Where we live, on the eastern shore of Maryland, the gentle waters run in and out like fingers slimming at the tips.
The Canada geese know this place, as do the white swans and ducks. In the autumn, they come home for the winter. Once or twice each year, snow and frozen rain move into the area. When this happens, if the river is at its narrowest, there is a freeze which hardens the water to the ice.
One morning, a friend of mine set the breakfast table beside the huge window, which overlooked the Tred Avon River. Suddenly she leaned forward and cried out, “There is a goose out
there.”
We saw the figure of a large Canada goose, very iii, its wings folded tight to its sides, its feet frozen to the ice.
Then from the dark sky, she saw a line of swans. They floated from the top of the sky downward and at last landed on the ice. My friend was on her feet now, with one unbelieving hand against her mouth. As the swans surrounded the frozen goose, she feared what life it still had might be pecked(啄)out by those great swan beaks.
Instead, those beaks began to work on the ice. The long necks were lifted and curved down, again and again. It went on for a long time. At last, the goose’s head lifted. Its body pulled. Then the goose was free and standing on the ice. And the swans stood in the air watching. Then, as if it had cried, “I cannot fly,” four of the swans came down around it. Their powerful beaks chipped off the ice and held in the feathers. Slowly, the goose spread its wings as far as they could go, and moved slowly into the sky.
This is a true story. I just think of it in the bad moments, and from it comes only one hopeful question:“ If so for birds, why not for man?”
【小题1】What happened to the Canada goose?

A.It was deserted by other geese.B.It was stuck in the ice.
C.It was wounded and couldn’t fly.D.It was lost in the water.
【小题2】 At first the author’s friend was worried that ________.
A.the swans would not help the Canada goose
B.the swans would have the same fate with the Canada goose
C.the Canada goose wouldn’t identify with the swans
D.the swans would peck the Canada goose to death
【小题3】What did the swans do when they saw the Canada goose couldn’t fly?
A.They chipped off the ice held in its feathers.
B.They waited patiently for the ice held in its feathers to melt.
C.They came down and lifted it up to the sky together.
D.They stayed with it and protected it.
【小题4】What would probably happen to the author’s friend in the end?
A.She stood there, watching attentively, still feeling a bit worried.
B.She was on her feet, laughing at the swans and the Canada goose.
C.She was embarrassed and went on with her breakfast silently.
D.She stood there quietly, not realizing tears had come down her cheeks.

There is a wide and deep choice of a career. Whether he’s a hand in construction or sitting behind the desk working on a computer, everyone has some ideas of what is an attractive career. However, making a career choice is not simply a matter of following a dream; for most people it means a lot of research and soul searching. Choosing the right career becomes one of the most important decisions of an individual’s life.
It used to be that one followed in the footsteps of their father or grandfather or took over the family’s business when it came to making a career choice. These days, a career path can start anywhere and then veer off into something totally different.
Career choices must be realistic and well thought out. It is not uncommon for persons to start a career path and realize they have made a terrible mistake, feeling as if it may be too late to turn around. Not only does a career choice concern your strongest skills and interest, it is also something that you will be doing continuously to bring in income. This is why a career choice can be such a personal decision. Formerly it used to be unusual for someone to change occupations or careers more than once or twice in a lifetime; it is now even more unusual to keep the same career during someone’s working life.
There are a great many measures in helping one choose the right profession. A number of websites offering tools such as career tests and information, educational resources, resume services and the kind can be found. It is important for one to research one’s career in this changing economy situation, and choose the best from several related career choices.
【小题1】According to the author choosing the right career _________.

A.is not difficult at allB.needs a lot of dreams
C.is an interesting thingD.needs a lot of thoughts
【小题2】The underlined phrase “veer off” in the second paragraph probably means _________.
A.set out to do the same jobB.change the former course
C.compare two different thingsD.dream of getting an easy job
【小题3】Nowadays it is common for one to _________.
A.change his job oftenB.do the same job all his life
C.find a few good jobs at a timeD.live without a job for many years
【小题4】All of the following are the tools on profession offered by websites EXCEPT _________.
A.tests and informationB.training courses
C.employer’s phone numbersD.instructions on resume

Over the years I've been teaching children about a simple but powerful concept -- the ant philosophy (哲学).I think everybody should study ants.
They have an amazing four-part philosophy, and here is the first part: ants never quit. That's a good philosophy. If they're headed somewhere and you try to stop them; they'll look for another way.
They'll climb over, they'll climb under, and they'll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you're supposed to go.
Second, ants think winter all summer. That's an important viewpoint. You can't be so naive ( 天真的) as to think summer will last forever. So ants are gathering in their winter food in the middle of summer.
An ancient story says, "Don't build your house on the sand in the summer. " Why do we need that advice.'? Because it is important to be realistic. In the summer, you've got to think storm. You've got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun. Think ahead.
The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, "This won't last long ; we'll soon be out of here. " And on the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they'll dive back down, but then they come out on the first warm day. They can't wait to get out.
And here's the last part of the ant-philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the "all-you-possibly-can" philosophy.
Wow, what a great seminar to attend -- the ant seminar. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.
【小题1】If you try to stop ants going forward, they will

