Here below are two pieces taken from a blog．
▲ Growing up as one of three girls I’ve always been keen on women’s issues．And now with three daughters to raise，I have the responsibility of ensuring that they grow up without any preconceived(预想的) ideas of their capabilities ＆ potential based on their gender．Earlier this year I read an article that indicated that women surpassed men in the workforce for the first time in history．That is a milestone! And while we still don’t have equality in leadership positions or pay (especially if you’re a mom)，we have made significant progress over the past couple of decades．All this prompted me to do some digging around to see what else I could learn．Here are some fun facts from the census bureau for you：
●29％ of women aged 25 or older had obtained a bachelors degree in 2008 vs．18％ in 1987．
●55％ of all college students were women in the Fall of 2008．
●60％ of women 20 years or older participate in the workforce today vs．34％ in 1950．
●14％ of the armed forces were women in 2008．compared to 2％ in 1950．
▲We’re all looking to stretch the value of our dollar as much as possible．Every day as you juggle the needs of your family，remember to eat right，take your vitamins and keep up with laundry and bills－you probably also look for budget friendly，family appropriate activities．A day trip to a national park is a great way to explore all the wonders of nature，without breaking the bank．Once or twice a month，my wife and I will prepare for a leisurely hike in one of our favorite parks close to home．The night before，she makes some homemade granola and I make sure our reusable water bottles are full and on ice．Next time you’re looking for an inexpensive adventure that your family isn’t soon to forget，take a hike! To find a national park near you，just visit www．nps．gov
43．According to the first blog，_____．
A．the blogger has three sisters
B．there are more women than men at work this year
C．14％ of women are working in the army
D．women has got equality in leadership position
44．What is mainly talked about in the first blog?
A．Responsibility． B．Women’s potential．   C．Workforce． D．Women’s issues．
45．The underlined words“breaking the bank”in the second blog means_____．
A．robbing the bank                  B．getting some money from the bank
C．using up the money in the bank      D．going to the bank
46．What’s the writer’s suggestion in the second blog?
A．We all have to think about the needs of our family．
B．All the wonders of nature are in the national park．
C．To go hiking once or twice a month will be an inexpensive adventure．
D．Each of us will have to make our budget friendly．

第二部分：语言知识及应用（共两节，满分35分）
第一节：完形填空（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下列短文，掌握其大意，然后从21—30各题所给的A, B, C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always tight, but we had a    21    over our head, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always    22  . Not knowing we were poor, my kids just thought I was strict. I’ve always been glad about that.
It was Christmas time, and although there wasn’t money for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party. But the big   23   for the kids was the fun of Christmas. Fortunately, I had saved $120 for    24   to share by all five of us.
The big    25   arrived. I gave each kid a twenty – dollar bill and    26    them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered. We had two hours to shop; then we would meet back at the “Santa’s Workshop”.
Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits, except my younger daughter, Ginger, who was unusually    27   . She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies － fifty – cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn’t say anything until we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed as the door, ready to be angry again. This is what she told me.
“ I was looking around    28   of what to buy, and I stopped to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees’. One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she wanted for Christmas was a doll. So I took the card off the tree and    29   the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”
I never felt so   30   as I did that day.
21.    A. roof                  B. hat                    C. sky                   D. star
22.    A. little                  B. less                   C. enough              D. more
23.    A. improvement     B. problem            C. surprise             D. excitement
24.    A. toys                  B. clothes              C. presents             D. bills
25.   A. day                   B. chance               C. cheque              D. tree
26.    A. forced               B. reminded           C. invited              D. begged
27.    A. quiet                 B. excited              C. happy                D. ashamed
28.   A. learning             B. thinking            C. knowing            D. telling
29.    A. made                 B. searched            C. bought              D. fetched
30.    A. angry                B. rich                   C. patient               D. Bitter

第二部分：语言知识及应用（共两节，满分35分）
第一节：完形填空（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下列短文，掌握其大意，然后从21—30各题所给的A, B, C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always tight, but we had a    21    over our head, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always    22   . Not knowing we were poor, my kids just thought I was strict. I’ve always been glad about that.
It was Christmas time, and although there wasn’t money for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party. But the big   23   for the kids was the fun of Christmas. Fortunately, I had saved $120 for    24    to share by all five of us.
The big    25   arrived. I gave each kid a twenty – dollar bill and    26    them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered. We had two hours to shop; then we would meet back at the “Santa’s Workshop”.
Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits, except my younger daughter, Ginger, who was unusually    27   . She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies － fifty – cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn’t say anything until we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed as the door, ready to be angry again. This is what she told me.
“ I was looking around    28   of what to buy, and I stopped to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees’. One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she wanted for Christmas was a doll. So I took the card off the tree and    29   the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”
I never felt so   30   as I did that day.
21.   A. roof    B. hat      C. sky     D. star
22.   A. little   B. less     C. enough       D. more
23.   A. improvement     B. problem     C. surprise      D. excitement
24.   A. toys    B. clothes       C. presents      D. bills
25. A. day     B. chance       C. cheque       D. tree
26.   A. forced B. reminded    C. invited       D. begged
27.   A. quiet   B. excited       C. happy D. ashamed
28. A. learning     B. thinking     C. knowing     D. telling
29.   A. made  B. searched     C. bought       D. fetched
30.   A. angry  B. rich    C. patient       D. bitter

