In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8. Our home was a complete zoo—a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree！
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the middle of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be _____.
| A． a writer | B． a teacher |
| C． a judge | D． a doctor |
Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?
| A． She wanted to study by herself. |
| B． She fell in love and got married. |
| C． She suffered from a serious illness. |
| D． She decided to look after her grandma. |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
| A． She was busy yet happy with her family life. |
| B． She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons. |
| C． She wanted to remain a full-time housewife. |
| D． She was too confused to make a correct choice. |
What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A． Failure is the mother of success. |
| B． Little by little, one goes far. |
| C． Every coin has two sides. |
| D． Well begun, half done. |
Which of the following can best describe the author?
| A． Caring and determined. |
| B． Honest and responsible. |
| C． Ambitious and sensitive. |
| D． Innocent and single-minded. |
Babies are born yogis（瑜伽练习者）．Once we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and laugh about it．Then we aged, got injured, and began carrying stress in our shoulders and back．In short, we lost our balance．
Yoga（瑜伽） is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit．It brings us balance．I was seriously out of balance when I started practicing yoga in 1999．I had plantar fascitis（足底筋膜炎）in both feet, and my doctor had warned me against all the things I loved to do: walking, hiking, and playing tennis．I was desperate for exercise．Yoga became my salvation and even enhanced my other fitness activities．I practice yoga at least twice a week, but I consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga—you love it．
Yoga becomes part of your physical life．Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one pose to the other．I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight．“Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone,” says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K．I．S．S．Guide to Yoga．“Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism （新陈代谢), it also helps to regulate weight．Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be removed around the cells．” I do yoga poses throughout the day．After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms．When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses．When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses．
Yoga becomes part of your mental life．Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses．This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety．I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist’s chair, and in traffic jams．You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired．If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time “fighting” yourself, trying to force yourself into poses．In yoga, you “surrender” to the pose by letting go of the tension．
Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life．Yoga is practiced by people from all religions; it is not restricted to any religious group．Yoga teaches “right” living in how we deal with ourselves and others．As I work on a difficult pose, I learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness．Yoga advocates proper eating, but you don’t have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga．
72．What would be the best title for this passage?
A．What’s Yoga? B．How I Do Yoga Poses
C．The Benefits of Yoga D．The Varieties of Yoga
73．According to the third paragraph, yoga can help people __________．
A．grow taller B．lose weight
C．become flexible in thinking D．make more friends
74．People feel tired after yoga because __________．
A．they consume energy in practicing yoga
B．they respond well to yoga poses
C．they spend too much time on yoga
D．they force themselves into yoga poses
75．If this passage continues, what will the writer most probably write about in the next paragraph?
A．Yoga as a means to keep fit．
B．Different yoga poses．
C．Popularity of yoga all over the world．
D．Encouraging people to do yoga．
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind．How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing．
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic （逻辑) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand．Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding．In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power．”
Try this experiment．Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now．Just start with anything, and create an explanation．For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help．You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now．
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember．Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes．You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success．
Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it．That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better．Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there．
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand．Often, they write about something because they want to understand it．You can do the same．Writing will help bring you to an understanding．Give it a try．
67．What would be the best title for the text?
A．A Way on How to Write
B．Increase Your Brain Power through Writing
C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing
D．How to Start Your Writing
68．According to the text, writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ______．
A．the increase of your brain power
B．the ability to remember
C．the development of your interest in study
D．the better understanding of a topic
69．If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______．
A．has understood it very well
B．needs to understand it better
C．wants to remember it in his or her mind
D．is exercising his or her “explain power”
70．The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______．
A．you are already successful B．you still need to work hard
C．writing can help you walk half way D．writing is important to solve problems71．What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?
A．To advise readers to start their writing．
B．To explain the importance of writing．
C．To persuade readers to become writers．
D．To increase readers’ brain power．
Social rules or laws on marriage vary widely between countries．Some countries, still do not have a legal minimum age for marriage, which makes child marriages are very common, there．
In the Western Christian countries, a 13 -year -old is still considered a child．Even getting married in one’ s late teens is not usually encouraged because married life is likely to interfere with a young woman' s education and consequently restrict opportunities in later life．And there are also physical dangers in giving birth so young．
In Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, the age of puberty（青春期）at around 13 or 14 is the legal age for marriage, but in Turkey it is 15, and in Egypt and Tunisia, 18 the same minimum age as in many Western countries．It is argued that by allowing, earlier marriages, Islamic law is promoting stable relationships, while Western laws are encouraging promiscuity among young people．
In many countries, the trends of urbanization and education for girls have seen a drop in the number of child brides．However, early marriages continue to occur in poor rural areas．In India, for example, the legal age of marriage for a girl is 18 and to a boy, 21．Yet, according to government statistics, 18 percent of ten to fourteen-year old girls in the poor, rural state of Rajasthan in the northwest of the country are married．It is clear, then, that child marriages are connected with poverty, lack of education, rural customs as well as religion．So there don't tend to be any child marriages in urban or rich areas．
63．The underlined word "promiscuity" in the third paragraph means ____．
A．permanent partnership B．firm partnership
C．diverse relationship D．single relationship
64．According to the text, which of these women are married latest?
