My teenage son Karl became withdraw after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands.” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “thank you for your time”, and hung up.
Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was I. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”By saying “Karl became withdrawn”, the author means that the boy changed entirely and _____.
| A．preferred to stay alone at home | B．often escaped school |
| C．refused to talk to others | D．began to dislike his mother |
There was silence on the other end of the line because _____.
| A．the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother |
| B．the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking |
| C．the speaker didn’t want the mother to recognize his voice |
| D．the speaker was unable to interrupt the mother |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Children in single-parent families often have mental problems. |
| B．Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life. |
| C．Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers. |
| D．School education doesn’t work without full support from parents. |
Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and the required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.
A political scientist from Indiana University whose work exploring how people come together to preserve their collective resources may provide important clues in the fight against climate change has become the first woman to win the Nobel prize for economics.
Elinor Ostrom, 76, shares 2009 Nobel prize with fellow American academic Oliver Williamson, 77. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced to the world the pair had been chosen to win the 40th prize in economic sciences.
For Ostrom, the award came, as a "big surprise". To rise to the peak of her area of learning has been a big journey, as she has had to struggle against her own weaknesses and the barriers of the system. At school in Los Angeles, she suffered from stuttering. She also faced the barriers common to most women of her generation entering the sciences --- she was discouraged from taking a PhD when she applied for graduate school.
Her field of study has been striking for how cross-disciplinary it is. Early on she gained a reputation for bringing economics, political science and sociology together.
What interests her is how common property can be managed successfully through groups in society. The findings of her research have been striking, as the Nobel committee pointed out, because they have challenged the traditional assumption that common property is poorly managed unless it is either controlled by government or privatized. She has shown how different individuals can band together and form collectives that protect the resource at hand.
“A lot of people are waiting for more international co-operation to solve global warming.” Ostrom said , “It is important that there is international agreement, but we can be taking steps at family level, community level, civic and national level … There are many steps that can be taken. That will not solve it on their own but continuously will make a big difference.”
81. How did Ostrom feel when she got the prize? (not more than 3 words)
82. What does “cross-disciplinary” mean according to the passage? (not more than 9 words)
83. Why was Ostrom advised not to take a PhD when she applied for graduate school? (not more than 9 words)
84. Why was Ostrom awarded the Nobel prize for economics? (not more than 16 words)
Sustainable management is seen as a practical and economical way of protecting species from dying out. Instead of depending on largely ineffective laws against poaching (偷猎), it gives local people a good economic reason to preserve plants and animals. In Zimbabwe, for instance, there is a sustainable management project to protect elephants. Foreign tourists pay large sums of money to kill these animals for sports. This money is then given to the inhabitants of the area where the hunting takes place. In theory, locals will be encouraged to protect elephants, instead of poaching them because of the economic benefit involved.
This sounds like a sensible strategy, but it remains to be seen whether it will work. With corruption in these developing countries, some observers are skeptical that the money will actually reach the people it is intended for. Others wonder how effective the locals will be at stopping poachers.
There are also questions about whether sustainable management is practical when it comes to protecting forests. In theory, the principle should be the same as with elephants --- allow logging companies to cut down certain number of trees, but not so many as to completely destroy the forest.
Sustainable management of forests requires controls on the number of trees which are cut down, as well as investment in replacing them. Because almost all tropical forests are located in countries which desperately need funds from logging, there are few regulations and motive to do this.
One solution might be to confirm wood comes from sustainably managed forests. In theory, consumers would buy only this wood and so force logging companies to go "green" or go out of business. Unfortunately, unrestricted logging is so much more profitable that wood prices from managed forests would cost up to five times more --- an increase that consumers, no matter how "green", are unlikely to pay.Which of the following statements is true in understanding the "sustainable management"?
| A．Sustainable management is usually used in commercial units. |
| B．Sustainable management is more powerful than laws. |
| C．We will probably meet many problems in the course of applying sustainable management. |
| D．It is likely that sustainable management will replace the laws in protecting living things. |
The example of Zimbabwe is mentioned in the first paragraph is to ________.
| A．prove that sustainable management is ineffective |
| B．explain what sustainable management is |
| C．show that tourism there is booming |
| D．illustrate that people there are good at making money with elephants |
The phrase "go green" in Paragraph 5 probably means _______.
| A．a company begins to make money instead of being in red |
| B．making the forests always green in color |
| C．operating in ways which do not damage the environment |
| D．starting from the very beginning |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．What environmental protection mainly include. |
| B．The feasibility (可行性) of sustainable management in environmental protection. |
| C．Different people’s attitudes towards sustainable management. |
| D．How people can protect animals and plants. |
What attitude does the author take towards the sustainable management?
