As the father of a student, I have experienced first hand what a great teacher is. My son was in the 4^th grade last year, and he had a teacher called Miss Green. I believe that when he is an adult he will surely look back on her as the best teacher he has ever had.
My son has attention deficit disorder(注意力缺損癥) that makes it a little more difficult for him to learn. She was able to change her teaching methods for him so that he could keep up with the rest of the class. As a result, he got straight As on many subjects. She regarded her class as a family and they even had their own class song. She would often have them sing it to encourage them and develop a team spirit for them. When she saw that they were no longer listening carefully to what she was teaching, she would have them close their textbooks, stand up all around the room and throw around a small football. This helped them clear their minds and then focus on the lesson again. Besides, she was quick to reply to any phone calls or emails from us and got rid of our worries about children quickly.
When my son went to the 5^th grade this year, we happened to pass her classroom. When she saw my son, her face lit up(露出喜色) and she came out and hugged him. She generally loves all of the children in her classroom and that love really shows. I can only pray(祈禱) that my son will continue to get teachers just like her for the rest of his school years.
小題1:With the teacher’s help, the writer’s son ______.

A．became the best student in his class

B．was interested in singing songs

C．quickly finished his 4th grade lessons

D．improved his grades greatly

小題2:Which of the following is NOT true about Miss Green?

A．She regarded the students as members of a family.

B．She had special ways to help students study.

C．She was good at teaching football and music.

D．She usually made a quick reply to parents’ emails.

小題3:The underlined phrases “focus on” in Paragraph 2 means ______.

A．look forward to	B．pay attention to
C．get away from	D．take care of

小題4:We can learn from the text that ______.

A．Miss Green was the best teacher at the school

B．a(chǎn)ll the students in the school liked Miss Green

C．Miss Green didn’t teach the writer’s son in the 5th grade

D．the writer’s son had many teachers like Miss Green

小題5:In the text, the writer mainly tells us ______.

A．what his son studied at school

B．his son once had a good teacher

C．how to be a good and popular teacher

D．a(chǎn) teacher who liked playing with students

During the 19th century, scientists found that when certain parts of the brain of a person were hurt, he would lose the power of doing certain things. And so people thought that each part of the brain does a different job. But modern research has discovered that this is not so, for it is not easy to show exactly what each part of the brain does.
In the past fifty years there has been a great increase in the amount or research done on the brain. Scientists have found out that the way the brain works is not so simple as people in general may think. Chemists tell us that about 100,000 chemical changes take place in the brain every second. Some recent researches also suggest that we can remember everything that happened to us. We may not be able to think of the things we have heard and seen but it is kept there in the store-house of the human mind. Earlier scientists thought that the power of one’s brain got weaker and weaker as one grows older. But it is plenty of exercise, it keeps its power. It is now thought that is not true. As long as the brain is given plenty of exercise, it keeps its power. It has proved that an old person who has always been active in the mind has a quicker mind than a young person who has done physical work without using much of his brain.
小題1:In the last century, scientists found that a person would lose the power to do certain things _____.

A．when he got weaker in health

B．if certain parts of his brain were hurt

C．a(chǎn)fter he did a quite different job

D．when he grew older

小題2:Scientists today are still unable to show exactly ______.

A．what each part of the brain is doing

B．how many chemical changes take place in the brain each second

C．whether each part of the brain does the same job

D．which part of the brain is the most important

小題3:It has been found that one’s brain usually works ______.

A．faster when he is old

B．a(chǎn) little now and a little then

C．in a very simple way

D．without any rest all day long

小題4:Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?

A．Scientists are working hard at the researches on the brain.

B．As many as six million chemical changes take place in the brain every minute.

C．A young man doing physical labor is sure to have a much slower mind.

D．Even an old man has a quick mind only if his brain is given much exercise.

小題5:The more work we give our brains,___________.

