Last year, on report card day, my son and a bunch of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald’s. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A’s, and Laurie got a cellphone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPod Nano, and she’s only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $ 10 for each A.”

I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cellphone, and the portable DVD player?

I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle vanish before my eyes-no more of those $ 5 bags of already-peeled organic carrots. No more organic anything!

I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal attained by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns, runs-batted-in? What about orchestra? Would first chair pay more than second? I’d be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.

“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that’s about it.”

Don’t you just hate that? We’re all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation.

1．The sentence “As the homework load increased, my income would decrease.” in the third paragraph probably means _____________.

A．taking care of the children would influence my work

B．I would spend more money on my children’s homework

C．reducing children’s homework load would cost me a lot

D．more rewards would be needed as the children grew up

2．We can tell from the passage that the author’s son was in ___________.

A．primary school B．junior middle school   C．high school        D．university

3．It can be inferred from the passage that ____________.

A．if you pay the children for good grades, they would take it for granted

B．if you buy children pizza for good grades, they would work harder

C．children would not ask for rewards when they enter high school

D．children would not ask for rewards when they enter university

4．The example of the author’s neighbor shows that ____________.

A．pizza is the best way to motivate children

B．reward is not the only way to motivate children

C．the author’s neighbor was very poor

D．the author’s neighbor’s son didn’t like reward

5．What is the author’s attitude toward paying children reward for good grades?

A．Favorable B．Ambiguous      C．Disagreeable    D．Unknowable

Last year, on report card day, my son and a bunch of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald’s. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A’s, and Laurie got a cellphone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPod Nano, and she’s only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $ 10 for each A.”

I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cellphone, and the portable DVD player?

I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle vanish before my eyes-no more of those $ 5 bags of already-peeled organic carrots. No more organic anything!

I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal attained by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns, runs-batted-in? What about orchestra? Would first chair pay more than second? I’d be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.

“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that’s about it.”

Don’t you just hate that? We’re all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation.

1．The sentence “As the homework load increased, my income would decrease.” in the third paragraph probably means _____________.

       A．taking care of the children would influence my work

       B．I would spend more money on my children’s homework

       C．reducing children’s homework load would cost me a lot

       D．more rewards would be needed as the children grew up

2．We can tell from the passage that the author’s son was in ___________.

       A．primary school B．junior middle school   C．high school        D．university

3．It can be inferred from the passage that ____________.

       A．if you pay the children for good grades, they would take it for granted

       B．if you buy children pizza for good grades, they would work harder

       C．children would not ask for rewards when they enter high school

       D．children would not ask for rewards when they enter university

4．The example of the author’s neighbor shows that ____________.

       A．pizza is the best way to motivate children

       B．reward is not the only way to motivate children

       C．the author’s neighbor was very poor

       D．the author’s neighbor’s son didn’t like reward

5．What is the author’s attitude toward paying children reward for good grades?

       A．Favorable B．Ambiguous      C．Disagreeable    D．Unknowable

Last year, on report card day, my son and a bunch of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald’s. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A’s, and Laurie got a cellphone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPod Nano, and she’s only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $ 10 for each A.”

I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cellphone, and the portable DVD player?

I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle vanish before my eyes-no more of those $ 5 bags of already-peeled organic carrots. No more organic anything!

I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal attained by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns, runs-batted-in? What about orchestra? Would first chair pay more than second? I’d be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.

“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that’s about it.”

Don’t you just hate that? We’re all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation.

71．The sentence “As the homework load increased, my income would decrease.” in the third paragraph probably means _____________.

       A．taking care of the children would influence my work

       B．I would spend more money on my children’s homework

       C．reducing children’s homework load would cost me a lot

       D．more rewards would be needed as the children grew up

72．We can tell from the passage that the author’s son was in ___________.

       A．primary school                         B．junior middle school

       C．high school                           D．university

73．It can be inferred from the passage that ____________.

       A．if you pay the children for good grades, they would take it for granted

       B．if you buy children pizza for good grades, they would work harder

       C．children would not ask for rewards when they enter high school

       D．children would not ask for rewards when they enter university

74．The example of the author’s neighbor shows that ____________.

