阅读下面的短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。
B
Reading to dogs is an unusual way to help children improve their literacy skills(读写能力). With their shining brown eyes, wagging tails, and unconditional love, dogs can provide the nonjudgemental listeners needed for a begining reader to gain confidence(自信心), according to Intermoutain Therapy Animals(ITA) in Salt Lake City. The group says it is the first program in the country to use dogs to help develop literacy in children, with the introduction of Reading Education Assistance Dogs(READ)．
The Salt Lake City Library is sold on the idea. “Literacy specialists admit that children who read below the level of their fellow pupils are often afraid of reading aloud in a group, often have lower selfrespect, and regard reading as a headache，”said Lisa Myron, manager of the children's department.
Last November the two groups started“Dog Day Afternoon”in the children's department of the main library. About 25 children attended each of the four Saturday—afternoon classes, reading for half an hour. Those who attended three of the four classes received a“pawgraphed”book at the last class.
The program was so successful that the library plans to repeat it in April, according to Dana Thumpowsky, public relations manager.What is mainly discussed in the text?
| A．Children's reading difficulties |
| B．Advantages of raising dogs |
| C．Service in a public library |
| D．A special reading program |
Specialists use dogs to listen to children reading because they think________.
| A．dogs are young children's best friends |
| B．children can play with dogs while reading |
| C．dogs can provide encouragement for shy children |
| D．children and dogs understand each other |
By saying“The Salt Lake City Public Library is sold on the idea”， the writer means the library________.
| A．use dogs to attract children |
| B．accepts the idea put forward by ITA |
| C．has opened a children's department |
| D．has decided to train some dogs |
A“pawgraphed”book is most probably________.
| A．a book used in Saturday classes |
| B．a book written by the children |
| C．a prize for the children |
| D．a gift from parents |
Marjorie Gestring
Marjorie Gestring was a springboard（跳板） diver from the United States who won the gold medal in 3-meter springboard diving at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany at the age of 13 years．With the cancellation（取消） of the Olympics in 1940 and 1944 because of World War II, Gestring did not get a chance to defend her title, and her comeback attempt for the 1948 Summer Olympics failed．
Bob Mathias
17-year-old American Bob Mathias won the decathlon（十项全能运动） only four months after taking up the sport．He is the youngest athlete in Olympic history to win a men's track and field event．By the time Mathias retired from decathlon competition in 1952, he had nine victories in nine competitions．He had won two gold medals separately in 1948 and 1952．In 1954 a film about his early life called The Bob Mathias Story was made, in which he and his wife played themselves．
Fu Mingxia
Fu Mingxia was born on August 16, 1978 in Wuhan, Hubei Province．At an early age, her father taught her to swim at a nearby river．She started exercising gymnastics at age 5, soon turning to diving．Fu Mingxia left home at age 9 to train in Beijing．In the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Fu Mingxia became China's youngest Olympic champion ever when she won the 10-meter platform gold at the age of 13．
Ian Thorpe
Ian Thorpe was born on 13 October, 1982．He is a former Australian freestyle swimmer．At the age of 14, he became the youngest male ever to represent Australia．Ian Thorpe, 17 years old, won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle by breaking his own world record in Sydney 2000．He has won five Olympic gold medals．How many times has Marjorie Gestring taken part in the Olympic Games?
| A．Two． | B．Three． | C．Four． | D．Five． |
Which two athletes took part in the Olympics in the same year ?
| A．Marjorie Gestring and Fu Mingxia |
| B．Bob Mathias and Fu Mingxia |
| C．Marjorie Gestring and Bob Mathias． |
| D．Bob Mathias and Ian Thorpe． |
How long had Fu Mingxia practised diving in Beijing before she won the 10-meter platform gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics?
| A．About ten years． |
| B．About nine years． |
| C．About five years． |
| D．About three years． |
What is the passage mainly about ?
| A．Some young Olympic champions． |
| B．The history of the Olympic Games． |
| C．How to train young Olympic athletes． |
| D．How to prepare for the Olympic Games． |
How is it that siblings （兄弟姐妹） can turn out so differently? One answer is that in fact each sibling grows up in a different family． The firstborn is, for a while, an only child, and therefore has a completely different experience of the parents than those born later． The next child is, for a while, the youngest, until the situation is changed by a new arrival． The mother and father themselves are changing and growing up too． One sibling might live in a stable and close family in the first few years; another might be raised in a family crisis, with a disappointed mother or an angry father．
Sibling competition was identified as an important shaping force as early as in 1918． But more recently, researchers have found many ways in which brothers and sisters are a lasting force in each others’ lives． Dr． Annette Henderson says firstborn children pick up vocabulary more quickly than their siblings． The reason for this might be that the later children aren’t getting the same one-on-one time with parents． But that doesn’t mean that the younger children have problems with language development． Later-borns don’t enjoy that much talking time with parents, but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sisters, learning entire phrases and getting an understanding of social concepts such as the difference between “I” and “me”．
A Cambridge University study of 140 children found that siblings created a rich world of play that helped them grow socially． Love-hate relationships were common among the children． Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive communication as the other sibling pairs．
One way children seek more attention from parents is by making themselves different from their siblings, particularly if they are close in age． Researchers have found that the first two children in a family are typically more different from each other than the second and third． Girls with brothers show their differences to a maximum degree by being more feminine than girls with sisters． A 2003 research paper studied adolescents from 185 families over two years, finding that those who changed to make themselves different from their siblings were successful in increasing the amount of warmth they gained from their parents． In terms of language development, later-borns ________．
| A．get their parents’ individual guidance |
| B．learn a lot from their elder siblings |
| C．experience a lot of difficulties |
| D．pick up words more quickly |
What was found about fights among siblings?
