(2013·天津，C)PoetWilliamStafford-优题课

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第二部分阅读理解:（共两节, 满分50分）
Ⅲ. 第一节（共20小题; 每小题2分, 满分40分））阅读下列短文, 从每题所给的选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该选项标号涂黑。
“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and let him know that you trust him.” These words are from the black American educator, Booker Washington. He was saying that, “If you want people to grow up, you have to stop treating them like children.”
In America, families are close but children are encouraged to be independent, to make their own decisions, even at a very early age. It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance (津贴) every week. The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose, for example, buying clothes, school supplies or CDs. Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit.
From an early age, American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision-making. At the dinner table, teenagers will be listened to on any topic, from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation. In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals: they are learning how to stand on their own two feet.
Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence. They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings. You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose. “Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest. She was not the traditional “nice, young Chinese girl”. With her short, spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different. She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet ... and she won!
There is an old saying, “Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength.” If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be.
41. The passage is intended to encourage the youth to ________.
A. save money for useful things B. become independent
C. express their great ambitions D. make important decisions
42. A child of seven is given allowance so that he can ________.
A. be accepted as a popular guy B. learn to decide how to use money
C. overspend money without care D. have school supplies of his own
43. The author implies that many Chinese children ________.
A. are more independent than Americans B. should become interested in America
C. are happy with their present situation D. are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones
44. The main idea of the last paragraph is ________.
A. that we should do things step by step B. why we should understand our desires
C. what we should plan for our own life D. how we can manage to realize our dream

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Researchers Look Behind the Tears to Study Crying
Many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration(就职演说)last week in Washington Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter，cheers，hugs-but also many tears
It made us wonder,why dopeople cry?Surely tears must be good for us—away to calm the mind and cleanse the body．Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse．
Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject． They examined detailed descriptions ofcrying experiences．Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory．
The team analyzed information from the Intemational Study on Adult Crying．As part of that study，three thousand people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences．They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event．They also reported how they felt after they cried．
Professor Roaenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equal. Crying does not always make a person feel better，he says．About ten percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried．
But a third felt better after crying．And a majority reported the experience as helpful．
The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around． People who reached out for emotional support at the time-and received it-reported better results from the crying experience．
But Professor Rottenberg says those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful．
Research has shown that women cry more of ten and more intensely than men．But it may not be to better effect，says the psychologist．The new findings，he says，did not show that a person’s sex was an advantage of beneficial crying．In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a“good”cry．
The paper entitled”Is Crying Beneficial?”appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychological Scieflce And there is more to learn．Jonathan Rottenberg says the science ofcrying is still in its infancy．
57·Why did the author mention the presidential inauguration in Washington in the first paragraph?
A．Because he was impressed by the laughter,cheers，hugs and tears．
B．Because he wanted to introduce the topic about crying．
C．Because he wanted to show people’s dissatisfaction with the result．
D．Because it was the historic moment that many people cried
58．How did the researchers carry out the research?
A．They studied crying experiences not only in everyday life but also in labs．
B．They collected the crying experiences of the students at the colleges．
C They studied the crying experiences of grown-ups from various countries．
D．They noted their own crying experiencesand compared with others．
59．We can learn from the passage that_______．
A．it may be better to cry alone than with others around
B．some support from others may make crying helpful
C．women who cry more of ten may have better effects than men
D．the effects will be better if you feel shy while crying
60．The underlined phrase in the last paragraph probably means_______．
A．in the early stage B．in a secret state C．in the first place D in good condition

