Since my retirement(退休) from teaching music in 2001, I have spent a good deal of time painting as an artist. I actually began drawing again in the summer of 1995 when my father died, so perhaps I was trying to recover from the loss of my father, or maybe it was just that it brought back memories of him. In any case, I drew pen and ink animals and landscapes(風(fēng)景畫) much influenced(影響) by Krenkel and St. John for five years.

For some strange reason, I had been waiting until my retirement to start doing watercolors again, but as soon as I walked out of the school door for the last time I picked up my brushes and rediscovered Andrew Wyeth, who quickly became my favorite artist. I had looked through all the art books I had on my shelves and found his watercolors to be the closest to how I thought good watercolors should look. So I painted landscapes around Minnesota for three years and tried out many other types of painting. However, watercolors remained my first choice, and I think I did my best work there, showing my paintings at a number of art exhibitions.

Art is now together with my piano playing and reading. There is a time for everything in my world, and it is wonderful to have some time doing what I want to do. As Confucious once said, “At seventy I can follow my heart’s desire.”

What is the text mainly about?

A. Learning to paint in later life.                     B. How to paint watercolors

C. An artist-turned teacher                          D. Life after retirement

The author started drawing again in 1995 because_________.

A. he hoped to draw a picture of his father

B. he couldn’t stop missing his father

C. he had more time after retirement  

D. he liked animals and landscapes

We can infer from the text that the author__________.

A. had been taught by Krenkel and St. John

B. painted landscapes in Minnesota for 5 years

C. believed Wyeth to be the best in watercolors

D. started his retirement life at the age of severty

How does the author probably feel about his life as an artist?

A. Very enjoyable.   B. A bit regretful     C. Rather busy.        D. Fairly dull.

Is there a nationwide shortage of nurses? It’s hard to say．However, some characteristic symptoms often indicate that there is indeed a shortage．
One symptom is the vacancy rate, or the percentage of budgeted positions that are unfilled．New England’s hospitals currently report that an average of 7 to 12 percent of their registered nurse positions are vacant, the highest level since the last shortage in the late 1980s．Vermont has a relatively low vacancy rate, at 7．8 percent．But its vacancies were at 1．2 percent just five years ago．
Another symptom is the increased use of stopgap measures to fill empty positions．For instance, many nurses report an upswing in how frequently they are asked to stay past their shifts．According to Murphy, working in the St．Elizabeth’s Hospital, “The shortage has definitely created a lot of opportunities of overtime for our nurses, whether they want them or not．” Similarly, a national survey of registered nurses shows that in an average week, nurses in the U．S．work 2．4 more hours than they are scheduled to．Much of this extra time is voluntary, as nurses earn overtime pay when they stay to fill in blanks in the schedule．
When they can’t fill open positions by more traditional means, health care providers hire temporary staff to tide them over．Travelling workers are the largest part of the temporary health care workforce, hired for thirteen-week reduction at health care facilities facing short-term lack of workers．Temporary workers, mainly nurses, cost hospitals $ 7．2 billion in 2000．
“Any successful solution to the shortage depends on convincing more people to become nurses, and that is not an easy goal to reach．To achieve it,” says Buerhaus, “society needs to place more value on nursing．Legislation （法規(guī)） can’t do that – it should come from people．” And if this continues, we might have to learn to care for ourselves in the hospital．
【小題1】The temporary staff hired by a hospital _______．

A．cost a large part of the hospital’s budget

B．meet the need for nurses in the hospital for a short time

C．should work on a weekly basis and on a scheduled timetable[來源:學(xué)科網(wǎng)ZXXK]

D．ought to work passively for thirty continuous weeks

【小題2】According to Buerhaus, what is a successful solution to the nurse shortage?

A．To convince people of the benefits of being a nurse．

B．To ask the government for help to work out specific legislation．

C．To publicize the past achievements of nurses．

D．To make people aware of the importance of being a nurse．

【小題3】What’s the probable meaning of the underlined word “upswing” in Paragraph 3?

A．Symptom

B．Decrease

C．Increase

D．Figure

【小題4】What’s the author’s attitude towards nurse shortage?

A．Worried

B．Indifferent

C．Doubtful

D．Optimistic

.

Birds in cities are damaging their health by trying to sing above the noise of urban life．

New research shows that male birds are trying to compete against traffic and city sounds．They are now singing louder and at higher frequencies，which could harm their vocal cords．Some birds are choosing to sing at night instead of dudng the day．This makes them more open to attack and also creates stress and exhanstion．

“The difference between urban and rural birdsong is becoming so big that the two groups could now be unable to communicate．This could lead to inbreeding and a weak gene pool．”said Dr Sue Anne Zollinger of the University of St Andrews．

According to Zollingar,a bird group with a small geae pool might adapt less quickly to new diseases and could be wiped out．

A study of the dawn chorus found that birds in Berlin sang up to 14 decibels(分貝)louder than those in the forest．The birds sang loudest on weekday momings．

“By trying to sing over the sound of the city,birds are rising vocal injury,”said Zollinger．“All this puts the sarne strain on a bird’s vocal cords as when  ahuman need to shout to be heard—except the birds are doing it all day,every day,”she said．

“Singing under such pressure means birds have less control over the sound they produce． Their songs may lose quality and become more rough—sounding．”said Zollinger．This could make them appear less attractive to female birds．

