阅读理解

　　If had to select a word that best describes the majority of American parents, that word would be GUILT-RIDDEN (内疚的). How sad it is to see parents become the willing victims (受害者) of the “give-me game”, only to discover that no matter what they do, it isn't enough. In the end, they are blamed when their spoiled children get into trouble. With this in mind, I shall first answer the question,“What do parents owe their children?”, and I shall start with what they don't owe them.

　　Parents don't owe their children every minute of their day and every ounce of their energy. They don't owe them round-the-clock car service, singing lessons, tennis lessons, expensive bicycles, a motorcycle or a car when they reach sixteen, or trip to Europe when they graduate.

　　I take the firm position that parents do not owe their children a college education. If they can afford it they can certainly send them to the best universities. But they needn't feel guilty if they can't. If the children really want to go, they'll find a way. There are plenty of loans and scholarships for the bright and eager who can't afford to pay.

　　After children marry, their parents do not owe them down payment on a house or money for the furniture. They do not have an obligation to baby-sit or to take their grandchildren in their home when the parents are on vacation. If they want to do it, it must be considered a favor, not an obligation.

　　In my opinion, parents do not owe their children an inheritance, no matter how many money they have. One of the surest ways to produce a loafer is to let children know their future is assured (有保证).

(1)Whom is the author blaming in the passage?

[　　]

A．The guilty parents

B．The spoilt children

C．All the American parents

D．Both the parents and the children

(2)According to the author, __________.

[　　]

A．parents ought to send their children to colleges as a duty

B．parents needn't feel guilty if they are unable, for whatever the reason, to send their children to college

C．if they can't afford, parents should take loans to send their children to go to college

D．parents must support their children even after their marriage

(3)The underlined word“loafer”in the last paragraph most probably refers to ________.

[　　]

A．a poorly-educated person

B．a well-educated person

C．a hard-working person

D．a lazy person

(4)The author's attitude towards the parents is ________.

[　　]

(5)The author mainly talks about in this passage that ________.

[　　]

A．why children look down upon their parents

B．the difference between duties of the parents and the children

C．over-devotion to the children results in trouble for the parents themselves

D．why American children get into trouble

阅读理解

　　The Mississippi is a romantic (传奇的) river whose relationship with man goes back beyond its discovery by the Spaniards in the 16th century. Indians used the river as a highway and as a source of food, and it was they who gave it its name--“misi”, meaning“great”and“sipi”meaning“water”.

　　When the length of its great tributary (支流), the Missouri, is added to it, the Mississippi becomes the third longest river in the world. From the source of the Missouri to the tip of the delta (三角洲), it is 2,480 miles long. Its head waters have been compared to a healthy, thickbranched tree, healthy because its main branches, or tributaries, are navigable (可通航的) for most of their length.

　　The Indians paddled (划浆) up and down the river in their canoes. The first streamer was launched (下水) in 1810. It had a single great paddle-wheel at the stem, and was known as a“paddle-wheeler”. Throughout the 19th century these unique ships were queens of the Mississippi. They have become part of American history and American literature. The noted writer, Mark Twain, immortalized (使不朽的) the river in his greatest novel, Huckleberry Finn, and Oscar Hammerstein immortalized it in his song Old Man River, which was made popular all over the world by the great black American singer and actor, Paul Robeson.

(1)The Mississippi was discovered by the ________.

[　　]

A．Americans

B．Indians

C．Spaniards

D．queens of the Mississippi

(2)Indians gave ________ the name“misi and sipi”meaning“great water”.

[　　]

(3)Because most of the Mississippi's length can be navigated, it has been compared to a ________

[　　]

(4)During ________ the single paddle-wheel ships were queens of the Mississippi.

[　　]

A．the 16th century

B．the 19th century

C．the 17th century

D．the 15th century

(5)________ wrote the great song Old Man River.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　A lawyer friend of mine has devoted herself to the service of humanity. Her special area is called“public interest law”.

　　Many other lawyers serve only clients who can pay high fees. All lawyers have had expensive and highly specialized training, and they work long, difficult hours for the money they get. But what happens to people who need legal (法律上的) help and cannot pay these lawyers' fees?

　　Public interest lawyers fill this need. Patricia, like other public interest lawyers, gets less money than some lawyers, because she is willing to take less money. Her clients have the help they need, even if they can pay nothing at all.

