Childrenwhospendmoretimereadin-优题课

“Soon，you’re going to have to move out!”cried my neighbor as soon as he saw the largest tomato plant known to mankind，or at least known in my neighborhood．
One tiny 9-inch plant，bought for $ 1．25 in the spring．has already taken over much of my rose bed，covering much of other plants，and is well on its way to the front door．
Roses require a good deal of care，and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give。it wouldn’t be worth the work．As it is．I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year．Bushes must be pruned (剪枝) in early spring，leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later．It was the space available (可利用的) in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant．A big mistake．
Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out be even more perfect for tomatoes．The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing (肥料) have turned the little plant into a tall bush．The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves．
Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold．First．I have to find the red ones among the leaves，which means I almost have to stand on my head．and once found I have to reach down and under，pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回)my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won．I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June． But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light．
Here I am faced with a painful small decision：To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses．Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind．I'll think about that tomorrow．
What are the requirements for the healthy growth of rose?
A．A lot of care and the right soil． B．Frequent pruning and fertilizing．
C．Tomato plants grown alongside． D．Cages placed around the roots．
The writer planted the tomato because．
A．it cost only$1．25 B．the soil was just right for it
C．there was room for it in the garden D．the roses’branches needed to be covered
This year the writer’s roses were．
A．removed from the rose bed B．picked along with the tomatoes
C．mostly damaged by too much sunlight D．1argely hidden under the tomato plant
By saying“the prize so dearly won”in paragraph 5，the writer wants to．
A．show the difficulty in picking the tomatoes
B．show the hardship of growing the roses
C．express her liking for the roses
D．express her care for the tomatoes
In the situation described in the text，one good thing is that．
A．the roses cost the writer little money
B．the writer has a daily harvest of tomatoes
C．someone will help the writer make the decision
D．the writer can now enjoy both the roses and tomatoes

Wearing ties (领带) was originally (最初) the mark of Britain’s most powerful classes, which made the tie itself a symbol of power and respect. And that led it to be adopted(采用) by a much larger group－the business group.
You cannot wear a tie if you work with machinery (机械). So wearing a tie became a sign that you were a man who used your brain to make a living, rather than your hands. It showed you were serious. It showed you were a professional (专业人员). It meant that everyone who wanted a job in business had to wear one. It was just impossible to take seriously a man who didn’t wear a piece of colored silk around his neck.
This is how millions of people came to be wearing ties across the world. They are part of the uniform (制服) of business.
“Ties offer a point of indifference,” says John Milne, head of the British Guide of Tie Makers, “They give a chance to say something about their own personality.”
So if you happen to meet a man with a very brightly colored tie, there is a good chance that he is the office jobber. There is also a good chance that he will be wearing brightly colored socks.
Is there a future for ties? The signs are not promising. Tie wearing seems to be rare among the new brands of entrepreneurs (创业者) in the Internet and new technology Industries. Many political leaders, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now go without ties. This shows they are men of the people－but not the people wearing ties.
It was common for men across the western world to wear hats as part of their business uniform up until around 1960. That changed with the election of John F. Kennedy to the presidency of the United States. Kennedy never wore a hat－in fact his nickname was “hatless Jack”. Seeing that the most powerful man in the world did not have to wear a hat, millions of other men decided that they did not have to, either. Hats simply vanished across the Western world. Perhaps “tieless Tony” (former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair) will have the same effect as “hatless Jack”.
56.In Britain, ties were first used as a sign to show a person’s .
A. personality B. social position C. wearing style D. favorite hobby
57.The underlined word “vanished” in this passage may mean .
A. sold B. washed C. appeared D. disappeared
58.The writer may hold the opinion that .
A. Blair is the best leader in the world
B. Kennedy is the best leader in the world
C. millions of people will go to work without a tie
D. people will wear hats instead of ties
59Which of the following statements is TURE according to the passage?
A. If you are a professional, you can’t wear a tie in Britain.
B. The tie will become more fashionable and popular in the future.
C. It was the election of John F. Kennedy to the presidency of the United States that changed the fact that wearing hats as part of their business uniform.
D. Men across the western world didn’t wear hats as part of their business uniform until around 1960.
60..From the last paragraph we know that ___________.
Wearing ties remains very popular with powerful men in the world.
It is possible that wearing ties will not be fashionable in the future.
Wearing ties shows a man’s social identification, so it is likely that people, especially men around the world still will have to follow this fashion.
It will be inconvenient for people to wear ties and hats at work.