| A．Positive. | B．Pessimistic. | C．Negative. | D．Uncertain. |
The man who invented Coca-Cola was not a native Atlanta, but on the day of his funeral every drugstore in town shut up the shop in honor of him. He was John Styth Pemberton, born in 1833 in Knoxville, Georgia, eighty miles away. Pemberton was a chemist, sometimes known as Doctor, who, during the Civil War, became an officer and led a cavalry troop. He settled in Atlanta in 1869, and soon began making such patent medicines as Triplex Liver Pills and Globe of Flower Cough Syrup.
In 1885, he registered a trademark for something called French Wine Coca-Ideal Nerve and Tonic Stimulant. A few months later, he formed the Pemberton Chemical Company, and hired an accountant named Frank M. Robinson, who had not only a good head for figures, but, attached to it, so unique a nose that he could judge the ingredients of a batch of syrup merely by sniffing it.
In 1886 --- a year in which, as contemporary Coca-Cola officials like to point out, the English writer Conan Doyle made Sherlock Holmes known publicly and France found the truth about the Statue of Liberty --- Pemberton invented a syrup that he called Coca-Cola. It was a change of his French Wine Coca. He had taken out the wine and added a bit of caffeine, and, when the end product tasted awful, had thrown in some cola nut oil and a few other oils, mixing the mixture in a three-legged iron pot in his back yard and swishing it around with an oar.
He distributed it to soda fountains in used beer bottles, and Robinson, with his elegant account’s script, instantly designed a label, on which "Coca-Cola" was written in the style which is still employed. Pemberton looked upon his mixture less as a drink than as a headache cure.
One morning in 1886, a man suffering from a headache dragged himself into an Atlanta drugstore and asked for a bottle of Coca-Cola. According to usual practice, druggists should pour a teaspoonful of syrup into a glass of water, but at that time, the man on duty was too lazy to walk to the fresh-water tap. Instead, he mixed the syrup with some soda water, which was closer at hand. After drinking it, the suffering customer cheered up almost at once, and word quickly spread that the best Coca-Cola was a fizzy (冒泡泡的)one. According to the passage, which of the following about Pemberton is wrong?
| A．He was highly respected by Atlantans because of his great contribution. |
| B．Medicines like Triplex Liver Pills and Globe of Flower Cough Syrup are his patent products. |
| C．During the Civil War, he was an officer of a cavalry troop, a chemist and a doctor. |
| D．Coca-Cola which is very popular now was invented by him. |
Why do contemporary Coca-Cola officials especially like to mention the year 1886?
| A．Because Conan Doyle contributed to Pemberton’s Coca-Cola invention. |
| B．Because France sent the Statue of Liberty to America and Pemberton loved it. |
| C．Because they are still proud of Pemberton’s invention. |
| D．Because Pemberton made more money for the company this year than in any other year. |
What does the passage tell us about Frank M. Robinson?
| A．He helped his boss and began making patent medicines together with his boss in 1869. |
| B．He had a special nose with an acute sense of smell and especially was good at drawing. |
| C．When he found the end product tasted awful, he threw in some cola nut oil and other oils. |
| D．He designed a label “Coca-Cola” for the Coca-Cola Company with his elegant handwriting. |
How did Pemberton change French Wine Coca formula to make it taste delicious?
| A．He mixed it with several oils instead of water. |
| B．He put some beer into the mixture. |
| C．He added more coffee into the mixture than before. |
| D．He added some cola nut oil and a few other oils. |
According to the passage, what was Coca-Cola intended for at first?
| A．It was intended for the children as a soft drink. |
| B．It was intended for a substitute for French Wine Coca |
| C．It was intended for a cure for the common headache |
| D．It was intended for the need of the war |
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
Zoo Lights
6pm---10pm Thursdays through Wednesdays, through Jan. 7. The Phoenix Zoo’s 15th-annual holiday light festival features more than 2 million lights and light displays throughout the zoo, as well as a new arctic exhibit and jingo, the talking giraffe. Phoenix Zoo, 455 N. Galvin Parkway, $7 ahead of time. Phoenix. $8 at gate. (602)273-1341. www.phoenixzoo.org.
