As poets go, Robert Frost was no longer young when he published his first book of poems, A Boy's Will, in 1913. Though born in San Francisco, he came of a New England family which returned there when he was ten. Like many other writers, he had a brief brush with college and then supported himself by trying different jobs. However, he had been brought up on a farm and he liked farming. Most of all, he liked to write but he could not support himself by writing. In his late 30s he moved to England, where he produced his first book.

At the outbreak of World War I, Frost went back to farming in New Hampshire. Thereafter, although he made many journeys elsewhere, he considered the farm to be his home and its activities became the focus of his poetry.

Frost's verses(诗, 诗体) are a part of a great tradition, shaped by the Roman poet Vergil, whose poetry was mainly about farming. However, though he used farm situations in much of his poetry, he gave them a wide application. He might write about stepping on a rake(耙子) and describe the feeling when it hit him, but he used the incident to show how life gave us lessons.

Some talents in poetry are used up early, but not Frost's. He continued to publish fine poetry for fifty years. He reached the height of his popularity after World War II. If America had a national poet in the 20th century, it was Frost. He was chosen to read one of his poems at the inauguration（就职典礼）of the late President John F. Kennedy, the first poet ever so honored.

The __________ of Robert Frost

Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good, most would admit that their spoken English is poor. Whenever I speak to a Chinese student, they always say,“My spoken English is poor.”  I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English.

First, they fail to find suitable words to express themselves due to a limited vocabulary. However, you can speak with a limited vocabulary, if you choose a positive attitude. Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know.

   Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous. Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY. Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using the right words and spelling them correctly. However, in speaking your aim is fluency. You want to get your message across, to talk to someone in English, as quickly and as well as you can, even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense, but it doesn't matter.  

The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening. You have one mouth but two ears! All that hearing is necessary for you to start speaking.

Fourth, most Chinese students are reactive rather than proactive language learners. Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor.    

A. The person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances for any mistakes he hears.

B. They may try to avoid making similar mistakes next time.

C. Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary.

D. If you have this proactive outlook, then you will see English opportunities wherever you go.

E. However, their spoken English does not have to remain“poor”!

F. Second, they are afraid of making mistakes.

G. The second reason lies in the reluctance of using what has just been learned.

Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good, most would admit that their spoken English is poor. Whenever I speak to a Chinese student they always say, “My spoken English is poor.” However, their spoken English does not have to remain “poor”! I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English.

First, they fail to find suitable words to express themselves due to a limited vocabulary. Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary. However, you can speak with a limited vocabulary, if your attitude is positive. Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know.

Second, they are afraid of making mistakes. Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous. Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY（准确性）. Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using the right words and spelling them correctly. However, in speaking your aim is fluency. You want to get your message across, to talk to someone in English, as quickly and as well as you can, even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense, but it doesn’t matter because the person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances for any mistakes he hears.

The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening. You have one mouth but two ears! All that hearing was necessary for you to start speaking.

Fourth, most Chinese students are reactive rather than proactive language learners. Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English, they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor. If you have this proactive outlook, then you will see English opportunities wherever you go.

If you do not use your English beyond the classroom, you will forget what English you know. Remember: USE IT OR LOSE IT! You can learn how to speak English better by speaking English more.

What is most probably the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To improve your reading.                 

B．To improve your listening.

C．To improve your spoken English.        

D．To improve your vocabulary.

It can be inferred from the third paragraph that______.

A．don’t be fluency , Just be accuracy

B．don’t be nervous ,don’t be shy . Just write!

C．don’t be afraid of making mistakes . Just speak!

D．don’t be shy ,don’t be fluency. Just listen and write!

The last paragraph is possibly close to the meaning of “_____”.

A．more hurry, less speed             B．better late than never

C．silence is gold                    D．practice makes perfect

The text is most probably taken from a ______.

A．teacher’s diary                     B．report on study     

C．sports newspaper                 D．movie magazine

As a child,I was truly afraid of the dark and of getting lost;these fears were very real and caused me some uncomfortable moments.

