EACH of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures as a necessary part of the learning process. But all too often we convey to our children either by words or by actions that failure is something to be ashamed of, that nothing but top performance meets our approval.
Donnie was my youngest third-grader. His fear of failure kept him from classroom games that other children played excitedly. He seldom answered questions – he might be wrong. He seldom finished his work because he repeatedly checked with me to be sure he hadn’t made a mistake.
I tried my best to build his self-confidence. But nothing changed until midterm, when Mary Anne, a student teacher, was assigned to our classroom. She was young and pretty, and she loved children. My pupils, Donnie included, adored her. But even enthusiastic, loving Mary was baffled by this little boy who feared he might make a mistake.
Then one morning we were working math problems. Donnie had copied the problems with painstaking neatness and filled in answers for the first row. Pleased with his progress, I left the children with Mary. But when I returned, Donnie was in tears. He’d missed the third problem.
Mary looked at me in despair. Suddenly her face brightened. From the desk we shared, she got a canister (小筒) filled with pencils.
“Look, Donnie,” she said, “I’ve got something to show you.” She removed the pencils and placed them on his desk. “See these pencils, Donnie?” she continued. “They belong to Mrs. Lindstrom and me. See how the erasers are worn? That’s because we make mistakes too. Lots of them. But we erase the mistakes and try again. That’s what you must learn to do, too.”
She kissed him and continued: “I’ll leave one of these pencils on your desk so you’ll remember that everybody makes mistakes, even teachers.” Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and just a glimmer (少许) of a smile.
The pencil became Donnie’s prized possession. That, together with Mary Anne’s frequent encouragement and praise for even Donnie’s small successes, gradually persuaded him that it’s all right to make mistakes – as long as you erase them and try again. The word “baffled” in Paragraph 3 most probably means __________.
| A．eased | B．confused | C．defeated | D．impressed |
Which of the following words best describe Mary Anne as she is shown in the article?
| A．Patient and inspiring. | B．Creative and modest. |
| C．Determined and strict. | D．Considerate and proud. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?
| A．Each of us should try our best to be a perfectionist. |
| B．Donnie rarely finished his work because he seldom answered questions and thus had difficulties. |
| C．The story was written mainly to sing high praise for Mary Anne. |
| D．The author seems to believe that failure is an opportunity to learn and make progress. |
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题，每题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Joanne was stuck in traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5:30.and at 6:30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club.At last.the traffic was moving.She swung quickly racing to her house.As she opened the door,she nearly tripped over Sheba.
“Hey,Sheba.”she said,“I’ve got no time for you now,but I’ll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club.”Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking Obviously,she could hardly breathe.Immediately,Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet（兽医）.When she got there,that vet was just about to close for the day Seeing the state of Sheba,Dr.Sterne brought her quickly into his office.
“Listen,doctor,I’m really in a rush to get to a meeting can I leave her with you,and go and get changed?I’ll be back in ten minutes to pick her up,and then I’ll take her on to the meeting with me.Is that OK?”
“Sure.”said the doctor.
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes.As she was once more entering the hallway,the phone by the door began to ring.
“This is Dr.Sterne,”said an anxious vioce,“I want you to get out of that house immediately,”said the doctor’s voice.“I’m coming round fight away,and the police will be there any time now.Wait outside!”
At that moment,a police car screeched to a stop outside the house.Two policemen got out and
rain into the house.Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened.Then the doctor arrived.
“Where’s Sheba?Is she OK?”shouted Joanne.
“She’s fine,Joanne.I took out the thing which was choking her,and she’s OK now.”
Just then,the two policemen reappeared from the house,half-carrying a white-faced man,who could hardly walk.There was blood all over him.
“My God,”said Joanne,“how did he get in there?And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar.”said the doctor.“I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’throat:it turned out to be there human fingers”
56.What was Joanne supposed to do at 6:30?