第三部分：阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并把答案写在答题卷上。（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains(平原).
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.
Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables (绳索) that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.
In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills (钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered.
41.How is bamboo like grass?
A. It is thin and easy to cut. B. It grows everywhere.
C. It grows quickly after its cut short. D. It is short and green.
42.The sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”
A. short B. strong C. thick D. tall
43.From the text we know ______.
A. most people call bamboo plant trees
B. a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days
C. the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows
D. a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago
44.Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?
A. Because it is cheap. B. Because it is colorful.
C. Because it drills fast. D. Because it is used by Asians.
45.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. There are many different kinds of bamboo with different colors.
B. Cables made of bamboo can last for over a thousand years.
C. Bamboo can be used for buildings, bridges and watering projects(工程).
D. Bamboo plants are able to grow well in any part of the world.

I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement—jobs, research papers, awards—was viewed through the lens of gender (性别) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相对于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.
Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I don’t talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.
Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how may of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Still, I don’t tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about
51. Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?
A. She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields.
B. She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination.
C. She is not good at telling stories of the kind.
D. She finds space research more important.
52. From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute the author’s failures to ________.
A. the very fact that she is a woman
B. her involvement in gender politics
C. her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist
D. the burden she bears in a male-dominated society
53. What did the author constantly fight against while doing her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research?
A. Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.
B. Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle.
C. People’s stereotyped attitude toward female scientists.
D. Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurtured.
54. Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class?
A. Female students no longer have to bother about gender issues.
B. Her students’ performance has brought back her confidence.
C. Her female students can do just as well as male students.
D. More female students are pursuing science than before.
55. What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?
A. Women students needn’t have the concerns of her generation.
B. Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.
C. Women can balance a career in science and having a family.
D. Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career.

There was one thought that air pollution affected only the area immediately around large cities with factories and heavy automobile traffic. At present, we realize that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is literally worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the east of the United States and brought health warnings in rural areas away from any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be infected by air pollution. Some scientists consider that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is creating a “greenhouse effect”— conserving heat reflected from the earth and raising the world’s average temperature. If this view is correct and the world’s temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be in water.
Another view, less widely held, is that increasing particular matter in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight and lowering the earth’s temperature — a result that would be equally disastrous. A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to a new ice age, and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. Today we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report drafted by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very possible). Perhaps, if we are lucky enough, the two tendencies will offset each other and the world’s temperature will stay about the same as it is now. Driven by economic profits, people neglect the damage on our environment caused by the “advanced civilization”. Maybe the air pollution is the price the human beings have to pay for their development. But is it really worthwhile?
46. As pointed out at the beginning of the passage, people used to think that air pollution _______.
　A. cause widespread damage in the countryside
　B. affected the entire eastern half of the United States
　C. had damaged effect on health
　D. existed merely in urban and industries areas
47. As to the greenhouse effect, the author __________.
　A. share the same view with the scientist.
　B. is uncertain of its occurrence
　C. rejects it as being ungrounded
　D. thinks that it will destroy the world soon
48. The word “offset” in the second paragraph could be replaced by _________.
　A. slip into B. make up for　　 C. set up D. catch up with
49. It can be concluded that ____________.
　A. raising the world’s temperature only a few degrees would not do much harm to life on earth
　B. lowering the world’s temperature merely a few degrees would lead major farming areas to disaster
　C. almost no temperature variations have occurred over the past decade
　D. the world’s temperature will remain constant in the years to come
50. This passage is primarily about __________.
　A. the greenhouse effect　 B. the burning of fossil fuels
　C. the potential effect of air pollution　D. the likelihood of a new ice age

A．reading speed	B．reading environment
C．reading skills	D．reading materials