Seventy years ago I was quite a small little girl, the baby of the family, with an older brother and sister. My father was very ill at the time, and my mother took in sewing of any kind so we could live. She would sew far into the night with nothing but dim gas mantles and an old treadle sewing machine. She never complained even when the fire would be low and the food very scarce. She would sew until the early hours of morning.
Things were very bad that particular winter. Then a letter came from where her sewing machine was purchased, stating that they would have to pick up her machine the next day unless payments were brought up to date. I remember when she read the letter I became frightened; I could picture us starving to death and all sorts of things that could come to a child‘s mind. My mother did not appear to be worried, however, and seemed to be quite calm about the matter. I, on the other hand, cried myself to sleep, wondering what would become of our family. Mother said God would not fail her, that he never had. I couldn‘t see how God was going to help us keep this old sewing machine.
The day the men were to come for our only means of support, there was a knock at the kitchen door. I was frightened as a child would be, for I was sure it was those dreaded men. Instead, a nicely dressed man stood at our door with a darling baby in his arms.
He asked my mother if she was Mrs. Hill. When she said she was, he said, "I‘m in trouble this morning and you have been recommended by the druggist and grocer down the street as an honest and wonderful woman. My wife was rushed to the hospital this morning, and since we have no relatives here, and I must open my dentist office, I have nowhere to leave my baby. Could you possibly take care of her for a few days?" He continued, "I will pay you in advance." With this he took out ten dollars and gave it to my mother.
Mother said, "Yes, yes, I will be glad to do so," and took the baby from his arms. When the man left, Mother turned to me with tears streaming down a face that looked as though a light was shining on it. She said, "I knew God would never let them take away my machine."The turning point in the story may refer to ______.
| A．a letter to the family |
| B．the time when mother comforted me |
| C．the man’s coming for help |
| D．the nicely dressed man’s trouble |
According to the text all the following are true to the man EXCEPT _____.
| A．his wife stayed in hospital |
| B．he was confused when in trouble |
| C．he had few men to turn to for help |
| D．he was a dentist |
What does mother mean by saying “I knew God would never let them take away my machine.?”
| A．God can do everything |
| B．The sewing machine is my only support |
| C．Everybody should believe in God |
| D．Never give up when in trouble |
Johnny was a cashier (收银员) in a large store. Every night when he came home from work, he would find a saying for the day and print it out on fifty pages of paper. Johnny would cut out each saying and sign his name at the bottom of each one. Then he would put them in a paper bag and put the bag beside him at work. Each time he finished bagging someone’s purchases, he would put one of his saying pieces in the customer’s bag as well. It touched me to think that this young man —with a job that most people thought not important —had made it important by creating precious memories for all of his customers. A month later the store manager called me and said, "Barbara, you won’t believe what happened today. When I went up to where the cashiers were, I found Johnny’s line was three times longer than anyone else’s! So I got more cashiers out there and opened more lanes (通道), but no one would move. They all said they wanted Johnny’s saying for the day." The store manager continued, "I got a lump in my throat when a woman came up to me and said, 'I used to shop at your store only once a week, but now I come in every time I go by for Johnny’s sayings.’" A few months later, the store manager called me again. "Johnny has changed our store completely," he said. "All of our cashiers now have their own personal signatures (签名). Everyone’s having a lot of fun creating good memories. Our customers are talking about us in a good way and are coming back with their friends."
1. How did Johnny deal with his saying pieces?
A. He put them in customers’ pockets.
B. He had others hand them to customers.
C. He put them in customers’ shopping bags.
D. He handed them to customers before they left.
2. With those sayings Johnny ___________.
A. drew the other cashiers’ attention to himself
B. got paid more than before
C. made good memories for his customers
D. encouraged himself to work harder
3. What did the store manager see a month later?
A. All of his cashiers had their own personal signatures.
B. Many customers chose Johnny’s lane to pay for their goods.
C. The store went out of order because there were too many customers.
D. Customers asked for Johnny’s sayings instead of buying goods.
4. The underlined part in the passage showed the store manager _________.
A. didn’t know why this happened
B. felt a little uncomfortable
C. felt extremely sad
D. was moved by what Johnny had done
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。
Long long ago, there was an old merchant who had three sons. “To which one shall I leave my fortune?” he wondered. “It must be to the cleverest son. But which one is the cleverest?”
