1 . In some countries where racial prejudice is acute, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences that it is not even questioned. There are countries where the white man imposes his rule by brute force; there are countries where the black man protests by setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging. Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence --- as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch（关键时刻）,we have made no actual progress at all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instinct remain basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have still not learned that violence never solves a problem but makes it more acute. The sheer horror, the bloodshed（流血）, the suffering mean nothing. No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us.

The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and harder to get a hearing. They are despised mistrusted and even persuaded by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement（执行）. If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution. Our strength is sapped by having to mop to the mess that violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme. The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law.

Before we can even begin to contemplate peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each other’s problems. And to do this, we must learn about them: it is a simple exercise in communication, in exchange information. “Talk, talk, talk” the advocates of violence say, “all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser.” It’s rather like the story of the famous barrister who painstakingly explained his case to the judge. After listening to a lengthy argument, the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. “Possibly, my lord,” the barrister replied, “none the wiser, but surely far better informed.” Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom: the knowledge that violence creates the evils it pretends to solve.

1. What is the best title for this passage?

A．Advocating Violence.

B．Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice

C．Violence as a Legitimate Solution

D．Violence: The Instinet of Human Race

2. Recorded history has taught us_______.

A．violence never solves anything

B．nothing

C．the bloodshed means nothing

D．everything

3. It can be inferred that truly reasonable men________.

A．can’t get a hearing

B．are looked down upon

C．are persecuted

D．have difficulty in advocating law enforcement

4. “He was none the wiser” means_______.

A．He was not at all wise in listening

B．He was not at all wiser than nothing before

C．He gains nothing after listening

D．He makes no sense of the argument

5. According to the author, the best way to solve race prejudice is ______.

A．low enforcement	B．knowledge
C．nonviolence	D．mopping up the violent mess

2 . America’s businesses are getting older and fatter, while many new businesses are dying in infancy.

A study last month by the Brookings Institution found that the proportion of older firms has grown steadily over several decades, while the survival rate of new companies has fallen. In addition, young people are starting companies at a sharply lower rate than in the past.

A new report from the National Association of Manufacturers shows a major cause: The cost of obeying government regulations has risen to more than $2 trillion (12.26 trillion yuan) annually, or 12 percent of the GDP, and this cost falls disproportionately on smaller, newer businesses.

It’s risky, difficult and expensive to start a business, and getting more so. Governments are imposing various new rules on a seemingly daily basis: health insurance, minimum wage increases and, most recently in California, compulsory paid sick days for even hourly employees. These regulations shift huge social welfare costs directly onto often-struggling small businesses, while being proportionally much less costly for larger companies.

This is partly an unintended issue of resources---established companies can cope with new costs more easily---but it’s also deliberate. For instance, big insurance companies got a seat at the table to help write Obama care, but less politically powerful firms---like medical device manufacturers---got squeezed.

Mature, successful corporations can employ ex-lawmakers with connections, distribute campaign contributions and even write regulations for themselves. They are also more likely to want to protect steady revenue streams than revolutionize their industry.

Major companies that have been so ill-managed they would otherwise collapse---airlines, car companies and banks---stagger(蹒跚)on because politicians ride to the rescue with bags of taxpayer money.

The genius of our unique system of government is the determination to protect and defend the rights of the individual over the rights of the nation. As such, the rise of a well-connected oligarchy(寡头政治)that protects big business at the expense of small business, and the established over the new, is opposite to American ideals.

Income inequality—which is directly caused by faulty government policy---is being promoted as the reason to impose more of that bad policy. But let’s be perfectly clear, we do not have a free market but one where government picks winners and losers through regulations and financial aids.

Politics is, and always has been, about balancing competing interests seeking to benefit themselves, and that’s as it should be, but the force of government should never be used to reduce competition, kill innovation or support and extend artificial monopolies(垄断)by harming the consumer, the taxpayer and the economy. Policy must breed our new and small businesses or see the as-yet undreamed of innovations that could be our bright future die in infancy.

1. We can learn from the passage that___________.

A．over several decades, new companies have grown steadily.

