When I was young I loved taking part in high school musicals．I loved to   36   in front of hundreds of people．In one production, I auditioned（试音）like  37   else. My music teacher was   38  that I would get a particular part in the music drama. The part I thought I had was a   39 lead who sang some of the most beautiful love songs.

But one day the show director pulled me aside. I was   40 to be offered the leading role. To my disappointment, he said, “Bob, I found a boy with an excellent voice. I need to give the   41 to him.”

From that moment on I began hating music class. I  42 that I didn’t like what we were singing. My music teacher didn’t know why. She   43 me in front of the class and told me I had changed. She didn’t know what I had been told. But when they  44 the finalists, I was given a   45 role. For some time my pride was  46 with having to do something I didn’t think I should be doing. But I did it. The minor role I had   47 to be much more fun than I had expected. My performance even   48 my brother who was also in the audience.

Life is really like a   49 and although we do not audition for the role, each of us is   50 by the director to play a certain part in it. The  51 is that we sometimes don’t like the part we are given. Like me in high school I became   52  -–if I couldn’t be the lead, I wouldn’t show up for rehearsal（彩排）.

Then we wonder why we feel so   53 . Sometimes we don’t even feel like we are a part of the “Big Show. ” Everyone does indeed have a role. Some are in front of the curtain, some are behind, but all are  54 for the show to go on. All   55 to success no matter how minor the part is.

1.                A．debate         B．broadcast       C．sing  D．show

2.                A．someone       B．everyone       C．anyone   D．no one

3.                A．prejudiced      B．concerned      C．unexpected   D．convinced

4.                A．romantic        B．ridiculous       C．mysterious    D．sensitive

5.                A．attempting      B．expecting       C．volunteering   D．pretending

6.                A．part           B．deal           C．favor D．item

7.                A．assessed        B．advocated       C．concluded D．complained

8.                A．warned         B．scolded         C．informed D．suspected

9.                A．presented      B．identified       C．announced    D．delivered

10.               A．specific        B．super          C．slight D．small

11.               A．struggling       B．competing      C．swinging   D．changing

12.               A．happened      B．proved         C．expanded  D．switched

13.               A．terrified:       B．disappointed    C．surprised  D．embarrassed

14.               A．joke           B．journey        C．stage D．play

15.               A．appointed      B．attached        C．employed  D．instructed

16.               A．reason         B．problem        C．balance   D．focus

17.               A．curious         B．helpless        C．angry D．positive

18.               A．exhausted      B．lost            C．delighted  D．thrilled

19.               A．necessary       B．dependent      C．natural    D．perfect

20.               A．react          B．adjust          C．refer D．contribute

Contribution of Coeducation

       Imagining being asked to spend twelve or so years of your life in a society which consisted only of members of own sex. How would you react? Unless there was something definitely wrong with you, you wouldn’t be too happy about it, to say the least. It is all the more surprising therefore that so many parents in the world choose to impose such abnormal conditions on their children – conditions which they themselves wouldn’t put up with for one minute!

       Any discussion of this topic is bound to question the aims of education. Stuffing children’s heads full of knowledge is far from being foremost among them. One of the chief aims of educations is to equip future citizens with all they require to take their place in adult society. Now adult society is made up of men and women, so how can a segregated school possibly offer the right sort of preparation for it? Anyone entering adult society after years of segregation can only be in for a shock.

       A co-educational school offers children nothing less than a true version of society in miniature. Boys and girls are given the opportunity to get to know each other, to learn to live together from their earliest years. They are put in a position where they can compare themselves with each other in terms of academic ability, athletic achievement and many of the extra-curricular activities which are part of school life. What a practical advantage it is ( to give just a small example ) to be able to put on a school play in which the male parts will be taken by boys and the female parts by girls! What nonsense co-education makes of the argument that boys are cleverer than girl or vice-versa. When segregated, boys and girls are made to feel that they are a race apart. Rivalry between the sexes is fostered. In a coeducational school, everything falls into its proper place.

       But perhaps the greatest contribution of co-education is the healthy attitude to life it encourages. Boys don’t grow up believing that women are mysterious creatures – airy goddesses, more like book-illustrations to a fairy-tale, than human beings. Girls don’t grow up imagining that men are romantic heroes. Years of living together at school dispel illusions of this kind. There are no goddesses with freckles, pigtails, piercing voices and inky fingers. There are no romantic heroes with knobby knees, dirty fingernails and unkempt hair. The awkward stage of adolescence brings into sharp focus some of the physical and emotional problems involved in growing up. These can better be overcome in a co-educational environment. Segregated schools sometimes provide the right conditions for sexual deviation. This is hardly possible under a co-educational system. When the time comes for the pupils to leave school, they are fully prepared to enter society as well-adjusted adults. They have already had years of experience in coping with many of the problems that face men and women.

