If there is no difference in general intelligence(智力）between boys and girls, what can explain girls' poor performance in science and mathematics?
It seems to be that their treatment at school is a direct cause. Mathematics and science are seen as subjects mainly for boys, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them. Interestingly, both boys and girls often regard the subjects for boys as more difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls do not take mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social reasons. Girls do not want to be in open competition with boys because they are afraid to appear less feminine (女性的）and attractive.
However, if we examine the performance of boys and girls who have taken mathematics courses, there are still more high-achieving boys than there are girls. This difference appears to be worldwide. Biological explanations have been offered for this, bat there are other explanations, too.
Perhaps the difference which comes out during the teenage years has its roots in much earlier experiences. From their first days in kindergarten, boys are encouraged to work on their own and to complete tasks. Facts show that outstanding mathematicians and scientists have not had teachers who supplied answers.
Besides, there can be little doubt that teachers of mathematics and science expect their boy students to do better at these subjects than their girl students. They even appear to encourage the difference between boys and girls. They spend more time with the boy students, giving them more time to answer questions and working harder to get correct answers from them. They are more likely to call on boys for answers and to allow them to take the lead in classroom discussion. They also praise boys more frequently. All of this seems to encourage boys to work harder in science and mathematics and to give them confidence that they are able to succeed.
Such a way of teaching is not likely to encourage girls to take many mathematics and science courses, nor is it likely to support girls who do. When it comes to these subjects, it seems certain that school widens the difference between boys and girls. Girls are likely to think that __________
| A．science courses are for both boys and girls |
| B．science courses make them more popular |
| C．science courses make them successful |
| D．science courses are difficult for them |
Thetext mainly discusses __________ reasons for thedifference between boys and girls in scientific achievements.
| A．biological |
| B．historical |
| C．social |
| D．personal |
What are boys usually encouraged to do at school?
| A．To get help with their homework. |
| B．To play the leading role in class. |
| C．To work with girl students in class. |
| D．To learn to take care of others. |
What does the passage say about great mathematicians?
| A．Theirteachers did not supply answers to them. |
| B．Theystarted learning mathematics at an earlier age. |
| C．Theyshowed mathematical abilities in their teen-age years. |
| D．Their success resulted from their strong interest in mathematics. |
Theauthor would probably agree that __________.
| A．boys and girls learn in the same way |
| B．boys and girls are equal in general intelligence |
| C．girls are more confident in themselves than before |
| D．girls should take fewer science courses than boys |
"Tear’em apart!" "Kill the fool!" "Murder the referee（裁判）!"
They are common remarks one may hear at various sporting events. At the time they are made, they may seem innocent（无害的）enough. But let's not kid ourselves. They have been known to influence behavior in such a way as to lead to real bloodshed（流血）.Books have been written about the way words affect us. It has shown that words having certain meanings may cause us to react in ways quite foreign to what we consider to be our usual humanistic behavior. I see the term "opponent" as one of those words. Perhaps the time has come to delete it from sports terms.
The dictionary meaning of the term "opponent" is "enemy":“ one who opposes your interests." Thus, when a player meets an opponent, he or she may tend to treat that opponent as an enemy. At such times, winning may control one's mind, and every action, no matter how bad, may be considered correct . I recall an incident in a handball game when a referee refused a player's request for a time out for a glove change because he didn't consider them wet enough. The player rubbed his gloves across his wet 
T-shirt and then shouted, "Are they wet enough now?"
In the heat of battle, players have been observed to throw themselves across the court without considering the consequences that such a move might have on anyone in their way. I have also witnessed a player reacting to his opponent's intentional and illegal blocking by hitting him with the ball as hard as he could during the course of play. Off the court, they are good friends. Does that make any sense? It certainly gives proof of a court attitude which is different from normal behavior.
Therefore, I believe it is time we promoted the game to the level where it is by setting an example. Replacing the term “opponent” with “ associate” could be an ideal way to start.
