“I Went Skydiving at 84!”
As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001,when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community（社区）announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.
In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this， I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.
On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落伞）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.
Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.What happened to the author in 2001?
| A．She flew an airplane | B．She entered a competition |
| C．She went on a hot air balloon ride | D．She moved into a retirement community |
The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to .
| A．build up her own reputation | B．show her admiration for him |
| C．compare their health condition | D．make her argument persuasive |
How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?
| A．Excited | B．Scared | C．Nervous | D．Regretful |
What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?
| A．The beautiful clouds | B．The wonderful view |
| C．The company of Jay | D．The one-minute free fall |
Which word could be used to replace the word “instructor,” in Paragraph 3?
| A．doctor | B．conductor | C．pilot | D．trainer |
A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspapers. "Last week," said he, "my umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present, I spent twice its worth in advertising, but didn't get it back."
"How did you write your advertisement?" asked one of the listeners, a merchant.
"Here it is," said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip（纸条） cut from a newspaper. The other man took it and read, "Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening, a black silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings（先令） on leaving it at No.10 Broad Street."
"Now," said the merchant, "I often advertise, and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance. Let us try for your umbrella again, and if it fails, I'll buy you a new one."
The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote: "If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn't wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street. He is well known."
This appeared in the paper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colours that had been thrown in, and his own was among the number. Many of them had notes fastened（系牢） to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter.
66. who would receive ten shillings according to the first advertisement ?
A. Anyone who found the thief
B. Anyone who gave a message to the loser of the umbrella
C. Anyone who left the umbrella in the City Church
D. Anyone who left the umbrella at No. 10 Broad Street
67.What was the result of the first advertisement __________?
A. the man got his umbrella back B. the man wasted some money advertising
C. nobody found the missing umbrella D. the umbrella was found somewhere near the church
68.The businessman suggested that the man should______.
A. buy a new umbrella B. go on looking for his umbrella
C. report to the police D. write another advertisement
69. What did the businessman mean by saying “if it fails, I will buy you a new one.?” _________.
A. he was quite sure of his success B. he was not sure if he could get the umbrella back
C. he did not know what to do D. he was rich enough to afford a new umbrella
70 The writer of this story mainly wants to tell us __________.
A. a useless advertisement B. how the man lost and found his umbrella
C. how to make a helpful advertisement. D. what the businessman did for the umbrella owner
Mrs. Blake teaches English in a large school in the inner area of a big city on the west of coast. Even since she was a young girl,she has wanted to become a teacher. She has taught eight years now and hasn‘t changed her mind.
After she graduated from high school， she went on to college. Four years later， she received her bachelor’s degree （B A） in English and her teaching certificate（证书）. Then she went to teach in the secondary schools of her state. In the summers， Mrs. Blake takes more classes； she hopes to get a master‘s degree （M A）. With an MA， she will receive a higher salary and if possible. She hopes to get a doctor’s degree as well.
The school day at Mrs. Blake‘s high school， like that in many high schools in the United States， is divided into one hour each. Mrs. Blake must teach five of these periods. During her free period， which for her is from 2 to 3 P.M. Mrs. Blake must meet with parents， make out examinations， check assignments at al.， Mrs. Blake works continuously from the time she arrives at school in the morning till the time she leaves for home late in the afternoon.
61. How long is it since Mrs. Blake graduated from middle school？
A. four years B. eight years C. twelve years D. twenty years
62. According to the article，which is the right order of the degrees a person can receive after going to university？
A. a doctor‘s degree – a bachelor’s degree – a master‘s degree
B. a bachelor’s degree – a master‘s degree – a doctor’s degree
C. a master‘s degree—a bachelor’s degree – a doctor‘s degree
D. a bachelor’s degree – a doctor‘s degree—a master’s degree
63. How many degrees has Mrs. Blake achieved so far？
A. one B. two C. three D. none
64. Which of the following sentences is not true？
A. Mrs. Blake teaches in the inner area of big city on the east of the United Sates
B. Mrs. Blake has turned her wish of becoming a teacher into reality.
C. Mrs. Blake is still studying in her holidays in order to get higher degrees.
D. The working hours in the school where Mrs. Blake works are similar to those of many other high schools in the states.
65. According to that third paragraph，Mrs. Blake is ______ during the school day.
A. lonely B. free C. funny D. busy
第三部分阅读理解 （共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下列短文,从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin （顽童） was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked.
Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…” He hesitated.
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He wished he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”
“Oh yes, I’d love that.”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.
He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled （残疾） brother． He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent．And some day I’m going to give you one just like it… Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.
56．The street urchin was very surprised when __________．
A．he saw the shining car B．Paul told him about the car
C．he was walking around the car D．Paul received an expensive car
57．From the story we know that the urchin __________．
A．wished to give his brother a car
B．wished Paul’s brother to give him a car
C．wished Paul could be a brother like that
D．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s
58．The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ______.
A．to show he had a rich friend B．to show his neighbors the car
C．to let his brother ride in the car D．to tell his brother about his wish
59．We can infer from the story that __________.
