FromArttoZoo,theSmithsonian,th-优题课

Christmas Eve was tomorrow. I hoped one of the packages that held a camera had already been placed under the Christmas tree. It was the only thing I wanted. I had been dropping hints to my parents. I love taking photos. My bedroom walls are covered with photos I had taken with my mom’s old camera. I’m always trying to capture (捕捉) those perfect moments in which you can hear the laughter or touch the beautiful scene, but my camera has always seemed to fall short.
I knew Mom had put a few presents under the tree this morning, so I went on a hunt in my mom’s room. I opened the door and found my Christmas present was lying unwrapped on the floor — a big pink cat. I felt so disappointed.
Mom seemed to notice that, and she tried to cheer me up. “Stacy, I got your present today. I am so excited to surprise you!” “I can’t wait,” I said.
The next day I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell her.
“Mom, may I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure, dear. What do you need to talk about?” she asked.
And so it came — how upset I was that I was getting a cat.
“Stacy, that cat is for your sister Julia!” she said with a smile.
“Then what am I getting?” I asked.
She just smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Next morning, I happily got into the living room and sat next to the tree. I pulled out the box with my name on it and opened the wrapping paper to find ...
My camera! “Thank you!” I said to both Dad and Mom.
Dad picked up the camera and took a picture of Julia, Mom and me. It has become one of my favorite pictures. Just on that Christmas morning, I took lots of photos with my camera — my little sister making a face, my parents giving me a soft smile — and all of these photos have come to mean one thing to me: love.
The underlined phrase “dropping hints” in Para-graph 1 means _____.

A．talking often	B．suggesting indirectly
C．sending presents	D．taking pictures

Why did Stacy feel disappointed at first?

A．Her mother couldn’t understand her at all.

B．Her mother didn’t buy her any Christmas gift.

C．She mistook her sister’s Christmas gift for hers.

D．She didn’t find her present in her mom’s room.

We can learn from the passage that _____.

A．her mother bought Stacy a camera after discovering her disappointment

B．her mother knew what gift Stacy wanted for Christmas

C．Stacy thought it’s OK to have an old camera

D．Stacy finally got her gift on Christmas Eve

What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The family happiness captured by the camera.

B．The nice Christmas that Stacy spent.

C．The beautiful pictures that Stacy took.

D．The true love that Stacy got from her parents.

What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A Christmas gift as wished

B．Love is more important than gifts

C．A wonderful Christmas

D．Love can not be bought

A new plan for getting children to and from school is being started by a local government in Eastern England. This could end the worries of many parents fearful for their children's safety on the roads.
Until now the local government have only been prepared to provide bus services for children living more than three miles from their school，or sometimes less if special reasons existed. Now it has been decided that if a group of parents ask for help in organizing transport they will be prepared to go ahead，as long as the arrangement will not lose money and children taking part will be attending their nearest school．
The new plan is to be tried out this term for children living at Milton who attend Impington School．The children live just within the three—mile limit and the local government have said in the past that they will not undertake to provide free transport to the school．But now they have agreed to offer a sum of money for a bus service from Milton to Impington and back，a plan which has the support of the school’s headmaster.
Between 50 and 60 parents have said they would like their children to take part. Final calculations have still to be carried out，but a government official has said the cost to parents should be less than￡20 a term.
They have been able to arrange the service at a low cost because there is already an agreement with the bus company for a bus to take children who live further away to Impington. The same bus would now just make one more journey to pick up the Milton children．The official said they would get in touch with other groups of parents who in the past had asked if transport could be provided for their children, to see if they would like to take part in the new plan．
What is the aim of the plan?

A．To prevent the students road accidents

B．To relieve the traffic pressure

C．To save time for the parents and students．

D．To help the parents save money．

The new bus service will be paid for by

A．the parents	B．the local government
C．the bus company	D．the local government and the parents

Which of the following is possible if the plan is carried out?

A．The bus company will make much more money．

B．The children can choose whatever school they like．

C．The parents can get rid of their worries．

D．The students in Impington School can have free bus rides.

This passage is most probably ·

A．a personal letter	B．an advertisement
C．a headmaster’s report	D．a newspaper article

Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way many North Americans interact(交流，沟通) these days. The term is “networked individualism”. This concept is not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings. How can we be individuals(个人，个体) and be networked at the same time? You need other people for networks.
Here is what Professor Wellman means. Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail, our social networks included live interactions with relatives, neighbors, and friends. Some of the interaction was by phone, but it was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time.
A recent research study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced this person-to-person interaction. However, a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that’s a good thing. Why?
In the past, many people were worried that the Internet isolated (孤立)us and caused us to spend too much time in the imaginary world of the computer. But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true. The Internet connects us with more real people than expected—helpful people who can give advice on careers, medical problems, raising children, and choosing a school or college. About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.
Thanks to the computer, we are able to be alone and together with other people — at the same time!
The underlined phrase “networked individualism” probably means that by using computers people ________.