Cowboy Christmas
5pm---9pm Thursdays, 5pm---10pm Fridays and Saturdays, 5pm---9pm Sundays through Wednesdays, through Jan 1. Rawhide’s Main Street will be lit with 150,000 lights, including a 100-foot tall “tree of lights” and nightly lighting ceremony. Rawhide at Wild Horse Pass, 5700 W. North Loop Road, Gila River Reservation. FREE. (480) 502—5600. www.rawhide.com.
Arizona Celebration of Lights
6pm---9pm Thursdays, 6pm---l0pm Fridays and Saturdays, 6pm---10pm Sundays through Wednesdays, through Jan.1. A 2-mile drive featuring 300 light displays with more than 5 million lights. Community Church of Joy, 21000 N. 75th Ave., Glendale. $12 per car, $8 for adults, free for kids aged 4 and younger, $2 discount with canned food or toy donations. (623)561—0500. www.joyonline.org.
Glendale Glitters Quiet Nights
6pm---10pm Thursdays through Wednesdays, through Jan.6. A display featuring 1.4 million lights decorates downtown Glendale. It also features an animated musical light show in the north part of town. The center of the display is at Murphy Park. Murphy Park, 5850 W. Glendale Ave. Glendale. FREE. (623)930—2820.
Valley of Lights
6pm---12pm Thursdays through Wednesdays, through Dec. 30. A one-mile drive through exhibits featuring more than 100,000 lights and animated displays. Donations accepted. Fain Park, 2200 N. Fifth St., Prescott Valley. FREE. 1一(928)一759—3090. www.pvchamber.org.These ads are all about__________.
| A．night light displays in the Phoenix Zoo | B．celebrations of lights |
| C．Christmas activities all over the world | D．advertisements of some products |
Which of the following websites can offer you further information about the 100-foot tall “tree of lights”?
| A．www. pvchamber. org. | B．www. joyonline. org. |
| C．www. rawhide.com. | D．www. phoenixzoo.org. |
If Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith drive to Arizona Celebration of Lights with their son aged 5, most probably how much will they pay for the visit at least?
| A．$34. | B．$36. | C．$28. | D．$26. |
According to the text, which of the following offer animated displays?
| A．Zoo Lights & Cowboy Christmas. |
| B．Valley of Lights & Cowboy Christmas. |
| C．Zoo Lights & Arizona Celebration of Lights. |
| D．Valley of Lights & Glendale Glitters Quiet Nights. |
What’s the purpose of the text?
| A．To attract more visitors to these activities. |
| B．To collect more donations from the visitors. |
| C．To let kids have an interesting Christmas Day. |
| D．To earn more money. |
Very old people do raise moral problems for almost everyone who comes in contact with them. Their values—this can’t be repeated too often—are not necessarily our values. Physical comfort, cleanness and order are not necessarily the most important things. The social services from time to time find themselves faced with a flat with decaying food covered by small worms, and an old person lying alone in bed, taking no notice of the worms. But is it interfering(干涉) with personal freedom to insist that they go to live with some of their relatives so that they might be taken better care of? Some social workers, the ones who clear up the worms, think we are in danger of carrying this concept of personal freedom to the point where serious risks are being taken with the health and safety of the old.
Indeed, the old can be easily hurt or harmed. The body is like a car, it needs more mechanical maintenance(机械维修，保养) as it gets older. You can carry this comparison right through to the provision of spare parts. But never forget that such operations are painful experiences, however good the results will be. And at what point should you stop to treat the old body? Is it morally right to try to push off death by seeking the development of drugs to excite the forgetful old mind and to activate the old body, knowing that it is designed to die? You can’t ask doctors or scientists to decide, because so long as they can see the technical opportunities, they will feel bound to give them a try, on the principle that while there’s life, there’s hope.
When you talk to the old people, however, you are forced to the conclusion that whether age is happy or unpleasant depends less on money or on health than it does on your ability to have fun.
1. What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. The values are different between the old and the young.
B. The moral problems raised by old people.
C. The personal freedom for the old.
D. Old people’s viewpoint on life.
2. We can know from the first paragraph that________.
A. Very old people would like to live alone to have more personal freedom.
B. Very old people are able to keep their room clean.
C. Very old people like to live with their children.
D. Social services have nothing to do with very old people.
3. According to the author, which of the following is right?
A. The older a person, the more care he needs.
B. Too much emphasis has been put on old people’s values.
C. The human body can’t be compared to a car.
D. It is easy to provide spare parts for old people.
4.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to “________”.
A. their money or their health
B. the conclusion you come to
C. your talk to the old people
D. whether age is happy or unpleasant