A few years ago, when I was still in high school, I met a wonderful and warm teacher. At that time in my life, there were many changes to adjust to, apart from the usual teenage troubles. My parents had divorced, so my elder brother and I had chosen to stay with my dad. Due to the fact that he was keeping the house, we didn’t have to move.

During this time, my teacher took a special interest in me. Being my English teacher, she encouraged my mind to travel to creativity I had long given up. She brought me out of the shell I built.

She became my mother, my older sister, my friend and my teacher. The one thing she couldn’t do though was to make me more girly as growing up with only my dad and brother made me a real tomboy.

Sometimes, I would be really immature（不成熟的）, especially if she was scoring me less than others on purpose. She knew I could do better than what I was handing in and so pushed me to extend further than limits.

When I finished school and then after college I was about to leave my hometowns she gifted me a watch that every second, with my pulse, should remind me of the one person who will forever wait and love me without reservation.

Time has passed and our friendship is distant, but in my heart, soul and mind, she is the closest I ever got.

The writer and her elder brother chose to live with their father simply because _________.

A. their mother was expecting to have another baby

    B. they didn’t have to move out of their house

    C. they hated their mother remarried

    D. they had a closer relationship with their father

How did the writer get along with her studies before she met her English teacher?

    A. She was hopeless and had given up her studies.

    B. She was getting along well with her studies.

    C. She had some trouble with her studies.

    D. She lacked interest in creativity.

The writer behaved herself like a boy because ________.

    A. she needed the love of mother

    B. she wanted to learn from her father and brother

    C. she lived with only men all the time

    D. her English teacher didn’t care about her

What was the writer’s attitude to the watch given by the teacher?

    A. She considered it to be very useful.

    B. She valued it very much.

    C. She kept it very well.

D. She wanted to do something later in return for it.

As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life. Financial experts say that everyone also has his own belief of how to manage his money. According to our different values, experts put us in three catagories---the ant, the cricket(蟋蟀) and the snail.

★ The ant — work first

Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don't care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save, but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk.

★ The cricket — fun first

The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance.

★ The snail — life under pressure

The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans(贷款) from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford them. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.

 One’s values may________.

A. be his ways of managing money

B. be his beliefs about society

C. be connected with his education

D. influence his behavior

 Mr. Smith always enjoys spending a weekend with his friends, fishing, hunting and playing cards. Besides, he spends money in a very luxurious way. So_______.

A. Mr. Smith belongs to the ant type

B. Mr. Smith belongs to the cricket type

C. Mr. Smith belongs to the snail type

D. it’s hard to tell which kind of person Mr. Smith is

The writer of the passage intends _______.

A. to introduce to us the three types of people with different life style

B. to show us his special attitude to the different people

C. to tell us life is full of joy and happiness all the time

D. to warn us how to live a better life in a new way

According to the passage, the most suitable title would be _______.

A. Nature of Spending

B. What Comes First

C. How to Understand Your Belief

D. Work and Fun

A classic series of experiments to determine the effects of overpopulation on communities of rats was conducted by a psychologist，John Calhoun．In each experiment，an equal number of male and female adult rats were placed in an enclosure（场地）．The rat populations were allowed to increase．Calhoun knew from experience approximately how many rats could live in the enclosures without experiencing stress due to overcrowding．He allowed the population to increase to approximately twice this number Then he fixed the population by removing the children that were not dependent on their mothers．At the end of the experiments，Calhoun was able to conclude that overcrowding causes a breakdown in the normal social relationships among rats，a kind of social disease．The rats in the experiments did not follow the same patterns of behavior as rats would in a community without overcrowding．

       The females in the rat population were the most seriously affected by the high population density（密度）．For example，mothers sometimes deserted their children，and，without their mothers’care，the children died．The experiments showed that in overpopulated communities，mother rats do not behave normally．Their behavior may be considered diseased and pathological（病理学的）．

       The leading males in the rat population were the least affected by over population．Each of these strong males claimed an area of the enclosure as his own．Therefore，these individuals did not  experience the overcrowding in the same way as the other rats did．．However leading males did behave pathologically at times．Their antisocial（反社会）behavior consisted of attacks on weaker male，female，and immature rats．This unusual behavior showed that even though the leading males had enough living space，they too were affected by the general overcrowding．

       Non-leading males in the experimental rat communities also exhibited unusual social behavior．Some withdrew（缩回） completely ,avoiding contact with other rats．Other non-leading males were too active，chasing other rats and fighting each other．

       The behavior of the rat population has similarity in human behavior．People in densely（密） populated areas exhibit unusual behavior similar to that of the rats in Calhoun’s experiments．In large urban areas，such as New York City，London，and Cairo，there are deserted children．There are cruel，powerful individuals，both men and women．There are also people who withdraw and people who become too active．Is the major cause of these disorders（混乱）overpopulation?

       Calhoun’s experiments suggest that it might be．In any case，social scientists and city planners have been influenced by the results of this series of experiments．

Which of the following inferences（推断）can NOT be made from the first paragraph?

       A．Overpopulation causes pathological behavior in rat populations．

       B．Calhoun had experimented with rats before．

       C．Calhoun’s experiment is still considered important today

       D．Stress does not occur in rat communities unless there is overcrowding．

The author implies that the behavior of the leading male rats is sometimes similar to that of

       A．people who would like to keep to themselves 

       B．people who abandon their children

       C．too active people

       D．cruel，powerful people

The main point of this passage is that _______________．

       A．although rats are affected by overcrowding，people are not

       B．overcrowding may be an important cause of social pathology

       C．the social behavior of rats is seriously affected by overcrowding

       D．Calhoun's experiments have influenced many people

For eighty four days old Santiago had not caught a single fish. At first a young boy, Manolin, had shared his bad fortune, but after the fortieth luck less day the boy’s father told his son to go in another boat. From that time on, Santigao worked alone. The boy loved the old fisherman and always helped him with money and food. Usually, they would talk about the fish they had taken in luckier times or about American baseball after supper, while at night, alone in his cottage, Santiago dreamed of lions on the beaches of Africa, where he had gone years before. He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.

On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago set off to fish before dawn. Two of his baits (饵) were fresh tunas (金枪鱼) the boy had given him, as well as sardines (沙丁鱼) to cover his hooks. Then he set his lines which went straight down into deep dark water.

As the sun rose he saw other boats in toward shore. A bird showed him where dolphin were chasing some flying fish. This time Santiago saw tuna jumping in the sunlight. A small one took the hook on his line. Pulling the fish aboard, the old man thought it a good fortune.

Toward noon a marlin, a common fish in the sea, started eating the bait which was one hundred meters down. Gently the old man played the fish, a big one, as he knew from the weight on the line. At last he struck to settle the hook. The fish did not come out of she surface. Instead, it began to pull the boat to the northwest. The old man followed it. Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks. He waited patiently for the fish to be tired.

It was cold after the sunset. When something took one of his remaining baits, he cut the line with his knife. Once the marlin leaned suddenly, pulling Santiago forward on his face and cutting his cheek. By dawn his left hand was cramped (抽筋的). The fish had headed northward; there was no land in sight. Hungry, he cut pieces from the tuna and chewed them slowly.

That morning the fist jumped. Seeing it, Santiago knew he had hooked the biggest marlin he had ever seen. Then the fish went down and turned toward the east. Santiago drank a little water from the bottle during the hot afternoon.

Close to nightfall a dolphin took the small hook he had rebated. He lifted it aboard, careful. After he had rested, he cut meat from the dolphin and kept also the two flying fish he hound in its stomach. That night he slept. He awoke to feel the line running through his fingers as the fish jumped. Feeding line slowly, he tried to tire the marlin. After the fish slowed its run, he washed his cut hands in sea water and ate one of the flying fish. At sunrise the marlin began to circle. Faint, he worked to bring the big fish nearer with each turn. Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon(鱼叉). The fish was two feet longer than the boat. No fish like it had ever been seen in Havana harbor.

