Oneofthegreatestgiftsonegenera-优题课

Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhooD．When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
64．Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
A．He had just got a new cage. B．He liked its beautiful feather.
C．He wanted it to sing for him. D．He wanted a pet for a companion.
65．The mockingbird died because it ______.
A．was frightened to death B．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it
C．refused to eat anything D．drank the poisonous water by mistake
66．An ornithologist probably means ______.
A．a religious person B．a kind person
C．a schoolmaster D．a expert in birds
67．What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
A．Freedom is very valuable to all creatures.
B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long.
C．You should keep the birds from their mother.
D．Be careful about food you give to baby birds.

MONTREAL (Reuters) – Crossing the US-Canada border（边界）to go to church on a Sunday cost a US citizen ＄10,000 for breaking Washington’s strict new security（安全）rules.
The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, who lives right on the Canadian border. Like the other half-dozen people of Township 15, crossing the border is a daily occurrence for Albert. The nearby Quebec village of St. Pamphile is where they shop, eat and go to church.
There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5,530-mile border between Canada and the US-which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings.
As a result, Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada, as usual. The US customs（海关）station in this are is closed on Sundays, so be just drove around the locked gate, as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May, following a tightening of border security. Two days later. Albert was told to go to the customs office, where an officer told him be had been caught on camera crossing the border illegally（非法）.
Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 US citizens in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed, but the US stopped a similar program last May. That forces the people to a 200-mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint.
Albert has requested that the customs office change their decisions on the fine, but he has not attended a Sunday church since. “I feel like I’m living in a prison,” he said.
60．We learn from the text that Richard Albert is .
A．an American living in Township 15
B．a Canadian living in a Quebec village
C．a Canadian working in a customs station
D．an American working in a Canadian church
61．Albert was fined because he .
A．failed to obey traffic rules B．broke the American security rules
C．worked in St. Pamphile without a pass D．damaged the gate of the customs office
62．The underlined word “detour” in paragraph 5 means .
A．a drive through the town B．a race across the fields
C．a roundabout way of travelling D．a journey in the mountain area
63．What would be the best title for the text?
A．A Cross-country Trip B．A Special Border Pass
C．An Unguarded Border D．An Expensive Church Visit

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
In the world today, all of the people need recreation (消遣). We cannot work all the time if we are going to keep healthy and enjoy life.
Everyone has his own way of relaxing. Perhaps the most popular form is to take part in sports. There are team sports, such as basketball and football; There are also individual (个人的) sports, such as swimming and running. Skating and mountain climbing are the most popular recreation for people who like to be outdoor.
Not everyone who enjoys sports likes to take part in them. Many people like watching them on TV or listening to them on the radio. So many people like some forms of indoor recreation, such as watching TV, singing and dancing.
It doesn’t matter whether we like indoor recreation or take part in outdoor sports. It is important for everyone to relax from time to time, and enjoy some forms of recreation.
56．Which is the most popular form of recreation?
A．Sports. B．Watching TV.
C．Sleeping. D．Singing and dancing.
57．People want to take part in sports in order to ____.
A．keep healthy and enjoy life B．make friends
C．find a good job D．make more money
58．Outdoor sports include ____.
A．watching TV B．singing and dancing
C．listening to the radio D．skating and mountain climbing
59．The passage mainly tells us that ____.
A．basketball is a kind of team sport
B．everyone who enjoys sports should take part in them
C．different people have different ways of relaxing
D．indoor recreation is not as important as outdoor sports

Once when I was nine, I came down with a horrible case of tonsillitis (扁桃腺炎).I remember going to the doctor, feeling miserable and scared, but also knowing that this man would somehow fix me.As he declared his conclusion regarding my illness, he asked my mother “Is your daughter allergic (过敏的) to any medicine? ”My mom hesitated for a moment, while I was looking at her questioningly.Was I allergic to anything?What if I was?What would happen to me?My mother said no.
That evening after taking my pill, I began to shake uncontrollably.I complained of a terrible headache and continued shaking as my mother held me.She didn’t seem very concerned, yet I believed I was allergic to the pill.Before I fell asleep that night, I told my mom the medicine had made me sick and I wouldn’t take it anymore. The next morning, my mother had me drink a tall glass of ice tea that tasted funny.Later that afternoon, my mom asked me how I felt.I told her I was doing much better, and that was when she dropped the bomb on me.She told me she had mixed my ice tea that morning with my medicine.Guess what, no allergic reaction.I was never allergic to the pills, but my powerful subconscious (潜意识的) mind, accepted a mere suggestion by the doctor that I might be, and my body acted accordingly.
Most of us have no idea how powerful our minds are, and how incoming information continually affects our experience.When I took that pill, it had a negative(负面) effect on my mind. Researchers are finding more and more evidence that what we believe, or expect to happen medically, has a deep effect on what actually does happen.
In some medical tests, the patients never took any medicine, only sugar pills, but were told they had been given expensive medicine, and their conditions improved anyway.They simply believed they would get better.On the other side of the coin, people who believe they are going to die in an operation have a higher death rate than people who don’t.
What we expect often tends to get realized. The power of your mind to heal your body is absolutely fantastic.Take care in what information you choose to believe about your health and well-being.Think positively about your outcome in medical situations and allow your power of belief to help you heal.
77.The girl shook uncontrollably that evening because she _______.
A. had a horrible case of tonsillitis at the time
B. was allergic to the medicine she had taken
C. imagined the medicine was doing its harm
D. wanted to cheat her mother for more concern
78.The underlined “she dropped the bomb on me ” can be understood as “ _______ ”.
A. she told me the truth that awakened me
B. she beat me like a plane dropping a bomb
C. she scolded me with heart-breaking words
D. she hurt my pride by telling me the truth
79.We can infer from the passage that _______.
A. most people believe our minds can function powerfully
B. it’s harmful to our health to take in negative information
C. the powerful subconscious mind can cure all diseases
D. sugar pills with proper mind are as good as costly medicine
80.The passage is mainly about _______.
A. a nine-year-old girl’s experience B. people being allergic to medicine
C. a fantastic way to treat diseasesD. the effect of the mind on the result

