1 . One night, our house burned down. As a single mother with four kids, she cried bitterly. We had to move into the Ramada Inn, where my mother worked. This was the room where putting one foot in front of the next felt impossible. After four months of not having any of our own air to breathe, we were on the edge of just giving up.
One day Mother stood up, looking crazy. “Let’s go for a ride,” we looked at one another cautiously, not sure if we had heard right. “Come on,” she urged. “It’ll be fun.” We didn’t have fun in our family. Fun was something we might have known about once, which, however, seemed foreign to us now. Still, we piled into our 1972 blue Ford Torino, a blue so faded as to appear almost white. Mother started the car, saying “I thought we’d go to look at all the houses we’ve lived in.”
Embarking on rides that night was my first. Gradually, going for a ride in my mother’s car became a regular thing. Every night we piled into the car and the world changed. We even sang “You Are My Sunshine” and a million other songs. The hope we seemed to have lost in the rest of our life was real again in the car as we sang. One night as we were singing loudly, “In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines and you shiver when the cold wind blows ...” Mother suddenly stopped the car. “This is it!” she cried.
“This” was a house, and a for-rent sign in the front yard brought me more joy than I could believe. “Really?” I asked in a low voice. My mother was excited and we all went to look. We might have a house again. That night, I realized my mother was like us. The following weekend, we moved in. The nights in the car were over. Better off, we had new jobs and activities now. One summer in the Torino had saved us. We had lost our home, but my mother had found a way to bring us together and keep us that way.
1. What did the author think of the room in the Ramada Inn?| A．It was comfortable. | B．It was tiny. | C．It was fashionable. | D．It was broken. |
| A．Excited. | B．Embarrassed. | C．Confused. | D．Bored. |
| A．Starting. | B．Desiring. | C．Designing. | D．Fixing. |
| A．Singing in the Rain | B．Taking the Easy Path |
| C．Ringing to the Rescue | D．Running Through Life |
2 . A few weeks earlier, my pastor (牧师) had called upon me to be one of ten team leaders to help with the church’s upcoming fundraiser for building improvements. Though I said yes, this was definitely outside my
Each team leader needed to find five to seven people to
I stood there shocked by her
Beth had just opened up an entirely new world to me, and I
| A．common practice | B．safety rule | C．comfort zone | D．rock bottom |
| A．examine | B．follow | C．concentrate | D．participate |
| A．Scanning | B．Greeting | C．Introducing | D．Inquiring |
| A．partly | B．attentively | C．accidentally | D．aimlessly |
| A．improving | B．recovering | C．attempting | D．risking |
| A．chance | B．right | C．time | D．power |
| A．application | B．comment | C．response | D．performance |
| A．Therefore | B．Somehow | C．Otherwise | D．Instead |
| A．made | B．put | C．got | D．took |
| A．struck | B．shocked | C．satisfied | D．amazed |
| A．get hold of | B．catch up with | C．think less of | D．put up with |
| A．pretended | B．guessed | C．assumed | D．realized |
| A．assist | B．interview | C．explore | D．observe |
| A．nodded | B．agreed | C．doubted | D．declined |
| A．bottoms | B．principles | C．feelings | D．rules |
3 . After over a decade of faithful service, my old desktop computer finally died. With no computer repair places open, my daughter talked me into
I looked for the old e-mail
What I did learn from all of this is that when it comes to computers and
| A．exchanging | B．purchasing | C．recycling | D．sacrificing |
| A．parking | B．dropping | C．repairing | D．flying |
| A．program | B．website | C．receiver | D．computer |
| A．faster | B．cheaper | C．older | D．easier |
| A．hired | B．cleaned | C．rejected | D．saved |
| A．fancy | B．heavy | C．tidy | D．handy |
| A．weighed | B．stuck | C．designed | D．touched |
| A．set up | B．put on | C．taken in | D．made out |
| A．imagine | B．explore | C．ignore | D．reflect |
| A．work | B．travel | C．life | D．nature |
| A．yawn | B．rush | C．bow | D．dance |
| A．Still | B．Maybe | C．Besides | D．Instead |
| A．firmly | B．slowly | C．hopefully | D．normally |
| A．ambiguous | B．controversial | C．complicated | D．flexible |
| A．faster | B．calmer | C．luckier | D．simpler |
4 . A group of graduates got together to visit their old university professor.
The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups — porcelain(瓷), plastic, glass — telling them to help themselves to the coffee. Meanwhile the professor stood nearby watching.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, “If you have noticed, all the nice-looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. It is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, which is the source of your problems and stress.”
“Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really want is coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.”
“Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of the life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor(品味) the coffee, not the cups! Don’t let the cups drive you... enjoy the coffee instead.”
After listening to his words, the students tasted coffee carefully and found it more delicious than ever.
