Working hard for fun

No more pencils! No more books

No more teacher’s serious looks!

    After a long period of study and work, the young Americans burst through the school doors singing.

But unfortunately, American students do very poorly and are among the worst students in the world. In the entire field of subjects---from geography and maths to science and general knowledge. American students are the poorest performers. Why? What’s the reason behind the scene? One problem lies in the fact that so little is expected from them. The standards of success are too low. Teachers are not willing to give out low grades and fail students. Besides, the existing negative results are few and mean little to students if their performance in study is poor . Of course some students realize that a high school diploma is a measure of success and will be important to get a job or get admitted into college. But they only have to go through the motions without really trying. They learn to get by with a minimum of effort.

In America, it is simply too easy for high school students to enter college. This forms a sharp contrast with the students in China and other Asian countries who have to suffer heavy pressure from parents, teachers and cruel social facts. Chinese students have to study hard for long years to pass the national college entrance examination which few Americans will take such trouble to enter to university. The majority American students know that they will be able to get into some college, so they do not really worry about it.

It turns out that American high school students are just too busy to find time to study. They spend almost no time on study while students from other countries spend four or five hours per day on homework. American students on the average give less than five hours per week to their studies. Learning and reading for future are not important to them. Many American never read. It is little wonder why Americans knows less than students from other countries.

1. Why are American students the poorest performers in the entire field of subjects?

   A. Because they are too busy to find time to study.

   B. Because they are too stupid and too lazy.

   C. Because they care little about their study.

   D. Because so little is required from them

2. Which of the following is Not true ?

   A. Most of American students spend less than five hours on their study every week.

   B. Few American students have trouble to enter college.

   C. American students can be admitted into college even without a high school diploma.

   D. It is hard for the students in China to enter college.

3. What seems to be the writer’s attitude towards American students?

   A. He probably thinks much should be expected from them.

   B. He is in favour of American students’ learning methods.

   C. He shows no interest in American students’ study.

   D. He thinks American students study hard.

八．短文改錯(cuò)（共10小題；每小題1分，滿分10分）

One day I took several pairs of shoes to the shoemaker

to be mending. A week later I got them back and put them away.         74.________

Four months after that, I invited to dinner. I took out a pair of             75._______

shoes I haven’t worn them since they were repaired. I put one              76._______

shoe on my right foot, and the others on my left. But it felt as             77._______

if it was on the wrong feet. I took both shoes off for a closer               78._______

look. They were exact the same design, color, and size, but           79._______

each is for the right foot. Then I thought of the shoemaker.                        80.  _____

Though I was sure he wouldn’t remember me before such a                 81._______

long time, I called him. “Thank goodness, you finally called!”             82._______

he said excitedly, “The angry woman has been troubling me                83._______

for months.”    

. ---Professor Wang is said ______ in New York.

   ---No wonder he knows a lot about America.

  A. to study     B. to have studied      C. to be studying       D. that he is studying

No sooner ________in the distance ______a storm began to pour.

A. a thunder broke; when           B. a thunder had broken; than

C. had a thunder broken; than          D. did a thunder break; than

. The disco, digitally         in the studio, sounded fantastic at the party that night.

A. recording         B. having recorded       C. to be recorded        D. recorded

三、閱讀下面短文，撐握其大意，然后從16—35各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。（每小題1分，滿分20分）

The books in David’s schoolbag felt like bricks as he ran down the street. What he wanted to do was to play basketball with Eric,  31  his mother told him he would have to return his sister’s books to the library first.

He had  32   set foot in a library and he wasn’t about to do so today. He would just  33_ the books in the outside return box. But there was a  34  ; it was locked.

He went into the building, only a few minutes  35  closing time. He put the books into the return box. And after a brief  36_ in the toliet, he would be on his way to the playground to  37  Eric.

David stepped out of the toliet and stopped in  38_ — the library lights were off. The place was  _39 . The doors had been shut. They  40  be opened from the inside, he was trapped(被困) — in a library!

He tried to  41_ a telephone call, but was unable to  42_ . What’s worse, the pay phones were on the outside of the building.  43  the sun began to set, he searched for a light and found it.

 44_ he could see. David wrote on a piece of paper: “  45 ! I’m TRAPPED inside!” and stuck it to the glass door.  46  , someone passing by would see it.

He was surprised to discover that this place was not so unpleasant,  47  . Rows and rows of shelves held books, videos and music. He saw a book about Michael Jordan and took it off the shelf. He settled into a chair and started to  48_。

He knew he had to  49  , but now, that didn’t seem to be such a  50  thing.

31. A. but               B. because              C. or                 D. since

32. A. ever              B. nearly               C. never              D. often

33. A. pass              B. drop                C. carry               D. take

34. A. problem           B. mistake              C. case               D. question

35. A. during            B. after                 C. over               D. before

36. A. rest              B. break                C. walk               D. stop

37. A. visit              B. meet                C. catch               D. greet

38. A. delight            B. anger                C. surprise            D. eagerness

39. A. lonely             B. empty              C. noisy               D. crowded

40. A. wouldn’t           B. shouldn’t            C. couldn’t            D. needn’t

41. A. make              B. fix                 C. use                D. pick

42. A. get on             B. get up               C. get through         D. get in

43. A. If                 B. As                 C. Though            D. Until

44. A. On time           B. Now and then         C. By the way         D. At last

45. A. Come             B. Help                C. Hello              D. Sorry

46. A. Surely             B. Thankfully           C. Truly              D. Gradually

47. A. at most            B. after all               C. in short            D. as usual

48. A. watch             B. paly                  C. read              D. write

49. A. wait              B. stand                  C. sleep             D. work

50. A. bad               B. cool                  C. strange            D. nice

三、閱讀理解（每小題2分，滿分40分）

閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

    The other day, my friend Jane was invited to a 40th birthday party. The time printed on the invitation was 7:30pm. Jane went off with her husband, expecting a merry evening of wine, food, and song.

