Helen Keller was born in America in June, 1880. Everything was all right when she was born. But when she was 19 months old, an attack of fever left her blind and deaf for the rest of her life. She was so young when she became blind that as she grew older she did not remember being able to see; and she became deaf before she had any idea of the importance of human speech. She lived in darkness and silence.
As she grew older, she, too, wanted to express her ideas and feelings. But she realized she was cut off from others. Her parents were greatly worried. How could anyone make touch with Helen’s mind and intelligence in darkness and silence without speech? Helen was nearly seven before a teacher was found. Her name was Miss Sullivan.
Miss Sullivan had a lot of difficulties in teaching Helen Keller. As the child could neither see nor hear, she had to use manual alphabet. But Helen’s energy and intelligence and strong spirit as well as Miss Sullivan’s skill and patience, overcame all the difficulties. As Helen grew up, she became an able student, passed examination and finally took a university degree in English literature. She then devoted all herself to helping the blind and the deaf. Her personal success, together with the work she had done for others, made her one of the greatest women in modern times. She wrote many books and “The Story of My Life”is a wonderful one.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Helen Keller was born blind and deaf. |
| B．She first became blind and then deaf. |
| C．She became blind and deaf in 1880. |
| D．She became blind and deaf sometime about January 1882. |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
| A．Helen became blind and deaf because she suffered from a high fever. |
| B．Helen became blind before she could see anything. |
| C．Helen became deaf before she realized how important it was to be able to hear and speak. |
| D．Helen, too, wanted to touch with others with speech. |
Helen was finally successful mainly because of______.
| A．her parents’ help |
| B．the manual alphabet Miss Sullivan used in teaching her |
| C．the help she got when she was studying for a university degree |
| D．her hard work, cleverness and will-power as well as Sullivan’s great efforts |
Helen Keller finally became______.
| A．an able student |
| B．a writer |
| C．the greatest woman in modern times |
| D．a student who took a university degree in English literature |
Helen Keller’s parents were greatly worried because___.
| A．She was growing older |
| B．She was cut off from others |
| C．she, too, wanted to express her ideas and feelings but she could not |
| D．she was almost seven years old and yet they were not sure whether they could find a suitable teacher for her |
We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively（被动地）. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor(谣言).
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping（打上标记）it with their own personal style. Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be re-stated as fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.
57. According to the passage, passive learning may occur in _______.
A. doing a medical experiment B. solving a math problem
C. visiting an exhibition D. doing scientific reasoning
58. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A. active learning B. knowledge
C. communication D. passive learning
59. The author mentions the game Rumor to show that _____.
A. a message may be changed when being passed on
B. a message should be delivered in different ways
C. people may have problems with their sense of hearing
D. people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor
60. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Active learning is less important.
B. Passive learning may not be reliable.
C. Active learning occurs more frequently.
D. Passive learning is not found among scholars.
Now more and more students become volunteers. The projects may be with their school, neighborhood, or town, but the work of all volunteers is important. Students find that there are many advantages to volunteering.
First, volunteering helps others. Many people complain about problems in our society. Volunteers are part of the solution to our problems! While it is easy to complain about things that are not right, the volunteer takes action rather than complaining. When a student spends time working at a retirement (退休) home, cleaning up a park, or teaching a younger student, the volunteer makes the world a better place.
Second, being a volunteer makes students feel good about themselves. When a student volunteer knows that his or her efforts have made someone else’s life better, the volunteer feels great. Students always hear people saying that everyone should care about other people. Volunteers make it happen. Although some volunteer work is long or tiring, student volunteers end the day knowing they did the right thing. Their parents, teachers, and the public are proud of them. Knowing they did the right thing makes them feel better, even if they are tired.
Finally, students learn that volunteering is fun. A group of students might volunteer to clean up a riverbed in early spring. It is fun to be with their friends, to enjoy the weather, and to picnic later in a beautiful, clean area. Other students might read to young children in a playgroup. It is fun to spend time with children and to have them smile and laugh. No matter what their ages or talents are, every student can be a volunteer. The work of student volunteers is a powerful force that makes the world a better place.
54. The tile of this passage is ________.
A. Free-time Jobs B. Daily Activities C. School Life D. Volunteer Work
55. The writer really wants to say that ___________.
A. volunteering helps society as well as volunteers themselves
B. it is fun to spend time volunteering in a pre-school
C. some people complain instead of taking action
D. some volunteer work is long and tiring
56. According to the passage, how are volunteers different from other people?
A. They never complain. B. They always feel great.
C. They take action. D. They enjoy teaching.
One morning a few years ago，Harvard President Neil Rudenstine overslept. For this busy man，it was a sort of alarm: after years of non-stop hard work，he might wear himself out and die an early death.
