In the mid-1950s, I was a somewhat bored early-adolescent male student who believed that doing any more than necessary was wasted effort. One day, this approach threw me into embarrassment
In Mrs. Totten’s eighth-grade math class at Central Avenue School in Anderson, Indiana, we were learning to add and subtract decimals (小数).
Our teacher typically assigned daily homework, which would be recited in class the following day. On most days, our grades were based on our oral answer to homework questions.
Mrs. Totten usually walked up and down the rows of desks requesting answers from student after student in the order the questions had apeared on our homework sheets. She would start either at the front or the back of the classroom and work toward the other end.
Since I was seated near the middle of about 35 students, it was easy to figure out which questions I might have to answer. This particular time, I had completed my usual two or three problems according to my calculations.
What I failed to expect was that several students were absent, which threw off my estimate. As Mrs. Totten made her way from the beginning of the class，I desperately tried to determine which math problem I would get. I tried to work it out before she got to me, but I had brain freeze and couldn’t function.
When Mrs. Totten reached my desk，she asked what answer I’d got for problem No. 14. “I…I didn’t get anything,” I answered，and my face felt warm.
“Correct,” she said.
It turned out that the correct answer was zero.
What did I learn that day? First, always do all your homework. Second, in real life it isn’t always what you say but how you say it that matters. Third，I would never make it as a mathematician.
If I could choose one school day that taught me the most, it would be that one. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 indicate?
| A．It is wise to value one’s time. |
| B．It is important to make an effort |
| C．It is right to stick to one’s belief. |
| D．It is enough to do the necessary. |
Usually, Mrs. Totten asked her students to _______.
| A．recite their homework together |
| B．grade their homework themselves |
| C．answer their homework questions orally |
| D．check the answers to their homework questions |
The author could work out which questions to answer since the teacher always _______.
| A．asked questions in a regular way |
| B．walked up and down when asking questions |
| C．chose two or three questions for the students |
| D．requested her students to finish their usual questions |
The author failed to get the questions he had expected because _______.
| A．the class didn’t begin as usual |
| B．several students didn’t come to school |
| C．he didn’t try hard to make his estimate |
| D．Mrs. Totten didn’t start from the back of the class |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．An Unforgettable Teacher |
| B．A Future Mathematician |
| C．An Effective Approach |
| D．A Valuable Lesson |
第二部分：阅读理解（共20题，每小题3分，满分60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，并在机读卡上将该项涂黑。
The part of the earth’s history known as the coal age began more than 250 million years ago and lasted millions of years. During that time, in the area that is now the United States, coal beds formed from Texas to the north Atlantic coast.
At that time thick forests swamps（沼泽） covered much of the earth’s surface. Great trees died and fell into the swamps. Then they rotted （腐烂）and new trees and plants grew on top of them. The process repeated itself for thousands of years. The rotted plants turned into a substance called peat（泥炭）, which is still forming today in many swamps.
Meanwhile the land surface was changing. Movement in the earth’s crust (地壳) pushed up hills in some places, while elsewhere land sank. Swift rivers ran from the hills; heavy rains fell and the rivers overflowed, leaving muddy sand in the sunken wooded places and swamps. Oceans, too, poured in over the low-lying land, carrying sand that covered the peaty areas.
The pressure of water and sand pressed the oxygen and hydrogen out of the peat, leaving carbon. Under constant pressure, the rotted material, containing a high percentage of carbon, formed gradually into coal.
56. This main idea of the passage is about the ______.
A. coal beds in the U.S. B. earth’s history C. formation of coal D. swamp age
57. When plants died, they _____.
A. grew up again B. fell into the water and rotted
C. fell into coal beds D. turned immediately to coal
58. Hills were formed as a result of _____.
A. movements of the earth’s crust B. the remaining from swamps
C. the remaining from swift rivers D. ocean currents
59. What is implied but not stated in the passage?
A. Peat is still forming today.
B. The formation of coal requires high pressure.
C. The land surface changed during the coal age.
D. The formation of coal was very rapid.
The story of printing is a long and complex one. Before the invention of printing, the spread of knowledge depended either on word of mouth or handwriting. Both took time and errors happened easily. 2000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty, stone-tablet rubbing(拓印) was common for spreading Confucianism or Buddhism. This led in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) to the use of carving writing or pictures on a wooden board, which became known as block printing(木版印刷).
