Mom was a teacher most of her life. When she wasn’t in the classroom, she was educating her children or grandchildren: correcting our grammar; starting us on collections of butterflies, flowers or rocks; or inspiring a discussion on her most recent “Book of the Month Club” topic. Mom made learning fun.
It was sad for my three brothers and me to see her ailing in her later years. At eighty-five, she suffered a stroke and she went steadily downhill after that.
Two days before she died, my brothers and I met at her nursing home and took her for a short ride in a wheelchair. While we waited for the staff to lift her limp body back into bed, Mom fell asleep. Not wanting to wake her, we moved to the far end of the room and spoke softly.
After several minutes our conversation was interrupted by a muffled sound coming from across the room. We stopped talking and looked at Mom. Her eyes were closed, but she was clearly trying to communicate with us. We went to her side.
“Whirr,” she said weakly.
“Where?” I asked. “Mom, is there something you want?” “Whirr,” she repeated a bit stronger. My brothers and I looked at each other and shook our heads sadly.
Mom opened her eyes, sighed, and with all the energy she could muster said, “Not was, say were!”
It suddenly occurred to us that Mom was correcting brother Jim’s last sentence. “If it was up to me…”
Jim leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom,” he whispered. We smiled at each other and once again shook our heads…this time in awe of a remarkable teacher.When Mom said, “Whirr”, what did she really want to do?
| A．She wanted to tell her sons her will. |
| B．She wanted to have something to eat before she died. |
| C．She wanted to correct the mistakes Jim made while talking. |
| D．She wanted to teach her sons more because she was dying. |
Which of the following statements is NOT right?
| A．Mom was a good teacher and never wanted to stop her teaching. |
| B．Mom was always making her teaching fun. |
| C．Mom didn’t forget her teaching until she died. |
| D．Mom was no longer a teacher when she was at home. |
What does the writer think of his mother?
| A．He loved her but was tired of his mother’s teaching at home. |
| B．His mother should forget her teaching and enjoyed the rest of her life. |
| C．His mother was great because she devoted herself to teaching. |
| D．His mother was an excellent teacher before she was retired. |
Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A．Once a teacher, always | B．Mom’s will |
| C．A teacher’s life | D．A teacher’s devotion |
第二部分阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
AIt was graduation day at Etihad Training Academy, where the national airline of the United Arab Emirates holds a seven-week training course for new flight attendants. Despite her obvious pride, Ms. Fathi, a 22-year-old from Egypt, was amazed to find herself here. “I never in my life thought I’d work abroad,” said Ms. Fathi, who was a university student in Cairo when she began noticing newspaper advertisements employing young Egyptians to work at airlines based in the Persian Gulf.
A decade ago, unmarried Arab women like Ms. Fathi, working outside their home countries, were rare. But just as young men from poor Arab nations poured into the oil-rich Persian Gulf states for jobs, more young women are doing so.
Flight attendants have become the public face of the new mobility for some young Arab women, just as they were the face of new freedoms for women in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. They have become a subject of social anxiety and fascination in much the same way.
For many families, allowing a daughter to work may call her virtue into question. Yet this culture is changing, said Musa Shteiwi, a sociologist at Jordan University in Amman. “We’re noticing more and more single women going to the gulf these days,” he said. “It’s still not exactly common, but over the last four or five years it’s become quite an observable phenomenon.”
Many of the young Arab women working in the Persian Gulf take delight in their status as pioneers, role models for their friends and younger female relatives. Young women brought up in a culture that highly values community, have learned to see themselves as individuals. The experience of living independently and working hard for high salaries has forever changed their beliefs about themselves, though it can also lead to a painful sense of separation from their home countries and their families.
—From New York Times (December 22, 2008)
56. It can be inferred from the passage that young Arab women _________.
A. go to work abroad after American women’s example
B. didn’t start to work abroad until the late 20th century
C. are commonly used to living and working separately
D. expect to take the same family responsibilities as men
57. According to the passage, the Arab women flight attendants can be described as _________.
A. proud, homesick or independent B. honest, outstanding or optimistic
C. mature, enthusiastic or energetic D. painful, desperate or conservative
58. How do the public respond to young Arab women’s new mobility?
A. The public think highly of it. B. The public care very little about it.
C. The public show both interest and anxiety. D. The public are strongly against it.
59. The author intends to tell the readers that __________.
A. Arab women can hardly find any work
B. flight attendants are badly needed in the gulf
C. flight attendants lead quite a different life
D. young Arab women’s values are changing
Just 7 km east of Sydney’s city center lies Australia’s most famous beach – Bondi, with its glorious strip of golden sand and blue water. Other delightful surf beaches and small bays stretch south to Maroubra , while the harbour suburbs to the north offer sandy bays and the bushland of Sydney Harbour National Park . The life saving movement was founded in Australia in the early 1900s , and now Bondi and Bronte each claim to be the world’s first surf club .
1.Beaches
Surf and sand from Bondi to Maroubra , plus calm harbour beaches .
●With its rolling surf and long are of sand , Bondi is the region’s best-known beach and the liveliest of all the ocean suburbs .
●Four more surf beaches lie south of Bondi—Tamarama , Bronte , Coogee and Maroubra —as well as calmer Clovelly and Cordons Bay .
2.
Lively beachfront dining and shopping strips , and charming harbours .
●Bondi, Bronte , Coogee and Maroubra all offer a delightful seaside town atmosphere —complete with beachwear and surf shops , pubs and outdoor cafes .
●Take a boat from Circullar Quay to one of the harbour suburbs—there is Rose Bay with its parks and harbourside restaurants , Vaucluse , home of Vaucluse House , and Watsons Bay , with a famous seafood restaurant and wonderful views up the harbour .
3. Inland
Shops , cafes , restaurants , parks and several major attractions .
●Paddington and Woollahra are famous for their cafes , small shops , art galleries , markets and nearby Centennial Park , one of Sydney’s largest open spaces .
●Visit Bondi Junction for its largest shopping center and cinema complex .
4. Activities
From surfing and diving to walks , golf and seaplane rides .
●Learn to surf at Bondi , Bronte or Coogee , go diving at Gordons Bay (where there is an underwater trail ), or watch a summer surf carnival .
●Play golf at Bondi Beach , Rose Bay or Moore Park , enjoy a game of tennis , and go horse riding at Centennial Park .
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59．Which of the following best shows the location of each city?
60．What is the most suitable heading for Part 2
A．Shops. B．Harbours. C．Bays. D．Cafes.
61．If you want to see a film after shopping, you’d better go to .
A．Paddington B．Centennial Park C．Bondi Junciton D．Gordons Bay
62．About Bondi, which of the following is not mentioned in the article?
A．position and surroundings. B．entertainment and activities.
C．scenery and views. D．history and places of interest.
China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – 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 (房地产) market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to 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 can regulate (控制) 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．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 facilities.
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．There are more people who need houses in China than in the United States.
57．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．The Chinese government should do something to control the housing price.
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．The Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public.
58．How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices? A．Four B．Three C．Five D．Two
As I was reading a recent story in Slate on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled children who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment: my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we too are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the Slate story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought, what planet is she living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story despairs(绝望) that he can’t afford to get a Ph.D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations are slowly adjusting, but today’s 20-somethings grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be expanding. Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments. “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.
This recession(衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful－for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day－than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
67．What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
A．They expect everything to be easy for them.
B．They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.
C．They are reluctant to face all of the challenges.
D．They are burdened by student loans.
68．The underlined word “fertility” in Paragraph 3 probably means .
A．baby production B．pleasant
C．baby comfort D．essential
69．Which of the following is not one of the complaints of the 20-somethings?
A．They can’t have children for at least a decade to buy a house.
B．They have only one-bedroom apartment to live in.
C．They can’t buy a house until 40 because of student loans.
D．They despair at not being able to afford a Ph.D. in literature.
70．What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
A．To tell us what the author’s attitude towards the 20 – somethings.
B．To explain why young people can’t afford to buy a house.
C．To suggest what we should do when young people’s high hopes create despair.
D．To explain what the 20 – something’s high expectations are.
The questions of what children learn, and how they should learn it, is continually being debated and reheated. Nobody dares any longer to defend the old system, the parrot – fashion (way of learning by repeating what others say) of learning lessons, the grammar with a whip system，which was good enough for our grandparents．The theories of modern psychology have stepped into argue that we must understand the needs of children．Children are not just small adults；they are children who must be respected as such．
Well，you may say，this is as it should be，and a good idea．But think further．What happens?
‘Education’ becomes the responsibility not of teachers, but of psychologists．What happens then? Teachers worry too much about the psychological implications of their lessons，and forget about the subjects themselves．If a child dislikes a lesson，the teacher feels that it is his fault，not the child’s. So teachers worry whether history is ‘relevant’ to modem young children．And do they dare to recount stories about violent battles? Or will this make the children themselves violent? Can they tell their classes about children of different races，or will this encourage racial hatred? Why teach children to write grammatical sentences? Verbal expression is better．Sums? Arithmetic? No：real—life mathematical situations are more understandable．
You see．you can go too far．Influenced by educational theorists，who have nothing better to do than write books about their ideas，teachers leave their teacher—training colleges filled with grand，psychological ideas about children and their needs. They make complicated preparations and try out their ‘modern methods’ on the long – suffering children. Since one ‘modern method’ rapidly replaces another, the poor kids will have well been fed up by the time they leave school. frequently the modern methods are so complicated that they fail to be understood by the teachers, let alone the children; even more often, the relaxed discipline so necessary for the ‘informal’ feeling the class must have, prevents all but a handful of children from learning anything.
63．Under the old system, children were .
A．made to learn passively B．good enough to their grandparents
C．made to learn actively D．understood and respected by teachers
64．What happens when teachers pay too much attention to the psychological implications during a lesson?
A．They find that children dislike the lessons.
B．They worry too much about history, stories, racial hatred, grammar and arithmetic.
C．They don’t pay enough attention to what students are learning.
D．They tend to blame students for their failure in teaching.
65．How do you understand the underlined sentence at the end of the passage?
A．Children will learn well in a relaxed classroom atmosphere.
B．Few children will actually learn when there is no discipline.
C．Relaxed discipline is necessary for children to develop.
D．No children will learn anything without strict discipline.
66．What is the author’s attitude toward the theories of modern psychology?
A．Indifferent (不关心的). B．Tolerant (容忍的).
C．Supportive (支持的). D．Critical (批评的).
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