We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.
“You could win prizes,” our teacher told us as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing, “The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster.”
We studied the board critically. Some of us looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard, rocking the sheets to the right or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten-dollar grand prize, each and every one of us. I’m going to spend mine on candies, one hopeful would announce, while another practiced looking serious, wise and rich.
Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins, while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of us used big designs, and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one corner of our poster and let the space draw the viewer’s attention to it. Some of us would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the sort they seemed especially fond of, making all of us believe we had a fair chance, and then always—always—rewarding the same old winners.
I believe I drew a sailboat, but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen，and then I turned it in.
Minutes passed.
No one came along to give me the grand prize, and then someone distracted me, and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.
I was still sitting at my desk, thinking, What poster? when the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.
【小题1】What was the teacher’s requirement for the poster?

       It takes courage to stand up at work．Now more and more people are standing up when they are working on something important．Standing up is in fashion．Medical researchers have found that people who stand at work tend to be much healthier than those who sit．But I wasn't just looking for better health — standing would also improve how I work and relax my body．

       In recent years, many office supply companies have begun to sell adjustable desks．These so-called "sit / stand" models are equipped with an electric motor that lets them shift from chair height to person height at the push of a button．Unfortunately, sit / stand desks tend to be expensive, hard to find and not very easy to test in person．

       I discovered that when I worked standing up, my mind was clearer and new ideas kept coming to me．I suspect that this is because when you're standing, you feel a bit unchained from your desk．If I got stuck on a word or sentence as I wrote it, I found myself shaking my arms, bouncing （跳） on my feet or stepping away from the desk for a bit — things I couldn't do in a chair．Often, standing up seemed to relax my mind enough for me to get over creative barriers．

       There's another thing about standing for a long time: I tend to get hungrier than I do when I sit on a chair．That feels like confirmation（证实） of the stand-up advocates’ belief that you burn more calories when you stand than when you sit．For this reason alone, I' m hoping that one day mass-market furniture companies can make many low-priced versions of sit / stand desks．We could all work with a bit more standing up．

The author likes standing up while working because __________．

       A．he wants to show that he has a lot of courage

       B．researchers say standing makes one healthier

       C．he intends to catch up the fashion trend

       D．he hopes to improve his work and relax himself

It can be inferred from the text that   ________．

       A．adjustable desks are mass-produced now

       B．adjustable desks are easy to operate

       C．cheaper adjustable desks will soon be available

       D．adjustable desks can be tried out easily

What is the main idea of the text?

       A．Standing up at work is a better choice．

       B．Standing up at work takes courage．

       C．Standing up at work burns more calories．

       D．Standing up at work will replace traditional sitting．

Many of us have heard stories about teachers who can “see” into a student’s future. Even if a student is not performing well, they can predict success. We are convinced that this ability, this gift, is evidence that they were “called to teach.” If the gift of sight is evidence, how greater must be the gift of touch. I have a story.

I grew up in the fifties in a poor African American neighborhood in Stockton, California, that had neither sidewalks nor an elementary school. Each day, always in groups at our parents’ insistence, my friends and I would leave home early enough to walk eight blocks to school and be in our seats when the bell rang. For four blocks, we walked on dusty roads. By the fifth block, we walked on sidewalks that led to lovely homes and to Fair Oaks Elementary School. It was at Fair Oaks, in a sixth grade English class, that I met Ms. Victoria Hunter, a teacher who had a huge influence on my life.

During reading periods, she would walk around the room, stop at our desks, stand over us for a second or two, and then touch us. Without saying anything to us (nothing could break the silence of reading periods), she would place two fingers lightly on our throats and hold them there for seconds. I learned many years later when I was a student at Stanford University that teachers touch the throat of students to check for sub-vocalization (默读), which slows down the reading speed. I did not know at the time why Ms. Hunter was touching our throats, but I was a serious and respectful student and so, during silent reading period, I did what Ms. Hunter told us to do. I kept my eyes on the material I was reading and waited for her to place her fingers lightly on my throat.

One day, out of curiosity, I raised my head from my book — though not high — so that I could see Ms. Hunter, a white woman from Canada, moving up and down the rows, stopping at the desks of my classmates. I wanted to see how they reacted when she touched their throats. She walked past them. I was confused. Did she pass them by because they were model students? What did we, the students who were touched, not do right? I sat up straighter in my chair, thinking that my way of sitting might be the problem. I was confused. Several days later, I watched again, this time raising my head a little higher. Nothing changed. Ms. Hunter touched the same students. Always, she touched me.

She touched me with her hands. She also touched me with her belief in my ability to achieve. She motivated me by demanding the best from me and by letting teachers I would meet in junior high school know that I should be challenged, that I would be serious about my work. I am convinced that she touched me because she could “see” me in the future. That was true of all of us at Fair Oaks who sat still and silent as Ms. Hunter placed her fingers lightly on our throats. We left Fair Oaks as “best students,” entered John Marshall Junior High School, finished at the top of our high school class, and went on to earn graduate degrees in various subjects. Ms. Hunter saw us achieving and she touched us to make certain that we would.

I was not surprised that she came to my graduation ceremony at Edison High School in Stockton or that she talked to me about finishing college and earning a Ph. D. She expected that of me. She gave me a beautifully wrapped box. Inside was a gift, the beauty of which multiplies even as it touches me: a necklace to which I can add charms for each stage of my life.

1.According to the writer, what is a special ability many good teachers possess?

A. The ability to make all students behave well.

B. The ability to treat different students in the same way.

C. The ability to discover a student’s potential to succeed.

D. The ability to predict the near future of a poor student.

2.When she saw Ms. Hunter walk past some students without touching their throats, the writer felt ______.