An hour later, he sighted the fist shark, a fierce Mako, and it came in fast to chase after the dead marlin. The old man struck the shark with his harpoon. The Mako rolled and sank, carrying the harpoon with it and leaving the marlin bloody. He knew the smell would spread. Watching, he saw two sharks closing in. he stuck at one with his knife and watched it sliding down into deep water. The other he killed while it tore at the flesh of the marlin. When the third appeared, he thrust (刺) it with the knife. The other sharks came at sunset. At fist he tried to beat them with the tiller (舵柄) from the boat, but his hands were bleeding and there were too many in the sea. In the darkness, as he steered toward the harbor of Havana, he head them hitting the boat again and again. But the old man though only of his steering and his great tiredness. He had gone out too far and the sharks had beaten him. He knew they would leave him nothing but the stripped skeleton of the big marlin.

All lights were out when he sailed into the little harbor and beached his boat. He could just make out the white backbone and the upstanding tail of the fish. Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on. In his cottage he fell on his bed and went to sleep.

The above story is adapted from         .

    A．Treasure Island      B．The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

    C．The Old Man And The Sea  D．The Son Of The Sea

Why did the man feel that he could be lucky this time?

    A．Because a small tuna took the hoot on his line.

    B．Because he dreamed about the American lions.

    C．Because he saw many flying fish were chased by the dolphins.

    D．Because a lot of sharks followed his boat.

According to the text, which statement is NOT true about Manolin?

    A．The boy had mercy on Santiago.

    B．The boy often shared his stories with Santiago.

    C．The boy showed his great concerns to Santiago.

    D．The boy was Santiago’s adopted son.

Why does Santiago let the marlin lead his boat instead of pulling the big fish up?

    A．He wanted to kill the marlin first before he pulled it up to the boat.

    B．He was too tried and hungry to pull the big fish up.

    C．His experience told him not to do so before the fish was tired out.

    D．He wanted to use the marlin as a bait to catch the sharks.

Which sentence below can be used to best describe Santiago’s character?

    A．“He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.” (Para 1)

    B．“Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks.” (Para 4)

    C．“Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon.” (Para 7)

    D．“Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on.” (Para 9)

．According to the text, what will be talked about in the next paragraph?

    A．the man’s action to realize his dream about the lions.

    B．people’s reflection when they saw the giant marlin outside.

    C．people’s discussion about how they ate the giant marlin.

    D．a funeral held by the boy and the local people after his death.

A clique(小圈子,派系) is a group of friends who hang out together and act in similar ways. Cliques are common feature of the teen years. Members of a clique usually have certain things in common. For example, they might all be good students. Membership in a clique is limited. Not everyone who wants to belong can join.

Cliques can have a positive or negative influence. Because most teens have a strong need to belong, they want to feel that they fit into a group. Cliques can help them meet this need. Sometimes teens feel unsure of themselves, and they use a clique to gain approval of what they wear or how they act.

Cliques can become harmful, however, if they pressure members to behave the same way as the group that may damage their health. Cliques may discourage members from making their own decisions, giving their own opinions, or having other friends who aren’t accepted by the clique. Cliques may even pressure members to act in ways that go against their own values and beliefs, such as lying to parents or teachers. Cliques can also hurt people outside the group. For example, members might make fun of a teen who isn’t in the clique.

If you find yourself under this type of pressure from a clique, here are some actions you can take to improve your situation.

● Suggest other activities. Offer ideas that don’t involve hurting others or putting anyone at risk.

● Find new friends. If staying in the clique is becoming a negative experience, you will be better off with new friends.

Why do teens want to be a member of a clique?

A. Because it is popular with teens.                   

B. Because it meets teens’ need of belonging.

C. Because it is where teens can be themselves.

D. Because it provides an opportunity for them to be away from their parents.

Why can cliques be harmful?

A. Because kids in there don’t have independent thinking.

B. Because kids in there are not allowed to have their own opinions.

C. Because kids in there sometimes are pressured.

D. Because kids in there are forced to lie to their parents.

What is the writer’s attitude toward the clique?

A. He is very supportive to it.                            B. He is strongly against it.

C. He is not against it, though he doesn’t like it.

D. He is not against it. However, he has some worry about it.