A．Women from less educated background．
B．Women from poor rural areas．
C．Women from Islamic countries．
D．Women from cities．．Com]
65．Child marriages are NOT related to ____ according to the passage．
A．social communication B．rural customs
C．poverty and lack of education D．religious beliefs
66．According to the passage, getting married early leads to all of the following EXCEPT____．
A．reducing a young woman's education
B．limiting a young woman's chances
C．causing baby death
D．doing harm to a young woman's health
Throughout this long, tense election, everyone has focused on the presidential candidates and how they’ll change America．Rightly so．But selfishly, I’m more fascinated by Michelle Obama and what she might be able to do, not just for this country, but for me as an African-American woman．As the potential First Lady, she would have the world’s attention．And that means that for the first time people will have a chance to get up close and personal with the type of African-American woman they so rarely see．
Usually, the lives of black women go largely unexamined．The prevailing theory seems to be that we’re all hot-tempered single mothers who can’t keep a man．Even in the world of make-believe, black women still can’t escape the stereotype of being neck-swirling（摇头晃脑）, eye-rolling（目光不专）, oversexed females raised by our never-married, alcoholic mothers．
These images have helped define the way all black women are viewed, including Michelle Obama．Before she ever gets the chance to commit to a cause, charity or foundations as First Lady, her most urgent and perhaps most complicated duty may be simply to be herself．
It won’t be easy．Because few mainstream publications have done in-depth features on regular African American women, little is known about who we are, what we think and what we face on a regular basis．For better or worse, Michelle will become a stand-in for us all．
Just as she will have her critics, she will also have millions of adoring fans who usually have little interest in the First Lady．African-American blogs have all written about what they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House---mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family．Michelle will have to work to please everyone---an impossible task．But for many African-American women like me, just a little of her poise, confidence and intellect will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around for far too long．
60．Why does Michelle Obama hold a strong fascination for the author?
A．She serves as a role model for African-American women．
B．She possesses many admirable qualities becoming a First Lady．
C．She will present to the world a new image of African-American women．
D．She will pay closer attention to the interests of African-American women
61．What is the common stereotype of African-American women according to the author?
A．They are victims of family violence．
B．They are of an inferior（下等的次等的）social group．
C．They use quite a lot of body language．
D．They live on charity and social welfare．
62． What does the author say about Michelle Obama as a First Lady?
A．However many fans she has, she should remain modest．
B．She shouldn’t disappoint the African-American community．
C．However hard she tries, she can’t expect to please everybody．
D．She will give priority to African-American women’s concern．
四、阅读理解
Michael Jackson, the American pop legend, died of a cardiac arrest（心脏骤停) in a Los Angeles hospital last night, just weeks before he hoped to resurrect（复活) his four-decade long career with a series of sold-out shows in London．The pop superstar was taken to the University of California at Los Angeles medical centre last night, and doctors tried resuscitation（使苏醒，使复活） in the ambulance．He did not regain consciousness and was reported dead about three hours later．
"My brother, the legendary King of Pop, passed away on Thursday 25 June at 2．26pm," his brother Jermaine said, "We believe he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home, however the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy（验尸) are known．The personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitated him．"
A spokesman for the UCLA medical centre said, "When he arrived at hospital at approximately 1．14pm, a team of doctors attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour, they were unsuccessful．" Police said they were investigating, which is standard procedure in such cases．
Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long decline from his peak in the 1980s when he was music's greatest all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV．His 1982 album Thriller, which included the blockbuster hits（卖座歌曲） Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller is still the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50m copies sold worldwide．
The world famous entertainer had planned a series of 50 concerts in London from 12 July．Although in the last two decades his reputation was destroyed by charges of child molestation（骚扰) and his fantastic public behavior, all tickets were sold within hours, proving the King of Pop had enduring appeal．
56．Where did Michael Jackson die?
A．At home in Los Angeles． B．In a Los Angeles hospital．
C．On the stage in London． D．In an ambulance to hospital．
57．What caused Michael Jackson to die according to Jermaine?
A．Heart disease．
B．It’s unknown before the results of the autopsy．
C．Working too hard．
D．His personal physician’s improper treatment．
58．Why were the police involved in investigating the death of Michael Jackson?
A．Because they believed he was murdered．
B．Because it was standard procedure in such cases．
C．Because Michael Jackson died suddenly．
D．Because his brother was suspicious of the truth of his death．
59．It can be inferred that Michael Jackson was ___________．
A．a King of Pop with good reputation．
B．a King of Pop still playing on the stage before death．
C．indeed a bad man with fantastic public behavior．
D．a popular King of Pop in spite of ill fame．
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