Three Boys and a Dad
Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favourite TV talk show on his first day off in months. "This will be like a walk in the park," he'd told his wife. "I'll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom."
Things started well, but just after eight o'clock, his three little "good kids"—Mike, Randy, and Alex—came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted "breakfast, daddy." When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex's head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat(节拍). Mike chanted "Where's my toast, where's my toast," in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.
Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy's underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes. Someone named "Not Me" had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.
By ten o'clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his colour pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room, but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.
At exactly11:17, Brad called the daycare centre(日托所). "I suddenly have to go into work and my wife's away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes? " The answer was obviously "yes" because Brad was smiling.When his wife left home, Brad expected to __________.
| A.enjoy his first day off work |
| B.watch TV talk show with his children |
| C.go out for a walk in the park |
| D.read the newspaper to his children |
Which of the following did Randy do?
| A.Drawing on the wall. | B.Feeding the fish |
| C.Eating apple jam | D.Reading in a room |
Why did Brad ask the daycare centre for help?
| A.Because he wanted to clean up his house |
| B.Because he suddenly had to go to his office. |
| C.because he had to take his wife back home. |
| D.Because he found it hard to manage his boys. |
This text is developed _________.
| A.by space | B.by comparison |
| C.by process | D.by time |
Free and secure accommodation, no bills and even the odd home-cooked meal. It sounds like the perfect living arrangement for cash-strapped students.
Two mothers believe they have devised(提出) a way for struggling students to save on accommodation costs when they leave home to study at university.
Kate Barnham and Amanda Flude have launched Student Swaps, an online accommodation forum(论坛) for parents and students, in advance of the introduction in September of £3,000 higher education top-up fees.
Their website says, “The principle behind Student Swaps is to enable students to literally swap (交换) family homes.” The website will hold a database of students who would like to swap and link them with suitable matches. So those from one town / city could swap with those from a different town / city.
The site describes itself as offering a “cost-free accommodation alternative… at a time of growing student debt”. There is no charge for the service at the moment but Ms Barnham and Ms Flude intend to introduce a £10 annual fee if it becomes established.
However, the National Union of Students (NUS) has warned that, while the scheme may sound appealing to struggling freshers, it lacks any formal regulation.
Veronica King, NUS vice-president of welfare, said, “The fact that this scheme has even been suggested is evidence to the high levels of debt students now face on graduation.” Recent research has shown that students are more likely to live at home in coming years, in a bid to cut down on the cost of a degree.
“This is worrying, as it may mean that students choose their university on the basis of where it is, rather than because it offers the best course for them. It also means students will miss out on what is for some a key part of the student experience-living away from home.”
1. A “cash-strapped” student means one who __________.
A. lacks money B. prefers to stay at home
C. is careful with money D. wants to change cash
2. What is Kate Barnham and Amanda Flude’s purpose of launching Student Swaps?
A. To provide cheaper accommodation for students.
B. To let students stay close to their universities.
C. To help students spend less on accommodation costs.
D. To let students exchange ideas freely online.
3. What can students do on Student Swaps?
A. They can find students to exchange homes with.
B. They can make friends with students from a different city.
C. They can borrow money to pay for their higher education.
D. They can voice their opinions against the rising cost of a degree.
4. Now many students would prefer a university _________.
A. which can give them free accommodation B. which is not far away from their homes
C. which offers the best courses D. which can offer home-cooked meals45. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. High Cost Troubles University Students in UK.
B. Students Swaps is Welcomed by Students in UK.
C. Two Mothers’ Good Intention to Help Students in UK.
D. Website Helps Students Live at Someone Else’s Home.
第三部分阅读 (共两节,满分40分)
第一节:阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
Since weeks ago, China has been involved a worldwide A/H 1 N 1 flu that has already killed more than 80 people in the middle of May, 2009 in Mexico and has turned into a global pandemic.
The central government has asked people entering China from the virus-hit countries to report flu-like symptoms to the authorities. In an emergency notice issued on Saturday night,the country’s top quality watchdog ordered the Customs to check passengers’ temperature, too.
A Beijing airport official Li said Customs officers are on a high alert level.
“Three temperature detectors are now in operation. We’re ready with protection garments and equipment, too. Passengers flying in from Mexico and other A/H1N1 flu-hit countries are being monitored closely, ”he said.
The Ministry of Health, however, said yesterday there was no evidence to suggest that a person would contract the disease by eating pork.
Hong Kong, too, has raised its alert level against the flu to “serious”. Secretary for Food &Health,Mr.York Chow urged people to avoid visiting places from where A/H1N1 flu cases have been reported, and said the virus would be added to Hong Kong’s list of the diseases which have been noticed.
The terrible A/H1 N1 flu has been contracted by about 4000 people in Mexico, and most of the killed were aged between 25 and 45.
The virus has also infected about 5000 people in the US.The US Center for Disease Control said this kind of virus is spreading from human to human,raising fears of a global pandemic.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.A/H1N1 flu killed more than 80 people.
B.A/H1N1 flu is spreading from human to human.
C.China has begun to take steps to prevent A/H1N1 flu.
D.All the people are strongly affected by A/H1 N1 flu.
