A woman named Emily renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”

“Of course I have a job,” said Emily. “I’m a mother.”

“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation… ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.

One day I found myself in the same situation. The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title. “What is your occupation?” she asked.

The words simply popped out. “I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”

The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.

I repeated the title slowly, then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”

Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t), in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (受鼓舞) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.

Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.

I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”

Motherhood…What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.

1.What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?

A. The recorder was impatient and rude.

B. The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was.

C. The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced.

D. Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society.

2.How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?

A. curious        B. indifferent                   C. puzzled            D. interested

3.Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?

A. Because the author cared little about rewards.

B. Because she thought the author did admirable work.

C. Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab.

D. Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of.

4.What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

A. To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

B. To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect.

C. To show that the author had a greater job than Emily.

D. To show that being a mother is hard and boring work.

We know the famous ones—the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells —but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)？Shouldn’t we know who they are?

Joan Mclean think so. In fact, Mclean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”, however, Mclean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why” and ”how” questions. According to Mclean,” When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.”

So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy, but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’t be a built-in device for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham, Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever(操作杆)on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper.    

Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations，It’s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’s traffic light. It’s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’s innovation that makes glass invisible, Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?

1.

By mentioning “traffic light” and “windshield wiper”, the author indicates that countless inventions are      .

A. beneficial, because their inventors are famous

B. beneficial, though their inventors are less  famous

C. not useful, because their inventors are less famous

D. not useful, though their inventors are  famous

2.

Professor Joan McLean’s course aims to_____.

A. add colour and variety to students’ campus life

B. inform students of the windshield wiper’s invention

C. carry out the requirements by Mountain University

D. prepare students to try their own invention

3.

Tommy Lee’s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was _________.

A. not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer 

B. inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper  C. due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm

D. not related to Professor Joan McLean’s lectures

4.

Which 0f the following can best serve as the title of this passage?

A  How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers?

B  How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window?

C  Shouldn’t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper?

D  Shouldn’t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities?  

Many immigrants(移民) to the United States find the decision to seek better lives for their families in America can have an unexpected and tragic consequence(后果). Deep differences with their children develop over language and culture.

“Many immigrants arrive here without much education. Their kids soon gain language skills and also street marts(耍时髦) on how to live in America, leaving the parents at a disadvantage,” Ileana , Roses, pastor of a Methodist church group operating in Virginia, said.

“Not only that but they find they cannot relate to children who quickly absorb American culture,” she said.

According to the US Census Bureau(人口调查局), the number of foreign born or first generation Americans reached 55 million last year, a record one in five of the total population.

A government survey of 922 immigrants in 2000 found that nearly 40 percent of those who had been in the United States for more than 15 years would still like to take English classes if they had the time.

Two thirds of low income households depended on their children for translation.

Psychologists(心理学家) and sociologists say parents can lose their position of authority(权威) in a family as a result and the effects of that can be far-reaching.

Children exposed to American pop culture that glorifies(颂扬) youth and sexuality(性感) often rebel when their parents try to impose the conservative values they brought with them.

“Americanization erodes(侵蚀) all important aspects of parenting,” said Richard Weissbourd, who teaches education at Harvard University.

“I feel a part of me is dying with my children. They don’t listen to my music. I have to play it on Sunday morning when they are not around,” said an immigrant.

1. What troubles the immigrant parents most is ___________.

A. that they can’t understand the English language

B. that they lose their position of authority in their families

C. that their children have lost sense of their own national values

D. how they can master the English language as soon as possible

2. From the passage we can infer that the population of the states at present is about____.

A. 275 million    B. 220 million    C. 255 million    D. smaller than 250 million

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. All the immigrants had expected the troubles they would meet before they went to the US.

B. Two thirds of immigrant families are low income households.

C. American culture shows a spirit against conservative social and cultural values.

D. American pop culture puts the immigrant families at a disadvantage.

4. Which of the following is probably the title of the report?

A. The Result of the US Census

B. The Differences Between Parents and Children in the US

C. The Troubles of the American Immigrants

D. Role Reversal(颠倒) Troubles Many Parents and Children

I lost a book，__________I can’t remember now.?

A.whose title                                     B.its title

C.the title of it                                          D.the title of that?

Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made．Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowers and insects．Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages．I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic．

Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary．I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys．Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door．But I do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects．

I am a naturalist, not a scientist．I have a strong love of the natural world and my enthusiasm led me into varied investigations．I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil while reading about other people’s observations and discoveries．Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind．

Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit together．This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honor with the title of scientific research．

But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist: one of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack．A scientist requires not only self-discipline, but hard training, determination and a goal．A scientist, up to a certain point, can be made．A naturalist is born．If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds．

The first paragraph tells us the author _____．

      A．was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood

      B．lost his hearing when he was a child  

       C．didn’t like his brothers and sisters  

       D．was born to a naturalist’s family

The author can’t remember his relatives clearly because _____．

      A．he didn’t live very long with them       

       B．the family was extremely large  

       C．he was too young when he lived with them       

       D．he was fully occupied with observing nature

The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he _____．

      A．has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic

      B．lacks some of the qualities required of a scientist

      C．just reads about other people’s observations and discoveries

      D．comes up with solutions in a most natural way