During the last fifteen years of my mother's life she suffered with Alzheimer's disease (老年痴呆). Until then she had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. I would go home to visit her in Virginia and she would look at me in a puzzled way and ask, “Who are you?” I would answer, “I'm your son.” “Where do you live?” She would ask. “In California”, I would tell her. “Isn't that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in California.”
She seemed simply forgetful and confused at the beginning of the disease, but later on she would go through periods of intense anxiety. She would pace through the house she had lived in most of her life crying uneasily that she wanted to go home. Or she would leave home and wander away if she were unattended for a short time.
Hoping to please her and put her mind at ease I would take her for a drive, visiting sites where she had lived as a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn. I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”
Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I suspect it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still vigorous and attentive.
Watching my mother's suffering set me wondering where I would have gone in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of Alzheimer's is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance. What's the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
| A．The author’s mother suffered with serious Alzheimer's disease. |
| B．The author’s mother forgot who’s his son. |
| C．The author didn’t know how to cure his mother. |
| D．The author’s mother couldn’t find her home. |
What is not the symptom of the author’s mother ?
| A．cheerful | B．confused | C．forgetful | D．uneasy |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “pictured”?
| A．photographed | B．appeared | C．described | D．painted |
What can you infer from the third paragraph?
| A．The author care much about his mother. |
| B．The author’s mother was fond of pet lambs. |
| C．The author saw a little girl playing with a pet lamb. |
| D．The author’s mother didn’t like her usual home. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Take Mother Home. |
| B．Everyone will suffer with Alzheimer's disease. |
| C．A story about a son and a mother. |
| D．Where Is Home? |
Hunting
The days of the hunter are almost over in India. This is partly because there is practically nothing left to kill, and partly because some steps have been taken, mainly by banning tiger-shooting, to protect those animals which still survive.
Some people say that Man is naturally a hunter. I disagree with this view. Our earliest forefathers, who at first possessed no weapons, spent their time digging for roots, and were no doubt themselves often hunted by meat-eating animals.
I believe the main reason why the modern hunter kills is that he thinks people will admire his courage in overpowering dangerous animals. Of course, there are some who truly believe that the killing is not really the important thing, and that the chief pleasure lies in the joy of the hunt and the beauties of the wild countryside. There are also those for whom hunting in fact offers a chance to prove themselves and risk death by design; these men go out after dangerous animals like tigers, even if they say they only do it to rid the countryside of a threat. I can respect reasons like these, but they are clearly different from the need to strengthen your high opinion of yourself.
The greatest big-game hunters expressed in their writings something of these finer motives(动机).One of them wrote.
“You must properly respect what you are after and shoot it cleanly and on the animal’s own territory(领地)。You must fix forever in your mind all the wonders of that particular day. This is better than letting him grow a few years older to be attacked and wounded by his own son and eventually eaten, half alive, by other animals, Hunting is not a cruel and senseless killing – not if you respect the thing you kill, not if you kill to enrich your memories, not if you kill to feed your people.”
I can understand such beliefs, and can compare these hunters with those who hunted lions with spears(矛) and bravely caught them by the tail. But this is very different from many tiger—shoots I have seen, in which modern weapons were used. The so—called hunters fired from tall trees or from the backs of trained elephants. Such methods made tigers seem no more dangerous than rabbits.There is no more hunting in India now partly because _________.
| A．it is dangerous to hunt there | B．hunting is already out of date |
| C．hunters want to protect animals | D．there are few animals left to hunt |
The author thinks modern hunters kill mainly _________.
| A．to make the countryside safe | B．to earn people’s admiration |
| C．to gain power and influence | D．to improve their health |
What do we learn about the big-game hunters?
A They hunt old animals
B. They mistreat(虐待) animals
C .They hunt for food
D. They hunt for moneyWhat is the author’s view on the tiger-shoots he has seen?
| A．Modern hunters lack the courage to hunt face-to-face |
| B．Modern hunters should use more advanced weapons |
| C．Modern hunters like to hunt rabbits instead of tigers |
| D．Modern hunters should put their safety first |
One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations(引文) showing how it was used.
This was a huge task so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a booklined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum(精神病院) for the Criminally Insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414 825words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary________.
| A．came out before Minor died |
| B．was edited by an American volunteer |
| C．included the English words invented by Murray |
| D．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary |
How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?
| A．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers. |
| B．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray. |
| C．He provided a great number of words and quotations. |
| D．He went to England to work with Murray. |
Which of the following best describes Dr. Minor?
| A．Brave and determined. | B．Unusual and scholarly. |
| C．Considerate and optimistic. | D．Cautious and friendly. |
What does the text mainly talk about?
| A．Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary. |
| B．The friendship between Murray and Minor. |
| C．The history of the English language. |
| D．Broadmoor Asylum and its patients. |
Beijing today, first published in May, 2001, is the capital’s only English weekly newspaper and is published with the help of the Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government and run by Beijing Youth Daily. Its readers include English-speaking foreigners living in Beijing and local Chinese who have great interest in English or take English as a working language.
The paper’s main content deals with metropolitan life, explaining the differences and similarities between Eastern and Western culture. Its culture and lifestyle part is regarded as a guide to metropolitan life in Beijing.
