Gay marriage, and especially gay parenting, has been in the cross hairs in recent days.

On Jan.6, Rick Santorum told a New Hampshire audience that children are better off with a father in prison than being raised in a home with lesbian parents and no father at all. And last Monday(Jan.9), Pope Benedict called gay marriage a threat “to the future of humanity itself”, citing the need for children to have heterosexual homes.

But research on families headed by gays and lesbians doesn’t back up these above views. In fact, in some ways, gay parents may bring talents to the table that straight parents don’t.

Gay parents “tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents.” Said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. “That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement”.

And while research indicates that kids of gay parents show few differences in achievement, mental health, social functioning and other measures, these kids may have the advantage of open-mindedness, tolerance and role models for equal relationships, according to some research. Not only that, but gays and lesbians are likely to provide homes for difficult-to-place children in the foster system, studies show.

Children of gay parents also show less care about gender difference. That’s likely because gays and lesbians tend to have more equal relationships than straight couples, Goldberg said.

“Men and women felt like they were free to pursue a wide range of interests,” Goldberg said. “Nobody was telling them, ‘Oh, you can’t do that, that’s a boy thing,’ or That’s a girl thing.”

61.The underlined phrase “in the cross hairs”(in Paragraph 1) probably means.

A.a great concern         B.a big threat      C.a political ban      D.a role model

62.It can be learned from the passage that Rick Santorum___.

   A.opposes the need for children to have heterosexual homes

   B.thinks children are better off with a father in prison

   C.believes children are better off in heterosexual homes

   D.is in favor of children being raised by lesbian parents

63.From Abbie Goldberg’s words, we can learn that____.

 A.Most heterosexual parents have children by accident

 B.Gays and lesbians consider carefully before becoming parents

C.Heterosexual parents are not committed in the marriage

D.There’s no gender difference in gay and lesbian parenting

64.From the passage, we can infer that___.

   A.Children of gay parents are more talented

   B.Gay parents like adopting poor children

   C.Children of gay parents may enjoy more freedom

   D.Gay parents show no difference in social functioning

65.Which of the following is the advantage of kids of gay parents?

   A.Tolerance .        B.More talents.   C. Achievement.      D.Mental health.

In the modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity (繁荣). Others say that competition is bad, that it sets one person against another, that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is really forgotten.
However, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often notice that they have a desire to fail. They seem to choose failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” They don’t believe that if they had really tried and lost, such a loss would prove their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison(比较) with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.
【小题1】What does this passage mainly talk about?

Geneva is situated between the Jura Range and the Alps on the western end of Lake Geneva. Capital of Peace is one of its names― the European headquarters of the United Nations lies here in Palais des Nations. Another worthy name for this city with a humanitarian tradition（人道主义传统）and international character is the World’s Smallest Metropolis. Parks,splendid stores and lively streets in the old part of town and its 2000 ― year history wait to be discovered.

The Jet d’Eau together with the Flower Watch are the main attractions every year for the tourists visiting Geneva. The Jet d’Eau has become the symbol(象征)of Geneva for a long time. This is a 140 meters high water monument with a rich history. Eight 13,500―watt projectors light the grand column(圆柱)of the fountain in the evening, from early March until the second Sunday of October. The Flower Watch, which was created at the edge of the English Garden in 1955,reminds us about that Geneva is the birthplace of the Swiss clock and watch making, and that this industry has become internationally famous, as well through the quality of the watches as through their beautiful appearance.

Sails on Lake Geneva are also enjoyable. The Lake of Geneva, lying among the Alps, is a true inland sea, making possible a wide range of pleasant boat trips, you can relax and watch the beautiful scenes pass by.

56. Which of the following is NOT suitable for describing Geneva?

A. Capital of Peace.                                 

B. Palais des Nations.

C. The World’s Smallest Metropolis.

D. The birthplace of the Swiss clock and watch making.

57. The Jet d’Eau in the second paragraph refers to        .

A. the water fountain                                B. the English Garden

C. a new scene with electric lighting           D. the name of a famous watchmaker

58.What do we learn about the Lake of Geneva from the text?

