What is time? Is it a thing to be saved or spent or wasted, like money? Or is it something we have no control over, like the weather? Is time the same all over the world?
That's an easy question, you say. Wherever you go, a minute is 60 seconds, an hour is 60 minutes, a day is 24 hours, and so forth. But in America, time is more than that. Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe that's why they are fond of the expression, "Time is money."
Because Americans believe time is a limited resource, they try to conserve and manage it. People in the U.S. often attend seminars or read books on time management. It seems they all want to organize their time better. Professionals carry around pocket planners -- some in electronic form -- to keep track of appointments and deadlines. People do all they can to squeeze more time out of their time. The early American hero Benjamin Franklin expressed this view best: "Do you love life? Then do not waste time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
To Americans, punctuality is a way of showing respect for other people's time. Being more than 10 minutes late to an appointment usually calls for an apology and an explanation. People who are running late often call ahead to let others know of the delay. Of course, the less formal the situation is, the less important it is to be exactly on time. At informal get-togethers, for example, people often arrive as much as 30 minutes past the appointed time.
To outsiders, Americans seem tied to the clock. People in other cultures value relationships more than schedules. In these societies, people don't try to control time, but to experience it. Even Americans would admit that no one can master time. Time -- like money -- slips all too easily through our fingers. And time -- like the weather-- is very hard to predict. Nevertheless, time is one of life's most precious gifts. And unwrapping it is half the fun.
【小题1】What’s the main topic of this passage?

What’s on stage

An acrobatic(杂技)show: To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the China Acrobatic Troupe(剧团)will present “ The Soul of China”, where the seemingly impossible is made real. Chills(寒意)will run down your spine(脊柱) as you watch breathlessly as performers take their art and their bodies to the edge.

Time: 7:30 p.m. , September 13-19

Place: Capital Theatre, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District

Exhibitions

Joint show: A group ink painting exhibition is running at the Huangshicheng Art Gallery in Beijing. About 50 works by 25 young artists including Ge Yun and Yu Yang are on display.

Time: 9:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m. until September10

Place: Huangshicheng Art Gallery, 136 Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District

Oil paintings: The Wangfung Art Gallery will host a joint show of oil painting by 10 young and middle-aged artists. On display are more than 30 of their latest works, which capture the wondrous variety of life in unique styles.

Time: 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. until September15

Place:136 Nanchizi Street, Dongcheng District

Literature museum: The National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature offers an in-depth study of the evolution of Chinese contemporary literature from 1919 to 1949.

Time: 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. , daily

Place: 45 Anyuan Donglu, Chaoyang District (shaoyaoju area)

Concerts

Beijing rocks: “The Fashion Night of Chinese Rock” is set to bring rock fans out by the thousands next month. Nine Chinese rock bands will perform at the concert, including older generation bands, middle generation and some recent arrivals. The audience will be given a chance to decide what songs they want to hear, which is sure to bring a storm.

Time: September 16

Place: The Olympic Center

Belgium Orchestra(管弦乐队): La Petite Bande, the Baroque Orchestra of Belgium, will perform in Beijing at the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities as part of activities across the world to commemorate(纪念) the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death.

Time: 7:30 p.m. September 11-14

Place: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities

1. What do you think of the acrobatic show mentioned here?

A. When you watch it, you will certainly feel cold.

B. Something strange will puzzle everyone, including scientists.

C. Unexpected things will make you excited and surprised.

D. Even the bravest ones will be too frightened to go on watching.

2.The most characteristic thing about the Fashion Night of Chinese Rock is that____.

A. it will let the audience choose the performers and the music

B. it is to bring thousands of rock fans out of their homes

C. it will certainly cause a rock storm throughout China

D. it is to be held in memory of one of the greatest musicians

3. Suppose it is September 14th today, how many activities can people choose to attend?

A. 2.   B. 3.    C. 4.    D. 5.

4. On the whole, we can conclude____.

A. people in Beijing prefer modern culture to something traditional

B. there are usually more culture actives in September than in any other month

C. most of the cultural activities in Beijing are for foreign visitors only

D. we can enjoy a large variety of cultural activities in Beijing

Too Much Happiness was written by Alice Munro，winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature，one of our greatest contemporary writers of fiction and the owner of the Man Booker Price for Fiction．Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker，The Atlantic Monthly，and other publications，and her collections have been translated into thirteen languages．

