1 . The passengers on the bus watched with sympathy as Susan made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and then, using her hands to _______ the seats, settled in one of them.

It has been a year since Susan became blind. As the result of an accident she was suddenly thrown into a world of _______. Susan’s husband Mark watched her _______ into hopelessness and he was _______ to use every possible means to help his wife.

Finally, Susan felt ready to _______ to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but she was now too _______ to get around the city by herself. Mark _______ to ride the bus with Susan each morning and evening _______ she could manage it by herself.

For two weeks, Mark _______ Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other ____________, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new ____________.

At last, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip ____________. Monday morning arrived. Before she left, she hugged her husband ____________, her eyes filled with tears of gratitude (感激). She said good-bye and, for the first time, they went their ____________ ways. Each day went perfectly, and a wild excitement ____________ Susan. She was doing it!

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work ____________. As she was getting off the bus, the driver said, “Miss, I sure ____________ you.” Curious, Susan asked the driver ____________.

“You know, every morning for the ____________ week, a fine-looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the comer watching you until you enter your office building safely,” the bus driver said.

Tears of happiness poured down Susan’s cheeks. She was so lucky for he had given her a gift more powerful than ____________. That is the gift of love that can bring light where there is darkness.

1.

A．touch

B．grab

C．count

D．feel

2.

A．weakness

B．sickness

C．darkness

D．sadness

3.

A．run

B．sink

C．jump

D．step

4.

A．inspired

B．determined

C．honored

D．pleased

5.

A．return

B．adjust

C．contribute

D．stick

6.

A．tired

B．astonished

C．depressed

D．frightened

7.

A．volunteered

B．attempted

C．continued

D．struggled

8.

A．when

B．as

C．until

D．after

9.

A．drove

B．directed

C．accompanied

D．sent

10.

A．feelings

B．organs

C．skills

D．senses

11.

A．position

B．environment

C．status

D．role

12.

A．on her own

B．in person

C．to her benefit

D．on foot

13.

A．politely

B．calmly

C．briefly

D．tightly

14.

A．opposite

B．separate

C．fixed

D．lonely

15.

A．took charge of

B．took place of

C．took advantage of

D．took hold of

16.

A．as usual

B．as a rule

C．as well

D．as a consequence

17.

A．respect

B．envy

C．know

D．support

18.

A．what

B．how

C．why

D．who

19.

A．past

B．same

C． first

D．next

20.

A．courage

B．will

C． sight

D．wisdom

2 . London’s newest skyscraper (摩天大楼)is called the Shard and it cost about 430 million pounds to build. At a height of almost 310 metres, it is the tallest building in Europe. The Shard has completely changed the appearance of London. However, not everyone thinks that it is a change for the better.
The Shard was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. When he began designing the Shard for London, Piano wanted a very tall building that looked like a spire (尖顶)• He wanted the glass surfaces to reflect the sky and the city. The sides of the building aren’t regular. So the building has an unusual shape. It looks like a very thin，sharp piece of broken glass. And that is how the building got the name: the Shard. Piano says that the spire shape of the Shard is part of a great London tradition. The shape reminds him of the spires of the churches of London or the tall masts (桅杆）of the ships that were once on the river Thames.
The Shard has 87 floors. At the top, there is an observatory. At the moment the building is empty, but eventually there will be a five-star hotel. There will also be top quality restaurants, apartments and offices.
Before building work began, a lot of people didn’t want the Shard though the plans were approved. Now they are still unhappy about the Shard. Some critics say that such a tall skyscraper might be good in a city like New York, but not in London. They say that the best thing about the Shard is its spire shape. But that is the only thing. There is no decoration, only flat surfaces. The Egyptians did that 4,500 years ago. They also think the Shard is too big for London. It destroys the beauty of the city.
Other critics don’t like what the Shard seems to represent. They say that the Shard shows how London is becoming more unequal. Only very rich people can afford to buy the expensive private apartments and stay in the hotel. But the people who live near the Shard are among the poorest in London. So the Shard seems a symbol of the division in society between the very rich and the poor.
The Shard now dominates the London skyline. It is not certain, however, that ordinary London citizens will ever accept it as a valuable addition to the city.
1. London’s newest skyscraper is called the Shard because of ._____

A．its cost

B．its size

C．its shape

D．its height

2. When he designed the Shard, Piano wanted it to _____

A．change London’s skyline

B．inherit London’s tradition

C．imitate the Egyptian style

D．attract potential visitors

3. The critics who refer to social division think the Shard_______ .

A．is only preferred by the rich

B．is intended for wealthy people

C．is far away from the poor area

D．is popular only with Londoners

4. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．The Shard: Cheers and Claps

B．The Shard: Work of a Great Architect

C．The Shard: New Symbol of London?