He called his three sons to him. “Here is some money,” he told them, “you must each take one coin to buy something that will fill this room. Anyone who can do this shall have my fortune.”
“It is a big room,” said the eldest son.
“One coin will not buy very much,” said the second son.
But the youngest son said nothing. He stood and thought, and then he smiled, “Come, brothers,” he said, “let us go to the market.”
The eldest son bought straw with his coin. But one coin bought only a bit of straw. Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the straw covered only a corner of the room.
The second son bought sand with his coin. But one coin bought only a bit of sand. Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the sand covered only half of the floor.
“What did you buy?” the eldest son angrily asked the youngest son. “You don't have any straw.”
“Yes, what did you buy?” the second son asked angrily. “You don't have any sand.”
“I bought this,” said the youngest son.
“A candle！(蜡烛)” cried his brothers. “What good is a candle?”
“Watch”,said the youngest son.
He lit the candle, and all at once the room was filled from wall to wall, from ceiling to floor. It was filled with light!
“Although you are the youngest, you are indeed the cleverest of my sons,” the old merchant said.
And that is how, the old merchant left his fortune to his youngest son, the one who could fill a room with light.
1. Who would get father's fortune?
A. The oldest son. B. The richest son. C. The cleverest son. D. The silliest son.
2. The merchant left his fortune to the son
A. who would fill the room by using something which is worthy of one coin
B. who would take care of him when he became old
C. who wanted to get his fortune D. who got married first
3. How do you think of the youngest son?
A. He is very clever. B. He is very lazy.
C. He is very mean. D. He is very diligent.
4. The youngest son used _____ to fill the room.
A. straw B. candle C. sand D. water
The Universal Autograph(名人签名) Collectors Club (UACC) has been serving the collector for over 25 years. Founded in 1965, the UACC began as a small group of Long Island, New York autograph collectors and has grown to be the largest collectors organization of its kind.
The UACC by its purpose is primarily an educational fellowship(联谊会) where knowledge and resources are shared with not only the membership, but also the public at large. By joining the UACC, you will be introduced to the fastest growing hobby in the world today.
Autographs have been called "frozen moments in time" by some people. Probably the most personal thing that one person can give is his or her signature.
In 1834, former President James Madison sent an autograph for a collection which the Princess Victoria was making. The future British Queen was only 15 years old at the time. Financier J.P. Morgan, Sr. began collecting when he was 16, and his son continued adding to the father's collection. As the daughter of the Mayor of Boston, Rose Fitzgerald collected autographs, as did her son, John F. Kennedy. Franklin Roosevelt, Malcolm Forbes and Glenn Ford are a few more well-known autograph collectors. By collecting autographs, you become a curator(馆长) of history.
Here are some of the best reasons to join the UACC.
The UACC publishes The Pen and Quill, the highly regarded 64-page bimonthly journal with articles and news in all fields of autograph collecting. UACC members may place free ads in the the Pen and Quill to express their wants or just swap with other members.
Writing for autographs to famous living people can also be interesting. The more interesting the letter, the better chance for an interesting reply.
The UACC also offers its members the opportunity to buy uncommon autographic material at low prices. Meanwhile, it publishes low cost reference works for its members.
Once you join the UACC, you will be added to our mailing list and will receive catalogs(目录) of autographs for sale by dealer members. The UACC has nearly 200 of the world's most professional dealers as members. Each member provides contact information on our website, including mailing address, telephone numbers, email addresses, website addresses, etc. We always try to promote our Dealer program and encourage collectors to always buy from these dealers.
57.Paragraph 4 is presented to inform you that_______.
A.autographs might be the most personal thing that one can give
B.the hobby started as early as the 19th century
C.autographs have a long history and was popular even among great people
D.autographs reflect history and sometimes change history
58.What does the underlined word “swap” probably mean?
A. write for autographs B. exchange autographs
C. mail autographs D. sign autographs
59.Which of the following about the service offered by the UACC is not right?