A．stick to their own ways no matter what other people say

B．have the rights and freedom to do things of their own interest

C．do things in their own ways and express opinions different from other people

D．are able to keep to themselves but at the same time reach out to other people

According to the Pew study, what do many people rely on to make major life decisions?

A．Networks

B．Friends

C．Phones

D．Parents.

It can be inferred from the Pew study that _______.

A．people have been separated from each other by using computers

B．the Internet makes people waste a lot of time and feel very lonely

C．the Internet has become a tool for a new kind of social communication

D．a lot of people regard the person-to-person communication as a good thing

Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．We’re Alone on the Internet.

B．We’re Communicating on the Internet.

C．We’re Alone Together on the Internet.

D．We’re in the Imaginary World of the Internet

Memory, they say, is a matter of practice and exercise. If you have the wish and really made a conscious（自觉的）effort, then you can quite easily improve your ability to remember things. But even if you are successful, there are times when your memory seems to play tricks on you.
Sometimes you remember things that really did not happen. One morning last week, for example, I got up and found that I had left the front door unlocked all night, yet I clearly remember locking it carefully the night before.
Memory “trick” work the other way as well. Once in a while you remember not doing something, and then find out that you did. One day last month, for example, I was sitting in a barber（理发师）shop waiting for my turn to get a haircut, and suddenly I realized that I had got a haircut two days before at the barber shop across the street from my office.
We always seem to find something funny and amusing（有趣的）in incidents caused by people’s forgetfulness or absent-mindedness. Stories about absent-minded professors have been told for years, and we never got tired of hearing new ones. Unfortunately, however, absent-mindedness is not always funny. There are times when “trick” of our memory can cause us great trouble.
If you want to have a good memory, .

A．you should force yourself to remember things

B．you should make a conscious effort of practice and exercise

C．you should never stop learning

D．you should try hard to remember tings

Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．One night the writer forgot to lock the front door.

B．One night the writer forgot having locked the front door.

C．The writer remembered to lock the door.

D．the writer remembered unlocking the front door.

In the passage, the writer seems to tell you .

A．forgetting things is serious and dangerous

B．always forgetting things is understandable

C．forgetting things at times is natural

D．the way to protect yourself from memory “tricks”

The best title for this passage is .

A．How to Get a Good Memory

B．“Tricks” Of Memory

C．Forgetfulness and Absent-mindedness is Dangerous

D．Get Rid of Absent-mindedness

Nearly 600,000 Americans lost their jobs this past month, pushing the nation’s unemployment rate (失业率) to 7.6 percent. But not all of those fired workers are sitting at home, reading the job advertisements and waiting for the phone to ring. Thousands of people are returning to school, making public colleges and universities among the few bright places in the disappointing US economy.
At a time when many Americans have had their work hours cut or have even lost their jobs, Sherian Huddleston is working overtime. She works at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) where she oversees (监督) the enrollment (注册) of new students. The university’s population grew by 800 students this term —an increase of 4 percent over last spring’s enrollment. Huddleston says seeing the enrollment rise in a failing economy is not unexpected. "When people are out of work," she points out, "they will ask 'What else can I do?’ or 'What other careers can I follow?’ They will often return to school if they have not completed a degree before."
Older returning students aren’t the only ones increasing the enrollment at MTSU. Huddleston says she’s also seeing an increase in student transfers (转移). "Students who went out of state, or even within the state, to more expensive schools are transferring to public schools to make use of the lower cost of going to school here," she explains.
Which is the best title for the passage?

A．The Falling American Economy

B．College Enrollment up in a Down Economy

C．Colleges Have More Students Than Before

D．Going to College Is No Longer Difficult

According to the passage, many students return to school ______.

A．to make more money	B．to read job advertisements
C．to complete a degree	D．to ask their schoolmates for help

Many students are transferring to public schools mainly because ______.

A．public schools provide better education

B．public schools offer better jobs to their students

C．they don’t want to be influenced by the falling economy

D．the cost of public schools is lower and they can save money

Which of the following is TRUE about Sherian Huddleston?

A．She is working more hours than before because of the worsening economy.

B．She is a student of Middle Tennessee State University.

C．She disagrees with those who are returning to school.

D．She is surprised to see the enrollment go up.

A．the 1st Floor	B．the East Wing
C．the Rose Gallery	D．the Natural History Museum