I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes—anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a “complicated idea” until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲諷) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times. (How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)  
There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the “hundred most important books of Western Civilization.” “More than anything else in my life,” the professor told the reporter with finality , “these books have made me all that I am.” That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by me time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off my list
小題1: On heating the teacher's suggestion of reading, the writer thought _______.

A．one must read as many books as possible

B．a(chǎn) student should not have a complicated idea

C．it was impossible for one to read two thousand books

D．students ought to make a list of the books they had read

小題2:While at high school, the writer _______.    

A．had plans for reading	B．learned to educate himself
C．only read books over 100 pages	D．read only one book several times

小題3:The underlined phrase “with finality” probably means _______.

A．firmly

B．clearly

C．proudly

D．pleasantly

小題4:The writer's purpose in mentioning The Republic is to _______.

A．explain why it was included in the list

B．describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

C．show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

D．prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

小題5:The writer provides two book lists to _______.

A．show how he developed his point of view

B．tell his reading experience at high school

C．introduce the two persons' reading methods

D．explain that he read many books at high school

The question of what children learn, and how they should learn, is continually being debated and redebated. Nobody dares any longer to defend the old system, the learning of lessons parrot-fashion, the grammar-with-a-whip system, which was good enough for our grandparents. The theories of modem psychology have stepped in to argue that we must understand the need of children. Children are not just small adults; they are children who must be respected as much.
Well, you may say, this is as it should be, a good idea. But think further. What happens? "Education" becomes the responsibility not of teachers, but of psychologists (心里學(xué)家). What happens then? Teachers worry too much about the psychological implications (暗示) of their lessons, and forget about the subjects themselves. If a child dislikes a lesson, the teacher feels that it is his fault, not the child’s. So teachers worry whether history is "relevant" to modern young children. And do they dare to recount stories about violence? Or will this make the children themselves violent? Can they tell their classes about children of different races, or will this encourage racial hatred? Why teach children to write grammatical sentences? Verbal expression is better. Sums? Arithmetic? No: Real-life mathematical situations are more understandable.
You see, you can go too far. Influenced by educational theorists, who have nothing better to do than to write books about their ideas, teachers leave their teacher-training colleges filled with grand, psychological ideas about children and their needs. They make elaborate, sophisticated (精致的，復(fù)雜的) preparations and try out their "modem methods" on the long-suffering children. Since one "modem method" rapidly replaces another the poor kids will have had a good bellyful by the time they leave school. Frequently the modem methods are so sophisticated that they fail to be understood by the teachers, let alone the children; even more often, the relaxed discipline so essential for the " informal" feelings the class must have, prevents all but a handful of children from learning anything.
8. People do not dare defend the old system mainly because under the old system________.
A. too much grammar was taught to children     B. children were spoiled (寵壞)
C. children were treated as grown-ups          D. children were made to learn passively(被動(dòng)的)
9. What view do the modem psychologists hold?
A. Children must be understood and respected.
B. Children are small adults and know what they need.
C. Children are better off without learning lessons.
D. Education of children is the responsibility of psychologists.
10. What happens when teachers pay too much attention to the psychology of their lessons?
A. They find that the children dislike the lessons.
B. They tend to blame students for their failure.
C. They do not pay enough attention to the actual lessons.
D. They no longer want to teach children history.
11. Grammatical sentences are regarded as unimportant because ________.
A. it is better to use verbs only
B. words are said out of natural feelings only
C. talking freely and naturally without sentences is a better form of expression
D. it is felt that formal grammar rules might cause unnatural expressions
12. According to the passage, the modern methods are understood by ________.
A. neither teachers nor pupils      B. only a handful of teachers and pupils
C. the more sophisticated teachers  D. everyone who enjoys the relaxed discipline of the informal classes

