2 . 阅读理解。
Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.
My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.
I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working toward her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student(技校学生). They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.
When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid,” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”
I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls(光荣榜).
But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it , but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.
My son ,with other motorheads,fixed the car. They got parts(零件）from ajunkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The lost was $25 instead of $80.
Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbors and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.
These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.
I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.
My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.
1. What used to be the author’s hope for his son?

A．To avoid becoming his clone.

B．To resemble him in appearance.

C．To develop in a different direction.

D．To reach the author’s unachieved goals.

2. What can we learn about the author’s children?

A．His daughter does better in school.

B．His daughter has got a master’s degree.

C．His son tried hard to finish homework.

D．His son couldn’t write his book reports.

3. The author let his son repair the car because he believed that_______.

A．His son had the ability to fix it.

B．it would save him much time.

C．it wouldn’t cause him any more loss

D．other motorheads would come to help.

4. In the author’s eyes, motorheads are _______.

A．tidy and hardworking	B．cheerful and smart
C．lazy but bright	D．relaxed but rude

5. What did the author realize in the end?

A．It is unwise to expect your child to follow your path.

B．It is important for one to make the honor roll.

C．Architects play a more important role than builders.

D．Motorheads have greater ability than office workers.

3 . In the summer before I entered middle school, I read the book They Cage the Animals at Night. It’s a story about Jennings, a boy living in various orphanages（孤儿院）with only his stuffed animal（毛绒玩具）, Doggie, for companionship. It’s a fascinating book, but little did I know how it would _______ my life and the lives of others.

One day, as I looked across my room at the pile of stuffed animals, a(n) _________ came to me. I would _________   stuffed animals for children like Jennings. _________ , I contacted agencies   that   support   those   children   and   they   said   the   stuffed   animals   would certainly _________   children’s spirits.

I named my project “Cuddle Buddies”. I wrote articles for the local and   school   newspapers, _________   donations of   the   “buddies”— stuffed animals. My phone _________ ringing; schools, families, and toy factories all wanted to help. Much to my _________ , by the second week my living room looked like a zoo. Whenever Mom and I _________ the “buddies” to the agencies, the kids would be waiting there with their eyes down, too ____________ to look but shaking with excitement.

Six years after its launch, Cuddle Buddies continues to ____________ . Now over 25,000 stuffed animals have been ____________ to agencies worldwide. Simon, a seven-year-old boy in an African Children’s Home, couldn’t sleep at night after he lost his parents. When asked to choose his “buddies”, Simon ____________   a panda and soon after was sleeping through the night. I never dreamed Cuddle Buddies would     ____________ this way.

Upon graduating from high school, I designed a website, www.cuddlebuddies.net, to ____________   the project. The response was ____________ . More and more people joined me and two dozen Cuddle Buddies ____________   were established across the nation.

This has been a great experience. I’ve learned how to follow through on an idea and how   to ____________   impact   a   life.   I   will   go   to   college with   these ____________   in   mind   and continue my work with Cuddle Buddies, even when I ____________   a whole new set of exciting academic and nonacademic pursuits.

1.

A．touch

B．risk

C．lead

D．save

2.

A．chance

B．idea

C．explanation

D．word

3.

A．display

B．repair

C．purchase

D．collect

4.

A．Previously

B．Occasionally

C．Immediately

D．Gradually

5.

A．capture

B．reflect

C．lift

D．record

6.

A．putting aside

B．turning down

C．asking for

D．getting back

7.

A．delayed

B．kept

C．stopped

D．meant

8.

A．knowledge

B．taste

C．regret

D．delight

9.

A．delivered

B．applied

C．rented

D．returned

10.

A．shy

B．content

C．weak

D．eager

11.

A．reform

B．expand

C．dominate

D．divide

12.

A．produced

B．adopted

C．sold

D．donated

13.

A．picked out

B．came across

C．showed off

D．brought up

14.

A．decline

B．work

C．increase

D．react

15.

A．promote

B．start

C．evaluate

D．examine

16.

A．confusing

B．amusing

C．automatic

D．enthusiastic

17.

A．companies

B．committees

C．branches

D．institutes

18.

A．financially

B．positively

C．socially

D．physically

19.

A．plans

B．images

C．lessons

D．motives

20.

