When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Everything else seems blurry. Many people who do a lot of work, such as writing, reading and sewing become near-sighted. People who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatism (散光). This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts (白内障). Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
Having two good eyes is important for judging distances. Each eye sees things from a slightly different angle. To prove this to yourself, look at an object out of one eye; then look at the same object out of your other eye. You will find the object’s relation to the background and other things around it has changed. The difference between these two different eye views helps us to judge how far away an object is. People who have only one eye cannot judge distances as people with two eyes.
【小题1】We should take good care of our eyes________.     .

Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew (肌腱). And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency.

Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch (缝合) in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection.

Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.

American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines.

Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle (脚踏板) to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer’s hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical. It could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals.

However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement (侵犯). Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties (版税). In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.

1.Barthelemy Thimonnier’s garment factory was burned down because __________.

A. people did not know how to put out the fire

B. Elias Howe thought Thimonnier had stolen his invention

C. the sewing machines couldn’t work finally

D. workers who feared the loss of their jobs to a machine set fire

2.Why did the court force Isaac Singer to pay Elias Howe a lifetime of royalties?

A. Because the judge was against Singer for his unfriendly attitude.

B. Because Howe had already patented the lockstitch used by Singer.

C. Because Singer had borrowed money from Howe and never repaid it.

D. Because Singer and Howe had both invented the same machine.

3.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

B. The Case between Howe and Singer

C. Patent Laws on the Sewing Machine

D. The Early History of the Sewing Machine

My grandmother was from a town in Michigan. Summer after summer, I enjoyed staying with my grandparents as a young child. I was from the city and loved the small town they lived in. People knew everyone, their kids, their pets, their ancestors. The bond with them continued to grow as I grew and they got older. Grandma was always using her hands for something exciting. She would make little sandwiches and we’d have tea parties. She’d make beautiful quilts for each one. I remember the small thimble(顶针) she would use while doing her needle work.

A few years ago, when Grandma left this earth, I bid farewell to a loving grandmother. How quickly our lives can change. We had just had tea together a couple of months earlier, on her 91st birthday.

I missed her very much. On one particular birthday, when I was feeling a little low, something happened to make me feel like she was sharing that special day with me. I was arranging some colorful pillows that she had made, and suddenly I felt something inside one pillow. It was small and hard. I moved the object to a seam(接缝) that I carefully opened, and to my delight out came a tiny silver thimble! How happy I was to find something that had been a part of her. Not realizing it had fallen off her finger, I pictured her sewing it in that little pillow that I just happened to place on my bedspead that day. I carefully laid the thimble alongside the others I’ve collected over the years, where I could continue to see the gift God chose to reveal to me. What a precious memory of a very special lady who somehow, I knew, was laughing in delight at sewing her thimble inside my pillow.

I made some tea, using my best china, as Grandma always did, and enjoyed my tea and Grandma’s thimble. What a wonderful birthday that was!

60.The author liked staying with her grandparents because________.

         A.they often bought her some gifts

         B.she was curious about people and things there

         C.she could have tea parties and eat sandwiches

         D.she could learn to sew quilts

61.How did the author feel when she found the silver thimble?

         A.Sad        B.Proud    C.Lucky    D.Cheerful

62.It can be inferred from the passage that the silver thimble________.

         A.was the item the author had been trying to find

         B.was the most treasured possession of Grandma

         C.was very precious to the author

         D.was a birthday gift Grandma had given the author

63.What is the best title for the passage?

         A.A little pillow                     B.Grandma’s silver thimble

         C.My grandparents                 D.My childhood

Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will learn a musical instrument or ballet or other classes which will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is , the better it is. So the parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education . Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children’s skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today’s children lack (缺乏) self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents aren’t teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident , happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It’s an enjoyable but difficult experiment. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually to finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.
Some old machines , such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your children to play with will make him curious (好奇) and arouse his interest He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities aren’t merely teaching a child to read a book , but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.
【小题1】.
Parents in China, according to this passage,_________.
A. are too strict with their children        
B. are too rich to educate their children
C have some problems in educating their children correctly
D. are too poor to educate their children
【小题2】.
Generally speaking, children’s skills_______.

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分30分）
第一节（共10小题，每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Americans spend their free time in various ways．
America is a country of sports — of hunting, fishing and swimming, and of team sports like baseball and football．Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television．They also like to play in community orchestras （管弦乐队）, make their own films or recordings, go camping, visit museums，attend lectures, travel, garden, read, and join in hundreds of other activities．The people also enjoy building things for their homes, sewing their own clothes, even making their own photographs．They do these things for fun as well as for economy．
But as much as Americans enjoy their free time, the country is at the same time a “self-improvement” country．More than 25 million adults continue their education, chiefly by going to school in the evening, during their own free time, at their own expense．Added to the time spent on personal activities, Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities．Many hospitals, schools, libraries, museums, parks, community centers, and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities, often without any pay．Why do they do it?
There are several answers．The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself．[来源:学。科。网]
When the country was first founded in 1776, it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live．They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom．There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government．People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities, rather than give the government more control．
Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid, to do something that will be of benefit to the entire community．It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work; or they are learning from the experience．
No matter what the reason is, hundreds of thousands of so-called leisure hours are put into hard, unpaid work on one or another community need．
1．This passage is mainly about ________．
A．why America is a country of sports
B．how Americans spend their free time
C．why America is a “self-improvement” country
D．how Americans are devoted to their community activities
2．The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ________．
A．the early history of America
B．the American people’s determination to live
C．the reason for Americans’ willingness to cooperate and share responsibility
D．the American people’ s love for freedom
3．Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word “leisure”?
A．work time           B．energy                C．effort                  D．spare time
4．What can we infer from the text?
A．The first settlers left their hometown for political and religious reasons．
B．Many Americans don’t trust the central government．
C．American people enjoy building things for their homes just for fun．
D．Americans continue their education at their own expense．