |
| A．Raffles Place. | B．Selector Airbase. |
| C．Piccadilly Circus. | D．Paya Lebar Crescent. |
| A．after a person | B．after a place | C．after an activity | D．by its shape |
| A．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain. |
| B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes. |
| C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique. |
| D．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers. |
Holidays are really important. Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways.
But holidays are expensive and, for those on low wages or living on benefits, they are often unobtainable. Even the cheapest holidays require travel and other additional costs that are difficult for many families to meet.
For working parents, the long summer break can be a very difficult problem for childcare. When an annual leave allowance amounts to only five weeks, there is a need to spread this across the year. Couples can find themselves taking leave in turn in order to care for children who are on holiday. For some this makes even an affordable family holiday difficult.
The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a caring and inspiring learning environment. The number of children receiving free school meals is quite large in Nottingham and many schools have breakfast clubs to make sure that children get a healthy start to the day. Most schools undertake programs of group or individual educational support. Schools also have an important role in safeguarding children's welfare through the ongoing touch and support with their pupils. During the long summer holidays, much of this is missed.
While teachers are holidaying in the UK, many of their pupils spend the whole six weeks on the street where they live. The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budget and an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children to continue their learning.
In setting out its plans for a five-term year, Nottingham City Council (委员会)is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks, with a more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks, each followed by a two-week break. We believe this will give real “down time" for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning.
We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff, particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities. However, this must be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care.The passage is probably written by.
| A．an experienced teacher | B．a working parent |
| C．an inspired student | D．a city council member |
The underlined word "they" in the second paragraph refers to "’.
| A．environments | B．holidays | C．wages | D．benefits |
It is suggested in the passage that the summer break be reduced to.
| A．2 weeks | B．4.5 weeks | C．5 weeks | D．6 weeks |
The plans for a shorter summer holiday will help students_____ .
| A．obtain the cheapest holidays without additional costs |
| B．get a chance to spend six weeks a term with teachers in school |
| C．benefit more from the caring and inspiring learning environment |
| D．have more school days to receive free school meals |
It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
| A．working parents can enjoy a five-week break to care for their children |
| B．the suggested plans for a five-term school year can hardly be carried out |
| C．the long summer holiday gives teachers and students real "down time" |
| D．some school staff will say “No” to the plans for a shorter summer holiday |
In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand (木架) with a small notepad (记事本) and a hole for a pencil.
I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern,but the wooden stand is definitely the originalone.
“I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years.” I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. “You still use a pencil. Can’t you afford a pen?”
My mother replies a little sharply. “It works perfectly well. I’ve always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in those days.”
Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on.”
This story—which happened before I was born—reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is, as a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have travelled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible (看不到的) exhibits at every meal.Why has the author’s mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?
| A．To leave messages. |
| B．To list her everyday tasks. |
| C．To note down maths problems. |
| D．To write down a flash of inspiration. |
What is the author’s original opinion about the wooden stand?
| A．It has great value for the family. |
| B．It needs to be replaced by a better one. |
| C．It brings her back to her lonely childhood. |
| D．It should be passed on to the next generation. |
The author feels embarrassed for .
| A．blaming her mother wrongly |
| B．giving her mother a lot of trouble |
| C．not making good use of time as her mother did |
| D．not making any breakthrough in her field |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．The mother is successful in her career. |
| B．The family members like travelling. |
| C．The author had little time to play when young. |
| D．The marks on the breadboard have disappeared. |
In the author’s mind, her mother is .
| A．strange in behaviour |
| B．keen on her research |
| C．fond of collecting old things |
| D．careless about her appearance |