　　Some clients need legal help because stores have cheated them with bad goods. Others are in unsafe houses. Their cases are called“civil”cases. Still others are criminals (刑事犯罪), and they go to those public interest lawyers who are in charge of“criminal”cases.

　　These are just a few of the many situations in which the men and women who are public interest lawyers serve to extend justice (正义) throughout our society.

(1)A person who needs and uses legal help is called a ________.

[　　]

(2)Public interest lawyers serve ________.

[　　]

A．the public only

B．only stores and houses

C．people who can pay high fees

D．people who can pay little or nothing

(3)If only the rich could be helped by lawyers, the justice system would be ________.

[　　]

A．nothing but cheating

B．modern

C．fair and reasonable

D．in need of no changes

(4)Public interest law includes ________.

[　　]

A．civil cases only

B．criminal cases only

C．criminal and civil cases

D．rich clients' cases

(5)Which of the following is NOT a matter for a civil case? ________.

[　　]

A．A tenant (客房) is turned out from a house.

B．A landlord refuses to fix a dangerous house.

C．A thief is caught by the policemen.

D．A store sells a radio which doesn't work.

阅读理解

　　YOU may think that inventions are far away from your everyday life. But in fact, almost everyone can invent. It's just that they do not recognize that their ideas could be the start of an invention.

　　Once inventors see their ideas have some practical value, they don't let them slip away.

　　For example, the inventor of the dishwasher, American Josephine Cochrane, loved to give dinner parties. But she found it took long to wash her dishes by hand and too many of them broke. She decided that a machine could do the job faster and with fewer mistakes. So, in 1886, she set out to make one for herself.

　　Like Cochrane's, most inventions are created to solve a problem. So, the first and most important step is to find the problem.

　　You can start by looking at what is wrong with things you use now. * You can ask grandparents or neighbors if they remember ever saying:“I wish someone would invent something for...”* Or you can look at people in different areas--such as on the street, or at school. Then you might notice situations or things in need of improvement. * Remember to record you ideas and work. * This will help you develop your invention and protect (保护) it when it is completed.

　　The next step is to think about possible solutions. An invention is a new way of solving a problem. So think of many, varied (各种各样的), and unusual ways.

　　You can often come up with a solution for a problem by looking at it from a different angle (角度) or thinking about it in a new way.

　　Example 1-instead of thinking of shoes as protecting your feet from the ground, think of using something to protect the ground from you feet.

　　Example 2-instead of thinking about how you can carry oranges home from a store, think of how they can come to you--by delivery or growing your own.

　　Example 3-instead of experimenting with only one solution, can you put two or three solutions together, or arrange them in different orders?

　　And if one solution doesn't work, can it be put to other uses? That was how yellow post-it notes (N次贴) came about ----a“failed”adhesive (粘合剂) experiment proved a weak adhesive had good uses too!

　　After all, most inventions are not brand new (全新的). * They do not come out of nowhere, but come out of things or ideas that already exit (存在).

　　And the hardest part of inventing, even for a lot of inventors, is coming up with a problem and finding a solution. Once you have an idea, you can always get help building your invention.

　　This problem-solving technique can also work in your everyday lives. So, why not try it in your studies, in your relationship with others, or even in the way you look at the world?

　　Choose the best choice according to the story.

(1)The main idea of this story is ________.

[　　]

A．how to improve the world around you

B．that you can invent and how you will be able to do so

C．problem-solving technique

D．how inventors invent

(2)What makes inventors different from other people is probably that _______.

[　　]

A．they consider every new idea as an invention

B．they are full of creative ideas

C．they enjoy solving problems

D．they look for problems and try to solve them in a new and better way

(3)What made Josephine Cochrane decide to invent the dishwasher?

_______.

[　　]

A．Her love of parties.

B．Her dislike of dishwashing.

C．Her desire for something that could do the dishwashing better.

D．Her love of inventing.

(4)Which of the following is one of the ways to find a problem?

[　　]

A．Look at the world from a different angle.

B．Find out thing that people are not satisfied with.

C．Do experiments.

D．Never let a practical idea slip away.