Only after a week's leave—during which he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach—was Rudenstine able to return to work.
In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. Surprisingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying:“I am so busy.”
We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax—this has become the model of a successful life.
Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing us with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom.
How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week—for followers of some religions—for rest and praying. It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful. It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals，walk and sleep. It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world.
Rest is a spiritual and biological need；however，in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities，we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest. The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work. In fact, “Remember the Sabbath ”is more than simply permission to rest；it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow.
50. The “alarm” in the first paragraph refers to “______”.
A. a signal of stress B. a warning of danger
C. a sign of age D. a spread of disease
51. According to Paragraph 4,a successful person is one who is believed to ____.
A. be able to work without stress B. be more talented than other people
C. be more important than anyone else D. be busy working without time to rest
52. Some people feel guilty when taking time to rest because they ____.
A. think that taking a rest means lacking ambitions
B. fail to realize that rest is an essential part of life
C. fail to realize that religions force them to rest
D. think that taking a rest means being lazy
53. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. We should balance work with rest.
B. The Sabbath givers us permission to rest.
C. It is silly for anyone to say “I am so busy.”
D. We should be available to our family and friends.
The Conservative（保守的） Party leader David Cameron has become the British prime minister. The 43-year-old Cameron is the youngest to hold the post in almost 200 years.
Cameron grew up with poor school reports but has become a famous political figure. He is reportedly a descendant（后裔）of King William IV. Cameron studied at the elite（精英的）Eton College. He went to Oxford University, where he graduated with a first-class honors degree in philosophy, politics and economics.
At Eton, Cameron was a problem boy. In 1983, he allegedly（涉嫌） took drugs. He was punished, and ordered to copy 500 lines of Latin text. He later passed the Oxford entrance exam. Now he is British’s prime minister, he has to deal with the country’s deep economic troubles.
46. How old was David Cameron allegedly took drugs?
A.15 B.16 C.17 D.18
47. What can you infer about David Cameron from the text?
A. He is the youngest prime minister in history. B. He often got high scores at school.
C. He is handsome. D. He didn’t behave well at Eton.
48. Which was David Cameron’s favorite subject?
A. Internet B. biology C. politics D. maths
49. According to the text, we know that
A. As a punishment, he copied 50 lines of Latin text.
B. David Cameron passed the Cambridge entrance exam.
C. British has trouble with economy now.
D. David Cameron is a heavy smoker.
Husband had just bought a new washing machine for me. I decided to use it and I washed a lot of things. Everything worked well, but I found one of my husband’s socks missing. I looked everywhere for it, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.
The next morning, I got ready for school as usual. When the bell rang, the students came in. I greeted them first and then told them what we were going to do that day.
When I turned around to write on the blackboard, the class broke out a roar!
They laughed and laughed. They laughed so much, in fact, that I was afraid the headmaster would be into seeing all this.
I asked the class to stop, but the more I talked, the more they laughed. I decided to pay no attention to them and I continued to write on the blackboard. When I did this, they roared even more.
Finally, the teacher who had the room next to mine came in to see what all the laughter was about. When he came in, he started laughing, too!
“Good heavens,” I said. “Will someone please tell me what is so funny?’
“Oh, God,” said the teacher. “You have a brown sock to the back of your skirt!”
So that’s how I found my husband’s missing sock.
“Oh, well,” I said to the class. “Let’s just say you have had an unforgettable lesson on static（静止的）electricity.”
41. What was the writer?
A. A washer B. A student C. A headmaster D. A teacher
42. What happened when the writer turned around to write on the blackboard?
A. The class roared with anger. B. The class began to laugh loudly.
C. Another teacher came in. D. There was a loud noise outside the room.
43. Why couldn’t she find one of her husband’s socks?
A. Because some students had hidden it.
B. Because her husband had taken it away.
C. Because she had left it in the classroom.
D. Because she never expected that it would stick to her skirt.
44. Why did the teacher from the next room laugh?
A. Because the whole class laughed.
B. Because he saw the writer fooled by the class.
C. Because he saw some of the students making faces.
D. Because he found a sock on the back of the writer’s skirt.
45. Which of the following statements is WRONG?
A. The writer had just bought a new washing machine.
B. The writer found one of her husband’s socks missing.
C. The students told her about the laughing.
D. She was afraid of being seen by the headmaster.