A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.

One  1 they arrived to find the schoolhouse was on fire. They dragged(拖) the senseless(无意识的) little boy out of the burning building more dead than alive. The doctor told his mother that her son would surely  2  .

But the brave boy didn’t want to die. He made up his  3 that he would survive somehow, and to the amazement of the doctor, he did survive. When the  4 was past, the mother was told that he would be a lifetime cripple(跛子) with no  5  of the lower part of his body at all.

Once more, the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a  6  . He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor(运动神经的) ability. His thin legs were all but lifeless.

Finally he returned from the  7  . Every day his mother would massages(按摩) his little  8 , but there was no feeling. Yet his  9  that he would walk was as strong as ever.

One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the  10 to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He walked his way to the white   11 .With great  12 , he raised himself up on the fence(篱笆) . Then, he began dragging himself along the fence and  13  that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence.  14  through his daily massages and his iron determination, he did  15 the ability to stand up, then to walk by himself and then to run. This determined young man, Dr Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile!

1.                A．afternoon       B．evening         C．noon D．morning

2.                A．die            B．survive         C．fail  D．recover

3.                A．mind           B．heart           C．idea D．view

4.                A．disease         B．disaster         C．danger   D．failure

5.                A．effect          B．use            C．good D．work

6.                A．cripple         B．patient         C．trouble   D．winner

7.                A．school         B．home          C．factory   D．hospital

8.                A．hands          B．legs            C．arms D．feet

9.                A．decision        B．dream          C．promise  D．determination

10.               A．street          B．school         C．yard  D．shop

11.               A．fence          B．wall           C．houses    D．door

12.               A．job            B．time           C．effort D．success

13.               A．promised       B．decided        C．insisted   D．predicted

14.               A．Frankly         B．Finally          C．Actually   D．Secondly

15.               A．build          B．improve        C．choose    D．develop

D

Children start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there’s no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You only have to share your children’s curiosity. Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me “textbook questions” about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence. Finally I said, “Now that we’ve finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”

       After a long pause, a boy raised his hand, “Have you ever seen what a grassshopper（蚱蜢）eats? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?”

       This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.

       Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children give more logical, complete and creative answers.

       Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don’t jump in with “That’s right” or “Very good.” These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior. But in talking about science, quick going by saying “That’s interesting” or “I’d never thought of it that way before,” or coming up with more questions or ideas.

       Never push a child to “think”. It doesn’t make sense, children are always thinking, without your telling him what to do. What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target for your disagreement.

       Lastly, show, don’t tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lessons children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass（放大镜）, and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates（蒸发）, set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.

68.According to the passage, children are natural scientists, and to raise their interest, the most important thing for adults to do is ___________.

A.to let them see the world around

B.to share the children’s curiosity

C.to explain difficult phrases about science

D.to supply the children with lab equipment

69.Children can answer questions in a more logical, complete and creative way if adults _______.

A.ask them to answer quickly

B.wait for one or two seconds after a question

C.tell them to answer the next day

D.wait at least three seconds after a question

70.The author mentioned all of the following techniques for adults to share with their children’s curiosity EXCEPT that adults should _______________.

A.tell their children stories instead of reciting facts

B.offer their children chances to see things for themselves

C.be patient enough when their children answer questions

D.encourage their children to ask questions of their own

C

Children start out as natural scientists, and eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there's no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You only have to share your children's curiosity. Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me "textbook questions" about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence. Finally I said, "Now that we've finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?"

After a long pause, a boy raised his hand, "Have you ever seen what a grasshopper (蚱蜢) eats? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?"

This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.

Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their "wait time" to three seconds or more, children give more logical, complete creative answers.

Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don't jump in with "That's right" or "I'd never thought of it that way before," or coming up with more questions or ideas.

Never push a child to "think". It doesn't make sense. Children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What's more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target for your disagreement.

Lastly, show; don't tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lessons children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass, and they'll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates, set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.

64. According to the passage, children are natural scientists, and to raise their interest, the most important thing for adults to do is ___________.

A. to let them see the world around                B. to share the children's curiosity

C. to explain difficult phrases about science               D. to supply the children with lab equipment

65. In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the word "lists" could best be replaced by "_________".

A. any questions                 B. any problems     

C. questions from textbooks        D. any number of questions

66. According to the passage, children can answer questions in a more logical, complete and creative way if adults__________.

A. ask them to answer quickly                       B. wait for one or two seconds after a question

C. tell them to answer the next day                 D. wait at least for three seconds after a question

67. In which of the following paragraph (s) does the author tell us what to say to encourage children in a science discussion?