A．the less result we will gain

B．the more work they are able to do

C．the weaker their power will get

D．the more tired they will feel

In today’s world, almost everyone knows that air pollution and water pollution are harmful to people’s health. However, not all know that noise is also a kind of pollution, and that is harmful to human, too.
People who work and live under noisy conditions usually become deaf(耳聾的). Today, however, scientists believe that 10% of workers in Britain are deafened by the noise where they work. Many of the workers who print newspapers and books, and who weave cloth become deaf. Quite a few people living near airports also become deaf. Recently it was discovered that many teenagers in America could hear no better than 65-year-old people, for these young people like to listen to “pop” music and most of “pop” music is a kind of noise. Besides, noise produced by jet plane or machines will make people’s life difficult and unpleasant, or even make people ill or even drive them mad. It is said that a continuous noise of over 85 decibels（分貝） can cause deafness.
Nowadays the governments in many countries have made laws to reduce or control noise and make it less than 85 decibels. In China, the people’s government is trying to solve not only air and water pollution problems but also the noise pollution problems.
小題1:In the world today, not every person knows        .

A．water pollution

B．a(chǎn)ir pollution

C．harmful pollution

D．noise pollution

小題2:Today scientists believe that       .

A．90% of all the workers in Britain are not suffering from noise

B．10% of all the workers in Britain are working in noisy places

C．10% of all the workers in Britain are deafened by the noise where they work.

D．90% of all the workers are free from any noise

小題3:Those who       usually have poorer hearing.

A．weave cloth	B．sell newspapers
C．like listening to music	D．often travel by plane

小題4:According to the passage, a continuous noise       can make you deaf.

A．in working places	B．of less then 85 decibels
C．of over 85 decibels	D．of only 85 decibels

Going Zero Waste means more than dealing with the rubbish we create. It means reducing it, too. People who go Zero Waste are careful about what they do. They never take more than they need, they reuse plastic bags, and they make good plans not to buy more than necessary before going shopping.
Kamikatsu, a Japanese village, has already gone Zero Waste. The 2,000 villagers recycle everything possible. There are 34 different boxes at the recycling center! The villagers sometimes just feel unhappy about what they have to do, but they also see the good side.
Let’s think about how to enjoy a Zero Waste Christmas. By sending recyclable cards, we can help our friends and family reduce(減少) waste. And wouldn’t it be better to enjoy the spirit of Christmas with a real tree that can be re-planted in spring?
Going Zero Waste requires us to think more about what happens before and after we act. It is not always easy. But just think how good it would be, both for ourselves and for the earth we live on, if we never had to waste anything.
小題1:The underlined word “it” in paragraph 1 refer to __________.

A．a(chǎn) plastic bag

B．the rubbish

C．a(chǎn) difficult thing

D．going Zero Waste

小題2:Which of the following is a way of going Zero Waste?

A．Plant trees at Christmas.

B．Using plastic bags when shopping.

C．Sending recyclable cards for Christmas.

D．Buying things when you are very hungry.

小題3:What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To persuade people to reduce waste.

B．To teach people how to enjoy Christmas.

C．To introduce the life of Japanese villagers.

D．To tell people how to deal with difficulties.

小題4:How is the passage developed?

A．Topic--Examples--Discussion	B．Examples--Argument--Topic
C．Topic--explanation--Argument	D．Examples--Explanation--Discussion

When we read books we seem to enter a new world. This new world can be similar to the one we are living in, or it can be very __50__. Some stories are told as if they were true. Real people who live in a __51__ world do real things; in other words, the stories are about people just like us doing what we do. Other stories, such as the Harry Potter books, are not __52__. They are characters and creatures that are very different from us and do things that would be impossible for us.
But there is more to books and writing than this. If we think about it, even realistic writing is only __53__. How can we tell the difference between what is real and what is not real? For example, when we read about Harry Potter, we do seem to learn something about the real world. And when Harry studies magic at Hogwarts, he also learns more about his real life than __54__. Reading, like writing, is an action. It is a way of thinking. When we read or write something, we do much more than simple look at words on a page. We use our __55__, which is real, and our imagination, which is real in a different way, to make the words come to life in our minds.
Both realism and fantasy (幻想) use the imagination and the “magic” of reading and writing to make us think. When we read something realistic, we have to __56__ that the people we are reading about are just like us, even though we __57__ that we are real and they are not. It sounds __58__, but it works. When we read, we fill in missing information and __59__ the causes and effects of what a character does. We help the writer by __60__ that what we read is like real life. __61__, we are writing the book, too.
Most of us probably don’t think about what is going on in our __62__ when we are reading. We pick up a book and lose ourselves in a good story, eager to find out what will __63__ next. Knowing how we feel when we read can help us become better __64__, and it will help us discover more about the real magic of books.