A.To walk her dog B.To see her doctor
C.To attend a club meeting D.To play tennis with her friends
57.Joanne wanted to get back to her home again
A.to dress up for the meeting B.to phone the police station
C.to catch the badly hurt burglar D.to wait for her dog to be cured
58.From the passage,we can infer that
A.Sheba fought against the burglar
B.the police found the burglar had broken in
C.Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting
D.the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog
59.In the passage,the writer intends to tell us that the dog is
A.clever B.friendly C.frightening D.devoted
第二卷（两部分，共35分）
第四部分：任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填出最恰当的单词。注意：每空格1个单词。
Job interviews never seem easy.To get a job,you may have more interviews than you can count.To succeed in an interview，you should pay attention to the following common mistake.
Lack of proper preparations.Failure to gather information on the company and the job before the interview makes a very poor impression on interviews;it suggests that you are not really that interested in the position.
Inappropriate personal appearance.Consider the nature of the position and dress accordingly.When in doubt,dressing somewhat more formally than you think would be expected for the job.Be conservative and pay attention to details,such as shiny shoes,neat hair,etc.First impressions are very important.
Poor non-verbal communication.In addition to what you are saying,your non-verbal behavior is very important in an interview.Are you making eye contact?Are you listening attentively when the interviewer is speaking?Are you giving a firm handshake by the interviews?Are you nervous during the interview？Practice with a friend or in front of a mirror to assess these factors.
Poor attitude.Self-centered behavior（.i.e.a”what’s in it for me”attitude）is very poorly received by interviewers.Ask yourself what you can contribute to the company?What skills and
experience would you bring to the job？
Failure to ask questions.Employers will assess your interest in the company and the position you ask.Proper research before the interview will help ensure that the questions you ask are intelligent ones.
Being disorganized.Make sure you arrive at the company a few minutes early so that you have time to get calm and check your appearance.Arriving late is simply unacceptable，so plan for the unexpected.Always bring an extra copy of your resume and reference to an interview.
Over-or under-answering questions.For most interview questions a “Yes”or “No”answer is not appropriate.Positive more details for an employer and cite examples from personal experience wherever possible.Do not,however,talk endlessly and feel that you have to keep speaking if there’s silence.When you have said what you want to say ,stop talking.If you do not understand a Question,.seek clear explanation before responding.
Failure to send a thank-you note or card following the interview.Take the time to send the thank-you card,which can make an important impact on an employer.Not only does it show your sincere interest in the position,but it also helps make you different from other interview candidates.
| Common mistakes in interviews |
What you should do for a(n) 71 interview |
| 72 preparations |
73 enough information on the company and the job |
| Inappropriate personal appearance |
Dress 74 to the nuture of the Position |
| Poor non-verbal communication |
Non-verbal communication,such as making eye contact, listening attentively, shaking hands 75 is very important |
| Poor attitude |
76 on yourself will make a very bad impression on interviewers.Think about what you can do for the company instead |
| Failure to ask questions |
Do proper research before the interview,which helps make 77 you won’t ask stupid question. |
| Being disorganized |
Arrive a few minutes eraly to plan for the unexpected and brig an extra copy of your resume and reference |
| Over-or under-answering questions |
When answering questions,provivde more details or cite examples when needed,instead of talking without 78 |
| Failure to express your 79 |
Do remember to send a thank-you card which shows your interest in the position and your 80 |
E
Sport is not only physically challenging，but it can also be mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches，parents，and other teammates，as well as pressure to win can create an excessive amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes（运动员）.Stress can be physical，emotional，or psychological，and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can，for example，learn how to cooperate with others，make friends，and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware，at all times，that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents’ and coaches’ criticisms to heart and find flaws（缺陷）in themselves.
Coaches and parents should also be cautious that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today’s youth sport setting，young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches focus on the outcome and find fault with youngsters’ performances. Positive reinforcement should be provided regardless of the outcome. Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again，criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout.
67．An effective way to prevent the burnout of young athletes is ____________.
A．to make sports less competitive
B．to make sports more challenging
C．to reduce their mental stress
D．to increase their sense of success
68．According to the passage sport is positive for young people in that____________.
A．it can help them learn more about society
B．it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves
C．it enables them to find flaws in themselves
D．it can provide them with valuable experience
69．Many coaches and parents are in the habit of criticizing young athletes ____________.
