阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。

　　The Fourth“21st Century Cup”National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai．

　　Organizers：China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network

　　Coordinator：China University English Speaking Association（CUESA）

　　Ch-sponsors（联办单位）：English Speaking Union（ESU），Lotus Software

　　（China）Co．Ltd，Times Publishing Group of Singapore，Hilton Shanghai，

　　Pearson Education，Foreign Language Teaching ＆ Research Press．

　　Date：March 26（Friday），1999．

　　Place：Hilton Shanghai．

　　Competition Format（形式）：Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic，followed by a three-minute off-hand speech and a three-minute question and answer period with the judges．

　　Prepared speech period：six minutes Q ＆ A period：three minutes Speech topic：People and Nature: In search of harmony（和谐）in a new age ＋your personal opinion．（Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition．）

　　Prizes：Besides books and certificates（证书），the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金）to travel to the annual international English-speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May，1999．The third and fourth place winners sill be offered a study trip to Singapore，sponsored by the Times Publishing Group．The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes．All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching ＆ Research Press．The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one-year membership to the International Association of

Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）．

1．The main purpose of this passage is ________．

[　　]

A．to invite you to take part in the competition

B．to tell you some information of the competition

C．to help to improve your spoken English

D．to show you how to win the competition

2．Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition？

[　　]

A．Where and when it will take place

B．Its program

C．What each winner will be offered

D．The number of its competitors

3．Suppose you get the sixth place，you'll ________．

[　　]

A．travel to London for free

B．become a one-year member of IATEEL

C．get some money，some books and a certificate

D．get a chance to study in Singapore

4．An“off-hand speech” is ________．

[　　]

A．a speech not longer than three minutes

B．a speech without preparation

C．a speech with a piece of paper in hand

D．a speech which is well prepared

B
Laws that would have ensured pupils from five to 16 received a full financial education got lost in the ‘wash up’. An application is calling on the next government to bring it back.
At school the children are taught to add up and subtract（减法） but, extraordinarily, are not routinely shown how to open a bank account — let alone how to manage their finances in an increasingly complex and demanding world.
Today the parenting website Mumsnet and the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis have joined forces to launch an online application to make financial education a compulsory element of the school curriculum in England. Children from five to 16 should be taught about everything from pocket money to pensions, they say. And that was exactly the plan preserved in the Children, Schools and Families bill that was shelved by the government in the so-called “wash-up” earlier this month — the rush to legislation before parliament was dismissed. Consumer and parent groups believe financial education has always been one of the most frustrating omissions of the curriculum.
As the Personal Finance Education Group (Pfeg) points out, the good habits of young children do not last long. Over 75% of seven- to 11-year-olds are savers but by the time they get to 17, over half of them are in debt to family and friends. By this age, 26% see a credit card or overdraft（透支） as a way of extending their spending power. Pfeg predicts that these young people will “find it much harder to avoid the serious unexpected dangers that have befallen many of their parents' generation unless they receive good quality financial education while at school.”
The UK has been in the worst financial recession（衰退）for generations. It does seem odd that — unless parents step in — young people are left in the dark until they are cruelly introduced to the world of debt when they turn up at university. In a recent poll of over 8,000 people, 97% supported financial education in schools, while 3% said it was a job for parents.
61. The passage is mainly about _____________.
A. how to manage school lessons
B. how to deal with the financial crisis
C. teaching young people about money
D. teaching students how to study effectively
62. It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that __________.
A. the author complains about the school education
B. pupils should not be taught to add up and subtract
C. students have been taught to manage their finances
D. laws on financial education have been effectively carried out
63. The website and the consumer campaigner joined to _________.
A. instruct the pupils to donate their pocket money
B. promote the connection of schools and families
C. ask the government to dismiss the parliament
D. appeal for the curriculum of financial education
64. According to Pfeg, ___________.
A. it is easy to keep good habits long
B. teenagers spend their money as planned
C. parents are willing to pay the debt for their kids
D. it will be in trouble if the teenagers are left alone
65. A poll is mentioned to ___________.
A. stress the necessity of the curriculum reform
B. show the seriousness of the financial recession
C. make the readers aware of burden of the parents
D. illustrate some people are strongly against the proposal

China ________ distance teaching methods such as television so far．

1. A.
   adopted
2. B.
   has adopted
3. C.
   has adapted
4. D.
   adapted

Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I   31  asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so   32 . He had his wisdom teeth removed. Then the young man asked me why I   33  seemed to be so cheerful.
His question reminded me of something I’d read somewhere before: “Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about   34  you want to approach life that day,” I said. “I choose to be cheerful.”
“Let me give you an example.   35  teaching here, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day, I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I   36  the freeway and turned onto College Drive, only another quarter mile ahead to the college. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine   37  turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the road to the college.”
“  38  getting there I called AAA and arranged for a tow truck to meet me at my car after class. The secretary asked me what had happened. ‘This is my lucky day,’ I replied, smiling.”
“ ‘Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?’ She was   39 . ‘What do you mean?’ ’’ “I live 17 miles from here.” I replied. “My car   40  have broken down   41  along the freeway. It didn’t.   42 , it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway,   43  walking distance of here. I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class.”
“The secretary’s eyes opened wide, and then she    44 . I smiled back and headed for class.” So ended my story.
I scanned the sixty faces in my class. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be   45 . Somehow, my story had touched them.

I went over my grandmother’s house today and she didn’t have time for me. You see, the lady’s husband downstairs died and my Grandmother wanted to make some cookies for her. My grandmother did not analyze (分析) how the lady treated her, or if the lady needed any cookies, or even if the lady would like the cookies. She didn’t think how much the lady has done for her. She simply began baking.
My Grandmother turned 94 last week and this I believe is her secret to life. My grandmother is generous (慷慨) and hard-working in a way that is rare for our time. She lives by a simple belief: if someone needs your help, you help. Never mind all the analyzing and thinking whether the person deserves or appreciates the help. My grandmother doesn’t sit around thinking about who might be making use of her: she simply does what is needed.
At 94, she is busy in life. She is making a blanket for a new great grandchild, and worried that I don’t have enough kitchen towels for my home. She is bringing soup to a sick neighbor, and teaching the new wife of her cousin (who is 88) how to cook Italian food.
My grandmother had every right to give up, but she didn’t — and amazingly life did bring her good things, like a husband with twinkling blue eyes who was much ahead of his time and believed that men should do an equal amount of cooking and cleaning in the home, three beautiful children (my father and two aunts), 22 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. My grandmother is not afraid to give someone she barely knows a bowl of soup. She never keeps herself out of the world.
61. The reason why my grandmother made cookies for the lady downstairs is that ________.
A. she thought the lady was too busy
B. she would make them as thanks to her
C. she thought she should do something for the lady at the special time
D. they had had an agreement before
62. In the writer’s opinion, ________.
A. my grandmother has a secret way of living
B. my grandmother does everything on careful consideration
C. few people are as generous as my grandmother now
D. my grandmother will get something in return
63. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. My grandmother cares for her children even some strangers.
B. My grandfather does not treat women in an unfair way.
C. This is a family in which there are nearly 30 people now.
D. My grandmother never keeps everything for herself.
64. We may infer from the text that the writer ________.
A. thinks his grandmother is living a tired life
B. thinks his grandmother is doing what she should do
C. thinks his grandmother should not be so kind
D. is proud of his grandmother