D．The Shard: A Change for the Better?

3 . For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

1. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A．Both are about where to draw the line.

B．Both can continue for generations.

C．Neither has any clear winner.

D．Neither can be put to an end.

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.

B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.

C．The teens cause their parents of misleading them.

D．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.

3. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ______.

A．give orders to the other

B．know more than the other

C．gain respect from the other

D．get the other to behave properly

4. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Solutions for the parent-teen problems.

B．Examples of the parent-teen war.

C．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts.

D．Future of the parent-teen relationship.

4 . Kathy started at my nursery school at the age of three. She settled into the group easily, and would be first on the slide and highest up the climbing frame. She could put on her coat without help and not only fasten her own buttons but other children’s too.

She was a lovely child but unfortunately a scratcher. If anyone upset her or stood in her way, her right hand would flash out fast and scratch down the face of her playmates. Children twice her age would fly in fear from her.

This must have been very rewarding for Kathy but obviously it had to be stopped. All the usual ways failed and then I remembered an account by G. Atkinson Highfield School, of how fights in the playground had been stopped. No punishment had been given, but the attacker had been ignored and the victims rewarded. So I decided to try out on Kathy.

With a pocketful of Smarties I followed Kathy around. She was so quick that it was impossible to prevent her scratching, but I was dertermined to stay within arm’s length all afternoon.

All was peaceful but then I saw Kathy’s hand moved and heard the scream. Gently I gathered up the little hurt one in my arms and said “Nice, nice sweetie” and then looked puzzled when she got nothing.

Soon came another scream, this time from John. While holding him in my arms, I said, “Look, Kathy, a nice Smartie for John” and put it into John’s mouth.

A smile of understanding flashed across Kathy’s face. Minutes later, she came to me and said loudly, “Give me a Smartie! I have hurt my finger!”

“No,” I replied, “you’ll get it if someone hurts you.”

On purpose, she turned and scratched a nearby boy, Tom, and waited quietly while I mothered and rewarded him, then she walked away.

She has never scratched a child since.

Parents who find older children bullying younger brothers and sisters might do well to replace shouting and punishment by rewarding and giving more attention to the injured ones. It’s certainly much easier and more effective.

1. From the passage, we know that Kathy is _______.

A．sensitive but slow

B．smart but a bit rude

C．independent but selfish

D．quick but sort of passive.

2. Kathy scratched Tom because _______.

A．she was angry at Tom, who was in her way

B．she wanted to get a Smartie from the teacher

C．she was in the habit of scratching other children

D．she wanted to know if the teacher meant what she had said

3. According to the passage, the underlined word “bullying” is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A．helping

B．punishing

C．hurting

D．protecting

4. The writer of this passage aims to recommend an approach to _______.

A．rewarding children’s good behavior

B．correcting children’s bad behavior

C．punishing badly-behaved children

D．praising well-behaved children

5 . Downing the last drop of an expensive famous brand H₂O as well as remembering to throw the empty bottle in the recycling bin, makes you feel pretty good about yourself, right? It shouldn’t. Even when the bottles are recycled, there are all kinds of other consequences of swallowing bottled water, says Melissa Peffers, the air-quality program manager for Environmental Defense.

The containers are often filled in faraway lands, then shipped from abroad, and stored in refrigerators at your local store. Compare that with the influence on environment of turning on your tap, filling a glass, and drinking up!

Anyone who is choosing bottled water for health reasons is misguided, says Peffers, “Most bottled water is just tap water.” And what comes out of your tap is carefully monitored to follow the strict rules. Consider another fact that bottled water is surprisingly expensive, especially when compared with the alternative, which is almost free, and it is astonishing that America’s desire for bottled water seems impossible to satisfy, reaching nearly 30 billion bottles a year.

