If you want to watch and know something about birds, you must find a good place near the bird nest（巢）.
Birds sit on eggs and take care of their babies from April to June. Because the baby birds are too young to leave the nest, parents often go to look for food and come back in several minutes. So it is good to watch birds. When we watch birds, we’d better hide ourselves in a close place to the nest, and it’s better to use binoculars .
But how to make a bird nest? A good bird nest must be very fine, strong, thick and comfortable. If you want to make one, please follow these:
a) Each nest must have six boards (木板). Don’t make the boards too slippery (滑).
b) Dig a small hole in the front of the nest as a “door”. The “door” is big enough so birds can fly in or out easily.
c) Make sure the rainwater can’t go into the nest.
d) One piece of the board should be easy to open.
e) Don’t forget to color the nest.
The most important thing in watching birds is to .
| A．look for a place near the bird nest |
| B．climb up to the trees |
| C．catch a bird |
| D．kill a bird |
We have to hide ourselves to ___ , when we’re watching birds.
| A．take better care of them |
| B．use the binoculars |
| C．make them do everything as usual |
| D．kill them at last |
We should leave a hole in the front of the nest so that easily.
| A．we can clean the nest |
| B．birds can fly in or out |
| C．we can hang（挂） |
| D．we can make it |
Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One of this year’s studies found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10 to 15 minutes a day, and then other teachers who basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day — which really for handwriting is pretty much.
Many adults remember learning that way — by copying letters over and over again. Today’s thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts(专家) also think handwriting should not be taught by itself. Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write.
Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility, which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency(流畅) — writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school.
But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about one fourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.
But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt says word processing is seldom done in primary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive, which connects the letters. But guess what we learned from a spokeswoman for the College Board(大学委员会). More than 75 percent of students choose to print their essay(article) on the test rather than write in cursive.From Paragraph 1 we can learn .
| A．teaching handwriting is a basic requirement in the teaching job |
| B．most teachers prefer to teach handwriting |
| C．teachers spend little time in teaching handwriting |
| D．a keyboard has taken the place of the handwriting |
Which of the following is WRONG for traditional handwriting in the USA?
| A．Handwriting includes two skills. |
| B．To write in cursive is taught first. |
| C．The letters are repeated many times. |
| D．The students are taught by practicing a long period. |
The underlined word “legibility” in Paragraph 3 means .
| A．easy to read | B．easy to write |
| C．unexpected | D．unreadable |
The best title for the passage is .
| A．How to Improve Handwriting in School |
| B．Right or Wrong: the Death of Handwriting |
| C．Handwriting Involves Two Skills |
| D．Handwriting Lessons Are on the Way Out |
Last week, my granddaughter started kindergarten(幼儿园), and certainly I wished her success. I was saying something that is not true. What I actually wish for her is failure. I believe in the importance of failure.
Success is boring. Success is proving that you can do something that you already know you can do, or do something correctly the first time, which can often be a problem for the future. First-time success is usually a fluke(侥幸). First-time failure, in fact, is the natural order of things.
Failure means how we learn. I have been told of an African phrase(短语) describing a good cook as “she who has broken many bowls”. If you’ve spent enough time in the kitchen and have broken a lot of bowls, probably you know a lot about cooking. I once had a dinner with a group of cooks, and they spent time comparing knife wounds and burn scars. They knew how much their failures gave them.
My younger daughter is a dancer. She spent three years getting ready for an act. She did it successfully for years. There was no reason for her to change the act—but she did anyway. She said she was no longer learning anything new and she was bored; and if she was bored, she couldn’t play well. So she changed the act. She risked failure in order to feed her heart.
My granddaughter is a perfectionist. But I will also, I hope, remind her of what she learned, and how she can do whatever it is better next time. I probably won’t tell her that failure is a good thing, because that’s not a lesson you can learn when you’re five. I hope I can tell her, though, that it’s not the end of the world. Indeed, with luck, it is the beginning.What did the writer really wish for her granddaughter in the kindergarten?
| A．Success. | B．Failure. | C．Kindness. | D．Care. |
The third paragraph mainly tells us .
| A．what “a good cook” means | B．a cook should often cook |
| C．a cook must break many bowls | D．failure means how we learn |
Why did the younger daughter change the act?
| A．Because she didn’t do well in it. |
| B．Because she was asked to change it. |
| C．Because she wanted to feed her heart. |
| D．Because she wanted to try a failure. |
What does the writer hope to tell the granddaughter?
| A．Failure is a good thing. |
| B．She can’t fail any more. |
| C．Failure is not the end of the world. |
| D．Success is the end of the world. |
An old gentleman who lives a few doors away from me can always be seen with a bag. He goes out by himself and picks up plastic bottles, plastic bags and pieces of paper everywhere. He does it all carefully and never complains.
