【题目】According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)，the U．K．has about 7．7 million families with dependent children，of which 3．7 million have just one child，compared to 3 million with two and 1．1 million with three children or more．The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade．As the ONS confirms，“It appears that families are getting smaller．”

One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile．But it could just as well be a matter of choice．Parents must consider the rising cost of living，combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market．And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal，which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet，where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”．

She had received 231 replies，overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit．Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits．Nicola Kelly，a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one，says her 15-year-old son seems more grown-up in many ways than his contemporaries．

_______________________________________．In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart”as a reaction to her only-child upbringing．

She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents，whom she punished with a “brattish，wilful” rejection of everything they stood for．Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”．

Writer and clinician Dr．Dorothy Rowe，a member of the British Psychological Society，says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted，while other children see the advantages of their situation．

However，the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older．

【1】The passage is written with the purpose of ________．

A. illustrating the strength and weakness of having an only child

B. analyzing the reasons why having an only child becomes popular

C. presenting us with different opinions about having an only child

D. guiding people to look at the same issue from different perspectives

【2】What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean？

A. Nearly half of families intend to have just one child．

B. All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child．

C. Some people fail to recognize the advantage of having an only child．

D. People brought up in an only child family resist downsizing the family．

【3】From what Dr．Dorothy Rowe said，we know that ________．

A. journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood

B. she has a positive attitude towards Janice Turner’s reaction

C. it’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle

D. some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions

【4】What can be inferred from the passage？

A. It’s normal to see the imperfection in character in only children．

B. Mumsnet is an online forum which promotes having an only child．

C. Economic development plays a determining role in the family size．

D. Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents．

【题目】Mum, it’s me. Hopefully, this Mothering Sunday you will get to hear those three words. I will, of course, try to phone you. I hope we will be able to speak for the allowed 10 minutes. But I suspect many inmates will be using the phone, so if I don’t call and if we don’t speak, then this is what I would have said:

It’s not your fault that I am here. I know that deep in your heart you have questioned whether my current circumstance is somehow your fault, if the reckless stupidity of my past is somehow a failure on your part. It is not. Only one person is to blame, only one person should hurt — me. You have always taught me that when the room goes dark, you can wait for the lights to be switched back on or you can search in the dark and turn the light on yourself. You are my light. You always have been and always will be. There is nobody I admire more, nobody I have strived harder to please in my life, which is why my current failure hurts me so much.

I am so sorry that I will not be there to see you, but I want you to know that now, as always, you are here with me. In my darkest hours, and in the coldest loneliness of my past few months, my mind has so often wandered to the past, to when it was you and me — and I have been able to smile. Yours is the strength that I draw upon.

A parent’s job is to make sure that they pass on the best of themselves to their children. You have done that. It is the inner you in me that will get me throughthis.

I have failed you so epically, but you have never failed me. If I think back to the tears I shed when Dad left, all those years ago, I see you through their misty glaze. You holding me and you telling me we’d be OK, and we will be. We are and always will be the best team.

Childhood heroes such as footballers, actors and rock stars areclichéd. If the job’s done right, a child’s heroes should be their parents — you are mine. The strength you showed after the divorce from Dad to find your biological parents, to go to university and get your teaching qualifications, to begin your life again, is the strength that I draw on now. It is the belief in myself, it is the belief you have in me, that tells me that once I am released I can and will rebuild my life. I will make you proud again. I will make you happy to have me as your son. Yours is the will that gets me through every day.

I don’t believe you can judge a person for the mistakes they make, as we all make them, but you can judge them for what they do afterwards. And after this, when it is all over, you will still have a son with the same hopes and dreams. They have not diminished. If you can dream it, then you have to believe it can happen — right?

So this Mothering Sunday, please think back to that morning in the 80s, the first Mother’s Day without Dad, when a six-year-old me got up early and made breakfast for you. Do you remember it? Could you ever forget? A slice of bread a doorstep thick and a wedge of cheese equally dense. You didn’t have to eat it, but you did, chewing every dry mouthful. I know now why you forced yourself — because it had been made with love. Well, things don’t change this year — this letter is that bread and cheese (it sure has plenty of the cheese!).