Mark Constantine，author of The Sound Approach to Birding，said：“Birdsong is important for our quality of life and has been proved to reduce our blood pressure．When we live in the centre of large，urban areas，we get stressed and it's extremely good to have birdsong around us．The impact on humans of birdsong is massive．It harms us，as well as the birds，if their songs become louder and simpler

53．Some birds in cities now choose to sing at night time because_______．

A．they want to attract more birds of opposite sex

B．they are more likely to be discovered by their family

C．they can’t adapt to the loud noises during the daytime

D．they have to frighten their enemy away

54．According to the passage，urban and rural birds might not be able to_______．

A．recognize each other

B  communicate with each other

C  live with each other

D．compete against each other

55．It requires greatest efforts for birds in cities to sing o_______．

A．Monday nights            B．Wednesday afternoons

C．Saturday Evenings         D．Friday momings

56．According to Dr Sue Anne Zollinger,birds singing louder might eventually lead to_______．

A．the harm done to man’s health

B  the dying out of a species

C．the serious damage to the bird’s vocal cords

D．the decrease ofthe birth rate ofa bird group

 

ALBANY，New York—Students who rely on working at night to improve their

grades might want to sleep on that strategy: A new survey in the US says those who never study all night have slightly higher grades than those who do.

A survey of 120 students at St.Lawrence University found that students who had never pulled an all??nighter on average had higher grades than those who had. The survey found those who did not study through the night had a grade point average of 3.2 compared to 2.95 for those who did.

The study, by assistant professor of psychology Pamela Thacher, is to be included in the January issue of Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

“It's not a big difference，but it's pretty striking, ” Thacher said, “I am primarily a sleep researcher and I know nobody thinks clearly at 4∶00 in the morning. You think you can do，but you can't.”

Many college students, of course, have inadequate or irregular sleep, for reasons ranging from excessive caffeine to poor time management.

“A lot of students were under the impression that all??nighters were a very useful tool for accomplishing work, and that caffeine intake was very useful in meeting deadlines and stuff like that, ”said Mr Chatani, who had a 3.4 grade point average last term.

Dr Howard Weiss, a physician at St.Peter's Sleep Center in Albany, said the study results made sense.

“Certainly that data is out there showing that short sleep duration absolutely interferes with concentration and performance on objective testing, ”he said.

“Some night owls do get good grades, of course，which may be explained by circadian (晝夜節(jié)律的，生理節(jié)奏的) rhythms, ”Weiss said, “Some people have different 24??hour body clocks from others, and may do better depending on classes and testing time.”

The purpose of the passage is to tell us 　　　　

  A. the bad effects of pulling an all??nighter

  B. pulling an all??nighter leads to sleep problems

  C. Thacher's doubt about all??nighters

  D. all??nighters influence students' grades

According to Thacher's study，around 4 o'clock in the morning is a time when 　　　　.

  A. one can think more clearly

  B. one has his/her best memory

  C. one can't learn efficiently

  D. one's brain falls into a period of deep sleep

What can we know from Dr Howard Weiss' words？

  A. Thacher's study is not convincing enough.

  B. He believes in Thacher's study.

  C. Thacher's study makes no sense.

  D. Thacher should take exceptions into consideration.

The area south of the Thames at Greenwich has a long history. Throughout time different buildings have been constructed on the same site. The Palace of Placentia, an English Royal Palace built in 1447, no longer exists apart from a few remains under the present buildings.

The grand buildings on the South Bank of the Thames at Greenwich were designed by Sir Christopher Wren, most famous for St. Paul’s Cathedral. The buildings were finally completed in 1745, although some parts started to be used as early as 1705. They’re now part of a university — having served as a naval（海軍）hospital and a naval college and the setting for several cinemas.

But the buildings stand on a site which has a much longer history, of which now only a part remains that is below the ground. For nearly two hundred years, from around 1450 to 1650, Greenwich was one of the main royal palaces of England. Some of the most famous English rulers, such as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, not only lived there, but also were born there.

Henry VIII put an armory（兵工廠）there, and there were also gardens, a great fountain (噴泉) and a mass of buildings. The Palace was also in a strategic location, because at the time either side of Greenwich on the Thames were important Royal Dockyards (船廠).

Eventually, though, the Palace fell into disrepair. In 1664, the King at the time, Charles II, decided to replace it with completely new buildings in a modern style. Only a cellar (地窖) from the former Royal Palace now remains, under one of the new buildings. Its red brick, typical of the 16th century, contrasts (對比) sharply with the white stone above it.

    Would you like to join us to have a good view of Greenwich?

1.We can learn from the passage that the Palace of Placentia _____.

A. had served as a university                B. was constructed with white stones

C. was designed by Christopher Wren         D. was of particular importance in a war

2. The buildings on the South Bank of the Thames at Greenwich now _____.

A. are in need of repair                     B. differ from those in the 16th century

C. were designed in the style of Elizabeth I     D. have a history of more than half a century

3.According to the passage, when did the Palace of Placentia disappear from the ground?

A. In the late 1400s.                    B. In the early 1600s.

C. In the late 1600s.                     D. In the early 1700s.             

4.Where can we most probably read this passage?

A. In a science report.                   B. In a personal diary.  

C. In a geography textbook.              D. In a travel magazine.