1 . There were smiling children all the way.Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway,wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang.Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives.This is the simple village people of Malaysia.I was moved.

I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car,so this was the first time I was on a train.I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread.I looked about the train.There was not one familiar face.I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.

It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia.Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore,so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past.As we went beyond the city,I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green.Then the first village came into sight.Immediately I came alive;I decided to wave back.

From then on my journey became interesting.I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life.Then everything came alive.The mountains seemed to speak to me.Even the trees were smiling.I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.

The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry.I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm.Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth.I looked at the people all around me.They all looked beautiful.When my uncle arrived with a smile,I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱).I had never done this before.He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile.We walked arm in arm to his car.

I looked forward to the return journey.

1. The author expected the train trip to be　　　.

A．adventurous	B．pleasant
C．exciting	D．dull

2. What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?

A．The friendly country people.

B．The mountains along the way.

C．The crowds of people in the streets.

D．The simple lunch served on the train.

3. Which of the following words can best take the place of the word “relish” in the second paragraph?

A．choose	B．enjoy
C．prepare for	D．carry on

4. Where was the writer going?

A．Johore Baru.	B．The Causeway.
C．Butterworth.	D．Singapore.

5. What can we learn from the story?

A．Comfort in traveling by train.

B．Pleasure of living in the country.

C．Reading gives people delight.

D．Smiles brighten people up.

2 . Every year in America, high-school students who want to go on to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one’s mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English part involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.
But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, handwritten on the spot. That’s an interesting way to test writing ability, but content aside. Have you ever seen young people’s handwriting lately? Or anyone’s for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks. They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word.
Yet today’s kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and clearly, for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl（潦草的笔迹）of young people who’ve been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one’s score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers. And don’t forget, we all have to use handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when the power goes out.Z&X&X&K]
Then how to improve the handwriting? Well, with a few simple steps you can improve your handwriting.[来Position the pen. You should hold the pen between the forefinger and the thumb. You should then rest it near the first knuckle（指节）of the middle finger. The rest of your fingers should be curled（卷曲）under your hand and your hand should remain relaxed.
Evaluate your writing. What do you like and what don’t you like about the way you write? Make changes to your letters till you like how they look.
Take your time. Make sure that, while you are writing, you take your time. Speed can definitely make your writing terrible. If it is worth writing well, then take your time.
Practice. Practice it a lot; it’s not enough to do it once and hope for the best. It has to be something you work at to make great improvements.
1. At present, the SAT tests students on ______.

A．math, English, reading and writing

B．math, grammar, reading and handwriting

C．math, foreign language and writing

D．math, foreign language and handwriting

2. The underlined word “scribble” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.

A．writing quickly and roughly

B．typing simply and correctly

C．painting clearly and neatly

D．describing properly and well

3. According to the text, good handwriting can ______.

A．help students pass the test

B．make a student more popular

C．show students’ ability

D．assist students in getting a job

4. Which of the following should you avoid when improving your handwriting?

A．Practicing writing a lot.

B．Writing as fast as you can.

C．Relaxing your hand when holding the pen.

D．Changing your letters till you like how they look.