The children in the nearby school are probably responsible for some of that litter. “There will come a time when they know better,” he said. “It’s just not yet. So, I’ll do it for them.”
Well, this morning I was out walking my neighbor’s dog when I saw another neighbor, a much younger man, out doing the same thing! He had his two little sons with him and they were having good fun trying to pick up the litter.
“What a good job you are doing”, I said to him. “Well, an older fellow in our street does this”, said he. “And my friend and I thought it wasn’t fair that he had to do it all the time, so now we take turns.”
Not only was he taking a turn, not only did he have a friend join in as well, but he was passing on the lesson to the nextgeneration(一代)！
By the time I had returned the dog to my neighbor, I looked again and his children’s friends had joined in!
This man was teaching a whole group of young children to keep their own streetclean. An older man had set an example for him and now he was passing it on—the next generation is doing what he did and the generation to come after that!The old gentleman picks up the litter .
| A．to make money | B．to help the cleaners |
| C．to have a good fun | D．to keep the environment clean |
The younger man did the same thing as the old gentleman because .
| A．it was his turn |
| B．it was interesting for him |
| C．he was the old gentleman’s good friend |
| D．he wanted to share the job with the old gentleman |
When the writer returned the dog, joined in picking up the litter.
| A．the writer | B．the old gentleman |
| C．the children’s friends | D．the younger man’s friend |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．The power of example is endless. | B．Like father, like son . |
| C．Two heads are better than one. | D．No pains, no gains. |
Take a look at our library! Our library is open to everyone and the library card is free.
| Books |
●books in 36 languages ●information about the world ●all kinds of stories ●picture books for children ●novels You can enjoy newspapers and magazines in the reading room. You can borrow two books at a time and keep them for three weeks. |
| Videos |
●all kinds of video films ●music videos ●TV plays You can enjoy yourself and watch your favorite videos at home. You can rent(租) a video at two yuan for a week. |
| Audios (音频) |
●music for everyone ●language cassettes; 42 world languages Special rooms for you to enjoy listening. CDs and cassettes can be borrowed — FREE. You can borrow one CD or one cassette at a time and keep it for one week. |
| E-books |
●many different kinds of e-books ●e-newspapers and e-magazines You can browse(浏览) all the e-books in the computer room — FREE |
How many books can you borrow at a time?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
How much should you pay if you rent a video for a week?
| A．Two yuan. | B．Three yuan. |
| C．Four yuan. | D．Free. |
What can you do in the computer room?
| A．Enjoy e-books. | B．Borrow some books. |
| C．Enjoy music videos. | D．Borrow some CDs. |
第二节：请仔细阅读题1—5关于Carol, Mark, Stella, Dave和John的兴趣爱好。然后根据题后A—F中对各张唱片的描述，分别选出适合每个人的唱片，其中有一项多余。 Carol likes many kinds of music, but her favorite is jazz. The only music she really doesn’t like is piano music, even if it is jazz.
Mark doesn’t care about music, but he does like to have soft, gentle music playing in his flat sometimes. He doesn’t like classical (古典的) or jazz music, but he likes piano playing.
Stella likes all kinds of music, but her favorite instrument is electric guitar. She also quite likes jazz and folk music.
Dave only likes rock and pop, but he enjoys classical music better.
John likes country music because he thinks that country music has great voices and the words are good. He listens to country music nearly all the time.
A. The best of Keith Jarrett
The master（大师）of jazz piano continues to surprise audiences around the world. This collection of his greatest works includes The Koln Concert, Part 1 and extracts from the Paris Concert as well. Excellent value and a must for all jazz lovers.￡12.99.
B. Richard Thompson 1980---2000
Thomposon’s attractive electric guitar playing, and his folk-rock songs, are gathered together on a 2-CD collection that shows the best of his works over the past twenty years. ￡18.99.
C. Richard Claydermsn
French pianist, known for his relaxing piano music, has this new collection out on CD. Ideal as a present for the person who likes relaxing background music. ￡9.99.
D. Reach
In this collection, Meredith Edwards shows that her voice is perfect for country music. People who like country music should really try it. Great value at ￡9.99.
E. The best of Paco Pena
The great classical guitarist shows all his talents in this new collection. Works by Vila-Lobos and Haydn, among others with rock and pop. Great value at only ￡9.99.
F. Wynton Marsalis
The great jazz trumpeter (吹号手) has put together some of his best-known numbers and a few new pieces on this magical set. Perhaps not as classical as his last offering, but all jazz lovers will want this one anyway. ￡13.99.