It was one of those terribly hot days in Baltimore. Needless to say, it was too hot to do anything outside. But it was also scorching in our apartment. This was 1962, and I would not live in a place with an air conditioner for another ten years. So my brother and I decided to leave the apartment to find someplace indoors. He suggested we could see a movie. It was a brilliant plan.
Movie theaters were one of the few places you could sit all day and—most important —sit in air conditioning. In those days, you could buy one ticket and sit through two movies. Then, the theater would show the same two movies again. If you wanted to, you could sit through them twice. Most people did not do that, but the manager at our theater. Mr. Bellow did not mind if you did.
That particular day, my brother and I sat through both movies twice, trying to escape the heat. We bought three bags of popcorn and three sodas each. Then, we sat and watched The Music Man followed by The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. We’d already seen the second movie once before. It had been at the theater since January, because Mr. Bellow loved anything with John Wayne in it.
We left the theater around 8, just before the evening shows began. But we returned the next day and saw the same two movies again, twice more. And we did it the next day too. Finally, on the fourth day, the heat wave broke.
Still, to this day I can sing half the songs in The Music Man and recite half of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart’s dialogue from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance! Those memories are some of the few I have of the heat wave of 1962. They’re really memories of the screen, not memories of my life.In which year did the author first live in a place with an air conditioner?
A.1952 | B.1962 | C.1972 | D.1982 |
What does the underlined word“It” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A.The heat | B.The theater. |
C.The Music Man | D.The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance |
What do we know about Mr. Bellow?
A.He loved children very much. |
B.He was a fan of John Wayne. |
C.He sold air conditioners. |
D.He was a movie star. |
Why did the author and his/her brother see the same movies several times?
A.The two movies were really wonderful. |
B.They wanted to avoid the heat outside. |
C.The manager of the theater was friendly. |
D.They liked the popcorn and the soda at the theater. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.The author turned out to be a great singer. |
B.The author enjoyed the heat wave of 1962. |
C.The author’s life has been changed by the two movies. |
D.The author considers the experience at the theater unforgettable. |
SHANGHAI-Famed Chinese scientist Qian Weichang died here on Friday morning, saddening millions of his countrymen.
He was 98.
Qian, a pioneer in mechanics and applied mathematics in modern China, was one of the three famous "Qians" in China's science and technology field. He was well known alongside Qian Xuesen, the father of China's space program, and Qian Sanqiang, a nuclear physicist who oversaw the development of China's nuclear program.
Wu Shuqing, former president of Peking University, said Qian was an internationally well-known scholar whose modesty and conduct has set a good example for following generations.
After learning about Qian's death, millions of Chinese people offered their condolences (吊唁) online.
Many students from Shanghai University, where Qian was a former president, burst into tears after hearing the news, saying it was a great loss to the university and to China.
For those off campus for the summer vocation, many visited their university website, which had been turned gray. Some said they planned to return to the campus to mourn him.
Many of those still on campus voluntarily joined preparations for a mourning (哀悼) service that will begin at the university on Saturday.
The university has set up two mourning halls at two of its campuses and publicized the mourning time and phone numbers at the two sites.
Qian was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, in 1912. Although he was initially not good at science, he chose to study physics at Tsinghua University because he believed science and technology were the keys to strengthening China in the 1930s.
He graduated from Tsinghua in 1935, and earned his PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Toronto in Canada in 1942.
He returned to China in 1946 and became a mechanics professor and later vice-president at Tsinghua University.
Qian made great contributions to the engineering applications of sciences, such as the fluttering of airplanes, armor penetration, the design of instruments and pipe systems.
He is an academician (院士) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
36. Qian Weichang used to work at ______.
A. Tsinghua University and Peking University
B. Shanghai University and Toronto University
C. Peking University and Shanghai University
D. Tsinghua University and Shanghai University
37. According to the passage, the students expressed their sadness to Qian's death in the following ways EXCEPT that they ______.
A. held mourning meetings in the university
B. could not stop crying for losing him
C. went to the university to mourn him themselves
D. offered their help to the mourning service
38. The passage tells us that ______ made Qian Weichang aim at science in his university time.
A. his talents at study
B. his failures at science
C. the family's expectation
D. his love to the country
39. Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?
A. Qian Weichang graduated from Tsinghua University.
B. Qian Weichang used to work side by side with Qian Xuesen and Qian Sanqiang.
C. Qian Weichang spent at least four years studying and living abroad.
D. Qian Weichang was not good at science before he went to university.
40. What is the best title of this passage?
A. Respected Scientist Passes on at 98
B. The Great Life of the Scientist-Qian Weichang
C. The Whole Nation Mourn Qian Weichang
D. A 98-year Old Man Passed in Shanghai
Beyond the Factory: Child Labor in the Cities
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, factory owners faced few restrictions on the way they employed their children workers, who were between the age of 7 and 12. Gradually laws came into being.