5. The author mainly wants to tell us that ______.

A．writing seems to be very important in the SAT

B．those who will go to college have to take the SAT

C．students should practice handwriting more often

D．kids don’t know how to write in the computer age

3 . Can you believe everything that you read? It seems as if every day, some new articles come out about a new discovery about this or that. For example, water is bad for you, or good for you. The answer depends on which scientific study has just come out. People cannot decide which food items are healthy, how pyramids were constructed, and why dinosaurs disappeared. When we look for answers we sometimes can believe persuasive researches and scientists. But how trustworthy are they really? Here are two examples of scientific hoaxes (骗局).
As far back as 1726, Johann Beringer was fooled by his fellow scientists into thinking he had made an amazing discovery. The fossils of spiders, lizards, and even birds with the name of God written on them in Hebrew were unlike anything that had been found before. He wrote several papers on them and was famous for those only to have it revealed that they were planted by jealous colleagues to ruin his reputation.
When an early human being was discovered in 1912, scientists at this time were wild with excitement over the meaning it had for the theory of evolution. There were hundreds of papers about this Piltdown man over the next fifty years until it was finally discovered to be a complex hoax. The skull (头骨) of a man had been mixed with the jawbone of an orangutan (猩猩) to make the ape (猿) man.
The next time you read the exciting new findings of a study of the best scientist, do not automatically assume that it is true. Even qualified people can get it wrong. Though we certainly should not ignore scientific research, we do need to take it with a grain of salt. Just because it is accepted as the truth today does not mean it will still be trustworthy tomorrow.
1. What is the reason why Johann Beringer was fooled?

A．His fellow scientists wanted to make fun of him.

B．His workmates are eager to become famous too.

C．These scientists made a mistake because of carelessness.

D．His colleagues was jealous of him and did so to destroy his fame.

2. The excited scientists thought that this Piltdown man ________.

A．was in fact a complex hoax

B．was a great scientific invention

C．contributed to the theory of evolution

D．had the skull like that of an ape

3. What does the underlined phrase “with a grain of salt” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Happily.	B．Generally.
C．Doubtfully.	D．Completely.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Hebrew is probably a kind of language.

B．Truths of science will never be out of time.

C．People believe scientists because they are persuasive.

D．We are advised to believe famous scientists.

4 . D
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies ,   one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
In Greece, in Athens (雅典), a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert.The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’ s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again. But, “the excellent becomes the permanent”, Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
1. What does the underlined word “tyrannies” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Countries where their people need help.

B．Powerful states with higher civilization.

C．Splendid empires where people enjoy freedom.

D．Governments ruled with absolute power.

2. People believing in freedom are those who________ .

A．regard their life as their own business

B．seek gains as their primary object

C．behave within the laws and value systems

D．treat others with kindness and pity

3. What change in attitude took place in Athens?

A．The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.

B．The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.

C．The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.

D．The Athenians looked on the government as a business.

4. What does the sentence “There could be only one result.” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Athens would continue to be free.

B．Athens would cease to have freedom.

C．Freedom would come from responsibility.

D．Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence.

5. Why does the author refer to Aristotle and Madison?

A．The author is hopeful about freedom.

B．The author is cautious about self-government.

C．The author is skeptical of Greek civilization.

D．The author is proud of man’s capacity.

6. What is the author’s understanding of freedom?

A．Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.

B．Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.

C．Freedom should have priority over responsibility.

D．Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.

5 . Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new recipe of success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals submission.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behaviour. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk ‘Dog’, and dogs can learn how to talk ‘Cat’.
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn how to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The significance of the research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets ─ to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
1. The underlined word “swimmingly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.

A．early

B．sweetly

C．quickly

D．smoothly

2. Some cats and dogs may fight when ________.

A．they are cold to each other	B．they look away from each other
C．they misunderstood each other’s signals	D．they are introduced at an early age

3. What is found surprising about cats and dogs?

A．They eat and sleep each other.

B．They observe each other’s behaviors.

C．They learn to speak each other’s language.

D．They know something from each other’s voices.

4. It is suggested in Paragraph 4 that cats and dogs ________.

A．have common interests	B．are less different than was thought
C．have a common body language	D．are less intelligent than was expected

5. What can we human beings learn from cats and dogs?

A．We should learn to live in harmony.

B．We should know more about animals.

C．We should live in peace with animals.

D．We should learn more body languages.

