That summer an army of crickets(蟋蟀) started a war with my father. Dad didn’t care for insects much more than Mamma, but he could tolerate a few living in the basement. Mamma was a city girl and she said a cricket was just too noisy. Then to support her point she wouldn’t go to bed. She drank coffee and smoked my father’s cigarettes and paced between the sofa and the TV. Next morning she threatened to pack up and leave, so Dad drove to the store and hurried back. He sprayed poison from a jug. When he was finished he told us that was the end of it.
For a couple of weeks we went back to find dead crickets in the laundry. He suggested that we’d all be better off to hide as many as we could from Mamma. I fed a few dozen to the cat who I didn’t like because he scratched for no reason.
However, soon live crickets started showing up in the kitchen and bathroom. Mamma was upset because she thought they were the dead crickets coming back, but Dad said these were certainly new ones. He fetched his jug of poison and sprayed all over until the whole house smelled of poison, and then he sprayed the basement again.
A couple of weeks later, when both live and dead crickets kept turning up, Dad emptied the basement of junk. Then he burned a lot of old newspapers and magazines which he said the crickets had turned into nests.
While we ate supper that evening, the wind lifted some flames onto the wood pile. The only gasoline was in the lawn mower’s(割草机) fuel tank but that was enough to create an explosion big enough to reach the house. Once the roof caught, there wasn’t much anyone could do.
After the fire trucks left, Mamma took the others to Aunt Gail’s. I helped Dad and Uncle Burt carry things out of the house and pile them by the road. We worked into the night and we didn’t talk much, while all around the noise of crickets broke our silence. What do we know about the author’s mother?
| A．She didn’t like insects at all. |
| B．She liked insects more than his father. |
| C．She cared for insects very much. |
| D．She could only tolerate a few insects. |
The author’s father drove to the store to buy _______.
| A．cigarettes for himself | B．some poison |
| C．more coffee for his wife | D．some gasoline |
The author’s father burned the old newspapers and magazines because he thought ______.
| A．they were no longer useful |
| B．the crickets were afraid of fires |
| C．they became the home of crickets |
| D．the dead crickets came back to life |
We learn from the last paragraph that ________.
| A．the author’s family lost their battle against the crickets |
| B．the author’s parents learned to put up with insects |
| C．the author’s family didn’t suffer much in the fire |
| D．the author’s parents got divorced |
Imagine a boy from a small village in East Africa. He, from a very early age, has been looking after cattle. At twelve years old he knows more about cattle than most of you. However, he has never been to school. Has this boy ever had any education?
Education is discovering about ourselves and about the people and things around us. All the people who care about us—our parents, brothers, sisters, friends—are our teachers. In fact, we learn something from every-one we meet. We start learning on the day we are born, not on the first day we go to school. Every day we have new experiences, like finding a bird's nest, discovering a new street in our neighborhood, making friends with someone we didn't like before. New experiences are even more fun when we share them with other people.
Encouragement from the people around us enables us to explore things as much as possible. As we grow up, we begin to find out what we are capable of doing. You may be good at cooking, or singing or playing football. You find this out by doing these things. Just thinking about cooking doesn't tell you if you are good at it.
We learn so much just living from day to day. So why is school important? Of course you can learn some things better at home than at school, like how to do the shopping, and how to help old or disabled people who can't do everything for themselves. At school, teachers help us to read and write. With their guid-ance, we begin to see things in different ways. The writer takes the African boy as an example to show that __________.
| A．African children are very poor |
| B．some children are unlucky |
| C．education takes many ways |
| D．schools are of great importance |
In the eyes of the writer __________.
| A．we have to learn from the people around us |
| B．school is not important at all |
| C．only the people caring for us can teach us |
| D．education takes place everywhere |
One can find out what one is good at by __________.
| A．the encouragement of people around |
| B．the teachers of he or she meets |
| C．thinking of it when growing up |
| D．trying and practicing it |
According to the passage, we know that __________.
| A．school is not so important as our living places |
| B．school enables us to understand the world in other ways |
| C．school teaches us something useless at home |
| D．school cannot prepare us for our daily lives |
Thepassage tells us that __________.
| A．everyone gets education from the day he or she is born |
| B．different education trains different classes of people |
| C．school is absolutely necessary if one wants to understand the world |
| D．everyonewill find out what he or she is good at |
If there is no difference in general intelligence(智力）between boys and girls, what can explain girls' poor performance in science and mathematics?
It seems to be that their treatment at school is a direct cause. Mathematics and science are seen as subjects mainly for boys, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them. Interestingly, both boys and girls often regard the subjects for boys as more difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls do not take mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social reasons. Girls do not want to be in open competition with boys because they are afraid to appear less feminine (女性的）and attractive.
However, if we examine the performance of boys and girls who have taken mathematics courses, there are still more high-achieving boys than there are girls. This difference appears to be worldwide. Biological explanations have been offered for this, bat there are other explanations, too.