1. Why did the professor take out various cups with a large pot of coffee?| A．To show his wealth. | B．To tell students the philosophy of life. |
| C．To offer more choices to students. | D．To match different coffee tastes. |
| A．Looking for good jobs. | B．Searching for nice companions. |
| C．Buying a big house. | D．Pursuing perfection. |
| A．To make sure their own cups were better. | B．Only to talk about their coffee. |
| C．To intend to have others’ cups. | D．To exchange their coffee with others. |
| A．Coffee is the best. | B．Cups are nothing. |
| C．Learn to enjoy your life. | D．The appearance is everything. |
5 . When I was a baby, my parents gave me anything I wanted. We would walk into a
That was when the real state (房地产)market crashed. My mom had spent nearly all the
Whenever I asked for a new toy, or bike, or
I got T-shirts for my 8th birthday instead of a video game, which I always
I hugged her harder than ever before. Suddenly I realized how hard she worked to pay most of the money for rent and food, so she couldn’t afford to give me anything I didn’t
From then on, I learned to
Now I’m grateful for everything I have and understand that the feeling of having truly
| A．school | B．library | C．store | D．cinema |
| A．worried | B．relaxed | C．worse | D．better |
| A．time | B．money | C．effort | D．energy |
| A．also | B．rather | C．even | D．still |
| A．complaints | B．requests | C．suggestions | D．orders |
| A．struggling | B．planning | C．helping | D．promising |
| A．menus | B．lists | C．numbers | D．bills |
| A．desired | B．owned | C．played | D．learned |
| A．shocked | B．disappointed | C．embarrassed | D．worried |
| A．need | B．have | C．find | D．know |
| A．share | B．store | C．appreciate | D．identify |
| A．experience | B．decision | C．test | D．job |
| A．competition | B．balance | C．origin | D．difference |
| A．had | B．bought | C．earned | D．lost |
| A．believed | B．changed | C．succeeded | D．survived |
While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder，it is harmful to a woman.
Handsome male executives were thought as having more integrity than plainer men；effort and ability were thought to account for their success.
Attractive female executives were considered to have less integrity than unattractive ones；their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck.
All unattractive women executives were thought to have more integrity and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly，though，the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was attributed more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of attractive overnight successes.
Why are attractive women not thought to be able？An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine and an attractive man more masculine(有男子气概的)than the less attractive ones. Thus，an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs，but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the “masculine” qualities required.
This is true even in politics. “When the only clue is how he or she looks，people treat men and women differently，”says Anne Bowman，who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs，one of men and one of women，in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again，in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males utterly defeated unattractive men，but the women who had been ranked most attractive invariably received the fewest votes.
1. The underlined word “liability”(in Para.1)most probably means “________”．
| A．misfortune | B．instability | C．disadvantage | D．burden |
| A．reinforces(加强)the feminine qualities required |
| B．makes women look more honest and capable |
| C．is of primary importance to women |
| D．often enables women to succeed quickly |
| A．turns out to be an obstacle to men |
| B．affects men and women alike |
| C．has as little effect on men as on women |
| D．is more of an obstacle than a benefit to women |
| A．practical | B．prejudiced | C．oldfashioned | D．pessimistic |
| A．demand equal rights for women |
| B．emphasize the importance of appearance |
| C．discuss the negative aspects of being attractive |
| D．give advice to jobseekers who are attractive |
Then one day Ethan’s mother made an offer in order to draw him back to his school subjects. She promised that she would give him $200 if he could go a full month without watching any TV. None of us thought Ethan could do it, but he did quite well. His mom paid him $200. He went out and bought a TV, the biggest he could find.
In recent years, hundreds of schools have carried out experiments with paying kids with each for showing up or getting good grades. All school kids admire this trend. But it upsets adults. Teachers say that we are rewarding kids for doing what they should be doing of their own will. Psychologists warn that money can actually make kids perform worse by making the act of learning cheap. The debate has become a typical battle over why our kids are not learning at the rate they should he despite decades of reforms and budget increases.
[写作内容] 1. 以约30词概括上文的主要内容。
2. 以约120词对用金钱鼓励孩子学习的现象进行议论，内容包括：
(1)你对用金钱鼓励孩子学习的看法;
(2)你的父母(或其他亲人)是如何鼓励你学习的；
(3)你认为怎样才能更好地鼓励孩子学习。
[写作要求]
1. 可以使用实例或其它论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2. 标题自定。
3. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。
[评分标准]概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。
8 . There once lived a young man who was always unhappy and complained about his poverty. One day, he went to see a fortune teller to inquire how to become
“Where is my wealth?” the young man asked
“It is with you. Your
“You call these wealth? Everyone has them,” the young man said.
“These are wealth. What you have now are not what others can luckily have. Are you
“No, are you crazy? I am not going to exchange my eyes for money! They are
“Precisely, these are wealth to you. You will not exchange them for money. Furthermore, although a lot of people have their wealthy things, they do not
Everyone is wealthy. But we should not
| A．happy | B．young | C．wealthy | D．poor |
| A．anxiously | B．sadly | C．quietly | D．patiently |
| A．knowledge | B．skills | C．brain | D．eyes |
| A．ugly | B．beautiful | C．strange | D．useful |
| A．legs | B．cars | C．jewels | D．banknotes |
| A．lovely | B．optimistic | C．angry | D．willing |
| A．charge | B．buy | C．exchange | D．change |
| A．precious | B．useless | C．extra | D．special |
| A．wept | B．demonstrated | C．smiled | D．yelled |
| A．see | B．realize | C．keep | D．hold |
| A．grateful | B．careful | C．meaningful | D．faithful |
| A．get | B．grasp | C．have | D．lose |
| A．take | B．make | C．set | D．sell |
| A．wrongly | B．wisely | C．naturally | D．really |
| A．old | B．used | C．gone | D．dead |
