The drug store was closing for the night. Young Alfred Higgins, the shop-assistant, was ready to go home. Mr. Carr, the boss, stared at him and said: “Hold on, Alfred. Maybe you'd be good enough to take the things out of your pockets and leave them here before you go.” Alfred's face got red. After a little hesitation, he took out what he had stolen. Mr. Carr said, “Maybe I should call your mother and let her know I'm going to have to put you in prison.”
Alfred thought his mother would come rushing in, eyes burning with anger. But, to his surprise, she arrived wearing a smile. “Hello, I'm Alfred's mother. Is he in trouble?” she said. Mr. Carr was surprised, too. He had expected Alfred's mother to come in nervously, shaking with fear, asking with wet eyes for a mercy for her son. But no, she was most calm, quiet and pleasant and was making Mr. Carr feel guilty…. Soon Mr. Carr was shaking his head in agreement with what she was saying. “Of course”, he said, “I don't want to be cruel. You are right. Sometimes, a little good advice is the best thing for a boy at certain times in his life and it often takes the youths long time to get sense into their heads.” And he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins's hand.
Back home, without even looking at Alfred, she said, “You are a bad luck. It is one thing after another, always has been. Why do you stand there so stupidly? Go to bed.” In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. There was no shame in him, just pride in his mother's strength. He felt he must tell her how great she was. As he got to the kitchen, he saw his mother drinking a cup of tea. He was shocked by what he saw. His mother's face was a frightened, broken one. It was not the same cool, bright face he saw earlier in the drug store. As she lifted the tea cup, her hand shook. And some of the tea splashed on the table. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. He watched his mother without making a sound. The picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth coming to an end. He saw all the troubles he brought his mother in her shaking hand and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him for the first time he had ever really seen his mother.Which of the following is probably said by Mrs. Higgins while talking to Mr. Carr?
| A．“Please, for God's sake, you know, he is just a kid.” |
| B．“I can't believe it! You are treating my son like that!” |
| C．“You know, it takes time for a youth to truly grow up.” |
| D．“Punishment makes sense because it teaches about the law.” |
What does the underlined phrase "his mother's strength"(Para. 3) refer to?
| A．Mrs. Higgins's calmness and communicating skills. |
| B．Mrs. Higgins's attitude towards parental sufferings. |
| C．Mrs. Higgins's love and care for her son Alfred. |
| D．Mrs. Higgins's greatness as a woman. |
After the incident, young Alfred would probably ________.
| A．feel ashamed of her mother |
| B．change his attitudes towards life |
| C．learn to live an independent life |
| D．hate Mr. Carr for hurting her mother |
Every year landslides (滑坡) cause 25 to 50 deaths and $1.5 billion in damage in the United States. They account for 15 percent of the deaths from natural disasters in Europe. And in December, a single event killed more than 200 people in the Philippines. Sending workers to stabilize (加固) mountainsides using steel bars and cement (水泥) can help prevent disaster, but it introduces new difficulties. Shaking drills produce harmful dust and loosen heavy, dangerous debris (岩屑). "It's quite a risky job," says Giorgio Pezzuto of D'Appolonia, an engineering company in Italy.
D'Appolonia, working with eight other companies, may have an answer: a three-ton robot called Roboclimber. "The idea is to operate a machine far away that can drill without a human being on board," says Pezzuto, manager for the project, which is supported by the European Commission. Engineers claim that the machine will be faster and cheaper than manual labor. The robot, a large radio-controlled four-legged mechanical spider, has cost at least $2 million so far. The final product should be able to climb unstable mountainsides, drill holes, insert bars and cement, and collect data on the slope's stability. Testing should begin in May.The underlined word "event"(in Paragraph 1) refers to _____.
| A．landslide | B．machine | C．earthquake | D．flood |
The purpose in writing this text is _____.
| A．to tell people how serious the damage caused by landslides is |
| B．to tell people that sending workers to stabilize mountainsides is a risky job |
| C．to introduce a product that can be used to stabilize mountainsides |
| D．to show people how to use a new product |
What does the robot look like?
| A．A human being. | B．A spider. | C．A truck. | D．A drill. |
The biggest advantage of this product is that _____.
| A．it will be faster and cheaper than manual labor |
| B．it can climb mountainsides, drill holes, insert bars and cement |
| C．it can collect data on the slope's stability |
| D．it can drill without a human being on board |
If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit.
But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee: public education.
At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission---turning teenagers into educated college graduates--- much of the system is failing.
The United States does a good job enrolling (招生) teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree.
So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world’s largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that. Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos. The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive. About half of the low-income students with a grade-point average of at least 3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. “I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr. Bowen.
In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates. Meanwhile, lower-income students -–even when they are better qualified—often go to colleges that excel（擅长）in producing drop-outs. “It’s really a waste,” Mr. Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country.” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students. Instead, it appears to have fallen.
