Ban the Band（乐队）?

    Every year, our school has a dance for all the students. It’s a little funny seeing friends in clean shoes and trousers or colorful　　36　　, instead of the usual school uniform.

     Most of us think the dance is great　　37　　－even the teachers enjoy being there. 　　38　　, two weeks ago someone said that there would be no　　39　　band this year only CDs.

     “I don’t　　40　　it!” Amy cried out during the lunch break.

     “Someone said the school couldn’t　　41　　a band, and they think it’s too noisy anyway,” added Daniel.

     “Well, I don’t think it’s　　42　　enough without a band!” declared Angela, “and I’m going to see what can be done.”

      Angela was as good as her　　43　　. In the afternoon she went to see the school headmaster who agreed to give the　　44　　some more thought. And he suggested that one　　45　　for having a band was to increase the price of each ticket from $5 to $10. Angela had to　　46　　out whether the students would like to do that.

     “I need all of you to help me,” she　　47　　to our group before school the next day. “Mr. Berry gave me a list of all the names, and suggested we ask each one their 　　48　　about the band and the extra cost.”

      　　49　　the day we asked around as Angela suggested, and wrote down people’s feelings about the band and the cost. We were amazed how much　　50　　there was for the band and everyone agreed to pay the extra $5.

      “I’m surprised,” smiled Mr. Berry, when we gave him the　　51　　. “I really thought that only a few people　　52　　their band and that the cost would be too high. OK, Angela, your next　　53　　is to find a good band and line them up for the dance.”

Angela was all smiles and　　54　　the news to Amy and Daniel. “You’re　　55　　,” smiled Daniel to Angela as he thought how close they came to having a less than perfect dance.

36.A. shapes                B. dresses                    C. flowers                    D. pictures

37.A. fun                    B. work                       C. effort                      D. progress

38.A. Besides              B. Otherwise                C. However                 D. Therefore

39.A. new                    B. live                         C. foreign                    D. marching

40.A. mean                 B. need                        C. accept                     D. believe

41.A. lead                    B. serve                       C. afford                     D. form

42.A. good                  B. clear                       C. useful                      D. easy

43. A.look                   B. behavior                  C. mind                      D. word

44.A. schedule             B. situation                  C. view                       D. action

45.A. possibility           B. concern                   C. decision                  D. chance

46.A. call                    B. find                        C. carry                      D. point

47.A. admitted             B. replied                    C. apologized              D. announced

48.A. knowledge   B. instruction              C. opinion                   D. information

49.A. On                    B. For                         C. By                          D. During

50.A. trust                   B. money                     C. support                    D. care

51.A. results                B. notices              C. questions                 D. examples

52.A. welcomed          B. wanted                    C. defended                 D. invited

53.A. task                    B. business                   C. exercise                  D. duty

54.A. showed               B. wrote                      C. broke                      D. read

55.A. amusing       B. interesting          C. exciting                D. amazing

American Indian ______ about five percent of the U.S. population.

A. fill up       B. bring up      C. make up       D. set up

——I’d like some more cheese.

  ——Sorry, there’s ______ left.

A. some     B. none      C. a little     D. few

       Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all ,you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.

       Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However ,they sing most of the time for a very different reason .Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.

       Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal ,usually the male, claims（声称）as its own .Only he and his family are welcome there .No other families of the same species（物种）are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

       If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him .A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time ,especially at nesting（筑巢）season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not .This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.

       Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.

       You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

56．Some scientists believe that most of the time birds’ singing is actually       .

       A．an expression of happiness                   B．a way of warning

       C．an expression of anger                         D．a way of greeting

57．What is a bird’s “territory”?

       A．A place where families of other species are not accepted.

       B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.

       C．An area for which birds fight against each other.

       D．An area which a bird considers to be its own.

58．Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?

       A．Because they want to invite more friends.

       B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.

       C．Because they want to find outsiders around.

       D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears.

59．How does the writer explain birds’ singing?

       A．By comparing birds with human beings.

       B．By reporting experiment results.

       C．By describing birds’ daily life.

       D．By telling a bird’s story.

     Researchers are placing robotic dogs (机器狗) in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people’s depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction. “No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated (刺激) ,” Edwards points out. “The problem is how we promote(使……成为现实)that, especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution.”

    In the study, the robot, called AIBO, is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect baseline data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activity before and after AIBO. Then, the researchers will review the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.

    “I talk to him all the time, and he responds to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady.“When I’m watching TV, he’ll stay in my arms until he wants down. He has a mind of his own.”

     The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes exercise and feeding concerns.

    “At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog, because it was metal and not furry,” Beck says. “But it’s amazing how quickly we have given up that belief.

   “Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more-valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people’s minds.”

48. The purpose of Beck and Edwards’ study is to ______

    A. understand human-animal relationship       B. make lonely old people’s life better

    C. find the causes of old people’s loneliness    D. promote the animal-assisted research

49. In the research, the old people are asked to ______

    A. note the activities of AIBOs                      B. keep AIBOs at home for 12 weeks

    C. record their feelings and activity               D. analyze the collected information

50. What is the advantage of AIBO over live dogs?

    A. It is easier to keep at home.                      B. It can help the disabled people.

    C. It responds to all the human orders.           D. It can watch TV with its owner.

51. The author seems to suggest that the future robotic dogs may ______

    A. cure certain diseases                                B. keep old people active

    C. change people’s beliefs                             D. look more like real dogs

The spacewalk performed by Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang on Saturday afternoon  _____a major breakthrough in China's space program

A. predicted           B. told               C. marked              D. signed

     In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.

