Microsoft founder Bill Gates has opened up about being a parent，stating that 13 is an appropriate age for a child’s first cell phone.
The 57yearold，fatherofthree，revealed on The Today Show that his children Jennifer and Rory were not allowed phones until their 13th birthday and his youngest daughter Phoebe is still waiting for one.
“We’ve chosen in our family that it’s 13 where you get a phone，” the selfmade billionaire explained.
He said as a result his children often return home from school complaining，“All the other kids have one.I’m the only one without one.It’s so embarrassing.”
Asked if he keeps passwords to his son and daughters’ email and Facebook accounts，Mr Gates said that he doesn’t for Jennifer,16，who he describes as “independent”．He admitted that monitoring online activity is “a very tricky issue for parents now”．
Despite their vast wealth Mr and Mrs Gates，who live in Lake Medina，have said they want to give their children as normal an upbringing as possible.
It was previously reported that their youngsters have to complete household chores and are given a modest amount of pocket money.
And in 2010 Mr Gates said that he intends to give most of his $61 billion fortune away rather than hand it down.“That wouldn’t be good either for my kids or society，” he said.
Also during the Today interview with host Matt Lauer，Mr Gates，who stepped down from Microsoft in 2008 to concentrate on philanthropy，said that helping others gives him the same excitement as creating software.
“What you really feel is what you’ve achieved.If a piece of software gets out there and lots of people love it—it lets them get their work done in better ways—that’s exciting，” he explained.Bill Gates will not let his children own a cell phone________.
| A．until they reach the age of 13 |
| B．if they don’t really need one |
| C．unless they do some housework |
| D．before they become independent |
Which of the following is true about Bill Gates’ children?
| A．All his children now have cell phones. |
| B．Phoebe has her own cell phone. |
| C．They are not given any pocket money. |
| D．Jennifer can use the Internet freely. |
What does the underlined word “That” refer to in the text?
| A．Being a parent as a billionaire. |
| B．Handing all his money down to his children. |
| C．Allowing his children to have their phones. |
| D．Giving away all his money to good causes. |
What can we learn about Bill Gates from the text?
| A．He is a warmhearted father to his children. |
| B．He has created a lot of software since 2008. |
| C．He now devotes himself to helping others |
| D．He cares more about money than anything else. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．How Bill Gates made himself a billionaire. |
| B．How Bill Gates deals with his money. |
| C．How Bill Gates managed his business. |
| D．How Bill Gates brings up his children. |
Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.
After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window. It really looks terrible.”
One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside. Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!
Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.
That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?
Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?”
Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.
64.The writer couldn't see everything clearly through the window because _______ .
A．the woman's window was dirty B．the writer's window was dirty
C．the woman lived nearby D．the writer was near-sighted
65．Finishing the cleaning, the writer was surprised that _______.
A．the woman was sitting by her window
B．the woman's window was clean
C．the woman did cleaning in the afternoon
D．the woman's window was still terrible
66．“…it dawned on me” probably means “_______ ”.
A．I began to understand itB．it cheered me up
C．I knew it grew light D．it began to get dark
67．It’s clear that _______.
A．the writer had never met the woman before
B．the writer often washed the window
C．they both worked as cleaners
D．they lived in a small town
Earthquakes may rightly be ranked as one of the most destructive forces known to man: since records began to be written down, it has been estimated that earthquake-related fatalities (死亡) have numbered in the millions, and that earthquake-related destruction has been beyond calculation. The greater part of such damage and loss of life had been due to collapse of buildings and the effects of rockslides, floods, fire, disease, tsunamis, and other observable events resulting from earthquakes, rather than from quakes themselves.
The great majority of all earthquakes occur in two specific geographic areas. One such area covers the Pacific Ocean and its bordering landmasses. The other extends from the East Indians to the Atlas Mountains, including the Himalayas, Iran, Turkey and the Alpine regions. It is in these two great belts or zones that ninety percent of all earthquakes take place; they may, however, happen anywhere at any time.
This element of unknown has for centuries added greatly to the dead and horror surrounding earthquakes, but in recent times there have been indications that earthquake forecast may be possible. By analyzing changes in animal behavior, patterns of movements in the earth's shell, variations in the earth's force of attraction, and the frequency with which minor earth shakes are observed, scientists have shown increasing success in expecting when and where earthquakes will strike. As a result, a worldwide earthquake warning network is already in operation and has helped to prepare for (and thus lessen) the vast destruction that might otherwise have been totally unexpected.
It is doubtful that man will ever be able to control earthquakes and get rid of their destructiveness altogether, but as how and why earthquakes happen become better understood, man will become more and more able to deal with their possible damage before they occur.
60. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Earthquakes destruction is declining.
B. Man is capable of conquering earthquakes.
C. Man is no longer fearful of earthquakes.
D. Earthquake forecast is improving.
61. We can infer from the passage that quakes _______ .
A. mostly strike in oceans and mountains
B. may happen anywhere at any time
C. are unperceivable in masses of land
D. are hardly the direct cause of fatalities
62. The underlined phrase "This element of unknown" in Paragraph 3 refers to__.
A. the extension of earthquake zones
B. the percentage of earthquake occurrences
C. when and where earthquakes may occur
D. what big damage earthquakes may cause
63. Man's research on earthquake forecast at present is to _________ .
A. lower the frequency of earthquakes
B. release the energy that causes earthquakes
C. reduce the loss from earthquake disasters
D. analyze the relationship between different earthquakes
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
A man accused of failing to return more than 700 children's books to five different libraries in the county was released from prison after a book publisher agreed to post his bond(保释金)of $1,000. The publisher said, "There's a story here. This is a man who loves books. He just can't let go of them. He hasn't stolen a single book. So what's the crime? We think that Mr Banish has a story to tell. We plan to publish his story."
