Most American schools have boys and girls in the same classroom. But a public high school in the small, rural town of Boonsboro, Maryland, offers a special program called the Academy. Top students in the ninth and tenth grades can attend single-sex classes for math, science, English and social studies.
The aim is to help teenagers keep their mind on their work by keeping males and females apart. What they really want to do is take that top group of kids and take them to the very highest level they can achieve there, so that they’re prepared for college.
Students are invited to enter this program after they finish middle school, and placement in the Academy is voluntary. However, they need high marks and test scores and strong teacher recommendations. They also need to be involved in activities.
Almost 350 students have taken part in the Academy. It began as an experiment in 2010.
Michael Bair has been at Boonsboro High for twenty years and directs the Academy. His ninth-grade English class for boys centers on books that he believes boys find interesting. He says that the novels the students are reading now are very manly (男子气概的) novels. These novels deal with the arrogance (傲慢) of man and the pride of man which finally leads to man’s downfall.
One of those books, for example, is The Call of the Wild by Jack London. This classic story tells of a dog stolen from his home and sold to work as a sled dog in Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush.
Morgan Fleet, a senior at Boonsboro High, likes being in the Academy. She says boys and girls act differently when they are together in a classroom. She believes this difference seems to prevent her from developing herself because she’s more focused on thoughts like “Oh, I wish they would shut up. Oh, what do they think of me?’’ instead of focusing on “What’s the homework? What’s going on in this class? What’s the lesson?”.
There is one activity that girls and boys in the Academy do together. At the end of the day, many of them stay and help tutor students who are having trouble in school.What is the purpose of the Academy program?
| A．To offer a special program in high school. |
| B．To help students concentrate on study. |
| C．To strengthen sex education for teenagers. |
| D．To start learning college courses earlier. |
To enter the Academy program, students are NOT required to _________.
| A．do well in their study | B．be recommended by teachers |
| C．take part in some activities | D．have worked as volunteers |
The Call of the Wild is given as an example to show that male students ___.
| A．should learn more about literature |
| B．should have a sense of protecting the wildlife |
| C．are reading more manly novels |
| D．are interested in stories on animals |
Which is likely to be Morgan Fleet’s opinion?
| A．A girl cares about the boys’ opinions of her. |
| B．Single-sex classes should be stopped. |
| C．Girls are more focused when studying with boys. |
| D．Boys and girls act the same in separate classrooms. |
The passage is intended to _________.
| A．introduce the single-sex class project |
| B．explain the differences between boys and girls |
| C．persuade students to enter the Academy program |
| D．urge students to work hard in their study |
U.S. President announced permission for oil drilling off the shorelines, ________ the country's effort to reduce energy import from foreign countries.
| A．marked | B．marking | C．having marked | D．being marked |
D
Will it matter if you don’t take your breakfast? Recently a test was given in the United States. Those tested included people of different ages, from 12 to 83. During the experiment, these people were given all kinds of breakfasts, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Special tests were set up to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast. The results show that if a person eats a proper breakfast, he or she will work with better effect than if he or she has no breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person works with his brains, if a student eats fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he will learn more quickly and listen with more attention in class. Contrary to what many people believe, if you don’t eat breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch, and end up gaining weight instead of losing. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.
77. The results of the test show that ______
A. breakfast has great effect on work and studies.
B. breakfast has much to do with people’s health.
C. a person will work better if he has simple breakfast
D. breakfast only affects those who work with their brains.
78. The passage mentions that many people believe that if you don’t eat breakfast, you will____.
A. not lose weight B. be healthier
C. gain weight D. lose weight
79. We can infer from the passage that _____
A. one can work better without breakfast.
B. morning diet will do good to your health.
C. reducing lunch and supper will help lose weight.
D. breakfast is more important than lunch and supper.
80. What is the best title for this passage?
A. Good Breakfast B. Why Eating Breakfast?
C. No eating, No gaining D. What is breakfast
C Are you worried by the rising crime rate? If you are, you probably know that your house, possessions and person are increasingly in danger of suffering from great rise in the cases of burglary (夜盗) and attack.
Figures show an ever-increasing crime rate, but it is only too easy to imagine "It will never happen to me". Unfortunately, statistics show that it really can happen to you and, if you live in a large city, you run twice the risk of being a victim（受害者）.
Fortunately, there is something definite which you can do. Protect Alarms can help to protect your house with a burglar alarm system which is effective, simple to operate and easily affordable.
You must remember that owning a burglar alarm is no indication that your house is packed with valuable possessions. It quite simply indicates to unwelcome visitors that yours is one house they will not break into easily, so they carry on to an unprotected house where their job is made a lot easier.
