He 2 that it all came from a(n) 3 that occurred when he was three. He was trying to4 a bottle of milk from refrigerator when he lost hold of the bottle , spilling its5 all over the kitchen floor .

Instead of   6    at him , his mother said , “Robert , what a wonderful    7   you have made ! I have   8    seen such a huge puddle of milk . Since the    9   is done , would you like to get down and play in the milk for a while    10   cleaning it up ?”

Indeed , he did . “Robert ,   11   you make a mess like this ,   12   you have to clean it up and restore everything to its   13    order.” And then together they cleaned up the spilled milk . His mother then said , “Robert , that is a   14    experiment in how to   15    carry a big milk bottle . Let′s go out in the yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can   16    a way to carry a bottle of water without dropping it .”

The scientist remarked he learned from that moment that mistakes were just   17    for learning something new , which is    18   scientific experiments are all about . Even if the experiment “doesn′t work”, we usually learn something    19   from it .

Wouldn′t it be great if all   20    would respond like “Robert′s mother ?

1．A．away                   B．apart                  C．above                 D．ahead

3．A．experiment           B．coincidence         C．experience          D．conflict

4．A．deliver                  B．return                 C．move                 D．remove

5．A．mixture                 B．water                 C．liquids                D．contents

6．A．yelling                  B．coming                C．nodding              D．laughing

7．A．mistake                B．mess                  C．trick                   D．treasure

8．A．always                 B．often                   C．rarely                 D．ever

9．A．damage                B．business             C．favor                  D．harm

10．A．before                B．after                   C．with                   D．without

11．A．whatever            B．however             C．wherever            D．whenever

12．A．especially            B．eventually            C．respectively        D．immediately

13．A．opposite             B．particular            C．proper                D．natural

14．A．failed                  B．forbidden            C．demanded           D．deserved

15．A．absolutely           B．comfortably        C．confidentially       D．effectively

16．A．develop              B．grasp                  C．invent                 D．discover

17．A．options               B．opportunities       C．qualities              D．procedures

18．A．that                    B．where                 C．what                  D．which

19．A．available             B．valuable              C．practical             D．accessible

20．A．managers          B．directors          C．parents          D．relatives

Harvard University named historian Drew Gilpin Faust as its first female president on Sunday , ending a lengthy and secretive search to find a successor to Lawrence Summers .

The seven-member Harvard Corporation elected Faust , a noted scholar on History of the American South and dean of Harvard′s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study , as the university′s 28th president .

“This is a great day , and a historic day , for Harvard ,” James R. Houghton , chairman of the presidential search committee , said in a statement . “Drew Faust is an inspiring and accomplished leader , a superb scholar , a dedicated teacher , and a wonderful human being .”

Her selection is noteworthy given the heated debates over Summers′ comments that genetic differences between the sexes might help explain the lack of women in top science jobs.

Faust has been dean of Radcliffe since 2001, two years after the former women′s college was combined into the university as a research center with a mission to study gender issues .

Some professors have quietly groused that the 371-year-old university is appointing a fifth president who is not a scientist. No scientist has had the top job since James Bryant Conant retired in 1953; its last four have come from the fields of classics , law literature and economics .

“Teaching staff turned to her constantly ,” said Sheldon Hackney , a former president of the University of Pennsylvania and historian who worked closely with Faust. “She′s very clear. She has a sense of humor , but she′s very strong-minded . You come to trust in her because she′s so solid.”

1．Which might be the best title for the passage?

      A．Harvard named its 1st female president

       B．History of Harvard University changed

       C．Debates on female equality ended

       D．Drew Gilpin Faust, a famous woman historian

2．Which is NOT true about Drew Gilpin Faust?

       A．She is the 28th president of Harvard University.

       B．She is a famous scholar from the American South.

       C．She isn′t a graduate from Harvard University.

       D．She was head of Radcliff Institute for Advanced Study.

3．Lawrence Summers held the view that       .

       A．women cannot achieve as much as men in management

       B．women cannot hold important positions in society

       C．women can match men in science jobs

       D．few women make top scientists owing to genes

4．The underlined word “groused” in the 6th paragraph means       .

      A．approved            B．commented         C．complained         D．indicated

5．This passage probably appears in a       .

       A．biography           B．personal letter     

C．research paper   D．newspaper report

Like many men at some point, I dream about opening a bar. I plan to call it Work Out. It will cater to married women in need of a little fun. On Friday nights, they will be able to come here and enjoy themselves.

See, I have a gift for business. I am, as my wife Zsa Zsa likes to note, “A man with a million ideas, none of them very good.” Speaking of Zsa Zsa, she is fed up with this plain little life I′ve made for us – too many kids, too many chores, mind – numbing debt. The other day, she said she thought we needed a new family car. “Sure. How about an 87 Lincoln?” I said, and saw my dear Zsa Zsa age about 20 years, and become her mother right before my eyes.

Yes, money is our madness. Last year, we thought we had found a little cushion when I published a book about the life here in suburban America. It sold 12 copies – six of them to my mother. Four other copies went to various aunts and uncles, who used them for martini coasters, then sold them at yard sales. The two remaining copies went to perfect strangers. (I think I own you dinner, whoever you are. Call me, OK? We′ll arrange something.)

When the book didn′t take off, I wrote a TV show. Then I penned a short novel based on the earlier TV idea that didn′t sell. Currently, I am at work on a set of encyclopedias. In a month, I plan to sell them door – to – door.

Such is the life of a writer, sending off the most personal thoughts possible to his hard drive. I am a writer, but also the breadwinner in my family. I′m at the keyboard at 6 almost every morning, hoping to tap out one idea – just one – that will take us up the hill, to the mountain, to the top.

1．According to the passage, the author′s life is indeed         .

       A．hard                    B．easy                    C．poor                   D．wealthy

2．By saying “Sure. How about an′87 Lincoln?”, the author means          .

       A．he really wanted to buy that car

       B．he was showing off their fortune

       C．he thought his wife would like it

       D．he was joking about their economic situation

3．What was the result of the book the author mentioned in the 3 rd paragraph?

       A．He sold it door – to – door.                   B．It didn′t sell well at all.

       C．He made a lot of money from it.            D．It was really a cushion for his family.

4．Which of the following statements is true about the author and his wife?

       A．He has a real gift for business.             

B．He isn′t serious enough about life.

       C．He is a hard – working writer.              

D．His wife is satisfied with their plain life.

5．The author writes the passage in a          tone.

       A．regretful   B．humorous C．persuasive D．grateful

阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题。（请注意问题后的词数要求）

Slow down, multitaskers

Think you can walk, drive, take phone calls, e – mail and listen to music at the same time? Well, New York′s new law says you can′t. And you′ll be fined $ 100 if you do it on a New York City street.

The law went into force last month, following the conclusion of a recent research that a shocking number of accidents are relevant to people using electronic gadgets (小玩意儿) when crossing the street.

Who′s to blame? Scientists say that our multitasking abilities are limited. “We are under the impression that our brain can do more than it often can,” says Rene Marois, a neuroscientist in Tennessee. “But a core limitation is the inability to concentrate on two things at once.”

The young are often considered the great multitaskers, but a research suggests this perception is open to question. A group of 18 – to 21 – year – olds and a group of 35 – to 39 – year – olds were given 90 seconds to translate images into numbers, using a simple code. The younger group did 10 percent better than the older group           . But when both groups were interrupted by a phone call or an instant message, the older group matched the younger group in speed and accuracy.

It is difficult to measure the productivity lost by multitaskers. But it is probably a lot. Jonathan Spira, chief analyst at Basex, a business – research firm, estimates the cost of interruptions to the American economy at nearly $ 650 billion a year. The estimate is based on surveys with office workers. The surveys concluded that 28 percent of the worker′s time was spent on interruptions and recovery time before they returned to their main tasks.

1．What′s the purpose of writing this passage? (Please answer within 15 words.)

2．Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

    People take it for granted that young people are good multitaskers, however, the idea needs to be further proved, a research says.

3．Please fill in the blank in the 4^th paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (Please answer within 10 words.)

4．Are you a multitasker? What′s your opinion of New York′s new law? (Please answer within 30 words.)

5．Translate the underlined sentence in the 2^nd paragraph into Chinese.

近日，各种媒体广泛关注兰州女子杨丽娟追星事件。杨16岁时见到刘德华的照片，心生爱慕，于是便辍学在家“专职”追星，十几年来无所事事，其间其家人也倾力相助。

    中学生追星族也不乏其人。请根据上述提示，并结合杨丽娟事件与生活实际，用英语写一篇短文，谈谈你的认识和感悟。

注意：1、生词：偶像 idol

2、词数：120 – 150

—You can take a walk daily if you want to keep healthy.

—_____________.

A. Yes, that's enough                    B. Thanks for your advice

C. I like surfing the Internet               D. Well, that's OK

By law, when one makes a large purchase, he should have_____ opportunity to change his mind.

A. accurate          B. urgent              C. adequate            D. special

I _________ have written to him because he would come back as he informed us.

A. couldn't          B. ought to            C. must                D. needn't

Try recording your voice in English--this may help you to see__________ you could improve.

A. that              B. when               C. how                 D. where

—Why haven't you asked Lily to come here'?

—She was doing a project when I found her and she _____________it.

A. hasn't finished   B. didn't finish           C. wouldn't finish     D. hadn't finished