I was in arush as always, but this time it was for an?date I just corldn’t be late for!I found myself at a checkout counter behind ar?woman seeingly in no nuny as she paid for her groceries．A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had humied into the store to pick up some flowers．I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upconing evening．I did not want to be Late for this date．
We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation bitween strangers．The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me．She smiled．It was a nice smile-warm and reasuring-and I retuned her gift by smiling back．
“
Must be a special lady,” wboever it is that will be getting \those beautiful flowers．”she said．
“
Yes, she’s speciao,” I said ,and then to my cnbarrassment ,the words kept coming out．“It‘s only our second dute, but somchow I am just having the feeling she’s‘the one，’”jokingly, I addcd,“The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me．”
“
Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who buings her such lovely slowers and who is obviorsly in love with her,” the woman said．”My husband rscd to bring me flowers every week-even when tines were tough and we didn’t have much money．Those were incredible days; be was very romantic and-lf course- I miss him since he’s passed away．”
I paid for my flowers as se was gathering up her groceries．There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her．I touched her on the shoulder and said“You were right, you know．These flowers are indeed for a very special lady．”I hand??the fowes and thanked her tor such a mice conversation．
It took her a moment to realize htat I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased．“You have a wonderful evening ,”I said．I left het with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers．
I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story．A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this stoty had hdlped to seal it for ber-that was the nigtht than I won her heart．
(1)
Why was the writer in a hurry that day?
[ ]
A．
He was to meet his girlfriend
B．
He had to go back to school soon．
C．
He was delayed by an elderly lady
D．
He had to pick up some groceries．
(2)
What does the underlined phrase“her gift”(Paragraph 2)refer to?
[ ]
A．
Her words
B．
Her smile
C．
Her flowers
D．
Her politeness．
(3)
Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?
In the world of fairy tales, great and powerful men are often helped to victory by the small and weak．But in the US it has happened for real．
Nine–year–old Noah McCullough from Texas, has taken on the role of speaking to the public in support of President George W．Bush’s social security reforms．
On February 25 he signed an agreement with the American Congress to work for the White House as a volunteer．“What I want to tell people about social security is not to be afraid of the new plan,”Noah said．“It may be a change, but it’s a good change．”
Besides this task, he already has a higher goal．He plans to run for the White House in 2032．So far, Noah seems to have a very bright future．
Despite his age, Noah already has his firm opinion on running the US．“I firmly believe that the combination of large business and small governments creates a peaceful and present society because industry can stimulate(刺激)economic growth,”he said．
Noah’s politics do not come from his parents．“He is very patriotic(爱国的)and very republican,”said Noah’s mother, Donna McCullough．“It’s the way he was born．”
Noah’s interest began after a mock(模拟)election in the kindergarten when he was five years old．Now he has read more than 3,000 books on presidential history．He can recite the names of all 43 American presidents．He can also describe the achievements and events that took place during a president’s term of office．
His unusual experiences in the presidential campaign last year made him a famous figure．He was a member of Bush’s presidential campaign team．He gave speeches at the Republican convention(大会)and followed Bush around on his tour of 27 states．President Bush thinks highly of the boy, saying that he is“the miracle kid of the White House”．
(1)
Noah McCullough worked for the White House ________．
[ ]
A．
to support George W．Bush in the presidential campaign
B．
to be a volunteer in the presidential campaign
C．
to show his gift in the presidential campaigns
D．
to drill for his running for the White House in 2032
(2)
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
Noah seems to have a very bright future because he supports Bush．
B．
Noah is the youngest of the Americans who support Bush．
C．
Noah has been to more than half of the states in the presidential campaign．
D．
Noah was born with his parents’ dream of his becoming US President．
(3)
We can infer from the passage that ________．
[ ]
A．
Noah can surely succeed in the 2032 presidential campaign
B．
Noah’s polities are deeply affected by his parents
C．
Bush had known Noah well before the presidential campaign began
D．
Noah would develop industry and reduce government officials if he were elected President of the USA
(4)
Which is the best title of the passage?