What is the best title for this passage?

A only co-education can be in harmony with society.

B people are in great need of co-education.

C any form of education other than co-education is simply unthinkable.

D co-education has many features.

what does co-education offer to children?

A A society.           B A true small model of society.

C A real life.          D True version of social condition.

According to the passage, what is one of the chief aims of education?

A It is for students to acquire knowledge.

B It is to equip future citizens with scientific technology.

C It is to equip future citizens with what is required in getting a position in society.

D It is for students to get academic achievements.

Why do boys and girls in co-education have no illusion about each other?

A They live together and know each other too well.

B Years of living together at school dismiss such illusion.

C co-education encourage them to have an healthy attitude toward life.

D They are familiar with each other’s problems.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有多余选项。

Have you ever seen any students whose trousers hang so low you can see their underwear? What do you think of that? Fashionable? Some of today’s teenagers are big fans of such a look. 51. __________

The headmaster of a school in central Italy has asked students to stop wearing low-rise jeans that expose underwear and parts of the body. His request came after a class trip. One day, he saw one boy’s baggy trousers slide to his feet. 52. ____________    

But in Italy, a nation that takes fashion very seriously, the suggestion caused a debate among parents, teachers and students. The issue is whether the headmaster's request will limit students' freedom— or whether dress in Italian schools is too casual.

53. _________ “We do not want to kick fashion out,” the headmaster explained, “but extremes (极端) of fashion like this are not right in school.” Many other schools have now requested that their students also stop wearing such trousers.

54._________ Ludovica Gaudio, 14, wore extremely low trousers exposing orange underwear in class. It was cold, so she wore a matching orange scarf. 55._______________ “I don't really feel comfortable in those sort of jeans,” said Sarah Lattanzi, “in winter, when dressed like that, it's quite cold and I am afraid my stomach will ache.”

E. Another 14-year-old said she would probably respect the request, simply for practical reasons.

F. Let us see that Italian students react differently to schools’ requests.

G. Schools should pay attention to things more important than students’ clothes.

       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

每空限填1个单词。

How to be a good listener

Everyone loves a good listener. But there are more reasons to develop the skill of listening than to win hearts or popularity contests.

Listening heals hurts and builds bridges. It gives us the ability to understand and empathize, to view the world from our own point. It can bring us wisdom over and above mere intelligence. But most importantly, it allows us to give the people around us the gifts they crave (渴望) most—a sense of worth.

As it turns out, there’s more to good listening than just keeping quiet and allowing someone to speak. Effective listening is actually a combination of two key communication skills: listening and verifying (确认).

Even when we’ve managed to hear a person’s entire message, we often interpret it wrong—according to our own understanding, experience, or prejudice. As an effective listener, your goal is to hear and absorb what another has to say……in exactly the way they mean it to be understood. Only then can you respond properly. This is much easier read than done, so here are a few helpful tips:

1. Give the speaker your full attention.

Stop talking and remove all distractions. Turn off the TV, your phone, or computer. Watch your body language. The way you look at the speaker, or the way you stand or sit, makes a huge difference. The right listening body language communicates that we are listening openly and attentively, and puts the other person at ease.

2. Be patient.

Not everyone is a gifted speaker. Some people take longer to find the right word to make a point. Others are too worried to get their message across properly. If necessary, ask the speaker to explain further. It will help him / her speak more exactly and it will help you hear and understand better.

3. Keep your emotions in check.

If what someone is saying creates an emotional response in you, make an extra effort to listen carefully. When we’re angry, frightened or upset, we often miss key parts of what is being said.

4. Hold your fire.

Don’t jump to conclusions immediately. A good listener doesn’t react until comprehension is complete. If you respond in a way that makes the other person defensive, even if you “win” the argument, you may lose something far more valuable.

5. Even if you think you understand. VERIFY.

Never assume you got the message right. Pause, think about what was said, and then ask “Is this what you meant?” or “Am I understanding this right?”

6. Empathize

Take a moment to stand in the other person’s shoes, to look at the situation from his / her point of view……especially when you’re being told something personal or painful, or something you strongly disagree with. The more shoes you are able to successfully stand in within your life time, the less puzzled you’ll find your life and relationships to be.