6 . We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.
“You could win prizes,” our teacher told us as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing, “The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster.”
We studied the board critically. Some of us looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard, rocking the sheets to the right or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten-dollar grand prize, each and every one of us. I’m going to spend mine on candies, one hopeful would announce, while another practiced looking serious, wise and rich.
Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins, while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of us used big designs, and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one corner of our poster and let the space draw the viewer’s attention to it. Some of us would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the sort they seemed especially fond of, making all of us believe we had a fair chance, and then always—always—rewarding the same old winners.
I believe I drew a sailboat, but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen，and then I turned it in.
Minutes passed.
No one came along to give me the grand prize, and then someone distracted me, and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.
I was still sitting at my desk, thinking, What poster? when the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.
1. What was the teacher’s requirement for the poster?

A．It must appear in time.

B．It must be done in class.

C．It must be done on a construction sheet.

D．It must include the words on the blackboard.

2. The underlined phrase in Paragraph 3 most probably means ________.

A．formed an idea for

B．made an outline for

C．made some space for

D．chose some colors for

3. After the teacher’s words, all the students in the class________.

A．looked very serious

B．thought they would be rich

C．began to think about their designs

D．began to play games

4. After seeing the good students’ designs, some students________.

A．loved their own designs more

B．thought they had a fair chance

C．put their own designs in a corner

D．thought they would not win the prize

5. We can infer from the passage that the author________.

A．enjoyed grown up tricks very much

B．loved poster competitions very much

C．felt surprised to win the competition

D．became wise and rich after the competition

7 . The United States is a sports-loving nation. Sports in America take various forms: organized competitive struggles, athletic games, hunting and fishing. Most sports are seasonal, so that what is happening in sports depends upon the time of year.
Baseball is the most popular sport in the US. It is played throughout the spring and summer, and professional baseball teams play well into the fall.
Football is the most popular sport in the fall. The game originated as a college sport more than 75 years ago. It’s not the same as European football or soccer. In American football there are 11 players as well on each team, and they are dressed in padded uniforms and helmets because the game is rough and injuries are likely to occur. It is still played by almost every college and university in the country.
Basketball is the winner sport in American schools and colleges. Like football, basketball originated in the US, many Americans prefer it to football because it is played indoors throughout the winter and because it is a faster game. And the famous NBA games are considered the best of this game.
Other sports attracting a great many people include wrestling, boxing and horse racing. Although horse-racing fans call themselves sportsmen, the exactness of the term is questionable, as only the jockeys who ride the horses in the races can be considered athletes. The so-called sportsmen are the spectators, who do not come primarily to see the horses race, but to bet upon the outcome of each race. Gambling is the attraction of horse racing.
1. Baseball is so popular in America that some professional teams play it until ________.