A.It offers members a good way in which they can get what they need much easily.
B.A magazine is published every two months to help you know about the world’s hobby.
C.It offers collectors great deals on unusual autographs at reasonable prices.
D.It offers Internet service to make extra profits.
60This passage is mainly ______.
A.to encourage you to join the UACC
B.to tell you how interesting autograph collecting is
C.to tell you the fast development of the autograph collecting
D.to inform you where you can get an autograph
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table. I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked: “So, how have you been?” And the boy, who could not have been more than seven or eight years old, replied, “Frankly, I’ve been a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed” until we were in high school.
The evidence of a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists, why?
Human development is based not only on innate(天生) biological states, but also on patterns of access to social knowledge. Movement from one social rote(生搬硬套) to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new status. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages: we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation(揭示) machine has been brought in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, indiscriminately (不加区分地). Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more vivid moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access. Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbol that must be memorized and practices. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.
53. Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world______________.
A. through contact with society
B. naturally and by biological instinct (本能)
C. gradually and under guidance
D. through exposure to social information
54. The phenomenon that today’s children seem adult like is due to ____________.
A. the widespread influence of television
B. the poor arrangement of teaching content
C. the fast pace of human intellectual development
D. the constantly rising standard of living
55. Why is the author in favor of communication through print for children?
A. It enables children to gain more social information.
B. It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.
C. It helps children to memorize and practice more.
D. It can control what children are to learn.
56. What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
A. He feels amused by their premature (早熟) behavior.
B. He thinks it is a phenomenon worthy of note.
C. He considers it a positive development.
D. He seems to be upset about it.
We redheads are well known for our bad tempers. Now it seems there is scientific backing for our particular complaining as well.
Scientists in the United States studied a group of 144 dental patients almost half of whom had red hair. They found that the red-haired group were more sensitive to pain and as a result were twice as likely to avoid visiting the dentist.
Previous research had shown that redheads were more resistant to the effects of local anaesthesia(局部麻醉) than people with other hair colours.
The scientists say that this red-haired sensitivity to pain stems from the actions of a gene called MC1R. This is responsible for the production of melanin which gives skin and hair its colour. In about five percent of white people the gene is mutated(突变) leading to fair skin and red hair.
Researchers say there are some people with the gene in the brain and that this could affect pain sensitivity.
Professor Daniel Sessler from the Cleveland Clinic in the United States is one of the authors of the study. He says the research is a considerable scientific breakthrough.
"Red hair is the first phenotype(表现某一显性特征之生物个体或群体) of anaesthetic requirement in humans. And what I mean by phenotype is an external(外部的) characteristic.
"So suppuse you are walking down the street and you see someone who's a little older and a little younger - that tells you nothing about their anaesthetic requirement. You see a man and a woman - that tells you nothing about their anaesthetic requirement. But you see a redhead - aha! You know that person is going to require 20 percent more general anaesthesia."
From my own personal experience I would say that there is some merit to this idea. I have found that I have had to ask dentists for extra anaesthetic in the middle of procedures.
Some dentists argue that a greater sensitivity to pain might actually benefit redheads and drive them to see the dentist more quickly. In my own case I can prove that is definitely not true.
49. We learn from the text that red- haired group are _______________.
A. easily influenced by the sense of pain and need more anthaethetic reqiurement
B. usually more sensitive to some painful things
C. just well-known for their good temper and strong pain sensitivity
D. good-looking with fair skin and red hair
50. What do the scientists think this red-haired sensitivity to pain results from?
A. melanin which is responsible for the production which gives skin and hair its colour.
B. the mutated gene leading to fair skin and red hair
C. some persons with this gene in the brain
D. an external characteristic of a person.
51. According to Professor Daniel Sessler, the most amazing thing about the anaesthetic requirement in humans which can be judged by ______.
A. someone’s age and hair
B. someome’s gender and figure
C. someone’s teeth and the skills of the dentist
D. someone’s external charateristic
52. We can infer from the last two paragraphs that _____.
A . redheads need less anaesthetic in the operation
B. the results of this red-haired sensitivity to pain will be the same
C. the writer is a red-haired person
D. redheads have many benefits of being red-haired