B．mature, successful corporations prefer to maintain their stable incomes.

C．less politically powerful firms also have their voice in making regulations.

D．The cost of obeying government regulations falls equally on all businesses.

2. We can infer from the last three paragraphs that__________.

A．the state economy may depend on those innovative businesses.

B．the rise of a well-connected oligarchy is contrary to American ideals.

C．income inequality is what the government should take action to resolve.

D．the government picks winners and losers through the law of free market.

3. It can be concluded from the passage that___________.

A．big insurance companies have better relationship with Obama.

B．most of the ex-lawmakers work in mature, successful corporations.

C．larger and older firms have a command of resources of various aspects.

D．politicians like providing financial aids to the companies of worse operation.

4. As to the development of smaller businesses, the writer is___________.

A．contented.	B．confident.
C．convinced.	D．concerned.

3 . President Obama’s second Inaugural Address used soaring language to stress America’s commitment to the dream of equality of opportunity: ‘We are true to our belief that a little girl born into _______ knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American’.

The gap between ideal and reality could hardly be _______ . Today, the United States has less equality of opportunity than almost any other advanced industrial country. Study after study has _______ the myth that America is a land of opportunity. A way of looking at equality of opportunity is to as to what extent the life chances of a child are _______ the education and income of his parents. Is it just as likely that a child of poor or poorly educated parents gets a good education and rises to the middle class as someone born to middle-class parents with college degrees? Even in a more democratic society. the answer would be no.

How do we explain this? Some of it has to do with discrimination （歧视）. Latinos and African-Americans still get paid less than whites, and women still get paid less than men, _______ they recently surpassed （超越）men in the number of advanced degrees they obtain. Discrimination, however, is only a small part of the _______. Probably the most important reason for _______ of equality of opportunity is education. After World WarⅡ, we made a major effort to _______ higher education to Americans across the country. But then we changed, in several ways. While racial segregation（种族隔离）decreased, economic segregation increased. After 1980, the poor grew poorer, the middle stagnated（停滞不前）, and the top did better and better. A result was a widening gap in educational performance – the _______ gap between rich and poor kids born in 2001 was 30 to 40 percent larger than it was for those born 25 years earlier, a Stanford sociologist found. Of course, there are other forces ______ . Children in rich families get more exposure to reading. Their families can afford enriching experiences like music lessons and summer camp. They get better nutrition and health care, which enhance their learning, directly and indirectly.

Now Americans are coming to realize that without extensive policy changes, their long cherished belief is only a myth. It is unreasonable that a rich country like the United States has made _______ to higher education so difficult for those at the bottom and middle. There are many _______ ways of providing chances for more to receive higher education, from Australia’s income-contingent loan program to the near-free system of universities in Europe. A more educated population produces greater innovation, and a booming economy. Those benefits are why we’ve long been ______ to free public education through 12^th grade. But while a 12^th-grade education might have been enough a century ago, it isn’t today. Yet we haven’t _______ our system to contemporary realities.

The steps I’ve outlined are not just affordable but necessary. Even more important, though, is that we cannot afford to let our country drift farther from _______ that the vast majority of Americans share. We will never fully succeed in achieving Mr. Obama’s vision of a poor girl’s having exactly the same opportunities as a wealthy girl. But we could do much, much better, and must not rest until we do.

1.

A．prejudice

B．inferior

C．poverty

D．minority

2.

A．narrower

B．wider

C．severer

D．closer

3.

A．conducted

B．concluded

C．excluded

D．exposed

4.

A．distinct from

B．feasible by

C．superior to

D．dependent on

5.

A．even though

B．as though

C．only if

D．as if

6.

A．photograph

B．picture

C．atmosphere

D．condition

7.

A．lack

B．leak

C．explosion

D．extinction

8.

A．exhibit

B．explore

C．extend

D．exploit

9.

A．contribution

B．satisfaction

C．achievement

D．ambition

10.

A．at play

B．under control

C．in use

D．on show

11.

A．devotion

B．familiarity

C．application

D．access

12.

