Last year, two days after Christmas, we kicked China out of the house. Not the country obviously, but bits of plastic, metal, and wood with the words “Made in China”. We kept what we already had, but stopped bringing any more in. because it had coated our lives with toys, and useless stuff. Sometimes I worried about jobs sent overseas, but price triumphed over virtue at our house. We couldn’t resist what China was selling.
But on that dark Monday last year, an unease feeling washed over me as I sat on the sofa. It wasn’t until then that I noticed a fact: China was taking over the place.
It stared back at me from the empty screen of the television. I spied it in the pile of tennis shoes by the door. It glowed in the lights on the Christmas tree and watched me in the eyes of a doll lying on the floor, I slipped off the couch and sorted gifts into two piles: China and non-China. The count came to China, 25, the world, 14. Christmas, I realized, had become a holiday made by the Chinese. Suddenly I wanted China out.
I persuaded my husband, and on Jan. 1 st, we started a-year-long household embargo on Chinese imports. The idea wasn’t to punish China. And we didn’t fool ourselves into thinking because we wanted to measure how far it had pushed in. We wanted to know what it would take in time, money, and worry to kick our China habit!
In the spring, our 4-year-old son started a campaign to support “China things”. “It’s too long without China,” he cried. He kept at me all day. I have discovered for myself that China doesn’t control every aspect of our daily lives, but if you take a close look at the underside of boxes in the toy department, I promise it will give you pause. “When we can buy China things again? Let’s never stop.” My son said.
After a year without China I can tell you this: You can still live without it, but it’s getting costlier by the day. And a decade from now I may not be brave enough to try it again.
【小题1】 The best title for the text could be _______.

After her parents separated, things at tam’s house changed. Her mom, still working, and Tami became responsible for the house and making meals for herself and her younger sister. Though money was right, they never went without. They had a nice home in a modest neighborhood food, belching and shelter. What Tami missed most of all, though, was family.

Tami spent the summer during her ninth grade year working at a park to ear exam spending money. Her job was to organize activities for the kids who spent their summer days at the park. The kids absolutely loved Tami. She was constantly going out of her way to do things for them. She would plan picnics, organize field trips and even buy ice cream for all of them, using her own money. She always did more than the job required, even if it did mean using her own money.

She got to know one little boy who lived in an apartment across the street from the park. His parents both worked at fast – food restaurants, and she knew that they didn’t have much money. The boy talked about his upcoming birthday and the fire truck he wanted so badly. He said he was going to be a fireman some day and needed the truck to practice. He told Tami more details about the truck than she knew a boy truck could have.

The boy’s birthday came and went. The next day when Tami saw the boy, she expected to see a shiny red truck in his arms. When he arrived empty – handed, she asked whether he had got the truck. The boy said no. his parents were going to get it for him later, when things were better. He seemed a little sad.

That week, Tami eased her paycheck and headed for the toy stores. She found the truck easily – after all, from his descriptions, she felt she knew it inside out. She used the money from her paycheck to buy the truck, and then had it wrapped in birthday paper.

61．What can we learn from the first paragraph?

        A．They didn’t need in worry too much about their living.

         B．Tami’s sister became more responsible.

         C．Tami began to earn money.

         D．Her mother changed her job.

62．Why did Tami buy the birthday present for the boy using her own money?

         A．Because he was poorer than she.

         B．Because he was her best friend.

         C．Because she wanted him to be a fireman.

         D．because she wanted him to feel love around him.

63．What can we learn from the underlined sentence?

         A．She knew how much money she would pay.

         B．She knew she should check the toy truck inside out.

         C．She was fully aware which toy truck the boy wanted.

         D．She walked inside and then out of the toy store several times.

64．Which of the following could be the opening sentence of the next paragraph?

        A．The next morning, Tami rode to the boy’s house and left the truck at the door.

         B．When the boy showed up at the park that day, he was more excited than ever.

         C．He showed off his new truck to Tami, and then played with it all day long.

         D．That afternoon, the boy’s mom came to the park and walked over to Tami.

Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars,  a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.

Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were stereotypically boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy.  The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.

Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.

Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”

1.Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because         .

2.Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with       according to the study.

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?

4.What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?

5.We may read this article in a        section of a newspaper.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）?

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项

Would you agree with the statement that a wish is born from an idea, a simple idea imagined in the mind? Back in the 19^th century two men had an idea which in the end became their great  36 . The efforts they had made were rewarded(奖赏) with their success that    37  world travel.

In 1903, the Wright Brothers (Wilbur and Orville) achieved their dream. They flew the world’s first power-driven, heavier-than-air machine by which they made free, controlled and sustained(持久的)   38 . Kitty Hawk, North Carolina(美国地名)   39  this important and memorable moment.

The dream started with an idea that was planted in their minds by a   40  given to them by their father. In the words of the boys, “Our father came into the house one evening with some object in his hands, and   41  we could see what it was, he threw it into the air. Instead of falling to the floor, the toy flew across the room   42  it hit the ceiling(天花板), where it finally sank to the   43 .” This simple toy attracted the Wright Brothers and started their lifelong   44  in human flight.

The Wright Brothers   45  learning new things.   46  they opened their own printing office and then in 1893 they opened a company where they repaired bicycles. But Wilbur had his mind set on something more   47 . He decided to pursue(致力于)   48 .

The brothers spent many hours researching,   49  their machines and making improvements. What started out as a   50  soon became a career. With determination and    51 they realized their dream in 1903.

The next time you hear or see an airplane or travel on one,   52  where it all started. A simple idea was developed in the minds of the two young men who didn’t have a university degree. They were not scientists in the   53  sense of the world.

What idea are you working on? Have you limited yourself by saying you are not a scientist or not   54  enough? Whatever the mind can think and believe, it can be   55 .

1.                A．time           B．dream          C．pressure  D．fortune

2.                A．combined       B．replaced        C．explored  D．changed

3.                A．flight           B．ride            C．contribution   D．achievement

4.                A．wanted         B．witnessed       C．proved   D．needed

5.                A．bicycle         B．airplane        C．document D．toy

6.                A．before         B．when          C．after D．while

7.                A．until           B．since           C．if    D．but

8.                A．desk           B．floor           C．street    D．road

9.                A．discovery       B．trip            C．interest   D．devotion

10.               A．considered      B．enjoyed        C．admitted  D．imagined

11.               A．Actually        B．Finally          C．Usually    D．Firstly

12.               A．average        B．powerful       C．exciting   D．fortunate

13.               A．dancing        B．singing         C．flying D．writing

14.               A．testing         B．watching        C．designing  D．examining

15.               A．hobby         B．gift            C．trouble    D．trick

16.               A．distinction      B．explanation     C．expression D．patience

17.               A．forget          B．ask            C．remember D．expect

18.               A．hopeful        B．true           C．wealthy   D．energetic

19.               A．funny          B．polite          C．outgoing   D．clever

20.               A．defeated       B．achieved       C．recognized D．organized