A. It is the symbol of Geneva.

B. It lies among the Jura Range.

C. It has a direct passage to the ocean.

D. It is a large body of water of tourist interest.

 As my train was delayed for two hours, I had plenty of time to spare. After buying some newspapers to read on the journey, I made my way to the ___1___ office to collect my heavy suitcase I had ___2___ there three days before. There were only a few people ___3___, and I took out my wallet to find the receipt for my case. The receipt didn’t seem to be where I had left it. I ___4___ the contents, and railway tickets, money scraps of paper and photos fell out of it; but no matter how ___5___ I searched, the receipt was nowhere to be found.

When my turn came, I ___6___ the situation sorrowfully to the assistant. The man looked at me ___7___ as if to say that he had ___8___ this kind of story many times and asked me to ___9___ the case. I told him that it was an old, brown looking ___10___ no different from the many cases I could see on the shelves. The assistant then gave me ___11___ and told me to ___12___ of the chief contents of the case. If they were ___13___, he said, I could take the case away. I tried to ___14___ all the articles I had ___15___ packed into the case and wrote them down as they came to me.

After I had done this, I went to ___16___ among the shelves. There were hundreds of cases there. For one dreadful moment, it ___17___ to me that if someone had ___18___ the receipt up he could have easily claimed(认领) the case already. This hadn’t happened ___19___, for after a time I found the case lying in a corner. After examining the articles inside, the assistant was ___20___ and told me I could take the case away.

1. A. posting   B. working     C. luggage      D. manager’s

2. A. left  B. forgotten    C. found  D. bought

3. A. standing B. crowding    C. talking D. waiting

4. A threw      B. put      C. looked D. emptied

5. A. often      B. much  C. hard    D. soon

6. A. said B. searched     C. spoke  D. explained

7. A. now and then B. up and down      C. here and there    D. back and forth

8. A. knew     B. realized       C. heard  D. seen

9. A. describe B. draw   C. take out      D. show

10. A. object   B. matter C. subject       D. wallet

11. A. a paper B. a note  C. a message  D. a form

12. A. sign names   B. make a list  C. write down D. draw a picture

13. A. everything    B. wrong C. correct       D. ready

14. A. draw    B. remember   C. read    D. remind

15. A. carelessly     B. suddenly     C. hurriedly    D. immediately

16. A. see       B. watch C. find    D. look

17. A. happened     B. occurred    C. appeared    D. seemed

18. A. picked  B. collected     C. taken  D. stolen

19. A. fortunately   B. unluckily    C. by chance  D. presently

20. A. disappointed B. surprised    C. satisfied     D. worried

Parents’ blessing will play a great part in the growth of their children. My father wrote me a valuable letter before his death, one part of which always  36 . “I know you will do  37 great that will set you among the very best one day in the future.”
Since I first read his  38  at 12, they have lived in my heart.  39 ,I knew that my dad’s believing in me gave me permission to believe in  40  . “You will do something great.” He didn’t know  41  that would mean, but whenever I felt 42  of myself, I remember my father’s words, and  43  he were here, so I could ask, “Is this what you were  44 about, Dad?”
Many years have passed, and I believe that my father  45 have been proud when I  46 from basic training and became a rescue swimmer. Lately, I’ve come to realize he’d want me to move 47 to what comes next: to be proud of, and believe in someone else.
Yes, it’s time to all of us to  48  writing our own letters to our children. They look to us with the same  49  . “Is this it, Daddy? Am I doing fine?” It’s why every child growing up says, “Watch me!” Our children don’t  50   because they are not afraid to fail. They are only afraid of failing  51___.
Remember to give your children  52   to succeed. If you don’t have children, then write a letter to someone who 53 you. They are waiting for you to believe in them. Trust me, love will be 54  real and their belief in themselves will be greater if you write the words on their hearts: “  55  ! You will do something great.” Not having that blessing from someone they love may be the only thing holding them back.