C
At present, in many American cities expecially, many teachers in the public schools say they are underpaid. They point to jobs such as secretary or truck driver, which often pay more to start than that of a teacher. In many other fields, such as law, medicine, computer science, a beginning worker may make more than a teacher who has taught for several years.
Teaching has never been a profession that attracted people interested in high salaries. It is by history a profession that has provided rewards in addition to money—the satisfaction of sharing knowledge, of influencing others, of guiding young people. But in the past several years, there are more difficulties in teaching, for many, than there are rewards.
Unruly students, especially in big cities, large classes and a lack of support from the public in terms of money and understanding have led many public school teachers to leave the profession.
As a result, many of the best students, who would have chosen teaching as their life career in the past, are going into other fields.
Another reason for this change in teacher candidates is the changing status of women in the United States. Until the late 1960s and 1970s, one of the most popular choices for women was teaching. But as other professions, such as law and medicine opened up to women, women stopped pouring into teacher training programs. Thus, a major pool of excellent candidates for the teaching profession dwindled.
Bit by bit government officials and others realized that the status of the teacher had suffered. They talked about change. But the change in a vast society like the United States is not easy. People’s attitudes have formed over many years, and sometimes change takes many years.
63．The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refers to “      ”.
A．money             B．job
C．secretary          D．truck driver
64．What is the present situation of the teaching?
A．Teachers work harder and get underpaid.
B．Teahcers have no opportunities to work in other fields.
C．Teaching can attract best students to work as a teacher.
D．Teaching can provide rewards as well as high salaries.
65．Many public school teachers turn to other professions because        .
A．the government doesn’t finacially support them
B．they have to work longer hours than a lawyer
C．their students refuse to listen to them
D．they are not fairly treated
66．The author believes that change in teachers’ status in the United States       .
A．is not great     
B．is impossible
C．influences people’s attitude
D．needs time

B

By now there were several people standing around me, my mom, and the little broken bush(灌木丛).

“Son, would you like me to call an ambulance?” some men said.

“No,” my mom yelled. “I’m fine. Please go away!”

“She’s learning to ride,” I tried to explain to all those who were not going to go away.

“Oh, all right!” My mom sat up and brushed the grass and leaves off her sweater. Finally she stood up. Everyone began to clap(鼓掌), and my mom’s face turned bright pink.

“Thank you very much, but as you can see, I’m just fine.” Mom took a few steps around to show them that she wasn’t hiding a broken leg. Everyone clapped again and then went on their way.

“Enough for today?” I asked hopefully.

“No,” she said in a way that surprised me. “I almost had it, and then I let myself get scared. I know I can do it this time!” Now this sounded more like my mom, for I’d never known my mom to be afraid of anything before. I helped her pull the bike out of the bush and push it up the hill.

She didn’t look quite so pale this time. She got on the bike again and went down the hill. I ran down the hill after her. She had ridden quite a way ahead of me when she looked back over her shoulder, smiling. Then she gave me a thumbs-up(翘拇指) sign.

“No, no!” I yelled. “Use both hands!”

But it was too late. Again.

“Mom! Are you hurt?” I ran up to her in the grass.

This time she was laughing. “Did you see me? I did it! I really did it!” Then she stopped and looked at me. “I mean,” she said, “we did it.”

60. From the passage we can learn that the author ____.

A. was helping his mother learn to ride a bike   

B. went on a picnic with his mother by bike

C. was learning to ride a bike by himself           

D. could ride a bike as well as his mother could

61. Those people were not going to go away because they ____.

A. would wait until the police came                  

B. wanted to see if the author’s mother was OK

C. thought it was a terrible traffic accident

D. worried about the little broken bush

62. The underlined word “it” (in paragraph 8) most probably refers to ____.

A. the ambulance   B. the sweater    

C. the skill of riding a bike   D. the courage to stand up

63. What happened after the author’s mother gave him a thumbs-up sign?

A. She forgot how to ride a bike.               B. She broke one of her legs.

C. She was hit by something.                     D. She fell off the bike.

D

For John and Amy Cervantes, birthdays have always been a big deal — a welcome excuse to celebrate life. When their eldest son, Alex, turned three, in 2005, they invited 20 friends to a nearby park and hired a clown to paint faces and make balloon animals.

Not long after that, the couple were brainstorming ways to teach Alex about giving to others. “That’ s when a spark went off,” says Amy. “We wanted to do something that would have a strong effect on our community, that wasn’t already being  done, and that our young children could participate in. I started wondering what less fortunate kids do on their birthdays. The next day, we called a local shelter.” What they learned is that homeless children typically don’t do anything to celebrate. No cake. No gifts. No party.

Several weeks later, the family threw a party at the shelter for the children who had birthdays that month. They decorated, served cake, and led 50 kids in the uncertain situation. Alex helped fill and pass out goody bags and presents. Since that first party, the couple have turned their simple idea into Birthday Blessings, a nonprofit that hosts monthly parties at ten shelters in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. The group also delivers baby supplies to new moms in the shelters. And it considerately sends treats to elementary schools so homeless kids can celebrate their birthdays with friends.

