1 . While many Americans joke about their poor math, labor experts say the nation’s decreasing math skill threatens U. S. economic competitiveness and national security (安全). Jim Stigler, a professor studying the process of teaching. and learning, said, “The advances in technology that drive where the world goes will come from other countries, because they have the intellectual capital (资本) while we don’t.”
Concerning the math crisis facing schools, the U. S. military has called for a major program to support education in science, technology, education, and math (STEM). Government labor experts say the number of jobs in areas requiring math skill will increase by more than 30,000each year through the end of 2030, much faster than most other kinds of jobs.
Mathematics is becoming a part of almost every career, but most American students aren’t prepared. In the recent PISA tests in math, U. S. students tested lower than students from 36 other education systems worldwide. Only one in five American high school students planning to attend college are prepared for college -level study in STEM, say experts.
However, students from other countries are preparing to lead in these areas. An official report says only one in five graduate students in math-heavy fields at U. S. universities are American. The rest come from other countries. Most will leave the U. S. when they finish their programs.
“We’re just not starting students on career paths related to math and computer science to stay competitive,” said Josh Wyner, a vice president of the Aspen Institute, a think tank. It urged decision-makers to make education an important national security goal. “We are no longer keeping pace with other countries,” the Aspen report says, calling this a dangerous failure.
In Massachusetts, employers are expecting a shortage (短缺) over the next five years of 11,000 workers in the life sciences alone. “It’s not an educational question alone,” said Edward, director of an education program, warning that this may damage national security.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1?| A．Americans don’t care about their poor math. |
| B．Poor math skills will bring America disadvantages. |
| C．Intellectual capital is a must for future development. |
| D．Labor experts can shoulder the duty of national safety. |
| A．The army will open STEM programs soon. |
| B．Students are prepared for math-heavy jobs. |
| C．There will be a sharp rise in math-related jobs. |
| D．America will be behind in STEM education. |
| A．American students fall behind in math learning. |
| B．American students fail to get math-related jobs. |
| C．America has lost its attraction to foreign students. |
| D．America fails to lead other countries in education. |
| A．It can be solved in the next five years. | B．It’s an evidence of overall math failure. |
| C．It will cost the U. S. its lead in world affair. | D．It’ll do harm to America’s national security. |
2 . “Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD（公元） 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this. You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave（微波炉）, computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（赶时髦的）, beer-drinking granny”, to one who cooked things.
1. The writer uses the quote（引号）at the beginning of the story to ________.| A．tell us a truth about our lives |
| B．tell us what life was like long time ago |
| C．point out what causes such a thing to happen |
| D．point out some problems we will meet in the life |
| A．have speeded up our lives | B．have improved the quality of our lives |
| C．may make people feel very happy | D．may bring people some trouble |
| A．they loved to live simple lives |
| B．they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions |
| C．they were troubled by modern inventions |
| D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them |
| A．People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier. |
| B．An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better. |
| C．The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house. |
| D．With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired. |
| A．problems with technology |
| B．improvements of our lives with technology |
| C．changes happening to technology |
| D．D. the importance of technology |
3 . Did you ever have to say “no” to somebody? Such as a classmate who asks to go to lunch with you? New research suggests that, at least socially, a rejection (拒绝) should not include an apology. In other words, saying you are sorry does not make the person being rejected feel any better. In fact, it might make the rejected person feel worse. That is surprising. Many people consider it to be good manners to say they are sorry when they turn down a request.
Gili Freedman is doing some related research at Dartmouth College. For her research, she asked over 1,000 people to respond to different examples of social rejection. In one example, the researchers asked people for their reaction (反应）after a person named Taylor asked to join a co-worker who went out to lunch every Friday. And Taylor was told “no”. But in some cases, the person rejecting Taylor offered an apology. In other cases, the people doing the rejection did not say they were sorry. People were asked how they would feel if they were being turned down, just as Taylor was. Most said they would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology than a rejection without an apology.
Freedman said the reason is that apologies make people feel like they need to say that the rejection was okay— even when they felt like it was not okay. Rejection without an apology lets them express their feelings of disappointment, hurt or anger more easily. Freedman also said that an apology often makes the person doing the rejection feel better—even as it makes the person being rejected feel worse.
