DEAR AMY: Last year I got a full-time job as a baby-sitter for a wonderful family with two amazing kids. They have come to treat me as one of their own. But my boyfriend and I are attempting to save much more money for the life we want to build, including marriage, a house and kids. Much as I love my “babies,” I’m looking forward to beginning a challenging career in a big company. Should I tell the family that I am looking for a new job? I don’t want to find one that requires me to begin work immediately, leaving them without child care, but I also don’t want them to assume that I’m leaving right away.
Up-in-the-Air Au Pair
DEAR AU PAIR: Whatever your arrangement, it is reasonable for them to expect you to be honest and to keep them in the loop. They see that you are making changes in your life, and surely they will also understand your desire to advance in a career. Tell them frankly and they should be happy to employ you as long as you are available.
Amy
DEAR AMY: I am a freshman in a high school. Last summer my best friend was diagnosed with skin cancer. It isn’t very serious, but she seems to be becoming more and more depressed. How can I help her be happy again?
Best Friend
DEAR FRIEND: Your best role is to prop up and encourage your friend when she seems down, and to be supportive and kind to her. You're doing a great job with that, and your friend is lucky to have you in her life.
AmyWhat is Au Pair’s problem according to the first paragraph?
| A．She has no idea whether to tell the family her plan or not. |
| B．She has no idea whether the family will hate her or not. |
| C．She has no idea where to find a new good job. |
| D．She has no idea how to save more money. |
From the underlined phrase“ to keep them in the loop”, we can infer that Amy advises Au Pair_____.
| A．to keep it secret to the family |
| B．to cheat the family for the time being |
| C．to tell her true impression of the family |
| D．to let the family know what’s going on |
In which column of a newspaper can we probably find the passage?
| A．Jobs | B．culture | C．Life | D．Entertainment |
It is widely acknowledged that it is by no means an easy task to bring up a child well．And our ancestors already understood it well．“It takes an entire village to raise a child．”That’s an old proverb that is being quoted more and more often these days．And I’m pleased about that．
Today，more and more schools are reaching out to involve parents, community members and businesses to help shape a child’s future．
Parents need to be involved in their children’s education in many ways．Helping children with homework and studying，going on a field trip，teaching a craft（手工艺）or coaching a child's sports team are all great ways to be involved with your child's education．And don’t forget to communicate with teachers — they need and respect your input．Studies show that children learn more and schools function better when parents and schools work together．It’s important to stay in touch with your child's education all through his or her school career．
Communities can help children create and achieve new goals．Help with homework, read to a child，coach a children's team，or provide emotional support．Help solve problems and build self-esteem（自尊）．Kids need role models and advisers can be role models by sharing their experiences and wisdom．
Businesses can also help shape our children’s future．invite a class from your local school to visit your workplace．You may be providing a glimpse that opens a new world of possibilities．Show students what goes on during a typical day．Give a mini course for students：how to use a computer；how products are made；how machinery works．You may have a developing electrician，teacher，nurse，or even a newspaper reporter on your hands．
It really does take an entire village to raise a child．So share the responsibility— and the joy— of bringing a child to his or her full potential．The implied advice in the proverb“It takes an entire village to raise a child．” is that ____________．
| A．All the people in a village should give food to a child |
| B．More than one party is responsible for a child’s future |
| C．Children should be brought up in the village where they were born |
| D．Schools should be set up in the village where a child was raised |
According to the text，_____________ should talk with teachers to keep in touch with children’s growth？
| A．community members |
| B．businesses |
| C．organizations |
| D．parents |
The text was written mainly for ______________．
| A．newspaper reporters and developing electricians |
| B．school teachers and students |
| C．parents and members in organizations |
| D．education experts and government officials |
Students can get developed in practical working s kill through ___________．
A．business training
B community activities
C．parental involvement
D．school teachingWhich of the following can be the main idea of idea text？
| A．Parents play an important part in children’s education． |
| B．Communities have no effect on the way to new and high ideals． |
| C．Parents and other organizations should all be responsible for children’s growth |
| D．Businesses may arrange softie training courses for students． |
No one knows exactly how many disabled people there are in the world，but estimates suggest the figure is over 450 million．The number of disabled people in India alone is probably more than double the total population of Canada．
In the United Kingdom，about one in ten people have some disability．Disability is not just something that happens to other people：as we get older，many of us will become less mobile，hard of hearing or have failing eyesight．
Disablement can take many forms and occur at any time of life．Some people are born with disabilities．Many others become disabled as they get older．There are many progressive（逐渐的）disabling diseases．The longer time goes on，the worse they become．Some people are disabled in accidents．Many others may have a period of disability in the form of a mental illness．All are affected by people’s attitude towards them．