The first child-labor laws were passed at the state level in America and usually focused on both required education and a minimum age for employment. And added rules limited the length of the workday for children. Pennsylvania, for example, limited the workday to 10 hours for children under 12. However, government officials cared little whether businesses followed the law. In fact one group of children was left entirely unprotected by labor laws -- the children of immigrant families.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, piecework appeared, for which people were paid by the piece. Significant numbers of women sewed baby dresses or men's neckties and made the artificial flowers used to decorate hats. Piecework turned homes into factories that were free from the law, and countless children worked long hours alongside their mothers and old sisters.
Manufactures exploited the system shamelessly and paid the lowest wages they could. Embroidering (刺绣) a silk dress, which was a 10-day job, might generate a five-dollar payment. In the case of "willowing", workers needed to add more strands to ostrich feathers used on hats to make them longer and more graceful. The first willowers were paid 15 cents per inch, but a few months later, the pay was reduced to 13 cents. Within three years, willowers were earning only three cents per inch.
In order to survive under these circumstances, pieceworkers had even their youngest children help them. In one Italian neighborhood, a three-year-old girl helped her mother sew clothes. In another case, a child of eight who had lived in New York for three years had never been to school at all and could speak almost no English. Slowly child labor laws brought these abuses to an end.
31. The first child-labor laws required ______.
A. workplace safety and conditions
B. minimum payment and age
C. education and working time
D. minimum payment and schooling
32. Manufactures who hired women to do piecework ______.
A. were kind and concerned employers
B. were sometimes called "willowers"
C. usually paid the lowest salary
D. forced children to turn home into factories
33. "Willowing" was a kind of ______.
A. handwork activity B. workplace
C. payment requirement D. workers
34. By raising the example of the three-year-old girl's experience in the last paragraph, the author intended to ______.
A. show how poor the situations were for children workers
B. blame those adult pieceworkers for allowing children to work
C. attract attention to protect young children
D. emphasize the importance of educating young children
35. Which of the following sentences best summarizes the passage?
A. The first child-labor laws were limited due to working at the state level.
B. Early child-labor laws offered no protection to children who worked at home.
C. Some immigrant children did not learn English because of their piecework.
D. Child-labor laws should have come into being before children became workers.
II.阅读(共两节,满分50分)
第一节阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下面短文,从每题所给的A、B,C和D项中选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Like all other mothers who have small children, I, too, have to steal time-from my own children at home and from the children who know me as their teacher-just to put a few words down on paper. Many times I've wanted to write for myself, for other women, for my parents, for my husband, and especially for my children. I would have liked to leave a legacy (遗产) of words explaining what it has meant to have twins. One reason that there is not a great deal written about being a mother of a new baby is that there is seldom a moment to think of anything else but the baby's needs.
With twins, I did not have a spare hand to write with.
Before my twins were born, my days were long and I had nothing to write about. After the twins' birth I did have something to write about, but I found myself facing not a pen and paper but milk bottles.
Some nights, friends would visit. They would leave at 11 p.m., heading for bed, and for us the night was only just beginning. With twins, there is really no night. Each feeding lasts a long time. At 1:00 a.m., each of them would begin crying from hunger. At 4:00am, when I finally put them down, I felt exhausted.
Two years have passed since then and we've managed to live through it all. My days are still very full and even now there isn't one evening when I put the twins down for the night that I don't have a break. At last a little time for myself.
26. When did the writer have time but she didn't feel like writing anything?
A. Before the birth of her twins.
B. When she faced bottles of milk.
C. After her friends visited her home.
D. When she had to think about the babies' needs.
27. What does the writer mainly write about?
A. Her role as a wife. B. Her work as a writer.
C. Her experience as a mother. D. Her feeling as a woman.
28. Why did the writer say the night was just beginning (in the 4th paragraph)?
A. Because her friends left her house too late.
B. Because she started to take care of the twins even at night.
C. Because her babies often cried and she woke up.
D. Because she could not sleep till four in the morning.
29. This passage is probably from a(n) ______.
A. blog B. newspaper C. guidebook D. advertisement
30. What can we learn from the passage?
A. The writer was unhappy because of no time for writing.
B. The writer cared her babies more than her own interests.
C. The writer hated to be a mother of twins.
D. The writer could steal a little time at night.
The Zhoukoudian Beijing Man Site is one of the most important world heritage sites in China. Since the discovery, which changed China’s knowledge of its history, was made in the 1920s, Zhoukoudian has become an important place for archaeologists from all over the world. At the site in the south-west suburb of Beijing, there is, for example, the earliest evidence of the use of fire by humans. It has also been proved that people lived there continuously between 500,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Today, however, Zhoukoudian is in serious danger. Parts of the cave have been badly affected by rain and exposure to the air. Some areas are almost completely covered in weeds, causing serious damage. Pollution from nearby cement factories has also contributed to the problem.