I love you so much. I am sorry I have let you down, but you have taught me that we will always pick ourselves up and become better than we were before. Thank you for everything and this year, more than ever:

Happy Mothering Sunday.

Love, your son

【1】According to the passage, what made the author most upset at present?

A. Losing his freedom temporarily.

B. Being unable to phone his mother.

C. Failing to live up to his mother’s expectations.

D. Having no chance to spend the weekend with mother.

【2】What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. Mothering Sunday. B. Dark time.

C. His mistake. D. Near future.

【3】What did the author do in the loneliness of his past months？

A. He summed up the causes of the failure in his life.

B. He planned to help his mother find her birth parents.

C. He recalled the fond memories of being with his mother.

D. He prepared himself to go to university for further studies.

【4】Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “clichéd” in Paragraph 6?

A. Ridiculous. B. Liberal.

C. Explicit. D. Common.

【5】Which of the following can best describe the author’s mother?

A. Selfless but stubborn. B. Guilty but determined.

C. Selfish but responsible. D. Caring but envious.

【题目】In the past ten years, many scientists have studied the differences between men and women. And they all got the same answer: The sexes(性别) are different, because their brains are different. And this, the scientists say, makes men and women see the world in different ways.

Boys, for example, generally are better than girls at mathematical ideas. Boys also generally are better than girls at the kind of hand and eye movements necessary for ball sports. Girls, on the other hand generally start speaking earlier than boys. And they generally(通常) see better in the dark than boys and are better at learning foreign languages.

What makes men and women better at one thing or another? The answer is the brain. The brain has two sides connected by nerve(神经) tracks. The left side generally is used for mathematics, speech and writing. The right side is used for artistic creation(创造) and the expression for emotions(情感). In men and women, different areas in each side of the brain develop differently. In boys, for example, it’s the area used for mathematics. In girls, it is the area used for language skills. Another interesting difference is that the two sides of a man’s brain are connected by a smaller nerves than the two sides of a woman’s brain are.

【1】Which of the following is best to outline(概括) the article?

A. Research on the brain.

B. Differences between men and women

C. People’s different brains.

D. Who Are Better, Boys or Girls

【2】________men and women think differently.

A. Sex makes.

B. The different brains make

C. The different experiences make.

D. The influences of society make.

【3】According to the article, girls are generally better than boys at __ in your school.

A. mathematics B. physics C. English D. Chemistry

【4】Which of the following is true?

A. The right side of brain in boys generally develops better than that in girls.

B. The left side of brain in girls generally develops better than that in boys.

C. Men are better than women in all things.

D. The area in girls’ brain used for language skills develops better.

【题目】 The little boy won’t go to sleep ________ his mother tells him a bedtime story.

A. or B. but C. whether D. unless

【题目】下面文章中有4个段落需要添加小标题，文章需要添加总标题。请从以下选项（A、B、C、 D、E和F）中选出符合意思的标题，并在答题纸上将相应选项的标号涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。

【1】________________

Whatever you focus on, you tend to get more of. Many people spend time thinking about what they don’t want, but horrible stuff keeps showing up in their lives. If you pay attention to what you do want instead, you’ll end up becoming more aware of avenues to getting it.

【2】_______________

Luck doesn’t just happen upon us--it comes to us when we’re open. Trying something new is a great way of getting more opportunities. Learning a new skill, visiting a new place, or trying a new hobby are all great ways of expanding your opportunities and your mindset.

【3】_______________

Some people are already lucky, and they just don’t know it. Instead of focusing on what’s lacking, look at how lucky you already are. You no doubt have some wonderful friends, family, a roof over your head and food on the table. By acknowledging these things regularly, you can instantly feel more lucky.

【4】_______________

People who view the future as threatening, dangerous or uncertain are unlikely to draw any luck to them. Having a negative view of what is to come makes you likely to be mentally and emotionally withdrawn into a place where you won’t even see any lucky opportunities. Be positive and excited about what the future may hold, and you should find many lucky opportunities on the horizon.

【5】________________

You’ll never create any luck if you sit there waiting for it to fall into your lap. Take steps towards your goals and dreams and greet every challenge with a positive mindset. You will find you create more luck in everyday life.

【题目】We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your half prepared meal. You hang up（挂断电话） hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.

Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly go into a panic (恐慌) and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a truck-driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up（排成长龙） behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meanwhile, the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident, for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!

【1】According to the author’s opinion, ____.

A. troubles always come in groups

B. accidents may happen anytime

C. a small matter may cause great trouble

D. anyone may have trouble any day

【2】When the telephone rings,____.

A. you should never go to answer it in a hurry

B. your trouble is sure to come

C. you’d better just let it ring all the way

D. you’d better have your baby a little distant from your table before answering it

【3】What did the police do after the accident?

A. They helped the driver clean up the road.

B. They tried to stop the people from arguing.

C. They helped the drivers to go on with their journey.

D. They would find out who should be responsible

【题目】Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous（宽厚的）conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”

“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.”

【1】Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr. Briggs?

A. He was a student. B. He was an official.

C.He was a worker. D. He was a businessman.

【2】As a salesman with the company, Mr. Brigs .

A.visited people to ask them to work with him

B. called on people to make them join the company

C.saw old people in order to help them

D.visited many people so as to offer insurance

【3】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A.Mr. Briggs had studied the figures for deaths for several years.

B. Mr. Briggs began to look at the figures after he started work.

C. The number of the very old people who died every year is small.

D. A great number of very old people die every year.

【题目】They eat only plant foods, and take care to ________ animal products from other areas of their lives.

A. contain B. maintain C. exclude D. Include

【题目】阅读下面句子，在空白处填入适当的内容（每空一词）。

【1】It will take several months for Simon to__________ (痊愈) from the knee injuries.

【2】Miller is __________ (可以信赖的) and won’t let you down.

【3】The kids watched as the coin ___________(下沉) to the bottom of the pool.

【4】The old man was living alone, ___________(乞讨)food from neighbours.

【5】Christmas trees were __________ (装饰)with colorful lights.

【6】Our parents give us food and clothing and ask for nothing __________ __________ (作为回报).

【7】Mother treats me __________ __________ (好像)I were a baby.

【8】Finally , Bob__________ __________ with(想出)a good idea to solve the problem .

【题目】We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers. Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way home we had to stop at traffic lights, and there my wife saw the bookshelf.（书柜）

It stood outside a furniture（家具）shop. “Buy it,” she said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof-rack（车顶架）. I’ve always wanted one like that.”

What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer, and the bookshelf was tied on to the roof rack. It was tall and narrow, quite heavy too.

As it was getting darker, I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.

After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake（超车）?”

Just at that time a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously when they went past. But then, with a kind smile they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.

“Right, sir,” he said. “Do you need any more help now?”

I didn’t quite understand. “Thanks, officer,” I said. “You’ve been very kind. I live just down the road.”

He was looking at our things: first at the flowers, then at the bookshelf. “Well, well,” he said and laughed. “It’s a bookshelf you’ve got there! We thought it was——er, something else.”

My wife began to laugh. Suddenly I understood why the police drove here. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a bookshelf, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.

【1】From the story we know that .

A．the writer was poor and didn’t buy the bookshelf for his wife

B．the writer’s wife didn’t like the bookshelf at all

C．the writer was not very glad to buy the bookshelf for his wife

D．the writer was always glad to buy something for his wife

【2】What made the writer think that carrying furniture was “a good idea”?

A．Other drivers would let him go first.

B．He could drive slowly and it was safe.

C．His wife could use a new bookshelf.

D．He could save a lot of money and time.

【3】Why were the police and other drivers so kind to the writer?

A. Because they thought the writer liked studying very much and needed a bookshelf.

B. Because they didn’t think it was polite to overtake a car with a bookshelf on it.

C. Because they thought it was dangerous to carry a bookshelf on a car.

D. Because they thought somebody in the writer’s family had died and he needed help.

【4】Why did the writer’s wife begin to laugh?

A．Because the police had helped them a lot.

B．Because at last the police had driven to the church.

C．Because the officer was always looking at the flowers and the bookshelf.

D．Because now she knew what mistake the police had made.

【5】When did the officers begin to realize they had made a mistake?

A．After they arrived at the church.

B．Before they overtook the writer’s car.

C．Before they arrived at the church.

D．After the writer’s family left the church.