.
Some American schools paid teachers more if their students improved on
tests. Now there is a growing movement to pay the students --- in some cases, even just for coming to class.
Students at one school in New Mexico can earn up to three hundred dollars a year for good attendance. A program in New York City pays up to five hundred dollars for good attendance and high test scores.
In Baltimore, Maryland, high scores on state graduation tests can be worth more than one hundred dollars. And a New Jersey school system plans to pay students fifty dollars a week to attend after-school tutoring programs. Schools that pay students can be found in over one-fourth of the fifty states. Other state schools reward students with food or other things.
Robert Schaefer is public education director for the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, an activist group. He says paying may improve performance in the short term, but students develop false expectations for the future. He sees a lack of long-term planning in these programs because of pressure on schools to raise test scores.
Public schools need to show improvement under the education reform law. Low-performing schools may lose their federal money; teachers and administrators may lose their jobs. Often these schools are in poor neighborhoods where getting students to go to school can be a continual problem.
Critics say paying students sends a message that money is the only valuable reward. But some students say it makes school more exciting. And some teachers have reported getting more requests for extra help.
60. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Some American schools pay teachers more for improving students’ scores.
B. Some American schools pay students for good attendance and high test scores.
C. Public schools need to improve their teaching management.
D. Some American schools pay teachers for after-school tutoring programs.
61. In _________ of the fifty states, schools pay the students.
A. less than one half B. less than ten
C. more than ten D. more than one half
62. We can learn from the text that _________.
A. all the people are in favor of the movement to pay the students.
B. not all the people think the movement to pay the students is good
C. in New York City students can get food for high test scores.
D. teachers can’t lose their jobs in some schools in American poor neighborhoods
63.The text is probably taken from_________.
A. education report B. health report
C. information report D. science news
(D)
Inventor，physicist，surveyor，astronomer，biologist，artist…Robert Hooke was all these and more．Some say he Was the greatest experimental scientist of the 17th century．In the course of his work，he cooperated with famous men of science like Isaac Newton，and the great architect, Chrish@ler Wren．
Hoocke's early education began at home，under the guidance of his father．He entered Westnfinster School at the age of 13，and from there went to Oxford，where he came in contact with some of the best scientists in England．Hooke impressed them with his skills at designing experiments and inventing instruments．In 1662，at the age of 28, he was named Curator of
Experiments at the newly formed Royal Society of London—meaning that he was responsible for demonstrating new experiments at the society’s weekly meetings．Hooke accepted the job，even though he knew that the society had no money to pay him!
Watching living things through a microscope was one of his favorite pastimes．He invented a compound microscope for this purpose．One day while observing a cork(软木塞)under a microscope，he saw honeycomb-like structures．They were cells—the smallest units of life．In fact，it was Hooke who invented the term“cell” as the boxlike ceils of the cork reminded him of the cells of a monastery(修道院)．
Another achievement Of Hook’s was his book Micrographi which introduced the．Enormous potential of the microscope．It contains fascinating drawings of the things he saw under the microscope．The book also includes，among other things，ideas on gravity，light and combustion(燃烧)that may have helped scientists like Newton when they were developing their own theories on these phenomena．
Hooke made valuable contributions to astronomy too．A crater(坑)on the moon is named after him in appreciation of his services to this branch of science．
68．Why possibly did Hooke accept the job as Curator of Experiments?
A. Because his parents couldn’t afford his education．
B．Because his family needed his support．
C．Because he wanted to please the famous scientists in England．
D．Because he liked designing experiments．
69．The cell got its name because of ．
A．its use B．its shape C．Hooke’s favorites D．Hooke’s experiences
70．The last paragraph is to prove that ．
A．Hooke was the greatest experimental scientist of the 17th century
B．Hooke was good at making discoveries
C．Hooke’s contributions were not limited to one field
D．Hooke was one of the greatest astronomers
71．The best title for the text may be ．
A．The Greatest Scientist B．A Helper of Newtom
C．A Brief Introduction to Hooke D．Achievements of Hook
(C)
After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack，my world crashed around me．My six children were all under 10，and I was burdened with the responsibilities of earning a living，and caring for the children．I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week，but from Friday nights to Monday mornings，the children and t were alone．
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big pretty German shepherd off our doorstep．This dog seemed to intend to enter the house．The children liked “German” immediately and begged me to let him in．I agreed to let him sleep in the basement．That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks．
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results．
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic．Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by，we drove off without him．When we stopped to get gas, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us．No way was he going to be left behind．
Monday morning I let him out for a run．He didn’t come back and we were all disappointed．
We were convinced that we would never see him again．We were wrong．The next Friday evening,
German was back on other doorstep．Again he stayed until Monday morning，when our housekeeper arrived．
This pattern repeated itself every．weekend for almost 10 months．We grew more and more fond of German．We took comfort in his strong，warm presence，and we felt safe with him near us．
As German became part of the family，he considered it his duty to check every bedroom to be sure each child was cozy in bed．
Each week，between German’s visits，I grew a little stronger，a little braver and mole able to cope；every weekend we were no long alone and enjoyed his company．Then one Monday morning we patted him on his head and let him out for what turned out to be the Iast time．We never saw German again．
64．The dog first came when ．
A．it was needed most B．the mother became strong enough
C．her father died suddenly D．she was busy on the weekday
65．Which of the following can’t be used to describe the dog?