小題1:	A．different B．possible C．important D．necessary

小題2:	A．common B．usual C．normal D．certain

小題3:	A．instructive B．realistic C．reasonable D．moral

小題4:	A．planned B．thinkable C．designed D．imagined

小題5:	A．magic B．lessons C．dreams D．experience

小題6:	A．grammar B．knowledge C．skill D．words

小題7:	A．recall B．ensure C．imagine D．understand

小題8:	A．hope B．find C．learn D．know

小題9:	A．terrible B．dangerous C．serious D．strange

小題10:

A．think about B．talk of C．learn from D．forget about

小題11:

A．guessing B．telling C．pretending D．promising

小題12:

A．In a way B．As usual C．On the contrary D．By the way

小題13:

A．society B．minds C．life D．world

小題14:

A．a(chǎn)ppear B．a(chǎn)rgue C．happen D．develop

小題15:

A．writers B．fans C．professionals D．readers

It helps to choose the colors you plan to live with in your home with awareness of how different colors affect your emotional and physical states. Every color has a unique meaning, and this can significantly affect how you feel in a room.
Simple Solution:
Using this simple chart, you can choose a room’s color to be in balance and harmony with the role you want a room to have in your and your family’s life.

Red: A room that is painted red will energize, inspire activity and movement, help passion, and be powerful and stimulating. it is a great choice for such gathering places. Orange enhances parties,	Orange: Orange rooms encourage happy, joyful, social gatherings. While an orange dining room or family room can stimulate the appetite, it is a great choice for such gathering places. Orange enhances parties, communication, positive feelings, and general good cheer.
Yellow: Yellow rooms inspire intellectual clarity, organization, clear-headed thinking, and happy energy. Yellow is considered a color for the logical left side of the brain. Yellow is also very bright and somewhat energizing.
	Blue: Blue rooms are often chosen for bedrooms and meditation (冥想) rooms because its cool energy is very calming, restful, peaceful, and spiritual. Blue helps inspire a quiet meditative quality, and color therapy with blue has been found to reduce blood pressure. Blue is also useful to make one to sleep.
Green: Green rooms are very restful but combine with an energizing quality. Green is the color of outdoors, calm and active at the same time. Green brings balance and harmony to a room, and can be used as a calming place for people who are troubled or in need of refreshment.

小題1:What impression can green rooms give to you?

A．Passionate and powerful.	B．Refreshing and harmonious.
C．Cool and calming.	D．Inspiring and bright.

小題2:If you are going to hold a family gathering, which color of the room can best enhance your atmosphere?

A．Red.

B．Orange.

C．Blue.

D．Green.

小題3:Which of the following statements about color is NOT true?

A．Yellow rooms inspire logical and clear thinking.

B．Blue creates a quiet meditative quality.

C．Different colors affect you emotionally and physically.

D．Red rooms are acceptable when you are in a bad mood.

