题目内容
After a ________ week on the markets the country's stock market has stabilized.
A. tough B. peaceful C. tight D. comfortable
A
Not everyone goes to university after high school graduation. Some work, others join the army and an increasing number worldwide are taking a “gap year” to travel or do community service in their own countries or abroad. They are studying sharks off the Australian coast, building schools in Mexico and learning Spanish or Italian.
The concept of a gap year may not be new, but the recent surge (涌现) of interest certainly is. Some students are putting off admissions. Others, who don’t get into the college of their choice, are taking a year to explore new frontiers before reapplying.
Students are choosing to take a breather; they are thinking. They are not sure what they are going to do. They are going and exploring some of their interests. They are getting experience they can take to the school they finally go to.
It is an idea actively encouraged by colleges. Princeton University has just launched a “bridge year” program that will send 10 percent of its incoming class to do volunteer work abroad, starting in 2009. And the Harvard has spent the last 30 years urging incoming students to take a gap year.
“Many speak of their year away as a ‘life-changing’ experience or a ‘turning point’” says Harvard admissions director Marlin Lewis. “Many come to college with new opinions about their academic plans, their extracurricular interests and the career possibilities they observed in their year away.”
【小题1】The reasons why some take a gap year are the following EXCEPT that ________.
A.they hate studying |
B.they don’t know what to do |
C.they want to get experience |
D.they want to know their real interests |
A.travel | B.join the army |
C.do community service | D.learn a foreign language |
A.take another year off |
B.earn a lot of money |
C.be refused by his college |
D.have new ideas about their future career |
A.more and more students will take a gap year |
B.fewer and fewer colleges will encourage his students to take a gap year |
C.the gap year can only give one some experience about society |
D.nobody will change his own interests after the gap year |
Music died here last spring, or rather, it was killed by members of the school committee who ignored the importance of music and drama as part of the high-school curriculum.
The committee decided that teaching students how to take a standardized test is more important than a curriculum in which students can explore their interests in the arts as well as academics. Because the school system is running out of funding, it needs to make sure that students pass the mastery test or even more money will be lost. If students fail the state standardized test, it is not the fault of drama and music classes— they are failing because the “ academic” classes are not sufficient.
It is painful to think of how many students will be discouraged from singing, acting, and playing instruments because school programs are no longer offered. Many families cannot afford private music lessons, and many potential musicians and artists may not find their calling if they are not exposed to it in school. The fact that the school committee thinks the arts are not worth the investment will certainly make some students believe the arts are not worth their time or support and the cycle will continue.
Teaching for a test does not shape students into complete, well rounded people. It blocks the natural sense to create and express feelings through art— there is more to life than the analytical thinking that math and English provide. What happens after a test? Sure, a student might graduate, but they will have limited knowledge — certainly not a good preparation for the real world.
【小题1】Music and drama are not included in the high-school curriculum mainly because________.
A.the school committee pays no attention to them |
B.the school is afraid of losing financial support |
C.the students are not interested in both of them |
D.the state standardized test is more important. |
A.The sufficiency of the classes determines students’ performance in the mastery test |
B.students can be musicians and artists only if they can afford private music lessons |
C.The school committee completely influences students’ attitude towards the arts |
D.Quite a few students are discouraged from music and art in today’s school system. |
A.make students round-shaped people in future |
B.provide students with analytical thinking |
C.motivate students in creativity and expression |
D.prevent students graduating from high school |
A.Who Killed Music and Drama? |
B.Can Curriculum Go Without Music? |
C.Why is Music So Important? |
D.How To Prepare For the Real World? |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily. Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably. For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
【小题1】The writer of this passage must be ______.
A.an American | B.a Chinese | C.a professor | D.a student |
A.Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
B.Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
C.Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
D.Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
A.warmly welcomed at the airport |
B.offered a ride to his home |
C.treated hospitably at his home |
D.treated to dinner in a restaurant |
A.strict with time | B.serious with time |
C.careful with time | D.willing to spend time |
A.Friendships between Chinese |
B.Friendships between Americans |
C.Americans’ hospitality |
D.Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel(剥……的皮) potatoes. I have only one hand.”
Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”
In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.
That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.
“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow(肘). Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.
One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”
For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint. I peeked(窥视) out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf(利益). She had never let me see her tears.
【小题1】 Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child to peel potatoes?
A.Cruel. | B.Serious. |
C.Cold. | D.Strict |
A.Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it. |
B.The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up. |
C.Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher. |
D.What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity. |
A.they felt sorry for what they had done before |
B.they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt |
C.they were astonished to find the author’s progress |
D.they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars |
A.the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep |
B.the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own |
C.Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph |
D.in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth |