If you look for a book as a present for a child, you will be spoiled for choice even in a year when there is no new Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling’s wizard is not alone: the past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and in turn led to increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings.
Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics, in 1997 23% said they didn’t like reading at all. In 2003, 35% did. And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.
Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability（可利用性）of computer games. Maybe the books boom（繁荣）has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class. In his pre-budget（预算） report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.
Reading Recovery is aimed at six-year-olds, who receive four months of individual daily half- hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation earlier this year reported that children on the scheme made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.
International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well, but read less – often for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on（热衷） reading can expect lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator（指示物）of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.
【小题1】Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the best-known film-makers in the world. This gentle-looking and overweight Englishman has connected the   1   audiences with most of the mysterious and frightening films   2   made.

“The 37 Steps”made in 1939 was the  3  which made him famous outside  4  . He receivedお many  5  from Hollywood, where he went to make“Rebecca”. This was the most expensive film he had made,   6   over a million dollars. This was  7  in Britain,  8  the budget（预算）was very small. But as soon as he started on“Rebecca”, the Second World War started. Like many  9  film people, Hitchcock decided to  10  in America, and was sometimes  11  a traitor（叛徒）at home. But he was too old to  12  , and the British film industry had  13  down. He finished“Rebecca”and got  14  first Oscar, for the best film of the year.

He was  15  the first film director to  16  a TV  17  which showed mysterious and frightening stories, called“Alfred Hitchcock presents…”. This was a new   18   , for most of the Hollywood people hated television and didn’t think it was worth trying at all. The audience loved Hitchcock, however, and he made more shows. These shows gave him more   19   to try a new idea and produce more and more mysterious and frightening   20   .

1. A. theatre　　　　　　  B. cinema　　 C. sports　　　　　　　　  D. music

2. A. ever　　　　　　   B. never　　  C. still　　　　　　　　   D. yet

3. A. book　　　　    B. story　　　　    C. play　　　　　　   D. film

4. A. America  　　　　   B. France　　　　  C. Britain　　　　　　  D. Australia

5. A. offers　　　　    B. congratulations　　   C. letters　　　　　　 D. telegrams

6. A. spending　　　　　　 B. costing　　　　  C. talking　　　　  D. wasting

7. A. possible　　　　    B. easy　　   C. impossible　　　　   D. interesting

8. A. why　　　　　　    B. where　　　　    C. there　　　　　　    D. here

9. A. another　　　　　　  B. the other　　　　  C. the same　　　　    D. other

10. A. leave　　　　　　　　    B. stay　　    C. fight　　　　　　　　  D. love

11. A. made　　　　　　    B. forced　　　　  C. called　　　　    D. destroyed

12. A. fight　　　　　　    B. eat　　　　    C. talk　　　　　　 D. sleep

13. A. started　　　　　　   B. begun　　　　  C. closed　　　　 　　 D. put

14. A. her　　　　　　  B. their　　　　　　  C. his　　　　　　　　 D. its

15. A. also　　　　　　    B. both　　　　   C. all　　　　　　　　 D. neither

16. A. become　　　　　　 B. remain　　　　  C. get　　　　　　    D. stay

17. A. station　　　　　　  B. show　　　　    C. factory　　　　　　 D. farm

18. A. idea　　　　　　    B. nation　　　　  C. shape　　　　      D. attention

19. A. chances　　　　　　 B. time　　　　  C. money　　　　　　 D. directions

20. A. plays　　　　   B. stories　　　　　　 C. films　　　　　　   D. problems

If you look for a book as a present for a child, you will be spoiled for choice even in a year when there is no new Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling’s wizard is not alone: the past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and in turn led to increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings.

Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics, in 1997 23% said they didn’t like reading at all. In 2003, 35% did. And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.

Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability（可利用性）of computer games. Maybe the books boom（繁荣）has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class. In his pre-budget（预算） report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.

Reading Recovery is aimed at six-year-olds, who receive four months of individual daily half- hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation earlier this year reported that children on the scheme made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.

International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well, but read less – often for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on（热衷） reading can expect lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator（指示物）of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.

1.Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?

A. Many children’s books have been adapted from films.

B. Many high-quality children’s books have been published.

C. The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films.

D. The sales of presents for children have increased.

2.Statistics suggested that ___.

A. the number of top students increased with the use of computers.

B. a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading.

C. a minority of primary school children read properly.

D. a large percentage of children read regularly.

3.What do we know about Reading Recovery?

A. An education of it will be made sometime this year.

B. Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking.

C. It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading.

D. Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading.

4.Reading for fun is important because book-loving children ____.

A. takes greater advantage of the project.

B. shows the potential to enjoy a long life.

C. is likely to succeed in their education.

D. would make excellent future researchers.

5.The aim of this text would probably be ____.

A.to overcome primary school pupils’ reading difficulty.

B.to encourage the publication of more children’s books.

C.to remind children of the importance of reading for fun.

D.to introduce a way to improve early childhood reading.

第二节（共5小题；每小题  2分，满分  10 分）

      根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Cyber Café computer centers are found in many cities around the world. Now, a few American high schools are opening these centers. For example, a high school in the state of Maryland began operating a Cyber Café last March. All students at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda can use  the Cyber Café.    ___71___

The officials say 13% of the students at the school are from poor families. Many students have arrived in the United States from other countries only recently. Students in the school’s program for learning English speak 23 other languages.

The idea for a Cyber Café at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School began nine years ago. __72__ Parents interested in technology proposed a Cyber Café.

They wanted this center even though schools in the area had suffered budget cuts(预算消减). The community(社区)wanted to help. __73__

Over two years, the community collected money for a Cyber Café and other new computers. ___74___ The Café now has many computers a printer and a scanner. School official Ann Hengerer says students use the Internet to complete research. They also write homework and required papers on the computers. ___75___ That is especially helpful for the many students who have family members in other nations.

It received more than 170,000 dollars.

In addition, they can send and receive e-mails.

Some officials in the area opposed（反对）the idea.

It wanted all students to have the best chances to learn.

At that time, officials were planning to rebuild the school building.

One student at the school says students can start their homework even before they leave school.

But school officials say it especially helps students who have no computer or cannot use the internet at home.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Every boy and every girl expects their parents to give them more pocket money. Why do their parents just give them a certain amount? 51

The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family.   52   Some children get weekly pocket money. Others get monthly pocket money.

First of all, children are expected to make a choice between spending and saving. Then parents should make the children understand what is expected to pay for with the money. At first, some young children may spend all of the money soon after they receive it. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until it is the right time.    53

In order to encourage their children to do some housework, some parents give pocket money if the children help around the home. Some experts think it not wise to pay the children for doing that. 54

Pocket money can give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with

the money. They can spend it by giving it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. 55 Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice. Saving can also open the door to future saving and investing for children.

A．They can save it for future use.

B Timing is another consideration.

C．As helping at home is a normal part of family life.

D Some children are not good at managing their pocket money.

E．Learning how to get money is very important for every child.

F．One main purpose is to let kids learn how to manage their own money.

G．By doing so, these children will learn that spending must be done with a budget（预算）.