One is never too old to learn. Life learning (sometimes called un-schooling or self-directed learning) is one of those concepts that are almost easier to explain by saying what it isn’t than what it is. And that’s probably because our own schooled backgrounds have convinced us that learning happens only in a fine building on certain days, between certain hours, and managed by a specially trained professional.

Within that schooling framestudy, no matter how hard teachers try and no matter how good their textbooks, many bright students get bored, many slower students struggle and give up or lose their self-respect, and most of them reach the end of the process unprepared to enter into society. They have memorized a certain body of knowledge long enough to rush back the information on tests, but they haven’t really learnt much, at least of the official curriculum.

Life learners, on the other hand, know that learning is not difficult, that people learn things quite easily if they’re not compelled and forced, if they see a need to learn something, and if they are trusted and respected enough to learn it on their own timetable, at their own speed, in their own way—no matter what age and no matter whether we’re at school or at home.

Life learning is independent of time, location or the presence of teacher. It does not require mom or dad to teach, or kids to work in workbooks at the table from 9 to noon. Life learning is learner-driven. It involves living and learning—in and from the real world. It is about exploring, questioning, experimenting, making messes, taking risks without fear of making mistakes, being laughed at and trying again.

Furthermore, life learning is about trusting kids to learn what they need to know and about helping them to learn and grow in their own ways. It is about providing positive experiences that enable children to understand the world and their culture and to interact with it.

1.It is implied in the text that it is hard to ______.

A. tell the nature of life learning 　　      B. carry life learning through

C. learn without going to school 　　      D. find a specially trained teacher

2.According to the author, the schooling framestudy often ______.

A. produces slow students with poor memories

B. ignores some parts of the official curriculum

C. fails to provide enough knowledge about life

D. gives little care to the quality of teaching materials

3.Life learners recognize that learning will not be difficult if they are ______.

A. able to respect other people　                  B. careful to make a time table

C. clear about why to learn　　                     D. cautious about any mistakes

4.According to the author, life learning ______.

A. could prevent one from running risks

B. teaches a kid how to avoid being laughed at

C. makes a kid independent of his parents

D. could be a road full of trials and errors

5.Through life learning, children ______.

A. will grow without the assistance from parents

B. will be seperated from the negative side of society

C. will be driven to learn necessary life knowledge

D. will learn to communicate with the real society

My brother，Mark，died in a traffic accident four years ago. He was my big brother and    36   looked after me. I am    37   today for all of the special times we had as running partners，and times    38   driving to different races，where we had so many    39   about life in general. I    40   these talks terribly at this time of the year.

   41  ，I am so happy he shared with me the    42   of his faith. He was always so    43   to people，and I had been with him many times    44  we pulled over to help someone in need，   45   a smile and helping them get back on the road. So I was not    46   when he told me of the time when he was    47    in college. It was the end of the month. To make matters worse，it was Friday and he had no    48   in his pocket for the weekend. Payday was Monday and he had no gas money to get home to    49   my dad and no money to buy food but he had faith that helping others    50   helping yourself.

On his way home from classes that day，as he was driving along，he noticed a guy ahead of him    51   his lumber (木材) all over the road as he turned the corner. Mark    52   right over and helped him load the lumber back into his truck. The guy was so thankful and    53   his hand to Mark，and in it was one hundred dollars. Mark couldn’t believe his    54  . He told him that was unnecessary but the man     55   and off he drove.

I still think of Mark sitting there telling me that story, with tears in his eyes, and how faithful he was.

1.                A．hardly　　      B．never          C．sometimes D．always

2.                A．successful       B．thankful        C．cheerful  D．hopeful

3.                A．spared         B．wasted         C．spent D．saved

4.                A．questions       B．arguments       C．differences    D．conversations

5.                A．miss           B．remember      C．keep D．fear

6.                A．However       B．So             C．Then D．If

7.                A．record         B．belief          C．story D．secret

8.                A．careful         B．helpful         C．powerful  D．grateful

9.                A．because        B．while           C．until D．when

10.               A．sharing         B．forcing         C．recognizing D．understanding

11.               A．pleased        B．worried        C．surprised  D．excited

12.               A．never　　      B．yet            C．even D．still

13.               A．food           B．money         C．paper D．key

14.               A．change         B．attend         C．see   D．persuade

15.               A．means         B．follows         C．explains   D．agrees

16.               A．carry          B．lose           C．arrange   D．place

17.               A．pushed         B．moved         C．pulled D．walked

18.               A．raised          B．held           C．offered   D．shook

19.               A．eyes           B．ears           C．mind D．feeling

20.               A．complained     B．apologized      C．regretted  D．insisted

—　　　,a dog is running toward you.

—Thank you,I wasn’t noticing it.

A.Look　　　　　B.Look up　　　　C.Look out　　　　D.Look into

It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. If we didn’t see some rain soon we would lose everything.

　　I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He was obviously walking with a great effort. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house.

Moments later, however, he was once again walking toward the woods. This activity went on for over an hour: walking cautiously to the woods, then running back to the house. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I went out of the house and followed him on his journey.

　　He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked; being very careful not to spill the water he held in them. Branches and thorns (荆棘) slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid them. As I leaned in to spy on him, I saw the most amazing site.

　　Several large deer appeared threatening in front of him. But Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. And I saw a baby deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from heavy loss of water, lift its head with great effort to drink the water cupped in my beautiful boy's hand.

　　I stood on the edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart working so hard to save a life. As my tears began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops... and more drops... and more. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, Himself, was weeping with pride.

1.Why did the author follow her son?

A. Because there might be danger.

B. Because her son was doing a good deed.

C. Because she was curious.

D. Because she intended to help.

2.Which of the following statements is Not True according to the passage?

A. Rain was in great need.

B. There were few trees in the woods.

C. Billy carried water with his small hands.

D. Billy walked into the woods and then returned over and over again.

3.What Billy did mainly showed that he was ________.

A. caring                            B. beautiful             C. childlike               D. brave

4.Which is the correct order of the development of the story?

① The author was moved to tears.

② Billy fed the water to the baby deer.

③ Billy walked towards the large deer.

④ It began to rain.

⑤ The author followed Billy into the woods.

A. ③②⑤①④                     B. ④①③②⑤  C. ⑤③②①④            D. ⑤②①③④

Driving to a friend's house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftops. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it was that most city people? Myself included? Usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.
My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.
I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest-house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires(篝火) outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.　　  
Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fibre-glass. We have televisions, cell phones, pagers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.
Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought: before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains. I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touch the moon.
【小题1】The best title for the passage would be______.

A．show that the writer likes city life very much

B．tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life

C．explain that people have fewer chances to enjoy nature

D．show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them