2.The underlined word “pandemic” in the first paragraph probably means
A.death B.panic C.enemy D.disease
3.Why does the flu cause global fears?
A.Because most people in the world eat pork.
B.Because it’s spreading from human to human.
C.Because we still don’t know the cause of it.
D.Because it has infected about 5000 people.
4.According to the passage,which of the following is TRUE?
A.People would contract the A/H1N1 flu if they often eat pork.
B.The virus of the A/H1N1 flu has infected people all over the world.
C.People from A/H1N1 flu—hit countries are all forbidden to enter China.
D.People should avoid visiting places where A/H1N1 flu cases have been reported.
5. We can infer from the passage that .
A. College students are most likely infected by A/H1N1 flu.
B. A person would be infected by the virus by eating pork.
C. Passengers from the United States are being monitored closely.
D. Mr. York Chow said that the virus had been added to Hong Kong’s list of the diseases.
Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook? Have you been doing internet shopping rather than going to the stores? What can’t you be bothered to do?
A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of adults are so idle(闲散的)they’d catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs.
Just over 2,000 people were quizzed by independent researchers at Nuffield Health, Britain’s largest health charity. The results were shocking. About one in six people surveyed said if their remote control (遥控器)was broken, they would continue watching the same channel rather than get up. More than one third of those questioned said they would not run to catch a bus. Worryingly, of the 654 questioned people with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them. This led the report to conclude that it’s no wonder that one in six children in the UK are classifted as obese(肥胖)before they start school.
Dr Sarah Dauncey, medical director of Nuffield Health, said: “People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, too. If we don’t start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the simplest tasks.”
And Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, was shamed as the laziest city in the UK, with 75% surveyed admitting they do not get enough exercise, followed closely by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%.
The results pose serious challenges for the National Health Service, where obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on a steady increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year.
1. According to the researchers at Nuffield Health, about ________ people who were surveyed would not run to catch a bus.
A. 10 B. 150 C. 330 D. 660
2. One in six children in the UK are classified as obese before they start school because ________.
A. they stay too long a time with their pets
B. they spend too much time watching TV
C. their parents don’t play with them much
D. they suffer from obesity-related illnesses
3. ________ is the second laziest city in the UK.
A. Scotland B. Glasgow C. Birmingham D. Nuffield
4. What’s the writer trying to tell us?
A. Parents have much to do with their children’s obesity-related illnesses.
B. British people are getting lazier, which can cause serious social problems.
C. The National Health Service has to face a lot of serious challenges every year.
D. A study into how lazy British people are has been carried out at Nuffield Health.
As I was reading a recent story in Slate on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled children who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment: my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we too are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the Slate story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought, what planet is she living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story despairs(绝望) that he can’t afford to get a Ph.D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations are slowly adjusting, but today’s 20-somethings grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be expanding.
It seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful-for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day-than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
1.What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
A.They expect everything to be easy for them.
B.They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.
C.They are reluctant(不情愿的) to face all of the challenges.
D.They are burdened by student loans.
2.The underlined word “fertility” in Paragraph 3 probably means .
A.baby production B.pleasant
C.baby comfort D.essential
3.Which of the following is NOT one of the complaints of the 20-somethings?
A.They can’t have children for at least a decade to buy a house.
B.They have only one-bedroom apartment to live in.
C.They can’t buy a house until 40 because of student loans.
D.They despair at not being able to afford a Ph.D. in literature.
4.What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
A.To tell us what the author’s attitude towards the 20 – somethings.
B.To explain why young people can’t afford to buy a house.
C.To suggest what we should do when young people’s high hopes create despair.
D.To explain what the 20 – something’s high expectations are.
Every day, life is made and lost. Every day, life goes on. Every day we experience some of the most important parts of life and may not even realize it: love, generosity, and perseverance. These values aren’t just important to us; they make the world what it is.
Scientists say that gravitaional(重力的)force makes the world turn, but some people say that love makes it go round. Love can be found anywhere: in families, friends, even complete strangers. Even if you can’t see it, you know it’s there.
Love may connect people all over the world, but what would the world be without generosity? Whether after a national disaster, or a school fund-raiser, one thing is certain----it is better to give than to receive. Generosity is found everywhere and whether it’s a large or small act, it makes a difference. Sometimes, though, it takes effort to be generous, which leads us to perseverance.
Founding a country, riding a bike, or finishing an essay, these are all finished with perseverance. Perseverance is the one thing that can help us achieve whatever we want. It is what helps scientists to discover cures for diseases, and athletes to become champions.
There is an infinite(无穷的) number of things we value, but without love, generosity and perseverance, we just don’t think that our life or the world would be the way it is.
1. The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “________”.
A. the world B. gravitational force
C. value D. experience
2. To be generous, the author thinks________.
A. you needn’t make efforts B. you should be qualified
C. you should give all you have D. you will find it good to give
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Perseverance is the only thing that can halp us to achieve success.
B. People don’t understand the life they are experiencing at all.
C. We can find love in complete strangers sometimes.
D. What the world is like depends on gravity and love.
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Success and Failure B. Three Values
C. Endless Love D. Life Full of Hope