Send now for our free leaflet telling you how we can Protect Alarm your house quickly, easily and cheaply. Complete and tear off the slip below and post it to us. Postage is free. Also, telephone us on 327 6721 where we have a round-the-clock answering service. It costs nothing to find out about Protect Alarm. 73. Anyone who takes an interest in the crime rate will, according to the text, be aware that_______.
A. more burglars are being caught than ever before
B. people have more possessions to worry about nowadays
C. burglars are more at risk than they used to be
D. homes are more likely to be broken into nowadays
74. It seems that people who live in cities are _______
A. more often victims than those living in other areas
B. of the opinion that statistics are wrong
C. twice as well as people living in other areas
D. of the opinion that burglars only rob unprotected homes
75. The article claims that possessing an alarm system will _________.
A. show burglars that you have something worth stealing
B. persuade burglars not to break into your house
C. make the burglars’ job less complicated
D. persuade burglars to try again another time
76. In order to find out more information about this alarm system one can _______.
A. buy a leaflet
B. write enclosing a stamped, addressed envelope
C. phone at any time of day or night
D. sign a contract
B
Advertising gives useful information about which products to buy. But modern advertising does more than gives news about products and services. Today’s advertisements, or ads, try to get consumers to buy certain brands. Writers of advertising are so skillful that they can. sometimes persuade a consumer to wear a certain kind of clothing, eat a special kind of cereal (麦片) , or see a movie. Consumers might never even want a product if they did not see or hear advertisements for it.
For example, you probab1y do not need the newest cereal in the supermarket. There are probably many cereal brands on your kitchen shelves. You may not have space on a shelf for another. But if you see ads about a new cereal that is your extra-tasty and has a free prize in the box, you may want it.
Advertising must get attention. To be effective, it must be exciting, entertaining, or provide some pleasure. The secret of writing good advertising copy is to offer a good idea as well as a product. The idea is what the ad is really selling. One example is an ad that says eating a certain cereal will make a person do well in sports. That cereal brand may sell better if consumers think it offers strength and energy.
69. What is discussed in this passage?
A. The content of modern advertising. B. The skills of modern advertising.
C. The results of modern advertising. D. The writing of modern advertising.
70. According to the passage, a good advertisement should________.
A. be both persuasive and effective B. give people useful information
C. show people a product D. show people a new idea of a product
71. From the passage, we know that_______.
A. modern advertising has less effect on customers
B. once customers see ads about a new cerea1, they are sure to buy it
C. cereal can make people strong
D. cereal is a kind of food which is popular among people
72. What can we infer from the passage?
A. It’s impossible for customers to buy a product without advertisements.
B. Customers should be persuaded by advertisements.
C. Customers can easily be persuaded by advertisements.
D. Customers buy products according to their demands rather than the advertisements.
PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION
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. (15%)
A
The Olympic flame:
The Olympic flame is a symbol carried over from the ancient Olympics, where a sacred (神圣的) flame burned at the altar（神坛）of Zeus throughout competition. It was finally reintroduced at the 1924 Amsterdam Games, and again burned in 1932.
Carl Diem, chairman of the organising committee for the 1936 Berlin Games, proposed that the flame be lit in Greece and transported to Berlin via a torch relay. The idea was adopted, and continued at every Olympic Games since 1952.
The flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by the natural rays of the sun reflected off a curved mirror. It is lit at a ceremony by women dressed in robes resembling those worn in ancient times, who then pass it to the first relay runner.
Olympic motto:
“Citius, altius, fortius” is a Latin phrase meaning “swifter, higher, stronger”, which Baron de Coubertin borrowed from Father Henri Martin Dideon of Paris. Dideon was headmaster of Arcueil College, and used the phrase to describe the athletic achievements of students at the school. He had previously been at the Albert Le Grand school, where the Latin words were carved in stone above the main entrance.
Olympic oath(宣誓)
“In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.”
Written by Baron de Coubertin, the oath is taken by an athlete from the host nation while holding a corner of the Olympic flag. The athletes’ oath was first taken by Belgian fencer Victor Boin at the 1920 Antwerp Games. A judge from the host country also speaks the oath, with slightly different wording.
66. The Olympic flame was first burned at _______ in modern times.
A. the 1920 Games B. the 1924 Games
C. the 1932 Games D. the 1936 Games
67. From the passage we can learn ________.
A. before 1936, no flames burned at the Olympic Games
B. the first torch relay was held at the 1936 Berlin Games
C. Carl Diem proposed that flames should burn at the Olympic Games
D. The Olympic torch has burned since 1924
68. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. There was no athlete’s oath in the 1896 Olympic Games.
B. The 1920 Olympic games was held in Amsterdam.
C. The judge from the host country takes the same oath as the athletes does.
D. Dideon wrote Citius, Altius, Fortius for the Olympic Games.