In the office of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, there is a picture of Catherine the Great, the legendary Russian Empress. When asked why she has the picture, Merkel says, “She was a strong woman”. Many say the same of Merkel.
The most powerful woman in the world, according to US Forbes magazine, was in China last week. She came to discuss trade and environmental issues with China’s top leaders. Germany’s first woman leader is known as a brave and practical statesman(政治家). Even since her time at school, she had the habit of getting everything in order. Every day before doing her homework she would clean the desk and think about what to do next. “I prefer a long time for full preparations to make my decision. But once I decide, I will stand up for what I believe,” Merkel said.
Perhaps it was good habits that helped her do well in her studies. At 32, she got a doctorate (博士学位) in physics and then she worked as a researcher.
However, the life of a scholar couldn’t put off her love of politics. While working in labs, Merkel took time off to read political books and at last joined a political party. “Her calmness helped her stand out in the party. She could always find a way out while others felt hopeless,” said one of her old friends.
In her first big political job as Minister for the Environment in 1994, her scientific background proved very useful. In 2005 she became Germany’s youngest chancellor since the second World War.
Now half way through her four-
year term, the 53-year-old woman has made a name for herself both in Germany and abroad. At the EU summit in 2005 when France quarreled with Britain over the EU budget(预算), some people believed the EU was close to breaking down. But Merkel didn’t give up. She shuttled(穿梭) between the heads of the two powers and had them reached an agreement.
“Strength comes from composure(镇定) and courage. Many people say I am a strong woman. But I would rather say I have perseverance,” said Merkel.Why does Merkel put a picture of Catherine the Great on the wall of her office?
| A．Because Catherine the Great is beautiful. |
| B．Because Merkel wants to be a strong woman too. |
| C．Because Merkel likes the drawing skill of it. |
| D．Because it is very expensive. |
What is the correct order of the following events?
a. became the German Chancellor
b. got a doctorate in physics and then she worked as a researcher
c. join a political party
d. visit China
e. take part in the EU summit
f. as Minister for the Environment
| A．bcafde | B．cbfdae | C．bcfaed | D．cbfaed |
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Merkel usually is hurry to make a decision when facing difficulties. |
| B．At the EU summit in 2005, the relationship between French and Britain was in tension. |
| C．Merkel is a well-known leader all over the world. |
| D．She is outstanding because of her calmness. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．An excellent lecturer | B．Germany’s iron lady |
| C．The change of a scholar | D．The youngest chancellor |
Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere wall away from your college.
King’s Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint – free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
the Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species; it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron’s Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron’s time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”. However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I’m not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron’s Pool. A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside, the pool is surrounded by the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don’t trust me, then perhaps you’ll take it from Virginia Woolf – over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool. As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for ____.
| A．attending the masters’ class | B．working with local artists |
| C．learning life drawing | D．seeing an exhibition |
“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ____.
| A．common insects | B．impressive plants |
| C．rarely-seen snakes | D．wildlife-enthusiasts |
We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ____.
| A．to fear pet bears | B．to like walking |
| C．to be a heavy drinker | D．to finish university in 1805 |
In the passage Byron’s Pool is described as a lake ____.
| A．surrounded by fields | B．owned by Lord Byron |
| C．located in Grantchester | D．discovered by Virginia Woolf |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Some places for weekend break. |
| B．A way to become creative in art. |
| C．The colorful life in the countryside. |
| D．Unknown stories of Cambridge University. |
One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn’t or couldn’t sleep, I tried everything I could think of : a warm bottle, songs gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him. Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill of the hours till dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right down, his little eyes focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then tiptoes out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi's forty-fifth birthday.
My wife and I heard none of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself.
I found in my baby's behavior a symbol of the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don't read and they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion: “Let them watch it!” If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight about it? Let them watch it all they want! Why did the author bring a TV set into his son's room?
| A．To make his son keep quiet. |
| B．To spend the night by watching TV programs. |
| C．In order not to let his son feel lonely. |
| D．To make his son go to sleep as soon as possible. |
The baby's reaction to the TV program was _______ .
| A．unexpected | B．encouraging | C．exciting | D．nervous |
From this passage we know that the author is probably.
| A．a doctor | B．a reporter | C．an editor | D．a teacher |
According to the passage, which is true of the school children?
| A．They prefer reading to watching TV. |
| B．They like watching TV after school. |
| C．They would rather watch TV than read books. |
| D．They like their teachers who teach them reading. |
What does the underlined phrase in the last paragraph mean according to the passage?
| A．talk about | B．think about | C．quallel about | D．care about |
Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia’s northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile’s（鳄鱼） back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater.
Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.
Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
“This could have been a fatal and tragic situation,” said the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report.
He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband’s “quick and diligent actions”.
Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodileThis passage is most likely to be found in _____.
| A．a travel guide | B．a newspaper | C．a textbook | D．a novel |
The crocodile attacked Ms Pethrick when she was ______.
| A．swimming in the river |
| B．standing on the river bank |
| C．watching the crocodile |
| D．fishing in the water |
Which of the following statements is TRUE about Ms Pethrick?
| A．Her eyes were badly poked. |
| B．She had eight wounds altogether. |
| C．One of her fingers also got hurt. |
| D．One of the crocodile’s teeth was found in her leg. |
According to the passage, Norm Pethrick can be described as following EXCEPT ______.
| A．brave | B．diligent |
| C．quick | D．humorous |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The husband should save the wife |
| B．A man saves wife’s life from crocodile’s jaws |
| C．A crocodile is not so dangerous as people imagine |
| D．Human beings can beat crocodiles sometimes |
Our particular parenting style reflects our own way of “looking”. Here’s a great piece of writing reflecting parent’s particular ways on the parenting style that have become known humorously as helicopter parenting and submarine parenting.
