Tre’S mom，Christina Thompson, cannot believe how much her son already learned this year in his full-day, free pre-school class in Oklahoma City. “Since he’s been in school his vocabulary has increased surprisingly,” Thompson says. “The other day he came home and said, ‘You know what ，mom? You are being ridiculous，” Thompson laughs quietly. “And then he asked, ‘Do you know what ‘ridiculous’ means, mom?’” Tre knows the entire alphabet, his numbers to 100，and he’s starting to read. And letters and numbers aside, Thompson is most struck by how fast Tre is absorbing vocabulary and language.

Of course, not all pre-school is created equal. High quality pre-schools have well-trained, well-educated teachers in the classroom (much like Tre Thompson’s teacher Mrs. Wallace, who uses play-based learning to teach both academics and social skills and can rattle off (飞快说出） a battery of data on how well her students are progressing towards their year-end goals). Texas can also offer a model for educator development: its Texas School Ready! Campaign has proven to increase the quality of participating pre-schools by providing early childhood teachers with coaching, professional development, research-based curriculum (课程)，and progress monitoring. States and districts should also combine pre-school with the K-12 system, as Oklahoma does ，so that children enter kindergarten smoothly.

Oklahoma is one of the leading states in providing students like Tre with free ，full-day pre-school. And the results are already paying off: According to a 2012 study, Oklahoma kids that went through pre-school showed vocabulary gains 28% higher than those of children without pre-school, and math gains 44% higher than non-pre-school kids. And we know that high-quality pre-school doesn’t just mean higher scores in elementary school. They were more likely to have graduated from high school and less likely to have committed a violent crime. They also earned more money and were more likely to be employed.

We know pre-school works, so let’s stop talking and start building a system where all children have access to excellent early childhood education. As any well-educated four year old could tell us, not doing so would be ridiculous.

1.The case of Tre in the first paragraph serves as the evidence of______.

A.children’s disrespect towards parents

B.the bad performance of students at school

C.the positive effect of pre-school on children

D.Thompson’s doubt about her son’s education

2.At high quality pre-schools, children may learn by______

A. playing B. modelling      C. researching  D. monitoring

3.It can be inferred that______.

A.children can not enter kindergarten without pre-school

B.Oklahoma is the best state offering full-day pre-school

C.all pre-schools have well-trained, well-educated teachers

D.kids with pre-school may be better equipped for their future

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A.Not all pre-school works

B.All pre-school is created equal

C.We owe our kids universal pre-school

D.Pre-school goes well with K-12 system

阅读理解

　　Dr. Carl Sagan has been a leader in space exploration. He is an astronomer at Cornell University and director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. The author talked with Dr. Carl Sagan about how he became an astronomer.

　　Q: At the age of five did you know what the stars were?

　　A: I didn't know what they were, so I asked my friends and some older children, I got answers like “They're lights in the sky, kid.”That wasn't much of an answer. What were they? Were they little electric light bulbs(灯泡) held by black wires you couldn't see?

　　Q: If there are creatures living on another planet, what do you think they would look like?

　　A: I can't imagine what they'd look like, and they couldn't imagine what we'd look like. All of life on Earth is the same, except for some external(外部的) differences in form. Every one of us on Earth, from bacteria(细菌) to human being; is made up of the same kinds of proteins and the same kinds of nucleic acids(核酸). But on another planet, everything is different, and I would expect that the organisms would be totally different from us.

　　Q: Do you think we should have a manned mission(工作团)to Mars?

　　A: I don't think there's any reason to send people to Mars if our goal is to find out about Mars. Let's send robots instead. They're cheaper. There's no risk of human lives. Robots can go to more dangerous places. But I think there are reasons for sending people there that are not connected to finding out about Mars. Planning for a manned mission to Mars would force us to improve some of our technology. It would encourage the major technological nations to come together for the project. Space flight also speaks to something deep within us. A human mission to Mars would provide a sense of adventure. It would help to stimulate a new generation of scientists, and it would make all people feel a little more optimistic about what we can do as a planet.

　　Q: What advice would you give a young person who wants to be an astronomer?

　　A: I'd say,“Study physics. But before you can study physics you have to know mathematics, so study mathematics.”I would also encourage them to read a lot, be curious, and ask questions.

1．As a boy, Carl Sagan didn't ________.

[　　]

A．often ask questions

B．always get satisfying answers from his friends

C．try to do well in physics

D．read a lot

2．We human beings are interested in finding life on another planet because ________.

[　　]

A．we are naturally drawn to other things that are alive and are curious about them.

B．most of us want to have more friends.

C．some of us are eager to rule the universe

D．scientists want to show how modem our technology is

3．Robots can be sent to Mars because ________.

[　　]

A．we have enough robots

B．they're strong and big

C．everything is easy to them

D．some duties are too dangerous for human being to fulfill

4．A manned mission to Mars ________.

[　　]

A．is reasonable if the goal is to collect information

B．is O.K. if robots are sent as well

C．can make us improve some technology to prepare for it

D．can make strong nations come together

5．Which of the following statements is true?

[　　]

A．Carl Sagan is an astronaut.

B．Carl Sagan used to ask friends silly questions.

C．Carl Sagan thinks we can't imagine what creatures on another planet look like until they can imagine our appearance.

D．Carl Sagan encourages young people interested in astronomy to work hard at physics as well as mathematics.

Although the new year is already here, the great moments of the old year are still in the memory. Let’s look back at some of these.

   the United States

   One of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve parties was held in Times Square, New Year. The festival attracted hundreds of thousands of people to watch brightly-lit ball drop on a landmark building at the stroke(报时的钟声) of midnight.

   A great amount of confetti(五彩纸屑) was released from the sky at zero o’clock..