    By 9:45, everybody was having great fun, but no food had appeared. Jane and David were restless. Other guests began whispering that they, too, were starving. But no one wanted to leave, just in case some food was about to appear. By 11:00, there was still no food, and everyone was completely off their heads. Jane and David left hungry and angry.

    Their experience suggests that the words on the printed invitations need to be made clearer. Everyone reads and understands the invitations differently. Most of us would agree that 6:30 -8:30pm means drinks only, go out to dinner afterwards; 8:00pm or 8:30pm means possible dinner, but 9:30pm and any time there after means no food, eat beforehand, roll up late.

But this is not always the case. If asked to a students' party at 6.30pm, it is normal for guests not to appear before midnight, if at all, and no one cares. Being the first to arrive - looking eager - is social death. When my mother is asked to a party for 6.30, she likes to be there, if not on time, then no later than seven. My age group (late thirties) falls somewhere between the two, but because we still think we're young, we're probably closer to student-time than grown-up time.

The accepted custom at present is confusing (混亂的), sometimes annoying, and it often means you may go home hungry, but it does lend every party that precious element (成分) of surprise.

1. The underlined words "off their heads" probably mean______.

   A. tired     B. crazy    C. curious    D. hopeless

2. Jane and David' s story is used to show that______ .

   A. party-goers usually get hungry at parties

   B. party invitations can be confusing

   C. people should ask for food at parties

   D. birthday parties for middle-aged people are dull

3. For some young people, arriving on time for a students' party will probably be considered_______.

    A. very difficult         B. particularly thoughtful

   C. friendly and polite       D. socially unacceptable

4. According to the writer, people in their late thirties_______.

   A. are likely to arrive late for a party

   B. care little about the party time

   C. haven' t really grown up yet

   D. like surprises at parties

5. What is the general idea of the text?     

   A. It' s safe to arrive late just when food is served.

   B. It' s wise to eat something before going to a party.

   C. It' s important to follow social rules of party-going.

   D. It' s necessary to read invitations carefully.

       Wrting artieles about films for The Front Page was my first proper job. Before then I had done bits of reviewing --- novels for other newspapers, films for a magazine and anything I was asked to do for the radio．That was how I met Tom Seaton, the first arts editor of The Front Page, who had also written for television．He hired me, but Tom was not primarily a journalist, or he would certainly have been more careful in choosing his staff．

       At first, his idea was that a team of critics should take care of the art forms that didn’t require specialized knowledge: books, TV, theatre, film and radio．There would be a weekly lunch at which we would make our choices from the artistic material that Tom had decided we should cover, though there would also be guests to make the atmosphere sociable．

       It all felt like a bit of dream at that time: a new newspaper and I was one of the team．It seemed so unlikely that a paper could be introduced into a crowded market．It seemed just as likely that a millionaire wanted to help me personally, and was pretending to employ me．Such was my lack of self-confidence．

       Tom’s original scheme for a team of critics for the arts never took off．It was a good idea, but we didn’t get together as planned and so everything was done by phone．It turned out, too, that the general public out there preferred to associate a reviewer with a single subject area, and so I chose film．Without Tom’s initial push, though, we would hardly have come up with the present arrangement, by which I write an extended weekly piece, usually on one film．

       The space I am given allows me to broaden my argument --- or forces me, in an uninteresting week, to make something out of nothing．But what is my role in the public arena? I assume that people choose what films to go to on the basis of the stars, the publicity or the director．So if a film review isn’t really a consumer guide, what is it? I certainly don’t feel I have a responsibility to be ‘right’ about a movie．Nor do I think there should be a certain number of ‘great’ and ‘bad’ films each year．All I have to do is put forward an argument．I’m not a judge, and nor would I want to be．

1．What do we learn about Tom Seaton from the first paragraph?

       A．He encouraged Mark to become a writer．

       B．He had worked in various areas of the media．

       C．He met Mark when working for television．

       D．He prefers to employ people that he knows．

2．The weekly lunches were planned in order to_________.

       A．help the writers get to know each other

       B．provide an informal information session

       C．distribute the work that had to be done

       D．entertain important visitors from the arts

3．What does the author mean when he says that Tom’s plan ‘never took off’ in Paragraph 4?

       A．It was unpopular.    

       B．It wasted too much time.

       C．It wasn’t planned properly.

       D．It wasn’t put into practice.

4．Which of the following best describes what Mark says about his work?

       A．His success varies from year to year．

       B．He prefers to write about films he likes．

       C．He can freely express his opinion．

       D．He writes according to accepted rules．

It’s so nice to hear from her again.____________, we last met more than thirty years ago.

       A．What’s more    B．That’s to say     C．In other words  D．Believe it or not

 Frightened by the noise in the night, the little girl __________not sleep in her room.

A. must   B. can   C. should   D. dare