? The main character is Sophia Kovalevsky，a great Russian mathematician，writer and advocator拥护者）of women’s rights in the late nineteenth century. After visiting her lover Maxsim Kovalevsky in Riviera，she travels in Europe，ending up in Sweden，where she teaches at the only university in Europe willing to employ a female mathematician．The book writes about her journey from Riviera to Sweden．

??? The story tells the typical struggle of an intellectual（知识分子）woman to achieve success and happiness．However，when she is going to die，Sophia says“too much happiness”．I think it’s irony（讽*11的）．As reading the story，she has too many mental problems·First，as a woman mathematician，she was born in a wrong time ．She was married to Vladimir Kovalevsky without love，called“a white marriage”．She explained that“no a young Russian woman who was unmarried could leave the country．”She satisfied her marriage to seek her career．

??? Furthermore，when she sees a man look like Maxsim in the station，she says to herself，“of course，it would not be Maxsim，what could he be doing in Paris？”She doesn’t want to face the fact because she doesn’t want to lose her hope．She believes they will marry in spring．And in her letter to Julia she says：“it is to be happiness after all，happiness after all．Happiness．”She is cheating herself. In fact，the man does not want to marry her，and the happiness she expected doesn’t take place at all．

??? Finally, I conclude that the end must be a tragedy（悲剧）．From the very first pages the atmosphere is gloomy黯淡的）and threatening.“One of us will die this year.”“Because we have gone walking in a graveyard（墓地）on the first day of the New Year.”Some pages further，“a black cat across their path”all reflect it will be a bad ending．Not because she had some problems with her lung，but because her life does not bring her happiness，and because of these disharmony things that happen in her life．

1.We can infer from the passage that＿＿·

A．Sophia was born in a wrong time and was mentally ill

B．women were not fairly treated in Europe in Sophia’s time

C．Sophia loved travelling around Europe to meet `different people

D．unmarried women were forbidden to learn mathematics at that time

2.The underlined phrase“the fact”in Paragraph 4 most probably refers to the fact that

A．her husband refuses to divorce B．she can’t teach in university

C．she falls in love with Maxsim D．Maxsim doesn’t want to marry her

3.Why does the author name this book Too Much Happiness？

A．It is used to suggest that the story must be a comedy．

B．It’s a phrase repeatedly used by Sophia herself to her friend．

C．It’s used in an ironic way to show that Sophia isn’t happy at all．

D．It’s to show Sophia is very happy to achieve success in her career．

4.What can we conclude from Sophia’s experience？

A．It’s hard for an educated woman to achieve success in Europe at that time．

B．Russian women were not allowed to go abroad without a white marriage．

C．Married women could travel freely across Europe in the late nineteenth century．

D．Seeing a black cat across the path would bring people to death in the end．

5.In a newspaper，this passage is most probably in the section of____．

A. Entertainment B. Travel C．Career D. Culture

根据句意和括号内的汉语提示,写出下列各句中所缺单词，共10 分;每小题1分.满分10分)

1.She doesn’t know how to ______________(举止得体)in public.

2.When we were young, we often sat in the ____________阴凉处)of a big tree, listening to an old grandpa telling us stories.

3.The patient was ______________(观察)over a period of several months.

4.He is a much loved and highly ______________(尊敬)teacher.

5.The star left the hotel surrounded by _____________(人群) of journalists.

6.She’s very ________________(谦虚)about her success.

7.The United States _______________(出口)soybeans.

8.It is to be _____________(遗憾) that so many young people leave school without qualication.  

9.There is still much to discuss, we shall ___________(所以)，return to this item at our next meeting.

10.Do you have your milk _________________( 递送) ?

Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes(基因)decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.

But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.

No doubt(怀疑) you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).

Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.

Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later ——between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.

If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, ____________.

   A. you should have enough exercise           B. you can ask doctors for help

   C. you should save the environment           D. You can record your growth during puberty

This passage is mainly about ____________.

   A. how the genes work in your body           B. when is the time you grow fast

   C. why you look like your parents                D. how you grow to a certain height 

After reading this passage, we can explain ___________.

   A. how good it is to be a doctor             B. how much sleep time we need

   C. why genes can’t decide everything            D. what healthy diet is

Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

   A. Your height most probably depends on how high your parents are.

   B. Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

   C. The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.

   D. You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.