My mother was a household servant. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and write book reports. She would mark them up with check marks. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse. My mother had only received a third-grade education. Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.

When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went form being an A- student to a B- student to a C-student, but I didn’t care.

One night my mother came home and I complained about not having enough shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week cleaning floors and bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the shirts you want.”

I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating(分配) money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.

I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual(理智的) preparation. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. I dreamed of becoming a doctor when I was just a kid. And now I have achieved my dream.

Over the years my mother’s changeless faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I found myself faced with my own medical illness. A few years ago I discovered I had a very serious cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine(脊柱). My mother believed in God very much. She never worried. She said that God would never throw me away forever; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in spine turned out to be not bad; I was able to have surgery and am cured.

My story is really my mother’s story －a woman little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of her children.

The underlined word “ruse” in the first paragraph probably means           .

A. discovery  B. success  C. trick   D. pleasure

When the author asked his mother to buy him shirts, she           .

A. advised him to earn money by himself

B. asked him to try to manage their money

C. persuaded him not to buy them patiently

D. agreed to buy them for him immediately

What do we learn about the author?

A. He now works as a doctor.

B. He disliked watching TV as a kid.

C. He received little formal education.

D. He often did housework when young.

The underlined word “this” in the last but one paragraph refers to        .

A. God’s throwing me away

B. my own medical illness

C. the operation on my spine

D. my mother’s changeless faith in God

In writing the passage, the author mainly shows us         .

A. the happy relationships in his family

B. the benefits of reading for young children

C. the importance of formal education for adults

D. his mother’s great influence on his development

　　From the very beginning, Martin felt that he was bound up with（与……紧紧地在一起）his lovely little patient. One day, following some tests , Betty gave the doctor a big hug（拥抱）.

　　A few months later the doctor removed not only the tumour（肿瘤）, but also the entire lower left side of Betty’s gum（牙龈）and jawbone. Because Betty was so young, Martin was hopeful that her jawbone might regenerate.

　　Within three months, Betty’s tumour grew as large as an orange, changing the natural appearance of the left side of her small, delicate （ = thin; not strong）face. Soon she couldn’t even close her mouth, and as her eating problems worsened, Betty ‘s weight dropped from 20 kilos to 15. Martin knew from experience that it might invade the brain.

　　The only other possibility was thorough radiation therapy （放射疗法）. Night after night, Betty's father gave her injection, but the tumour remained as big as ever. Then one evening. Morgan noticed that the tumour had begun to change. It was actually becoming smaller! For two months her tumour appeared to be going away for ever. In the coming months, Betty’s tumour continued to appear. She was able to eat solid food once again. Her jawbone was regenerating. The tumour was gone.

　If Betty’s jawbone didn’t regenerate, the doctors ________ .

　　A. would rebuild her jaw

　　B. would continue the treatment

　　C. would use new medicine

　　D. could do nothing else

　If the brain should be invaded, the result would ________.

　　A. prevent her growth

　　B. reduce her weight

　　C. cause her brain damaged

　　D. affect her eyesight

　What did the doctors do two months later?

　　A. They continued their observations.

　　B. They gave up the operation on Betty.

　　C. They found out what caused Betty’s strange disease.

D. They declared that Betty’s strange disease was cured.

Bernstein had been appointed Assistant Conductor for the New York philharmonic only a few months before that night. Just 25 years old, he was relatively inexperienced. At the last minute, Bernstein was told he was to take Walter’s place, so he didn’t have any time to rehearse（排演）. The music he was going to conduct was very difficult. Plus, the concert was going to be broadcast nationally on the radio. Despite all these pressures, Bernstein rose to the occasion and received a standing ovation（长久的鼓掌）at the end of the concert. The event made national headlines, and Bernstein became famous overnight.

Some people feel they do their best under the most stressful circumstances. What was it about Leonard Bernstein that made him do so well in such a difficult situation?

Perhaps Leonard Bernstein did so well because music was his devotion. The son of a man who supplied hairdressing products, Bernstein became interested in music at the age of 10. By the time he was a teenager, he was performing in public. He became a soloist of the Boston Public School Orchestra, and for 13 weeks in 1934, he played classics on the radio.

The underlined word “break” in the first paragraph means “__________”.

A. rest             B. chance           C. pause       D. gap

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the second paragraph?

   A. The concert Bernstein was to play at was going to be broadcast nationally on TV.

   B. The music Bernstein was going to conduct was very difficult.

   C. When Bernstein was told he was to take Walter’s place, he had no time to practice the       performance.

   D. Before his performance as a conductor, Leonard Bernstein had little experience.

Leonard Bernstein was successful at the concert because of __________.

   A. the wonderful music               B. the stress of the circumstances

   C. his devotion to music            D. Bruno Walter’s absence

From the last paragraph, we can learn that __________.

   A. Leonard Bernstein was very clever

   B. Leonard Bernstein’s parents worked hard

   C. chances are important to a famous person

   D. early interest led to Leonard Bernstein’s success

What might be the best title for the text?

   A. Leonard Bernstein’s Debut       B. Leonard Bernstein’s Life

   C. A Young Soloist                   D. A Great Conductor 

A serious problem for today’s society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives.It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society.I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem.

First,employers should take the responsibility to the individual.This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement.This does not seem very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years.This means the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly.This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions.Furthermore,some institutions should be created for senior citizens,which can help provide a comfortable life for them.Unfortunately,as the president situation in our country shows,this is nota truly viable answer.The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly,particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young.

One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent.

To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages.Therefore,it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations.

What is the passage mainly talk about?

A.The problems faced by the old in society.

B.Why we should take reponsibility for the old.

C.How we can improve the lives of the old.

D.Where the old can go to get their pensins.

According to the passage,how can the government help to improve the lives of retired people?

A.Set aside some profits to help people with problems after they retire.

B.Increase savings levels of people during their working years.

C.Increase the discounts for food and transport for the old.

D.Make available pensions for those who have retired.

The underlined word “viable” most probably means____.

A.impossible      B.practical     C.useful      D.successful

What can be concluded from the passage?

A.Taking care of the old is mainly an issue of money.

B.Empoyers should allow their workers to retire at a later age.

C.Becoming independent should be the goal of most old people.

D.There is no single solution to the problems of the old.

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When the Blacks are budgeting their yearly vocation, money is the first thing they think about. They are used to simple life without too much modern equipment. The family all like swimming, and sea food as well.

57. Mr. John Wallace is going to have a product presentation to promote (促销）his late microphone. He is searching for a hotel in the city center which is well-equipped, and where people from different parts of the country can join in the event over the NetMeeting.

58. Having had their wedding, Jim and Sussane plan a trip. Imagine how sweet they are when they are sipping their favourite Nyetimber in the sunset. They also treasure the environment, the comfort of the rooms and the service of the hotel.

59. A group of college students are having their holiday. They plan to choose a place where they can have their BBQ food, and where they are free from noise. They don’t care much about room size but at least they should be clean.

60. Ken and Judy are newly-married. They dreamed of the life of islanders who are eating sea food, hunting for fish. They prefer that the hotel rooms are not so expensive and the service is good.