Some American parents might think their children need better education to compete with China and other countries’ children． But how much do the parents themselves need to change?

A new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother written by Amy Chua has caused a debate about cultural differences in parenting． Ms． Chua is a professor at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a mother of two daughters． She was raised in America by immigrant Chinese parents． In her book, Ms． Chua wrote about how she demanded excellence from her daughters． For example, she threatened to burn her daughter’s dolls unless she played a piece of music perfectly． She would scold her daughters if they failed to meet her expectations．

Ms． Chua had a clear list of what her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were not permitted to do: “Attend a sleepover, have a play date, watch TV or play computer games, be in a school play, get any grade less than an A．” Many people criticize Amy Chua, saying her parenting methods were cruel and violent． She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, sometimes objected to her parenting style． But she says that is the way her parents raised her and her three sisters．

Ms． Chua says she eased some of the pressure after her younger daughter rebelled and shouted “I hate my life! I hate you!” But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children’s abilities． Amy Chua thinks one of the biggest differences between Western and Chinese parents is that Chinese parents take on strength rather than fragility．”

Stacy DeBroff, who has written four books on parenting, says: “Parents should rethink, what does it mean to be a successful parent and what does it mean to be a successful child?” She says Amy Chua’s parenting style is not limited to Chinese families． It represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children． But she also sees a risk． When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life． Stacey DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and not just repeat the way they were raised．

1.Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is mainly about ___________．

    A． how to teach children to learn music

    B． how to change the ways of parenting

    C． Amy Chun’s experience in parenting

D．  Amy Chun’s reflection of her family life

2.The underlined word “rebelled” in Paragraph 4 probably means “____________”．

    A． disobeyed       B． succeeded       C． failed          D． panicked

3.According to Ms． Chua, Chinese way of parenting is powerful because ____________．

   A． parents set good examples to children

   B． parents understand their children better

   C． parents usually treat their children as friends

   D． parents have high expectations of their children

4.What is Stacy DeBroff’s warning to immigrant parents?

   A． Don’t expect too much from their children．

   B． Don’t allow them to communicate with others．

   C． Don’t give them freedom to do what they want to．

   D． Don’t bring up their children as their parents did．

When early colonial settlers went to America, they took many forms of dance to their new home. Square dancing, one of the oldest forms of American folk dancing, developed from several different Old World group dances, mainly English country dances, and the French quadrille(四对方舞).

   In the American version of square dancing, four couples form a square and dance to music. An American addition to square dancing is the caller. What do you think a caller does?

The callers---someone who calls out the dance steps in time to the music--- was a completely American invention. At first dancers memorized all the steps for a particular dance, but eventually the dances became so complicated that it was necessary to have someone call out cues (提示) so that dancers didn’t have to remember so many steps. The caller didn’t just call out “do-se-do your partner”; a good caller also came up with colourful sayings or witty lines that he said in between the cues such as “Don’t be shy and don’t be afraid. Swing on the corner in a waltz promenade (步伐).” A caller might also come up with new dance steps and routines.

   Although popular for years, square dancing seemed to be going out of style and fading away until the early 1930s, when Henry Ford helped revive interest in it. Ford, the automobile manufacturer, used to vacation at the Wayside Inn in Massachusetts, where he enjoyed the dance programme run by a man named Benjamin Lovett. Ford asked Lovett to come to Detroit and teach dances, but Lovett said he couldn’t because he had a contract with the inn. Ford solved that problem by buying the inn and Lovett’s contract. He took Lovett back to Detroit, where together they established a programme for teaching squares and rounds. Square dancing was updated and groups began forming all over the country.