The dictionary meaning of the term “associate” is “friend”；“companion.” Think it over！You may soon see and possibly feel the difference in your reaction to the term "associate' rather than "opponent."
49. Which of the following statements best expresses the author's view?
A. Bad behavior in sports will always have serious consequences.
B. The words people use can influence their behavior.
C. Unpleasant words in sports are often used by foreign athletes.
D. Unfair judgments by referees will lead to violence o
n the sports field.
50. Rough words are spoken during games because the players________.
A. are too eager to win B. are usually bad-tempered
C. can't afford to be polite in competitions D. treat their friends as competitors
51. What did the handball player do when he was not allowed a time out to change his gloves?
A. He refused to continue the game.
B. He angrily hit the referee with a ball.
C. He claimed that the referee was unfair.
D. He wet his gloves by rubbing them across his T-shirt.
52. The author hopes to have the current situation in sports improved by_______.
A. changing the attitude of players on the sports field
B. raising the referee's sense of responsibility
C. calling on players to use clean language on the court
D. regulating the relationship between players and referees
The Internet is a way of life for US college students, with research showing them to be one of the most connected groups.
A recent study by Harris Interactive and 360 Youth found that 93 percent of American college students visit the Internet, and this market is expected to grow from 15.2 million in 2003 to 16.4 million in2007.
That is slow but could be the result of the already high number of college Internet users.
About 88 percent of American college students own a computer, and more than half have broadband connections. Furthermore, 76 percent own cell phones and 36 percent use their mobile devices to visit the Internet.
Study findings are that 42 percent go online mainly to communicate socially, and 72 percent of college students check emails at least once a day, with 66 percent using at least two email addresses.
The most popular online social activity is forwarding messages to friends or family, with 37 per cent of college students saying they do so.
The study also looked beyond the Internet surfing habits and into the buying habits of this group, and found them responsible for more than US＄210 billion in sales last year alone.
College students have learned how to spend their money, with 93 per cent saying low prices were important when shopping.
The study also showed that 65 percent make loan payments, 41 percent of freshmen have a credit card; and 79 percent of seniors have a credit card.
A significant number of charges on those credit cards are likely to be for entertainment and leisure expenses.
45. College students in the US, as this passage shows, _______
A. don’t have to learn their lessons in their classroom
B. spend too much time visiting the Internet
C. lead an exciting life by visiting the Internet
D. waste much time visiting the Internet
46. From the fourth paragraph we can find that in the US_______.
A. most college students are from rich families
B. college students can have a computer from their college
C. cell phones will take the place of computers in college
D. mobile phones make Internet life easy for college students
47. To communicate with friends, nearly half of the college students use_______
A. letters B. e-mails C. telephones D. telegraph
48. By using the Internet, college students in the US can do the following except _______.
A. reading newspapers B. chatting with friends
C. buying goodsD. going swimming
第二部分：阅读理解（共两节；满分45分）
阅读下列短文，选出最佳选项。
A small piece of fish each day may keep the heart doctor away. That’s the finding of a study of Dutchmen in which deaths from heart disease were more than 50 percent lower among those who consumed at least an ounce of salt water fish per day compared to those who never ate fish.
The Dutch research is one of three human studies that give strong scientific support to the long-held belief that eating fish can provide health benefits, particularly to the heart. Heart disease is the number-one killer in the United States, with more than 550,000 deaths occurring from heart attacks each year. But previous research has shown that the level of heart disease is lower in cultures that consume more fish than Americans do. There are fewer heart disease deaths, for example, among the Eskimos of Greenland, who consume about 14 ounces of fish a day, and among the Japanese, whose daily fish consumption average more than 3 ounces.
For 20 years, the Dutch study followed 852 middle-aged men, 20 percent of whom ate no fish. At the start of the study, average fish consu
mption was about two-thirds of an ounce each day, with more men eating lean fish than fatty fish.
