A new study from Harvard University revealed that the message parents mean to send to children about the value of sympathy (同情心）is being mistaken by the message they actually send. In fact they value achievement and happiness above all else.
The Making Caring Common Project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education surveyed 10,000 middle and high school students about which is more important to them—achievement, happiness, or caring about others. Almost 80 percent of students placed achievement or happiness over caring about others. Only 20 percent of students considered caring about others as their top aim.
In the study “The Children We Mean to Raise: The Real Message Adults Are Sending about Values”, the authors refer to a reality gap, an incongruity (不一致) between what adults tell children they should value and the message we grown-ups actually send through our behavior.
Simply talking about sympathy is not enough. While 96 percent of parents say they want to raise caring children, and cite the development of moral character as “very important, if not essential”, 80 percent of the youths surveyed reported that their parents “are more concerned about achievement and happiness than caring about others”. Approximately the same percentage of the students reported that their teachers put their achievement over caring.
As the report shows, simply talking about sympathy is not enough. Children are sensitive creatures, fully capable of telling the true meanings in the blank spaces between well-organised words. If parents really want to let their kids know that they value care and sympathy, the authors suggest, they must make a real effort to help their children learn to care about other people—even when it’s hard, even when it does not make them happy, and yes, even when it is at odds with(与……不一致) their personal success.The first paragraph suggests that parents _____.
| A．don’t intend to valuesuccess |
| B．fail to make students realize the importance of sympathy |
| C．value achievement less |
| D．regard achievement and happiness as the same |
What can be concluded from the study?
| A．About 80% of the students are not caring. |
| B．Kids care more about achievement. |
| C．20% of the students are not ambitious. |
| D．A majority of the kids are kind students. |
What may be the cause for the reality gap?
| A．Children’s desire for getting individual achievement. |
| B．The generation gap between parents and children. |
| C．Children’s failure to understand parents’ well-organised words. |
| D．Parents’ lack of a real effort to guide children. |
第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分30分）
第一节：（共15 小题，每小题1.5分，满分22.5分）
阅读下面三篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Do you love American country music? If you do, come to Nashville. It’s the home of American country music.
Nashville is the capital of the state Tennessee. Here you don’t have to go to the big auditoriums (音乐厅) to enjoy the country music. In the open air restaurants or on the streets, you can always hear the beautiful and sweet sounding folk music. All the singers are young and they play their guitars while they sang. The songs they sing are so touching that, if you listen attentively, you can feel they are singing with their souls rather than with their voices.
Shops selling music records and tapes can be found everywhere in Nashville. Many records are made by famous singers and they are sent to many countries all over the world.
The folk songs most of the singers sing come from the rural areas in the southern United States. The songs often describe the situations of those days and the feeling of the country people. They often sing in praises of heroism and true love.
41. The passage is mainly about ______.
A. Nashville B. the country music
C. pop singers D. American young people
42. From the passage we know that Nashville is ______.
A. a village B. a small town C. a capital city D. a big city
43. To enjoy the country music, you can go to ______.
A. the big auditoriums B. the open air restaurants
C the streets D. all of the above
44. What is the meaning of the underlined word “heroism” in the last paragraph?
A. 乐观主义 B. 英雄主义 C. 爱国主义 D.社会主义
45. According to the passage which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. The folk songs can impress you deeply.
B. Not all records are made by famous singers.
C. The folk songs are sung only in praises of true love.
D. Shops that sell music recorders and tapes can be found everywhere in
Nashville.
The White Tower
The White Tower was started in 1076 and completed in 1079. It was the oldest of the 20 towers which used to stand here. The white tower of London was first built by William, the conqueror to protect and control the city. Today it is the most popular tourists sight and attracts over three million visitors a year.
It was sometimes used as a palace for the kings and queens of English until the time of James I, but it is best known as a prison and execution place. Within the walls of the Tower, princes have been murdered, spies shot and Queens killed. One of the most famous executions was that of Ann Boleyn in 1536. She was killed because she couldn’t give Henry III a son.
The tower was also the scene of one of London’s most famous mysteries, known as the mystery of the princes in the Tower. Their uncle announced he himself was the new king and asked the people to call him Richard III. After that the two boys disappeared. It was the two sons that were murdered by the order of their uncle.
68. The Tower of London ________.
A. was started in the tenth century and finished in the eleventh century
B. is the oldest tower in the world
C. was first put up by James I
D. was built to protect and control London
69. The tower was used as a palace_______.
A. till the time James I
B. until the time of William, the conqueror
C. after James I came to power
D. when James I came to power
70. Anne Boleyn was put to death because she______.
A. didn’t get on well with Henry III
B. couldn’t give birth
C. couldn’t give Henry III a son
D. turned against her husband
71.They say who killed two sons of Edward IV?
A. Edward IV B. Richard III C. Anne Boleyn D. James I
Bill and his family has been living in the six－family building for years. All the neighbours got along fairly well with each other until recently.