On March 23, 2010, Google Inc took a major step in withdrawing(收回) its search-engine services from Beijing to Hong Kong. Google acknowledged that it failed to make progress in talks with the Chinese government for permission to let Google stop censoring(审查) its search results.
Since posting the announcement on its website, Google’s stock(股票) price has fallen from $595 to about $567, while Baidu, the leading search engine in China, has seen its stock price rise by 50%. A potential foreign beneficiary(受益者) is Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine. And while Bing may not exactly have got the keys to a very rich kingdom, its managing group understand their good fortune and have not been shy about sticking the knife into Google. Craig Mundie, a chief officer of Bing, told China Daily that “we feel good enough now,” adding, “but it’s a 20-year journey, and not just three years. And Microsoft is here to stay.”
Several other Chinese Internet companies are no doubt moving swiftly to take advantage of this situation. Both Sohu. com—a Yahoo-like website in China— and a hugely successful instant-messaging company called Tencent(腾讯) are already trying to hire Google China staff. Analysts believe that of the two, Tencent is in the better position. Nearly 70% of China’s 400 million Internet users use instant-messaging, and of those, 80% use Tencent’s system, known as QQ. That’s the major reason why Tencent’s potential market is bigger than Baidu’s, and an insider at the company acknowledges that the search business is full of opportunities.
All the competitors of Google do what the Chinese government requires: censor their search results. If Microsoft and the others intend to be in China “to stay,” as Craig Mundie put it, there is no chance that the censoring principle will change for them.
As to the Google’s exit, one of its investors made the comment recently, “There’re still a lot of us who believe that they’ve made the wise choice. But Google is apparently out and I guess we just get to accept.” However, some Chinese netizens regretted the loss of its professional services on google. cn, such as maps, videos, music and translations.
73.Google.cn stops its business in China because _____.
A. too many companies enter the market B. its stock price has fallen sharply
C. Chinese companies hire its workers D. it refuses to censor the search results
74.How many Chinese beneficiaries are mentioned in the passage?
A. Two. B. Three C. Four. D. Five.
75.When Google withdraws, _______.
A. Chinese netizens won’t have any professional service
B. only Chinese companies will provide search service
C. China’s attitude towards censoring won’t be changed
D. the Google managing group will regret its decision
76.A suggested title for this news would be ______.
A. When Google Withdraws From China B. Who Wins in China’s Search Business
C. Who Will Profit When Google Exits D. Why Google Loses to Other Competitors


One of the greatest gifts one generation can give to other generations is the wisdom it has gained from experience. This idea has inspired the award-winning photographer Andrew Zuckerman. He interviewed and took photos of fifty over-sixty-five-year-olds all over the world. His project explores various aspects of their lives. The photos and interviews are now available on our website. Click on the introductions to read the complete interviews.
Let us now have a culture of peace. —Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Spain Federico Mayor Zaragoza obtained a doctorate in pharmacy(药学) from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1958. After many years spent in politics, he became Director-General of UNESCO in 1987. In 1999, he created the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, of which he is now the president. In addition to many scientific publications, he has published four collections of poems and several books of essays.
Writing is a discovery. —Nadine Gordlmer, South Africa Due to a weak heart, Nadine Gordimer attended school and university briefly. She read widely and began writing at an early age. She published her first short story at the age of fifteen, and has completed a large number of works, which have been translated into forty languages. In 1991, Gordimer won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Jazz is about the only form of art today. —Dave Brubeck, USA Dave Brubeck studied music at the University of the Pacific and graduated in 1942. After World War Two he was encouraged to play jazz. In 1951, he recorded his first album(专辑). Brubeck’s 1959 album has become a jazz standard. He received a Grammy lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.
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