During the next two decades, 78 of the men died from heart disease. The fewest deaths were among the group who regularly ate fish, even at levels far lower than those of the Japanese or Eskimos. This relationship was true regardless of other factors such as age, high blood pressure, or blood cholesterol（胆固醇） levels.
41. The passage is mainly about_______
A. the high incidence of heart disease in some countries
B. the changes in people’s diet
C. the daily fish consumption of people in different culture.
D. The effect of fish eating on people’s health
42. We can infer from the passage that there are fewer heart disease deaths _______.
A. in the countries with good production of fish
B. in the countries of the yellow-skin race
C. in the countries with high consumption of fish
D. in highly-developed countries
43. The underlined part “This relationship” may refer to the connection between_______and the level of heart disease.
A. the amount of fish eaten B. regular fish-eating
C. the kind of fish eaten D. people of different areas
44. In which section of a newspaper can we read this passage?
A. Ads. B. Movies. C. Briefs. D. Health and diet.
Solar energy for your home is coming. It can help you as a single home owner. It can help the whole country as well. Whether or not solar energy can save your money depends on many things. Where you live is one factor. The type of home you have is another. Things like insulation(绝缘) present energy costs and the type of system you buy are added factors.
Using solar energy can help save our precious fuel. As you know, our supplies of oil and gas are very limited. There is just not enough on hand to meet all our future energy needs. And when Mother Nature says that’s all, the only way we can delay hearing those words is by starting to save energy now and by using other sources, like the sun.
We won’t have to worry about the sun’s running out of energy for another several billion years or so. Besides begin an endless source of energy, the use of the sun has other advantages as well. The sun doesn’t offer as many problems as other energy sources. For example, fossil fuel plants add to already high pollution levels. With sola energy, we will still need sources of energy, but we won’t need as much. That means we can cut down on our pollution problems.
With all these good points, why don’t we use more solar power? There are many reasons for this. The biggest reason is money. Until now, it was just not practical for a home owner to put in a solar unit. There were cheaper sources of energy. All this is changing now. Solar costs are starting to equal the costs of oil and electricity. Experts say that gas, oil and electricity prices will continue to rise. The demand for electricity is increasing rapidly. But new power plants will use more gas, oil or coal. Already in some places the supply of electricity is being rationed. Solar energy is now in its infancy. It could soon grow to become a major part of our nation’s energy supply.
57. Which statement best expresses the main idea?
A. Something about Solar Energy and Pollution. B. Solar Energy.
C. Energy and Pollution D. Energy and Money
58. Solar energy can help us save ____.
A. the earth and nature resources B. mother nature
C. the sun D. our precious fuel
59. Which of the following statements is correct?
A. Energy from coal would not pollute our living environment.
B. Energy from natural gas would not pollute our living environment.
C. Energy from the sun would not pollute our living environment.
D. Energy from oil would not pollute our living environment.
60. Solar energy is in its infancy, ____.
A. but it will be considered as an important part of our nation’s energy supply
B. yet we will build more power plants
C. and the supply of electricity will be rationed
D. but we don’t need practice energy rationing now
Runners in a relay race pass a stick in one direction. However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction. They earned their living by travelling the famous Silk Road.
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network. It passed through thousands of cities and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200B.C to about A.D. 1300, when sea travel offered new routes. It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway. However, Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe.
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product. Silk could be used as money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia. Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods. Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to graft (嫁接) different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Romans. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web.
The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also share their beliefs. The Silk Road provided pathway for learning, diplomacy (外交), and religion.
53. It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed____
A. to remember the entire trade route B. to know the making of products
C. to receive certain special training D. to deal with a lot of difficulties
54. The Silk Road became less important because____.
A. it was made up of different routes B. silk trading became less popular
C. sea travel provided easier routes D. people needed fewer foreign goods
55. New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people____.
A. learned from each other B. shared each other’s beliefs
C. traded goods along the route D. earned their living by traveling
56. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Silk Road: Past and Present B. The Silk Road: East Meets West
C. The Silk Road: Routes Full of Dangers D. The Silk Road: Pathways for Learning