A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin
B．the urchin’s wish came true in the end
C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother
D．the urchin had a deep love for his brother
60．The best title for the story probably is __________．
A．A Christmas Present B．A Street Urchin
C．A Brother Like That D．An Unforgettable Ride
Marriages improve after children grow up and move out，according to an academic study，
which suggests an“empty nest”is not always a bad thing．
Popular wisdom has it that parents’relationships may suffer once their young fly the coop，
because they feel they have lost their purpose in life．However,a new study by researchers at the
University of California,Berkeley，has found that many couples actually feel happier when their
children leave home because they are able to enjoy spending time together．
In total，123 American mothers born in the 1930s were tracked for 18 years and asked to rate
their satisfaction levels shortly after marrying,when they were bringing up babies，once their
children reached their teenage years and finally at age 61，when almost all had“empty nests”．
Although not all said they were happier in general，most claimed their marriages had improved since their children had left home．Researchers believe this is not just because the spouses were spending more time together,but because they were able to enjoy each other’s company more．
One of the participants in the study,which is published in the jourmal Psychological Science，
said：“Once the kids grow up…there’s some of that stress removed…that responsibility removed，so things are a little more relaxed．’’
Psychologist Sara Gorchoff,who carried out the investigation，said：“The take-home message
for couples with young children is‘hang in there’．”Her co-author Oliver John added：“Don’t wait until your kids leave home to schedule quality time with your partner．”
However,Dr Dorothy Rowe，from the British Psychological Society，said the effects of living
in an“empty nest'”will depend on the parents’relationship with their children．“If yod’re just
waiting for them to leave home so you Can get on with your life，then of course you’11 be pleased to see them go，”she said，‘‘But if you’ve built your life around your children you’11 be terribly lonely．”For some parents，their world falls apart when their Children leave．’’
72．It is commonly believed that
A．marriages improve after children leave home
B．an“empty nest'’is always a happy thing
C．parents’relationships may suffer once their young grow up and move out
D．parents will be pleased after their children leave home
73．When did many couples feel happier according to the study?
A．At age 61．when almost all had“empty nests”．
B．Shortly after marrying．
C．Once their children reached their teenage years．
D．When they were bringing up babies．
74．Marriages improve after children fly the coop not because
A．many couples are able to spend time together
B．many couples arc able to enjoy each other’s company
C．things are a little more relaxed
D．many couples needn’t work at all
75．The author ofthe passage tends to agree that ．
A．parents should build their life around their kids
B．parents should schedule quality time with each other before kids leave home
C．parents’relationship with their kids has no effect on marriages at all
D．parents should be pleased to see their kids leave home
Science。And technology students in China and the US have a1ong way to go before they call develop a deep understanding of scientific reasoning,researchers have found．
As part of a research to compare science education in China and the US，LeiBao,a professor
from the Departmenr of Physics of the Ohio S
tate University, gave 5,760；freshmen in three US and four Chin
ese univeristies two tests to evaluate content knowledge and another to assess scientific reasoning
Though Chinese students did be
tter than their US counterparts in the first two tests that
Emphasized on learning facts,both groups “scored relatively poorly”on the third test,designed to
Assess their ability ot systmatically explore a problem , the results showed.
Lei Bao said that the finding challenges conventional wisdom，which holds that teaching
science facts will improve students’reasoning ability．“Our study shows that ,contrary to what many people would expect，even when students are thoroughly taught the facts，they don’t necessarily develop the reasoning skills they need io succeed．’’IBao said：‘“Because students need both knowledge and reasoning,we need to explore teaching methods that target both．”
‘The current education systems and asessment of China and the US do not emphasize on deep understanding of scientific reasoning in the disciplines of science；technology,engineering and mathematics(STEM)，the study concluded．
Bao explained that reasoning is good skill for everyone topossess-not just scientists and
engineers：The general public also need good reasoning skills in order to correctly interpret
scientific findings and think rationally．STEM students need to excael at scientific reasoning in order to handle open-ended real-world tasks in their future careers in science and engineering．
How to boost scientific reasoning?The study suggests that educators must go beyond teaching science facts if they hope to boost students’reasoning ability．Bao points to inquiry-based leaming.where students work in groups，question teachers and design their owu investigations．This teaching technique is growing in popularity worldwide．
67．According to the research，we know that
A．Chinese students and their US counterparts did poorly in the first two tests
B．Chinese students did beaer than their US counterparts in alI the three tests
C．Chinese students did beaer than their US counterparts in the first two tests ‘
D．US students did beaer than their Chinese counterparts in the third test
68．The conventional wisdom holds that ．
A．the more facts~tudents are taught，the more reasoning skills they will acquire
B．the general public also need reasoning skills to interpret scientific findings
C．to boost students’reasoning ability,educators must explore teaching methods
D．the current education Systems are harmful to improve students’reasoning ability
69．Based on the study,what will be done to improve students’reasoning ability?
A．To improve teaching techniques． B．To better students’learning conditions．
C．To teach students more science facts． D．To offer students more tests．
70．The underlined phrase“excel at”in Paragraph 6 probably means ．
A．be worse at B．be beaer at C．be enthusiastic about D．be inferior to
71．Which of the following is correct according to the passage?
A．Little needs to be done to develop students’reasoning ability in the US．
B．Only scientists and engineers need reasoning abilities．
C．Two tests were carried out to evaluate students’scientific reasoning．
D．Inquiry-based learning is a good way to boost students’reasoning ability．
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