For my grandmother’s 70th birthday, my family and I visited South Korea. While there, I was attentive to Korean high schools and students.
I was surprised by how different Korea’s public high schools are from America’s. Korean high schools can be all-girls, all-boys or co-ed (男女同校的) unlike our standard co-ed high schools. There are three grades: “go 1” (10th), “go 2” (11th) and “go 3” (12th). ‘‘Go” is the first syllable of the word “go-deung-hakkyo", which, simply translated, is “high school”.
In America, unless you want to go to a private school, you don't have to take an entrance exam. In Korea, however, students must take a test to get in because of the many choices of schools.
Another difference I couldn't help but notice was the students' appearance. With very few exceptions, all wear uniforms. A name tag (标牌) with the student's name, grade and homeroom number must also be worn. Girl's skirts can't be above the upper part of the knee, and it is forbidden to dye (染) your hair or wear accessories (装饰品) except small earrings. There are strict regulations for appearance to achieve neatness, and it seems the only freedom students have is with their choices of hair style, socks and shoes.
The final difference was the setup of the classes. There may be 40 students in a classroom, but the number can be less or even more, depending on the population of the town or city. Although there are many students per classroom, they are very close, which I think is a result of not changing classrooms for different subjects. There are no levels in the subjects and the teachers are the ones who switch classrooms. They just have ten-minute breaks between subjects. In each class, students are ranked by their grades. This causes strict competition, and Korean students do a lot of studying. To help them, all schools have extra study classes after school. One other fact that helped me appreciate living in America is that Koreans have school on Saturdays. Although it's only a half day, I think I speak for most Americans when I say we could never imagine ourselves in school on a Saturday.
Korea's public high schools are clearly different from America's. I had imagined them to be just like our schools, but now I have a clear picture of how different they are.How many main differences are mentioned between Korea's public high school and America's?
| A．3. | B．4. | C．5. | D．6. |
It seems that the writer_______.
| A．is familiar with the education system of high schools in Korea |
| B．is fond of Korean students' appearance |
| C．prefers the high school life of America to the one of Korea |
| D．feels it common to have lessons on weekends |
What does the underlined word "setup" in paragraph 5 probably mean?
| A．Arrangement. | B．Size. |
| C．Number. | D．Outline. |
According to the rules, the students of Korea can _______.
| A．go to different high schools without exams |
| B．wear any clothes except uniforms at school |
| C．attend different classes as they like |
| D．have different hair styles |
三、阅读理解（共两节，40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona he moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult I feared him and felt bitter about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. In his new home in Arizona, my dad is back to me from where he was.
56．Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?
A．He was silent most of the time.
B．He was too proud of himself.
C．He did not love his children.
D．He expected too much of her.
57．When the author went out with her father on weekend, she would feel .
A．nervous B．sorryC．tired D．safe
58．The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to.
A. the author’s sonB．the author’s father
C．the friend of the author’s father D．the café owner
D
Wrting artieles about films for The Front Page was my first proper job. Before then I had done bits of reviewing --- novels for other newspapers, films for a magazine and anything I was asked to do for the radio．That was how I met Tom Seaton, the first arts editor of The Front Page, who had also written for television．He hired me, but Tom was not primarily a journalist, or he would certainly have been more careful in choosing his staff．
At first, his idea was that a team of critics should take care of the art forms that didn’t require specialized knowledge: books, TV, theatre, film and radio．There would be a weekly lunch at which we would make our choices from the artistic material that Tom had decided we should cover, though there would also be guests to make the atmosphere sociable．
It all felt like a bit of dream at that time: a new newspaper and I was one of the team．It seemed so unlikely that a paper could be introduced into a crowded market．It seemed just as likely that a millionaire wanted to help me personally, and was pretending to employ me．Such was my lack of self-confidence．
Tom’s original scheme for a team of critics for the arts never took off．It was a good idea, but we didn’t get together as planned and so everything was done by phone．It turned out, too, that the general public out there preferred to associate a reviewer with a single subject area, and so I chose film．Without Tom’s initial push, though, we would hardly have come up with the present arrangement, by which I write an extended weekly piece, usually on one film．
The space I am given allows me to broaden my argument --- or forces me, in an uninteresting week, to make something out of nothing．But what is my role in the public arena? I assume that people choose what films to go to on the basis of the stars, the publicity or the director．So if a film review isn’t really a consumer guide, what is it? I certainly don’t feel I have a responsibility to be ‘right’ about a movie．Nor do I think there should be a certain number of ‘great’ and ‘bad’ films each year．All I have to do is put forward an argument．I’m not a judge, and nor would I want to be．
67．What do we learn about Tom Seaton from the first paragraph?
A．He encouraged Mark to become a writer．
B．He had worked in various areas of the media．
C．He met Mark when working for television．
D．He prefers to employ people that he knows．
68．The weekly lunches were planned in order to .
A．help the writers get to know each other
B．provide an informal information session
C．distribute the work that had to be done
D．entertain important visitors from the arts
69．What does the author mean when he says that Tom’s plan ‘never took off’ in Paragraph 4?
A．It was unpopular.
B．It wasted too much time.
C．It wasn’t planned properly.
D．It wasn’t put into practice.
70．Which of the following best describes what Mark says about his work?
A．His success varies from year to year．
B．He prefers to write about films he likes．
C．He can freely express his opinion．
D．He writes according to accepted rules．
C
At present, in many American cities expecially, many teachers in the public schools say they are underpaid. They point to jobs such as secretary or truck driver, which often pay more to start than that of a teacher. In many other fields, such as law, medicine, computer science, a beginning worker may make more than a teacher who has taught for several years.
Teaching has never been a profession that attracted people interested in high salaries. It is by history a profession that has provided rewards in addition to money—the satisfaction of sharing knowledge, of influencing others, of guiding young people. But in the past several years, there are more difficulties in teaching, for many, than there are rewards.
