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.”

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.”

A couple of years ago,before a trip to China,Nicole Davis and her US women’s volleyball teammates were warned about the prominence (显著、突出) of coach “Jenny” Lang Ping in her native country.

“I was pushed over by Chinese journalists while I was just trying to put my luggage on the bus,”said Davis.

Known as the “Iron Hammer” for her punishing spikes(扣球),Lang made it possible for China to dominate in the sport in the early 1980s.She was a key player on China’s 1984 Olympic gold medal winning team.

When the US team arrived for the Olympics,Lang,48,who is from Beijing,had to take a different route to avoid a crowd of reporters and fans.

Then came the greatest moment to Lang：While the US team was playing in a packed gym,at least 8,000 Chinese fans unfurled an American flag.

“That really says it all,” Davis said.“They look at her as an icon(偶像)．I’m sure it’s hard for them to see her coaching another country,but they love her so dearly that her success is their success.”

The loyalty of the Chinese fans was tested on Friday,when China lost a match to the US.

“It’s a pity that China lost the match,but I’m still glad that Lang Ping’s team won,since she is the pride of China’s volleyball,” said Liu Chengli,a spectator.“We also cheered for

Lang’s victory.”

Lang said she just tried to stay professional when the two teams meet.“It doesn’t matter if we play China or any other team.It’s the same.” Lang said.

Davis said she and her teammates could not have imagined the passion for volleyball among Chinese because the sport was lack of popularity in the US. The reception from Chinese fans has touched the US players,said US volleyball player Lindsey Berg.

“It’s such an honor to be here and play for our coach here in China,”she said.“The amount of support that the Chinese give to her and us has been tremendous.The whole event has been unbelievable.”

What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Staying professional.                           B．Cheering for the Iron Hammer.

C．A match between China and the US.      D．Lang Ping’s career as a coach.

Lang Ping avoided meeting the reporters and fans probably because she ________.

A．was afraid to be questioned about her strategy

B．didn’t want to be paid much attention to

C．disliked to be with her fans

D．didn’t want to disturb public order

What does the underlined word “unfurled” exactly mean?

A．destroyed completely                           B．tore into pieces

C．spread out to the wind                          D．rolled up

What does Lang Ping mean by saying “It doesn’t matter if we play China or any other team.”？

A．American Volleyball Team will beat any team.

B．Chinese Volleyball Team is the same as other teams.

C．She just tried to stay professional.

D．The results of each match will be the same.

What impressed the US team players most?

A．The tolerance of Chinese people.

B．The popularity of volleyball in China.

C．Lang Ping’s coaching skills.

D．The loyalty for volleyball of the Chinese.

It s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree．It has been there for the past 10 years or so．It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas—the commercial aspects of Christmas-overspending．Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to avoid the usual presents．The idea came in an unusual way．

       Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored by a church．These youngsters, dressed in ragged clothes, presenting a sharp contrast to our boys in their beautiful dresses and shoes．As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears．It was a luxury that the poor team obviously could not afford．Well, we ended up defeating them．Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said．"They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them．" That's when the idea for his present came．That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought wrestling headgear and shoes for the youngsters and sent them anonymously （匿名地） to the church．On Christmas Eve? I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me．His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in the following years．

       For each Christmas, I followed the tradition．The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas．It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed expectation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to show its contents．As the children grew, they joined．

       May we all remember the reason for Christmas, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always．God bless梡ass this along to your friends and loved ones．

The author avoids usual Christmas presents because her husband _____．

       A．likes cheap Christmas presents

       B．likes expensive Christmas presents

       C．dislikes spending much on large Christmas presents

       D．dislikes spending much on unmeaningful Christmas gifts

The underlined word "luxury" in Paragraph 2 means "_____"．

       A．something of poor quality          B．something abundant

       C．something strange        D．something expensive

From the passage we can infer that in character the husband is _____．

       A．modest and mature     B．kind and practical

       C．strong-willed and vain             D．optimistic and outgoing

What is the most exciting thing for the family at Christmas?

       A．Preparing gifts．             B．Exchanging gifts．

       C．Opening the envelope．        D．Writing Christmas cards．

A university graduate described as a “respectable and intelligent” woman is seeking professional help after being convicted of （证明有……罪）shoplifting for the second time in six months．

       Ana Luz, recently studying for her PhD, has been told she could end up behind bars unless she can control the desire to steal from shops．

       Luz ,who lives with her partner in Fitzwilliam Road ,Cambridge ,admitted stealing clothes worth ￡9．95 from John Lewis in Oxford Street ,London ,on March 9．

       Phillip Lemoyne ,prosecuting（起诉）,said Luz selected some clothes from a display and took them to the ladies’ toilet in the store．When she came out again she was wearing one of the skirts she had selected ,having taken off the anti-theft security alarms（防盗警报装置）．

       She was stopped and caught after leaving the store without paying ,Mr Lemoyne said．

       He added that she was upset on her arrest and apologized for her actions．

       Luz,28, was said to have been convicted of shoplifting by Cambridge judges last October ,but Morag Duff, defending ,said she had never been in trouble with the police before that．

       “She is ashamed and embarrassed but doesn’t really have any explanation why she did this ,” Miss Duff said．“She didn’t intend to steal when she went into the store．She is at a loss to explain it．She is otherwise a very respectable and intelligent young lady．She went to her doctor and asked for advice because she wants to know if there is anything in particular that caused her to do this．”

       Judge David Azan fined Luz ￡ 50,  and warned : “You’ve got a criminal record．If you carry on like this ,you will end up in prison ,which will ruin your bright future you may have．”

       Luz achieved a degree in design at university in her native Spain ,went on to a famous university in Berlin , Germany for her master’s degree and is now studying for a PhD at Cambridge University ,UK．

What is Ana Luz’s nationality?

       A．American．     B．British．  C．Spanish． D．German．

What does the underlined sentence “She is at a loss to explain it” mean?

       A．In her opinion it was a loss to the clothes shops where she stole things．

       B．She doesn’t have any idea why she has the desire to steal from shops．

       C．She thinks it is a loss for her to explain why she stole things from shops．

       D．Personally she feels ashamed and embarrassed for her shoplifting actions．

Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “shoplifting” used in the passage?

       A．Carrying goods in a lift for a shop．    

       B．Taking goods to the ladies’ toilet．

       C．Selecting some goods from a display． 

       D．Taking goods from a shop without paying．

From the passage we can learn that          ．

       A．Ana Luz is already got her PhD at Cambridge University ,UK

       B．Ana Luz is ashamed and embarrassed and knows why she often did so

       C．the university graduate will be put in prison if she steals in shops once more

       D．Phillip Lemoyne is the “respectable and intelligent” woman’s defense lawyer