My teenage son Karl became withdraw after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands.” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “thank you for your time”, and hung up.
Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was I. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”By saying “Karl became withdrawn”, the author means that the boy changed entirely and _____.
| A．preferred to stay alone at home | B．often escaped school |
| C．refused to talk to others | D．began to dislike his mother |
There was silence on the other end of the line because _____.
| A．the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother |
| B．the speaker waited for the mother to finish speaking |
| C．the speaker didn’t want the mother to recognize his voice |
| D．the speaker was unable to interrupt the mother |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Children in single-parent families often have mental problems. |
| B．Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life. |
| C．Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers. |
| D．School education doesn’t work without full support from parents. |
School Counseling（咨询）
In our grandparents' time, it was unthinkable．In our parents' time, it was unusual and nobody spoke openly about counseling．These days, more and more schools are asking for this service and it is considered a necessity for most．Why is it? What has changed in the last fifty years to have made counseling at schools so important?
“One reason is that we expect schools to do more to protect their pupils than we did in the past," says school counselor, Mike Hudson．“ Also, our society doesn't work as well as it should．Many parents are either under pressure of work or face the economic problems of unemployment, while children are under more and more pressure to do well at school．Many pupils feel they are pushed to their limits by their parents and teachers．"
Most school children face some kind of relationship problem at some stage with family members, teachers or other pupils, so．it helps to have somebody to talk to．
From the pupil' s point of view, it is easier to talk to a counselor in confidence rather than a family member or teacher．This solution is less embarrassing to pupils, who are not forced to face the person that they had problems with in the first place．They can calmly talk things through without arguments．
School counselors advise not only students but also their teachers and parents, and offer other services as well, such as deciding learning disabilities or assisting parents and guardians to make the correct decisions about their children' s education．
Counselors can help students with problems ranging from the most serious, like a death in the family, to what an adult would consider really trivial, like an argument with a friend．
In a society that is becoming more and more stressful, this service is providing children with a supportive way to express their fear and worries．Why is school counseling becoming important?
| A．Pupils are not well protected in school． |
| B．Parents can't help their children in learning． |
| C．Parents and pupils are under too much pressure． |
| D．The relationship between parents and schools is worse． |
According to the passage, school counselors________．
| A．bear high pressure themselves |
| B．are the guarantee of school success |
| C．have more responsibilities than teachers |
| D．are more likely to be accepted when pupils have problems |
The underlined word "trivial" in Para．5 probably means________．
| A．unimportant | B．puzzling | C．difficult | D．urgent |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The development of school counseling． |
| B．The reasons for school counseling’s popularity． |
| C．The advantages and disadvantages of school counseling． |
| D．The comparison of the past and present school counseling． |
This is a story told or read to children of young ages．The heroine（女主人公）, Cinderella, treated cruelly by her stepmother and her two ugly stepsisters, is helpless until the right magic comes along．She meets her prince and they live together happily．
Just a sweet, pretty tale? Not in the view of Ellen Macintosh, who has written much about fairy tales．Ellen' s main concern is with what the story implies．
"Instead of standing up to her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella just waits for a fairy godmother to appear and solve her problem．But wouldn't you want a daughter of yours to show more spirit?"
The story is long lasting, whatever its shortcomings, and it does' t take much to see its influence on a number of recent Hollywood productions．In these versions for the silver screen, the Cinderella character no longer has to clean the house and has no sisters to make her life terrible, though she keeps the way of not showing much courage．The character of the rich and handsome stranger, however, is kept, and in some cases really is a prince．The role of the fairy godmother is often played by luck; we live in a civilized age when even very young children might reject the idea of fairies．In the majority of film versions, the heroine has a profession and is even permitted to continue working after marrying her prince this is the twenty first century, after all．
Doesn't the success of these films indicate that the story has relevance to children even today?” Yes,, admits Ellen, who sees its message as being rooted in a fundamental childhood desire for love and attention．" Most children experience a sense of inner loneliness as they are growing up and empathize with （与…共鸣）the character who faces some sort of challenge．This can be seen in the original story of Cinderella, where the fairy godmother tells the heroine that she must learn to be gracious and confident if she is to go to the ball．She has to grow spiritually, and by maturing, she becomes attractive to the prince, thus ensuring that the ending of the story will be happy．" "In the later versions, thus element（因素）is missing," says Ellen, " and the theme of the story is simply that a girl' s role in life is to be more beautiful than other girls so that she can carry off the prize: the handsome prince．Is this really what we want girls to grow up believing?"