What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer. Which of the following would people first think of as a factor responsible for the American financial crisis according to this passage?
| A．The government. | B．Public education |
| C．The Detroit automakers. | D．The Wall Street firms. |
What is a big problem with American higher education?
| A．It is hard to enroll enough students into college. |
| B．Many colleges are experiencing low rate of graduation. |
| C．Many college students stay away from classes. |
| D．It is hard for many colleges to get financial aid from the government. |
The title of the book Crossing the Finish Line probably means______.
| A．running to the end of the line | B．going to college |
| C．finishing college education | D．working hard in college |
Why do some students under--match ?
| A．Because they have financial difficulty. | B．Because they face ambition crisis. |
| C．Because they lack confidence. | D．Because they can’t get guidance. |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．problems with secondary American education and possible solutions |
| B．America’s financial crisis, its cause and influence |
| C．low rate of American college graduation, its cause and its influence |
| D．relationship between American education and its economy |
In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her free time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip (退稿条) from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and ruined hopes can surface.
A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?”
“No”, she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.What do we learn form the first paragraph?
| A．Now too many entertainments take up too much time. |
| B．Children do find lots of fun in many mindless activities. |
| C．Rebecca is much too occupied to enjoy her free time. |
| D．Rebecca draws on a lot of online materials for her writing. |
What did the author say about her own writing experience?
| A．She was constantly under pressure of writing more. |
| B．Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers. |
| C．She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer. |
| D．Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations. |
Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?
| A．She had won a prize in the previous contest. |
| B．She wanted to share her stories with readers. |
| C．She was sure of winning with her mother’s help. |
| D．She believed she possessed real talent for writing. |
What’s the author’s advice for parents?
| A．Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions. |
| B．Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in. |
| C．Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience. |
| D．A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue. |
A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.
In history books, objective (客观的) information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its abuse of power over people.
In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art had been almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that described people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand the Bible stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast (对比), one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are not holy.Which of the following statements has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?
| A．General history only focuses on politics. |
| B．Art history shows us nothing but the political values. |
| C．General history concerns only religious beliefs, emotions and psychology. |
| D．Art history gives us an insight (洞察力) into the essential qualities of a time and a place. |
Art is subjective in that __________.
| A．it can easily arouse people’s anger about their government |
| B．it only reflects people’s anger or sadness about social problems. |
| C．a personal and emotional view of history is presented through it. |
| D．artists were or are religious, who reflect only the religious aspect of the society. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Francisco Goya expressed his religious belief in his painting. |
| B．In history books political views of people are entirely presented. |
| C．For centuries in Europe, painters had only painted on walls of churches. |
| D．In the Middle East, you can hardly find animal or human figures on church walls. |
What’s the main topic of the passage?
| A．The development of art history. |
| B．What we can learn from art. |
| C．The influence of artists on art history. |
| D．The difference between general history and art history. |
Amateur Performance Night
Every third Thursday of the month, aspiring（有抱负的）artists present, read or perform original or existing material, at the Amateur Performance Night -- and anyone can come and watch. So come to the Amateur Performance Night to enjoy presentations and performances on a wide variety of subjects, and practice your languages (Chinese and English) while you do!
7-9 pm, March 15
20 yuan (entrance fee includes one drink and a snack)
Room 109, 2 Dongping Road
amateur.performance.night@gmail.com
Good-Heart Sale
ENO holds a seasonal sale at discounted prices, some more than 50 percent off. When you mention SCAA (Second Chance Animal Aid), 10 percent of the sales income will be donated to the animal rescue group.
Cash only
March 10-24
In Factory, 6F, building A, 1147
Xikang Road, near Wuning Road
Free Coffee for All!
This Friday, March 16, wil be an exciting day for most coffee buyers, especially those who love Starbucks. Between 10 am and 12 noon, Starbucks will hold its second “Coffee Break” and everyone who drops by a local Starbucks outlet can get a free Tall (12-ounce) cup of coffee. The event was first held in America last year and attracted more than 500,000 people. This year the Coffee Break will spread to all Starbucks stores in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and, best of all, China.
Shanghai BookCrossing
Bring books you want to exchange, take away your next fab read. Books are mostly of English language, and include novels, thrillers, chicklit, biography, non-fiction, travel books, classics magazines, etc. Open to all, no registration necessary. Joining in is fun and FREE.
2 pm, March 17, April 21
Figaro Coffee, 160 Xingye Road
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shanghaibxers/In which section will the text appear in the newspaper?
| A．News reports. | B．Business world. |
| C．Different voices. | D．Life events. |
By attending which of the events will it be likely for you to practise your English?
| A．Amateur Performance Night and Shanghai Book Crossing. |
| B．Amateur Performance Night and Good heart sale. |
| C．Good Heart Sale and Shanghai Book Crossing. |
| D．Good Heart Sale and Free Coffee for All. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Tickets to all the events are free. |
| B．Free coffee for all will attract more Chinese than foreigners. |
| C．If you want to get any information about the events, you can only surf the Internet. |
| D．Both the organizers and participants of Good heart sale show concern about animals. |