53. What is the best title for the passage?

   A. The Different Steps of Square Dancing

   B. The Origin and Development of Square Dancing

   C. Who Was the Inventor of Square Dancing?

   D. Why Did Square Dancing Go Out of Style?

54. What does the underlined part “their new home” refer to?

   A. The United Kingdom.            B. France.

   C. Africa.                          D. America.

55. Why did the caller call out the steps for the dancers?

   A. Because the dance was invented by the caller.

   B. Because the dancers didn’t know the names of the steps.

   C. Because the steps were very particular.

   D. Because it was hard for the dancers to remember all the steps.

56. Why did the author mention Henry Ford in the last paragraph?

   A. Because he was the man who made the first car.

   B. Because he was vey fond of dancing.

   C. Because he helped make square dancing popular again.

   D. Because he taught people how to dance.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有两项为多余选项。

After entering high school, you must wonder how to study well. Here are some good skills for you.

Go to class.

If you want to do well at school, going to class is the first step in studying well. If you miss classes, you will miss what the teacher thinks is important; as a result, you’ll miss what is the most likely to end up on the test.    1. 

Take good notes.

Try not to write down everything.  2.  Write down unfamiliar terms. After class, review your notes as soon as possible. You can fill in details that you missed and review the material while it is still fresh on your mind.

  3. 

If you are struggling in class, talk to your teacher. He or she may be able to give you more help or tutor you before or after class. Most teachers have little sympathy(同情) for students who just become worried about failing during the last few weeks of the grading period.

Take part in class discussions.

In order to learn more in class, it is helpful to take part in class discussions. Asking questions and having eye contact with your teachers and classmates can increase your participation(参与)and your focus during the class discussion.   4.  This helps you make your point clear in class.

Form study groups.

  5.   Make sure that everyone is familiar with the material because you do not want to spend time re-teaching material to people who do not understand it. Be careful! Sometimes group sessions can become chatting sessions.

A. Don’t be late for your class.

B. Talk to your teacher if you need help.

C. You should write down all the new terms.

D. So if you want to study well, go to every class.

E. Get students together who want to do well in class.

F. All you need is to put the main points in your own words.

G. If the material is difficult, you’d better read it before class.

“People are ruder today because they are rushed and more ‘time poor’ than ever before, ” says Patsy Rowe, “ Manners have fallen off the radar(雷达). ” Due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder more people don’t wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with a complaint（抱怨）about the noise. Here are some examples of rudeness.
Some people prefer to do almost everything over the internet. To them, dealing with an actual human is like an evolutionary step backward. It feels very slow because humans don, t work at 4G speeds. When you have dinner with friends, you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone. We have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings life-changing news, so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with. What is worse, some people even tend to send anonymous（匿名的） rude messages by email.
However, rudeness is never acceptable, Don, t assume it is OK to be rude if the person you, re in touch with won, t recognize you. If you have something awful to say, have the courage to face the person and say it, write a letter or email and sign it, or forget it. Upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.
We shouldn′t blame technology for our shortcomings. Technology is here to help us, but we should not allow it to take over our lives. An important step is acknowledging our shortcomings. People spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more help if we′d publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.
【小题1】What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in Paragraph I?

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, “Hi, girl! My name is Rose. I’m 87 years old. Can I give you a hug?”

I laughed and enthusiastically（热情地）responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.

   “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel!”

 “No seriously,” I said. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

 “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us.

 “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only two secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor everyday. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die!” she said.

 “There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn 20 years older. If I am 87 years old, and stay in bed for a year, and never do anything, I will turn 88. Anybody can grow older. But every minute counts for young men,” she added.

 “The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Song of Rose”. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics（歌词）and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year’s end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

4. Rose made herself known to the author in a ______ manner.

A. serious              B. cold           C. humorous          D. crazy

5. From the information provided in the passage, we know ______.

A. Rose finished the college degree within a year

B. Rose did realize her dream of meeting a rich husband and getting married through college education

C. Rose enjoyed her campus life very much

D. Rose grew so old that she stopped playing

6. Rose delivered the speech ______.

A. at the graduation                          B. which she prepared carefully

C. ended with “The Song of Rose”             D. to challenge all the other speakers

7. According to her speech, ______.

A. whenever you have a dream, you succeed 

B. all people don’t grow up while growing older

C. Rose usually regretted having done something

D. a nine-year-old is as old as a 87-year-old if he doesn’t do anything