A. The second and third.      B. The fourth.     C. The fifth.       D. The sixth and seventh.

68. The author mentions all of the following techniques for adults to share with their children's curiosity EXCEPT that adults should _________.

A. tell their children stories instead of reciting facts

B. offer their children chances to see things for themselves

C. be patient enough when their children answer questions

D. encourage their children to ask questions of their own

       Walk through the Amazon rainforest today and you will find it is steamy, warm, damp and thick. But if you had been around 15,000 years ago, during the last ice age, would it have been the same ?For more than 30 years, scientists have been arguing about how rainforests like the Amazon might have reacted（反应）to the cold ,dry climates of the ice ages ,but until now ,no one has reached a satisfying answer.

       Rainforests like the Amazon are important for mopping up CO2 from the atmosphere and helping to slow global warming . Currently the trees in the Amazon take in around 500 million tons of CO₂ each year; equal to the total amount of CO2 giving off in the UK each year. But how will the Amazon react to future climate change? If it gets drier ,will it still survive and continue to draw down CO2 ?Scientists hope that they will be able to learn in advance how the rainforest will manage in the future by understanding how rainforests reacted to climate change in the past.

       Unfortunately ,getting into the Amazon rainforest and collecting information are very difficult .To study past climate ,scientists need to look at fossilized pollen ,kept in lake muds .Going back to the last ice age means drilling deep down into lake sediments （沉淀  物）,which requires specialized equipment and heavy machinery .There are very few roads and paths ,or places to land helicopters and aeroplanes .Rivers tend to be the easiest way to enter the forest ,but this still leaves vast areas between the rivers completely unsampled（未取样）.So far ,only a handful of cores have been drilled that go back to the last ice age and none of them provide enough information to prove how the Amazon rainforest reacts to climate change.

64．The underlined phrase “mopping up” in the second paragraph means      .

       A．cleaning up          B．taking in                 C．wiping out           D．giving out

65．How will the Amazon rainforest react to future climate change?

       A．It’ll get drier and continue to remove CO2 .

       B．It’ll remain steamy ,warm ,damp and thick .

       C．It’ll get warmer and then colder and drier.

       D．There is no exact answer up to present.

66．What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

       A．It’s important to drill deep down into lake sediments to collect information.

       B．It’s impossible to prove how climate changes in the Amazon rainforest.

       C．It’s hard to collect information for studies of the past climate in the Amazon rainforest.

       D．It’s necessary to have specialized equipment and machinery to study the past climate.

67．The best title for this passage may probably be        .

       A．Studies of the Amazon                          B．Climates of the Amazon

       C．Secrets of the Rainforests                     D．Changes of the Rainforests

As a young boy, I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad. He was a rural mill carrier, and on Saturdays he would ask me to go with him. Driving through the countryside was always an adventure: There were animals to see, people to visit, and chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop, and Dad did.
In the spring, Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens, and when 1 was a boy it was such a fun to stick your finger 'through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers.
On Dad' s final day of work, it took him well into the evening to complete his rounds because at least one member from each family was waiting at their mailbox to thank him for his friendship and his years of service. "Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route." he used to say, "and a story at every one. " One lady had no mailbox, so Dad took the mail in to her every day because she was nearly blind. Once inside, he read her mail and helped her pay her bills.
Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail. One note left in a mailbox read. "Nat, take these eggs to Marian; she's baking a cake and doesn't have any eggs. " Mailboxes might be buried in the snow, or broken, or lying on the groom:. bat the mail was always delivered On cold days Dad might find one of his customers waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate. A young wrote letters but had no stamps, so she left a few button on the envelope in the mailbox; Dad paid for the stamps. One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank. Once, the amount came to 8 32,000.
A dozen years ago, when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dad’s death,  the mailboxes along the way reminded me of some of his stories. I thought I knew them all, but that wasn't the case.
As I drove home, I noticed two lamp poles, one on each side of the street. When my dad was around, those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground. One box was painted green and the other was red, and each had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering: SANTA CLAUS, NORTH POLE. For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes.
I made a turn at the comer and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house. Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps. There, at the door, stood Frank Townsend, Dad's postmaster and great friend for many years. So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories.
At one point Frank looked at me with tears in his eyes. " What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas?" he asked.
"The letters?"
'I guess you never knew. "
"Knew what?"
" Remember, when you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street? It was your dad who answered all those letters every year. "
I just sat there with tears in my eyes. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old table in our basement reading those letters and answering each one. I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood, and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families.
For me, just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a lifetime.
【小题1】It can be inferred from the passage that the writer regarded his travels with Dad us_____.