阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A Special Appointment
Years ago I moved to Woodland Hills to take a job in a small hospital’s emergency department．No one wanted to work on Christmas Eve, so the shift (轮班) went to me．I kissed my family goodbye and went off to spend the night in the hospital．It was a thankless job．
At 9 pm, the ambulance brought in a man in his 60s who was having a heart attack．His face was pale, and he was frightened． The whole night I did my best to save his life．Before I left in the morning to spend Christmas with my family, I stopped by to see how he was doing．It was still tough, but he had survived the night and was sleeping．
The following year I got Christmas Eve duty again．At 9 pm sharp, the ward clerk told me there was a couple who wanted to speak with me．When I approached them, the man introduced himself as Mr．Lee and said, “You probably don’t remember me, but last Christmas Eve you saved my life．Thank you for the year you gave me．” He and his wife hugged me, handed me a small gift, and left．
The following year a new doctor had joined the group, but I wanted to see if Mr．and Mrs．Lee would return．This time, I volunteered for the shift．I kept an eye on the door．Once again, at exactly 9 pm, the Lees appeared, carrying a warmly wrapped bundle．It was their new grandchild． Mr．Lee, his family and I spent 13 Christmas Eves together．In the later years the staff all knew about the story and would work to give me time with him in the break room, where we spent a half-hour each Christmas Eve．
The last year I saw him, he brought me a gift．I carefully opened the package and found a crystal (水晶) bell inside．It was engraved (镌刻) with a single word: Friendship．Now, my family, friends and I ring that bell every Christmas Eve at exactly 9 pm and offer our best wishes to the man who we won’t forget．Working on Christmas Eve was considered “a thankless job” because ______．
| A．most patients were seriously ill |
| B．patients refused to express thanks |
| C．doctors had nothing to do on that day |
| D．doctors couldn’t get praise for the hard job |
When the author left the hospital the next morning, Mr．Lee ______．
| A．was really angry with her |
| B．was still in a state of danger |
| C．got ready to leave the hospital |
| D．recovered from his heart attack |
According to the passage, the author formed a habit of ______．
| A．celebrating Christmas Eve with her family |
| B．giving Christmas gifts to the hospital staff |
| C．spending Christmas Eve with Mr．Lee in hospital |
| D．ringing the bell for patients in the emergency department |
Why does the author ring the bell on Christmas Eve?
| A．To honor her working experience． |
| B．To tell kids the traditional custom． |
| C．To show the beginning of the holiday． |
| D．To remember an old friend of hers． |
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choice in life.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors' code for preparing yourself to die.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. I was completely in despair. Later that evening, I had another examination and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I' m fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death. To tell the truth, no one wants to die. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
Your time is so limited that you shouldn't waste it repeating someone else's life. Don' t be trapped by dogma（教条）— which is living with the results of other people' s thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because ______.
| A．he had to rest at home |
| B．his disease couldn't be cured |
| C．his disease was not serious at all |
| D．he had to wait for the result of the test |
What does the author think of death?
| A．He thinks it is impossible to avoid. |
| B．He thinks it is not the end of life. |
| C．He thinks it is nothing to be scared of. |
| D．He thinks it is the beginning of a new life. |
In the author's opinion, we should ______.
| A．follow others' advice | B．take no notice of diseases |
| C．take exercise and keep healthy | D．have the courage to follow our heart |
What does the underlined word “encountered” in paragraph 2 mean?
| A．came across | B．dealt with | C．survived | D．supported |
Are you looking for some new and exciting places to take your kids to? Try some of these places:
. Visit art museums. They offer a variety of activities to excite your kids' interest. Many offer workshops for making hand-made pieces, traveling exhibits, book signings(签名) by children's favorite writers, and even musical performances and other arts.
. Head to a natural history museum. This is where kids can discover the past from dinosaur models to rock collections and pictures of stars in the sky. Also, ask what kind of workshops and educational programs are prepared for kids and any special events that are coming up.
. Go to a Youth theater. Look for one in your area offering plays for child and family visitors. Pre-show play shops are conducted by area artists and educators where kids can discover the secret about performing arts. Puppet (木偶) making and stage make-up are just a couple of the special offerings you might find.