Maybe it was the strange__36  things looked and sounded in my familiar room at night that__37   me so much.There was never total__38   ,but a streetlight or passing car lights__39   clothes hung over a chair take on the__40  of a wild animal.Out of the corner of my__41 ,I saw the curtains seem to move when there was no__42  .A tiny sound in the floor would seem a hundred times louder than in the daylight.My__43  would run wild,and my heart would beat fast.I would__44  very still so that the“enemy”would not discover me.

   Another of my childhood fears was that I would get lost, __45  on the way home from school.Every morning I got on the school bus right near my home—that was no__46  .After school, __47  ,when all the buses were__48   up along the street,I was afraid that I'd get on the wrong one and be taken to some__49   neighbourhood.On school or family trips to a park or a museum,I wouldn't__50   the leaders out of my sight.

Perhaps one of the worst fears__51   all I had as a child was that of not being liked or__52  by others.Being popular was so important to me__53   ，and the fear of not being liked was a__54  one.

   One of the processes(过程) of growing up is being able to __55 and overcome our fears.Understanding the things that frightened us as children helps us achieve greater success later in life.

36. A. way         B. time           C. place         D. reason

37. A. wounded     B. destroyed      C. surprised     D. frightened

38. A. quietness   B. darkness       C. emptiness     D. loneliness

39. A. got         B. forced         C. made          D. caused

40. A. spirit      B. height         C. body          D. shape

41. A. eye         B. window         C. mouth         D. door

42. A. breath      B. wind           C. air           D. sound

43. A. belief      B. feeling        C. imagination   D. doubt

44. A. lay         B. hide           C. rest          D. lie

45. A. especially  B. simply         C. probably      D. directly

46. A. discussion  B. problem        C. joke          D. matter

47. A. though      B. yet            C. although      D. still

48. A. called      B. backed         C. lined         D. packed

49. A. old         B. crowded        C. poor          D. unfamiliar

50. A. leave       B. let            C. order         D. send

51. A. above       B. in             C. of            D. at

52. A. protected   B. guided         C. believed      D. accepted

53. A. then        B. there          C. once          D. anyway

54. A. strict      B. powerful       C. heavy         D. right

55. A. realize     B. remember       C. recognize     D. recover

Although Thomas Edison created the technologies behind three major 21st century industries  electrical power，recorded music and movies—his greatest invention may have been the modern method of inventing．He basically came up with the modern system of research and development．Edison was not the only scientist doing research in his garage but someone who gathered around him a team of creative scientific minds．Edison’s 1aboratories were the forerunners（ 先驱）of Apple，Google and Microsoft．

Yet for a11 his scientific gifts，he was no Steve Jobs or Bill Gates．He once said，“Anything that won’ t sell，I don’ t want to invent．” But Edison，unlike Jobs or Gates，had no real sense of what the public wanted or how to change his discoveries into products that might sell．It took him years to understand that the phonograph（ 留声机）was not a business tool but an entertainment invention．He helped create movies but resisted the idea that people might want to go into a theater to watch one．

We chose Edison this year because we need his example now more than ever．Though we live in a time of great reformation，the U．S．is in danger of losing its advantage in science and technology．American investment（ 投资）in research and development has not increased as a percentage of GDP since the mid一1980s，while the government’ s share has been dropping．And this is at a time when China is rapidly increasing its money on research and development．The U．S．was once among the 1eading nations．Now it ranks near the bottom of the 23 nations that collect such data．We hope that Edison’ s story might not only encourage reformation but also inspire more

young Americans to study science and engineering．

The first paragraph is mainly about         .

    A．the number of Edison’ s great inventions

    B．Edison’ s special personal characters

    C．Edi son’ s modern system of research

    D．Apple．Google and Microsoft and their forerunners

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A．A11 the things Edison invented sold well．

    B．Edison wanted to invent things that sold well．

    C．Edison’ s inventions were not valuable for being unpopular．

    D．Edison had a gift for changing his discoveries into best sellers.

The author’ s main purpose is to    ．

      A．inform US of the danger the USA is in

      B．get young Americans to study science

      C．be in honor of Edison for his contributions

      D．tell US how important Edison’ s inventions are

We can infer from the text that    ．

    A．the USA is no 10nger advanced in science and technology

    B．the USA falls behind China in research and inventions

    C．more and more young Americans will be interested in science

D．China is spending more and more money on research and development