A．work out

B．keep off

C．rely on

D．engage in

4 . 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored(监控) in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people’s e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.
“The ‘if it bleeds’ rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. “They want your eyeballs and don’t care how you’re feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”
Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication—e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations—found that it tended to be more positive than negative(消极的), but that didn’t necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times’ website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the “most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times’ readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.
Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused(激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”
1. What do the classic rules mentioned in the text apply to?

A．News reports.	B．Research papers.
C．Private e-mails.	D．Daily conversations．

2. What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer?

A．They’re socially inactive.

B．They’re good at telling stories.

C．They’re inconsiderate of others.

D．They’re careful with their words.

3. Which tended to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger’s research?

A．Sports new.	B．Science articles.
C．Personal accounts.	D．Financial reviews.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide

B．Online News Attracts More People

C．Reading Habits Change with the Times

D．Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks

6 . Grandparents Answer a Call

As a third－generation native of Brownsville, Texas, Mildred Garza never planned to move away.Even when her daughter and son asked her to move to San Antonio to help with their children, she politely refused.Only after a year of friendly discussion did Ms.Garza finally say yes.That was four years ago.Today all three generations regard the move as a success, giving them a closer relationship than they would have had in separate cities.

No statistics show the number of grandparents like Garza who are moving closer to adult children and grandchildren. Yet there is evidence suggesting that the trend is growing.Even President Obama’s mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, has agreed to leave Chicago and move into the White House to help care for her granddaughters. According to a study by grandparents.com, 83 percent of the people said Mrs.Robinson's decision will influence grandparents in the American family.Two－thirds believe more families will follow the example of Obama’s family.

“In the 1960s we were all a little wild and couldn't get away from home far enough or fast enough to prove we could do it on our own,”says Christine Crosby, publisher of Grand, a magazine for grandparents. “We now realize how important family is and how important it is to be near them, especially when you’re raising children.”

Moving is not for everyone. Almost every grandparent wants to be with his or her grandchildren and is willing to make sacrifices, but sometimes it is wiser to say no and visit frequently instead.Having your grandchildren far away is hard, especially knowing your adult child is struggling, but giving up the life you know may be harder.

1. Why was Garza’s move a success?

A．It strengthened her family ties.

B．It improved her living conditions.

C．It enabled her to make more friends.

D．It helped her know more new places.

2. What was the reaction of the public to Mrs.Robinson’s decision?

A．17% expressed their support for it.

B．Few people responded sympathetically.

C．83% believed it had a bad influence.

D．The majority thought it was a trend.

3. What did Crosby say about people in the 1960s?

A．They were unsure of themselves.

B．They were eager to raise more children.

C．They wanted to live away from their parents.

D．They had little respect for their grandparents.

4. What does the author suggest the grandparents do in the last paragraph?

A．Make decisions in the best interests of their own.

B．Ask their children to pay more visits to them.

C．Sacrifice for their struggling children.

D．Get to know themselves better.

7 . An unpleasant smell floated into my nose as the bowl of fried stinky tofu（臭豆腐） settled onto my grandmother’s dinner table. I immediately sat back. The smell ruined my appetite, and I pushed the dish away.

“It’s supposed to stink. Just give it a try!” my grandmother said.

Holding my breath, I unwillingly took a bite. To my surprise, the tofu beneath the fried skin was warm, soft, and mouthwatering. Since then, whenever I visited my grandmother’s house, I would rush to the kitchen for the stinky tofu with excitement. Thus, stinky tofu became more than a household tradition. It became my favorite dish.

Along with the stinky tofu, I would meet my Uncle Chan on every visit. As an immature boy, I never understood my uncle’s condition of Down syndrome（唐氏综合征）.

He was an unfriendly and terrible creature in my eyes. He constantly walked around the house, talking to himself. Whenever he was within view, I would run away in fear.

However, one day, my view of my uncle suddenly changed. I was just getting out of my bed when I heard soft steps approaching. It was my uncle. My muscles froze. He slowly sat next to me and touched my face gently, as a mother would stroke （抚摸）a baby.

A wide smile emerged from his blank expression. How beautiful his smile was! I could not help but smile back. My fear disappeared gradually, and my muscles relaxed. For the first time, I could see softness and warmth in his eyes.

My uncle very much resembles stinky tofu. Stinky tofu smells unpleasant on the outside,   yet   feels   warm   and   soft   in   the   inside.   Like   stinky   tofu,   my   uncle’s   Down syndrome made me keep my distance at first. Yet, I learned that deep inside, he is harmless and has a loving nature.