Her research deals only with social communication. A business situation might be very different. “If a manager rejects a job interviewee or a boss must tell an employee that he or she is being fired from a job,” Freedman said, “reactions to apologies may be different.”
1. Why do people say they are sorry when they express rejection?| A．Because they think it is more polite. |
| B．Because they think it helps them express their dislike better. |
| C．Because they think apologies are the basis of communication. |
| D．Because they think it sounds more comfortable for the listener. |
| A．rejected others without an apology |
| B．offered an apology when rejecting others |
| C．would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology |
| D．were asked to answer the question in different situations |
| A．It makes the rejection more acceptable. |
| B．It makes a good impression on the listener. |
| C．It makes the communication more pleasant. |
| D．It makes the person doing the rejecting feel better. |
| A．The effect of an apology during a rejection. |
| B．Gili Freedman’s research on business situations. |
| C．A rejection with an apology in a business situation. |
| D．The difference between a social situation and a business one. |
4 . One morning, the door opened and a new teacher, Mrs Cosby, walked in. She looked too
Mrs Cosby asked us to come to the front of the class, and gave each of us a
You see no one had ever
Mrs Cosby did this every
At the graduation ceremony, Mrs Cosby hugged us and told us with tears in her eyes how
She said, “I want you each to keep this book and if you feel
| A．soft | B．short | C．foolish | D．ordinary |
| A．happy | B．hard | C．beautiful | D．valuable |
| A．took back | B．took out | C．took on | D．took off |
| A．partly | B．nearly | C．hardly | D．totally |
| A．sentence | B．comment | C．paper | D．letter |
| A．poor | B．angry | C．glad | D．good |
| A．forgotten about | B．played with | C．believed in | D．looked for |
| A．naturally | B．generally | C．suddenly | D．gradually |
| A．teaching | B．praising | C．following | D．observing |
| A．strange | B．positive | C．negative | D．interesting |
| A．day | B．week | C．month | D．year |
| A．shortcomings | B．mistakes | C．strengths | D．wishes |
| A．start | B．continue | C．settle | D．write |
| A．attitude | B．thinking | C．reaction | D．effect |
| A．understand | B．know | C．share | D．hurt |
| A．study | B．play | C．fight | D．joke |
| A．tired | B．proud | C．ashamed | D．kind |
| A．promised | B．bought | C．handed | D．suggested |
| A．energetic | B．unlucky | C．unworthy | D．worthy |
| A．even if | B．as long as | C．unless | D．as though |
增加: 在此处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出修改的词。
删除: 把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改: 在错的词下划一横线，并在其下面写出修改后的词。
注意: 1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词； 2.只允许修改 10 处，多者(从 11 处起)不计分。
One day, I was cooking in the kitchen when the telephone rings. I went to answer it immediately. She was my close friend, Lisa. When we were talking on a phone, the fire alarm sounded. I dashed back to the kitchen. The room full of smoke and the beef was bad burnt. I quickly turned off the gas, opening all the windows, and then rushed out of the house. In my surprise, two fire engines were outside my house. I was rather worrying. I told about the firemen that it was my careless cooking which caused the heavy smoke.
I’m
Now, most families have one child. Parents want to do everything for their children. This does no good
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to(料理), and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card(住宿登记卡) to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate(价钱). From then on, they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly(相应地).
With so many loopholes(漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
In a society of such high moral practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others?
1. While taking a taxi in Finland, _____.
| A．a passenger can go anywhere without having to pay the driver |
| B．a passenger pays two US dollars for a taxi ride |
| C．a passenger can never be refused by the taxi driver wherever he wants to go |
| D．a passenger needs to provide good faith demonstration (证明) before leaving without paying |
| A．are mostly poorly managed |
| B．provide meals for any diners |
| C．provide free wine and charge for food |
| D．provide meal for only those who live in the hotels |
| A．The workers in Finland are paid by the hour. |
| B．The workers are always honest with their working hours. |
| C．The workers and their bosses will make an agreement in advance about the pay. |
| D．The bosses in Finland are too busy to check the working hours of their employees. |
| A．people who are dishonest |
| B．people who often have meals in big hotels |
| C．people who often take taxis |
| D．people who are worthy of trust |