     I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied（依赖）on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit(追求)of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.

     However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “ I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.

71. What does this passage mainly talk about?

   A. Competition helps to set up self-respect.

   B. Opinions about competition are different among people.

   C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.

   D. Failures are necessary experience in competition.

72. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?

   A. It pushes society forward.                                B. It builds up a sense of duty.

   C. It improves personal abilities.                                  D. It encourages individual efforts.

73. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means __________.

   A. those who try their best to win                         

  B. those who value competition most highly

   C. those who are against competition most strongly

   D. those who rely on others most for success

74. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?

   A. One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.

   B. One’s success in competition needs great efforts.

   C. One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.

   D. One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.

75. Which point of view may the author agree to?

   A. Every effort should be paid back.

   B. Competition should be encouraged.

   C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.

   D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.

Language as a System of Symbols

      Of all systems of symbols(符号), language is the most highly developed. It has been pointed out that human beings, by agreement, can make anything stand for anything. Human beings have agreed, in the course of centuries of mutual(相互的)dependency, to let the various noises that they can produce with their lungs, throats, tongues, teeth, and lips systematically stand for certain happenings in their nervous systems. We call that system of agreements language.

      There is no necessary connection between the symbol and that which it stands for. Just as social positions can be symbolized by feathers worn on the head, by gold on the watch chain, or by a thousand other things according to the culture we live in, so the fact of being hungry can be symbolized by a thousand different noises according to the culture we live in.

      However obvious these facts may appear at first glance, they are actually not so obvious as they seem except when we take special pains to think about the subject. Symbols and the things they stand for are independent of each other, yet we all have a way of feeling as if, and sometimes acting as if, there were necessary connections. For example, there are people who feel that foreign languages are unreasonable by nature; foreigners have such funny names for things, and why can’t they call things by their right names? This feeling exhibits itself most strongly in those English and American tourists who seem to believe that they can make the natives of any country understand English if they shout loud enough. Like the little boy who is reported to have said: “Pigs are called pigs because they are such dirty animals,” they feel that the symbol is inherently(内在地) connected in some way with the things symbolized.

69. Language is a highly developed system of symbols because human beings ______.

A. have made use of language for centuries         B. use our nervous systems to support language

C. have made various noises stand for any events

D. can make anything stand for anything by agreement

70. What can we conclude from Paragraph 2?

A. Different noises may mean different things.   

B. Our culture determines what a symbol stands for.

C. The language we use symbolizes our social positions.

D. Our social positions determine the way we are dressed.

71. In Paragraph 3, “take special pains” probably means “_____”.

A. try very hard     B. take our time     C. are very unhappy      D. feel especially painful

72. The example of the little boy is used to show that _____.

A. adults often learn from their young               

B. “pig” is a dirty word because pigs are dirty

C. words are not connected with the things they stand for

D. people sometimes have wrong ideas about how language works

In a time of social reform, people’s state of mind tends to keep _______ with the rapid changes of society.

A. terms              B. pace              C. progress            D. touch

It is universally known that friendship is one of the permanent themes in the literature of all languages. Friends are people who willingly and readily help us when we are in trouble, and show    36   for us when we are in misery. This is   37   human beings were born to need the warmth and laughter of friends. Some of us like    38   friends, while others different friends. Personally,I prefer both.  

      It goes without saying that having similar friends has many    39   , We can feel a renewed sense of    40   when we have a group of old friends who would    41    our sufferings and happiness.    42   ,  old friends always  know  how to   43   mutual trust（互信）and how to avoid    44    conflicts. I always feel    45    when I meet an old friend after a long   46  . Immediately, hearty laughter    47    the atmosphere.  

Nevertheless I believe that a mixture of friends is    48   advantageous. One can ___49___ various sorts of friends in three aspects. First, frequent    50   with different friends broadens my world   51    ．Just as various kinds of nutriments keep you healthy, making a   52   of friends keeps you lively. Secondly , I have found that the   53   friends cannot only    54   new adventures but alse show me new   55   to success in life. Thirdly, they can help me with whatever difficulties I encounter in life.  

To conclude, I prefer to have both types of friends and as many as possible. Of course, I will not forget friends wisely.

36．A．direction          B．respect                    C．sympathy         D．anxiety

37．A．because           B．why                       C．how                D．What

38．A．true                 B．right                       C．same               D．similar

39．A．problems         B．advantages             C．disadvantages   D．duties

40．A．tension            B．challenge                C．strength          D．oppression

41．A．share              B．convey                   C．guarantee         D．cause

42．A．Therefore        B．Otherwise               C．However          D．Moreover

43．A．lack                B．abandon                  C．bear                D．maintain

44．A．obvious           B．impossible                  C．impressive       D．hidden

45．A．stressed           B．worried                  C．delighted         D．confused

46．A．experience       B．departure                C．work               D．discussion

47．A．fills               B．weakens                  C．ruins               D．buries

48．A．eagerly            B．equally                  C．bitterly            D．rarely

49．A．make with              B．benefit from            C．result from       D．appeal to

50．A．quarrel            B．contact                   C．argument               D．view

51．A．attitude            B．position                  C．outlook          D．ambition

52．A．range                     B．series                      C．quantity           D．variety

53．A．strange            B．doubtful                 C．available          D．different

54．A．result from      B．stick to                   C．attend to          D．lead to

55．A．avenues          B．appeal                    C．benefit             D．attitude