请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项-优题课

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第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分,满分40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。
In the 1880’s, Mark Twain established and operated his own publishing firm. He also became interested in various investments, especially an elaborate typesetting machine. He lost almost $200,000 in investments in the machine between 1881 and 1894. Also, his publishing company declared bankruptcy (破产) in April 1894. Thus, in January 1895, Mark Twain found himself publicly shamed by his inability to pay his debts.
Mark Twain eventually recovered from his financial difficulties, through his continued writing and a successful lecture tour in 1895 and 1896. During this much-publicized tour, Twain lectured in such places as India, South Africa and Australia. By the time he returned, he had become an international hero. Twain enjoyed this attention, and his habits of smoking cigars or a pipe and wearing unconventional white suits contributed to his showy image. He also made use of his position as a public figure to criticize the US foreign policy.
Although he was recovering from his financial problems by 1898, Mark Twain had begun to experience tragedy in his personal life. Susy, his oldest daughter, died of meningitis (脑膜炎) in 1896, while her parents and sister Clara were abroad. In 1903, Mark Twain sold the beloved house in Hartford, which had become too closely associated with Susy's death. His wife, Olivia, who had developed a heart condition, died on June 5, 1904. His youngest daughter, Jean, died on Dec. 24, 1909.
56. Which is not the reason why Mark Twain found himself in debt?
A.Because he devoted all his energy to his writings.
B.Because his publishing firm bankruptcy.
C.He lost almost $ 200 000 in investments in the machine between 1881 and 1894
D.Because he lost a large quantity of money in various investments.
57. How did Mark Twain pay off his debts?
A.By borrowing money from the bank.
B.By investing in foreign countries.
C.By writing articles and a successful lecture tour.
D.By printing his own articles and selling them for money.
58. It can be inferred that Mark Twain ________________.
A.hated smoking cigars
B.liked wearing black clothes
C.hated the US foreign policy at that time
D.hated giving lectures in the foreign countries

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The United States will introduce a new and comprehensive(综合的) exam for students who seek to study in American and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York.
The exam, which stands for a great change from the current English level test, was disclosed by Theresa Chang Wei Jen, associate director of the International Service of the US College Board, America’s leading educational organization.
The Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time throughout the world on May 10, 2002, said Jen.
However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language), the GRE(Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS(International English Language Testing System).
“I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam,” said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL.
Most of Xu’s classmates have never heard of the APIEL. “The APIEL is designed for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.” said Jen.
The APIEL has been adopted, said Jen, because the TOEFL can no longer accurately reflect the abilities of students of using the English language comprehensively in an academic environment. Xinhua reported that a fairly large number of foreign students who earned high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after admission.
Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student’s ability to read, write, speak and understand English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with accuracy(精确) and resourcefulness, and writing with clarity and fluency(流畅), Jen said.
72. The United States will introduce a new exam because _______.
A. more and more students want to get further education in the USA
B. the Chinese people pay special attention to English studies with China’s entry into the WTO
C. the already existing exam systems seem to be far from perfect
D. it will bring the US government quite a lot of money
73. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the selection？
A. It will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL.
B. The TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS.
C. A student will have to take the APIEL if he or she wants to study in English—speaking countries from 2002.
D. Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future.
74. The underlined word “current” in the second paragraph means _______.
A. modern B. present C. standard D. formal
75. Please decide which of the following would be the best title for this news report.
A. The Key to English-speaking Countries B. The Four Skills in Learning English
C. TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to be Out of DateD. New Exam Designed for Students

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69. Some of the four books were illustrated in order to ____.
A. help readers understand themB. persuade readers to buy them
C. reduce the cost of them D. make them suitable to different readers
70. If you buy the four books on April 30, 2007, you will have to pay ____ for them.
A. $130B. $112 C. $65 D. $18
71. The purpose of the passage is to ____.
A. show to readers how to use the four books
B. help children to learn English
C. enrich students’ knowledge about nature
D. sell the four books to students