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Birds in cities are damaging their health by trying to sing above the noise of urban life．
New research shows that male birds are trying to compete against traffic and city sounds．They are now singing louder and at higher frequencies，which could harm their vocal cords．Some birds are choosing to sing at night instead of dudng the day．This makes them more open to attack and also creates stress and exhanstion．
“The difference between urban and rural birdsong is becoming so big that the two groups could now be unable to communicate．This could lead to inbreeding and a weak gene pool．”said Dr Sue Anne Zollinger of the University of St Andrews．
According to Zollingar,a bird group with a small geae pool might adapt less quickly to new diseases and could be wiped out．
A study of the dawn chorus found that birds in Berlin sang up to 14 decibels(分贝)louder than those in the forest．The birds sang loudest on weekday momings．
“By trying to sing over the sound of the city,birds are rising vocal injury,”said Zollinger．“All this puts the sarne strain on a bird’s vocal cords as when ahuman need to shout to be heard—except the birds are doing it all day,every day,”she said．
“Singing under such pressure means birds have less control over the sound they produce． Their songs may lose quality and become more rough—sounding．”said Zollinger．This could make them appear less attractive to female birds．
Mark Constantine，author of The Sound Approach to Birding，said：“Birdsong is important for our quality of life and has been proved to reduce our blood pressure．When we live in the centre of large，urban areas，we get stressed and it's extremely good to have birdsong around us．The impact on humans of birdsong is massive．It harms us，as well as the birds，if their songs become louder and simpler
53．Some birds in cities now choose to sing at night time because_______．
A．they want to attract more birds of opposite sex
B．they are more likely to be discovered by their family
C．they can’t adapt to the loud noises during the daytime
D．they have to frighten their enemy away
54．According to the passage，urban and rural birds might not be able to_______．
A．recognize each other
B communicate with each other
C live with each other
D．compete against each other
55．It requires greatest efforts for birds in cities to sing o_______．
A．Monday nights B．Wednesday afternoons
C．Saturday Evenings D．Friday momings
56．According to Dr Sue Anne Zollinger,birds singing louder might eventually lead to_______．
A．the harm done to man’s health
B the dying out of a species
C．the serious damage to the bird’s vocal cords
D．the decrease ofthe birth rate ofa bird group

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For millions ofpeople，the American dream ofowning a home seems to be slipping out of
reach．
“Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,'’
says 40-year-old building instmctor Pat Hennin．“But they can still have a home．Like their pioneer ancestors，they can build it themselves，and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house．”
The owner-builders came from every occupational group，although surprisingly few are professional building workers．Many take the plunge with little or no experience．“l learned how to build my house from reading books，”says John Brown，who built a six-room home for$25，000 in High Falls，New Jersey．“If you have patience and the carpentry(木匠)skill to make a bookcase，you can build a house．”An astonishing 50 percent of these owner builders hammer every nail．1ay every pipe，and wire every switch with their own hands．The rest contraet(承包)for some parts of the task．But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent ofwhat a ready-made home would cost．
One survey revealed that 60 percent ofowner-builders also design their homes．Many others
buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U．S． Department ofAgriculture．
49．What does the passage mainly tell us?
A．The cost of having a house built．
B．A comparison between young couples and their parents．
C．The life of owner-builders in America．
D．The American dream of owning a house．
50．It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to _______
A．build a house B．find aready-made house
C．have a good job D．buy a house
51．The underlined phrase“take the plunge”most probably means“_______”
A．decide to build a house B．decide to pull down a house
C．decide to buy a house D．decide to rent a house
52．From the passage we learn that_______．
A．Many house plans are offered free of charge．
B．Most of the house plans arc offered by building instructors
C．Fifty percent of the Amedcan young couples build houses．
D．Must of the owner．builders design their homes．

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Parenting has never been an easy job，but mothers and fathers today face challenges in raising their children that their own parents may never have had to deal with
While children have always been particular eaters，for example，parents today are trying to supply healthful food in a world full ofchicken nuggets，processed snacks and soft drinks．Bike riding and hopscotch have given way to video games and text messaging．And working parents have to cope with all things around day care，jobs and family．
At the same time，a large amount of health information on the Intemet and elsewhere has introduced a higher level of stress for parents．Web sites provide supplemants(补品)that increase a child’s brain health while news organizations report on the latest scare from baby bottles or too much television．
All of this makes raising a healthy child overwhelming．But it doesn’t have to be．
This Well guide offers small steps and simple ways to improve a child’s well-being in four
areas—nutrition，development，playtime and safety Inside，there’s advice from experts on how to raise a healthy，active youngster；tips on diet and behavior，help for problems like insomnia，and the latest thinking on day care，discipline and other topics．It’s all designed to help kids stay well every day．
45．According to the author,what is most likely to be found in today’s homes?
A．Hopscotch B．Healthful food．C．Bike riding． D Brain supplements
46．What does“Well guide'’in the last paragraph probably refer to?
A．A programon how to deal with daily affairs
B A game on how to make kids clever．
C．A book on how to raise a child．
D A site on how to reduce work stress
47．From the 1st paragraphinthe passage,we can infer that_______
A．today’s parents are too busy to raise their own children
B today’s parents should seek advice from their own parents
C it was much easier to raise children in the past
D．parents have more concems in raising children today
48．The underlined word in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by．
A．relaxing B．delighting C．stressful D puzzling