I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the easy carelessness of youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years later, and ever since have been of great value to me.
Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.
“Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?”
“I try to.”
“Well, don’t, ” he said loudly. “When you grow up, time won’t come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life.”
When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript(手稿) ready for revision. Later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal （零碎的）method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were moments which could be caught and put to use.
There is an important trick in this time-using principle: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can’t afford to waste it in chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.
I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a significant influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I throw myself into it without delay.The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in the sentence “_______”
| A．The dog woke up, had a good stretch and wandered off. |
| B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years. |
| C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. |
| D．This material has a lot of stretch in it. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The author didn’t take the teacher’s words to heart at first. |
| B．Rapid concentration is more difficult than people imagine. |
| C．The author thanked his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches. |
| D．Carl Walter has influenced the writer greatly since he was a student. |
We can infer that the author______.
| A．had new books published each year however busy his teaching is |
| B．is tired of interruptions in life because he always has much work |
| C．has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels |
| D．makes mental preparations beforehand so as to focus on work quickly |
What is probably the best title for this text?
| A．Concentrate on Your Work | B．A Little at a Time |
| C．How I Became a Writer | D．Good Advice |
Divorce is bad for environment
US researchers raised a new theory on Monday: divorce is bad for the environment.
The global trend toward higher divorce rates has created more households with fewer People，
scientists at Michigan State University reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences．
More households means more houses，fuel and water are Heeded for them，the researchers wrote．“Globally，the number of households is increasing much faster than the number ofpeople，”said co-author “Jack” Liu in a telephone interview. “Even in regions with declining populationn, we see substantial increase in the number of households. Divorce is the main reason for reducingthe number of people in a household,” he said.
The average divorced person’s household is about 40 to 50 percent smaller than the average married person’s household, Liu said. But whether there are three or six people in a house ,the amount of fuel needed to heat them is about the same. In the United States, divorced households used 74 billion kilowatt—hours of electricity and 2.850 trillion liters of water in 2005, half of which could have been saved if households had stayed the same size as when they were married.
In the United States and 11 other countries between 1998 and 2002, if divorced households had combined to have the same average household size as married households, there could have been 7.4 million fewer households.
The number of divorced households in those countries ranged from 40,000 in Costa Rica to
almost 16 million in the United States around 2000. The number of rooms per person in divorced households was 33 percent to 95 percent greater than in married households.
“If you really want to get divorced, maybe you can remarry with somebody else, or live together with somebody else you like”, Liu said.
1. In America when the number of households is_________, the number of people in a house is__________.
A. increasing, decreasing B. decreasing, increasing
C. increasing, increasing D. decreasing, decreasing
2. What does the word “substantial” in the third paragraph mean?
A. Great B. Little C. Sudden D. Timely
3. How much electricity would have been saved without so many people getting divorced in America in 2005?
A. 7.4 million kilowatt-hours B. 16 million kilowatt-hours
C. 37 billion kilowatt-hours D. about 30 billion kilowatt-hours
4. The last paragraph is the writer’s_________for people.
A. advice B. encouragement C. demand D. order
“Old wives tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our parents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time.
Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration. Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic is good for you, too. It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.
Unfortunately, not all of Mom’ s advice passed the test of medical studies, For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. Sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.
Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales. After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated from thousands of years of experience in family health care. We should respect this body of knowledge even as we search for clear scientific support to prove it true or false.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the test?
A. Eating garlic is good for our eyes. B. Sticky sweets are damaging to our teeth.
C. Swimming after a meal is dangerous. D. Carrots prevent people from catching colds.
2. The author develops the third paragraph mainly .
A. by cause and effect B. by order in space
C. by order in time D. by examples
3. The phrase “hold water” in the last paragraph most probably means”_____”.
A. to be believable B. to be valuable C. to be admirable D. to be suitable
4.What is the author’s attitude toward “old wives tales” in the text?
A. Subjective B. Objective C. DissatisfiedD. Curious
Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.
1. Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?
A. Cycling around a lake. B. Motor racing in the desert.
C. Playing basketball in a gym. D. Swimming in a sports center.
2. What do we know about golf from the passage?
A. It is popular in Portugal and Spain.
B. It causes water shortages around the world.
C. It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes.
D. It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green.
3. The author uses power walking as an example mainly because _________.
A. it is an outdoor sport B. it improves our health
C. it uses fewer resources D. it is recommended by experts
4. The author writes the passage to _________.
A. show us the function of major sports
B. encourage us to go in for green sports
C. discuss the major influence of popular sports
D. introduce different types of environment-friendly sports
A volcanic eruption in Iceland has sent ash across northern Europe. Airlines have stopped or changed the flights across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving airport hundreds of passengers stuck in airports.
