One of the most traditional features of American culture is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.
This attitude toward manual(体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.From the second paragraph of this passage we can find that _______.
| A．Hagner busies herself by following a trend |
| B．Hagner doesn't spend much time on her full-time job |
| C．Hagner is interested in sports and music |
| D．Hagner wastes much time helping her children's lessons |
British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _______.
| A．treat their children as sports players |
| B．give their children little time to develop freely |
| C．bring up their children in a simple way |
| D．pay no attention to their children's lessons |
The writer's opinion about after-school clubs is that ________.
| A．activities in the country are too competitive |
| B．children should attend four clubs at a time |
| C．clubs should have more subjects for school children |
| D．some clubs result in competitive pressures |
The last paragraph tells us that in Britain _______.
| A．parents used to take their children to every club |
| B．parents have all benefited from children’s clubs |
| C．parents used to be wise on how to raise children |
| D．parents have come to know the standard of education |
For many in the United States, Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population. Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine, many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds.
Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800's when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as "Amreeka".
Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves. The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924. The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian，and some Egyptian immigrants. These new immigrants，who were mostly Christians, came to America in search of better opportunities. Even the doomed Titanic , which set sail for America in 1912, had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard. The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants； they are the third or more generation Americans.
The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ， caused by political unrest in the Middle East. This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims (穆斯林)and continues to this day.
Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States，according to demographers. And quite different from popular belief, 64 percent of them are American-born. Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens.
Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income. Education is important among Arab-Americans； 82 percent have high school diplomas, 36 percent have bachelor's degrees or higher, and 15 percent have graduate degrees. The- median (中位数的)average income among Arab-Americans is $39, 580, which is higher than the US average. What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Arabs in America. |
| B．The Two Arab Immigration Waves to America. |
| C．Arab-Americans, Contributions to America. |
| D．Arab-Americans, Education and Income. |
The first wave of immigrants took place because ______ .
| A．all Arabs were Christian at that time |
| B．Arabs wanted to hunt for a better development |
| C．the Second World War broke out |
| D．Arabs wanted to gain higher income |
The writer of this passage mentioned Titanic ______ .
| A．to tell us that taking ship at that time was dangerous |
| B．because Titanic became a well-known disaster |
| C．to show us there were many Arabs flocking into America at that time |
| D．to inform us that Arabs are brave enough |
From the last paragraph we can infer that ______ .
| A．Arab-Americans are much more clever than native Americans |
| B．Arab-Americans are hard-working people |
| C．the higher education you receive, the higher income you will get in America |
| D．Arab-Americans play the most important role in the American average in both education and income |
The Poetry Foundation recently named American poet Jack Prelutsky as the nation's first children's poet laureate (桂冠诗人). The group created the award as a way to increase children’s love of poetry.
As children's poet laureate, Jack Prelutsky will give two public readings in the next two years. He will also advise the Poetry Foundation about children's literature and take part in projects concerning children and poetry.
Jack Prelutsky has been writing poetry for children for almost forty years. He has written more than thirty-five books of poems. His first book was called /4 Gopher in the Garden. It was published in 1967. His latest is called Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems.
Prelutsky is well known for creating new words by combining two words to creat a new kind of creature. For example, he combined "radish" with "shark" to get "radishark", "Lion" and "broccoli" became "broccolion", He also created "umbrellaphant", a mixture of the words "umbrella" and "elephant".
Jack Prelutsky says that children like his poems because he writes about things they care about. Poetry researchers say that Jack Prelutsky's poems recognize children's feeling. An example of this is the poem My Sister Is a Werewolf which is about how it feels to be different.
Jack Prelutsky also writes poems about American holidays. His poem It's Halloween is a very famous one about the holiday celebrated at the end of October. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Poems with New Words Grow Popular |
| B．First Children's Poet Laureate Named |
| C．Children's Love for Poetry Increased |
| D．Jack Prelutsky Awarded Nationwide |
What is Jack Prelutsky famous for?
| A．Creating new words in his poems. |
| B．His productivity. |
| C．His long time of writing. |
| D．His poems about American holidays. |
Children are in favour of his poems because ______ .
| A．they are easy to understand |
| B．the poet is famous |
| C．children like reading new words |
| D．the poet understands their feelings |
Put the following items in right order according to the passage.
a. two public readings
b. A Gopher in the Garden
c. Behold the Bold Unbrellaphant and Other Poems
d. My Sister Is a Werewolf
| A．b-c-d-a | B．d-a-c-b |
| C．b-d-c-a | D．a-b-c-d |
Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.
Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members，but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care more about. I know this from my personal experience.
E-mail makes it easy to work at home, where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren't necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she'd been born before E-mail became such a practical tool.
The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun—see a great movie perhaps— and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may be tired of telling the story.
With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience，and address it to all the friends who you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.
E-mail is also an inexpensive way to stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children at college.
