A woman 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, and 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 (依托) 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?

2.

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

3.

How did the author feel when describing her job to the clerk?

4.

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

5.

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

Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.

They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.

The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.

There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.

 “We have to got and help her,” whispered Amy.

 “What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.

 “Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.

Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”

The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as thy could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

1.Were the children hiding in the tree?

A. They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.

B. They were playing a hide-and-seek game

C. They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true

D. They were pretending to be spies

2.Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when____

A. her front steps were clean             B. she noticed the children in the tree

C. she was ready to take a flight          D. she heard the hen cackling

3.Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because_____

A. he thought that she could be necking them

B. he knew that they could not have been in the tree

C. he did not the old lady fall down

D. he was afraid of the three-legged cat

4.Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?

A. Make hay while the sun shines.

B. Never judge a book by its cover.

C. People in glasshouses should not the stones.

D. A bird in the hands worth two in the bush.

—The trip must have been terrible，wasn’t it?

—No.________，I enjoyed every minute.

A．On the other hand                    B．At one time

C．At the same time                     D．On the contrary

I made a pledge (发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting (引用) a Biblical (圣经的) passage about husbands being considerate towards their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”

“Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased, maybe a little puzzled.

After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all the week and now she wants to stay with me.” We walked on the beach when the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed, I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love. There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. Last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with sorrow, “do you know anything I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…that checkup (体检) I had several weeks ago…our doctor…Did he tell you anything about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me... Am I dying?”

It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

1.

From the story we may infer that Tom went to the beach cottage ________.

2.

During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ________.

3.

The underlined words “one thing” in the passage refer to the fact that ________.

4.

By saying “I’m just starting to live”, Tom means that ________.

Laptop computers are popular all over the world. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.

Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop. The laptops are part of a $10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college. The students with laptops will also have access to（可利用）the Internet. In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families. However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees-anywhere at all!

Because of the many changes in computer technology, laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable. As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar（相似）to desktop computers. In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources. At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers. The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons.

State higher-education officials are studying how laptops can help students. State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too.

1.The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ____________.

A. use for their schoolwork               B. access the Internet

C. work at home                          D. connect them to libraries

2. Why is the word “speak” in the second paragraph in quotation marks（引号）?

A. They don’t really talk.               B. They use the computer language.

C. Laptops have speakers.              D. None of the above reasons is correct.

3.Which of the following is true about Westlake College?

A. All teachers use computers.        B. 1500 students have laptops.

C. It is an old college in America.         D. Students there can do everything.

4.“A window on the world” in the last paragraph means that students can ____________.

A. attend lectures on information technology

B. travel around the world

C. have free laptops

D. get information from around the world   

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The program is successful.           B. The program is not workable.

C. The program is too expensive.        D. We don’t know the result yet.