A popular student in her small high school, Katie started college expecting to do well in her courses and be best friends with her roommates. But things didn’t turn out that way. Psych 101, the course she thought would be a first-semester favorite, turned out to be a struggle. And her roommates were as different from Katie as the student restaurant’s mystery meat was from her mom’s roasted pork.
Living away from home tends to be the toughest adjustment for first-year students. You may feel homesick in your first weeks or months. It can help to call, write, or email your parents and friends making them know how you’re doing. You can also talk with your roommates. As first-year students themselves, they’re probably experiencing many of the same fears and worries that you’re dealing with.
But what if you don’t get along well with your roommates?
In some cases, it can be a good thing if you and your roommates aren’t much alike. Different views on things may be helpful, so respect your differences no matter what.
If you and your roommates don’t get along well, it can help to find someone who you feel does understand you, which should be easy on a campus with so many people. Many schools have student organization nights where all of the campus clubs gather and promote their organizations, so you can meet people with the same interests there as you. You’ll also meet tons of people in class or in your dorm building.
As homesickness, painful throats, sprained (扭傷的) ankles and wisdom teeth that act up are common among college students, you should check out your student guidebook or your school’s website to find out information about the university health center.
If you think you cannot deal with your problems, make a stop at the school counseling (咨詢(xún)) center. First-year troubles are something the counselors know well. You can get help there.
小題1:From Paragraph 1 we can infer that ____.

A．Katie had been worried about the changes before starting her college life

B．Katie felt satisfied when her college life started

C．Katie wasn’t used to the new environment in college at first

D．Katie has fallen behind in her study after the first semester in college

小題2:What’s the author’s suggestion on dealing with homesickness?

A．Adjust to it.

B．Share fears and worries with your parents.

C．Talk to your roommates about it.

D．Get along with your roommates.

小題3:Which of the following ways of dealing with roommates is RIGHT?

A．Not trying to change them.

B．Not making friends with them.

C．Developing the same interests as them

D．Not talking with them.

小題4:What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Freshmen may meet many problems.

B．Communication is important in college.

C．How you can adjust to your first year in college.

D．How schools help freshmen to get used to college life.

A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house, reduced to waist-high rains, smelly and dirty.
Before the trip, I’d had my car fixed. When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate. “You from New Orleans?” she asked. I said I was, “No charge.” She said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing happened.
As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage(抵押貸款) on our ruined house. We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory. We’d began to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kemmedy in California. He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for state, the online magazine and wanted to give us (“no conditions attached”) a new house across the lake from New Orleans. It sounded a good to her return, but I replied, thinking him for his exceptional generosity, then we to go back. Then the University of Florida offered to let him house to me. While he want to England on his one year, paid leave. The rent was rather reasonable. I mentioned the poet’s offer to James Kemdedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months.
Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity. It’s almost worth losing you wordy possessions to be reminded that people really when given had a channel.  
小題1:The garage employee’s attitude toward the author was that of        .

A．unconcern

B．sympathy

C．doubt

D．tolerance

小題2:What do we know about James Kemnedy?

A．He was a written of an online magazine

B．He was a poet at the University of Florida

C．He offered the author a new house free of charge.

D．He learned about the author’s sufferings.

小題3:It can be inferred from the text that        .

A．the author’s family was in financial difficulty

B．rents were comparatively reasonable despite the disaster

C．houses were difficult to find in the hurricane stricken area

D．the mortgage on the ruined house was paid off by the bank

小題4:The author learned from his experience that        .

A．wordy possessions can be given up when necessary

B．generosity should be encouraged in some cases

C．people benefit from their sad stories

D．human beings are kind after all.

小題5:Which would be the best title for the text?

A．Terrible Hurricane Katrina.

B．Hurricane Is Heartless While Strangers Are Kind.

C．Study in Florida.

D．The Importance of Helping Others.