A．imaginative

B．alternative

C．sensitive

D．productive

13.

A．admitted

B．permitted

C．devoted

D．limited

14.

A．abandoned

B．adjusted

C．altered

D．applied

15.

A．memories

B．glory

C．reality

D．ideals

4 . Directions: Write an English composition in 100-120 words according to the instruction given below.
如今越来越多的人从电子媒体获取信息，那么传统的大众媒体如报纸、杂志会被取代吗？请简述你的观点，并说明理由。
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . A Life in Danger

Lucy, aged 15, lives in Bournemouth with her parents. Her parents aren’t poor, and she was at a private school when she started getting bullied. This made her very unhappy and she began to misbehave. She made some new friends who went clubbing a lot. Later she even took drug and stole money to buy drug. Her parents were so worried about their daughter and so angry about her behavior that they decided to send Lucy to Turn-About Ranch (TAR), a tough camp for problem teens in Utah, in the USA.

Lucy didn’t like the idea of going to the ranch（牧场）in Utah, but after spending three months there, she’s changed her attitude. She said, “The staff at TAR cared about our emotional well-being but they also wanted us to be disciplined and respect the rules. They told us not to take any drugs, not even tobacco or alcohol, and they made us get up at 6.30 a.m. every day and to school work as well as jobs around the ranch. TAR is a real, working ranch with cows and horses, which we had to take care of.

At TAR they asked us not to wear make-up or jewelry or use hair products. They told us that teenagers with problems often use a cool appearance as a mask to hide behind and that they needed to break down those barriers to help us look inside at the confusion which causes our problem behavior. They also wanted us to take responsibility for all our actions.”

Her time there has made her more self-confident, less aggressive and much happier. She’s started a college course, she’s got a part-time job, and she’s also doing voluntary work helping underprivileged children. She hasn’t taken any drugs since she left TAR. Lucy says, “TAR made me think very hard about the friends I used to see and where my life was going. I realized that the drugs were starting to become the only thing in my life that I cared about, which meant I stopped enjoying other things and treated people badly. I ought to have realized that, and I know I shouldn’t have done a lot of things that I did. The ranch has really opened my eyes. They told me to believe I could achieve something with my life, and from now on I want to try.”

1. What problem at school started to change Lucy’s behavior?

A．That she made some new friends.

B．That she was studying in a private school.

C．That she stole money to buy drug.

D．That she was bullied at school.

2. Why does TAR have rules about appearance?

A．They have to do schoolwork at TAR.

B．They are supposed to take care of the animals at the ranch.

C．Cool appearance is the barrier to reflection on one’s inner self.

D．Keeping cool appearance takes much time and money.

3. How does Lucy feel about the future now?

A．Upset.	B．Confused.
C．Fair.	D．Hopeful.

6 . Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

In 1986, the drug company Johnson & Johnson was faced with a crisis. Several people had died after taking Tylenol（泰诺）, a Johnson & Johnson product. The deaths were not the ________ of the company, but the work of a criminal who had put poison in some of the Tylenol capsules（胶囊）. The criminal was later caught and punished, but ________ the deaths, people stopped buying Tylenol. The management of Johnson & Johnson realized that they had to act _______and quickly to prevent serious consequences for the company. Within days, in fact, they ________ every Tylenol capsule in the United States to check for ________. Soon afterword they also introduced “tamperproof” bottles to prevent future problems. Sales of Tylenol ________ again, and in the end, people felt that Johnson & Johnson had acted well.

Not all companies respond to crisis as well as Johnson & Johnson. Some failed to realized the importance of acting responsibly and suffered a dramatic ________ in sales. Consumers no longer trusted the companies.

The key to managing a crisis lies in the company’s ________ reaction. If they recognize a problem immediately and take measures to deal with it, they are less likely to suffer long-term consequences. One example of a quick reaction was that of the Pepsi Company in 1992, when hypodermic syringes （皮下注射器）were found in several soda cans. In a short time, the company was able to prove that the syringes had nothing to do with the production process, and they also found the criminals who had put the syringes in the cans. ________, they lost few customers. On the other hand, Wendy’s fast-food company ________ millions of dollars in 2004 because it tried to deny bad news and did not act quickly enough.