A．Loyal． B．Beautiful． C. Lovely． D．Wild．
66．The wriier was very the German shepherd．
A．afraid of B．grateful to C．cruel to D．annoyed with
67．The family planned to go on a picnic without the German shepherd because ．
A．German was too wild to control B．German was too young to walk so far
C．the owner might come by to look for it D．it might spoil the trip
(B)
My dad also taught me，by example，that a healthy lifestyle is important．He was hardly ever sick．But I don’l think my dad ever even had a cup of coffee．He barely touched alcohol．
He would say，“Boonnie，your voice is a reflection of your overall physical well-being．So if you want to sing well，take better care of yourself.” If I became hoarse(嘶哑)or caught a cold，he didn’t blame me directly：“Well，Bonnie，you know，if you’d get to sleep a little earlier，that would probably be a good idea．”When I decided to get unexcitable about 18 years ago，he told me．“See，
Bonnie，it's so great to see you in such strong voice all the time．”
He just did not complain，even when he was uncomfortable toward the end，from the pneumonia that eventually took his life．He simply made a choice to be positive and not negative．
I am so glad that we had the chance to perform together．I was touched that he tried singing my music，even though the bluesy style didn’t come naturally to him．Then，when I had so much
Grmnmy success with my album Nick of Time in 1990，I realized. Hey，I have one of the greatest singers of all time in my family．I was very nervous about doing the Boston Pops show on TV with my dad．To calm me，he said，“Bonnie，a beautiful song is a beautiful song．Just believe it．”I looked in my dad’s eyes，and there we were singing the Irving Berlia song with the lvric．Of all the duets I've done．that one wiU always be a highlight．
60．the second paragraph shows that ．
A．the author’s father had a loving, in-the-moment and joyful approach
B．the author’s father had a very healthy lifestyle
C．the author’s father was very strict with his son
D．the author’s father devoted himself to his son
61．The author。father died because of ．
A．coffee B．alcohol C．pneumonia D．tire
62．The underlined word “inexeitable” means
A．heated B．silent C．angry D．amused
63．From the last paragraph we may learn that ．
A．the father and his son often performed together
B．playing blues is the father' s favourite
C．The author was good at orchestral music
D．the father and his son are both musicians
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题，每小题2分。满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、c、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
(A)
China news，Beijing，July．29—Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese．To many property developers and local government officials，housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries．However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter，while in China，it is even higher than in the United States．This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫)in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported．
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States，after convened to Re Renminbi，is about 8,000 yuan per square meter，the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area，as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses．If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area，then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter．In most big Chinese cities，such as Beijing，Shanghai, and Shenzhen，houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US．
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles．Moreover，Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality，environment and supporting facilities．Furthermore，it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people．
How Can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007，Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public．Now in order to reduce the high housing prices．the government Call regulate the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans and lands to property developers．At the same time，the government should allow, people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels．such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units．By applying these multiple means，it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered．
56．What is the average housing price per source meter in China?
A．8,000 yuan． B．10，000yuan．
C．7,000 yuan． D．It’s not mentioned here．
57．Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States．
A．Chinese houses can not be Compared with houses in US in terms of building quality，environment and supporting families．
B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people．
C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area，as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses．
D．The population who need houses in China is larger than in the United States．
58．How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
A．Four． B．Three． C．Two．D．One．
59．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．The housing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to prevent it．
B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market．
C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States．
D．Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public．
D
Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine.“Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,”William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word“habit”carries a negative meaning.
So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop
new habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.
Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.
But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.
“The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,”says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind.“But we are taught inst
ead to‘decide’, just as our president calls himself‘the Decider’．”She adds, however, that“to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”
“All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,”she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.
The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought.“This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,”explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will…and Ms. Markova’s business partner.“That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.”This is where developing new habits comes in.
67．Brain researchers have discovered that .
A．the forming of new habits can be guided
B．the development of habits can be predicted
C．the regulat
ion of old habits can be transformed
D．the track of new habits can be created unconsciously
68．The underlined word“ruts”in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .
A．zones B．connections C．situations D．tracks
69．Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?
A．Decision makes no sense in choices.
B．Curiosity makes creative minds active.
C．Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.
D．Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.
70．The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us .
A．to give up our traditional habits deliberately
B．to create and develop new habits consciously
C．to resist the application of standardized testing
D．to believe that old habits conflict with new habits
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