Yesterday was my stepmother’s birthday. I haven’t been home for a long time, so I wanted to stop by the house to see her on this special day.
I have been struggling on a low income so I was afraid that I couldn’t afford the long trip. Gas is so expensive nowadays! Anyway, I filled my tank with gas and set off.
I stopped at a shopping mall and found a present. It was the perfect gift and I knew she would love it. But when I got to the cashier, my card wasdeclined! I didn’t have enough money in my account to pay for the gift!
So I pondered the issue for a few minutes. I could put it back and get something cheaper, but I knew there was nothing else in the store she would have liked as much. So, I got to my smart-phone and transferred some money from my saving account and was able to buy the gift. It took a big part of my savings but I wanted her to have something special.
It turned out that she loved the gift and I felt that even though I had spent almost all my money, my stepmother deserved the best. I was glad I gave her the best I could.
Before I left my parents’ house, my dad took me to one side and, with our secret handshake, he gave me some money. I hadn’t said anything to him about my financial condition, but I guessed my dad just knew it. When I got to the car, I saw the amount he gave me was three times what I had spent on the gas and the gift!
It goes to show that doing the right thing always comes with great rewards. Why was the writer unwilling to have a long trip?
| A．Because gas was hardly available. |
| B．Because the writer was short of money. |
| C．Because the writer didn’t like driving. |
| D．Because the road was difficult to drive on. |
The underlined word “pondered” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.
| A．thought about | B．tried on | C．depended on | D．got through |
From the passage, we can infer that ________.
| A．the writer loves his stepmother very much |
| B．the gift the writer bought was loved by his father very much |
| C．the writer spend all his savings buying the gift for his stepmother |
| D．the gift the writer bought was the most expensive one in the shop |
Why did the writer’s father shake hands with the writer in secret?
| A．Because he wanted to ask the writer for something special. |
| B．Because he wanted to give the writer some money. |
| C．Because he knew the writer had been struggling financially. |
| D．Because he didn’t want others to copy their handshake. |
The British royal family is about to be slimmed down. The Queen plans to reduce the number of real royals, it was recently announced. However, there seems little sign of the monarchy (君主) disappearing completely.
Up till the 17th century, the British king or queen was believed to rule by “divine (神的) right”, which was the idea that God chose the king or queen to rule and that he or she was therefore above the law. However, this idea ended with the English Revolution, in which King Charles I was imprisoned and then beheaded (斩首) in 1649.
So what role does the British royal family have today?
Well, the Queen has important formal duties as Head of State, the Queen represents the UK on v
isits abroad and invites other world leaders to visit the UK. As Head of the Armed Forces: Only the Queen can declare when the UK is at war or when war is over. The Queen also has constitutional duties: She has to sign many government and Commonwealth (英联邦) documents everyday.
In addition, the royal family sends a great deal of its time traveling up and down the country in support of different charity projects.
But republicans in Britain do not believe there should be a royal family. Sometimes, the press and media criticize the royal family as well. One criticism is that British people should have to pay for the royal family through their taxes.
Today, the royal family works hard to be relevant(相关联的) in the modern world. The Queen Speech on television is less formal every Christmas, and is now available as a podcast (播客). In 2005, after graduating from university, Prince William spent time teaching English in Uruguay, the sort of work many young British people do at some time in their lives.
1. What can be concluded from the first two paragraphs?
A. The British King or Queen is now considered above the law.
B. The British King or Queen is no longer believed to rule by divine right.
C. The royal family played a less important role in Britain in the late 17th century than in nowadays.
D. The English Revolution put an end to the British royal family in 1649.
2. Which of the following is NOT among formal duties of the Queen?
A. Traveling around the UK.
B. Declaring when the UK is at war.
C. Inviting other leaders to vis
it the UK.
D. Signing Commonwealth documents every day.
3. With the example of Prince William in the last paragraph, the author intends to show _____.
A. Prince William is very popular in the UK
B. the royal family is trying to connect better with ordinary people
C. Prince William has made an effort to win young people’s admiration
D. many young British people do voluntary work
4. According to the article, British people __________.
A. are all in favor of the royal family
B. can talk to the Queen through a podcast
C. pay for the royal family through the taxes
D. criticize the royal family through media and press
| National Geographic Museum |
The Newseum |
|
| Where: |
At 1145 17th St. NW. The nearest Metro stops are Archives (Yellow and Green lines) and Judiciary Square (Red line). |
At 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The nearest Metro stops are Archives (Yellow and Green lines) and Judiciary Square (Red line). |
| When: |
Open from 10 am to 6 pm daily and till 8 pm on Wednesdays. Closed Dec 25. The warriors exhibition is on until March 31. |
Open from 9 am to 5 pm daily but closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. |
| How much: |
Timed tickets are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, students and the military; $6 for ages 2 to 12. |
Adults (19 to 64): $19.95 Youth (7 to 18): $12.95 Children (6 and younger): free |