Biomass energy (生物能).often forgotten as a promising alternative (替代物) to oil, received its day in the sun with the gathering of the Bio-Energy World Congress and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, late in April, 1990. Nearly 1, 700 scien­tists, businessmen, and policy-makers, one-quarter from the foreign nations, gathered for a week to discuss various means of squeezing usable energy out of trees, crops, manure, sea­weed, algae, and urban waste. Biomass in the United States contributes 2. 5 percent of the total supply, but this amount can be doubled by 2000 and then doubled again by the year 2010.
Eight percent of Sweden’s energy supply, for example, is presently coming from wood bark and pulp remainings, Sweden intends to raise this percentage by more intensive harvesting of waste food lying around in forests, and through the planting of so-called energy forests of fast-growing trees such as willow and birch.
Brazil is frequently pointed to as a nation with a major successful investment (投資)in energy coming from grains: it presently runs 330,000 automobiles on a water and alcohol (酒精) mixture, replacing 10 percent of its previous oil sup­ply. Brazilian representatives (代表) at the conference said they wish to double this in five years, with a final goal of total replacement. Most of the cars are built at the factory to use the mixture, while older models are changed through low-cost gov­ernment programs.
4. In Line 2, the phrase received its day in the sun most probably means ________.
A. came to the public mind                    B. had its turn in the sunlight
C. was regarded as a solar energy                  D. came from the energy of the sun
5. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?
A. 1, 700 scientists attended the conference.
B. A quarter of American businessmen were present at the conference.
C. Foreign policy-makers accounted for a quarter.
D. Three-quarters of the representatives were from the U. S.
6. Of the total supply in 2010, biomass in the U. S. will be________.
A. 5%              B.20%              C.10%              D.15%
7. Which of the following is not regarded as biomass energy?
A. Willow and seaweed.                     B. Wood and grains.
C. Water and alcohol mixture.              D. Crops and oil mixture.
8. A suitable title for this passage would be ________.
A. An Energy Conference                    B. Approval of Biomass Energy
C. Bio-Energy for Automobiles       D. Keys to Energy Crisis

Even with little exposure to cultural standards of beauty, “infants treat attractive faces as  distinctive regardless of the sex, age a nd race of the stimulus(刺激物) faces,”  write psychologist Judith H.Langlois and her colleagues in the January DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY.
In their experiment, 5 healthy 6-month-old infants from middle-class families viewed slides showing eight pairs of white male faces and eight pairs of white female faces. Each pair, displayed for 10 seconds, consisted of one attractive and one unattractive face, as previously judged by a group of male and female college students. An experimenter viewed the young participants on a video monitor and recorded the direction and duration of each infant’s gaze.
The 35 boys and 25 girls looked longer at both male and female faces judged as attractive, the researchers found.
Their second study of 6-month-old involved 15 boys and 25 girls, mostly white, who saw eight pairs of slides showing an attractive and an unattractive black female, as previously judged by both white and black college students.  Again, the babies looked much longer at attractive faces.  
Finally, 19 boys and 20 girls, all 6 months old and almost all of them white, viewed eight pairs of slides showing the faces of 3-month-old boys and girls previously rated as attractive or unattractive by college students. Attractive baby faces drew signficantly longer looks, the psychologists report.
Further studies must explore whether infants take attractive faces as “best examples” of a face, the investigators claim Langlois and a coworker recently reported that attractive faces may possess features that approximate the mathematical average of all faces in particular population.
1.What was found in the first study?
A.Male infants looked longer only at female ones.
B.Females looked more attractive than males.
C.Sixty 6?month?old babies looked longer at the attractive faces, male or female.
D.White female faces drew more attention  than those of black ones.
2.In the last paragraph, the writer implies that .      
A.Langlois and her partners will stop their experiments they accomplished a lot
B.Langlois and her partners will focus on the other fields of infants
C.Langlois and her partners have achieved success in studying the infants’ mind
D.Langlois and her partners have found a more interesting field
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.All babies, white or black, tend to share with the college students the preference for attractive faces.
B.White babies prefer white faces to black ones.      
C.Babies tend to get interested in the attractive faces of the opposite sex.
D.Beauty has something to do with a person’s age, race and sex
4.The title that best expresses the main idea is .     
A.Psychology of Infants   B.Beauty in Variety   C.Beauty and Race   D.Beauty in Infants