Unruly students, especially in big cities, large classes and a lack of support from the public in terms of money and understanding have led many public school teachers to leave the profession.
As a result, many of the best students, who would have chosen teaching as their life career in the past, are going into other fields.
Another reason for this change in teacher candidates is the changing status of women in the United States. Until the late 1960s and 1970s, one of the most popular choices for women was teaching. But as other professions, such as law and medicine opened up to women, women stopped pouring into teacher training programs. Thus, a major pool of excellent candidates for the teaching profession dwindled.
Bit by bit government officials and others realized that the status of the teacher had suffered. They talked about change. But the change in a vast society like the United States is not easy. People’s attitudes have formed over many years, and sometimes change takes many years.
63．The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refers to “ ”.
A．money B．job
C．secretary D．truck driver
64．What is the present situation of the teaching?
A．Teachers work harder and get underpaid.
B．Teahcers have no opportunities to work in other fields.
C．Teaching can attract best students to work as a teacher.
D．Teaching can provide rewards as well as high salaries.
65．Many public school teachers turn to other professions because .
A．the government doesn’t finacially support them
B．they have to work longer hours than a lawyer
C．their students refuse to listen to them
D．they are not fairly treated
66．The author believes that change in teachers’ status in the United States .
A．is not great
B．is impossible
C．influences people’s attitude
D．needs time
B
At the middle school level, there are many academic clubs in which students can participate. Students can choose clubs that focus on an area of interest.
Mathcounts Club
Mathcounts tries to increase excitement towards mathematic achievement. It hopes to provide students with the foundation for success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. Schools select individuals and teams to participate in competitions. Local competitions are held in February with winners progressing to state competitions and then on to the national level. Mathcounts works to challenge student math skills, develop self-confidence and give rewards for their achievements.
Envirothon
The Envirothon program focuses on natural resources knowledge and exposes students to diverse environmental issues, ecosystems, and topography. The ecology field competition for five-member middle school teams offers competitions in wildlife, soils, forestry, current environmental issues and aquatics. Students work and learn in middle school clubs and can compete at the local and state level.
Future Problem Solvers
Future Problem Solvers is an academic club that uses a six-step process to solve problems that may happen in the future. Students who are in the talented and gifted program, who like to “think out of the box,” or who enjoy thinking about futuristic problems may like this club. Teams comprised of four students read future scenes and write up solutions in a booklet using the six-step process. Teams that score high enough can go to the state competition and then to the international competition.
Builders Club
Builders Club is open to any middle school student who wishes to perform community service. Each Builders Club is co-sponsored by a Kiwanis club and the middle school. The members learn by doing, and they learn organization, teamwork, and leadership. Builders Clubs can sponsor a "Teacher of the Year" program, provide a recycling collection point, organize canned food and clothing drives to support local shelters, adopt a resident at a local senior citizens home, adopt a highway, tutor, etc.
Middle school academic clubs offer students a place to explore interests or talents. The clubs they join in middle school can help guide choices in high school and beyond.
59．The students who are not interested in competitions woudld like to choose .
A．Mathecounts Club B．Builders Club
C．Future Problem Solvers D．Envirothon
60．Why do some of the students choose Mathcounts Club?
A．To be successful in science careers.
B．To enjoy solving future problems.
C．To perform community service.
D．To study wildlife and soils.
61．What is the common feature of the four clubs?
A．Competitions. B．Sponsorship.
C．Scientific researches. D．Teamwork.
62．The passage mainly talks about .
A．the state academic competitions B．middle school clubs
C．extra – curricular activities D．the gifted students
三、阅读理解（共两节，40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
One warm May day, two eighteen – year – old students from San Francisco State College decided to cool off with a swim at Bakers’ Beach. The two students were named Robert Kogler and Shirley O’Neill. They headed out to sea for a distance of 50 metres. Robert was in front.
“Suddenly, I heard him scream,” Shirley recalls. “I looked round and saw this great grey thing going up in the air. The water seemed to be alive.”
Robert sereamed again. “It’s a shark! Get out of here!”
An eye – witness, Army Sergeant Leo P. Day was on guard at the nearby army post. He saw exactly what happened next. “I could see this boy struggling with the shark in the water,” he said. “The sea was red with blood. He was shouting and signalling someone to go back, go back. Then I saw the girl. She was swimming towards him. She completely ignored his warning.”
Shirley reached Robert, and tried to take his hand.
“When I pulled, all I could see was his arm, handing by a thread,” she said.
So she put her arm about Robert’s back, and started to swim towards the shore. She kept praying “Don't’ let it attack again!” That journey to the shore seemed to last for hours. At last, as they neared the shore, a fisherman threw them a line, and pulled them both the rest of the way.
The young man had lost a lot of blood, and died two and a half hours later, From the teeth marks, experts identified the attacker as a Great White Shark.
For what Sergeant Day called “the greatest exhibition of bravery I have ever seen,” the President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.
56．When Albert was attacked by a shark Shirley .
A．was swimming in the sea
B．was watching him on the shore
C．was on guard at the nearby army post
D．was shouting and struggling with a shark, too
57．Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.
a. Army Sergeant saw the girl swimming to the boy.
b. Shirley saw a great grey thing.
c. They headed out to sea.
d. Robert died.
e. A fisherman threw them a line.
f. He saw a boy struggling with a shark.
A．b,c,e,d,f,a B．c,a,f,d,e,b C．b,c,f,a,d,e D．c,b,f,a,e,d
58．We can learn from the passage that .
A．the two students were brave and considerate
B．the fisherman was adventurous and helpful
C．the experts didn’t do much research on sharks
D．the Sergeant cared too much about his own life