A.climb over your headB.quit looking for a way
C.search for another wayD.keep climbing around
【小题2】What is the second philosophy of ants?
A.Think winter all summer.B.Always be realistic.
C.Never become lazy in summer.D.Always look ahead.
【小题3】Which of the following can best describe the third part of the ant philosophy?
A.Always stay positive.B.Always remind yourself.
C.Always think summer.D.Always be hardworking.
【小题4】We can learn from the last part of the ant philosophy that we should
A.never stop gathering food in the summerB.always get prepared for the winter
C.gather as much as possible for the futureD.do whatever we can for the future
【小题5】Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.The Concept of AntsB.The Ant Philosophy
C.Never Give upD.Do All You Can


四.阅读理解(每题4分,共20分)
British newspapers are among the oldest and most famous in the world. But recently big changes have seen these traditional publications try to fit the modern world. After 221 years, The Times (《泰晤士报》) has changed its size to become much smaller. In fact, the paper has cut its size in half from a broadsheet to tabloid.
In Britain the newspaper market is divided between the larger broadsheets and the smaller tabloids. These terms refer to the size of the papers’ pages, but there is also a clear difference in content. Broadsheets such as the Times, the Guardian (《卫报》) and Daily Telegraph (《每日电讯报》) are serious papers. They cover a broad range of political, economic and international issues. Their stories are also reasonably long and use quite formal language.
Tabloids have far more stories about less serious issues such as celebrities’(名人) love lives. Their stories are shorter and use more simple language. Tabloids often have bigger pictures. Britain’s best-selling newspaper, the Sun, is a tabloid and has a naked (裸体的) girl on page three every day.
By changing to the size of a tabloid, the Times is following in the footsteps of a less famous broadsheet paper the Independent (《独立报》). It changed to tabloid last year and saw its sales increase greatly. Although both papers have switched to the smaller size, the content of the papers has remained the same. They are both still serious papers.
The two papers claim that people find the smaller size easier to handle when they travel to work on the bus or the train in the morning. Instead of calling the new style of their paper tabloid, the paper says its new size is “compact” (紧凑型).
1. In which year was The Times born?
A. 1782            B. 1785             C. 1788                   D. 1786
2. Which is the most correct statement?
A. Broadsheets are larger in size while tabloids are smaller.
B. Tabloids are less serious than broadsheets.
C. Broadsheets contain more news than tabloids.
D. They are different in size, content and the style of language.
3. In which of the following newspapers would you find more news about the personal life of the famous soccer star Beckham?
A. The Sun  B. The Times       C. The Independent       D. The Guardian
4. According to the passage, we can infer the main reason for The Times' changing into the tabloid is that_____.
A. it wants to become convenient for people to carry.
B. it wants to increase its circulation (发行量).
C. it intends to copy what The Independent has done.
D. it is unlikely to stay in business if it does not change.
5. Which of the following statements is true according to the given information?
A. There are more tabloids than broadsheets in Britain at present.
B. After the change, there will be no differences between The Sun and The Times.
C. Although The Times has cut its size, it remains a serious paper.
D. All the papers will tend to have the same style in the future.


B
Mom was a teacher most of her life. When she wasn’t in the classroom, she was educating her children or grandchildren: correcting our grammar; starting us on collections of butterflies, flowers or rocks; or inspiring a discussion on her most recent “Book of the Month Club” topic. Mom made learning fun.
It was sad for my three brothers and me to see her ailing in her later years. At eighty-five, she suffered a stroke and she went steadily downhill after that.
Two days before she died, my brothers and I met at her nursing home and took her for a short ride in a wheelchair. While we waited for the staff to lift her limp body back into bed, Mom fell asleep. Not wanting to wake her, we moved to the far end of the room and spoke softly.
After several minutes our conversation was interrupted by a muffled sound coming from across the room. We stopped talking and looked at Mom. Her eyes were closed, but she was clearly trying to communicate with us. We went to her side.
“Whirr,” she said weakly.
“Where?” I asked. “Mom, is there something you want?” “Whirr,” she repeated a bit stronger. My brothers and I looked at each other and shook our heads sadly.
Mom opened her eyes, sighed, and with all the energy she could muster said, “Not was, say were!”
It suddenly occurred to us that Mom was correcting brother Jim’s last sentence. “If it was up to me…”
Jim leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom,” he whispered. We smiled at each other and once again shook our heads…this time in awe of a remarkable teacher.
44.When Mom said, “Whirr”, what did she really want to do?
A. She wanted to tell her sons her will.
B. She wanted to have something to eat before she died.
C. She wanted to correct the mistakes Jim made while talking.
D. She wanted to teach her sons more because she was dying.
45. Which of the following statements is NOT right?
A.    Mom was a good teacher and never wanted to stop her teaching.
B.    Mom was always making her teaching fun.
C.    Mom didn’t forget her teaching until she died.
D.    Mom was no longer a teacher when she was at home.
46. What does the writer think of his mother?
A.    He loved her but was tired of his mother’s teaching at home.
B.    His mother should forget her teaching and enjoyed the rest of her life.
C.    His mother was great because she devoted herself to teaching.
D.    His mother was an excellent teacher before she was retired.
47. Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A. Once a teacher, always…  B. Mom’s will  C. A teacher’s life  D. A teacher’s devotion

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