To date, Birthday Blessings has thrown more than 500 parties and handed out over 22,000 favors to nearly 4,000 homeless children. The idea is spreading fast, with additional chapters set to start in Atlanta, Cincinnati, and northeast Indiana. Birthday Blessings is operated entirely by volunteers with Amy, a stay-at-home mom, in charge. John attempts his career as an investment adviser while setting up the group’s similar network and running its capital campaign. The charity will take almost anything — toys, baby items — as long as it’s not used. “These kids never get anything new,” John says. “It makes a big difference to them psychologically.”

Being part of this“labor of love,” as Amy puts it, is already making an impression on the boys. When Alex turned seven, his grandparents sent a birthday check. “The first thing he said when he opened it,” Amy recalls, “was that he wanted to give half to the birthday kids.”

63. “a spark went off,” in Para 2 is closest in meaning to_______ .

A. Something was burning        B. there was a little hope

C. they were excited.            D. some good idea flashed into their mind.

64. The couple held a party at the shelter because_____ .

A. The children had birthdays that month

B. They felt sympathy for the homeless children

C. They wanted to make good impression on the children

D. They wanted to show that they were generous and kind

65. From the passage we can learn_______ .

A. The homeless children typically receive gifts and eat cakes on their birthdays

B. The group carefully sends treats to all the children in elementary schools

C. Birthday Blessings has performed different activities to aid the homeless children.

D. The couple are responsible for their own community in North Carolina

66. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Labor of Love                B. Nonprofit Organization 

C. Warm-hearted Volunteers.      D. Fortunate Children

C

At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten(="say" that you will hurt somebody if they don’t do what you want) the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.

What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options(职业选择). In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their choices have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status(地位). A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “just a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered(劝导) away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.

Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.

63. Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?

A. Because American health conditions are becoming worse and worse.

B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.

C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.

D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.

64. The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for ___________.

A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US

B. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students

C. not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment

D. persuading the students not to be nurses

65. The author wrote this passage in order to __________.

A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the US

B. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem

C. tell us women’s free choice of jobs today

D. call on women not to be nurses

66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses.

B. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.

C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.

D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.

D

For John and Amy Cervantes, birthdays have always been a big deal — a welcome excuse to celebrate life. When their eldest son, Alex, turned three, in 2005, they invited 20 friends to a nearby park and hired a clown to paint faces and make balloon animals.

    Not long after that, the couple were brainstorming ways to teach Alex about giving to others. “That’ s when a spark went off,” says Amy. “We wanted to do something that would have a strong effect on our community, that wasn’t already being  done, and that our young children could participate in. I started wondering what less fortunate kids do on their birthdays. The next day, we called a local shelter.” What they learned is that homeless children typically don’t do anything to celebrate. No cake. No gifts. No party.

    Several weeks later, the family threw a party at the shelter for the children who had birthdays that month. They decorated, served cake, and led 50 kids in the uncertain situation. Alex helped fill and pass out goody bags and presents. Since that first party, the couple have turned their simple idea into Birthday Blessings, a nonprofit that hosts monthly parties at ten shelters in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. The group also delivers baby supplies to new moms in the shelters. And it considerately sends treats to elementary schools so homeless kids can celebrate their birthdays with friends.

To date, Birthday Blessings has thrown more than 500 parties and handed out over 22,000 favors to nearly 4,000 homeless children. The idea is spreading fast, with additional chapters set to start in Atlanta, Cincinnati, and northeast Indiana. Birthday Blessings is operated entirely by volunteers with Amy, a stay-at-home mom, in charge. John attempts his career as an investment adviser while setting up the group’s similar network and running its capital campaign. The charity will take almost anything — toys, baby items — as long as it’s not used. “These kids never get anything new,” John says. “It makes a big difference to them psychologically.”

Being part of this“labor of love,” as Amy puts it, is already making an impression on the boys. When Alex turned seven, his grandparents sent a birthday check. “The first thing he said when he opened it,” Amy recalls, “was that he wanted to give half to the birthday kids.”

63. “a spark went off,” in Para 2 is closest in meaning to_______ .

A. Something was burning        B. there was a little hope

C. they were excited.             D. some good idea flashed into their mind.

64. The couple held a party at the shelter because_____ .

A. The children had birthdays that month

B. They felt sympathy for the homeless children

C. They wanted to make good impression on the children

D. They wanted to show that they were generous and kind

65. From the passage we can learn_______ .

A. The homeless children typically receive gifts and eat cakes on their birthdays

B. The group carefully sends treats to all the children in elementary schools

C. Birthday Blessings has performed different activities to aid the homeless children.

D. The couple are responsible for their own community in North Carolina

66. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Labor of Love                B. Nonprofit Organization 

C. Warm-hearted Volunteers.       D. Fortunate Children