Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel potatoes. I have only one hand.”

Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.

That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.

“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow. Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.

One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”

For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint and cracking. I peeked out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf. She had never let me see her tears.

6. Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child to peel potatoes?

A. Cruel.             B. Serious.             C. Strict.    D. Cold.

7. From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train ______.

A. the skill to throw and catch things

B. the speed of one’s hand movement

C. the strength and skill to hang and sway

D. the bodily skill to rotate round a bar

8. What does the sentence “I saw her ‘we’ll see about that’ look” imply?

A. Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it.

B. The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.

C. Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher.

D. What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity.

9. When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open because ______.

A. they felt sorry for what they had done before

B. they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt

C. they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars

D. they were astonished to find the author’s progress

10. The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ______.

A. the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

B. the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own

C. Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

D. in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth

完型填空（共20小题；每小题1．5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
A daughter thought life was unpromising to her and complained to her father about it．She did not know how she was going to__36_and wanted to give up．She was__37_of fighting and struggling．It seemed as if one problem was just solved before a new one__38__．
Her father, a cook, took her to the__39 _．He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high  40 Soon the pots came to a  41 __．In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans．He let them sit and boil, without saying a word．
The daughter sucked her teeth and_42_waited, asking repeatedly what he was doing．In about twenty minutes he turned offthe__43_ He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl．He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl．Then he spooned the coffee out and placed it in another．Turning to her he asked, "Darling, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied．
He brought her closer and asked her to  44  the carrots．She did and noted that they were soft．He then asked her to take an egg and break it．After pulling off the  45 , she observed the hard-boiled egg! Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee．She smiled_46_she tasted its rich flavor．She humbly asked, "What does it mean, Father?"
He explained that each of them had faced the same   47  , boiling water, but each_  48 differently．The carrot went in  49 and hard．But after being subjected to the boiling water, it _50_and became weak． The egg had been  51 .Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior．But after sitting__52_the boiling water, its inside became hardened．The ground coffee beans were unique, 53  ．After they were in the boiling water, they had__54_the water．
"Which are you?" he asked his daughter．"When adversity knocks on your door, __55 _do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family．Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, "Mom, I can't peel potatoes．I have only one hand．"

Mom never looked up from sewing．"You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes," she told me．"And don't ever use that as an excuse for anything again!"

In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel bar to the next．When it was my turn, I shook my head．Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying．

That night I told Mom about it．She hugged me, and I saw her "we'll see about that" look． The next afternoon, she took me back to school．At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars．

"Now, pull up with your right arm," she advised．She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other arm．Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung （横档） I reached．I'd never forget the next time, crossing the rungs．I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open．

One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing．I could hear Mom come into my room．"Mom," I said, weeping, "none of the girls would dance with me．"

For a long time, I didn't hear anything．Then she said, "Oh, honey, someday you'll be beating those boys off with a bat．" Her voice was soft and weak．I glanced at her to see tears running down her cheeks．Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf．She had never let me see her tears．

Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom's attitude

when she made the child peel potatoes?

    A．Cruel．          B．Serious．   C．Strict．        D．Cold．

From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train ____．

    A．the skill to circle round a bar

    B．the skill to throw and catch things

    C．the speed of one's hand movement

    D．the strength and skill to hang and swing

What does the sentence "I saw her 'we'll see about that' look" imply?

    A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it．

    B．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity．

    C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher．

    D．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up．

The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ____．

    A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

    B．the child's experience reminded Mom of that of her own

    C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

    D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child's growth

Starting high school is an exciting event.  71    Try these tips to help make the transition to high school go smoothly for you and your teenager.

Talk to your teenager. Find out how your teenager feels about high school. 72  Share some of your own experiences with them, and see if you can get an older cousin or family friend to talk to them, as well.

Orientation（迎新会） is a good thing. 73  The school will also likely have a parents’ night or parents’ orientation before of shortly after the school year begins. Your teenager may discourage you from attending it, but it is important for you to learn what to expect during their high school years. It is also a good opportunity to meet with teachers and other parents.

74 Before school starts, talk with your teenager about what their daily schedule will be like, what classes they will be taking, and how they will manage their time. Discuss any extracurricular(课外的) activities they might like to take part in. It is important for you to know their after-school plans. Then you can set some limits on things including where they are, whom they are with, and how they will be transported.

  75  High school is a time when teenagers ask for their independence. However, it is important that you remind your teenager that you are still the parent. For example, they may want to decide when to do their homework or when to go to bed, and may start spending more time on the computer or phone. While it is OK fir you to loosen up on some things and let them make some of these decisions, make sure your teenager knows the limits.

E. There you can get some advice from other parents.

F. Make sure your teenager attends it if the high school has one.

G. However, it can also cause some stress and anxiety for both parents and teenagers.

71  ________   72 _________ 73 _________ 74 _________ 75 __________

Competition. It’s a simple word, yet a very complex word that covers many angles when it comes to how gasoline prices are determined. It seems so easy to explain, but don’t let that trick you—it’s incredibly difficult to explain and adequately understand.

Say you’re on a Sunday afternoon drive, and notice a gas station near you charging $3.50. Down the road a few miles, that price could easily be 10 or more cents higher or lower. The question is “how” or “why” is that? Think of it this way. Are you more likely to get a better deal on a car if there are two similar car dealers next to each other? Perhaps, because the dealers are too close. Say there is a third similar car dealer miles away. Is he going to be at the same level of competition and sell his cars for the same price as the two dealers next to each other? Likely not. He may charge more or less. Maybe people don't know there are two other dealers down the road. Maybe the dealer is almost outside of the city and the land value isn't as high, so his taxes aren't as high.

These situations do take place at gas stations. And more factors can impact what a station will charge. Timing can greatly impact what price a station charges as well! Many motorists fail to realize that the price a station pays for gasoline changes daily. If one station gets lucky and buys gas on Monday and the cost goes up Tuesday, the station that bought on Monday doesn’t necessarily have to raise prices like the station that bought on Tuesday. Maybe the station that got caught buying for a higher price on Tuesday will pass that higher cost on by raising its gas price.

Perhaps the difference is what brand the station is---branded stations usually pay a slightly higher cost for their gasoline. In return for paying a higher cost, those stations are guaranteed first supply in case of emergency situations. Independent stations don’t pay as much, but aren’t guaranteed supply.

While competition sounds easy to understand, there are always a large number of factors that could influence what one station charges. Keep in mind how many variables there are next time you fill up.

1.What could be the best title for the passage?

A．How Competition Impacts Gas Prices

B．Gas Prices Go Up or Down

C．Competition---a Very Complex Word

D．We Can’t Stress Enough the Need for Competition

2.The example of car dealers is used to show _________.

A．car prices are determined by car dealers

B．location is an important factor in pricing

C．the quality of service matters most

D．dealing strategy should be flexible

3.The gas prices of a station always change partly because _________.

A．a gas station always wants to charge more

B．the gasoline is in great demand

C．the cost of the gas the station buys varies daily

D．gas is in greater need on Monday

4.According to the passage, branded stations _________.

A．spend less money on their gasoline

B．have more staff than independent stations

C．charge less for high quality oil

D．offer a steady oil supply