“My parents’ generation never had bottled water,” says Isabelle Silverman, an Environmental Defense legal adviser. She has made a commitment to going bottle free. “You don’t need to fetch it home from the store, and it’s cheaper,” she adds.

Bottled water’s role as a status symbol needs to change, Peffers points out. So when a waiter at an expensive restaurant offers “And what’s your drink?” that’s no reason to forget your conviction(信念). “Don’t be afraid to say, ‘I’ll have tap.’ Say it loud enough that the other tables nearby can hear you,” Peffers says. “And then spend that money on a dessert.”

1. In the first paragraph, the underlined sentence “It shouldn’t.” suggest that people _______.

A．shouldn’t feel pleased with finishing the water in the bottle

B．shouldn’t feel good about drinking an expensive brand H2O

C．shouldn’t be content with just recycling empty bottles

D．shouldn’t be satisfied with drinking only bottled water

2. According to the author, tap water is _______.

A．as safe as bottled water

B．morel likely to be polluted

C．healthier than bottle water

D．less convenient than bottled water

3. The underlined part “going bottle free” (in Para. 4) means “_______”.

A．making bottled water free

B．abandoning bottled water

C．recycling use water bottles

D．providing free water containers

4. Why does Peffers ask people to say “I’ll have tap.” loudly?

A．To encourage them to set an example for others to follow.

B．To advise them to save the money for one more dessert.

C．To remind them to be aware of their social status.

D．To persuade them to speak confidently in public.

6 . Imagine you’re at a party full of strangers. You’re nervous. Who are these people? How do you start a conversation? Fortunately, you’ve get a thing that sends out energy at tiny chips in everyone’s name tag (标签). The chips send back name, job, hobbies, and the time available for meeting — whatever. Making new friends becomes simple.

This hasn’t quite happened in real life. But the world is already experiencing a revolution using RFID technology.

An RFID tag with a tiny chip can be fixed in a product, under your pet’s skin, even under your own skin. Passive RFID tags have no energy source batteries because they do not need it. The energy comes from the reader, a scanning device (装置), that sends out energy (for example, radio waves) that starts up the tag immediately.

Such a tag carries information specific to that object, and the data can be updated. Already, RFID technology is used for recognizing each car or truck on the road and it might appear in your passport. Doctors can put a tiny chip under the skin that will help locate and obtain a patient’s medical records. At a nightclub in Paris or in New York the same chip gets you into the VIP (very important person ) section and pays for the bill with the wave of an arm.

Take a step back: 10 or 12 years ago, you would have heard about the coming age of computing. One example always seemed to surface: Your refrigerator would know when you needed to buy more milk. The concept was that computer chips could he put every where and send information in smart network that would make ordinary life simpler.

RFID tags are a small part of this phenomenon. “The world is going to he a loosely coupled set of individual small devices, connected wirelessly.” Predicts Dr. J. Reich. Human right supporters are nervous about the possibilities of such technology. It goes too far tracking school kids through RFID tags, they say. We imagine a world in which a beer company could find out not only when you bought a beer but also when you drank it. And how many beers, Accompanied by how many biscuits.

When Marconi invented radio, he thought it would be used for ship-to-shore communication. Not for pop music. Who knows how RFID and related technologies will be used in the future. Here’s a wild guess: Not for buying milk.

1. The article is intended to             .

A．warn people of the possible risks in adopting RFID technology

B．explain the benefits brought about by RFID technology

C．convince people of the uses of RFID technology

D．predict the applications of RFID technology

2. We know from the passage that with the help of RFID tags, people          .

A．will have no trouble getting date about others

B．will have more energy for conversation

C．will have more time to make friends

D．won’t feel shy at parties any longer

3. Passive RFID tags chiefly consist of           .

A．scanning devices

B．radio waves

C．batteries

D．chips

4. Why are some people worried about RFID technology?

A．Because children will be tracked by strangers.

B．Because market competition will become more fierce.

C．Because their private lives will be greatly affected.

D．Because customers will be forced to buy more products.

