Fatimah Bamun dropped out of Balizenda Primary School in the first grade, when her father refused to buy her pencils and paper. Only after her teachers said to him that his daughter showed unusual promise(有希望) did he change his mind. Today, Fatimah, 14, tall and slender, studies math in a dirt-floored fourth-grade classroom.

    Whether she will reach the fifth grade is another matter. Fatimah is facing the realities of a school with no toilet, no water, no hope of privacy (隐私) other than the shadow of a bush, and no girlfriends with whom to share feelings. Fatimah is the only girl of the 23 students in her class. In fact, in a school of 178 students, she is one of the only three girls who have made it past the third grade.

    “I have no friend in the class,” she said. “Most of my friends have dropped out to get married. So during the break, I just sit in the classroom and read.”

    Her father, however, now says he is fully behind her. “The people from the government are all the time telling us to send our daughters to school, and I am listening to these people,” he said.

    But in many cases, parents don’t listen. Parents think that if the girls stay home, they can help with the harvesting, fetch the water and collect the firewood. So they take them out of school.

    In a region where poverty, tradition and ignorance make about 24 million girls not even have an elementary school education. There are many other barriers (障碍) that prevent girls going to school, such as the lack of school toilets and water.

    The issue is not only equality. The World Bank thinks that if women in sub-Saharan Africa had equal education, land and other wealth, the region’s economy could improve greatly. There is a connection between growth in Africa and sex equality. It is of great importance but still ignored by so many people.

1.The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to _______.

A. find the cause of Africa’s poverty

B. describe the poor education conditions of African girls

C. prove the inequality in African society

D. reform the present schooling systems in Africa

2.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Fatimah is a girl who shows signs of success for the future.

B. Fatimah’s father is now giving a lot of support to her.

C. Fatimah is the only girl who has made it past the fifth grade in her school.

D. Fatimah has no friends at school because they most of them have dropped out to get married.

3.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A. most African girls are treated equally in society

B. African governments don’t care whether girls go to school or not

C. most African girls would rather get married than go to school

D. African girls can’t enjoy equal chances for education

.

Fatimah Bamun dropped out of Balizenda Primary School in the first grade, when her father refused to buy her pencils and paper. Only after her teachers said to him that his daughter showed unusual promise(有希望) did he change his mind. Today, Fatimah, 14, tall and slender, studies math in a dirt-floored fourth-grade classroom.

    Whether she will reach the fifth grade is another matter. Fatimah is facing the realities of a school with no toilet, no water, no hope of privacy (隐私) other than the shadow of a bush, and no girlfriends with whom to share feelings. Fatimah is the only girl of the 23 students in her class. In fact, in a school of 178 students, she is one of the only three girls who have made it past the third grade.

    “I have no friend in the class,” she said. “Most of my friends have dropped out to get married. So during the break, I just sit in the classroom and read.”

    Her father, however, now says he is fully behind her. “The people from the government are all the time telling us to send our daughters to school, and I am listening to these people,” he said.

    But in many cases, parents don’t listen. Parents think that if the girls stay home, they can help with the harvesting, fetch the water and collect the firewood. So they take them out of school.

    In a region where poverty, tradition and ignorance make about 24 million girls not even have an elementary school education. There are many other barriers (障碍) that prevent girls going to school, such as the lack of school toilets and water.

   The issue is not only equality. The World Bank thinks that if women in sub-Saharan Africa had equal education, land and other wealth, the region’s economy could improve greatly. There is a connection between growth in Africa and sex equality. It is of great importance but still ignored by so many people.

68. The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to _______.

A. find the cause of Africa’s poverty

B. describe the poor education conditions of African girls

C. prove the inequality in African society

D. reform the present schooling systems in Africa

69. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Fatimah is a girl who shows signs of success for the future.

B. Fatimah’s father is now giving a lot of support to her.

C. Fatimah is the only girl who has made it past the fifth grade in her school.

D. Fatimah has no friends at school because they most of them have dropped out to get married.

70. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.  

A. most African girls are treated equally in society

B. African governments don’t care whether girls go to school or not

C. most African girls would rather get married than go to school

D. African girls can’t enjoy equal chances for education

III  阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）   
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
April 27 is Take Our Daughters to Work Day in Britain. Started at first in the Unite States and brought to Britain in 1994, Take Our Daughters to Work Day has become a special day for girls between 11 and 15. On that day thousands of girls take a day off school and go together with one of their parents to their work places. The purpose of this day is to broaden girls’ horizons and raise their self-confidence.
For many years people have thought that boys can do better than girls in society. But actually, “girls can be whatever they want to be just like boys, whether it is a pilot, a nurse or a chief executive,” says the chairman of the Our Sons and Daughters Charitable Trust, an organization which supported the activity of the Day. “Now the girls have a close look at what their parents are doing and this may help them to be more self-confident when they are faced with a choice of work.”
Schools and many companies support the activity too. Palmers’ Green High School for girls, in north London, has made the day necessary part of careers education.
Zarina Bart, 15, from Palmers’ Green, went with her mother to her Lawyer’s office this year’s Take Our Daughters to Work Day. She found it interesting to see her mother at work. “It’s really strange seeing Mum at work--- running around, getting serious and telling people what to do.” She has always liked this idea of going into law and thinks it likely that she will follow in her mother’s footsteps. Having a chance to see how her mother works has given her more self-confidence.
Experts believe that girls with higher self-confidence aim higher and are more likely to be successful in life. Parents have most important effect on the confidence of teenage girls. If parents believe in their daughters and show examples both at work as well as at home for them, this will give a lot of help to girls. Take Our Daughters to Work Day is surely a step in the right direction.
1.Which is the best title of this passage?
A.Raising Self-confidence
B.Take Our Daughters to Work Day
C.Girls can be Excellent too!
D.Following Footsteps
2.It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that __________.
A.Women pilots are popular in Britain
B.Girls are sure about their future jobs
C.People have wrongly believed that girls can do as well as boys
D.For many years boys have a comparatively wider choice of work
3.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A.Take Our Daughters to Work Day is British in origin.
B.On Take Our Daughters to Work Day, children are taken to their parents’ work places.
C.Palmers’ Green High School for girls favors Take Our Daughters to Work Day.
D.Parents always show good examples for their children both at work and at home.
4.After her experience on Take Our Daughters to Work Day, Zarina felt __________.
A.confident about her study
B.strange to work in a lawyer’s office
C.sure about what to choose as her future career
D.interested in following in her father’s footsteps
5.The writer’s attitude towards Take Our Daughters to Work Day is __________.
A. favorable                 B. unclear                     C. critical                     D. not sure