       A．pizza is the best way to motivate children

       B．reward is not the only way to motivate children

       C．the author’s neighbor was very poor

       D．the author’s neighbor’s son didn’t like reward

75．What is the author’s attitude toward paying children reward for good grades?

       A．Favorable                                   B．Ambiguous         

       C．Disagreeable                                  D．Unknowable

DNA is a substance that makes up genes．Everything alive has genes. Plants have genes. Animals have genes. You have genes. Genes are the basic units of heredity. Heredity means all the characteristics you inherit from your parents. You get your genes from your parents. You inherit half of your genes from your mother． You inherit half of your genes from your father． Genes are a kind of code． A tree’s genes tell what shape its leaves will be． A cat’s genes tell what color its fur will be． Your genes tell what color your eyes will be．Your genes tell what color your hair will be．Everything about you comes from the code in your genes．Genes line up on strands called chromosomes in cells．Everything alive is made up of cells．Chromosomes are in the center, or nucleus, of cells．

    An Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel first saw inherited patterns in pea plants．He experimented with pea plants in the 1860s．One of the things, or traits, Mendel studied was what makes some pea plants tall and some short． He said that the traits （特征） must come from units of heredity （遗传）passed from the parent plants．These units were called genes．

In the mid-1900s, scientists discovered that genes are made of DNA． In the 1970s, scientists learned how to change DNA with genetic engineering．Scientists also learned that problems with certain genes cause diseases．Muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and hemophilia are some genetic diseases—diseases caused by problems in genes． Today, scientists are looking for ways to cure genetic diseases by altering genes through a process called gene therapy．

1． If one's father has blue eyes, while his mother has grey ones, _________．

A． their son will have blue eyes．

B． Their son is sure to have grey eyes．

C． their son's eyes will share both that of father's and mother's．

D． It is probable that their son will have either blue eyes or grey ones．

2． Which is the correct from large to small? 

A． genes---chromosomes---cells                          B． cells---chromosomes---genes

C． chromosomes---cells---genes                        D． cells---genes---chromosomes

3． In the second paragraph, the author tells us ___________．

A． Gregor Mendel discovered genes 

B． Gregor Mendel was an expert in plants

C． Gregor Mendel did a lot of experiments with pea plants     

D． Something that happened to an Austrian monk

4． In the last sentence, the word "altering" can best be replaced by __________．

A． changing               B． preserving             C． deserving              D． digesting

“I’ve changed my mind. I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my dad back.” Lucien Lawrence’s letter to Father Christmas, written after his father had been knifed to death outside his school gate, must have touched everyone’s heart. Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky. When those we love depart from us, we cannot see the stars for a while.

But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again. And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father there too, either in your mind or heart. I find that my parents, who died years ago, still linger （留连） in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive. I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions. I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents. The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all my mother said was “I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children!” I haven’t forgotten. The values of my parents still live on.

It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care. Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence has been to face the aggressors, and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas? It’s a serious thought, which gives me pause.

I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet “Deliver my soul from the sword and my darling from the power of the dog.” Yet I know death comes to us all, and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan to live together, but live as if we will die tomorrow. We live on, I’m sure, in the lives of those we loved, and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure. If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today.

1．According to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph ___________.

     A．puts forward the subject of the text

     B．shows the author’s pity on the kid

     C．serves as an introduction to the discussion

     D．makes a clear statement of the author’s views

2．In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us____________.

     A．how much he misses his parents now

     B．why his parents often appear in his dream

     C．when Lucien will get over all his sadness

     D．how proud he was when he succeeded in life

3．What feeling did the author’s mother express in her reply?

     A．Proud.                B．Happy.               C．Disappointed.      D．Worried.

4．In the author’s opinion, the value of a person’s life is _____________.

     A．to leave a precious memory to the people related

     B．to have a high sense of duty to the whole society

     C．to care what others will remember and treasure

     D．to share happiness and sadness with his family

5．What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem?    

     A．Call on criminals and murderers to lay down their guns.

     B．Advise parents stay with their children safely at home.

     C．Spend every day meaningfully in memory of death.

     D．Try to keep violence and murder far away from society.