I am an English dictionary. I can still remember the day my ex-owner bought me. He had stood in front of the shelf for around half an hour before finally picking me. Originally, he chose my neighbor. But because she had some ink on the cover, he put her down and chose me instead.
I may sound arrogant (傲慢的) . But please forgive me. I am so proud of my vocabulary. With 100,000 entries and 300,000 examples, I think no scholar can be more knowledgeable than me. My only weakness is that I can’t speak. But that is not my fault. I was not designed to speak in the first place. My ex-owner was supposed to read the phonetic symbols (音标) clearly printed beside each word, which were also my selling point. I should have been respected but have ended up lying next to a piece of used toilet paper inside the rubbish bin.
It is all because of the electronic dictionary. He is the bad guy because he takes advantage of my one weakness. And I just don’t understand why he can be so slim. He also has about 100,000entries but 450,000 examples! But I know this was not the reason why my ex-owner was attracted, for he was not a very diligent (勤奋的) student and seldom read the examples listed. The main reason was that the bad guy had so many games in him. My ex-owner always pretended to be working hard while actually he was playing games.
My ex-owner put me on his bookshelf because of my awesome English name “Advanced English Dictionary”. He wanted people to think that he was an advanced learner. I wanted to tell him that it would be better if he hid the comic books standing next to me. But, you know, I can’t speak. I stood there for years. I was so bored. So I talked to the comic book next to me. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have talked to him because I was educated and he was not. But who else could I choose? He told me that my ex-owner had read him once only and then put him there. I was upset because he had never read me from page one to page 1,000. Was I not a better book than the comic book? I wanted to challenge his honesty but before I did so, he was thrown away.
I give up. My pages are absorbing waste water. There is no way people will use me again. Suddenly, I want to talk to the comic book. Would he talk to me if we met?Why does the dictionary think that the electronic dictionary is the “bad guy”?
| A．I t contains more words and examples. |
| B．It can actually pronounce the words. |
| C．It has a smaller size. |
| D．It has many games. |
The dictionary thinks that its ex-owner put it on the bookshelf because he ______.
| A．thought that it could match the comic books |
| B．wanted his friends to study English |
| C．just wanted to show off |
| D．had to use it sometimes |
What was the dictionary’s attitude toward the comic book standing next to it?
| A．It wanted to make friends with him. |
| B．It respected him. |
| C．It envied him. |
| D．It hated him. |
Which of the following is the best title for the text?
| A．A Dictionary Is Replaced with an Electronic One |
| B．Students Seldom Use Dictionaries |
| C．A Dictionary and a Comic Book |
| D．The Experience of a Dictionary |
According to the report by Baekeland and Hartmann, two American authoritative psychotogical research centres, the "short sleepers" had been more or less average in their sleep needs until the men were in their teens．But at about age 15 or so, the men voluntarily began cutting down their nightly sleep time because of pressures from school, work and other activities. These men tended to view their nightly periods of unconsciousness as bothersome interruptions, in their daily routines.
In general, these "short sleeps" appeared ambitious, active, energetic, cheerful,, conformist （循规蹈矩的） in their opinions, and very sure about their career choices．They often held several jobs at once, or workers full - or part - time while going to school．And many of them had a strong urge to appear "normal" or "acceptable" to their friends and associates．When asked to recall their dreams, the "short sleepers" did poorly．More than this, they seemed to prefer not remembering．In similar fashion, their usual way of dealing with psychological problems was to deny that the problem existed, and then to keep busy m the hope that the trouble would go away．The sleep patterns of the “short sleepers" were similar to, but less extreme than, sleep patterns shown by many mental patients categorized as manic （疯人）.
The "long sleepers" were quite different indeed．Baekeland and Hartmann report that these young men had been lengthy sleeps since childhood．They seemed to enjoy their sleep, protected it, and were quite concerned when they were occasionally deprived （剥夺） of their desired 9 hours of nightly bed rest．They tended to recall their dreams much better than the "short sleepers．" did．Many of the "long sleepers" were shy, anxious, introverted （内向）, inhibited （压抑） , passive, mildly depressed, and unsure of themselves （particularly in social situations）．Several openly states that sleep was an escape from their daily problems．
50．According to the text, which is probably the writer' s real attitude towards these two living habits ____．
A．both of them are healthy habits
B．not both of them are unhealthy habits
C．either of them is not unhealthy habits
D．neither of them is healthy habits
51．When sometimes they cannot enjoy adequate sleep, the long sleepers might ____．
A．feel extremely depressed B．become energetic
C．appeared disturbed D．feel disappointed
52．The writer implies （暗示） that short sleepers _____ in the text．
A．are ideally vigorous even under the pressures of life
B．often neglect the consequences of inadequate（不足的）sleep
C．do not know how to relax properly
D．are more unlikely to run into mental problems
After finishing my shopping, I headed for the checkout
counter but was blocked in the narrow passage by a young
man that appeared to be about sixteen years old. I wasn’t in a
hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was
there.
After a little while, he waved his hands excitedly, in the air and shouted in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm here．Mommy, I'm here．" It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged．Suddenly, he turned and saw me standing so close to him．His eyes widened and watched me surprisingly．He turned and saw me standing so close to him. His eyes widened and watched me surprisingly. I stepped back and asked, " Hey, buddy, what’s your name? " " My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly．"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name．I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Hal．" "Hal like Halloween?" he asked．"Yes," I answered．"How old are you, Denny?" "How old am I now．Mommy?" he asked his mother as she came over from the next passage．"You' re fifteen years old, Denny; now be a good boy and let the lady pass by．" I continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer vacation, bicycles and school．I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement．
As we were talking, he suddenly ran toward the toy section．
Denny's mom thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son．She told me that most people wouldn' t even look at him, much less talk to him…I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said, " Denny is a blue rose and if I didn' t stop and smell that rose with my heart, I would miss a blessing from God．"
She looked more puzzled．I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God's garden, however, blue roses are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness （特殊之处）．Denny is such a "blue rose" in God's garden．
46．The story may happen．
A．in a school B．during the summer vacation
C．in a super market D．in the toy section
47．The boy's brown eyes dance with excitement because．
A．he was the center of someone's attention
B．Denny is a cool name
C．he is shopping with his mother
D．he likes summer vacation
48．We can infer from the passage that Danny ______.
A．was mentally challenged B．is 15 years old
C．was often very lonely and neglected D．is a ‘blue rose1’ in God's garden
49．From the passage we can learn that _______.
A．there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God’s garden
B．blue roses'are very rare and should be appreciated
C．most people wouldn’t even look at Denny
D．every person should be appreciated in our life
Let children learn to judge their own work．A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time: if corrected too much, he will stop talking．He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use．Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s．In the same way, children learning to do all the other things: they learn to do without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle, compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes．But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself．We do it all for him．We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to．Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not．
If it is a matter of right answer, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book．Let him correct his own papers．Why should we teachers waste time on such routine work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer．Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, and how to know what they know or do not know．According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by _____．
| A．listening to skilled people’s advice |
| B．asking older people many questions |
| C．making mistakes and having them corrected |
| D．doing what other people do |
Which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?
| A．Give children correct answers． |
| B．Allow children to make mistakes． |
| C．Point out children’s mistakes to them． |
| D．Let children mark their own work． |
According to the writer, teachers in school should ________．
| A．allow children to learn from each other |
| B．point out children’s mistakes whenever found |
| C．give children more book knowledge |
| D．correct children’s mistakes as soon as possible |
The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are ________．
| A．different from learning other skills |
| B．the same as learning skills |
| C．more important than other skills |
| D．not really important skills |
Laptop computers are popular all over the world．People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels．These laptops connect people to their workplace．In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms．
Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want．Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop．The laptops are part of a ＄10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college．The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet．In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families．However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs．They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees-anywhere at all!
Because of the many changes in computer technology , laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable．As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers．In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources．State higher-education officials are studying how laptops can help students．State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too．
At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers．The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons．As one Westlake teacher said, “ Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world．They can see everything and do everything．”The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ________．
A．u se for their schoolwork |
B．access the Internet |
| C．work at home | D．connect them to libraries |
Why is the word “speak” in the second paragraph in quotation marks（引号）?
| A．They don’t really talk． | B．They use the computer language． |
| C．Laptops have speakers． | D．None of the above reasons is correct． |
Which of the following is true about Westlake College?
| A．All teachers use computers． | B．1500 students have laptops． |
| C．It is an old college in America． | D．Students there can do everything． |
A window on the world in the last paragraph means that students can ________．
| A．attend lectures on information technology |
| B．travel around the world |
| C．get information from around the world |
| D．have free laptops |
When we can see well, we do not think about our eyes often．It is only when we can not see perfectly that we come to see how 
important our eyes are．
People who are nearsighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes．Many people who do a lot of close work, such as writing and reading, become nearsighted．Then they have to wear glasses in order to see distant things clearly．
People who are farsighted face just the opposite problem．They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length．If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses too．
Other people do not see clearly because thei
r eyes are not exactly the right shape．This, too, can be corrected by glasses．Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts．Long ago these people often became blind．Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them．
When night falls, colors become fainter to the eyes and finally disappear．After your eyes have grown used to the dark, you can see better if you use the side of your eyes rather than the centers．Sometimes, after dark, you see a small thing to one side of you, which seems to disappear if you turn your head in its direction．This is because when you turn your head, you are looking at the thing too directly．Men on guard duty sometimes think they see something moving to one side of them．When they turn to look straight at it, they can not see it any more, and they believe they were mistaken．However, this mistake happens because the center of the eye, which is very sensitive in daylight, is not as sensitive as the sides of the eye after dark．We don’t know that our eyes are of great importance until ________．
| A．we think about our eyes | B．we cannot see clearly |
| C．we wear glasses | D．we have to do much reading |
According to the passage, a ________ is more likely to be nearsighted．
| A．student | B．doctor | C．guard | D．painter |
People who are farsighted ________ ．
| A．can do a lot of close work without glasses |
| B．can only see things that are very close to their eyes |
| C．have difficulty reading a book if they hold it at arm’s length |
| D．can correct their eyes by glasses |
To see a small thing at night, it is better to look ________ ．
| A．with wide open eyes | B．with half shut or narrowed eyes |
| C．straight at it | D．in a slightly different direction |