1.

A．feature

B．decision

C．fault

D．solution

2.

A．in favor of

B．in response to

C．in return for

D．in honor of

3.

A．decisively

B．happily

C．fortunately

D．readily

4.

A．avoided

B．involved

C．recalled

D．practiced

5.

A．changing

B．poisoning

C．abandoning

D．cheating

6.

A．picked up

B．settled down

C．came out

D．hung out

7.

A．effect

B．mistake

C．objection

D．drop

8.

A．temporary

B．reverse

C．initial

D．conditional

9.

A．In addition

B．As a result

C．For example

D．By contrast

10.

A．lost

B．gathered

C．maintained

D．invested

7 . Directions: Complete the passage with the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

The Internet has been found a new usage.Increasingly, more and more Americans are having a(an)     1    to become their own doctors, by going online to order home health tests or medical devices, or even self-treat their illnesses with drugs from Internet pharmacies(药店). Some people    2     doctors because of the high cost medical care, especially if they    3     health insurance. Or they may    4     to see a doctor because they find it embarrassing to discuss their weight, alcohol consumption or couch potato habits. Patients may also fear what they might learn about their health, or they distrust physicians because of     5    in the past. But to become their own doctors can be    6    .

Every day, more than six million American search the Internet for medical answers.Most of them have no    7     about what they find. In 2002, a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 72 percent of those surveyed believe all or most of what they read on health websites. Actually, most of such web sites are only interested in doing    8     business. Of the 169 websites the researchers rated, only 16 scored as "high quality".Recent studies found faulty facts about all sorts of other disorders, causing one research team to     9     that a large amount of incomplete, inaccurate and even dangerous information exists on the Internet.

The problem is that most people don't know the safe way to surf the web. "They use a search engine like Google, get 18 trillion choices and start clicking. But that's risky, because almost anybody can put up a site that looks     10     , so it's hard to know   National Cancer Institute.

8 . As data and identity theft becomes more and more common, the market is growing for biometric(生物测量) technologies—like fingerprint scans—to keep others out of private e-spaces. At present, these technologies are still expensive, though.

Researchers from Georgia Tech say that they have come up with a low-cost device(装置) that gets around this problem: a smart keyboard. This smart keyboard precisely measures the cadence(节奏) with which one types and the pressure fingers apply to each key. The keyboard could offer a strong layer of security by analyzing things like the force of a user’s typing and the time between key presses. These patterns are unique to each person. Thus, the keyboard can determine people’s identities, and by extension, whether they should be given access to the computer it’s connected to—regardless of whether someone gets the password right.

It also doesn’t require a new type of technology that people aren’t already familiar with. Everybody uses a keyboard and everybody types differently.

In a study describing the technology, the researchers had 100 volunteers type the word “touch” four times using the smart keyboard. Data collected from the device could be used to recognize different participants based on how they typed, with very low error rates. The researchers say that the keyboard should be pretty straightforward to commercialize and is mostly made of inexpensive, plastic-like parts. The team hopes to make it to market in the near future.

1. Why do the researchers develop the smart keyboard?

A．To reduce pressure on keys.	B．To improve accuracy in typing.
C．To replace the password system.	D．To cut the cost of e-space protection.

2. What makes the invention of the smart keyboard possible?

A．Computers are much easier to operate.

B．Fingerprint scanning techniques develop fast.

C．Typing patterns vary from person to person.

D．Data security measures are guaranteed.

3. What do the researchers expect of the smart keyboard?

A．It’ll be environment-friendly.	B．It’ll reach consumers soon.
C．It’ll be made of plastics.	D．It’ll help speed up typing.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A diary.

B．A guidebook

C．A novel.

D．A magazine.

9 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Screen Time: How Much Is Too Much?

Many children spend a lot of time watching or playing with electronic media—from televisions to video games, computers and other devices.     1     Perhaps parents now should ease up on their concerns about screen time, at least for older boys and girls.