Some people tend to look down upon disabled people and regard them as unfit for a regular life. As I was able to see through the outer surface of the tofu, these people are unable to see through the surface of prejudice（偏见）. As a result, they judge the disabled with one glance.

The outside and inside of the stinky tofu exist as two extremely different worlds. Perhaps that is what makes it such a tasty dish. Not only is it delicious, stinky tofu offers a valuable lesson: never judge people at first glance, for true beauty comes from the inside.

1. Why did stinky tofu become the author’s favorite dish?

A．It was related to family tradition.

B．It turned out to be quite delicious.

C．Grandma encouraged him to try it.

D．His appetite for food had increased.

2. What did the author think of his uncle at first?

A．He was a quiet person.

B．He was an energetic guy.

C．He was an immature man.

D．He was a strange creature.

3. The author’s attitude towards Uncle Chan changed when .

A．Chan’s footsteps woke up the author

B．Chan showed his friendliness to the author

C．Chan displayed his love towards his mother

D．Chan’s blank expression made the author smile

4. The comparison between stinky tofu and the author’s uncle serves to _.

A．highlight the nature of Uncle Chan

B．analyze the family relationship

C．describe a childhood memory

D．introduce a traditional Chinese food

5. What does the author mainly want to tell us in the passage?

A．We shouldn’t judge by appearances.

B．A person’s taste changes over time.

C．Blood is thicker than water.

D．You are what you eat.

8 . When you choose a higher education course, here are some tips for you to follow.

Choosing your course

There are a range of subjects and courses available. Many are work-related; others are academic. You’ll need to look beyond the course title because courses with almost the same name may differ enormously. For example, if you’re interested in construction but wish to use your creative skills, you may be better suited to a building design management course than a building project management course.

Style of learning

Think about the style of learning that best suits you. It’s important to study a subject that you particularly enjoy, but if you want to follow a career in a different area, you may consider taking the subjects you want to learn and joining them into one degree. Many degree courses are made up of different subject modules which deal with particular areas of interest.

Choosing where to study

Where you study can be almost as important as what you study. One thing to consider is whether you want to live at home or move away. For some people, living at home offers the best of both worlds, but it may make sense to move if you want to study a particular course at a specific university or college. Many students value the experience of living on campus or in a different part of the country as an important part of university life.

Finding out more about courses

Once you’ve got a list of courses that appeal to you, it’s worth looking at some other sources of information about them, like independent reports. These provide information on the numbers of students who finished the course, student satisfaction and more.

Open days

Open days usually take place in spring or autumn. Although you may have an idea about what a course is like, there’s no substitute（替代）for attending a class yourself. If you can’t come on the open days, you can sign up for a guided tour instead.

1. You need to look beyond the course title because courses with similar names may be ______.

A．creativity-focused	B．work-related
C．far different	D．quite similar

2. What are you advised to do if your interest disagrees with your future career?

A．Add preferred subjects to your degree courses.

B．Choose the subjects based on your interest.

C．Earn different degrees.

D．Give up your interest.

3. What do we learn about from Para. 4?

A．Disadvantages of studying on campus.

B．Reasons for choosing where to study.

C．Importance of attending a nearby college.

D．Problems of going to a faraway university.

4. Why is it recommended to check independent reports?

A．To increase applicants’ interest.

B．To better understand a course.

C．To figure out how to complete a course.

D．To find out how different the courses are.

5. On the open days, would-be college students can ______.

A．sign up for a particular course

B．take a guided tour on the campus

C．see whether there is a substitute course

D．have a first-hand experience of a course

9 . Most people aren’t good at creative problem solving for two reasons: (1) They are not trained in how to be creative. (2) They don’t understand group strength well enough to harness（驾驭）their power to maximize group creativity.

A key element of creativity is applying existing knowledge to a new problem. The more people getting involved in solving it, the more knowledge there is to work on it. Unfortunately, research shows that the traditional brainstorming methods fail to achieve that goal. When groups get together to exchange ideas, they actually come up with fewer ideas overall than if they each had worked alone.

To fix this problem, you should consider the two stages of group problem-solving: divergence（分散）and convergence（集中）. Divergence happens when the group considers as many different potential solutions as possible. Convergence happens when the various proposed solutions are evaluated and reduced to a smaller set of candidate solutions to the current problem.