All over the world, children in hospital are being treated with a new kind of medicine: laughter. Lucy is 23 and works for Theodora Children’s Trust. She is one of many clown doctors who bring a smile to the faces of sick children.

“I’m a Theodora clown doctor. I call myself Dr Looloo. I spend two days a week in children’s hospitals, making funny faces, telling jokes, and doing magic tricks. As I walk into the wards I blow bubbles, shake hands with the kids, and make up nonsense songs for those children well enough to sing. I take special balloons to make ‘balloon animals’ and tell funny stories about them.

I’m naturally a very cheerful person. I’ve always been a clown. In fact my father’s a clown and I started working with him when I was eight years old. I knew it was just the job for me and I became a clown doctor because I think it’s a great way to cheer up sick, frightened children in hospital.

Being a clown in hospital is very tiring both physically and emotionally. We have to learn not to show our feelings, otherwise we’d be useless. Clown doctors are sensitive but this is not a side most people see. To the children we’re happy all the time. I’m still learning to allow myself to feel sad occasionally. There are special kids you get really close to. At the moment I’m working with a very sick little girl from Bosnia who speaks no English, so our only common language is laughter.

At weekends I participate in events to raise money for Theodora Children’s Trust. It’s a charity, so we are paid with the money people give. Being a clown doctor makes the worries of everyday life seem small. All in all, I feel honored to do this job. ”

Lucy works as a clown doctor because      .

A．her father is a clown               she has been a clown since she was eight

C．laughter is a great help to sick children   D．working in hospital brings her extra money

What do clown doctors usually do in hospital?

A．Teach kids how to speak English.   Cheer kids up with funny stories.

C．Join in activities to raise money.    D．Develop kids’ sense of humor.

Lucy thinks that being a clown doctor is          .

A．an honorable and meaningful practice    an interesting job to make a living

C．a good way of getting rid of her worries       D．an experience of great fun

Michael Fish may soon be replaced as a weather forecaster by something truly fishier---the shark(鲨鱼).

Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms.

Lauren Smith, 24, is close to completing her study on shark’s ability to sense pressure.

If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behaviour of sharks to predict bad weather.

Miss Smith had previously studied the behaviour of lemon sharks in the Bahamas.

She then used their close relatives, lesser spotted dogfish, for further research at Aberdeen University.

Her work---thought to be the first of its kind to test the pressure theory ---- resulted from the observation that juvenile blacktip sharks(黑边鳍真鲨) off Florida moved into deeper water ahead of a violent storm in 2001.

Miss Smith said: “I’ve always been crazy about traveling and diving and this led me to an interest in sharks.”

“I was delighted to have been able to research in the area for my degree. I know there’s so much more we need to understand ---- but it certainly opens the way to more research.”

It has been discovered that a shark senses pressure using hair cells in its balance system.

At the Bimini Shark Lab in the Bahamas, Miss Smith fixed hi-tech sensors to sharks to record pressure and temperature, while also tracking them using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.

In Aberdeen, she was able to study the effects of tidal(潮汐的) and temperature changes on dogfish----none of which were harmed. She also used a special lab which can mimic(模拟) oceanic pressure changes caused by weather fronts.

She is due to complete her study and graduate later this year. She says she will be looking for a job which will give her the chance to enrich her experience of shark research. 

The passage is most probably taken from _____.

A. a short-story collection

B. a popular science magazine

C. a research paper

D. a personal diary

What do we learn from the first four paragraph of the passage?

A. Sharks may be used to predict bad weather.

B. Sharks’ behaviour can be controlled.

C. Michael Fish is not qualified for his job.

D. Lauren Smith will become a weather forecaster.

Lauren Smith conducted her research by _______.

 A. removing hair cells from a shark’s balance system

 B. measuring the air pressure of weather fronts

 C. recording sharks’ body temperature

 D. monitoring sharks’ reaction to weather changes

What is the passage mainly about?

 A. A popular way of forecasting weather.

 B. A new research effort in predicting storms.

 C. Biologists’ interest in the secrets of sharks.

 D. Lauren Smith’s devotion to scientific research.