The underlined phrase“came about”probably means to _______.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　London has a new magazine. But it is not printed on paper. Everyone who has a television can receive it because it is on TV. In order to read this magazine, you have to have a decoder. Each page of it is numbered, so you only have to dial the number to choose which subject you want to read about. There is a wide choice -- everything is included from cooking to the latest sports news. If you want to read the news, the first thing you have to turn to is the index (索引) page which has an easy-to-remember page number, 100 for example. Then you start choosing what you want to read．The news is on page 101 to 109 so you push out the numbers and the news appears written across your screen. Perhaps you want to go out in the afternoon, so you press 181, and a brightly coloured weather map appears on the screen. But the weather is terrible so you decide to go shopping and dial 162 for a list of the week's best bargains. But should you drive or take the train? To answer that question you only have to press 189 for the traffic report. It is very simple to use. But probably the best thing about the service is that it is being updated all the time. Journalists type new material directly onto the screen and whole pages of the magazine can be replaced in minutes.London already has three services. One, transmitted (输送) by ITV, is called ORACLE while the other two, on BBC, are called CEEFAX because they let you see facts Although CEEFAX and ORACLE have been operating for some time, they have not been well publicized．BBC engineers do not think that their idea will ever replace books and newspapers because they can be taken with you everywhere. But many people would agree that this is a breakthrough (突破) as great as the invention of printing, which could change not just our reading habits but our whole way of life.

(1)The novelty (新颖) of magazine lies in ________.

[　　]

A．its paperlessness

B．its unique viewpoint

C．its simplicity (简便) in operation

D．its quickness in transmission (传输)

(2)We can know from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．the magazine is available at any local newspaper

B．most of the postmen in London will lose their jobs someday

C．the readers can get all kinds of information staying at home

D．everyone can read this magazine if they have a television

(3)In the sentence “Each page of it is numbered”, here “it” refers to the ________.

[　　]

(4)According to the passage, the underlined word “decoder” is used help people ________.

[　　]

A．calculate the sum of certain figures

B．receive some special TV program for entertainment (娱乐)

C．go shopping and have other entertainment

D．read the information transmitted by TV signals

(5)The passage is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．a new magazine printed in London

B．a popular TV program about magazines

C．an advanced technology helping people to communicate

D. an up-to-date way of keeping up to date

　　阅读理解

An allowance is an important tool for teaching kids how to budget, save and make their own decisions. Children remember and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly.

　　How large an allowance is appropriate? Experts say there is not fight amount. Actual amounts differ from region to region, and from family to family.

　　To set an appropriate allowance for your child, work up a weekly budget. Allow for entertainment expenditures such as movies and snacks. Next, include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare, school supplies. “If you make the child responsible for these bills' ,” says Josephine Swanson, a consumer specialist, “he or she will learn to budget for necessary expenditures.”

　　Finally, add some extra money to make saving possible. If you can, keep your child's allowance in line with that of his friends. A child whose purchasing power falls away below his peers' can feel left out.

　　It can be tough, but avoid excusing your children when they make a mistake with their allowance. When Brooke Stephens was ten and growing up in Jacksonville, her mother gave her $ 5 a week, $ 1.75 of which was for bus fare and lunch. “If you lose your money,” Brook's mother told her, “you walk home.”

　　One week the girl spent all her allowance in a candy store; then she called home for a fide. “Mom made me walk home, ” recalls Stephens, now a financial planner in Brooklyn. “At first I was angry. But I finally realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson.”

　　Experts advise that an allowance should not be tied directly to a child's daily chores. Kids should help around the house not because they get paid for it but because they share responsibilities as members of a family. You might, however, pay a child for doing extra jobs at home, that can develop his or her initiative.

(1)What does the passage mainly discuss?

[　　]

A．How to develop a child's initiative.

B．How to work up an amount of pocket money.

C．How to teach a child to save money.

D．How to teach a child about money.

(2)It can be inferred from the passage that if a child is given an allowance, he or she may ________.

[　　]

A．spend all the money very soon

B．be spoiled and finally mined

C．feel responsible and care about money

D．lose the money and can not return home

(3)In Paragraph 4, the words “his peers” refer to ________.

[　　]

A．his parents

B．his teachers

C．his financial experts

D．his friends

(4)Why does the author mention Brooke Stephens?

[　　]

A．To question the opinion about pocket money.

B．To compare Stephens with other financial experts.

C．To explain that parents should be strict when children are developing good habits about money.

D．To suggest that pocket money is useless in developing a child' s sense of responsibility.

(5)The author implies in the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．paying children for their housework is no good

B．a child's initiative can be developed if he or she is paid for all the housework

C．children may feel lost and lonely if they have no pocket money

D．children may learn to put aside some money if they are given a great amount of pocket money

阅读理解

　　A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement, It is our misfortune that for most of us that cleared vision, the true instinct for what is beautiful, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood．If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to be responsible for the Christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so undeniable that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing protection against the boredom of later years, the inattention of things that are artificial, the alienation (疏远) from the sources of our strength.