The essential principle of group creativity is that individuals working alone diverge, whereas group members working together converge. In groups, once a member states a potential solution, that makes others think about the problem similarly. That is why groups working together diverge less than individuals working alone.

Therefore, be aware of when to diverge and when to converge. For example, early in the problem-solving process, have group members work alone to write down statements describing the problem. Then get them back to discuss their descriptions. The group discussion will lead everyone to accept one or a small number of these statements to work on—this is healthy convergence.

When starting to generate solutions, you again want divergence. Have people work alone to start. Then collect people’s initial ideas and send them around to others and allow the divergence to continue as everyone individually builds on the ideas of other members.

Finally, let the group discuss the resulting ideas. This discussion will gradually lead the group to converge on a small number of candidate solutions.

This simple method works effectively, because it respects what individuals and groups do best.

1. Research shows that the traditional brainstorming methods ______.

A．actually limit group creativity

B．greatly encourage group creativity

C．enable people to form more ideas together

D．prevent people’s involvement in the problems

2. According to Para. 4, when a member presents an idea, others tend to_____.

A．think the other way round

B．follow his way of thinking

C．be more confident in their own ideas

D．be less willing to share their own ideas

3. What should group members first do early in the problem-solving process?

A．Discuss the problem.	B．Simplify the problem.
C．Put down group statements together.	D．Write down their individual descriptions.

4. How can each group member make changes to his initial solution?

A．By adding in collected evidence.	B．By reorganizing his own words.
C．By drawing on others’ ideas.	D．By making his statement briefer.

5. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To advocate a way to make group thinking more effective.

B．To demonstrate the difficulty in organizing group thinking.

C．To highlight the differences between divergence and convergence.

D．To show the advantage of group thinking over individual thinking.

10 . I read somewhere that we spend a full third of our lives waiting. But where are we doing all of this waiting, and what does it mean to an impatient society like ours? To understand the issue, let’s take a look at three types of “waits”.

The very purest form of waiting is the Watched-Pot Wait. It is without doubt the most annoying of all. Take filling up the kitchen sink(洗碗池) as an example. There is absolutely nothing you can do while this is going on but keep both eyes fixed on the sink until it’s full. During these waits, the brain slips away from the body and wanders about until the water runs over the edge of the counter and onto your socks. This kind of wait makes the waiter helpless and mindless.

A cousin to the Watched-Pot Wait is the Forced Wait. This one requires a bit of discipline. Properly preparing packaged noodle soup required a Forced Wait. Directions are very specific. “Bring three cups of water to boil, add mix, simmer three minutes, remove from heat, let stand five minutes.”I have my doubts that anyone has actually followed the procedures strictly. After all, Forced Waiting requires patience.

Perhaps the most powerful type of waiting is the Lucky-Break Wait. This type of wait is unusual in that it is for the most part voluntary. Unlike the Forced Wait, which is also voluntary, waiting for your lucky break does not necessarily mean that it will happen.

Turning one’s life into a waiting game requires faith and hope, and is strictly for the optimists among us. On the surface it seems as ridiculous as following the directions on soup mixes, but the Lucky-Break Wait well serves those who are willing to do it. As long as one doesn’t come to rely on it, wishing for a few good things to happen never hurts anybody.

We certainly do spend a good deal of our time waiting. The next time you’re standing at the sink waiting for it to fill while cooking noodle soup that you’ll have to eat until a large bag of cash falls out of the sky, don’t be desperate. You’re probably just as busy as the next guy.

1. While doing a Watched-Pot Wait, we tend to ___________.

A．keep ourselves busy

B．get absent-minded

C．grow anxious

D．stay focused

2. What is the difference between the Forced Wait and the Watched-Pot Wait?\

A．The Forced Wait requires some self-control.

B．The Forced Wait makes people passive.

C．The Watched-Pot Wait needs directions.

D．The Watched-Pot Wait engages body and brain.

3. What can we learn about the Lucky-Break Wait?

A．It is less voluntary than the Forced Wait.

B．It doesn’t always bring the desired result.

C．It is more fruitful than the Forced Wait.

D．It doesn’t give people faith and hope.

4. What does the author advise us to do the next time we are waiting?

A．Take it seriously.

B．Don’t rely on others.

C．Do something else.

D．Don’t lose heart.

5. The author supports his view by _________.

A．exploring various causes of “waits”.

B．describing detailed processes of “waits”.

C．analyzing different categories of “waits”

D．revealing frustrating consequences of “waits”