At thirteen, I was diagnosed（诊断） with a kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said, “Mrs. Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it.”
She glanced down at me through her glasses, “you are no different from your classmates, young man.”
I tried, but I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home.
In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn’t get much education. But Louis didn’t give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots（点）, which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn’t I the “blind” in my class, being made to learn like the “sighted” students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; I just needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?
I didn’t expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs. Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day--- with an “A” on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words: “ See what you can do when you keep trying?”
The author didn’t finish the reading in class because .
| A．He was new to the class |
| B．He was tried of literature |
| C．He had an attention disorder |
| D．He wanted to take the task home |
What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?
| A．He had good sight | B．He made a great invention. |
| C．He gave up reading | D．He learned a lot from school |
What was Mrs. Smith ‘s attitude to the author at the end of the story?
| A．Angry | B．Impatient | C．Sympathetic | D．Encouraging |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The disabled should be treated with respect. |
| B．A teacher can open up a new world to students. |
| C．One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts. |
| D．Everyone needs a hand when faced with challenges. |
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Here are some advertisements taken from a newspaper.
(1)
Dear Drew Carter,
Your first year on this earth has been a pleasure ride for all of us. We love you!
Love,
Dad and Mom and many friends
(2)
Lawlis—Clarke
The Doctors Virgil and Marjorie Lawlis are pleased to announce the engagement（订婚）of their daughter Diana Susan to Mr. Robert Brent Clarke, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Clarke of Herford, Texas.
A spring wedding is planned in Houston.
(3)
Isbell—Foss
Mr. And Mrs. Davis K. Isbell announce the marriage of their daughter Dang to Mr. Stanley Foss, son of Mrs. John Sipe of Ada, Minnesota.
The wedding will be early April at Abiding Love Lutheran Church.
(4)
Story—Kurio
Miss Stephanie Story and Mr. Warren Kurio married on February 5, at half past seven o’clock in the evening at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas. The bride（新娘）is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs, Herbert Brule Story Jr. of Dallas. The groom（新郎）is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Stanley Kurio of Austin.
68．What would be the best title for the first advertisement?
A．We Love You B．Happy 1st Birthday C．One Year Old D．Our One-Year-Old Son
69．Lawlis and Clarke are going to get married .
A．in a church B．where Clarke’s parents live
C．against their parents’ will D．to Lawlis’s parents’ joy
70．Who got or will get married in spring?
A．Not only Lawlis and Clarke but also Isbell and Foss.
B．Neither Lawlis and Clarke nor Isbell and Foss.
C．Either Isbell and Foss or Story and Kurio.
D．Neither Lawlis and Clarke nor Story and Kurio.
71．Who are now a married couple?
A．Lawlis and Clarke. B．Dand Isbell and Foss.
C．Story and Kurio. D．The text doesn’t say.
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Robert Owen was born in Wales in 1771. At the age of ten he went to work. His employer had a large
Private library so Owen was able to educate himself. He read a lot in his spare time and at nineteen he was given the job of superintendent(监工) at a Manchester cotton mill. He was so successful there that he persuaded his employer to buy the New Lanark mill in Scotland.
When he arrived at New Lanark it was a dirty little town with a population of 2,000 people. Nobody
paid any attention to the workers' houses or their children's education. The conditions in the factories were very bad. There was a lot of crime and the men spent most of their wages on alcoholic drinks.
Owen improved the houses. He encouraged people to be clean and save money. He opened a shop and sold the workers cheap, well-made goods to help them. He limited the sale of alcoholic drinks. Above all, he fixed his mind on the children's education. In 1816 he opened the first free primary school in Britain.
People came from all over the country to visit Owen's factory. They saw that the workers were healthier and more efficient than in other towns. Their children were better fed and better educated. Owen tried the same experiment in the United States. He bought some land there in 1825,but the community was too far away. He could not keep it under control and lost most of his money.
Owen never stopped fighting for his idea. Above all he believed that people are not born good or bad.
He was a practical man and his ideas were practical. "If you give people good working conditions," he thought, "they will work well and, the most important thing of all, if you give them the chance to learn, they will be better people."
64. For Owen, his greatest achievement in New Lanark was _____________.
A. improving worker's houses B. h
elping people to save money
C. preventing men from getting drunk D. providing the children with a good education
65. From the passage we may infer that Owen was born ___________.
A. into a rich familyB. into a noble family
C. into a poor family D. into a middle class family
66. Owen's experiment in the United States failed because _______.
A. he lost all his money
B. he did not buy enough land
C. people who visited it were not impressed
D. it was too far away for him to organize it properly
67. We may infer form the passage that no children in Britain could enjoy free education until ____.
A. 1771 B. 1816C. 1825 D. 1860
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Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided the into 20groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests,Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room
with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
60. From paragraph 2 we know that ______________.
A. animals are as clever as human beings
B. dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees
C. chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills
D. dogs have 
similar 'learning abilities as 3-year-old children
61. Both experiments show that__________
A. Rico is smart enough to get all commands right
B. Rico can recognize different things including toys
C. Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics
D. Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them
62. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities.
B. Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training.
C. The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects.
D. Rico is born to understand its owner's commands.
63. What does the writer want to tell us?
A. To train your dog. B. To talk to your dog.
C. To be friendly to your dog. D. To be careful with your dog.
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III. Reading comprehension30%:
WASHINGTON---Worldwide sales of personal computer in 1995 rose 24.7 percent over 1994 with Compaq（美国康柏电脑公司）holding its first—place position while IBM overcame（击败）Apple for the No.2 slot （表上排名）,according to Dataquest.
A total of 59.7 million computers were sold around the world with important gains（获得）in Japan and Europe.
Compaq sold 5.99 million computers ,or 10percent of the market ,unchanged from 1994.
IBM sold 4.7 m
illion with an 8 percent share of the market compared with 8.2 percent in 1994 .
Apple sold 4.7 million ,or 7.8 percent of the trade ,compared with 8.4 percent in 1994.
Their lost market share was taken up by Packard Bell and NEC ,which sold 3.1 million and 2.8 million computers separately.
56．Which company was the first in selling computers in 1994?
A．Compaq B．IBM C．Apple D．NEC
57．Which company sold the third most computers in 1995?
A．Compaq B．IBM C．Apple D．NEC
58．What was the market share of Compaq in 1994?
A．5.99% B．8.2% C．8.4% D．10%
59．Packard Bell and NEC take up about____________ of the market share in 1995.
A．8.2% B．52% C．10% D．5%
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I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑) in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks(地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!
67. When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually ______.
A. describe the place carefully B. show him a map of the place
C. tell him the names of the streets D. refer to recognizable buildings and places
68. What is the place where people measure distance in time?
A. New York.. B. Los Angeles. C. Kansas. D. Iowa.
69. People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ______.
A. in order to save time B. because of honesty
C. so as to be polite D. for fun
70. What can we infer from the text?
A. It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences.
B. It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.
C. People have similar understandings of politeness.
D. New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.