When asked why he didn't return the books, Mr Banish said, "Well, how could I? They became family to me. I was afraid to return them, because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew them up, throw them around, tear the pages, spill soda on them, get jam and jelly on them, and drown them in the toilet.
He continued, "Books are people, too! They talk to you, they take care of you, and they enrich you with wisdom, humor and love. A book is a guest in my home. How could I kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I dusted them with a soft clean cloth. I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh air."
"Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends. My books were HAPPY books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now they're all back in the libraries, on the lower shelves, on the floors, at the mercy of all those runny-nosed kids. I can hear them calling me. I need to rescue them. Excuse me. I have to go now."
56. Why was the man put into prison?
A. Because the book publisher persuaded the police to do so.
B. Because he stole 700 children's books from the five different libraries.
C. Because he refused to return the books that he had borrowed.
D. Because he wanted to publish his story.
57. How did the man treat books?
A. He treated them as real people.
B. He treated them as his own children.
C. He treated them as his furniture.
D. He treated them as his job.
58. From the passage we can learn that the man is _______.
A. a thiefB. a writer C. crazy about booksD. unfortunate
59. What might happen after the man was set free?
A. He might stop borrowing books.
B. He might start a library of his own.
C. He might go on borrowing books from libraries.
Most of us were taught that generosity (慷慨) is about giving freely, and putting others’ needs before our own. Although there is nothing wrong with this definition, it remains somewhat incomplete. To think of generosity only in terms of giving can limit us.
Being truly generous is also about being open to receiving graciously （落落大方地） from others. Allowing others to “give” to us whether it may be a compliment, emotional support or even material help in times of need is, interestingly, the same act of kindness as trying our best to give to others.
Besides, we need to be aware that giving can sometimes be a thinly disguised (伪装的) power trip! It’s time we began to understand generosity as a kind of two-way street.
With all the talk about how “selfish” we are today, it’s pretty amazing to see how many people have real difficulty being able to receive.
There may be at least four reasons why people have trouble receiving. Maybe they simply haven’t learned how to graciously receive a gift or help from others. Or it could be that they don’t want to feel under obligation to the giver. It’s also possible that they consider receiving a weakness, and want to always come across as the strong part of a relationship; to receive, for some, is to admit that they have needs, or are weak, and they find this very hard. Or perhaps, most sadly, they don’t feel they deserve what they receive.
Unfortunately, all of these reasons put the focus on the receiver rather than on the joy of the person giving the gift. But it helps to recall the joy we feel when we ourselves give and to allow others opportunities for experiencing the same joy.
67. The author thinks that receiving _____.
A. is more important than giving B. is seldom seen in our daily life
C. means as much as giving does D. limits us more than giving
68. It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that people usually believe that giving _____.
A. is the obligation of the rich B. shows the giver’s powerfulness
C. determines people’s relationship D. usually needs to be taught
69. According to the passage, most people have trouble receiving _____.
A. mainly because of their own personality
B. mainly because of their own culture.
C. because they only think of themselves
D. because they are addicted to giving
70. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Generosity: a two-way street
B. To receive, not to give
C. Give freely, receive occasionally
D. New definition of giving
Last month, the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, held an underwater meeting. The purpose of the ocean floor conference? To highlight the effects of global warming on his island nation.
The Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean, is the lowest-lying country on Earth. Melting glaciers and polar ice are causing sea levels to rise, putting the Maldives and other low-lying areas at risk of being swallowed by the sea within the next 100 years.
What can be done? Scientists and leaders from 190 nations will try to figure that out at the United Nations climate change conference next month. The main goal of the meeting is to come up with a new climate agreement for 2012 and beyond. That is when the existing plan, the Kyoto Protocol (《京都议定书》), will expire. The agreement was created in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Since then, it has been ratified (正式批准) by 190 nations. The countries promised to limit the amount of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, that they produced each year.
The debate over who should cut greenhouse emissions (排放) has been going on for years. The US has been hesitant to reduce emissions unless fast-growing nations such as China and India also reduce their use of fossil fuels. In recent months, China has taken steps to be greener. But India has been unwilling to change. It argues that it is unfair for rich nations to ask poorer countries to cut down on emissions.
While world leaders work on a plan in Copenhagen, there are many things you can do to help the planet. You can save fuel by walking or biking instead of riding in a car. You can start a recycling program in your community. You can plant trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen.
64. The underlined word “expire” in Paragraph 3 probably means _____.
A. cause trouble B. go into effect C. come to an end D. gain support
65. According to the passage, limiting greenhouse emissions _____.
A. has been a controversial question
B. is well performed in the Maldives
C. will make poor countries poorer
D. means banning carbon dioxide emissions
66. What does the author suggest？
A. Like the Maldives, other island countries should take action.
B. Both the US and India should cut greenhouse emissions.
C. World leaders should focus more on climate change.
D. Everyone should get involved in cutting greenhouse emissions.