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Many parents find that their children act very mean to their friends. They wonder what they can do about this behavior without squashing their spirit. Here is what parenting experts explain and suggest:
Pre-schoolers have no idea how others feel. They are in the process of understanding their own feelings and have not yet developed “emotional intelligence”. Children of this age also do things just because it can make them feel powerful when they are able to make others respond.
Here are some things you can do to reduce the mean talk: When the child’s in a good mood, look her in the eyes and lovingly tell her how you feel when she speaks in a mean way to another child. Have a look of disappointment on your face and role-play with her to show her the behavior you would like to see. Then, every time you see her demonstrating the “nice” interaction with others, stop what you’re doing, give her eyes contact and make a big deal out of it. Young children need to know what good behavior looks like with regular encouragement. When you catch her being mean to a child, get down on your knees next to her, and, with your arm around her, face the child that is receiving her meanness, and apologize to the child for both of you, then walk away. As soon as the other child is away, let your daughter know how disappointed you are in her behavior and quickly let it go.
Parents should set up a consequence when this negative behavior occurs. You can give these other ideas a try first. If you’re not seeing any results after a few times, then go ahead and set up the consequence（such as not being able to play with that child). Avoid using “time out” because it doesn’t work. It gives the child too much power and too much attention. The most effective consequences are those that are directly tied to the behavior. If she is being mean to children, then the play session ends. And most importantly, set up this consequence in advance when the negative behavior is NOT occurring.
If you should catch her being a “bully” to another child, and she has somehow hurt him or her, immediately put all your attention on the victim, not her. Don’t scold or punish your daughter. Softly, gently, and immediately, nurture the hurt child and get your daughter to assist you in the nurturing. When things have calmed down, let her know face to face how disappointed you are in her behavior, not her as a child.
65. When a child talks mean to his friend, the best way to correct it is to___________.
A. tell him directly that it is a wrong doing
B. demonstrate what a good behavior is
C. make him apologize to his friend
D. ask his friend not to play with him anymore
66. The underlined phrase “make a big deal out of it ” in paragraph 2 probably
Means_____________.
A. show some disappointment B. say a few words of praise
C. exchange gifts with the child D. present a surprised look
67. When dealing with a child’s mean action, you shouldn’t___________.
A. punish her in the presence of her friend.
B. put on a disappointed look on your face
C. tell her that you are unhappy to see that
D. nurture the hurt child immediately
68. The passage is mainly about how to___________
A. bring up children
B. solve pre-school children’s problems
C. help children make friends
D. guide children when bad behaviors occur

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Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a busy motor-way. But still there is a danger that grows every year. Airliners get larger and larger. Some airplanes can carry over 300 passengers. And the air itself becomes more and more crowded. If one large airliner struck into another in midair, 600 lives could be lost.
From the moment an airliner takes off to the moment it lands, every movement is watched on radar screens. Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn, when to climb, and when to come down. The air traffic controllers around a busy airport like London-Heathrow may deal with 2,500 planes a day. Not all of them actually land at the airport. Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there. Even a small mistake on their part could cause a terrible accident.
Recently such a disaster almost happened. Two large jets were flying towards the airport. One was carrying 69 passengers from Toronto, the other 176 passengers from Chicago. An air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other. He ordered one to turn to the right and to climb．But he made a mistake. He ordered the wrong plane to do this. So, instead of turning away from the second plane, the first plane turned towards it. Fifteen seconds later it flew directly in front of the second plane. They avoided (避免) each other by the smallest part of a second. The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool. This is an example of the danger that grows every year.
61. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Traveling by air is as safe as by car．
B. Traveling by air is not as safe as by car．
C. Traveling by car is as dangerous as by air．
D .Traveling by car is more dangerous than by air．
62. The air traffic controllers of an airport ____．
A. control all the planes flying near the airport
B. give orders to planes leaving the airport
C. only deal with the planes that want to land there
D. are allowed to handle 250 planes a day
63. The danger of air crashes grows every year because ____．
A. airliners are getting larger and air traffic is becoming heavier
B. a pilot does not always hear a controller’s order
C. a controller is likely to make more and more mistakes
D. airports can hardly serve the growing number of airplanes
64. The example in the passage is to show that ____．
A. air traffic controllers are often careless
B. air traffic controllers should pay much attention to avoiding accidents
C. it is difficult for airplanes to avoid terrible accidents
D. two planes should not fly too close to each other

A．5 hours 52 minutes.	B．8 hours 36 minutes.
C．11 hours 26 minutes.	D．14 hours 13 minutes.

A．clothing	B．equipment
C．furniture	D．composition