1 . The SAT is one of two major tests for the entrance to American colleges and universities. The other test is called the ACT. More than 2 million students take the SAT yearly, including about 100,000 foreign students. The organization of the SAT will change the entrance test in 2016. The College Board announced that the new SAT will no longer test students on rarely used words. But it will include passages from American historical documents or from writings on freedom and human rights.
The College Board says words on the new test will be related to usage. Students will be asked to tell the meaning of words according to the context of the reading passages. Nigerian student Peace Umoru is in her first year at Howard University. She says the rarely used words are the hardest part for international students. The new test will be easier because of the reform.
Eddie West is with the College Board. He says the new test will better predict a student’s performance in college. The changes are moving the test in a positive direction. The new SAT pays more attention to skills and abilities that students need to succeed. The addition of material about American historical documents could make the test harder for international students. After all, they live in different countries with different cultures. But it’s a good chance for them to understand the Declaration of Independence or Martin Luther King’s work, or anything else that might be tested.
Students from other countries, particularly those who did not grow up learning English, may feel it is more difficult. For them, the test is in a foreign language. But the College Board says it has formed a free, online educational service. Khan Academy will provide preparation material linked to the newly designed SAT.
1. What will be tested in the new SAT?

A．All the different meanings of a word.

B．The rare usage of the common words.

C．The difficult words for foreign students.

D．The proper meaning of the words in the passages.

2. The new SAT could be more difficult for international students because        .

A．they are short of skills and abilities

B．they often perform badly in college

C．they know nothing about American history

D．they have different cultural backgrounds

3. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．How to prepare for the new SAT.

B．The SAT will change the entrance test in 2016.

C．Advice for foreign students on passing the SAT.

D．Tests for entrance to American colleges and universities.

2 . Parents feel that it is difficult to live with teenagers. Then again, teenagers have_______feelings about their parents, saying that it is not easy living with them. According to a recent research, the most common _______between parents and teenagers is that regarding untidiness and daily routine tasks. On the one hand, parents go mad over _______rooms, clothes thrown on the floor and their children’s refusal to help with the _______. On the other hand, teenagers lose their patience continually when parents blame them for _______the towel in the bathroom, not cleaning up their room or refusing to do the shopping at the supermarket.

The research, conducted by St. George University, shows that different parents have different _______to these problems. However, some approaches are more _______than others. For example, those parents who yell at their children for their untidiness, but _______clean the room for them, have fewer chances of changing their children’s _______. On the contrary, those who let teenagers experience the ________of their actions can do better. For example, when teenagers who don’t help their parents with the shopping don’t find their favorite drink in the refrigerator, they are forced to ________their actions.

Psychologists say that ________is the most important thing in parent-child relationships. Parents should ________to their children but at the same time they should lend an ear to what they have to say. Parents may ________their children when they are untidy but they should also understand that their room is their own private space. Communication is a two-way process. It is only by listening to and ________each other that problems between parents and children can be settled.

1.

A．natural

B．strong

C．guilty

D．similar

2.

A．interest

B．argument

C．link

D．knowledge

3.

A．noisy

B．crowded

C．messy

D．locked

4.

A．homework

B．housework

C．problem

D．research

5.

A．washing

B．using

C．dropping

D．replacing

6.

A．approaches

B．contributions

C．introductions

D．attitudes

7.

A．complex

B．popular

C．scientific

D．successful

8.

A．later

B．deliberately

C．seldom

D．thoroughly

9.

A．behavior

B．taste

C．future

D．nature

10.

A．failures

B．changes

C．consequences

D．thrills

11.

A．defend

B．delay

C．repeat

D．reconsider

12.

A．communication

B．bond

C．friendship

D．trust

13.

A．reply

B．attend

C．attach

D．talk

14.

A．hate

B．scold

C．frighten

D．stop

15.

A．loving

B．observing

C．understanding

D．praising

3 . In America, parents tend to encourage their children to develop their potential (潜能) to the fullest extent. Fathers and mothers frequently teach their children both ambition and the confidence necessary to work toward their goals. American parents are always active in concentrating on what their kids can do, not what they can’t. As a result, millions of American boys and girls grow up hoping to become actors and athletes, diplomats and doctors. Many of them even want to become president.

American parents often encourage their children to become involved in extra activities of all types at school, such as student government, sports and music. They believe that only through taking part in these activities can their children become mature young adults.

As we all know, school work is important. But parents should realize that the social skills their children learn from natural conversations with each other are as important as schoolwork and the skills they will need in the future work. What’s more important in their work is that their children should have a sound knowledge of physics or the ability to communicate effectively.

As a rule, Chinese parents don’t educate their children about the same kind of ambition and confidence as Americans do, nor do they encourage the same level of participation in extra activities. Children are typically advised to study hard and pass exams. They have to spend a lot of time in doing much schoolwork every day. It is a great waste of time to do so.

