The reading skills of young male students may improve more when huts are tutored (辅导) by women, a Canadian study shows, contradicting some school policies to hire male teachers to improve boys' literacy.

Herb Katz, an education professor at the University of Alberta, took 175 boys in the third and fourth grades, identified as struggling readers, and paired them with a research assistant who worked on their reading skills for 30 minutes a week over 10 weeks.

On average, the boys paired with female tutors felt better about their reading skills after the 10 weeks than those who were guided by a male research assistant, the study found.

Katz said the study, published in the US journal Sex Roles, may cause educational policy - makers in countries such as Australia and Britain to rethink policies that call for more male teachers to be hired to provide role models for boys whose reading skills fall behind their peers (同龄人). "It tells us that the way governments respond with policy is perhaps a little too quick and a little too simple," Katz said." Boys and girls enter kindergarten with similar reading skills, Katz said, but by the end of the third grade, boys have lower reading scores than girls. The reasons behind that difference are not entirely clear. "I don't know that reading skills fade so much as teachers may not recognize what boys are doing," he said. "We don't really know a lot about boys, even in those early years."

The boys involved in the study attended 12 schools in the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Most were from downtown neighborhoods. About a third were native Canadians and 55 percent came from ethnic minority groups.

60. What's the purpose of this passage?

A. To encourage boys to do more reading.             B. To persuade schools to hire female teachers.

C. To advise good ways for reading skills.              D. To provide some information about a study.

61. The underlined word "contradicting" in the first paragraph probably means"_________".

A. finding out       B. going against        C. standing by         D. bringing about

62. Which of the following is TRUE about the boys taking part in the study?

A. They have difficulty in reading.           B. They take no interest in reading.

C. They come from different Canadian cities.   D. They have no female teachers at school.

63. It can be known from the passage that _________.

A. women must be better al teaching than men

B. girls do more reading than boys

C. male teachers are preferred to help reading- troubled boys in Australia

D. governments will change their policy on hiring teachers

SHANGHAI - Health experts in Shanghai are calling for more protection for young children as the latest research shows about half of the youngsters are suffering from secondhand smoke．

       About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in families, 50 percent in public places, and almost 6 percent on public transportation, shows a research released by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center on Tuesday．

       "Not only adults but also children and newborn babies are at risk for the adverse effects of passive smoking," said Tang Jingyan, a doctor at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center．

       "Actually, those young children whose bodies are still growing and developing are more sensitive to the effects of secondhand smoke．"

       Research has shown that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke will suffer from more colds, coughs and sore throats, and they are more likely to suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia and will have a higher risk of developing cancer．

       Doctors even suggested that children suffering passive smoking are more likely to have behavioral problems and may not develop mentally as quickly as their peers．

       Other research by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center has found that more than 80 percent of child patients in the center live in a smoke-filled household, where one or both parents smoke．

       "Though doctors have stressed the harm of passive smoking over and over, it is still hard to reach a totally 'smoke free' home," said a pediatrician named Zhang Yiwen, noting that parents are often tempted to smoke even though they have learned the harmful effects of secondhand smoke．

       China has 540 million people suffering from passive smoke, 180 million of them younger than 15．The age of smokers is also getting lower, earlier reports said．

       "There are more young smokers than before．You can see young people wearing a school uniform and carrying a schoolbag light a cigarette on the street．Some of them are even female students," said Jing Xingming, a professor of children's developmental behavior at the center．

       "Children like to imitate adults, especially their parents．If parents often smoke at home, it is very likely children will develop a smoking habit, which can cause a vicious circle," Jin said．

       Reports from the Ministry of Health said China has about 350 million smokers, of whom 15 million are underage smokers．Also, around 40 million of the country's 130 million children aged between 13 and 18 had tried smoking, and 15 million had become addicted to tobacco．

What is the main idea of the passage?

       A．About half of the youngsters are suffering from secondhand smoke．

       B．Experts are calling for more protection for youngsters from smoking．

       C．More and more youngsters are picking up the habit of smoking．

       D．Smoking does great harm to the health of the youngsters．

What kind of the youngsters most possibly develop a habit of smoking?

       A．Children of non-smoking mothers．            

       B．Children of non-smoking fathers．

       C．Children of heavy smokers．        

       D．Children from some smoking centers．

Which of the following disease may not be connected with secondhand smoking?

       A．Cancer．                    B．Behavioral problems．          

       C．Sore throats．       D．Coughs．

The underlined word "vicious" in the last paragraph but one most probably means ___________．

       A．complete         B．simple      C．great D．bad

What can be inferred from the passage?

       A．About 80% of the children in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center smoke heavily．

       B．About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center．

       C．About 540 million people are heavy smokers in China．

D．Children aged between 13 to 18 are more likely addicted to smoking．

A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation．She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself．

“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”

“Of course I have a job,” said Emily．“I’m a mother.”

“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation… ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.

    One day I found myself in the same situation．The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title．“What is your occupation?” she asked．

    The words simply popped out．“I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”

    The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.

    I repeated the title slowly, and then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

    “Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”

    Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t）, in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out)．Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it)．But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”

    There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out．

    As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (依托) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.

    Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern．

    I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”

    Motherhood…What a great career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.

What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?

A．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was.

B．The recorder was impatient and rude.

C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced.

D．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society.

How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

A．curious        B．indifferent    C．puzzled          D．interested

Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?

A．Because the author cared little about rewards.

B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab.

C．Because she thought the author did admirable work.

D．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of.

What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

B．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect.

C．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily.

D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work．  

（三）

A

I recently spent two years in the Arctic filming the series Blue Planet. I love being in an environment that hasn't changed for 20,000 years. Of course it's freezing, but it must be a healthy place because you never catch colds.

When I'm filming, I like to really feel how lonely the environment is. Filming underwater involves cutting through thick ice and diving in tied to a line. The person at the other end has to be ready to pull you out fast if necessary.

Originally I was a research diver for the British Antarctic Survey project, but for me science lacked excitement. I'd always enjoyed photography, and whenever camera teams passed through, they encouraged me to watch and learn. I was then able to move into filming in 1985 and have concentrated on Arctic and Antarctic wildlife ever since.

I prefer to be faced with the animals I'm filming. I haven't got in the water with killer whales yet, but I plan to. Of course, it's dangerous if you choose the wrong moment. They're big animals and can move fast, so I'd be stupid to film them searching for food!

I've never had problems with polar bears, although once I was frightened when one tried to get into my tent. Polar bears are bold, clever and dangerous. But I made this one see I wasn't about to attack it - I'm sure it realised I wouldn't hurt it.

When I come home back from my trips, I work in the mornings and spend the afternoons swimming to keep fit. Now I'm fifty, filming is harder. The challenge for me is to continue to deliver high-quality work.

56. In this text, the writer is describing __________.

A. the challenges of the environment he works in       B. the beautiful scenery of the Arctic

C. the career opportunities in TV camera work.  　　D. the difficulties of having to work alone

57. What does the writer say about his early career?

A. He was bored by working only in Antarctic.

B. It taught him how to become a skilled diver.

C. He wasted the years he spent as a scientist.

D. It provided him with a chance to learn about filming.

58. When talking about killer whales, the writer says that __________.

A. he has always been careful when diving with them

B. he tries to avoid any danger by facing them

C. he will only film them from a safe distance

D. he believes there are safe opportunities to film them

59. How does the writer describe his experience with a polar bear?

A. The writer realized he was wrong to trust polar bears.

B. The writer felt nervous that the bear might come back.

C. The bear seemed to know the writer wasn’t a danger.

D. The animal was much more afraid than the writer was.

第一部分英语知识运用（共三节，满分50分）

第一节从A、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ四个选项中，找出其划线部分与所给单词的划线部分读音相同的选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。(满分5分)

1. stop         A. lose          B. woman       C. shock       D. rose

2. theirs        A. strength     B. health       C.thank       D. then

3. double     A. found           B. through      C. country      D. though

4.news          A. research          B. newspaper    C.Christmas    D. Thursday

5.parent      A. glare          B. paper          C. carrot       D. gather