| A．Siblings hated fighting and loved playing． |
| B．Siblings in some families fought frequently． |
| C．Sibling fights led to bad sibling relationships． |
| D．Siblings learned to get on together from fights． |
The word “feminine” （in Para． 4） means “_______”．
| A．having qualities of parents |
| B．having qualities of women |
| C．having defensive qualities |
| D．having extraordinary qualities |
If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles． He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out．
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought． It’s nothing personal． Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes．
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius． In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China．
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities． More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries． These schools teach both Chinese language and culture． The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy． Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy． Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese． So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States． Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers．
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well．
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West．
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is． The opening paragraph is mainly intended to _______．
| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers’ interest in the subject |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students_______．
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
| D．Old Thinker with a Big Future |
The passage is likely to appear in _______．
| A．a biography | B．a history paper |
| C．a newspaper | D．a philosophy textbook |
Finally, a cell phone
That’s… a phone
With rates as low as $3．75 per week ！
“Well, I finally did it． I finally decided to enter the digital age and get a cell phone． My kids have been annoying me and the last straw was when my car broke down, and I was stuck by the highway for an hour before someone stopped to help． But when I went to the cell phone store, I almost changed my mind． The phones all have cameras, computers and a “global-positioning” something or other that’s supposed to spot me from space． Goodness, all I want to do is to be able to talk to my grandkids! The people at the store weren’t much help． They couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t want a phone the size of a postage stamp． And the rate plans! They were confusing, and expensive… and the contract （合同）lasted for two years! I’d almost given up until a friend told me about her new Jitterbug phone． Now, I have the convenience and safety of being about to stay in touch with a phone I can actually use． ”
Affordable plans that I can understand---and no contract to sign （签订）！ Unlike other cell phones，Jitterbug has plans that make sense． Why should I pay for minutes I’m never going to use? And if I do talk more than I plan，I won’t find myself with no minutes like my friend who has a prepaid phone． Best of all, there is no contract to sign, so I’m not locked in for years at a time． The US-based customer service is second to none． And the phone gets service anywhere in the country．
| Monthly Minutes |
50 |
100 |
| Monthly Rate |
$14．99 |
$19．99 |
| 911 Access |
FREE |
FREE |
| Long Distance Calls |
No additional charge |
No additional charge |
| Friendly Return Policy |
30 days |
30 days |
Call now and receive a FREE gift when you order． Try Jitterbug for 30 days and if you don’t love it, just return it! Why wait, the Jitterbug comes ready to use right out of the box． If you aren’t as happy with it as I am, you can return it and get your money back． Call now, the Jitterbug product experts are ready to answer your questions．
Call 1-888-809-8794 or visit www.jitlerbugdirect． com．What made “I” finally think of getting a cell phone?
| A．Being stuck by the highway． |
| B．Being urged by his grandkids． |
| C．Being persuaded by cell phone salespersons． |
| D．Being attracted by the friendly return policy． |
On the monthly basis of 100 minutes, the Jitterbug weekly rate is about_______．
| A．$3．75 | B．$4．99 | C．$14．99 | D．$19．99 |
An advantage of Jitterbug mentioned in the passage is _______．
| A．its discount price with a free gift |
| B．its reasonable rate plans without a contract |
| C．its "global-positioning" system with 911 access |
| D．its good customer service all over the world |
The main purpose of the passage is to _______．
| A．tell a customer’s story of Jitterbug |
| B．provide two ways to order Jitterbug |
| C．give a brief introduction of Jitterbug |
| D．attract potential customers to Jitterbug． |
Peanuts to This
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes． Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher． Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself． “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task． This was the first real talk I received in my new school． It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington． Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before． As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America． I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant． I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip （掷） a coin． Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy． Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver．
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost． Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong． As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution．” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful． Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around． I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade． I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance． Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year． Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation． I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade． Justice is sweet!What did the author’s classmates think about his report?
| A．Controversial． | B．Ridiculous． | C．Boring． | D．Puzzling． |
Why was the author confused about the task?
| A．He was unfamiliar with American history． |
| B．He followed the advice and flipped a coin． |
| C．He forgot his teacher’s instruction． |
| D．He was new at the school． |
The underlined word “burning” in Para． 3 probably means _______．
| A．annoyed | B．ashamed | C．ready | D．eager |
In the end, the author turned things around _______．
| A．by redoing his task |
| B．through his own efforts |
| C．with the help of his grandfather |
| D．under the guidance of his headmaster |
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