5. The last paragraph implies that RFID technology           .

A．will not be used for such matters as buying milk

B．will be widely used, including for buying milk

C．will be limited to communication uses

D．will probably be used for pop music

7 .

Karen, grown up in a very traditional family in the western United States, maintained high moral (道德的) standards throughout her youth. In 1984, at the age of 23, she married Bill. They were blessed with two children, a boy and a girl.

By 1991 their love had deepened, and they were happy. Later that year, Bill developed a white spot on his tongue. He visited a doctor.

One day shortly after that, Bill called Karen to sit beside him. He said with tears in his eyes that he loved her and wanted to live forever with her. The doctor suspected that he had been infected with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS.

The family was tested, Bill and Karen’s results were positive. Bill had become infected before he met Karen then he passed the virus on to Karen. The children’s results were negative. Within three years. Bill was dead, “I don’t know how to express what it is like to watch the once handsome man you love and intend to live with forever dying slowly. I cried many nights. He died three months short of ten years of our marriage,” says Karen. Though a doctor told Karen that she would soon follow her husband into death, she is still alive. The infection has progressed to the early stages of AIDS.

Karen is just one of about 30 million people now living with HIV/AIDS, a figure larger than the combined populations of Australia, Ireland and Paraguay. According to one UN report, Africa has 21 million of these victims. By the turn of the century that number could reach 40 million and the disease will bring on the greatest disaster in human history. Of the world’s sexually active adults aged 15 to 49. 1 in 100 has already been infected with HIV. Of these, only 1 in 10 realizes that he or she is infected. In some parts of Africa, 25 percent of the adults are infected.

Since the beginning of the spread of AIDS in1981, about 11.7 million people have died of it. It is roughly calculated that in 1997 alone, about 2.3 million people died of it. Nevertheless, there are fresh reasons for optimism in the battle against AIDS. During the past few years, there has been a drop in new AIDS cases in wealthy nations. In addition, promising drugs hold out hope of better health and longer life.

1. By telling the story of Karen , the author intends to             .

A．warn people against high risk behaviors

B．stress the importance of medical tests

C．express sympathy for AIDS victims

D．show the consequences of AIDS

2. The underlined part in Paragraph 1 most probably means “           ”.

A．were lucky in having

B．were asked to adopt

C．regretted having

D．gave birth to

3. Bill was suspected of being infected with HIV after           .

A．he got married to Karen

B．the family members were tested

C．Karen persuaded him to see the doctor

D．he found something wrong with his tongue

4. It can be concluded from the passage that           .

A．promising drugs will soon stop AIDS

B．the spread of AIDS could be controlled

C．it is hopeless to win the battle against AIDS

D．the death rate of AIDS patients has been reduced

8 . Margaret, married with two small children, has been working for the last seven years as a night cleaner, cleaning offices in a big building.
She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill. “I would have liked to go back to it, but the shifts (工作班次) are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the children up and off to school.”
So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 a.m. till 6 a.m. five nights a week for just ￡90, before tax and insurance. “It’s better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work ‘unsocial hours’ should get a bit extra.”
The hours she’ s chosen to work meant that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her husband. However, she doesn’t think that puts any pressure on their relationship.
Her work isn’t physically very hard, but it’s not exactly pleasant, either. “I do get angry with people who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs. If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps they’d be a bit more careful.”
The fact that she’s working all night doesn’t worry Margaret at all. Unlike some dark buildings at night, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three. “Since I’ve got to be here, I try to enjoy myself——and I usually do, because of the other girls. We all have a good laugh, so the time never drags.”
Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she does for a living. “They think you’re a cleaner because you don’t know how to read and write,” said Margaret. “I used to think what my parents would say if they knew what I’d been doing, but I don’t think that way any more. I don’t dislike the work though I can’t say I’m mad about it.”
1. Margaret quit her job as a nurse because _______

