As soon as I saw her, I understood I was in trouble. The tiny 10-year-old girl was staring at me with that specific facial expression which probably only dentists have to enjoy all day long!

Whatever question I asked, whatever activity I suggested, her reaction was pretty much the same — she was frozen with horror. She was sent to our private language school after having been the worst in English at her key school with a pretty strict ELT syllabus(教学大纲), with her peers teasing her for her mistakes in English. Moreover, her state school teacher called her name. To make things worse, she was under pressure from her family for getting bad marks in English. She was definitely expecting me to carry on the same way with her.

I have to admit that I had been staring at her with probably the same expression for a while before eventually she handed in an absolutely incredible composition which I had previously asked the class to write. It was written in perfect handwriting, was full of clever ideas and had correct paragraphing. The girl got her first excellent mark in English, and I praised her generously and from then on I started using her writing skills to support the others. Before doing an oral retelling of a story, she wrote it down. Before presenting her oral project, she was allowed to do the same thing. The day she first put up her hand to orally answer my question addressed to the class I was incredibly happy.

She taught me how to approach withdrawn students — find the skill which they can excel at, in her case writing, and help the student use it to develop other skills!

1.The writer is probably a teacher 　　　. 

A. in a language training center

B. in a private language school

C. in a state school

D. in a key public school

2.The writer’s first impression of the little girl was that she was 　　　. 

A. incredibly dull          B. hard to cope with

C. far too lovely            D. pretty confident

3.The girl came to the school because 　　　. 

A. she had some special skills

B. she was good at writing poems

C. she felt very uncomfortable at her previous school

D. she is poor at her pronunciation

As soon as I got on the train, I was taken along and introduced to the rest of the party. They were three Irish girls, a Scottish girl and Tony, our tour leader.
After the bustle (忙乱) of __31 the train, I went along to the ___32 There were three or four people __33 about the door, and a girl told me to __34 my compartment (车厢) and said she would let me know when it was my__ 35.
When I got into the washroom, goodness―how___36 it was! It had a tiny sink (水槽), and the __37_ was cold. When I wanted to wash my 38 , it was almost impossible to keep my__ 39 on one foot while I lifted the other into the water. It was quite a __40 , because the floor was very wet, and the soap and all my bits and __41kept falling off the sink because the train was __42 so much.
My first night on the train was __43 , as I could not sleep, and when we arrived at Munich the next morning, I felt rather 44 .
I decided I could not spend another ___45 night on the train. I asked an attendant if I could __46 _to a compartment with a couchette (卧铺). He took me along to a__47___ Austrian guard who put two other girls and me together in the same compartment. The __48 _cost of the couchette all the way to Istanbul was only£2.50. The rest of that day’s __49 was very pleasant, and our compartment soon became a little home! And that night I had a __50 sleep.

As soon as I saw her, I understood I was in trouble. The tiny 10-year-old girl was staring at me with that specific facial expression which probably only dentists have to enjoy all day long!

Whatever question I asked, whatever activity I suggested, her reaction was pretty much the same — she was frozen with horror. She was sent to our private language school after having been the worst in English at her key school with a pretty strict ELT syllabus(教学大纲), with her peers teasing her for her mistakes in English. Moreover, her state school teacher called her name. To make things worse, she was under pressure from her family for getting bad marks in English. She was definitely expecting me to carry on the same way with her.

I have to admit that I had been staring at her with probably the same expression for a while before eventually she handed in an absolutely incredible composition which I had previously asked the class to write. It was written in perfect handwriting, was full of clever ideas and had correct paragraphing. The girl got her first excellent mark in English, and I praised her generously and from then on I started using her writing skills to support the others. Before doing an oral retelling of a story, she wrote it down. Before presenting her oral project, she was allowed to do the same thing. The day she first put up her hand to orally answer my question addressed to the class I was incredibly happy.

She taught me how to approach withdrawn students — find the skill which they can excel at, in her case writing, and help the student use it to develop other skills!

48. The writer is probably a teacher 　　　. 

A. in a language training center   B. in a private language school

C. in a state school                D. in a key public school

49. The writer’s first impression of the little girl was that she was 　　　. 

A. incredibly dull   B. hard to cope with

C. far too lovely       D. pretty confident

50. The girl came to the school because 　　　. 

A. she had some special skills

B. she was good at writing poems

C. she felt very uncomfortable at her previous school

D. she is poor at her pronunciation

While students in Hainan are quite used to clear skies, Beijing teenagers are not so lucky. As another warm winter approaches, the city can expect the normal clouds of smoke caused by air pollution.

But things could start to get better soon. The government is co-operating with a US-based environmental protection agency to update existing buses and trucks with clean fuel technology. The new technology could reduce air pollutants in existing diesel vehicles (柴油机) by 40 per cent. The programme will begin by testing buses in Beijing to see if the technology can be applied to them.

“We encourage the development of public transportation. But at the same time we need to reduce pollution from them,” said an official.

Efforts are being made to improve the capital’s environment with tighter controls on emissions (排放). Some heavily polluting factories and construction sites, such as those owned by the steel giant Shougang Group, have been asked to cut production in November and December or be closed.

Beijing was the third polluted city in the world at the end of last century, according to the UN. But thanks to recent measures, the capital has made some progress. Last year 224 clear days were rated as having good air quality. In 1998 the air quality index (指数) gave just 100 days as good.

“I am glad to see an improvement,” said a Senior 1 boy living in the northwest of Beijing. “Compared to other places, the air quality of Beijing is still worrying though. I hate the pollution. Once I was riding my bike in the morning when I almost had a traffic accident because I couldn’t see a car only metres away from me in frog.”

In early October, the skies were covered by such a thick fog that a display show by the visiting French air force was called off.

Rapid development, industry, traffic fumes (烟) and sandstorms from the desert all contribute to the city’s bad air.

The passage is mainly about ________?

A. a programme to improve Beijing’s air quality

B. progress made in Beijing’s air quality

C. Beijing’s air pollution

D. the difference between Hainan and Beijing

Which of the following is not the measure taken or to be taken to improve Beijing’s air?

A. Clean fuel technology will be used in public transportation.

B. Some factories have been asked to cut production.

C. Some construction sites have been told to be closed.

D. A display show of airplanes has been called off.

We can infer from the passage that, with the aim of being an ecological (生态的) city by the 2008 Olympics, ________.

A. far more still needs to be done  

B. nothing else needs to be done

C. all traffic has to be closed           

D. the development of the city has to be slowed down

Which is not correct according to the passage?

A. Beijing’s air quality is getting worse and worse.

B. Development, industry, traffic fumes and sandstorms are all the causes of bad air quality.

C. Clouds of smoke in the sky is the common feature in the winter of Beijing.

D. The government is making every effort to stop air pollution.

B
“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” --a document stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores. Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.)
After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled（挫败的）,”  admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press, stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”
Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs, “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----until Bob signed the contract, therefore, she decided to relax and enjoy it. 
Although Peters had consulted(咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria, his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative（暂时的） title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.
45. The couple signed the contract because _______.
A. Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself
B. Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest
C. they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks
D. Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book
46. It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.
A. pay a certain amount of money
B.  admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood 
C. say sorry to his wife         D. do all the housework for years
47. What can we learn about Pat Peters?
A. She was hard-working and selfless.   B. She was pretty and kind-hearted.
C. She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks.
D. She did not love Bob any longer.
48. Which of the following can best end the news story?
A. “Wait till your mother gets home!”    B. “My experience of being a mother.”
C. “I’m proud of you all, my dear!”     D. “Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”