Trees should only be pruned（修剪）when there is a good and clear reason for doing so and , fortunately, the number of such reasons is small.
First, pruning may be done to make sure that trees have a desired shape or size.The object may be to get a tree of the right height, and at the same time to help the growth of small side branches（枝条）which will thicken its appearance or give it a special shape.Secondly, pruning may be done to make the tree healthier.You may cut diseased or dead wood, or branches that are rubbing against each other and thus cause wounds.The health of a tree may be encouraged by removing branches that are blocking up the centre and so preventing the free movement of air.
One result of pruning is that an open wound（伤口）is left on the tree and this provides an easy entry for disease, but it is a wound that will heal（愈合）.Often there is a race between the healing and the disease as to whether the tree will live or die.It should be the aim of every gardener to reduce the risk as far as possible.It is necessary to make the area which has been pruned, smooth and clean, for healing will be slowed down by roughness（粗糙）.You should allow the cut surface to dry for a few hours and then paint it with one of the substances available from garden shops produced especially for this purpose.Pruning is usually done in winter, “From then you can see the shape of the tree clearly and it is, too, very unlikely that the cuts you make will bleed.If this does happen, it is, of course, impossible to paint them properly.Pruning should be done to ______.
| A．make the tree grow taller |
| B．improve the shape of the tree |
| C．get rid of the small branches |
| D．make the tree grow taller |
Trees become unhealthy if the gardener ______.
| A．allows too many branches to grow in the middle |
| B．does not protect them from wind |
| C．forces them to grow too quickly |
| D．damages some of the small side branches |
Why is a special substance painted on the tree?
| A．To make a wound smooth and clean. |
| B．To prevent disease entering a wound. |
| C．To cover a rough surface. |
| D．To help a wound to dry. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The history of tree pruning. |
| B．The reasons for tree pruning. |
| C．Some directions for tree pruning. |
| D．Some results of tree pruning. |
Play is the basic business of childhood, and in recent years research has shown the great importance of play in the development of a human being. From earliest infancy (婴儿), every child needs opportunity and right materials for play, and the main tools of play are toys. The main function of toys is to suggest, encourage and play. To succeed in this, they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back again and again. Therefore, it is important to choose suitable toys for different stages of a child’s development.
In recent years research on infant development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life. So a baby’s ability to benefit from the right play materials should not be underestimated. A baby who is encouraged, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully.
In the next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds. Every type of suitable toys should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability: Bricks and jigsaws and construction toys; painting, scribbling and making things; sand and water play; toys for imaginative and pretending play—the first social games for learning to play and get on with others.
But at the third stage of play development—from five to seven or eight years old— the child is at school. But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school. It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys.
Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child. But once reading has been mastered, then books become the main source of learning. Toys are still interesting and valuable, which lead up to new hobbies, but their significance has changed — to a child of nine or ten years old, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun.According to the first passage we know that as a child grows up, ______.
| A．he should be allowed to choose his own toys |
| B．he should be given the same toys |
| C．he should be given fewer and fewer toys |
| D．he should be given different toys |
According to the passage, the abilities a child has inherited from his parents ______.
| A．determine his character |
| B．will not change after the age of three |
| C．partly determined the standard he is likely to reach |
| D．to a large extent determine the choice of toys |
We learn from the passage that a child has boundless curiosity ______.
| A．when he is two | B．when he is around four |
| C．when he is six | D．when he is eight |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．the role of play in a child’s development |
| B．the importance of schooling |
| C．the importance of pre-school education |
| D．the choice of toys for youngster |
TYPING
This course is for those who want to learn to type, as well as those who want to improve their typing. The course is not common. You are tested in the first class and begin practicing at one of eight different skill levels. This allows you to learn at your own speed. Each program lasts 20 hours. Bring your own paper.
Course fee: $ 125 Materials: $25
Two hours each evening for two weeks. New classes begin every two weeks.
This course is taught by a number of qualified business education teachers who have successfully taught typing courses before.
UNDERSTANDING COMPUTERS
This twelve-hour course is for people who do not know very much about computers, but who need to learn about them. You will learn what computers are, what they can and can’t do and how to use them.
Course fee: $75 Equipment fee: $ 10
Jan. 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, Wed. & Sat. 9—11:30 a.m.
Joseph Saunders is Professor of Computer Science at New Urban University. He has over twenty years of experience in the computer field.
STOP SMOKING
Do you want to stop smoking? Have you already tried to stop and failed? Now is the time to stop smoking using the latest methods. You can stop smoking, and this twelve-hour course will help you do it.
Course fee: $30
Jan. 2, 9, 16, 23 Mon. 2—5 p. m.
Dr John Good is a practicing psychologist who had helped hundreds of people stop smoking.If you choose the UNDERSTANDING COMPUTERS course, you will have classes _______.
| A．from Monday to Sunday | B．from Monday to Friday |
| C．on Wednesday and Saturday | D．on Saturday and Sunday |
Mr. Black works every morning and evening, but he wants to take part in one of the three courses. The most probable course he will attend is ______.
| A．typing | B．understanding computers |
| C．stop smoking | D．any of the courses |
If you want to learn computer and at the same time you want to improve your typing, you will pay _______.
| A．$ 75 | B．$ 15 | C．$ 115 | D．$ 235 |
The typical difference of “Typing” from the other two is that ______.
| A．people with different skill levels may learn at different speeds |
| B．you will take a test after the course |
| C．you will pay the fee before practicing |
| D．you will pay less money |
“Can I see my baby?” asked the happy new mother. The bundle （婴儿包）was placed in her arms and when she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped—the baby had been born without ears. Time, however, proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect except his appearance.
One day when he rushed home from school and threw himself into his mother’s arms, he cried out bitterly, “A boy, a big boy … called me — a f-…freak.” She sighed, knowing that his life was to be endless of heartbreaks.