Perhaps the difference which comes out during the teenage years has its roots in much earlier experiences. From their first days in kindergarten, boys are encouraged to work on their own and to complete tasks. Facts show that outstanding mathematicians and scientists have not had teachers who supplied answers.
Besides, there can be little doubt that teachers of mathematics and science expect their boy students to do better at these subjects than their girl students. They even appear to encourage the difference between boys and girls. They spend more time with the boy students, giving them more time to answer questions and working harder to get correct answers from them. They are more likely to call on boys for answers and to allow them to take the lead in classroom discussion. They also praise boys more frequently. All of this seems to encourage boys to work harder in science and mathematics and to give them confidence that they are able to succeed.
Such a way of teaching is not likely to encourage girls to take many mathematics and science courses, nor is it likely to support girls who do. When it comes to these subjects, it seems certain that school widens the difference between boys and girls. Girls are likely to think that __________
| A．science courses are for both boys and girls |
| B．science courses make them more popular |
| C．science courses make them successful |
| D．science courses are difficult for them |
Thetext mainly discusses __________ reasons for thedifference between boys and girls in scientific achievements.
| A．biological |
| B．historical |
| C．social |
| D．personal |
What are boys usually encouraged to do at school?
| A．To get help with their homework. |
| B．To play the leading role in class. |
| C．To work with girl students in class. |
| D．To learn to take care of others. |
What does the passage say about great mathematicians?
| A．Theirteachers did not supply answers to them. |
| B．Theystarted learning mathematics at an earlier age. |
| C．Theyshowed mathematical abilities in their teen-age years. |
| D．Their success resulted from their strong interest in mathematics. |
Theauthor would probably agree that __________.
| A．boys and girls learn in the same way |
| B．boys and girls are equal in general intelligence |
| C．girls are more confident in themselves than before |
| D．girls should take fewer science courses than boys |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
Until I was twelve years old，I thought everyone in the world knew about the grinnies，if I thought about the term at all－which is unlikely. After all，everyone in my family used the word quite naturally，and we understood each other. So far as I knew，it was a word like any other word－like bath，or chocolate，or homework. But it was my homework that led to my discovery that grinnies was a word not known outside my family.
My last report card had said that I was a “C” student in English，but both my parents and teachers decided that no child of theirs would be just an average student of anything. So nightly I spelled words aloud and answered questions about the fine points of grammar. I wrote and rewrote and rewrote every composition until I convinced my mother that I could make no more improvements. And the hard work paid off. One day the teacher returned compositions，and there it was－a big fat，bright red “A” on the top of my paper. Naturally，I was delighted，but I didn't know I was attracting attention until the teacher spoke sharply，“Helen，what are you doing？”
Called suddenly out of my happy thoughts，I said “Oh，I've got the grinnies！” The teacher and my classmates burst into laughter，and then I understood that grinnies was used inside my family. Other people were not so lucky.
And it is really lucky to have the grinnies，an uncontrollable，natural state of great pleasure. Grinnies are shown on the outside by sparkling eyes and a wide，wide smile－not just any smile，but one that shows the teeth and stretches the mouth to its limits. A person experiencing the grinnies appears to be all mouth. On the inside grinnies are characterized by a feeling of joyful anxiety. Grinnies usually last just a few seconds，but they can come and go. Sometimes，when life seems just perfect，I have occasional attacks of the grinnies for a whole day.
The term originated in my mother's family. Her younger sister，Rose，who had deep dimples(酒窝)，often expressed her pleasure with such a grin that the dimples appeared to become permanent. When Rose was about four，she started explaining her funny look by saying，“I have the grinnies.” The term caught on，and it has been an important word in our family now for two generations.
The occasion doesn't matter. Anything can bring on the grinnies－just so long as one feels great delight. When my brother finally rode his bicycle－without training wheels－from our house to the corner and back，he came home with the grinnies. When I was little，my mother's announcement that we would have homemade ice cream for dessert always gave me the grinnies. My father had the grinnies when I was chosen to make a speech at the endofschoolyear ceremony. Grinnies can be brought on by a good meal，a sense of pride，a new friend，a telephone call from someone special，an achievement. Or sometimes one gets the grinnies for no reason at all：just a sudden sense of happiness can bring on a case. Whatever brings them on，an attack of the grinnies is among life's greatest pleasures.
In fact，now when I look back on the experience，I feel sorry for my seventhgrade teacher. I think it's a pity that she didn't know the word grinnies，It's such a useful term for saying，“I'm really，really pleased！”After the writer was twelve years old，she________.
| A．thought everyone knew the meaning of “grinnies” |
| B．equaled “grinnies” to bath or chocolate in meaning |
| C．got to know “grinnies” was used only inside her family |
| D．discovered the word “grinnies” through her mother |
When her English teacher called her name，the writer was________.
| A．looking at the big “A” on the top of her paper |
| B．listening to her English teacher attentively |
| C．too happy to notice what was happening around her |
| D．busy rewriting her composition |
According to the writer，the word “grinnies” originates from________.
| A．her mother |
| B．her aunt |
| C．her brother |
| D．her father |
The writer feels sorry for her seventhgrade teacher because the teacher________.
| A．had no pity on her students |
| B．should not have laughed at her |
| C．didn't have any luck to meet her parents |
| D．had no idea of what “grinnies” was |
What method does the writer use to explain “grinnies”？
| A．Cause and effect. |
| B．Examples. |
| C．Comparison and contrast. |
| D．Process. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
(Reuters)President Barack Obama－bolstered(加强)by a stronger economic outlook and recent job growth－would win in a matchup against the two leading Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich，a poll on Monday showed.