To learn an instrument(樂器) such as the violin or accordion（手風(fēng)琴）takes years. The job opportunities for musicians are scarce and competition is fierce. Then why are more people than ever before paying a lot of good cash to get their children the best music teaching they can afford?
The secret lies in the influence of music on the whole person. It has been found that learning a musical instrument actually increases a person’s IQ over time. Different instruments and different trypes of music have varying effect, with classical music and the string（弦樂） family coming out on top, potentially increasing you IQ by up to 12 points!
When is a good time to start learning music? Experts have found that even the fetus（胎兒）can benefit from listening to classical music. Surround yourself and your family with good music from the first. The Suzuki Piano Method teaches children from the age of 3 years piano, with two lessons per week. From preschool, children can learn to read music and play from sheet music. Progress in learning your instrument is directly proportional（成比例的）to the amount of practicing.
Is there such a thing as an unmusical child? Shinichi Suzuki proposes that music is the native home language of all human beings and therefore nobody can be “unmusical”. Of course there are exceptional talents, compared to which others may seem to be slower learners.
Is there any benefit for adults in starting an instrument? Apart from the purely relaxing aspect, yes. Learning an instrument can earn even adults additional IQ points, and as an added benefit in improves your health by reducing your stress levels. Your social life may benefit too, if you are prepared to come out of your box and join occasions such as Ceilidhs (musical get-togethers) or arrange house concerts. It has been established that people who play instruments tend to be more emotionally balanced and more patient with themselves, others and life in general.
So go ahead, sign up for that amateur orchestra, dust off your old trombone（長號(hào)）or take your first real six-string down from the attic（閣樓）; get out there and play!
小題1:Playing which of the following musical instruments can help increase a person’s IQ most?

A．The piano

B．The violin

C．The trombone

D．The accordion

小題2:According to Shinichi Suzuki,             .

A．The progress in learning an instrument depends on natural gifts

B．It is too late for an adult to start an instrument

C．Every child has a natural talent for music.

D．All people can understand and read music.

小題3:What can be inferred from the text?

A．Music can balance our life.

B．Music can improve our living conditions.

C．Playing instruments can make adults keep their IQ points.

D．Playing instruments can help us get along well with others.

小題4:By writing the text, the author mainly wants to        .

A．persuade us to send our children to music schools

B．express his great interest in musical instruments

C．tell us the importance of Music in Development

D．invite us to attend Ceilidhs

小題5:There are many benefits for the adult to learn instruments, which of the following is NOT RIGHT?

A．Feeling relaxed.	B．Earn additional IQ points.
C．Improve your health.	D．Show your talents

From the health point of view we are living in a marvelous age. We are immunized (免疫) from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once deadly illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and medical treatment. It is almost certain that one day cures will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the unbelievable slaughter (屠殺) of men, women and children on the roads. Man vs the motor-car! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel (方向盤), his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man’s very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-year-olds and absolutely selfish. All their hidden disappointments and regrets seem to be brought by the act of driving.
The surprising thing is that society smiles so kindly on the motorist and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost impossible to live in because of heavy tragic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is ruined by road networks; and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten.
It is high time a world system of laws were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. As for driving, the laws of some countries are not strict and even the strictest are not strict enough. Here are a few examples of some the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict annual tests for safety. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can affect a person’s driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be introduced on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications (規(guī)范) for manufacturers, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may sound inordinately severe. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the annual toll of human life. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars.
小題1:The main idea of this passage is _________.

A．Traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists.

B．Thousands of people the world over are killed each year.

C．The laws of some countries about driving are not too strict.

D．Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents.

小題2:What does the author think of society toward motorists?

A．Society laughs at the motorists.

B．Huge car parks are built in the cities and towns.

C．Victims of accidents are nothing.

D．Society forgives their rude driving.

小題3:Why does the author say: “his car becomes the extension of his personality?”

A．Driving can show his real self.

B．Driving can show the other part of his personality.

C．Driving can bring out his character.

D．His car can express his temper.

小題4:Which of the followings is NOT mentioned as a way against traffic accidents?

A．Build more highways.	B．Make stricter driving tests
C．Test drivers every three years.	D．Raise age limit and lay down safety specifications.

小題5:The attitude of the author is  _________.