The site is extremely expensive to maintain and it will cost between three and five million yuan to repair it. At the moment, visitors are not allowed to visit the caves.
Zhoukoudian is on the World Cultural Heritage List, organized by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The list is constantly checked. Any site which is seriously damaged or which is not properly protected is an endangered heritage, and UNESCO is very quick to do something about situations like this. They have recommended that the site be closed and repaired. If nothing is done to repair it, it could be removed from the list.
This is a very serious matter and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is trying to raise public awareness about it. They have suggested that the general public be encouraged to help with the problem. A professor at the Academy has proposed that a fund be established to raise money.
Dr Zhu Ming of the Academy said, “ We have requested that the government get involved, but we also need assistance from ordinary people. They can help by contributing to the cost of repairing the caves. They are a precious part of our cultural heritage—it is of vital importance that we do something. If not, it will be a catastrophe.”
36. Why is Zhoukoudian of great importance in China?
A. Because the site tells some information about how man lived in the old times.
B. Because it has brought in lots of money as a place of interest.
C. Because it is the only place in China on the World Cultural Heritage List.
D. Because it changed our knowledge of China’s history of the 1920’s.
37. What is the second paragraph about?
A. Zhoukoudian’s discovery B. Zhoukoudian’s future
C. Zhoukoudian’s in danger D. Zhoukoudian’s protection
38. The following has caused the damage of the site except________________.
A. Weeds B. Rain C. Fire D. Cement factories
39. The passage suggests that to repair Zhoukoudian, Chinese Academy of Sciences is seeking help from_________.
A. Archaeologists from all over the world B. Government and the public
C. Experts from UNESCO D. Visitors
40. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “catastrophe”?
A. case B. worry C. wonder D. disaster
Phys ed (physical education) is making a comeback as a part of the school core curriculum(核心课程), but with a difference. While group sports are still part of the curriculum, the new way is to teach skills that are useful beyond gym class. Instead of learning how to climb a rope, children are taught to lift weights, balance their diets and build physical endurance(忍耐力). In this way,kids are given the tools and skills and experiences so they can lead a physically active life the rest of their life.
Considering that 15 percent of American children 6 to 18 are overweight, supporters say more money and thought must be put into phys ed curriculum. In many cases, that may mean not just replacing the old gym-class model with fitness programs but also starting up phys ed programs because school boards often "put P.E. on the chopping block(砧板), cutting it entirely or decreasing its teachers or the days it is offered," says Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, the executive director of Action for Health Kids. The difference in phys ed programs is partly due to the lack of a national standard. "Physical education needs to be part of the core curriculum," she added.
The wisdom of the new approach has some scientific support. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have showed how effective the fit-for-life model of gym class can be. They observed how 50 overweight children lost more weight when they cycled and skied cross-country (越野)than when they played sports. The researchers also found that teaching sports like football resulted in less overall movement, partly because some reluctant students were able to sit on the bench.
Another problem with simply teaching group sports in gym class is that only a small percentage of students continue playing them after graduating from high school. The new method teaches skills that translate to adulthood.
31.According to the passage, what is usually taught in the old gym class?
A. Lift weights B. Climb a rope C. Cycle D. Have a balanced diet
32. What does Alicia Moag-Stahlberg mean by saying “some school boards put P. E. on the chopping block”?
A. Schools do not pay enough attention to P. E..
B. Schools welcome P. E. but do not have time for it.
C. Schools put P.E. in the first place.
D. Schools cut down other subjects’ time for P.E..
33. Which is NOT the reason to carry out phys ed programs according to the passage?
A. More teenagers are overweight.
B. Traditional group sports teaching is not effective.
C. Students need to learn some skills to help them lead a physically active life.
D. Phys ed programs need less money to support.
34. How many problems are mentioned in the passage with simply teaching group sports?
A. Two B. Three C. Four D. One
35. What’s the difference between the come-back phys ed and the ordinary gym-class model?
A. The Phys ed teaches group sports.
B. The Phys ed provides more fitness programs.
C. The Phys ed teaches tools and skills which could be used in the future life.
D. The Phys ed has more support from the government.