Disabled people face many physical barriers．Next time you go shopping or to work or visit friends，imagine how you would manage if you could not get up steps，or onto buses and trains．How would you cope if you could not see where you were going or could not hear the traffic?But there are other barriers：prejudice（偏见）can be even harder to break down and ignorance represents the greatest barrier of a11．It is almost impossible for the able-bodied to fully appreciate what the severely disabled go through，so it is important to draw attention to these barriers and show that it is the individual person and their ability，not their disability，that counts．The first paragraph mainly points out that ______________．
| A．there are many disabled people in the world |
| B．the number of disabled people in India is the greatest |
| C．India has much more disabled people than Canada |
| D．it is impossible to get an exact figure of the world’s disabled people |
The key word in paragraph 4 is _______________．
| A．disability | B．ignorance |
| C．prejudice | D．barriers |
The last word of the text“counts”most probably means ____________．
| A．is most important |
| B．is considered |
| C．is included |
| D．is numbered |
Which of the following statements is NOT true? ________________．
| A．even the able-bodied may become disabled in some way |
| B．the disabled prefer to be ignored by the able-bodied |
| C．prejudice against the disabled should be removed |
| D．The disabled make up about 10 percent in the UK’s population |
it can be concluded from the passage that ______________．
| A．we should try our best to prevent disablement |
| B．physical and metal barriers are equally hard to break down |
| C．we should take a proper attitude towards the disabled |
| D．all of us will be disabled at a certain time of our life |
Today we’ll talk about reading．When we read a text，our eyes move across a page in short，quick movements．We recognize words usually when our eyes still fixate（停留，凝视）．Each time they fixate，we see a group of words．This is known as the recognition span or the visual span（视幅）．The length of time for which the eyes stop varies from person to person．It also varies within any parson according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text．In addition，it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness．
Unfortunately，in the past，many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the page．As a result of this misleading emphasis（强调）on the purely visual aspects of reading，many exercises have been designed to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation．For example，in some exercises，words are flashed on to a screen for a tenth of a second．One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point，taking in the words on either side．Such word patterns are often formed in the shape of pyramids（金字塔），so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive（连续的）fixation．All these exercises are very clever，but it' s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently．Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words．Consequently，for these reasons，many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training，especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated（孤立的）words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text．The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following factors except _______．
| A．1ighting and tiredness |
| B．the length of a group of words |
| C．one’s purpose in reading |
| D．one’s familiarity with the text |
The author may believe that reading ______________．
| A．requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation |
| B．requires a reader to see words more quickly |
| C．demands a deeply-participating mind |
| D．demands more eyes than mind |
What does the author mean by the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?
| A．The ability to see words is not needed for an efficient reading． |
| B．The reading exercises mentioned are useless for reading． |
| C．The reading exercises mentioned can’t help improve reading． |
| D．The reading exercises mentioned have done a great job so far． |
Which of the following is NOT true? _______________．
| A．The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time |
| B．Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training |
| C．The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading |
| D．The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text |
The tune of the author in writing this text is _________________．
| A．critical | B．neutral |
| C．supportive | D．optimistic |
Starting in 1972，the National Park Service established a policy for forest fires called Natural Burn．It was acknowledged that some forest fires，such as those which were caused by lighting were necessary for forests to maintain（保持）balanced ecosystems，so the fire should be allowed to burn．However， a big fire in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 caused this policy to be abandoned since the fire was initially（最初）allowed to burn yet soon out of contro1．As a result，the fire of 1988 destroyed much of Yellowstone，which is America’s oldest and most beloved national park．Massive areas of plants were destroyed，and large empty spaces and acres of burned and blackened trees greeted visitors．The rivers and streams were choked with ash，and the ecosystem of the park was changed beyond repair．
In addition，great numbers of animals were killed by the fires that burned out of control．The fires were driven by high winds，moving as many as ten miles a day．Many small animals died in the flames．The fires’rapid advances gave the wildlife little chance to escape．Even today，few of these small forest animals have returned to live in the park．In the years immediately following the fires，the numbers of visitors declined．rapidly．No one was interested in seeing a blackened and treeless park on vacation．Yellowstone had previously been famous for its amazing views and unique geological formations such as the geyser（喷泉）Old Faithful．But now its reputation as America's wonder is damaged permanently．Natural Burn was adopted because some forest fires were __________
| A．hard to put out |
| B．started by lightning |
| C．good for the balance of nature |
| D．approved by National Park Service |
The big fire in Yellowstone in 1988 __________．
| A．became out of control at first |
| B．brought the natural burn policy to an end |
| C．was allowed to burn continuously |
| D．destroyed the park completely |
Why were so many animals killed in the big fire?