.Try hands-on science. Visit one of the many hands-on science museums around the country. These science play-lands are great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. They'll keep your child mentally and physically active the whole day through while pushing buttons, experimenting, and building. When everyone is tired, enjoy a fun family science show, commonly found in these museums.If a child is interested in the universe, he probably will visit
| A．a Youth theater | B．an art museum |
| C．a natural history museum | D．a hands-on science museum |
What can kids do at a Youth theater?
| A．Look at rock collections. | B．See dinosaur models. |
| C．Watch puppet making. | D．Give performances. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A science textbook. | B．A tourist map. |
| C．A museum guide. | D．A news report. |
A new generation addiction is quickly spreading all over the world. Weboholism ,a twentiethcentury disease, affects people from different ages. They surf the net, use email and speak in chatrooms. They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit. They cannotstop, and it affects their lives.
Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become compulsive behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users. Thisobsessionalbehavior hasaffected teenagers and college students. They are likely to log on computers and spend longhours at different websites.
They become hooked on computers and gradually their social and school life is affectedby this situation.They spend all free time surfing and don't concentrate on homework,so this addiction influences their grades and success at school. Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there. Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their social life.They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends.The relation with theirfriends changes.The virtual life becomes more important than their real life.They have a newlanguage that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society.
Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate themselves from the society and live with their virtual friends. They share their emotions and feelings with friends who theyhave never met in their life. Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real live friends they have known all their life. It is a problem for the future. This addictive behavior is beginning to affect all the world.The main idea of the passage is about ____________．
| A．the cause of weboholism | B．the advantage of weboholism |
| C．the popularity of weboholism | D．the influence of weboholism |
The underlined word “obsessional” in the second paragraph most probably means _______．
| A．attractive | B．addictive | C．professional | D．potential |
We can infer from the passage that __________．
| A．weboholism has the greatest effect on teenagers |
| B．students can hardly balance real and virtual life |
| C．people are addicted to games on the Internet |
| D．virtual life is more vivid and attractive anyway |
Which of the following is NOT true of weboholism?
| A．It contributes to the development of the web． |
| B．The chat room language may change social culture． |
| C．The problem will be getting more and more serious later． |
| D．People addicted to the web often become inactive in real life． |
The author's attitude towards weboholism is that of being________.
| A．optimistic | B．positive | C．negative | D．acceptable |
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it？Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power？Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words，you are telling yourself the logic behind what you think，feel，or only partly understand. Often，explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words，you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power”.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many，if not most，highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head，but if you keep a journal(日志)of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project，you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic？Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example，but if you are learning something new，write a letter to a friend about it，and you will understand it better. Want to invent something？Write an explanation of the problem—why you want to solve it，and why it is worth solving，and you’re halfway there.
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often，they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Way on How to Write |
| B．Increase Your Brain Power Through Writing |
| C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing |
| D．How to Start Your Writing |
According to the passage，writing can help you a lot except________.
| A．to increase your brain power |
| B．to improve the ability to remember |
| C．to develop your interest in study |
| D．to strengthen the understanding of a topic |
If a writer writes something，it means that he or she________.
| A．has understood it very well |
| B．needs to understand it better |
| C．wants to remember it in his or her mind |
| D．is testing his or her new ideas |
The underlined sentence“you’re halfway there”in the fourth paragraph means that________.
| A．you are already successful |
| B．there’s a long way for you to go to reach your goal |
| C．you are left wondering what to do |
| D．you have been on the way to success |
To me，life without music would not be exciting.I realize that this is not true for everybody.Many people get along quite well without going to the concert，and listening to the record. But music plays an important part in everyone’s life，whether he realizes it or not.Try to imagine，for example，what films or TV plays would be like without music.Would the feelings，the moving plot，and the greatest interests，be so interesting or dramatic? I’m not sure about it.
Now we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning—the kind of music we hear in the concert hall.We discover them in our everyday life too—in the rhythm of the sea，the melody of a bird in the woods and so on.So music surely has meaning for everyone，in some way or other. And，of course，it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music.
It is well said，“Through music a child enters a world of beauty，expresses himself from his heart，feels the joy of doing things alone，learns to take care of others，develops his mind and makes his body strong.”From the text, we learn that many people .
| A．don’t realize the importance of music |
| B．get along quite well without music |
| C．go to the concert instead of enjoying music |
| D．think music would be less exciting than moving plot |
In the writer’s opinion，if there was no music in the films or TV plays，_______.
| A．the cinema and theatre would be quiet |
| B．we would lose some of the audience |
| C．everything would be as exciting as before |
| D．it would be hard to imagine the result |
The underlined word “melody” in the second paragraph means “______”.
| A．flying | B．looking | C．singing | D．living |