A．she wanted to earn more money to support her family

B．she had suffered a lot of mental pressure

C．she needed the right time to look after her children

D．she felt tired of taking care of patients

2. Margaret gets angry with people who work in the office because Margaret feels_______.

A．they never clean their offices

B．they look down upon cleaners

C．they never do their work carefully

D．they always make a mess in their offices

3. When at work, Margaret feels _______.

A．light-hearted because of her fellow workers

B．happy because the building is fully lit

C．tired because of the heavy workload

D．bored because time passed slowly

4. The underlined part in the last paragraph implies that Margaret’s parents would _______．

A．help care for her children

B．regret what they had said

C．show sympathy for her

D．feel disappointed in her

9 . On a warm Monday, Jenny Neilson bought a sandwich and parked her car under some trees. Rolling down the windows to _______ in fresh air, she settled back to enjoy her lunch. Suddenly she_______ a big bald (秃顶的) man running through the parking lot. Before she came to _______ what would happen, the man was there, shouting through her window, “Get out!”

Neilson _______.

Pulling open her door, the man seized her _______ the neck and hair, and threw her out of the car onto the ground. She screamed, _______ her purse and the keys.

Two reporters of the local newspaper, Robert Bruce and Jeff Jackson, just outside their office building on a _______, heard the screams and began running .

When they _______ Neilson’s car, the attacker had jumped into the driver’s seat and was _______ searching for the keys. Bruce opened the door, and he and Jackson dragged the man out. The attacker __________ back. But even in his cornered panic, he was no __________ for the two athletic men.

Reggie Miller, a worker of the local newspaper, heard the screams, too. He rushed back to the office to __________ the police, and then ran back with some plastic ropes — used to tie up newspapers.

With his arms __________ tight behind him, the prisoner looked up and said __________, “I hope you guys feel good about yourselves—— you just caught one of the most wanted men.” They __________ him and waited for the police.

Later, Bruce and Jackson were shocked to learn the man was the __________carjacker (劫车者) and suspected murderer, whose __________— but with a full head of hair—— had been recently printed in their own newspaper.

Neilson considers herself lucky __________ she suffered injuries. She believes the story might have had a __________ ending if those good people had not come to her aid. “Unfortunately,” she said, “many people would __________ have done what they did, and that’ the real truth.”

1.

A．bring

B．let

C．gather

D．send

2.

A．recognized

B．watched

C．noticed

D．met

3.

A．realize

B．understand

C．imagine

D．conclude

4.

A．escaped

B．struggled

C．refused

D．obeyed

5.

A．by

B．around

C．with

D．on

6.

A．burying

B．forgetting

C．offering

D．grabbing

7.

A．trip

B．visit

C．break

D．holiday

8.

A．started

B．stopped

C．entered

D．reached

9.

A．carefully

B．madly

C．disappointedly

D．patiently

10.

A．fought

B．turned

C．jumped

D．shouted

11.

A．match

B．target

C．equal

D．companion

12.

A．remind

B．phone

C．invite

D．beg

13.

A．rolled

B．folded

C．bent

D．tied

14.

A．angrily

B．kindly

C．coldly

D．warmly

15.

A．caught

B．thanked

C．comforted

D．ignored

16.

A．ordinary

B．professional

C．honest

D．outstanding

17.

A．picture

B．background

C．character

D．story

18.

A．and

B．but

C．though

D．when

19.

A．ridiculous

B．similar

C．strange

D．different

20.

A．sometimes

B．never

C．often

D．forever

10 . Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there’s always a temptation (诱惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.

Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren’t?

To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines (学科). Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox (非常规的), and perhaps unfortunate, way. Instead of introducing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader’s attention.So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.

On the whole,Brooks’ story is acceptable if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie elsewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks’ attempt to translate his tale into science.

1. The author mentions the functions of science at the beginning of the passage to__________.

A．illustrate where science can be applied

B．demonstrate the value of Brooks’ new book

C．remind the reader of the importance of science

D．explain why many writers use science in their works

2. According to the author, which of the following could be a strength of the book?

A．Its strong basis.

B．Its convincing points.

C．Its clear writing.

D．Its memorable characters.

3. What is the author’s general attitude towards the book?

A．Contradictory.

B．Supportive.

C．Cautious.

D．Critical.

4. What is the author likely to write about after the last paragraph?

A．Problems with the book.

B．Brooks’s life experience.

C．Death of the characters.

D．Brooks’s translation skills.