| A．Because winds were blown from high places． |
| B．Because the animals moved only ten miles a day． |
| C．Because the animals lived in lower places． |
| D．Because strong winds contributed to the fire a lot． |
Yellowstone was famous for its _________．
| A．rare animals |
| B．unique plants |
| C．beautiful scenery |
| D．1ittle streams |
The text probably comes from _________．
| A．a geography magazine |
| B．a news report |
| C．a commercial ad |
| D．a science fiction |
Everyone gathered around and Paddy read out loud, slowly, his tone growing sadder and sadder．The little headline said: BOXER RECEIVES LIFF SENTENCE.
Frank Cleary, aged 26, professional boxer, was today found guilty of the murder of Albert Gumming, aged 32, laborer, last July．The jury(陪审团) reached its decision after only ten minutes, recommending the most severe punishment to the court．It was, said the Judge, a simple case．Cumming and Cleary had quarreled violently at the Harbour Hotel on July 23rd and police saw Cleary kicking at the head of the unconscious Gumming．When arrested, Cleary was drunk but clear-thinking.
Cleary was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour．Asked if he had anything to say, Cleary answered, “Just don’t tell my mother.”
“It happened over three years ago,” Paddy said helplessly．No one answered him or moved, for no one knew what to do．“Just don’t tell my mother,” said Fee numbly(麻木地)．“And no one did! Oh, God! My poor, poor Frank!”
Paddy wiped the tears from his face and said．“Fee, pack your things．We’ll go to see him.”
She half-rose before sinking back, her eyes in her small white face stared as if dead．“I can't go,” she said without a hint of pain, yet making everyone feel that the pain was there．“It would kill him to see me．I know him so well—his pride, his ambition．Let him bear the shame alone, it’s what he wants．We’ve got to help him keep his secret．What good will it do him to see us?”
Paddy was still weeping, not for Frank, but for the life which had gone from Fee’s face, for the dying in her eyes．Frank had always brought bitterness and misfortune, always stood between Fee and himself．He was the cause of her withdrawal from his heart and the hearts of his children．Every time it looked as if there might be happiness for Fee, Frank took it away．But Paddy’s love for her was as deep and impossible to wipe out as hers was for Frank.
So he said, “Well, Fee, we won’t go．But we must make sure he is taken care of．How about if I write to Father Jones and ask him to look out for Frank?”
There was no excitement in the eyes, but a faint pink stole into her cheeks．“Yes, Paddy, do that．Only make sure he knows not to tell Frank we found out．Perhaps it would ease Frank to think for certain that we don’t know.” Paddy cried because he thought ___________.
| A．Frank did kill someone and deserved the punishment |
| B．Frank should have told Fee what had happened |
| C．what had happened to Frank was killing Fee |
| D．Frank had always been a man of bad moral character |
The underlined sentence “She half-rose before sinking back…” in Paragraph 6 shows that___________.
| A．Fee was so heart-broken that she could hardly stand up |
| B．Fee didn’t want to upset Paddy by visiting Frank |
| C．Fee couldn’t leave her family to go to see Frank |
| D．Fee struggled between wanting to see Frank and respecting his wish |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The jury and the judge agreed on the Boxer’s Sentence of Life Imprisonment. |
| B．The police found Gumming unconscious, heavily struck by Frank. |
| C．The family didn’t find out what had happened to Frank until 3 years later. |
| D．Frank didn’t want his family to know the sentence to him, most probably out of his pride. |
What is Frank and Paddy’s probable relationship with Fee?
| A．Frank is Fee’s son and Paddy is Fee’s brother. |
| B．Frank is Fee’s son and Paddy is Fee’s husband. |
| C．Frank is Fee’s brother and Paddy is Fee’s lover. |
| D．Frank is Fee’s lover and Paddy is Fee’s husband. |