Helicopter parents hover over their children, managing every aspect of their child’s life. On the contrary, submarine parents remain “hidden” coming to the surface when guidance is needed.
While helicopter parents may have the best intentions, in reality, they are raising children with few problem solving skills. Children with hovering parents never get the chance to face disappointment and build up their ability to recover from misfortune.
Think about your typical submarine. Submarines usually remain underwater. In case of a need for emergency surfacing, submarines can rise so quickly. They are driven partially out of the water. Submarine parents also remain out of sight, yet able to appear in the case of an emergency.
I admit I’m a submarine mom. My job as a parent is to have fun with my daughters while letting them explore and learn natural consequences. 
My older daughter found herself acting in commercials and making more than minimum wage as a teen. To give her a sense of the real world, I insisted she spend three weeks every summer, picking strawberries and earning $3.50 on a good day.
When my youngest daughter Sondra was six, she wanted a very expensive American Girl Doll. I cut the full color 18" picture out of the American Girl catalogue and had it laminated (压膜). “Here’s your American Girl Doll.” I said “When you turn nine, I’ll buy you the 3D doll on your birthday.” Sondra played with her flat doll for months, making clothes and furniture for her. She learned creativity. I saved $88.00.What is the text mainly about?
| A．Various means of transportation. |
| B．Funny experiences of a mom. |
| C．Humorous stories about parents. |
| D．Different styles of parenting. |
The underlined phrase “hover over” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “_____”.
| A．leave behind | B．fly around | C．watch over | D．set aside |
Which of the following can be learned about helicopter parents from the passage?
| A．They give their children proper guidance. |
| B．They try to do everything for their children. |
| C．They teach their children how to face failures. |
| D．They help their children explore by themselves. |
The author supports her point of view mainly by _____.
| A．stating facts and offering advice |
| B．using figures and giving evidence |
| C．analyzing data and drawing conclusions |
| D．making comparisons and giving examples |
Who do you think breaks the law in our society? If you believe that only tough guys commit crimes, you may have to think again. Unlike in the movies, we can’t divide the world into bad guys and model citizens. Real life is much more complex. In the same way that diseases range from the common cold to fatal forms of cancer, crimes vary in degree. For example, smoking in an elevator will inconvenience people, but much less than threatening them with a gun.
In addition to breaking the law themselves, people tolerate various levels of crime. Why can we tolerate some crimes? It may be that, by seeing others do something, we accept it more easily. For instance, most people will find it easier to speed on a highway when everybody else is driving over the speed limit. When people celebrate a sports championship, if they see someone breaking store windows, they might start breaking windows themselves or even steal from the store. So the people around us influence how much law-breaking we can tolerate.
We must also wonder whether seeing violence on television or reading about it in the newspapers every day makes us tolerate crime more than we should. We become used to seeing blood on the news on television, or in full color in newspapers and magazines. Because we see thousands of dead people on TV, maybe we just try to ignore the situation behind the violence.
If so many citizens tolerate violence and crime, or even commit crimes themselves, it may simply be because of the human mind. Our minds may not care about specific laws. Instead, our minds may have a system of values that usually prevents us from hurting other people to improve our own lives. Yet, when it comes to respecting the rights of a mass of anonymous (不知名的) individuals, we might not be so responsible. While most people would not steal a wallet containing $50, they may not mind cheating on taxes, because cheating on taxes does not hurt any one person. It hurts society, but “society” remains an abstract idea that is not as real as a neighbor or a friend’s friend.
When we realize that so many people have misunderstandings of law-breaking, it is not surprising that so many people tolerate crimes, or even break laws, including me. But how could we improve the level of honesty in our society? Would strict laws help make our society better? Probably not. Honesty will have to come from social pressure: in the family, at school, on the job, each and every one of us can encourage honesty by showing which behavior is unacceptable. And teaching respect should become everyone’s responsibility. According to the author, “Real life is much more complex.” probably means .
| A．there is a wide range of people and crimes in the real life |
| B．smoking in an elevator goes against laws in the real life |
| C．there are much more crimes than diseases in the real life |
| D．some model citizens sometimes break laws in the real life |
What does the author think of the people who cheat on taxes?
| A．They take no notice of the human mind. |
| B．They break the laws unaccepted in their minds. |
| C．They aren’t concerned about some particular laws. |
| D．They hurt other people to improve their own lives. |
People tolerate violence and crime because .
| A．their behavior is the same as that of most other people |
| B．they pay no attention to the truth behind the crimes |
| C．most unlawful acts are not harmful to the individual |
| D．they hold mistaken beliefs about law-breaking |
What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To discuss whether laws are strict enough. |
| B．To remind people to behave with honesty. |
| C．To show people the importance of education. |
| D．To explain why many people have criminal records. |