The first book with an exact date of printing appeared in China in 868. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), this technology was gradually introduced to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Block printing reached its golden age during the Song dynasty (960-1279) as the government encouraged the publication of large numbers of books. Yet block printing had its drawbacks. All the boards became useless after the printing was done and a single mistake in carving could ruin a whole block. In the Song Dynasty, a man named Bi Sheng carved individual characters on pieces of fine clay(粘土). Then he hardened the clay by a slow baking process, resulting in pieces of movable type.
Movable type printing has a very important position in the history of printing, for all later printing methods such as wooden type, copper type and lead type printing all developed on the basis of movable clay types. During the 13-14th centuries, This technology spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Europe. Later, German Johann Gutenberg invented movable type made of metal in the 15th century.
48. The main idea of this passage is about ____.
A. the advantages of China’s printing
B. the history of movable type writing
C. the development of China’s printing
D. the spread of China’s printing
49. The underlined word in the third paragraph probably means____.
A. features B. benefits C. disadvantages D. styles
50. According to the passage, which of the following is right in order of time?
① lead type printing ② copper type printing ③movable clay type printing ④ wooden type printing ⑤block printing ⑥ stone-tablet rubbing
A. ①⑥③④B. ⑥⑤③④ C. ④⑥③① D. ⑥④②⑤
The use of the mobile Internet in Britain grew eight times as fast as the growth of the PC Internet, according to the latest study from research firm Nielsen Online. Of course, the actual number of Britons surfing the PC Internet is much higher. A recent report found that from April to September in 2008, the number of Britons using the mobile Internet increased by 25 percent, from 5.8 million to 7.3 million. However, the number of Britons surfing the PC Internet is 35.5 million, up only 3 percent. As expected, the report found that the mobile online audiences are younger than the PC-based users, with 25 percent of mobile Internet users aged 15-24 years old, compared to 16 percent for PC-based users. Also as expected, there are more people aged over 55 surfing the PC Internet (23 percent) than those on the mobile Internet (12 percent). This last figure —12 percent of those aged over 55 surfing the mobile Internet, however, surprised me because I had expected to be lower. Mobile audiences are interested in sites that can provide immediate information, or immediate access like BBC News, Google Search, Sky Sports, BBC Weather and G-mail. BBC News is visited by nearly one in four British mobile Internet users, or 1.7 million people. Three of the most popular sites, BBC Weather, Sky Sports and G-mail, actually have a greater reach on the mobile Internet than they do on the PC Internet. BBC Weather gets 21 percent of all mobile users with 17 percent on the PC-based Internet.
44. According to the first paragraph, the majority of Britons are_______.
A. surfing the mobile Internet
B. surfing the PC Internet
C. taking part in the research
D. studying on the mobile Internet
45. The underlined words "PC-based users" in the second paragraph refer to "people ________".
A. using personal computers
B. surfing the mobile Internet
C. repairing personal computers
D. making personal computers
46. According the report, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Some people who are over 55 like to surf the PC Internet.
B. BBC News is very popular with the mobile audience.
C. BBC Weather gets more mobile users than PC-based users.
D. Only young people like to use the mobile Internet.
47. Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A. Most Popular Web Sites In Britain
B. Fast Growth Of Mobile Internet In Britain
C. Young People Prefer the Mobile Internet
D. Old People Also Like the Mobile Internet
In Miami, thousands of students have been out of class for some days because of Hurricane Wilma. Educational officials are worried about the long break will affect students’ school performance.
“We think that the sooner we get back to business, the better,” said Rudy Crew, headmaster of Miami-Dade School. 360, 000 students in this area will return to class on Thursday, 10 days after Wilma hit South Florida.
More than half the district’s 327 school buildings were seriously damaged when Wilma struck on October 24, and 270 buildings lost electrical power. About 30 buildings are still out of power, but lights may be back on Thursday when students return. In Broward County, schools will remain closed through Friday, because more than 100 buildings have been damaged after the storm. With traffic affected by broken stoplights, officials are worried about the safety of children traveling to and from school.
In Miami-Dade County, the nation’s fourth largest school district, officials are considering ways to make up for lost time. They may make the school year longer and reduce days from two-week holiday break in late December, said spokesman John Schuster.
Some parents also worry about the effect of lost school days. “They’re missing important tests and lessons that they are going to need. And how do you catch up with that lost time? It just disappears,” a high school student’s mother said.
“Although things are difficult, students’ performance in hurricane-damaged district may not be seriously affected by the hurricane”, said Florida Education Commissioner John Winn. “It turned out that hurricane-affected districts showed more learning gains than other districts in previous years. They have learned how to fight against disaster in any time. Things will turn better anyway.”
40. When will students return to school in the district?
A. October 24. B. October 31.
C. November 3. D. November 7.
41. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Many school buildings were seriously damaged.
B. Many school buildings lost electrical power.
C. Some parents also worry about their kids’ studies.
D. Some students got killed when they were at school.
42. According to the passage, we know that _____.
A. maybe students will not have the two-week holiday in late December as usual
B. the school buildings which lost electrical power have all returned to normal
C. some parents don’t think the hurricane affect their children’s performance much
D. John Winn thought that students’ performance would get worse due to the hurricane
43. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida
B. Parents worry about children’ education
C. Hurricane Wilma affected school days
D. Damage by the Hurricane Wilma
第二部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15题；每小题2分，满分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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Before he became president, Abraham Lincoln spent twenty years as an unsuccessful Illinois lawyer —at least, in financial fields. Legends (传奇) are often untrue, but Lincoln was the real thing. During his years as a lawyer, there were hundreds of examples of his kindness and honesty.
For example, Lincoln didn’t like to charge the poor who were as poor as he was. Once an old man gave him twenty-five dollars, but Lincoln sent him back ten, saying he was being too generous. He often persuaded the people who came to his office to settle their issues (问题) out of court, thereby saving them a lot of money and earning nothing himself.
He and his partner once prevented a mentally ill girl from being cheated off her land. The case took fifteen minutes, and the girl’s brother was completely satisfied. When his partner came to divide up their fee, Lincoln criticized him and said, "The money comes out of the pocket of a poor, mentally ill girl. I would rather starve than cheat her in this manner. You return half the money at least, or I won’t take a cent of it as my share."
Kindness and honesty make you feel good about yourself and create trust in others. It’s not very fashionable these days to talk about the benefits of kindness and honesty, but the benefits are there and are valuable. He often said, "When I do good, I feel good, and when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my belief."
36. From the passage, we can know that Lincoln ____.
A. charged poor people nothing
B. was very rich when he was a lawyer
C. did not like money
D. helped the poor as much as possible
37. What do we learn from the third paragraph?
A. The girl’s problem was very difficult to settle.
B. He criticized his partner for accepting too much money.
C. The girl’s brother was very generous.
D. Lincoln’s partner got at least half the money from the girl’s case.
38. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Lincoln got a lot of money from those who came to him.
B. The legends of famous people are always untrue.
C. Lincoln believed that kindness and honesty were valuable.
D. It is popular to talk about the benefits of honesty.
39. Which is the best title for the passage?
A. Don’t Believe Legends
B. Abraham Lincoln’s Belief
C. The Value of Kindness
D. The Legend of Lincoln Is True