A Washington PostABC News survey of 1,000 adults found that，for the first time，Obama's prospects have brightened against his potential rivals as his overall job approval rating climbed on his handling of the slowly recovering economy.
If the election were held now，Obama would win 51 percent of the vote compared to 45 percent for Romney，the former Massachusetts governor and current Republican frontrunner，according to the poll. He would win with 54 percent compared to 43 percent for Gingrich，the former speaker of the House of Representatives who has vowed to continue seeking his party's nomination.
The poll，conducted by telephone from February 1 through February 4，showed Obama won higher marks than Romney when it comes to protecting the middle class and taxes. Those polled also said they trusted Obama more to handle international affairs and terrorism.
But Obama and Romney tied(不分胜负)when it came to creating jobs and more of those surveyed said they trusted Romney to handle the economy and the federal budget deficit(赤字)．
In a statement，the Romney campaign's polling strategist，Neil Newhouse，said the survey was flawed and “introduced specific negative information about Governor Romney immediately prior to asking the ballot matchup against President Obama”．
The president's job approval rating rose to 50 percent，according to the survey，which has a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
When asked if Obama deserved a second term as president,49 percent said yes and 49 percent said no.
In an NBC interview on Sunday，Obama said he deserved another term when Americans vote in November. A jobs report on Friday showed the U．S. economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January .The unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 8.3 percent，its lowest level in three years.Who is better concerning protecting the middle class and taxes?
| A．Newt Gingrich |
| B．Neil Newhouse |
| C．Mitt Romney |
| D．Barack Obama |
In which aspect did Obama and Romney tie?
| A．Creating jobs. |
| B．Improving the economy. |
| C．Handling the federal budget deficit. |
| D．Handling international affairs and terrorism. |
What is the percentage of Americans who support President Obama's reelection in the survey?
| A．51% |
| B．54% |
| C．43% |
| D．49% |
What can we learn from Neil Newhouse's words?
| A．The survey was unfair to Romney. |
| B．The survey was against Obama. |
| C．The survey had negative effect on people's voting. |
| D．The survey was made in a rush. |
According to the last paragraph，which of the following is true?
| A．Obama is selfconfident in reelection. |
| B．The U．S. created jobs at the fastest pace than other countries. |
| C．The unemployment rate is the lowest on record. |
| D．Americans vote for president in January. |
A pioneering head teacher is calling for all high schools to follow his lead and start classes at 11 am，allowing teenagers two hours extra in bed.
Dr. Paul Kelley，head of Monkseaton Community High School in North Tyneside，said it would mean the end of sleeping in lessons before lunch，after experiments showed teenagers could have different body clocks from adults and younger children.
Russell Foster，an Oxford professor of neuroscience(神经系统科学)，tested the memory of 200 Monkseaton pupils at 9 am and 2 pm using pairs of words，and discovered a 9% improvement in the afternoon. Students correctly identified 51% of word pairs in the later session，compared with 42% in the morning. Tayler McCullough,15，one of the test subjects，said the majority of students would welcome the extra hours in bed.“I'm extremely hard to get up in the morning. One or two people like to get to school early，but most of us would be up for going in later. I'm sure it would make a big difference to our learning ability.”
Kelley is adamant that a change of school timetable will have a meaningful effect on exam performance. He wants his school's governors to approve his plan and put the new timetable in place before the opening of Monkseaton's new school building，the most technologically advanced in the country，in September.
Kelley hopes his latest idea will be just as successful.“We have to be practical. But this proves that，by starting later，children's learning improves，as does their health.”
Foster said，“This is preliminary(初步的) data，but what's exciting is that it matches more detailed studies carried out in Canada and the US. Teenagers get up late not because they are lazy but because they are biologically programmed to do so.”How many professors are mentioned in the passage?
| A．One. |
| B．Two. |
| C．Three. |
| D．Four. |
According to Russell Foster's research，________.
| A．the students tested had very good memories |
| B．the students tested did better jobs in the afternoon |
| C．42% of the students tested could do very good jobs |
| D．51% of the students tested could master 9% of words |
What does the underlined word “adamant” in the fourth paragraph mean?
| A．Angry. |
| B．Absorbed. |
| C．Adaptable. |
| D．Determined. |
Foster's opinion on teenagers' getting up late is that ________.
| A．teenagers are practical |
| B．teenagers are lazybones |
| C．it's based on their body development |
| D．it's good for their learning and health |
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