　　If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in, parents often have a sense of inadequacy when facing on the one hand the eager, sensitive mind of a child and, on the other, a world of complex physical nature, confused by a life so various and unfamiliar that it seems hopeless to reduce it to order and knowledge. In a mood of self-defeat, they exclaim, “How can I possibly teach my child about nature -- why, I don't even know one bird from another?”

　　I sincerely believe that for the child, and for the parent seeking to guide him, it is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the sees that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil. Once the emotions have been aroused -- a sense of the beautiful, the excitement of the new and unknown, a feeling of sympathy, pity, admiration or love -- then we wish for knowledge about the object of our emotional response. Once found, it has lasting meaning, It is more important to prepare the way for the child to want to know than to put him on a load of facts he is ready to understand．

(1)The word “instinct” can be best replaced by ________.

[　　]

(2)According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements is Not true?

[　　]

A．Adults often lack a sense of wonder.

B．Fairies make a child's world fresh and full of wonder.

C．Children may lose their sense of wonder when they grow up.

D．Adults are concerned with things that are artificial.

(3)It can be learned from the second paragraph that ________.

[　　]

A．parents can never teach their children about nature

B．parents should learn from their children

C．parents often do not know much about nature themselves

D．parents should know one bird from another

(4)What does the author think about facts?

[　　]

A．Facts are less important than the ability to feel.

B．Facts are the most important things for children.

C．Facts are meaningless for children.

D．Facts are so undeniable that they should be recognized without prejudice.

(5)The best title of this passage can be ________.

[　　]

A．Children and parents

B．Children and Adulthood

C．Facts and Emotions

D．Keeping Alive the Sense of Wonder

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中选出最佳选项.

　No man can change the weather. Nobody can control the weather. But if we read the signs correctly we can tell what the more important changes in the weather will be. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting. People who do this are not making the weather. They are merely using their knowledge of the weather today, to tell us what the weather may be like tomorrow.

　　People for many centuries and in all countries have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasts.

　　Something distant objects such as hills and tall trees seem to be very clear and near. This is a sign of much water vapour in the air, and therefore rain will probably come. When distant sounds are very clearly heard, then wet and stormy weather is on the way. Kings round the sun are a sign of coming rain.

　　Many people feel in their bones the coming of wet weather. Their joints aches. Some birds fly high if fine weather is on the way. This is probably because the insects, which they are hunting, then fly low.

　　If the stars twinkle clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a mist appears in the early morning, just about sunrise, then the day will be warm. If the sunset in mostly red in colour, then the following day will be fine.

　　Most of the above sayings have been made up by people who have used their eyes and their brains to forecast the weather. Some of the popular beliefs about the weather, however, are untrue. For example, many people say they can forecast the weather by looking at the noon． the state of the noon has nothing to do with the weather may happen to change with changes in the moon,but that is only chance.

　　Almost everyone listens to what the weatherman says. But he doesn't always tell us what we want, and once in a while he makes a mistake. Still, he probably comes closer to being correct than anyone else.

　　Some men spend their whole lives trying to forecast the weather. Such people collect exact information about the weather from all parts of the world．Each place sends its information at certain times each day to a central office where the weather information from all these places can be examined．The information received is put on to a map of the world, called a weather chart.

　　As scientists discover more and more about the weather in every part of the world, and satellites and computers are used to gather and analyse weather data, weather forecasting will become more and more certain. And we are quite certain sooner or later we will be able to change the weather!

　　Many people think they can tell what the weather is going to be like. But they hardly ever agree with each other. One man may say, “Do you see how cloudy it is in the east? It' s going to have fine weather tomorrow.” Another man will say, “Yes, it's cloudy in the east. We're going to have rain weather tomorrow. ”

　　People often look for the weather they want. When a farmer needs water, he looks for something to tell him it' s going to rain; he won' t believe anything else. When friends have a picnic, they are so sure the weather is going to clear up quickly that they sit eating their lunch while it rains.

(1)People who tell us what weather will be like on the following day or two can ________.

[　　]

A．make the weather we like

B．hardly control the weather

C．know when to plant

D．do something about the weather

(2)When distant sounds are very dearly heard we will ________.

[　　]

A．have rainy days

B．see swallows flying high

C．perhaps see a rainbow

D．have fine days

(3)People usually believe that ________.

[　　]

A．the moon has nothing to do with weather

B．they can forecast weather better than the weatherman

C．they can do something to change the weather data

D．they can read the weather signs correctly

(4)What is not mentioned in the text?

[　　]

A．The weatherman can read weather signs.

B．People often look for the weather they want.

C．In many places people are collecting weather data．

D．Weathermen will make mistakes in their weather forecasting.

(5)A weather chart is a map ________.

[　　]

A．showing what kind of weather we are going to have

B．drawn by the weatherman

C．marked with weather data

sent to the radio and TV stations

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳答案.

　　Michael, a typical（典型的）American, stays home on workdays. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work, he put on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder, or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael doesn't talk to any other human beings, and he doesn't see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his lifestyle is very possible. The inventions of modem technology seem to be cutting us off from contact with our fellow human beings.

　　The world of business is one area in which technology is isolating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents, and accountants could do their job at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they're dealing with. In addition, the way employees are paid will change. Workers' salaries will be automatically paid into their bank accounts（账户）, making paper checks（支票）unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.

　　Another area that technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.

（1）After work, Michael likes to ________.

[　　]

A. listen to music at the concert hall

B. watch a movie in his living room

C. run a program on his computer in his office

D. play baseball with his workmates

（2）Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

[　　]

A. Clerks will be able to work at home.

B. One can play baseball on the computer.

C. One can listen to music without disturbing others.

D. One can borrow books from libraries at home.

（3）The sentence “Michael is imaginary, but his lifestyle is very possible” means ________.

[　　]

A. Michael is a person full of imagination and he can make his dreams come true

B. Michael is not a real person but the lifestyle does exist

C. Michael has ambitions but he can't make his dreams come true

D. Michael is a person full of imagination and his lifestyle is common nowadays

（4）What will the author most probably discuss after the last paragraph?

[　　]

A. Games and sports.

B. Personal banking.

C. Music and films.

D. International business.

（5）What is the main idea of the passage?

[　　]

A. We may no longer need to communicate with other human beings.

B. Modern technology seems to be separating human beings.

C. We may no longer need to work in the office.

D. Modern technology makes it possible for us to work and entertain ourselves at home.

阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳答案.

　　When we walk through the city, we all experience a kind of information overload but we pay attention only to those that are important to us. We don't stop, we keep our faces expressionless and eyes straight ahead, and in doing so, we are not just protecting ourselves but are avoiding overloading other people as well.

　　We make use of stereotypes（刻板的模式）as convenient ways to make quick judgements about situations and people around us. They may not always be accurate, and they can often be dangerously wrong, but they are used regularly.

　　The problem with the stereotypes is that they restrict experience. By using limited clues to provide us with a rapid opinion of other people or places we may choose to limit our communication. We may decide not to go to certain places because we believe they will not offer something we enjoy.

　　In the city, styles of dress are particularly important with regard to self-presentation. Different groups often use clearly identifiable styles of clothes so that they can be easily recognized. It is becoming increasingly common for brand names to be placed on the outside of clothes, and this labeling makes it easy to send out information about fashion and price instantly, and lets others tell at a distance whether an individual has similar tastes and is a suitable person to associate with.

　　In England, where social grouping or class continues to make social distinctions（区分）, clothes, hairstyles, people's pronunciation and the manner of speaking are all clues to our social group. Class distinctions tend to be relatively fixed, although in the city where greater variety is permitted, they are more likely to be secondary determining factors of friendship and association.

（1）People walking in cities ignore the surroundings because ________.

[　　]

A. they don't wish to talk to other people

B. everyone else is expressionless

C. the environment is already familiar to them

D. there is too much information to take in

（2）According to the passage, the main disadvantage of using stereotypes is that they ________.

[　　]

A. are likely to lead us into dangerous situations

B. may make us miss some pleasant experience

C. can rarely be relied on

D. makes us mentally lazy

（3）From the passage we may conclude that ________.

[　　]

A. stereotypes can help to understand people fully

B. people are becoming more interested in fashion

C. dressing can send messages about individuals

D. stereotypes can do more harm than good to people

（4）It would appear that in England, a person's class ________.

[　　]

A. might be less important in making friends in a city

B. is mainly determined by his pronunciation

C. plays less of a role than it did m the past

D. is something that can be changed easily