My daughter was singing as she polished the furniture. I hadn’t asked her to polish the furniture. I never do. But while her brothers are happiest with the computer or a football or a model car, her idea of delight is a can of Spring Fresh and a duster. While the boys have to be scolded, temped or tricked into doing their share of house chores, she’s up on a chair with the washing-up liquid as if her life depended on it. Where have I gone wrong?

Being a bit of tomboy myself, and not too hot on the household skills, I used to argue till I was blue in the face that the differences between men and women were all about upbringing and expectations. Nobody could have approached motherhood with a courageous determination that all children would be treated the same, not channeled along some predetermined path. Boys would be offered soft toys, while girls would play cars and trains. I would bring up the New Men and female engineers of the future.

Ten years ago, as I gazed at my first-born, I fantasized about the gentle soul he would be. No guns or violence for this little peachblossom. The fantasy continued until he was about two, when he proudly presented me with his first model--a gun. Later on, at playgroup, he and his pals daily attacked each other. And what about my daughter? She plays all the boys’ game because she has to. But her heart is not really in it. She would much rather be drawing or writing or cleaning the bathroom while waves of boys roar around her.

I finally faced the fact that boys and girls are simply born different on the day, a few years ago, when I was hanging out the washing and gave her and the next brother up a couple of clothes pegs（晒衣夹）to play with. He shot me with his. She supported it in her arms and sang it a lullaby（催眠曲）.

But I won’t give up. I’ll continue to try and treat them equally and expect the same of them. And by the time they’re all in their teens, I imagine they’ll all be equally impossible to get to do anything. But right now nature is wearing down nurture （训练）. Equality is hard work.

67. From the text we can know that the boys ________.

A. are happy to do the chores            B. like guns by nature

    C. never do housework                 D. often play with soft toys

68. How does the little girl respond to the boys’ games?

    A. She’s keen on it.                    B. She plays with them unwillingly.

    C. She cares much about it.              D. She only concentrates on her own business.

69. What can we learn about the author?

    A. She’s approval of the children’s behavior.

    B. She’s very strict with her children.

    C. She accepts the situation as an unchanged fact.

    D. She has to make a compromise.

70. What does the author want to tell us?

    A. Boys and girls can be trained to do things equally.

    B. Girls have to work hard to catch up with boys.

    C. It is impossible for boys and girls to be equal.

    D. Boys shouldn’t treat girls so violently and impolitely.

听力

听下面5段对话．每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A，B，C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置．听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题．每段对话仅读一遍．

1．Who hasn't been to the zoo for a long time?

[　　]

A．The man.

B．The woman.

C．Both.

2．Why doesn't the man feel like going out?

[　　]

A．He feels tired.

B．He will study all night.

C．He doesn't like the film.

3．What can we learn from the conversation?

[　　]

A．The speakers like a dog and hate a wolf.

B．The speakers know that a dog likes hot climates.

C．The woman is very hungry.

4．If the two speakers leave now, at what time will they get to the classroom?

[　　]

A．8:00.

B．8:10.

C．8:15.

5．Where does this conversation most probably take place?

[　　]

A．At a shop.

B．At a hotel.

C．At a theatre.

听下面5段对话或独白．每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A，B，C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置．听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟，听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间．每段对话或独白读一遍．

听第6段材料，回答第6～8题．

6．What are the two speakers talking about?

[　　]

A．A football match.

B．A tennis match.

C．A weekend plan.

7．When will the man go to the woman's place?

[　　]

A．About 2:00.

B．About 1: 30.

C．About 2:30.

8．How many people are going to play tennis on Saturday?

[　　]

A．3.

B．4.

C．5.

听第7段材料，回答9～11题．

9．At what time did the man begin to hear news?

[　　]

A．5 o'clock.

B．6 o'clock.

C．7 o'clock.

10．What's the news about?

[　　]

A．It's about the space station.

B．It's about the space.

C．It's about the astronauts.

11．Why is the man interested in such news?

[　　]

A．Because he wishes to go to the moon.

B．Because he is an astronaut.

C．Because he wants to do research in space.

听第8段材料，回答12～14题．

12．Where might the conversation take place?

[　　]

A．In the street.

B．At home.

C．In the cinema.

13．What is the relationship between the speakers?

[　　]

A．Father and daughter.

B．Mother and son.

C．Husband and wife.

14．What's the woman going to do?

[　　]

A．Go out for a walk.

B．Go to the cinema.

C．Go to her parents' home.

听第9段材料，回答15～17题．

15．What are Frank and Paul?

[　　]

A．Doctors.

B．Workers.

C．Students.

16．What will Frank be doing tonight?

[　　]

A．Meeting foreign guests.

B．Calling Paul again.

C．Giving a lecture.

17．When will the lecture begin tomorrow?

[　　]

A．At 11:30 a.m.

B．At 10:30 a.m.

C．At 9:30 a.m.

听第10段材料，回答18～20题．

18．Which of the following is not mentioned as an important invention in the human history?

[　　]

A．Clock.

B．Paper.

C．Radio.

19．Why don't we know the names of many inventors?

[　　]

A．We have forgotten them.

B．Their inventions are not important at all.

C．There were no pens or pencils in the past.

20．What can we learn about pens and pencils?

[　　]

A．They were invented by man.

B．Thousands of years ago people didn't know their inventors.

C．They were not called pens and pencils thousands of years ago.