Dorothea Shaw is 71 years old and nearly blind, and she chose to live alone far away from people. She lives in Belize — a county the size of Wales with a population only that of Swansea. Her home is at Gales Point, a tiny village which can be reached only by sea or air; after a 10-mile walk into the hills one finally reaches a piece of land and two small houses so hidden in the thick over-grown forest that only a handful of people know Dorothea is there.

She lives happily and totally alone – growing her vegetables, looking after her trees and dogs, cats and chickens. Once a month or so an old friend passes by with her food supplies and letters-usually including a letter from her sister in Scunthorpe and some bits of clothing from friends in Canada. Sometimes a local man will come and cut wood for her and a group of British soldiers will come across her and be greeted with the offer of a cup of coffee.

At night she lies in her tiny sleeping room with the dogs on the floor, the cats on the table near the typewriter and one of the hens settled down in a corner of the bookshelf, and listens for hours to any Spanish, English, German or French broadcasts she can find on her radio. Sometimes she gets lonely but most of the time the animals and the radio are company enough.

But recently the very things that she had tried to get free from so well have begun to catch up with her. The peace of the forest has been destroyed by the noise of earth-moving machines not many miles away. What she once only heard of distantly on the radio is now on her doorstep. Things began to change three years ago. The new main north-south road in Belize was cut through the forest only four or five miles away. “Now more people know I’m here.” She says. “I feel more and more uneasy each day.”

Dorothea’s small houses ________.   

A. are entirely surrounded by trees   

B. have always been her home

C. were built for just a few people   

D. are in a county with the same population as Wales

Dorothea lives in the tiny village because ________.

A. she doesn’t like living near people    B. she is too old to move

C. machines destroyed her home        D. there’s nowhere else for her to live

Dorothea doesn’t get lonely since she has _______ with her.

A. her sister   B. some animals     C. friends from Canada    D. a postman

Dorothea spends a lot of time __________.

A. growing all the food she needs         B. cutting down trees

C. listening to the radio                 D. studying languages

Interview with a president

While many teenagers may dream of meeting with pop star Jay Chou or NBA hero Yao Ming, Li Jing had a far more powerful person on her mind. The Senior 2 from Beijing No.35 High School dreamt of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After more than a year of hard work and with a little good luck,Li fulfilled her dream.On October 11,2004,the 16-year-old girl joined a team of Chinese journalists who went to Kremlin,in Moscow,to interview Putin.

Li felt nervous before talking to Putin. “But his greeting and warm smile put me at ease,” she said.

Li admired Putin very much,because of his strong will and style of leadership. “He looks very cool,” Li said.During her interview,Li asked Putin whether he plans     to educate his two daughters to be officials in the future.Putin smiled and answered       he hopes they can do whatever job suits their interests and personalities.

Although li would only have several minutes,she started working on her interview questions last August after applying for the opportunity. “Journalists” work is by no means easy.You need to do lots of homework on your “interviewee,”she said.She read many books about Putin and Russia in her spare time.

Li’s parents encouraged her to be a student journalist. “We fully supported her,as long as it does not affects her studies,” said her father.Previously in her job for a student magazine, Chinese Young Journalists, she wrote a letter to President Hu Jintao during the SARS epidemic.

Li has learnt a lot from her experience.She said learning to manage her time and develop the confidence to speak with important people were not things she could learn in class.

The underlined word “interviewee”in the fifth paragragh probably means_____.

A.the person who interviews

B.the person who is interviewed

C.the person who knows how to interview

D.the person who plans to interview a famous people

Which of the following best descibes Li Jing’s parents’attitude towards her being a student journalist?

A.They think to be a student journalist is purely a waste of time.

B.they worry that to be a student journalist will affect her study.

C.They consider it is quite good for Li Jing on the condition of not

 striking her study.

D.They neither support it nor object to it.

Li Jing is different from those students of her age in that______.

A.she doesn’t like pop star Jay Chou

B.she hates meeting with the NBA hero Yao Ming

C.she wants to meet neither Jay Chou or Yao Ming

D.she dreams of meeting the present powerful Russian leader

If you want to teach your children how to say sorry, you must be good at saying it yourself, especially to your own children. But how you say it can be quite tricky.  If you say to your children "I'm sorry I got angry with you, but …" what follows that "but" can make the apology ineffective: "I had a bad day" or "your noise was giving me a headache " leaves the person who has been injured feeling that he should be apologizing for his bad behavior in expecting an apology.

Another method by which people appear to apologize without actually doing so is to say "I'm sorry you're upset"; this suggests that you are somehow at fault for allowing yourself to get upset by what the other person has done.

Then there is the general, all covering apology, which avoids the necessity of identifying a specific act that was particularly hurtful or insulting, and which the person who is apologizing should promise never to do again. Saying "I'm useless as a parent" does not commit a person to any specific improvement.

These pseudo(假的)-apologies are used by people who believe saying sorry shows weakness. Parents who wish to teach their children to apologize should see it as a sign of strength, and therefore not resort to these pseudo-apologies.

But even when presented with examples of contrition（悔悟）, children still need help to become aware of the complexities of saying sorry. A three-year-old boy might need help in understanding that other children feel pain just as he does, and that hitting a playmate over the head with a heavy toy requires an apology. A six-year-old boy might need reminding that spoiling other children's expectations can require an apology. A 12-year-old might need to be shown that taking the biscuit tin without asking permission is acceptable, but that borrowing a parent's clothes without permission is not.