The paper has 24 pages in four main sections:
NEWS: Select stories that discuss cultural differences.
COMMUNITY: Reports on developments related to foreigners in the city and a platform(平台)by which they can communicate with a bigger audience.
CULTURE and LIFESTYLE: Highlights from international lifestyle and fashion trends in Beijing
STUDY: Cheerful and humorous pieces to help English-language students improve their skills
Beijing Today circulates 50,000 copies published every Friday. It is one of Beijing’s most authoritative(权威的) English media sources, and is sold at post newsstands and distributed in hotels, apartment complexes, etc.
Price: 2 yuan per issueWhich of the following sections would be the best choice to exchange thoughts with others？
| A．NEWS | B．COMMUNITY | C．CULTURE and LIFESYLE | D．STUDY |
If you want to subscribe to Beijing Today for half a year, you need to pay ________.
| A．52 yuan | B．24 yuan | C．104 yuan | D．48 yuan |
What CANNOT you read in Beijing Today?
| A．News abou foreign cultural festivals |
| B．fashion trends in Paris. |
| C．Discussions with foreigners |
| D．Skills in improving English |
KFC(肯德基), one of the most famous fast-food chains, saw its reputation in China shaken because of “quick chicken”. Recent years, KFC has ever shocked us more than once because of its food safety, which made itself in severe trust crisis. Now it greatly surprised us again owing to the poultry（禽肉）incident. We could never believe it should have cheated us again and again. In fact, as a well-known restaurant chain, KFC’s business records at China’s is not very good. There’s no doubt that the very incident has made things worse and worse.
However, what surprised us is that although a series of misdeeds had reduced KFC’s reputation, its business is increasing. What’s more, KFC just made a so-called apology after what had happened, the content of which is not responsible at all for the public. As a matter of fact, this is not an ordinary chance incident. Recent years have seen so many food-safety problems in China, such as wasted oil, lean meat powder（瘦肉精）, melamine（三聚氰胺）, which has done great damage to people’s life. We don’t know what can be eaten and how much harmful food we have eaten. Now it is not wars and natural disasters but everyday food safety that has been a great risk to human health.
So what can be done to prevent our health from being damaged? To begin with, the related departments should strengthen laws to stop such illegal products from being produced. In addition, it would be a good idea to call on the media to perform its further function to monitor the businesses, factories and traders. Besides, everybody should be made aware of the risks of harmful food and only in this way can people improve their self-protection. In a word, everyone should play a role in making our food safer and better in quality. Meanwhile, the government and the related departments should take their responsibilities for people’s health.According to the text, we can learn that KFC made itself in severe trust crisis________.
| A．because it had food safety problems many times |
| B．because it is one of the most famous fast-food chains |
| C．no people went to it |
| D．many people don’t like it |
From the passage, we learn that after the “quick chicken” incident ________.
| A．KFC was closed |
| B．KFC apologized to the public though it was not sincere |
| C．no people went to KFC |
| D．there is no longer chicken in KFC |
We can learn that the author thinks that people’s health is in danger because of ________.
| A．war | B．natural disaster | C．food safety | D．disease |
The main purpose of the passage is to ________.
| A．introduce some food safety incidents | B．make people not support KFC |
| C．ask people not to eat fast food | D．appeal to people for food safety |
In a recently published book, I came across some exercises with interesting names such as fishbone diagrams, lotus flowers and clustering. As I used these exercises in my classes, I noticed that students were interested. They said more and wrote more. They enjoyed expressing their ideas and sharing them in groups. They were no longer passively waiting for the bell , but actively taking part in the lesson. I find that creativity can act as a way to increase participation and improve fluency.
Creativity has become a popular word in recent years. Scholars in arts, psychology, business, education and science are all working to get a deeper understanding of it. Robert J. Stemberg is a creativity specialist and Yale professor of psychology. He defines creativity as “the ability to produce work that is both new (original） and appropriate(applicable to the situation ） ”. This definition is useful, as we want our students to use language in a new way and to use it correctly and properly. Mot scholars say there are two types of creativity: big “C” creativity and small “c” creativity. Big “C” creativity refers to genius level thinking that results in artistic masterpieces and scientific breakthroughs. Small “c” creativity refers to everyday level thinking that can be used in any situation our emphasis is on the latter. While it goes without saying that any of our students could go on to be the next Picasso or Edison, our aim is to help students produce more ideas and use language in a new way. The underlined words “waiting for the bell ” in the first paragraph probably means______.
| A．longing for a phone call | B．hoping to have a bell |
| C．expecting the end of the class | D．waiting to speak in the class |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author thinks the exercises in the book were _____.
| A．popular | B．useful | C．scientific | D．Creative |
When you use a familiar word in a new way, you are ________.
A creative in the sense of big “C” creativity.
B. creative in the sense of small “c” creativity..
C. not creative in the sense of big “C” creativity..
D. not creative in the sense of small “c” creativity.The main purpose of the passage is to _________.
| A．show how useful the book is |
| B．explain what creativity is |
| C．discuss how one can be creative |
| D．tell what teaching aims at |