| For more information: |
call 202-857-7700 or visit http://www.warriorsdc.org |
http:// www.newseum.org or 888-639-7386 |
1 Which of the following statements about National Geographic Museum is TRUE?
A. It’s open from 10 am to 6 pm each day.
B. It’s near the Judiciary Square stop on the Yellow line.
C. It is closed o
n Thanksgiving day, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
D. You have to go there before April 1 to see the exhibition of warriors.
2 How much should Mr. Brown pay if he takes his 6-year-old son to the Newseum?
A. $18 B. $32.8 C. $19.95 D. $32
3. To get more information about the Newseum, you can ________.
A. call 202-857-7700
B. call 888-639-7386
C. log onto http://www.warriorsdc.org
D. log onto http://www.museum.org
Section B
Directions: Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
The professor stood before his class of 30 senior molecular (分子) biology students, about to pass out the final exam. “I have been honored to be your instructor this semester, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test,” he said to them. “I am well aware of how much pressure you are under to keep your GPAs (平均成绩) up, and because I know your are all capable of understanding this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic “B” to anyone who would prefer not to take the final.”
The relief was audible as a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and left the class. The professor looked at the handful of students who remained, and offered again, “Any other takers? This is your last opportunity.” One more student decided to go.
There were seventeen students left. The professor closed the door an
d took attendance. Then he handed out the final exam.
There were two sentences typed on the paper: “Congratulations, you have just received an ‘A’ in this class. Keep believing in yourself!”
I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It’s a test that any teacher in any course could and should give. Students who don’t have confidence in what they’ve learned are “B” students at best.
The same is true for students of real life. The “A” students are those who believe in what they’re doing because they’ve learned from both successes and failures. They’ve absorbed life’s lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people.
Don’t let the biggest limit be yourself.
1. The professor offered an automatic “B” to those who would prefer not to take the final because ________.
A. he thought all of his students had prepared for the test well
B. he believed all the students were able to pass the exam
C. he didn’t want to put too much pressure on his students
D. he intended to tell the students about the importance of confidence
2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. All the students feel at easy before the exam.
B. 22 students got a “B” in the final test without doing the paper.
C. There were no problems on the test paper for the students to work out.
D. The way the professor tested the students would be unsuitable for other subjects.
3. According to the author, the test given by the professor is ________.
A. funny B. instructive C. confusing D. inappropriate
4. The point of the story is to advise readers ________.
A. to stay focused on what they can do
B. to surround themselves with confident people
C. not to put up with being second best
D. not to let themselves be the biggest obstacles to their growth
When Webster was young ,he was a teacher .But he quickly became tired of the books he used in class .They were all about the English people and places .Since he wanted books that would be interesting to the American children ,he wrote three books with many American examples .
Webster worked hard to change the spellings of American English .He wanted words to be spelled in the same way they were pronounced .For example ,he thought the word laugh should be spelled laf.And he tried many ways to ask people to help him to do this .
One day he walked into a print shop and gave the boy there a piece of paper .Young man ,he said ,when you print any book in the future ,please don’t spell the words like the English people do .For example ,when you see these words :theatre ,centre ,colour ,and labour ,please always print them as theater ,center ,color ,and labor .The boy studied it and answered ,OK,but I must ask my boss first.
With the money he made from his books ,Webster could start his great work ,which took him more than twenty years to finish .In 1828 ,the first American English dictionary was born .And today, Webster’s dictionary is thought to be most important American English dictionary in the whole world .
1．Webster didn’t like the books used in American schools because________.
A．he was born in America
B．there were too many mistakes in them
C．American children were not interested in them
D．they were too difficult for American children to understand
2．In Webster’s opinion ,the word“colour”should be spelled as “color”according to its________.
A．meaning B．use C．pronunciation D．wording
3．What’s the printer’s attitude（态度）towards Webster’s advice？
A．He was for it. B．He was against it .
C．He had no idea about it . D．He thought it impossible
4. The best tittle foe this passage should be_______
A. webster
B. webster and His Dictionary
C. The first English Dictionary
D. The Differences between American English and British English
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. The lead story in tonight’s news concerns the fire which destroyed the major part of Columbia College at 4 a.m. this morning. In only five minutes, more than six hundred girls came out of their dorms to watch their college burn to the ground in the freezing December weather. Fortunately, there were no injuries resulting from the fire. According to the college president, plans are already made to raise more than three million dollars to rebuild the college.
Here is the news from Washington. President Clinton says he is troubled by a scientist’s desire to clone a human and is urging Congress to pass a ban (禁令) on such experiments for at least five years. In his weekly radio address, Clinton noted Chicago-area physicist Richard Seed’s announcement that he is ready to set up a clinic to clone human babies. President Clinton said that the need for passing laws that would ban human cloning for at least five years is more urgent than ever.
A brief look at the weather for the weekend tells us to expect light showers on Saturday and Sunday. The high Saturday will be in the lower 40’s. On Sunday, we can expect the high to be about 65. That’s this evening’s news. Good night from Channel 9 news. Your better news station, and from Alan King, your reporter.
1. When did the fire at Columbia College take place?
A. In December. B. In March.
C. In November. D. In April.
2. What does President Clinton hope Congress do?
A. To pass a ban on doing experiment in labs.
B. To ban cloning humans forever.
C. To pass laws to support cloning babies.
D. To pass a ban on human cloning quickly.
3. What will the weather be like on weekend?
A. There will be a strong wind. B. The weather will be fine.
C. It will be freezing cold. D. It will be rainy.