1. If a mother adds "but" to an apology, _______.

A. she doesn't feel that she should have apologized

B. she does not realize that the child has been hurt

C. the child may find the apology easier to accept

D. the child may feel that he owes her an apology

2. According to the author, saying "I'm sorry you're upset" most probably means "_______".

A. You have good reason to get upset

B. I'm aware you're upset, but I'm not to blame

C. I apologize for hurting your feelings

D. I'm at fault for making you upset

3. It is not advisable to use the general, all-covering apology because _______.

A. it gets one into the habit of making empty promises

B. it may make the other person feel guilty

C. it is vague and ineffective

D. it is hurtful and insulting

4. We learn from the last paragraph that in teaching children to say sorry _______.

A. the complexities involved should be ignored

B. their ages should be taken into thinking

C. parents need to set them a good example

D. parents should be patient and tolerant

5. It can be inferred from the passage that apologizing properly is _______.

A. a social issue calling for immediate attention   B. not necessary among family members

C. a sign of social progress                    D. not as simple as it seems

B
In China, if you are not married by the time you are 30, you are in for trouble: social blame and pressure from family and friends can get you down. And if you are a woman it’s even worse.
Many young people get married simply to get other people off their backs(免受别人的指责) . This is a serious compromise (妥协) with their ideals (理想). One ends up not marrying the ideal partner.
There are, however, a few young people who refuse to compromise: if they can’t find a good marriage partner,they say, they would rather not many at all.
34-year-old Kate is university lecture in English.She said she would not describe herself as backelorette(独身主义者) but simply a woman who hasn't come across the right man yet. She has sharp comments for the way in which the old generation looks at marriage.
“Many people think marriage is a duty —— to your parents, family and society. Nobody cares if your marriage is happy or not. she said, I think this is very wrong and I intend to live and act according to my own will.”
Happily for her, her parents are open-minded and not put pressure on her. But the same does not apply to her friends. They are .constantly trying to get her together with some young man or another. She always refuses politely.
59. The main idea of this passage is that ____ .
A. marriage is duty to society
B. people should get married before 30 years old
C. late marriage should be respected
D. women should get married earlier than men
60. Miss Kate refuses to get together with some young man or another because____.
A. she doesn’t think he is the right man she wants
B. he is either too old or too young
C. he is either important or little learned
D. he doesn’t have good manners
61. In the first paragraph the underlined words “in for”  refer to ____.
A. interested in   B. satisfied with    C. worried about   D. possible to suffer
62. Which is not true according to this passage
A. In China, one mil face social blame and family pressure if one hasn’t got married at he age of 30.
B. Miss Kate’s parents are always worried about her marriage.
C. Miss Kate won’t compromise with her ideal marriage.
D. Miss Kate wants to many a worthy young man.
63. If marriage is regarded as a duty to society,_______.
A. everybody will be happy and satisfied
B. nobody will pay attention to whether you are happy or not in your family life
C. you can easily find an ideal partner
D. young people will have nothing to worry about in marriage

It’s 5:00 in the morning when the alarm (闹钟) rings in my ears. I roll out of bed and walk blindly through the dark into the bathroom. I turn on the light and put on my glasses. The house is still as I walk downstairs while my husband and three kids sleep peacefully. Usually I go for a long run, but today I choose my favorite exercise DVD insanity. Sweat pours down my face and into my eyes. My heart races as I face my body to finish each movement. As I near the end of the exercise ,I feel extremely tired, but a smile is of my face. It’s not a smile because the DVD is over , but a smile of success from pushing my body to its extreme limit.

  Some people enjoy shopping, smoking , food, work, or even chocolate. But I need exercise to get through each day. Some shake heads when they see me run through the town. Others get hurt when I refuse to try just one bite of their grandmother’s chocolate cake. They raise their eyebrows, surprised by my “no thank you,” or by my choice to have a salad. Over the years , I have learned it’s okay to just say “no.” I shouldn’t feel sorry for refusing food that I don’t want to eat.

So what drives me to roll out of bed at 5:00 a.m.? What gives me the reason to just say to ice cream?  Commitment.  A commitment to change my life with a way that reduces daily anxiety, increases self –confidence and energy, extends life and above all improve my body shape. This is the point where a smile appears on my face as I look at myself in the mirror or try on my favorite pair of jeans that now fit just right. It’s through commitment and sweat that I can make a difference within myself inside and out.

1.

Why is there a smile on the author’s face in the morning?

A. Because she sees her family sleeping peacefully.

B. Because she finishes her favorite exercise

C. Because she enjoys the interesting DVD

D. Because she feels a sense of achievement

2.

Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?

A. She doesn’t treat others politely

B. She likes to make others surprised

C. Others don’t understand what she does

D. Others try to help her by offering her food

3.

What does the underlined word “commitment” in the last paragraph mean?

A. Good health    B. Firm belief    C.A strong power    D.A regular half

4.

What can we learn about the author from the text?

A. She acts in a strange way

B. She wants to look different from others

C. She aims to develop a good body shape

D. She has difficult getting along with others