13．The author of this article is probably 　　　　　　

　　　 A．an admirer of Charles Barkley 　　　　 B．a famous athlete himself

　　　 C．a sports reporter 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．a famous writer

D

The latest FOX news has made several polls (民意测验)recently and it shows that more than 1 to 10 Americans are somewhat confident that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein will cooperate with the UN weapons inspectors . Most have little or no confidence . Polling was conducted by telephone in the evening . The sample is 900 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/－3 percentage points .

12．Which of the following is best supported by the last paragraph ?

　　　 A．A good role model can stop children taking drugs .

　　　 B．Kids usually expect too much of their role models

　　　 C．Dropping out of schools and taking drugs are the two most serious problems American kids face .

　　　 D．Kids drop out of school or take drugs if seeing their heroes make mistakes .

11．The underlined word “outweigh” in the last paragraph probable means 　　　　　　

　　　 A．be greater than　 B．be worse than　　　 C．be less than 　　 D．be lighter than

10．According to the author , a positive role model 　　　　　　

　　　 A．can win more money and fame　　　　　 B．are not allowed to make mistakes

　　　 C．are the most important examples a child can follow

　　　 D．can have some positive influence on people’s follow

9．The author of this article holds the opinion that 　　　　　　

　　　 A．a famous athlete ought to set a good example to the public

　　　 B．a famous athlete needn’t be a role model if he doesn’t want to

　　　 C．a famous athlete can’t deny being a role model　　　 D．it’s hard to be a role model

8．The author intends to tell us in the last paragraph 　　　　　　.

　　　 A．a critic’s pan can cause different results to a book , or a play

　　　 B．another meaning of the word “pan”

　　　 C．a critic’s pan can make a book , or a play an unexpected success

　　　 D．actors usually welcome a critic’s pan

C

I love Charles Barkley like a brother but we disagree from time to time . Here’s an example of what I mean : I disagree with what Charles says in his Nike commercial , the one in which he insist , “I am not a role model.” Charles , you can deny being a role model all you want , but we don’t choose to be role models , we are chosen . Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one .

I don’t think we can accept all the glory and the money that comes with being a famous athlete and not accept the responsibility of being a role model , of knowing that kids and even some adults are watching us and looking for us to set an example .

I love being a role model , and I try to be a positive one . That doesn’t mean I always succeed . I’m not saint (圣贤的). I make mistakes , and sometimes I do childish things .

But you don’t have to be perfect to be a good role model , and people shouldn’t expect perfection . If I were deciding whether a basketball player was a positive role model , I would want to know : Does he influence people’s lives in a positive way away from the court(球场)? How much has he given of himself , in time or in money , to help people who look up to him ? Does he display the values --like honesty and determination --that are part of being a good person ?

Kids have lots of other role models--teachers , movies stars , athletes , even other kids . As athletes , we can’t take the place of parents , but we can help reinforce(巩固)what they try to teach their kids .

Constantly being watched by the public can be hard to stand at times . I don’t think most people can imagine what it’s like to be watched that closely every minute of every day .

But the good things about being a role model outweigh the bad , It’s a great feeling to think you’re a small part of the reason that a kid decided to give school another try instead of dropping out or that a kid had the strength to walk away when someone offered him drugs . But one thing I would encourage parents to do is to remind their kids that no matter which athletes they look up to , there are no perfect human beings . That way, if the kid’s heroes should make mistakes , it won’t seem like the end of the world to them .

7．What happened when the huge machine was built for the gold rush ?

　　　 A．The gold rush ended .　　　　　　　　　　　

B．Many people turned to farming and ranching

　　　 C．People gave up the way of panning in time .　　

D．It became more difficult to find gold

6．We can know from the article that before the year 1894　 　　　　　.

　　　 A．California was not a state of the Union　　　　

B．California had already had a large population

　　　 C．There were few towns and cities in California　

D．There was not much gold left in California

5．The whole passage is mainly about 　　　　　　.

　　　 A．different fortunes of the earliest gold miners　 B．the gold rush in California

　　　 C．the word “pan” and its expressions　　　　　 D．some expressions created during the gold rush

4．What would be the best title of the article ?

　　　 A．Teenagers today 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

B．A special day

　　　 C．My view on teenagers 　　　　　　　　　　

D．An exciting experience

B

It was on January 24, 1848, that James Wilson Marshall discovered gold in the territory of California . The news spread quickly . Thousands rushed west . By 1894 , the great gold was in full swing .

Towns and cities sprang up overnight . One year later , California had enough people to be taken into the Union as a state . Throughout the territory , thousands searched for gold . Bedises food and blankets they had picks and pans .

Some found veins of mountain rock thick with gold . These men got rich .

Others “panned” for gold in the mountain streams , They were looking for the leftovers . They searched for chunks of gold that the rains had washed down from above .

Panning was the only way to find gold . One put dirt in a pan and added water . Then the pan was swished around so that the water could wash the dirt . Slowly , the water was poured out of the pan . Each one hoped that the place he claimed “panned out well” --that is , turned up gold .

The word California gold rush the miners turned to farming and ranching (牧业). Some left for the state of Colorado where gold also had been discovered . For many , gold mining did not “pan out” . For a few , it panned out well . But in time , huge machines were built that could wash many tons of dirt at a time , “Panning” died out .

The word , however , remained in the language . Today , Americans still say , “It panned out well ,” when something they have done pleases them .

In recent years , “pan” has taken on another meaning . Today , it also means to criticize . How it got this meaning is hard to discover . But critics (批评家)are always “panning” some writer , artist or singer .

Sometimes , critics may pan a movie or play so severly that no one will go to see it . This can also happen to a book , if critics pan it strongly enough , There have been times , however , when a play became highly successful , even though most of the critics panned　 it without mercy .The pans should have made the play a washout . But , as actors have pointed out , sometimes a critic’s pan surprisingly turns up gold .