We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don't take the place of any of the old ways. The purpose of this passage is to ______ .
| A．explain how to use the Internet |
| B．share the writer's joy of keeping up with the latest technology |
| C．tell the usefulness of the Internet |
| D．introduce the basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet |
The use of E-mail has made it possible for the writer to ______ .
| A．spend less time working |
| B．have more time to spend with his children |
| C．work, at home on all weekends |
| D．work at a speed comfortable to him |
According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former helps one ______ .
| A．reach a group of people at one time conveniently |
| B．keep his communication as personal as possible |
| C．pass on much more information than the latter |
| D．get in touch with his friends faster than the latter |
The best title for the passage is "______".
| A．Computer—New Technological Advances |
| B．Internet—New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship |
| C．Computer—Have Made Life Easier |
| D．Internet—A Convenient Tool for Communication |
Last month, students from one hundred and three universities in eighty-eight countries took part in an international computer programming contest. The Battle of the Brains took place in Harbin, China. Three-person teams from each school had five hours to solve eleven real world problems.
Jerry Cain coached the team from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. He says the problems involved, among other things, paperweights，robots，castles and lakes.
The students first listed the problems in order of difficulty. Then they figured out the requirements of each. They designed ways to test their solutions. And they wrote the needed software systems. Even the winning team from Shanghai Jiaotong University in China was not able to solve all the problems within the given time limit. Stanford's team solved five problems and finished in fourteenth place. Stanford was one of twenty-one American universities that took part in the contest this year.
The official name of the Battle of the Brains is the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. It began in nineteen seventy at Texas A and M University. The contest quickly became popular in the United States and Canada. It developed and grew as more and more schools took part in local and area contests.
The first final competition was held in nineteen seventy-seven at the Association for Computer Machinery Computer Science Conference.
Today, a network of universities holds area competitions that send the winners to the world finals, which are now organized by IBM.
Contest spokesman Doug Heintzman says the world champions receive prizes and scholarships. They are also guaranteed an offer of employment or internship with IBM. This competition is an opportunity to be recognized and to be recruited (雇用，聘用) by some of the top technology and research firms around the world. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The winners will be sent to the world finals, which are now organized by IBM. |
| B．Five-person teams had three hours to solve eleven real world problems. |
| C．Shanghai Jiaotong University in China solved all the problems within the given time limit. |
| D．Stanford's solved five problems and finished in fortieth place in the contest. |
What is not the possible result of the world champions?
| A．Receiving prizes and scholarships. |
| B．Being offered employment or internship with IBM. |
| C．Being recognized and employed by top technology and research firms. |
| D．Being given an opportunity to go travelling around the world for free. |
This . passage would most likely be found in ______ section of the newspaper.
| A．politics | B．economy |
| C．education | D．entertainment |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Battle of the Brains |
| B．Listing the Problems in Order of Difficulty |
| C．Champions Receiving Prizes and Scholarships |
| D．An International Computer Programming Contest |
Forgiving is easy. Forgetting the experience that comes before the forgiveness, however, always remains with us. Choosing to forgive means choosing to let go of the bad or negative emotions that one experiences so that we can live in peace and harmony.
Five years ago I went through a painful divorce. My older brother, a great believer of our faith, was very angry at my decision to divorce. Despite his response I felt my decision was correct. After two years of arguing over the phone and hurtful words in emails my brother and I ended our friendship in a cold silence.
Out of the blue he visited the same city that I was living in to see our mother. I thought for nights about how to react to his visit. I sought advice from many friends—all of whom said I should wait for his apology before trying to repair our friendship. Since I had done no wrong, it was he that needed to come to me.
A very close friend advised me otherwise. He said "Choose to be the bigger person here; forgive and forget. Let go, "he said "and move on." Though his words gave me courage, I still felt very angry and betrayed. My dear friend gave me a gentle shove (推，促使)and even stayed on the phone while I went over to greet my brother and family. When I did, I felt so relieved. I felt peace at last!
Today I am so grateful to my friend for encouraging me. If I hadn't taken his advice, I wouldn't enjoy the loving relationship that I do now with all of my family. Still, it would be a lie it I said that I didn't think about the past sometimes. The difference is that I do not feel angry. I am at peace and have a greater understanding and acceptance of the whole experience. In short I feel I have grown since then. In the author's opinion, the purpose of forgiving is ______.
| A．to forget unpleasant experience |
| B．to make up with relatives or friends |
| C．to let go of the bad or negative emotions |
| D．to make ourselves live in peace and harmony |
Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the phrase "let go of" in the first paragraph?
| A．give up | B．give out |
| C．give away | D．give off |
What drove the author to forgive her brother?
| A．One close friend's encouragement. |
| B．The friend's staying on the phone. |
| C．Her mother's persuasion. |
| D．Her own understanding with growth. |
It can be inferred that the author ______.
| A．realized her mistake in her divorce in the end |
| B．learned how to forget unpleasant experiences |
| C．felt having learned to forgive means growth |
| D．thought friendship is the most important of all |
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