A. disturbed????????????? B. puzzled????????????? C. ashamed????????????? D. annoyed

3.What does the writer mean by “a necklace to which I can add charms for each stage of my life” (paragraph 6)?

A. A gift which encourages me to do well on the journey of my life.

B. A gift which becomes more and more valuable as time goes by.

C. A necklace which I wear on all important occasions in my life.

D. A necklace which suits me and adds to my charm.

4.Which of the following serves as the best title for the story?

A. Ms. Hunter’s Surprise????????????? B. Ms. Hunter’s Challenge

C. A Teacher’s Touch? ????????????? D. A Teacher’s Memory

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

I was hard at work on a museum project when the client(客户) suddenly canceled it. In January, my __   told me I was no longer needed. I had just $1,000 in savings.

    I      one interview after searching the Internet for architecture jobs, but      came of it. Finally, I took a job as a      in a restaurant. I knew I’d have to find a place to live that    less than the $500 a month I was paying.

    I went to see a bedroom for rent. The landlord(房东)      me $500 for it, but he said I could have it for $350 if he maintained control of the closet for storage, I told him later,“I don’t want the bedroom,      I’m interested in the closet” I suggested that I pay $150 a month for it. He thought I was     .

    The closet measured just 5.5 feet      14 feet. With my experience, I was      I could make it into a great living space. I     it for three days. I measured old pieces of wood that people donated. It was like putting together a     .

    In March, I moved in. It was a legal rental. The landlord      a door so I’d have access to a kitchen and bathroom, which I      with three other tenants(租客). I had a mini-fridge, a microwave, and a storage bin for dry goods. I      a loft(阁楼) for my bed, TV, and DVD player.

   On my website, I’ve posted      of my new home, and that’s      some freelance(自由职业的) design work. A few more      and I’ll be able to afford a new place. That’s definitely a(an)      thing: My girlfriend, Susan, and I are engaged, and once we’re married next March, I’m sure I’ll leave my little closet     .

    But now I know that I don’t need much to live well.

1.A. teacher      B. officer  C. doctor  D. boss

2.A. ordered     B. acquired        C. watched        D. prepared

3.A. nothing      B. something     C. anything        D. everything

4.A. worker       B. player   C. waiter   D. student

5.A. cost   B. earned C. saved    D. spent

6.A. proved       B. charged         C. named  D. called

7.A. and    B. so C. or D. but

8.A. joking         B. quarreling     C. bargaining     D. talking

9.A. to       B. for         C. by D. on

10.A. negative  B. confident      C. afraid    D. curious

11.A. mended   B. painted C. covered         D. designed

12.A. secret      B. problem        C. puzzle   D. game

13.A. cut out     B. cut off   C. cut up   D. cut in

14.A. worked    B. studied C. played  D. shared

15.A. took          B. made    C. drew     D. imagined

16.A. pictures   B. desks    C. windows        D. books

17.A. brought out      B. brought up    C. brought in     D. brought down

18.A. chances   B. jobs       C. items     D. gifts

19.A. unique     B. challenging   C. genuine         D. excellent

20.A. behind     B. forward         C. ahead   D. upside

完形填空(共20小题,每小题1.5分, 满分30分)

I’ll never forget May 12, 2008, we were having classes at Beichuan Middle School , Sichuan Province, when a huge  36  hit the area.

At about 2:28 p.m, our  37  , Mr.Wang, was teaching us singing on the fourth floor on the teaching building.  38   we felt the building shaking violently. It was an earthquake! Our building starting to   39  . It was too late to rush out to the  40  . We were told to hide under the desks.  41  later, the whole building fell down. We were  42  in ruins. We couldn’t move at all. No one could really imagine at that split second, how much pain we had  43  or how desperate(绝望的) we felt as we waited to be  44  . I heard Mr. Wang calling our names again and again… .

Hours later, some people came to rescue and  45  of us were saved.

Later, I  46  this huge earthquake scaled 8.0 magnitude. It hit several provinces, including Sichuan, Gansu and Shanxi. So far it has  47  more than 80,000 and injured 360,000. My hometown ----Beichuan was  48  the worst-hit areas. Our school , which was  49  filled with vigor(活力) and laughter, was a dead valley.

Words after such a  50  could appear nothing but empty and pointless. So many people’s lives were taken away, so much  51  was done and the whole city was  52  . Beichuan has become a history.

Now , some of my classmates and I were  53  to study in a middle school in Jiangsu Province. I still  54  dreaming and still strive for a better future: to make our homes beautiful yet  55  .

May victims rest in peace. May survivors live to be stronger.

A. rain           B. earthquake        C. snow          D. rock

A. classmate      B. parent         C. friend       D. teacher  

A. Finally        B. Luckily        C. Suddenly    D. Actually

A. fall           B. stand          C. run         D. walk

A. home         B. desks          C. classroom    D. outdoors

A. Minutes       B. Weeks         C. Hours        D. Days

A. trapped        B. stayed        C. played        D. packed

A. lived          B. escaped       C. enjoyed       D. suffered

A. ignored     B. recovered         C. rescued       D. remembered

A. all         B. some           C. none          D. each

A. found out    B. added up       C. came up       D. set down

A. devoted     B. helped         C. killed          D . concerned

A. outside     B. without         C. far from        D. among

A. now        B. once           C. then           D. never

A. attitude     B. trouble        C. disaster         D. insurance

A. lives        B. damage        C. highway        D. news

A. in ruins      B. dug out        C. as usual         D. set up

A. judged      B. persuaded       C. joined          D. organized

A. care about  B. give in           C. keep on         D. go through

A. peaceful    B. safe            C. grateful         D. active