An old man and his wife used to live on the second floor. Bill’s mother and the old lady were good friends. Unfortunately the lady died last month. Her husband could not live alone, so he had his grandson move over and live with him.
The grandson has become a problem to all the neighbours , especially to Bill’s family. The walls of the building are thin and he is noisy. Bill is used to peace and quiet but the young man likes to listen to the radio late at night. Sometimes friends of his visit make a lot of noise. That is too much for Bill’s family.
Bill’s mother once asked the old man politely if he was able to sleep well at night, but obviously the man didn’t understand what she meant. If he did and spoke to his grandson, the young man obviously didn’t listen, since things haven’t changed any. Everyone in Bill’s family agrees that something must be done though they don’t want to hurt the kind old man.
64. Bill’s family got angry because ________.
A. the old lady had died B. a young man moved in
C. the old man could not live alone D. the grandson made a lot of noise
65. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The old man could not live without his wife’s help.
B. The old man and his wife were sometimes making trouble too.
C. Bill’s mother was kind to her neighbours.
D. Bill’s mother was the only one who likes the young man.
66. The grandson makes a lot of noise as ________.
A. he never thinks other people might not be happy with so much noise around
B. the walls of the building are thin
C. he likes to listen to the radio at night
D. friends of his visit
67. It seems that ________to solve the problem.
A. anyone is able B. only the grandfather is going
C. Bill’s mother is able D. nobody is likely
How “Kangaroo” Became an Animal’s Name
Early in the 18th century, Captain Cook, a famous explorer of Australia, unexpectedly caught sight of an unusual animal during his first visit to Australia. The animal had a large mouth-like head and jumped along on its large legs. To his surprise, the unusual animal carried it’s young in a special pocket of flesh. Captain Cook pointed to the animal which was eating grass in the distance and asked his native guide what the animal was referred to. The guide seemed not to know what he was pointing at and finally said Kang-a-roo, which Cook carefully wrote down as the animal’s name in his word book. The Europeans who later got to Australia were anxious to see the unusual animal “Kang-a-roo”, but their requests met with puzzled looks of the native people. Before long they got to discover that the native guide who made the answer to Cook’s question really meant, “I don’t know what you are pointing at.” Funny enough, the name “Kang-a-roo” stuck and it is still in use today.
60. Which of the following sentences best expresses the main idea?
A. Captain Cook
’s guide had a sense of humour.
B. Native Australians could speak English in Cook’s time.
C. Some words have rather funny origins.
D. Captain Cook was a lover of wild animals.
61. The main use for the animal’s flesh pocket is to_______.
A. keep food B. carry its babies
C. a long distance D. store food and water
62. When the native guide said “Kang-a-roo” he really meant_______
A. “Ah, it is a special kind of animals.”
B. “I wonder what you have said.”
C. “I have no idea of what you are pointing at.”
D. “What do you mean by pointing at that animal?”
63. The writer indirectly expresses that early in the 18th century_______
A. the native Australians and the Europeans explorers were not friendly to each other.
B. a common language was needed by the Europeans to communicate with the native in Australia.
C. a great many Europeans showed great interest in Australia.
D. a war against the European invaders was a break out
第三部分：阅读理解阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。（共20小题；每小题2.5分，满分50分）
The American book Who Moved My Cheese（奶酪） has been a bestseller all over the world. It teaches people how to face changes in their
lives. Now its author Spence Johnson has written a book just for teens（青少年）. The book tells us that when facing change in our lives, like a new school or new friends, don't be afraid. Instead, use this change to make a better life. The book gives an example of a change at school. A school is changing from having two terms to three terms b
ecause there are too many students.
Several teens are talking about this. Most of them are unhappy and worried. But Chris is not. He laughs and tells a story about two mice（老鼠）, two“little people”and some cheese.
The four
are in a maze looking for the cheese. Here, cheese means something important in life, like moving to a new class or getting into college. But they find the cheese is gone. The mice realize that they can’t change what has happened and have to find more cheese. This means finding different dreams. The little people, however, can’t do this. They are afraid of change so they find no cheese.
After Chris finishes the story, the friends understand one thing: to get more cheese, move in a new direction quickly. His friends understand how this can be used in the changes all teens face, such as doing well at school or having good relationships or just feeling good about yourself.
56. The book Who Moved My Cheese is __________.
A. written all over the world B. read across the world
C. sold only in America D. loved only by teens
57. What does the text mainly discuss?
A. Never change in our life. B. Change when you like to do.
C. Change with the changes. D. Pay attention to the changes.
58. The underline word “four”（paragraph 3） refers to __________.
A. Mice and little people B. Students
C. Cheese D. Readers
59. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The author is Britain.
B. There are three terms in every school.
C. Most teens don't understand Chris' story.
D. The book tells teens how to face changes in their lives.