A．without realizing criticism may destroy their self-confidence
B．in order to make them remember life lessons
C．believing that criticism is beneficial for their early development
D．so as to put more pressure on them
70．The author’s purpose in writing the passage is ____________.
A．to persuade young children not to worry about criticism
B．to stress the importance of positive reinforcement to children
C．to discuss the skill of combining criticism with encouragement
D．to teach young athletes how to avoid burnout
D
Beyond two or three days，the world’s best weather forecasts are doubtful, and beyond six or seven they are worthless.
The Butterfly Effect is the reason. For small pieces of weather—to a global forecaster，small can mean thunder—storms and blizzards（暴风雪）—any prediction becomes worse rapidly. Errors and uncertainties increase，from dust devils and storms up to continent-size eddies（旋涡）that only satellites can see.
The modern weather models work with net-like points sixty miles apart，and even so，some starting data have to be guessed，since ground stations and satellites cannot see everywhere. But suppose the earth could be covered with sensors placed one foot apart，rising at one-foot intervals all the way to the top of the atmosphere. Suppose every sensor gives perfectly accurate readings of temperature，pressure，humidity（温度）, and any other data a weatherman would want. Exactly at noon a powerful computer takes all the data and calculates what will happen at each point at 12.01, then 12.02，then 12.03…the computer will still be unable to predict whether Princeton will have sun or rain one month away. At noon the spaces between the sensors will hide fluctuations（波动）that the computer will not know about. By 12.01，those fluctuations will already have created small errors one foot away. Soon the errors will have added to the ten-foot scale，and so on up to the size of the globe.
63．A weather forecast ____________ in the world.
A．is reliable within one or two days
B．is doubtful beyond 24 hours
C．becomes useless beyond two or three days
D．is still worthwhile in seven days
64．Usually there is a weather sub-station____________.
A．in every city B．every 60 miles
C．between two cities D．every one foot
65．Which of the following statements is true？
A．People have not placed sensors one foot apart in the atmosphere.
B．Scientists have already put sensors one foot apart in the world.
C．Every sensor gives perfectly accurate data a weatherman wants.
D．Ground weather stations and satellites can see every place on earth.
66．Our computer will not be able to know about fluctuations because ____________.
A．the sensors are not good enough
B．they are hidden by the spaces between the sensors
C．they are too far away
D．they move very fast
C
Susan Sontag（1933—2004） was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything—to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s，publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review，she appeared as the symbol of American culture life，trying hard to follow every new development in literature，film and art. With great effort and serious judgment，Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords（格言），but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasure of pop culture. In“Notes Camp”, the 1964 essay that first made her name，she explained what was then a little—known set of difficult understandings，through which she could not have been more famous.“Notes on Camp”，she wrote，represents“a victory of‘form’ over‘content’,‘beauty’over‘morals’”.
By conviction（信念）she was a sensualist（感觉论者），but by nature she was a moralist（伦理学者），and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s，it was the latter side of her that came forward. In“Illness as Metaphor”—published in 1978，after she suffered cancer—she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities（被压抑的性格），a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact，re-ex-amining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America，her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California，won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless，all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame.
“Sometimes,”she once said，“I feel that，in the end，all I am really defending…is the idea of seriousness，of true seriousness.”And in the end，she made us take it seriously too.
59．The underlined sentence in paragraph l means Sontag ____________.
A．was a symbol of American cultural life
B．developed world literature，film and art
C．published many essays about world culture
D．kept pace with the newest development of world culture
60．She first won her name through____________.
A．her story of a Polish actress
B．her book Illness as Metaphor
C．publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review
D．her explanation of a set of difficult understandings
61．Susan Sontag’s lasting fame was made upon____________.
A．a tireless，all-purpose cultural view
B．her lifelong watchword: seriousness
C．publishing books on morals
D．enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing
62．From the works Susan published in the 1970s and 1980s，we can learn that ____________.
A．she was more a moralist than a sensualist
B．she was more a sensualist than a moralist
C．she believed repressed personalities mainly led to illness
D．she would like to re-examine old positions