As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly depending on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes (笔画) of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more widely spread among university students. Almost all their assignment and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It’s faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that’s why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
“When I’m writing with a pen, I find I often can’t remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”
“I’m not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
Many students don’t feel this is something to worry about. Now that it’s more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “ Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer’s emotion. Through one’s handwriting, people can get to know one’s thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory（必修的）and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.The underlined expression “taking stock in” in paragraph 4 probably means___.
| A．getting bored with |
| B．getting dependent on |
| C．becoming crazy about |
| D．getting curious about |
The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because____.
| A．computers have become a trend and fashion in China |
| B．they are usually asked to e-mail their homework and essays |
| C．they find it not easy to remember how to write a character |
| D．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently |
Which of the following statement is NOT true of the advantage of handwriting?
| A．Handwriting contains the writer’s emotions. |
| B．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
| C．Handwriting can impress people well and build one’s self-confidence. |
| D．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting. |
Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
| A．To Type or to Handwrite. |
| B．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing. |
| C．Writing by Computer Will Replace Writing by Hand. |
| D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters. |
The following table shows some results of a survey （调查）in which 800 Japanese school pupils were asked to give their impressions（印象）of their classroom teachers. The pupils’ impressions were found to differ depending on whether the teacher was new (with less than three years’ experience), middle-standing(ten to twenty years), or veteran（有经验的）（twenty to thirty years）. The numbers in the table show the percentage of the pupils who answered “very satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” for each question item （项目）
| Question Items |
New |
Middle-standing |
Veteran |
| 1.Shows sense of humor in class 2.Explains clearly 3.Teaches in a relaxed（放松的）manner. 4. Writes neatly on the blackboard 5. Lets pupils ask questions in class 6. Makes checks in notebooks 7. Speaks loudly and clearly 8. Treats pupils equally 9. Cares about pupils opinions 10. Spends time with pupils between classes |
42 33 30 9 18 22 45 43 47 25 |
56 58 46 43 30 30 85 58 43 10 |
70 68 65 56 47 43 54 42 17 6 |
1. The pupils’ evaluation（评价）can be said to rise at a steady rate（比率）as their teachers’ experience increases in Question Items______.
A. I and 4 B. 3 and 5 C. 6 and 8 D. 9 and 10
2. In contrast（对比）to the new teachers, the middle-standing and veteran teachers seem to have made a remarkable（显著的）improvement in their ability to _______.
A. be fair to any pupil B. evaluate pupils’ progress
C. present materials clearly D. understand and play with pupils
3. Pupils seem to regard the new and the middle-standing teachers as being more_____.
A.relaxed in class than the veterans
B.interested in pupils’ ideas than the veterans
C.neat in appearance than the veterans
D.skilful at explaining than the veterans
4. Which of the following statements is true according to the table?
A.In the new teachers’ classes, pupils seem to ask questions more freely.
B.Pupils seem to be quite satisfied with the amount（量）of time their teachers spend with
them between classes.
C.The evaluation of the middle-standing teachers is lower than that of the veterans in seven
items.
D.Though veterans do not play games with pupils during breaks, their teaching is rated
highly.
Two Englishmen were traveling in France when a policeman stopped their car and gave it a search. He found a bag of white powder, which looked suspicious（可疑的）. “Drogue?” asked the policeman who was sensitive to heroin（海洛因）. “Yes, dog”, the two replied, having the least idea of their misunderstanding of the French word;
and in no time they found themselves in prison. Analysis（分析）of the powde
r disclosed that it was a chemical which gave off a smell, used to discourage dogs from using the sides of the car as a toilet . The two were set free, after promising to take a few French lessons before their next trip in France.
1. The powder found in the car looked very much like______.
A. heroin B. gun-powder C. medicine D. fertilizer
2. The French word “drogue” means______.
A.“dog”, which o
ften used the sides of the car as a toilet
B.“drunk”, a state caused by the effect of drinking
C.“drug”, matter such as heroin and cocaine（可卡因）
D.“medicine”, used to cure people of their illnesses
3. The reason why the two Englishmen misunderstood the word “drogue” was that ______.
A.the words “drogue” and “dog” are more or less alike in pronunciation
B.“drogue” happened to be a word they had learned in their French lesson
C.they knew no French at all, but were shy of showing this
D.they didn’t know this word, but had a habit of taking things for granted
4.The two Englishmen were free_____.
A.directly after the analysis was carried out
B.after they had given a satisfactory explanation of the powder
C.after the police found out that they hadn’t broken traffic rules
D.on condition that they should d
o something to improve their French
Althou
gh man has known about asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner o
f a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for （对……负责）the opening of that first mine.
Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport(carry) them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）
in the province of Quebec in Canada.
Ever since 1881, Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you wou
ld expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soapy fibers（滑腻的纤维）。
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads（线）,but they have found thousands of uses for this fireproof material, often called the “cloth of stone”.
1. The title that best expresses the main idea of the passage is _____.
A. Asbestos mined in Canada B. Fireproof matter
C. A “wonder” mineral D. A new roofing material
2. Johns proved his ability （能力）as a salesman by_____.
going into the roofing business
carrying asbestos from Italy
sending a trained scientist
showing the use of asbestos gloves
3. Which is the most important c
haracter of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
A. It is like thread B. It feels soapy
C. It bums easilyD. It is unusually heavy
4. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage is to______.
show the need for more scientists
compare asbestos with other minerals
increase the sales of asbestos
present facts about asbestos
第三节：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2.5分，满分50分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案
A couple of years ago, I received a $ 600 insurance dividend (保险股息).Sitting at the kitchen table, my wife and I discussed what we might do with the money. I realized now t
hat the refrigerator overheard our talk. The very next day it went wrong. The repairman told us we needed a new unit. Cost:$600. Not long after that, we got a refund（赔偿金）from the shop, enough to pay for a trip to Mexico. “I’ve something to tell you,” I said to my wife in a low voice. “How about the living-room?” she suggested. I remembered the color TV set was there. “No, not there. Let’s go out.” I showed her the check as we stood on the driveway. We held each other excitedly and hardly noticed the rain. My car was parked within5 meters. I didn’t think anything about it at the time. As I started for the airport the next day, the car began making strange sounds. Changing the engine cost about $ 1, 000.
Then I looked through our financial records. I discovered that during the last ten years we spent all our “found money” repairing a hot water heater, a television and a stove.
I never mention money in front of our mechanical equipment. But if this article i
s published and I am paid for, the word processor（文字信息处理机）is going to go for sure. It’ll know.
1. What went wrong first as the writer’s?
A. The refrigerator B. The stove
C. The TV set D. The engine of the car
2. What has been repaired and still remains all right?
A. The car B. The color TV set
C. The stove D. The hot water heater
3. Which statement is wrong according to the passage?
A.There are many pieces of moder
n equipment in the writer’s home
B.The writer often discusses with his wife on how to spend their money.
C.The writer has gone into a lot of trouble to repair his things
D.The writer’s refrigerator can overhear him
Blind photography sounds strange．But a striking exhibition of photographs in California argues that it develops as a result of the contemporary art．The show "Sight Unseen", at the California Museum of Photography until Aug．29, includes everything: underwater scenes, landscapes, abstracts and everything else you might expect from a "sighted" photographer．
How do the blind take their photographs? Some rely on assistants to set up and then describe the shots （镜头） , and others just point and shoot in the right place．"Just like any good artists," says McCulloh．"They have their unique ways of operating．" One participating photographer is Pete Eckert, an artist with multiple degrees in design and sculpture who only turned to photography after losing his vision in the mid-1990s．He opens the shutter （快门） on his camera and then uses flashlights, lights, and candies to paint his scene on film．A former fashion photographer in Chicago, Weston, lost his vision due to AIDS in 1996 and focuses on images of destruction and disability．His photos are also a star of the show．
What do gallery-goers say? "I was very impressed by it．The technique and experience was amazingly different," says John Hesketh, a printmaker in Anaheim．"You never have a sense of feeling sorry for these people because they've worked very hard to prove their value．"
Beyond the praise, however, the exhibition also makes a great example for disabled people everywhere．That point was explained in early May during a discussion on the TV show．At the very end of the talk, one attendee expressed his opinion．"This exhibition is extraordinary and revolutionary for many reasons．I think that by being an artist with a disability, you are continuing the work of those people who fought for basic civil rights to gain access and to have a voice．In that way, it's so wonderful that your photographs say it all．"
1．From the passage we know that some blind people take photos by
A．describing the things to their assistants
B．holding the camera and shooting randomly（随意地）
C．opening the shutter with the help of others
D．using special equipment designed for them
2．We can learn from the passage that blind photographers ______
A．were not born blind B．do jobs related to art
C．focus on different subjects D．like photos of destruction
3．The significance of the exhibition lies in the fact that ______．
A．the California Museum of Photography receives praises for holding the show
B．the public have a chance to know what the blind people are concerned about
C．the blind photographers have a good place to show their works
D．the exhibition can be very inspiring to the blind in the world