Now more and more Chinese parents have recognized that they should pay attention to developing the potential of their children. I hope that leaders in Chinese educational circles should take some measures to develop the potential of their children. I am very confident about it.

1. From the passage, we know the American parents pay much more attention to       .

A．the social skills than Chinese parents

B．their children’s studying hard and well

C．what their children want but they can’t

D．extra activities than schoolwork

2. According to the passage, Chinese parents       .

A．know more than American parents to educate their children

B．owning ambition and confidence is necessary and important

C．pay much more attention to their children’s fine future

D．don’t encourage their children to participate in extra activities

3. From the passage, we can infer       .

A．American children are brave and adventurous

B．American children are more active in their studies

C．Chinese children have the ability to communicate effectively

D．something should be done to develop the potential of the children in China

4. What’s the writer’s attitude towards Chinese education reform?

A．Neutral.	B．Indifferent.
C．Positive.	D．Negative.

4 . May the first is an important date in the college admission process in the United States．This is the last day for high school seniors to accept or reject offers of admission in the fall．But according to a recent report, there is a great change. Acceptance rates at the top colleges this year were lower than ever.    1    
These days, college applicants are applying to more colleges because online and common applications make the process easier.    2    On the other hand, deciding students for top colleges to accept can be difficult because it takes much time. Students may not like being put on waiting lists. Also, common colleges work more to get the students they accept to accept them. Some colleges hold visiting days that offer a chance to attend classes and stay overnight. Some universities send gifts.    3    
For many families, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money, especially this year; the weak economy makes parents nervous.    4    The recent problems that spread from the housing market to credit markets have even affected student’s loans. So lately, top schools have to spare lots of money to increase their financial aid for students.
    5    The Education Department expects the number of high school graduates to start to go down. This will happen as the last of the children of the baby boom generation finishes high school. The number is not expected to start rising again until 2015.

A．Besides, top colleges are facing changes in the population.

B．What contributes to it?

C．But a mistake can be costly if it happens.

D．But top colleges ignore them.

E．They have international students who know English.

F．It can mean several acceptances to choose from.

G．They cannot afford college as planned.

5 . Sometimes children do not do what their parents tell them to do. When this happens, a parent tries to help the child to do the right thing. When this does not work, the parent usually punishes the child.
There are many things that a parent can do. One thing that people have done is to spank (打屁股) the child. When a parent spanks a child, they will use their hand or a hard object to strike them on their bottom. This is meant to show the child that they have done something wrong.
One parent remembers being spanked when he was a child. His parents used a wooden spoon. When he spanked his own children with his hand, he saw that he put a red mark on his child’s leg. He never did that again.
One problem with spanking is that it teaches the child to hit someone when they do not like what the other person is doing. Another problem with spanking is that the parent is usually angry and can hit the child too hard. Sometimes parents will use spanking for everything and not try other ways to get the child to do the right thing.
Many parents are not sure what to do instead of spanking. Some people think that their religion（宗教）tells them that spanking is okay. Some think that the law lets them do it. The courts say that parents have the right to teach their children how to behave.
Other things should be tried before a parent decides to spank a child. Telling the child exactly what is wanted from them can be one thing. Giving a child more than one choice is another thing that can be tried. Getting down to the child’s level and taking a more child-friendly approach can help as well.
1. According to the passage, when children do something wrong, one thing that parents usually do to punish them is to ________.

A．strike them on the bottom	B．try to help them do the right thing
C．teach them what to do	D．take them to court

2. Which of the following is NOT the problem caused by spanking?

A．It teaches the child to hit others when they offend him or her.

B．The parent may get angry and hit the child too hard.

C．Sometimes parents may use spanking for everything.

D．It makes parents try other ways to make the child do right.

3. Which of the following can best describe the writer’s attitude towards spanking?

A．favorable (赞同的)

B．indifferent (不关心)

C．interested

D．unfavorable

4. From this passage, we can conclude that ________.

A．Good children always do the right thing.

B．Parents should try their best to avoid spanking their children.

C．Parents have no choice but to spank their children when they do something wrong.

D．Children can have more than one choice to avoid being spanked.

6 . When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance，the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as entertainment, but certainly not an education priority（优先）. This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students

Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.

Music provides a kind of perception(视角) that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive（情感的）meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.

The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.

So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.

1. According to paragraph 1, students ________.

A．regard music as a way of entertainment

B．disagree with their parents on education

C．view music as an overlooked subject

D．prefer the arts to science

2. In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz as an example to ________.

A．compare it with rock music

B．show music identifies a society

C．introduce American musical traditions

D．prove music influences people’s lifestyles

3. According to the passage, the arts and science ________.

A．approach the world from different angles

B．explore different phenomena of the world

C．express people’s feeling in different ways

D．explain what it means to be human differently

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Music education deserves more attention.

B．Music should be of top education priority.

C．Music is an effective communication tool.

D．Music education makes students more imaginative.