Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father came to America from Kenya, which is a country in Africa. His parents, Ann and Barack, met when they were students at the University of Hawaii. Since Barack had the same name as his father, young Barack went by the nickname “Barry”.
In 1979, after he finished high school, Barry went to Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. There, he started to learn about his African roots and decided to use his African name, Barack. After two years in L.A., he went to Columbia University in New York City to study politics.
After college, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked to help poor people in his city. He traveled to Africa to meet his grandmother and cousins for the first time. He went back many times over the years to visit with his family and learn about where he came from. At work, he met a lawyer named Michelle Robinson. They worked together in a big law firm. Then he left Chicago to go to Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He did very well in law school.
After he was done with school, Barack moved back to Chicago and in 1992 he married Michelle. He worked as a lawyer, devoted to helping poor people for free who had been treated unfairly. He worked hard to get the people he helped to vote(投票).
He made many people believe that their votes were important, and helped them feel like they could make a difference.Barack Obama’s father was probably born in _________.
| A．Hawaii | B． Illinois |
| C．Kenya | D．California |
Which of the following is the right order according to the text?
①Getting married to Michelle.
②Travelling to Africa to meet his grandmother
③Going to Harvard Law School
④Going to Columbia University
⑤Working in a big law firm.
| A．④③②⑤① | B．④②⑤③① |
| C．③④①⑤② | D．②①⑤④③ |
How did Obama get people to vote?
| A．By cheating them to do so. |
| B．By making a difference to people. |
| C．By helping poor people who treat others unfairly. |
| D．By showing them the importance of their votes. |
According to the text, which of the following words can best describe Barack Obama?
| A．Kind-hearted | B．Humorous |
| C．Polite | D．Brave |
If you're ever apart from your children, a new study says just talking on the phone will help just as much as a hug （拥抱）.
If you're a parent who spends long hours on the job, you probably feel sorry for spending so
much time away from your kids. But the results of a new study show that a mother's voice alone can be just as comforting to an anxious (焦虑的) child as physical contact (接触).
In an experiment, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison asked a group of girls between the age of 7 and 12 to solve math problems in front of judges --- a stressful (充满压力了) situation for anyone. Before the girls were set to solve math problems, the researchers measured their levels of two hormones (荷尔蒙): cortisol, which goes up during stressful periods, and oxytocin, the "love" hormone.
After they were finished, some of the girls got to meet up with their mothers right away. The mums came in and hugged the girls. Another group of the girls didn't see their mothers, but received phone calls from them, in which their mothers told them how well they'd done. The final group had no contact with their mothers, but watched an animal movie, March of the Penguins instead. Finally, the girls' hormone levels were measured again. Although the movie was interesting, it did nothing to ease (缓解) the children's anxiety (焦虑) ---- but, surprisingly, both the physical contact and phone calls from their mothers had the same effect on easing the girls' stress levels.
So, no matter how old you are, if you're feeling stressed about something in your life, a phone
call to Mom might be just the key to help you feel better.The first two paragraphs suggest that ____.
| A．a mother's voice can comfort her anxious kid |
| B．the results of the study can't be accepted by mothers |
| C．parents are too busy to talk with their kids |
| D．mothers should spend enough time staying with their kids |
Which of the following is the right order in which the study was carried out?
a. The girls' levels of hormones were measured again.
b. The girls solved math problems.
c. The girls' levels of hormones were measured.
d. The girls were divided into three groups.
| A．b-c-d-a | B．d-b-c-a |
| C．c-b-d-a | D．d-c-b-a |
We can learn from the third paragraph that cortisol ____.
| A．is good for our health |
| B．can change into oxytocin |
| C．may go down when the situation becomes comfortable |
| D．is one kind of hormones mainly found in girls |
According to the passage, we can infer that ____.
| A．it is easy for girls to solve math problems |
| B．the girls who had watched the movie remained anxious |
| C．mothers should hug their kids as often as possible |
| D．older girls have higher cortisol than younger ones. |
What is the author's attitude towards the study?
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Worried. |
My husband is reading The Secret Garden （《秘密花园》）aloud to our kids. They are at the part where Mary has told Colin that she’s found the garden her mother loved. It’s an exciting moment. But the passage I’m waiting for is a few chapters（章节）on, after Colin has tasted his first breaths of fresh air and Mary has grown strong running in the garden. It’s just a detail, but my kids will notice it: a delicious description of toasted（烤）potatoes and eggs.
We have a tradition of trying foods from the books we read aloud. It started when we read Elizabeth Enright’s The Saturdays, and one of the boys asked, “What are petit fours（花色小蛋糕）?” An answer, my husband and I felt, wouldn’t be as good as a sample. So one Saturday we all sat down having tea and little cakes, covered with pink, green, and yellow. It was exciting for the kids to try a dessert（甜点）they had learned about in a book. The petit fours they tried didn’t tell them what it was like to live in New York City 60 years ago, but tasting them made the book’s words alive.
Later, when we read C.S.Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we had Turkish delight. We read The Penderwicks, written by Jeanne Birdsall, and had gingerbread（姜饼）.We read Paddington Bear and tried marmalade（橘子果酱）.
Soon we will reach the part of The Secret Garden where Mary, Colin, and Dickon roast potatoes and eggs in a small oven（炉） in the earth. My kids will go out into the woods to find the perfect place for an oven of our own. Yes, we’ve eaten potatoes and eggs, but never in the open air.
The world that a good book creates is whole and real, but it lies flat on the page until a reader gives life to it.The text is written mainly to _____.
| A．show the importance of reading aloud |
| B．discuss food culture in children’s books |
| C．provide a new means of family education |
| D．introduce some interesting books |
The author believes tasting foods from the books may help children _____.
| A．understand the books better |
| B．enjoy more healthy food |
| C．be friendlier to each other |
| D．know more about history |
The underlined words “Turkish delight” in Paragraph 3 probably refer to _____.
| A．a great time |
| B．something delicious |
| C．a trip to Turkey |
| D．more stories |
Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?
| A．The taste of a good book |
| B．The best way to make kids learn |
| C．Eating means more than reading |
| D．Our toasted potatoes and eggs |
It’s not easy being a teenager(13至19岁青少年)---nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry, hurt or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you’ll still be there for him when he needs you.
Expect a lot from your child，just not everything. Except for health and safety problems，such as drug use or careless driving，consider everything else open to discussion. If your child is unwilling to discuss something，don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind. The more you insist，the more likely that he’ll calm up. Instead，let him attempt to solve(解决)things by himself. At the same time，remind him that you’re always there for him should he seek advice or help. Show respect for your teenager’s privacy(隐私).Never read his mail or listen to personal conversations.
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long，tell him he can talk for l5 minutes，but then he must stay off the phone for at least all equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls，but teaches your teenager moderation(节制).Or if you are open to the idea，allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part-time job.The main purpose of the text is to tell parents_________.
| A．how to get along with a teenager |
| B．how to respect a teenager |
| C．how to understand a teenager |
| D．how to help a teenager grow up |
What does the phrase "calm up" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．become excited | B．show respect |
| C．refuse to talk | D．seek help |
The last paragraph is about how to teach a teenager______.
| A．to use the phone in a sensible way |
| B．to pay for his own telephone |
| C．to share the phone with friends |
| D．to answer the phone quickly |
What should parents do in raising a teenager according to the text?
| A．Not allow him to learn driving or take drugs. |
| B．Give him advice only when necessary. |
| C．Let him have his own telephone. |
| D．Not talk about personal things with him. |
Moral（道德的）science is taught as a subject in most schools but with little effect. Perhaps part of the problem lies in the fact that morality is not a science, strictly speaking. It is too much of a social phenomenon, and also has too much of the personal and subjective things mixed within. Besides, morality itself changes with generations. So it is impossible to be defined in a textbook.
I remember sitting through forty minutes of moral lessons, which told stories about little children who never told lies and were rewarded for their goodness. It had little effect and left no impression on me, though.
If moral science has to be taught as a subject in schools, it needs a participatory(参与其中的) approach. When you tell a child about morals, you also have to deal with social norms（规范）and cultural differences. You have to explain that morality can be subjective, and be able to co-exist in society. You will probably have to refer to the morals of the present time.
The best way to tell a child how to live is to show him what is valued. If a child likes his friend, you have to make the child think about why. Once the child notices and recognizes goodness in others, he or she is likely to develop it as well.
In fact, children learn most of their morals by watching people around them. They absorb behavior patterns from teachers and older students. They watch to see what is rewarded and who is punished. They learn on the sports field and through social work. Moral science lessons should simply consist of letting them live and interact, and watch you support correct values and reward good behavior.Which is NOT the reason that moral science is taught in schools but with little effect?
| A．Morality doesn’t strictly belong to a science. |
| B．Morality is more like a social phenomenon. |
| C．Different generations have different moral ideas. |
| D．Morality can’t be written down in textbooks. |
The author describes his own experience of having moral lessons in order to _____.
| A．explain telling lies is not moral for little children. |
| B．advise people should be rewarded for their goodness. |
| C．prove moral lessons in schools have little effect. |
| D．show he has no opinions about moral science. |
When you tell a child about morals, you should________.
| A．teach him to share personal moral ideas with others. |
| B．tell him about social norms and cultural differences. |
| C．explain that nobody can influence his moral ideas. |
| D．say that the present morals are likely to be changed. |
What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A．The best way of teaching children about morals. |
| B．The value of teachers’ setting a good example. |
| C．The influence of people’s behavior on morals. |
| D．The importance of rewarding good behavior. |
May : Happenings from the past
May 5,1884
Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history , rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby . He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times .
May 9 , 1754
Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon （漫画）, showing a snake cut in pieces, with the words “ Join or Die” printed under the picture.
May 11,1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl , the result of years of drought（干旱），blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D.C. .
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis , former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s , died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64 .
May 24, 1844
Samuel F.B. Morsr taps out the first message , “ What Hath God Wrought ,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D.C. , to Baltimeore , Md .We know from the text that Buchanan is_____________.
| A．Isaac”s father |
| B．a winnning horse |
| C．a slave taking care of horses |
| D．the first racing horse in Kentucky |
What is the title of the first American political cartoon ?
| A．Join or Die |
| B．Pennsylvania Gazette |
| C．What Hath God Wrought |
| D．Kentucky Derby |
In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die ?
| A．1934 | B．1960 | C．1964 | D．1994 |
Which of the following places has to do with the first telegram in history ?
A. Washington , D. C. B. New York City
C. Kentucky. D. Pennsylvania