Grimsvotn is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Europe. What makes Grimsvotn different is that it lies under a huge glacier(冰川) of ice up to 12 maters thick. The hot volcano heats up the ice above it, which then forms a layer of water between the glacier and the volcano. This layer of water puts pressure on the volcano, keeping it stable, As the water flows out from under the glacier, the pressure lifts. The lava(岩浆) from the volcano then comes up to the surface. This is exactly what happened today.
Now, airlines have to make changes to their flights so as not to fly through the clouds of
volcanic ash. According to KLM, one of Europe’s biggest airlines, airplanes cannot
go under the cloud or over it. Going through the cloud can result in ash getting stuck in
the airplane’s engines, causing damage to the plane.
The eruption has also caused problems for animals in Iceland. The volcano left ash and sharp, glass-like rocks all over the countryside. Farmers are keeping their animals inside to stop them from eating ash-covered grass or the sharp object.
1. What makes Grimsvotn different from other volcanoes?
A. It is below ice. B. It lies under the sea
C. It is the largest volcanoD. It is lava affects the airlines
2. What keeps Grimsvotn still?
A. The slow flow of water B. The low water temperature
C. The thick glacier D. The water pressure
3. Which of the following is the result of the volcanic eruption?
A. People stop traveling in Europe
B. Airlines suffer from the loss of planes
C. It becomes dangerous for animals to eat outside
D. Farmers have lost many of their animals
4. This text is most probably taken from_________.
A. a research paper B. a newspaper report
C. a class presentation D. a geography textbook.
第二部分阅读理解（共两节，满分50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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
A
Now, it’s time for some brief news items.
1 China wins women's 3,000m short track relay, S. Korea disqualified
VANCOUVER, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Twice Olympic champion Wang Meng led the Chinese short track speed skating team to the top podium of women's 3,000m relay with a world record at the Vancouver Winter Games here on Wednesday, as South Korea was later disqualified. Canada took the silver, with the United States picking up the bronze. South Korea's skaters had already started waving flags in joy after crossing the line but later the juges decided Kim Min-jung had impeded(阻碍) during an exchange push.
2 Severe drought cracks Airport's runway
China Daily(2010-03-18)-- Severe drought continues to plague southwestern China's Yunnan Province.
In the provincial capital Kunming, the surface of Wu Jiaba International Airport's only runway has been fractured(断裂的). Repairs have been going on since Tuesday. The airport is closed every day from midnight to seven-thirty in the morning. Airport authorities say the severe drought is the cause of the damage. The airport also needs to repair its plane taxiing and parking area. Chen Zhiwei, Security Dept., Kunming International Airport, said, "The drought has greatly lowered the underground water level. And this has affected the runway foundations. The damage to its surface is severe."
3 School Soldiers
Russian school students will have to do basic military training in their final year of school,
the government has decided. The lesson will include learning to fire guns, marching drills
and how to deal with a chemical, nuclear or biological attack. The activity is seen as part of
a drive toward the education of their love for their country.
4____________
Is it hard for you to get up early and get ready for classes? Some students at Winter Park High School just roll out of bed in their pajamas(睡衣)and go to class in their own bedrooms, Of course, their teachers and classmates do not see them because all their class work is on the computer. The Florida High School, the state’s only online program take classes in algebra, American government, chemistry, computer, economics, and web-page design. They also have to go to regular school to attend other classes.
1. Which country ranks fourth in the women's 3,000m short track relay according to the first news?
A. S. Korea. B. Canada. C. The USA. D. Not known.
2.Which of the following is correct according to the second news?
A. The airport has been closed since Tuesday.
B. Drought caused the trouble for repairs.
C. The underground water level became lower, and that’s why the Airport's runway cracked.
D. Wu Jiaba International Airport had another runway, and flights were not really stopped during the day.
3.Why will Russian school students have basic military training?
A. To get ready for a military parade. B. To learn to protect themselves.
C. To gain some military knowledge. D. To develop their love for the country.
4.The news from Florida can be given a title “________”.3
A. Get up Late B. Online School
C. The special pajamas D. The popular subjects