   Britain

   Painted in shining colours and blowing on whistles,50,000 party-goers arrived in London’s Millennium Dome to dance in the New Year. The Millennium Dome came to life at midnight as 50 DJs started up, competing on five separate dance floors to warm the crowd into the party mood.

   Russia

   New Year is the biggest holiday in Russia. It is traditional to put up a tree for celebrations with family and friends. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

   On the very last day of the years, Russians with a taste for a very cold swim braved freezing temperatures to plant traditional, festival trees on the bed of the Northern Ocean and at the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake.

   Malaysia

   Brave skydivers threw themselves off the world’s tallest buildings near midnight and floated towards the new year.

   The jump from the 452-metre Petronas Twin Tower was called a real leap from one year to the next since the group took off in the last second of the old year and landed a minute later in the new year.“That was really cool,”said Roland Simpson,“over crowds of onlookers to the landing spot.”

61. In New Year the brightly-lit ball dropped______.

A. from the sky onto the Times Square    B. to celebrate the stroke of midnight

C. to welcome the arrival of Christmas    D. at the point between the old and the new year

62. Which of the following is NOT true about celebrations in the world?

A. A large quantity of confetti was given out from the tallest building.

B. Skydivers in Malaysia jumped down from the world’s tallest buildings.

C. Some Russians planted trees on the bed of Lake Baikal.

D. In Britain 50 DJs competed on five separate floors.

63.The underlined word “landmark”means______ in the text.

A. an easily recognizable object, such as a tall tree or building

B. something that marks an important point in one’s life

C. something marking the limits of a piece of land

D. a building that is marked on a map

64. The text shows that_____.

A. New Year has been the starting point for people to have dreams

B. people in different countries welcomed New Year in different ways

C. people’s ways of celebrations are exciting

D. the new year is better than the old year

Tre’S mom，Christina Thompson, cannot believe how much her son already learned this year in his full-day, free pre-school class in Oklahoma City. “Since he’s been in school his vocabulary has increased surprisingly,” Thompson says. “The other day he came home and said, ‘You know what ，mom? You are being ridiculous，” Thompson laughs quietly. “And then he asked, ‘Do you know what ‘ridiculous’ means, mom?’” Tre knows the entire alphabet, his numbers to 100，and he’s starting to read. And letters and numbers aside, Thompson is most struck by how fast Tre is absorbing vocabulary and language.
Of course, not all pre-school is created equal. High quality pre-schools have well-trained, well-educated teachers in the classroom (much like Tre Thompson’s teacher Mrs. Wallace, who uses play-based learning to teach both academics and social skills and can rattle off (飞快说出） a battery of data on how well her students are progressing towards their year-end goals). Texas can also offer a model for educator development: its Texas School Ready! Campaign has proven to increase the quality of participating pre-schools by providing early childhood teachers with coaching, professional development, research-based curriculum (课程)，and progress monitoring. States and districts should also combine pre-school with the K-12 system, as Oklahoma does ，so that children enter kindergarten smoothly.
Oklahoma is one of the leading states in providing students like Tre with free ，full-day pre-school. And the results are already paying off: According to a 2012 study, Oklahoma kids that went through pre-school showed vocabulary gains 28% higher than those of children without pre-school, and math gains 44% higher than non-pre-school kids. And we know that high-quality pre-school doesn’t just mean higher scores in elementary school. They were more likely to have graduated from high school and less likely to have committed a violent crime. They also earned more money and were more likely to be employed.
We know pre-school works, so let’s stop talking and start building a system where all children have access to excellent early childhood education. As any well-educated four year old could tell us, not doing so would be ridiculous

1. 1.

   The case of Tre in the first paragraph serves as the evidence of______

   1. A.
      children’s disrespect towards parents
   2. B.
      the bad performance of students at school
   3. C.
      the positive effect of pre-school on children
   4. D.
      Thompson’s doubt about her son’s education
2. 2.

   At high quality pre-schools, children may learn by______

   1. A.
      playing
   2. B.
      modelling
   3. C.
      researching
   4. D.
      monitoring
3. 3.

   It can be inferred that______

   1. A.
      children can not enter kindergarten without pre-school
   2. B.
      Oklahoma is the best state offering full-day pre-school
   3. C.
      all pre-schools have well-trained, well-educated teachers
   4. D.
      kids with pre-school may be better equipped for their future
4. 4.

   What would be the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      Not all pre-school works
   2. B.
      All pre-school is created equal
   3. C.
      We owe our kids universal pre-school
   4. D.
      Pre-school goes well with K-12 system

Friends play an important role in our lives, and although we can’t be more familiar with the fact of friendship, we often don’t clearly understand how we make friends, especially with Americans. Here are some pieces of advice on making friends with Americans:
　　1. Visiting places Americans enjoy: parties, churches, restaurants, parks and sports clubs.
　　2. Be willing to take the first step. Don’t wait for them to get close to you. Americans in China may not know you speak English. They may be uncomfortable if they can’t speak your language.
　3. Use small talks to open the conversation. Ask them where they’re from, why they come to China, etc. . Remember: Be careful not to ask personal questions about age, salary and so on.
　　4. Show an interest in their culture, their country or their job. Americans like to talk about themselves!
　　5. Invite them to join you for dinner or just for coffee or tea. Try to set a specific(明确的)time. Americans sometimes make general invitations like “Let’s go out for dinner sometime. ”Often this is just a way to be friendly. It is not always a real invitation.
　　6. Don’t expect too much at first. Maybe they’re being friendly. But maybe they want to be your good friends. It will take time to tell.
【小题1】According to the text, Americans like to visit the following places except＿＿＿＿.