A．ironical

B．critical

C．a(chǎn)ppealing

D．favorable

Franz Kafka wrote that “A book must be the ax(斧子)for the frozen sea inside us.” I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, and it didn’t seem to require any explanation.
We’d just finished John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. When we read the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little, and so did I. “Are you crying?” one girl asked, as she got out of her chair to take a closer look. “I am,” I told her, “and the funny thing is I’ve read it many times.”
But they understood. When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen. In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I’ve taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless; kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods. They understand, more than I ever will, the novel’s terrible logic—the giving way of dreams to fate (命運(yùn)).
For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature(文學(xué)) with small groups of students from grades six to eight. I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school—one that often attracts the literary-minded (有文學(xué)頭腦的) children of Manhattan’s upper classes—into a less competitive school. The daughter of immigrants (移民), with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates. I thought additional “cultural capital” could help students like her develop better in high school, where they would unavoidably meet, perhaps for the first time, students who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph.D.’s.
Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read: Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. The students didn’t always read from the expected point of view. About The Red Pony, one student said, “it's about being a man, it’s about manliness (男子氣概).” I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies (獨(dú)白) read as raps, but both made sense; the interpretations were playful, but serious. Once introduced to Steinbeck’s writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that “all these people hate each other, and they’re all white.” His historical view was broadening, his sense of his own country deepening. Year after year, former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes.
Year after year, however, we are increasing the number of practice tests. We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts, not for emotional punch (碰撞) but for text complexity. Yet, we cannot enrich the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts. We are teaching them that words do not amaze but confuse. We may succeed in raising test scores, but we will fail to teach them that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them.
小題1:The underlined words in Paragraph 1 probably mean that a book helps to________.

A．realize our dreams

B．give support to our life

C．smooth away difficulties

D．a(chǎn)wake our emotions

小題2:Why were the students able to understand the novel Of Mice and Men?

A．Because they spent much time reading it.

B．Because they had read the novel before.

C．Because they came from a public school.

D．Because they had similar life experiences.

小題3:The girl left the selective high school possibly because ________.

A．she was a literary-minded girl

B．her parents were immigrants

C．she couldn’t fit in with her class

D．her father was then in prison

小題4:To the author’s surprise, the students read the novels ________.

A．creatively

B．passively

C．repeatedly

D．carelessly

小題5:The author writes the passage mainly to ________.

A．introduce classic works of literature

B．a(chǎn)dvocate teaching literature to touch the heart

C．a(chǎn)rgue for equality among high school students

D．defend the current testing system

There are many international organizations which work to save and protect endangered species and natural environment. If you would like more information about any of the organizations listed blow, you can write to the addresses given.

Friends of the Earth (FOE) campaigns on a range of problems including rainforests, the countryside, water and air pollution and energy. Friends of the Earth International Secretariat P. O. Box 19199 1000 G. D. Amsterdam The Netherlands

Greenpeace uses peaceful but direct action to defend the environment. It campaigns to protect rainforests and sea animals, stop global warming and end pollution of air, land and seas. It also opposes nuclear (核) power. Greenpeace International 1016 DW Amsterdam The Netherlands

 

BirdLife international is an organization which works to save endangered birds all over the world BirdLife International Wellbrook Court Girton Road Cambridge CB3 ONA England

WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature is the world’s largest private international organization for the protection of nature and endangered species. Information Officer WWF International Avenue du Mont-Blanc 1196 Gland Switzerland

小題1:If you want to learn more about the organizations, you can       .

A．call them	B．write them a letter
C．visit them	D．send them an e-mail

小題2:Which problem will be paid close attention to by FOE?

A．Overhunting ocean animals.

B．Killing endangered birds.

C．Heavy air pollution.

D．Global warming.

小題3:If you oppose nuclear power, you can join      .

A．Friends of the Earth

B．World Wide Fund For Nature

C．BirdLife International

D．Greenpeace

小題4:What can we learn about WWF?

A．It helps to protect nature and save endangered animals.

B．It is the world’s largest international organization.

C．It works for private companies and rich people.

D．It is a private organization in the United States.

小題5:Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Endangered animals

B．Global traffic problems

C．Environmental protection organizations

D．Natural beauty