Have you ever thought, “I wish I could take a year off and just travel around the world”? Well, three lucky American teenagers were able to do just that. The teens—two males and one female--got an all-expenses paid, yearlong hike to five continents.
This trip didn’t include any five-star hotels or shopping funs. Eighteen-year-old Jamie Fiel from Keller, Texas, 17-year-old Arsen Ewing from Canyon, California, and 16-year-old Tyler Robinson from Lincoln, Massachusetts, didn’t expect fancy treatment. They signed up for the experience of a lifetime, which included hard work, often uncomfortable accommodations, and encounters with some of nature’s most dangerous animals and environments.
Jamie, Arsen, and Tyler were among hundreds of high school kids nominated by their science teachers to take this trip. Earthwatch Institute sponsored (贊助) this adventure. Each year, Earthwatch employs thousands of volunteers worldwide to help with scientific research projects.
The group went all around the world to get a close look at the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Their assignments were as varied as their locations, and included measuring and attending pink flamingos in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and tracking giant sea turtles in Costa Rica.
As they worked with the Earthwatch scientists, Jamie, Arsen, and Tyler began to understand that we are at a critical moment in the life of our planet. Time for change is running out. As the teens went from country to country and witnessed different environmental dangers and challenges, they understood that solutions to important environmental issues start with the power of one person's actions. They realized that each of them can make a difference.
小題1:These teenagers went on the journey around the world _____.

A．to experience the most serous environmental problems on the earth

B．to bring the kindness of America to the other parts of the world

C．to go on sightseeing around the world

D．to call on more teenagers to join Earthwatch Institute

小題2:What’s true about their journey?  

A．They had to pay for their journey on their own expense.

B．They often had to move from one hotel to another.

C．They had to take great pains to collect environmental information.

D．They received a warm welcome every time they arrived at a new place.

小題3: It can be inferred that Earthwatch Institute could be _____.

A．a(chǎn)n international university that takes in students from all over the world

B．a(chǎn) TV station that makes programmes on the beautiful scenery of the earth

C．a(chǎn) travel agency that organizes adventure trips specially for school children

D．a(chǎn)n organization that brings science to life for people concerned about earth’s environment

小題4: What did they these teenagers learn from the journey?

A．It was high time that people protected the environment.

B．Long journey was not suitable for school children.

C．It should take the whole world to help the children.

D．Environmental problems can be solved if school children take part.

Typing Success in 20 Minutes a Day
— Teaching Your K-12 Students to Type in 20 Minutes a Day
Typing is fast becoming an important skill in our world. Making this skill available to your students is very important. Just 20 minutes of the following activities per day will give your students the finger strength and keyboard knowledge they need to be ready to include typing in their learning programs.
Step 1 Knitting (編織): You can try various styles until you find the one that best suits your students’ abilities. Finger knitting is a great way to start! It helps students focus on finger strength. Knitting with needles is a little more challenging but will suit some older    students. The more practice the fingers get the stronger they will become.
Step 2 Key board games: It helps your students become familiar with the keyboard. Students as young as four years old can practice finger placement, letter sounds and names using the keyboard of computers.
Step 3 Clay modeling: Many children develop the ability to be quick and skilful with their hands through creating clay models. The creative nature of this activity keeps children engaged for long periods of time. It helps keep fingers strong and supple.
Step 4 Lego (拼裝玩具) building: Little fingers become strong when children pull apart little Lego time and time again. Because of the fun nature of this activity it helps build and does a lot to reinforce the ability to arrange things into an order — another important aspect in typing.
Choose an age-appropriate, interactive and engaging typing program. All students are different and with firm finger skills typing can be easily learned in 20 minutes a day with the use of a mixture of these different approaches.
小題1:All the following steps can make one’s fingers stronger EXCEPT ____.

A．Step4

B．Step3

C．Step2

D．Step1

小題2:The underlined word “it” in Step 4 refers to ____.

A．little Lego

B．the fun nature

C．the strength of fingers

D．Lego building

小題3:What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Activities listed in the text suit students of all ages.

B．Different students have different results after following the activities listed.

C．Only one activity can be used in a typing program for specific students.

D．Firm finger skills are important for learning to type.

Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water — drink recycled sewage (污水) or die.
With t he drought (干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified (凈化的) waste water for drinking, even though there is great opposition to the measure.
Queensland has become the first state to introduce the policy after a warning from its premier .
"I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water," said Peter Beattie.  
"These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There's no choice. It's liquid gold, it's a matter of life and death."
Beattie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking.
Water is recycled in Britain and parts of northern Europe along with the US and Israel.
But Australians have never liked the idea.
To try to change the way Australians think, Prime Minister John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have adhered to Queensland's move.
"I am very strongly for recycling and Mr. Beattie is right and I agree with him completely," Howard said.
“Australian cities, all now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record, must start to use recycled water.” added Turnbull, "All of our big cities have to widen the range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall."
小題1:What is the text mainly about?

A．Continuing drought forces Australians to drink recycled sewage

B．Australians face the choice of life and death

C．Premier Beattie is worried about his people’s health

D．We should avoid drinking recycled water to keep healthy

小題2:According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．Nobody disagrees to the idea of drinking recycled purified water

B．Australia's second largest state has become the first state to introduce the policy

C．No other countries but Australia decide to drink recycled water

D．The drought is the worst one in the droughts recorded in Australian history.

小題3:What can we learn from the last paragraph ?

A．Australians have never like drinking purified waste water

B．Australians should develop more water sources to live through the hard time

C．Australians can’t depend upon rainwater , which is not suitable for drinking .

D．Australian government has no ability to solve the problem of water shortage

小題4:The underlined phrase “adhered to” in Paragraph 9 probably means_________.

A．disliked

B．gone against

C．supported

D．doubted

小題5:It can be inferred from what Premier Peter Beattie said that________.

A．he gives orders to drink purified waste water

B．It is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage

C．If the decision is made, people won’t survive the drought

D．It’s up to you to either make a life or death decision

If you are planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors. Everyone has different opinions about where the best places to live in also; the best places to live are not always home to the best schools. Finally, many schools specialize in different areas of study. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science and technology-based fields of study, However, if you want to study oceanography, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place that is on a coastline or near the ocean.
Now I am sure that you know which schools are considered the best in the country. So I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in.
California is a nice state. Northern California specifically has very good weather. Los Angeles in southern California is another story though. Life in LA is full of excitement and fast, and sometimes—dangerous. As for me, I enjoyed the history and culture. The weather is not as perfect as California, but it is still quite nice. My favorite area of America is the Mid-west. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. In addition, there are many good universities there.  
Also, you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the various states. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won’t like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature and peace and quiet? Then you should stay away from America’s larger cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D.C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decided put some thought into it. The place you live could be the difference between a great study abroad experience and a state of great suffering on earth.
小題1:From the first paragraph we can conclude that in the U.S.A. __________.
all colleges and universities lie in big cities
all colleges and universities lie in beautiful places
famous colleges and universities lie in nice places
famous colleges and universities may not lie in nice places
小題2:What should be considered first if you want to study in the U.S.A.?
A. The climate.       B. The scenery.        C. The study condition.       D. The living condition.
小題3:If you study in Middle America, you can probably _______.
find the best universities
feel the real character of the nation
meet the most famous professors there
face more difficulty
小題4:From the last paragraph of this passage we can get to know that ________.
Washington is the largest city in the U.S.A.
Washington is the political center of the U.S.A.
you can’t find sunshine in the Midwest
you can’t find any universities out of big cities in the U.S.A.