Until last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggested that children and teenagers have no more than two hours of screen time a day. It also suggests that parents balance a child’s screen time with other activities.

    2     Christopher Ferguson, who teaches psychology at Stetson University in Florida, notes a lack of evidence supporting reports that too many hours spent playing video games or watching TV is truly harmful.

Ferguson seems interested in one idea: the link between video games and violent or risky behavior. When he saw results from a recent British survey on screen time, he wanted to know more. The British study found a small negative effect—about a one percent increase—in aggression and depression among children who had six or more hours of screen time a day.     3     So, Ferguson and his team examined answers from a survey on risky behaviors. The study involved about 6,000 boys and girls in Florida, whose average age was 16.

Data from this survey found that American children are also fairly resistant to the negative effects of electronic media. Among those who used screens up to six hours a day, the survey found: a 0.5 percent increase in criminal behavior; a 1.7 percent increase in signs of depression; and a 1.2 percent negative effect on school grades.     4     To further argue his point that screen time is not harmful, Ferguson adds that children should become familiar with screen technology. Electronic devices, he says, are a part of our everyday lives.

A．Some negative experiences on social media can and do affect some children.

B．However, some experts question claims that too much screen time is harmful.

C．He wanted to see if there was a similar effect among young people in the United States.

D．So, it is natural that parents should wonder about all the time children spend looking at a screen.

E．The researchers found no increase in risky sex or driving behaviors, use of illegal substances or eating disorders.

F．The researchers suggested that for those children, technology use might get in the way of taking part in other important activities.

10 . Directions：Read the passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Most parents know that they need life insurance. But many would rather have a root canal than shop for the best life insurance policy.

“People don’t think about,‘What will my family do if I am gone and not earning a living?’”says Peter Katt, a fee-only life insurance adviser.“The whole point of this kind of planning is to provide the family with maximum flexibility so they’re not stuck.”

Planning for your death is not a cheerful topic. Too often, parents make a quick decision, ignoring important considerations. Among their mistakes one is that they do not buy enough life insurance.     1    “They don’t think that the person who is not bringing in an income needs life insurance,”says Greg Daugherty, executive editor of Consumers Union. But if that person dies, the other parent can’t stop working and usually has to pay someone to help care for the family.

    2    . Katt recommended that one young couple should buy $3 million for the husband who earns $100,000 a year and $1 million for the stay-at-home wife.

At the same time, many families rely on employer-provided life insurance, but employer-provided coverage is rarely sufficient to support your family. Many employer-provided policies provide a death benefit of $10,000 to $25,000—barely enough to cover your funeral expense. Some employers provide a year’s salary, but that may also fall well short of the amount your family would need to maintain its standard of living.

Some employers let workers buy group life insurance through payroll deductions. They may be a good deal for workers who have health problems that would disqualify them for an individual policy. But if you’re young and healthy, you may be able to get a better rate on your own.

Another drawback is that if you leave your job, you may not be able to take your insurance.“Given the job market, most of us are not absolutely certain that our jobs are secure,”Daugherty says.“    3    .”

On the other hand, some families buy too much insurance. Not everyone needs life insurance. Some people buy life insurance for babies, which is unnecessary, unless the baby is a child model who is supporting the family, Daugherty says: The purpose of insurance is to replace the income that a family has been relying on. Single people and those who have no children to care for usually don’t need life insurance.

Katt says a man with substantial savings in stocks and bonds and other sources of income recently asked him how much life insurance he needs. “I said none,”Katt says.“    4    .”

A．There are people who don’t need life insurance but have it and many more people who need it but are woefully uninsured.

B．Families don’t always insure a parent who is staying home to care for the children.

C．Most people put off buying life insurance for any number of reasons if they even understand it.

D．Even if you have a lot of insurance at work, it makes sense to have some more insurance on your own.

E．If you fall seriously ill of suffer significant injury later, it will make it tougher to get that kind of policy, if any at all.

F．To make insurance more affordable, you may not need to buy the same amount of insurance for both parents.