Freda Bright says, "Only in opera do people die of love." It's true. You really can't love somebody to death. I've known people to die from no love, but I've never known anyone to be loved to death. We just can't love one another enough.
A heart-warming story tells of a woman who finally decided to ask her boss for a raise in salary. All day she felt nervous and apprehensive. Late in the afternoon she summoned the courage to approach her employer. To her delight, the boss agreed to a raise.
The woman arrived home that evening to a beautiful table set with their best dishes. Candles were softly glowing. Her husband had come home early and prepared a festive meal. She wondered if someone from the office had tipped him off, or... did he just somehow know that she would not get turned down?
She found him in the kitchen and told him the good news. They embraced and kissed, and then sat down to the wonderful meal. Next to her plate the woman found a beautifully lettered note. It read, "Congratulations, darling! I knew you'd get the raise! These things will tell you how much I love you."
Following the supper, her husband went into the kitchen to clean up. She noticed that a second card had fallen from his pocket. Picking it off the floor, she read, "Don't worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! These things will tell you how much I love you."
Someone has said that the measure of love is when you love without measure. What this man feels for his wife is total acceptance and love, whether she succeeds or fails. His love celebrates her victories and cure her wounds. He stands with her, no matter what life throws in their direction.
Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa said, "What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family." And love your friends. Love them without measure.
【小题1】 By saying "Only in opera do people die of love.", the writer wants to tell us that ______.

Over a hundred years ago people in London were surprised to see a very unusual boat come sailing up the Thames River. The boat was eighty feet long flat-bottomed, with big wooden eyes on both sides in the front and was colorfully painted at the back.

People came to know that it was a sailing boat from Fuzhou in distant China. The boat had sailed round the Cape of Good Hope(好望角) up the western coast of Africa, and finally to England. It had covered fifteen thousand miles—more than half of the distance round the world.

Although it was unexpected, the Chinese were warmly welcomed. The boat carried goods such as silk and tea as well as a number of gifts from the Emperor of China for the Queen of England.

People had always mistakenly thought of the Chinese as a people not used to sea. However, from centuries of trading and sailing in dangerous seas, the Chinese had learned how to build good boats and sailed them well. The coming of this sailing boat to London proved once again that the Chinese could sail to distant countries in the world.

1.The boat was considered unusual because _________.

A. it was a small wooden boat                  

B. it carried Chinese silk and tea

C. it had traveled fifteen thousand miles      

D. it looked strange in several ways

2. According to this article, which of the following is TRUE?

A. The distance round the earth measures less than thirty thousand miles.

B. The Chinese Emperor gave silk and tea to the English Queen as gifts.

C. The Chinese boat came to London by accident.

D. The Chinese people were not good at sailing in dangerous seas.

3.The boat reached London by sailing _________.

A. round the southern end of Africa        

B. up the west coast of England

C. through the Arctic Ocean                

D. round Asia and Europe

4.The writer wants to prove that a long time ago the Chinese _________.

A. carried silk, tea and other goods to England

B. could reach many parts of the world by sea

C. could sail along the Thames River

D. surprised Londoners with an unusual boat

Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.

In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all — one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough; we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degree; they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and, in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our town.

In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.

1.The writer of the passage thinks that _______.

A. education can settle most of the world’s problems

B. free education for all probably leads to a perfect world

C. free education won’t help to solve problems

D. all the social problems can’t be solved by education

2.The writer wants to prove that _______.

A. our society needs all kinds of jobs

B. our society needs free education for all

C. a farmer is more important than a professor

D. work with hands is the most important

3.The passage tells us about _______ of the education.

A. the means              B. the system (系统)           C. the value                D. the type (类型)

Over a hundred years ago people in London were surprised to see a very unusual boat come sailing up the Thames River. The boat was eighty feet long flat-bottomed, with big wooden eyes on both sides in the front and was colorfully painted at the back.
People came to know that it was a sailing boat from Fuzhou in distant China. The boat had sailed round the Cape of Good Hope(好望角) up the western coast of Africa, and finally to England. It had covered fifteen thousand miles—more than half of the distance round the world.
Although it was unexpected, the Chinese were warmly welcomed. The boat carried goods such as silk and tea as well as a number of gifts from the Emperor of China for the Queen of England.
People had always mistakenly thought of the Chinese as a people not used to sea. However, from centuries of trading and sailing in dangerous seas, the Chinese had learned how to build good boats and sailed them well. The coming of this sailing boat to London proved once again that the Chinese could sail to distant countries in the world.
【小题1】The boat was considered unusual because _________.

Nowadays, there’s a lot of debate about single sex education since it has begun to regain its popularity recently. According to long term studies of children from around the world, students achieve more and learn better in single sex schools.

An Australian study of 270,000 students found that both boys and girls performed much higher on standardized(标准化) tests when they attended separate schools. During an experiment in Virginia in 1995, 100 eighth graders were separated just for math and science courses. Almost immediately, the girls began to achieve more, become more confident and take part more often in class activities.

In 2001, a British study concluded that nearly every girl regardless of (不论) her ability or socio-economic status performed better in single sex classrooms than co-ed ones. The study of 2,954 high schools and 979 primary schools showed that while boys at the lowest levels in study improved the most in single sex schools, single sex education was particularly beneficial (有益的) to girls. Every one of the top 50 private elementary schools and top 20 private high schools in Britain are single sex schools.

Girls became more confident in themselves as students and earned higher scores on their College Board and Advanced Placement examinations. A quarter of the female members of the US Congress and one-third of all female members of Fortune 100 boards graduated from all-women’s colleges.

While the statistics are not as dramatic for boys, however, boys tend to soften their competitive edge and become more cooperative in a single sex setting. They can just be boys and not worry about what the girls might think.

Single sex education has a pleasant way of encouraging children to be fearless, to be curious, to be enthusiastic --- in short, to just be themselves. Children are subjected (屈从于) to pressures from every quarter to become adults before they are ready to do so. They grow up too quickly. Why not let them be children for a few more years? Single sex education with its gentler, more controlled social atmosphere is just the right answer for many children.

1.With the experiment in Virginia in 1995, the writer wants to show that       .

A．single sex education has become popular in recent years

B．the effect of single sex education on girls is immediate

C．students at separate schools are better prepared for standardized tests

D．both boy and girl students achieve more and learn better in single sex schools

2.According to the article, which of the following statements about single sex education is TRUE?

A．Girls’ performances in single sex classrooms are determined by their ability and socioeconomic status.

B．In all-boys schools boys with the worst academic performances improved the most.

C．Single sex education was particularly helpful for boys.

D．There are more single sex schools than co-ed schools in Britain.

3. In the article, the underlined phrase “soften their competitive edge” probably means        .

A．act in a kindly manner                    B．become less competitive

C．lose interest in something                 D．take advantage of something

4. What is the main point of the article?

A．Ways to reduce pressure and help children grow.

B．The reason why girls perform better than boys at school.

C．The advantage of single sex education.

D．The development of single sex education in different countries.