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift for literature and music.
The boy’s father had a talk with the family doctor. Could nothing be done? “I believe we could graft（移植）on a pair of outer ears, if they could be donated,” the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by. Then, “You’re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret.” said the father.
The operation was a brilliant success. His talents blossomed into genius. School and college became a series of successes. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. “But I must know!” he urged his father. “Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him.” “I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know … not yet.” The years kept the secret, but the day did come … one of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket（棺材）. Slowly and tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to let out the secret.The story is mainly about _______.
| A．how a boy had new ears through an operation |
| B．what a devoted parent privately did for the child |
| C．how a disabled boy turned into a useful person |
| D．why a donator made a sacrifice to a bright boy |
The underlined word “freak” in Paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to “_______”.
| A．slow-acting person | B．good-looking child |
| C．badly-behaved student | D．strangely-shaped creature |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The agreement was between the donator and the family. |
| B．The boy was so popular that he was made class president. |
| C．Finally the boy came to know who the donator was. |
| D．The mother donated her ears to her son after she died. |
What moral lesson can we draw from this reading?
| A．Real love lies in what is done unknown rather than what is done known. |
| B．It is up to parents to help their children heart and soul. |
| C．True beauty lies only in the heart not in appearance. |
| D．It is a virtue（美德）for young generations to learn to be grateful. |
Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet
Explanation of Contents
This is the fourth edition of these pages. It is hard to believe, but once again they are new and improved. My motive in publishing these pages remains to help and stimulate others in Shakespeare studies, and especially those who might contribute their work to the Internet. The spirit of altruism (利他主义) that originally built the Internet is not quite gone, though, sadly, through the pressure of time and profit has lessened.
A major new addition to the pages is a Shakespeare Timeline, which is an online biography mounted at this site. The problems with searching for Shakespeare resources using the available Search Engines are:
---- It is difficult to focus most searches so that you get a manageable number of relevant hits;
---- It is impossible by simply reading an abstract to make any distinction between the output of a Junior High School student and that of a professional researcher.
Another change in these pages over previous editions is the “What’s News” page. If you come away from these pages with the feeling that they are very useful but slightly pedantic (学究的), I will have realized my goal.
An Apology
I am continually apologizing to the many who have written me requesting revisions of the pages. We are all too busy. I simply have not had the time to dedicate to these pages that I wish. But I love the material and so have, at long last, made some time to update them.
A Reminder to Young Students
These pages contain the best links I can find to Shakespeare on the Internet. As a reminder, I would say I very much enjoy hearing from people who view and use these pages. If you want to do Shakespeare research using the web, this page is a great starting point, and I keep it as current as I can. The web is in its infancy in bringing good, scholarly content to students. Don’t forget the best, if not quickest, resources are still in your library.
57. The passage is written to ____.
A. introduce the fourth edition of these pages
B. make an apology to readers
C. show off these pages to readers
D. let Shakespeare researchers buy these pages
58. Which of the following is the new addition to the pages?
A. The writer’s apology.
B. Search Engines.
C. A Shakespeare Timeline.
D. Receiving readers’ e-mails.
59. When searching for Shakespeare resources using Search Engines, you ____.
A. will waste some time in finding what you want
B. can easily recognize what the abstract means
C. will often come into the “What’s News” pages
D. will find something special on your computers
60. Which of the following can best conclude the last paragraph?
A. The writer will often read letters from those who use these pages.
B. The writer of the passage is very selfish.
C. The web was just created four years ago
D. Shakespeare researchers should first of all refer to these pages.
When early colonial settlers went to America, they took many forms of dance to their new home. Square dancing, one of the oldest forms of American folk dancing, developed from several different Old World group dances, mainly English country dances, and the French quadrille(四对方舞).
In the American version of square dancing, four couples form a square and dance to music. An American addition to square dancing is the caller. What do you think a caller does?
The callers---someone who calls out the dance steps in time to the music--- was a completely American invention. At first dancers memorized all the steps for a particular dance, but eventually the dances became so complicated that it was necessary to have someone call out cues (提示) so that dancers didn’t have to remember so many steps. The caller didn’t just call out “do-se-do your partner”; a good caller also came up with colourful sayings or witty lines that he said in between the cues such as “Don’t be shy and don’t be afraid. Swing on the corner in a waltz promenade (步伐).” A caller might also come up with new dance steps and routines.
Although popular for years, square dancing seemed to be going out of style and fading away until the early 1930s, when Henry Ford helped revive interest in it. Ford, the automobile manufacturer, used to vacation at the Wayside Inn in Massachusetts, where he enjoyed the dance programme run by a man named Benjamin Lovett. Ford asked Lovett to come to Detroit and teach dances, but Lovett said he couldn’t because he had a contract with the inn. Ford solved that problem by buying the inn and Lovett’s contract. He took Lovett back to Detroit, where together they established a programme for teaching squares and rounds. Square dancing was updated and groups began forming all over the country.
53. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Different Steps of Square Dancing
B. The Origin and Development of Square Dancing
C. Who Was the Inventor of Square Dancing?
D. Why Did Square Dancing Go Out of Style? W
54. What does the underlined part “their new home” refer to?
A. The United Kingdom. B. France.
C. Africa. D. America.
55. Why did the caller call out the steps for the dancers?
A. Because the dance was invented by the caller.
B. Because the dancers didn’t know the names of the steps.
C. Because the steps were very particular.
D. Because it was hard for the dancers to remember all the steps.
56. Why did the author mention Henry Ford in the last paragraph?
A. Because he was the man who made the first car.
B. Because he was vey fond of dancing.
C. Because he helped make square dancing popular again.
D. Because he taught people how to dance.