[ ]
A．
The Small and Weak Can Help the Big and Strong
B．
Little Boy Helps President Bush
C．
Beginning of Noah’s Political Life
D．
The US Future President
阅读理解
I remembered the first day I saw her playing basketball．I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids．The boys always tried to stop her but no one could, though she seemed so small．She would practice shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark．
One day I asked her why she practiced so much．Without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college．The only way I can go is to get a scholarship．I like basketball．I am going to play college basketball．I want to be the best．My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．”Then she repeated the routine．Well, I had to give in to her – she was determined．I watched her through those junior high years and into high school．Every week, she led her school team to victory．One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms．Quietly I walked to her and asked what was wrong．“Oh, noting,” came a soft reply．“I am just too short．”The coach told her that at 5.5 inches she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team, so she should stop dreaming about college．But her father said those coaches were wrong．They just did not understand the power of a dream．He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college and wanted a scholarship, nothing could stop her except one thing – her own attitude．He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count”．
The next years, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter．She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women’s basketball team．She was going to get the college education that she has dreamed of and worked toward for all those years．It’s true：If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count．
(1)
How long has the girl probably been practicing basketball before she went to college?________．
[ ]
A．
At most 3 years
B．
About 2 years
C．
At least 6 years
D．
Less than 4 years
(2)
The underlined word in the passage referred to ________．
[ ]
A．
the person who finds new people to work in a company or a job
B．
the person w ho persuades others to do something
C．
the coach of a sports team
D．
the person who is in charge of admitting students into colleges
(3)
What is the best title of the passage?________．
[ ]
A．
A way to success
B．
If the dream is big enough
C．
Basket ball－A way to success
D．
A determined girl
(4)
Which of the following can lead a person to the goal according to this passage?________．
[ ]
A．
A good attitude
B．
A big dream, hard practices and opportunity
C．
Hard practice
D．
A big dream
阅读理解
Mathematical ability and musical ability may not seem on the surface to be connected, but people who have researched the subject and studied the brain say that they are．Three quarters of the bright but speech-delayed children in the group I studied had a close relative who was an engineer, mathematician or scientist, and four fifths had a close relative who played a musical instrument．The children themselves usually took readily to math and other analytical subjects and to music．
Black, white and Asian children in this group show the same patterns．However, it is clear that blacks have been greatly overrepresented(被过多的代表)in the development of American popular music and greatly underrepresented in such fields as mathematics, science and engineering．
If the abilities required in analytical fields and in music are so closely related, how can there be this great discrepancy?One reason is that the development of mathematical and other such abilities requires years of formal schooling, while certain musical talents can be developed with little or no formal training, as has happened with a number of well-known black musicians．
It is precisely in those kinds of music where one can acquire great skill without formal training that blacks have excelled(擅长)popular music rather than classical music, piano rather than violin, blues rather than opera．This is readily understandable, given that most blacks, for most of American history, have not had either the money or the leisure for long years of formal study in music．
Blacks have not merely held their own in American popular music．They have played a large role in the development of jazz, both traditional and modern．A long string of names comes to mind－W．C．Handy, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker…and so on．
None of these presupposes(假设，意味着)any special innate(先天的)ability of blacks in music．On the contrary, it is perfectly consistent(一致的)with blacks having no more such inborn ability than anyone else, but being limited to being able to express such ability in narrower channels than others who have had the money, the time and the formal education to spread out over a wider range of music, as well as into mathematics, science and engineering．
(1)
What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Mathematical ability and musical ability are connected．
B．
Mathematical ability has more to do with the brain than musical ability．
C．
More people are good at music than math．
D．
More research should be done into the relationship between mathematical ability and math ability．
(2)
The word“discrepancy”(Para．3)most probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
difference
B．
excellence
C．
inborn ability
D．
inability
(3)
What can be inferred about opera?
[ ]
A．
It requires formal training．
B．
It is often enjoyed by those with strong analytical ability．
C．
It is disliked by blacks．
D．
It is more difficult to learn than classical music．
(4)
Which of the following statements is true according to the last paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Blacks have special innate ability in music．
B．
Unlike others, blacks do not have innate ability in music．
C．
Jazz is one of the narrow channels through which blacks express their ability in music．
D．
Those who have money and time choose mathematics over music．
(5)
Which of the following questions does the passage mainly concern?
[ ]
A．
Are musical ability and mathematical ability connected?
B．
Why have blacks been greatly overrepresented in the development of American popular music?
C．
What kinds of music require formal training?
D．
What are the contributions made by black musicians?