Why does Ellen disapprove of the Cinderella story?
| A．The plot is too simple． |
| B．The description is not vivid． |
| C．The heroine is not brave enough． |
| D．The story is unfit for the children today． |
In the film versions of the Cinderella story,_________．
| A．luck plays an important role in the heroine' s happy life |
| B．Cinderella’s family background remains unchanged |
| C．the heroine becomes a successful career woman |
| D．the character of the prerace is removed． |
According to Even, the film versions of the story _________
| A．succeed because of the happy ending |
| B．ignore the children's psychological need' |
| C．deliver a mistaken message that beauty is everything |
| D．reflect modem people' s attitude towards challenges in life |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To analyze the characters of the Cinderella story． |
| B．To introduce different versions of the Cinderella story． |
| C．To explain the changes of the Cinderella story over time． |
| D．To present a different understanding of the Cinderella story． |
You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.
It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last.
Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine(重新定义) the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.
Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship(创业) is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.
So what has led to this huge change?
Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and social stagnation(停滞),”noted The Daily Beast.
“The rate of 16-to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported.
The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation’s ladder”.
Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations.”This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennias are feeling they can only attain a day-today lifestyle that suits them.”
The underlined word “cornerstone” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to “ ”.
| A．growth | B．balance | C．basis | D．purpose |
What has changed Millennials’ view of the American Dream according to the passage?
| A．A lack of confidence in themselves |
| B．Fierce competition in the job market |
| C．Their dissatisfaction with the government |
| D．The discouraging economy and unemployment |
Dan Kadlec thinks Millennials’ new definition of the American Dream is ______.
| A．beautiful | B．understandable |
| C．worrying | D．positive |
What can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Redefinition of American Dream |
| B．Meaning of American Dream |
| C．Value of Achieving American Dream |
| D．History of Changing American Dream |
Decision-thinking is not unlike poker—it often matters not only what you think, but also what others think you think what you think they think you think. The mental process(过程) is similar. Naturally, this card game has often been of considerable interest to people who are, by any standards, good thinkers.
The great mathematician John von Neumann was one of the founders of game theory. In particular, he showed that all games fall into two classes; there are what he called games of 'perfect information', games like chess where the players can't hide anything or play tricks; they don't win by chance, but by means of logic and skills. Then there are games of 'imperfect information', like poker, in which it is impossible to know in advance that one course of action is better than another.
One mistaken idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information. Quite the reverse Business, life itself are games which we must normally play with very imperfect information. Business decisions are often made with many unknown and unknowable factors(因素), best poker players. But few business people find it comfortable to admit that they are taking a chance, and many still prefer to believe that they are playing chess, not poker.The subject discussed in this text is _________.
| A．the process of reaching decisions |
| B．the difference between poker and chess. |
| C．the secret of making good business plans |
| D．the value of information in winning games |
An important factor in a game of imperfect information is ___________.
| A．rules | B．luck |
| C．time | D．ideas |
Which of the following can be used in place of "Quite the reverse" in paragraph 3?
| A．Quite right. | B．True enough. |
| C．Most unlikely. | D．Just the opposite. |
In the writer's opinion, when making business decisions one should ___________ .
| A．put perfect information before imperfect information |
| B．accept the existence of unknown factors |
| C．regard business as a game of chess |
| D．mix known and unknown factors |
Elizabeth Mitchell’s new “Liberty’s Torch” is the fascinating story of how the Statue of Liberty came to be. The Statue of Liberty’s rough history is explored in “Liberty’s Torch”.
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is an all-but-forgotten figure in American history. He was, however, responsible for one of the most enduring symbols of the United States: the Statue of Liberty. A Frenchman from Alsace, he designed and built the Statue of Liberty which stood on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. How this statue came to be is the fascinating subject of Elizabeth Michell’s new book “Liberty’s Torch”.
The power of Mitchell’s narrative is convincing(令人信服的). We recognize the Statue of Liberty now as a symbol of hope and opportunity for a nation of immigrants. At the time, though, people could not see that－nor did they even imagine that. Instead, the construction of the statue was born of one man’s desire to set up a great monument.
For this reason, perhaps, “Liberty’s Torch” relies on Bartholdi as the connecting thread. Bartholdi went to Egypt to make photographic copies of the main monuments. On the boat, Bartholdi met and began a lifelong relationship with Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who would build the Suez Canal. Maybe it was this friendship, or maybe it was seeing Egypt’s huge monuments, but finally the trip inspired Bartholdi’s dream to create the largest statue ever built. Failure to bring this to completion in Egypt, followed by his exile (流放) from Paris, led Bartholdi to sail to America.
By explaining the Statue of Liberty’s hard history and showing Bartholdi’s brave spirit, Mitchell has done a great service. It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．American people have never forgotten Frederic August Bartholdi |
| B．the Statue of Liberty wasn’t originally regarded as a symbol of hope |
| C．Bartholdi finished the Suez Canal |
| D．Bartholdi was a famous architect from Egypt. |
What was the main reason for Bartholdi to build the Statue of Liberty?
| A．To finish his education in the arts. |
| B．To mark his friendship with Ferdinand. |
| C．To create something better than Egyptian monuments. |
| D．To achieve his dream to create the largest statue. |
What type of writing is the passage?
| A．A travel guide. | B．A book review |
| C．An announcement | D．An architecture report. |
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