A．spring

B．summer

C．fall

D．winter

2. When playing football, American players are dressed in a special uniforms ________.

A．to avoid unexpected injuries

B．to play it like European football

C．to make the game rough enough

D．to look like professional players

3. Many Americans prefer basketball to football because ________.

A．NBA games are very popular

B．it is originated in the US

C．it is much faster than football

D．it is played indoors throughout winter

4. Horse-racing fans can’t be exactly considered as sportsmen because they ________.

A．mainly stand and watch the races

B．don’t ride horse in the races

C．are only interested in the results

D．don’t care who wins in the races

5. The underlined word “jockeys” in the last paragraph refers to _______.

A．the person who bets upon the the race

B．the person who cares about horse-racing

C．the rider who enjoys watching the race

D．the rider who competes in horse-racing

8 . 第二部分：阅读理解(共15小题：
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。
The ability to do several things at once has become one of the great measures of self-worth for 21-century Americans. It is called multitasking, and it takes many forms. As one example, why go out to lunch when you can eat at your desk, talk to a client on the phone, scroll through your e-mail, and scan a memo simultaneously? And why simply work out on treadmill (单调的工作) when you could be watching television and talking on a portable phone at the same time? What a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment --- three activities for the time commitment of one! Ah, such efficiency. No wonder those who turn “to do” lists into a time-management art form tend to boast (自夸): “Look, me, how many things I can accomplish at once. If I’m this busy, I must be important.”
Yet last week the New York Assembly struck a blow against multitasking, at least behind the wheel, when it approved a bill banning drivers in the state from using handheld cellular phones. Too dangerous, the assembly said, citing research showing that drivers are four times more likely to have a collision when they are talking on a cellphone.
No one can argue against using time effectively. But accompanying the supposed gains are losses. Consider the woman out for an early-morning walk in a suburban neighborhood. She strides briskly, head down, cellphone clamped to her ear, chattering (喋喋不休) away, oblivious of the birds and flowers and glorious sunshine. Did the walk have any value?
More than a decade ago, long before multi-tasking became a word in everyday use, a retired professor of theology(神学) in Indiana with whom I corresponded (通信) made a case for what might be called uni-tasking — the old-fashioned practice of doing one thing at a time.
Offering the simplest example, he said, “When you wash the dishes, wash the dishes.” Good advice, I’ve found, whatever the task.
Perhaps, too, the ban on phoning-on-the-road will even spark a move away from other forms of dual activity. Who can tell? It could mark the first step in a welcome reconsideration of what really constitutes productivity and accomplishment.
1. The author thinks that multitasking has become one of the great measures of self-worth because ________.

A．it helps people to use time effectively

B．it makes people feel they are important

C．it means the ability to do several things at once

D．people worship speed and desire

2. The bill approved by the New York Assembly is mentioned in the second paragraph in order to ________.

A．demonstrate the danger of multitasking

B．show the high efficiency of multitasking

C．introduce the legislation system in America

D．argue against using time effectively

3. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “oblivious” in the third paragraph?

A．serious	B．absorbed deeply
C．not noticing	D．forgetting

4. We learn from the passage that uni-tasking is ________.

A．the new fashion for 21-century Americans

B．accepted by most residents in Indiana

C．created by a retired professor of theology

D．the traditional act of doing one thing at once

5. In the eyes of the author, multi-tasking ________.

A．could not be avoided in this fast-changing age

B．should be taken the place of by uni-tasking

C．robs people of time to focus and reflect

D．should not become a word in everyday use

9 . Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middle class peers (同龄人), the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today. The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ annual conference.

Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons.

He told delegates (代表) in Manchester: “For children who come from homes where parents don’t have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer.”

“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives,” he said. He held up the example of Kipp (Knowledge is Power Program) schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7:30 am to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays.

But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added.

Parents said Saturday classes could become a “badge of dishonor” if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload.

Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said: “I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children’s performance. I’m just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week.”

The ATL’s general secretary, Mary Bousted, said: “If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer.”

1. The program is intended for children____________.

A．who are from middle-class families

B．whose parents can’t afford extra help

C．who perform poorly academically

D．whose weekends are mostly unoccupied

2. “Additional stretch” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to_________.

A．music lessons

B．physical relaxation

C．entertainment activities

D．out-of-school improvement

3. Why did Gove mention Kipp schools in the US?

A．To make a comparison.

B．To introduce a new program.

C．To seek supportive evidence.

D．To prove his program is better.

4. What is Margaret Morrissey’s opinion about the new program?

A．Favorable.

B．Doubtful.

C．Optimistic.

D．Acceptable.

5. Which of the following is true?

A．Teachers may not like the program.	B．Schools are trying to make profits.
C．The program is already under way.	D．The program is popular with children.

10 . Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits die hard and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

Many roads and places in Singapore（新加坡）are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.

Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.

Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay（马来语）. Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.

A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent（月牙） because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.

1. We learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.

A．the government is usually the first to name a place

B．many places tend to have more than one name

C．a ceremony will be held when a place is named

D．people prefer the place names given by the government

2. What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Change suddenly.	B．Change significantly.
C．Disappear mysteriously.	D．Disappear very slowly.

3. Which of the following places is named after a person?

A．Raffles Place.	B．Selector Airbase.
C．Piccadilly Circus.	D．Paya Lebar Crescent.

4. Bras Basah Road is named _______.

A．after a person

B．after a place

C．after an activity

D．by its shape

5. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain.

B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes.

C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique.

D．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers.