Rarely have I experienced a reaction like that which came about following the idea of banning private education. One of those who contacted me to disagree with the idea was 17 year old Anirudh Mandagere. He got 10 A*s at GCSE and is currently studying English, French, Math and History at a private school in Manchester. Here is his response:

For me, the idea that all private schools should be banned is not only ridiculous and unrealistic, but goes against the idea of liberty. We must have the freedom to choose between state-funded and privately educated schools. If parents pay taxes, surely they should be able to choose whether they send their children to a state-funded or a privately-funded school.

The economic impacts of abolishing private education are vast. Banning private schools would obviously contribute to a great transfer to state schools. Many state schools are already overburdened; do they really need more pupils? Abolishing private education would lead to higher taxes for taxpayers since more money would be needed to educate the 7% who were previously private educated. In the times of economic crisis, should the taxpayer need to fork out more money to pay for their education? There would also be a great rise in unemployment of the staff who works at private schools.

It is noted that, in general, private schools have better grades at GCSE and A level than state schools. Yet, why do people view this as a bad thing? The higher private school grades eventually force the government to endlessly improve state education so that the middle-classes do not totally abandon state education for private education. This competition creates reform and progress within state schools and eventually promote them! If the private schools did not exist, where would be the impetus for state school improvement?

Government should not simply ban a system which produces results. It should learn from it and use the private education model as a basis for the state education model. Abolishing a successful system will not help anybody, learning from a successful system will.

In the eye of Anirudh Mandagere, parents have the right to ______.

A. criticize state-funded schools

B. pay taxes for the promotion of private schools

C. choose the way their children receive education

D. advocate the competition between state schools and private ones

According to the passage, banning private education will ______.

A. obviously contribute to lower taxes

B. not cause the state schools to be overburdened

C. force the government to boost state education

D. lead to many people losing their jobs 

The underlined word “impetus” in the fourth paragraph probably means ______.

A. motivation         B. prevention         C. participation       D. assessment

Compared with state schools, private ones ______.

A. educate a little fewer students                B. conduct better than all state ones

C. are better received by the public             D. are more competitive on the whole

Which of the following statements will Anirudh Mandagere agree with?

A. His wonderful performance results from the education his private school offers.

B. Without the existence of private schools, state ones wouldn’t get improved much.

C. Private education is a good system to make students successful in life.

D. Private schools are supposed to be sponsored more than state ones.

One day newly wedded Nancy lost her ring while helping to plant potatoes. Friends were called and the field was searched long but in vain. Later, when the pottoes were harvested, Everyone looked out for the ring but it remained lost. Another year came round and all the farmers working in the field kept their eyes open. The following year was the same. And year after year, whoever had business in the field aways had Nancy’s ring in his mind.

Then the farm changed hands but it went no farther than to cousins. So the memory of the lost ring remained alive until thirty-eight years had passed. Then came a spring day when a man was ploughing the field behind a pair of horses. Even after thirty-eight years he still looked out for the ring, and knew just which part of the field Nancy had lost it in. At this time, when he came there, he found it .He picked it up, put it carefully into his pocket, left his horse, and ran all the way down to the village and placed it into Nancy’s hand.

76.How did Nancy come to lose her ring?

A.She lost it while helping to harvest tomatoes in the field

B.She lost it while watering the plants in the field.

C.She lost it while working in the field.

D.She lost it while helping to plant potatoes in the field.

77.What was done so that the lost ring could be found?

A.Friends were asked to join in the search.

B.The field was searched for a long time.

C.Ｄogs were called to look for it.

D.Both A and B

78.Why did people keep looking for the ring even after the farm changed hands?

A.It was a very expensive ring

B.They all wanted to solve the mystery.

C.They all loved Nancy.

D.Everybody wanted to have this ring.

79.What did the ploughman do after finding the ring?

A.He picked it up and put it in his pocket.

B.He ran back to tell everybody in the village.

C.He placed it in a secret spot.

D.He returned it to the owner.

80.What can you infer from the story?

A.The ring was invaluable.

B.People on the farm were honest and helpful.

C.The ring’s mysterious disappearance was the work of supernatural power.

D.Nancy no longer expected that her ring would be found again.

Though he is still a child, he has already read _____ 1,000 books.

A. so much as  B. as many as  C. as much as  D. so many as

She ____________ the path as the trees around her became thicker.

A. lost sight of     B. caught sight of   C. lost sight       D. caught sight

The thief ___ when he was stealing a wallet from a woman.

A. happened to notice                                  B. was taken place to notice

C. was happened to be noticed     D. happened to be noticed

Ⅱ. 语言知识及应用（共两节。满分35分）

第一节  完形填空（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21~30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the film-maker Walter Disney. He had a(n)    21    voice and he wanted to work in Disney’s cartoon film for children. When Walter Disney heard Nash’s voice, he said, “Stop! That’s our    22   .”

Disney declared Nash perfect for the role of a talking duck in their upcoming animated short, The Wise Little Hen. The duck, of course, was Donald Duck, which    23    his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a    24    after an eight-minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema    25    liked him because he was lazy and    26   , and because he    27    his temper very easily. And they loved his voice when he became angry with Mickey’s eight nephews. Soon Donald was more popular than Mickey Mouse himself,    28    because he wasn’t a goody-goody (伪善的人), like Mickey.

Donald Duck went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world, and a great part of this was due to Nash's distinctive voice. The last film to    29    Nash's famous voice was Mickey's Christmas Carol, released in 1983. And then Donald Duck and his voice    30    — there were no more new cartoons.

21. A. sweet                         B. terrible                 C. unusual                    D. familiar

22. A. film-maker              B. dresser                   C. Mickey                 D. duck

23. A. dressed                  B. wore                      C. sold                       D. took

24. A. star                           B. journalist                  C. sailor                     D. cartoon-maker

25. A. audiences                B. performers             C. directors                D. photographers

26. A. nice                               B. greedy                   C. helpful                         D. sincere

27. A. controlled                B. stood                     C. lost                        D. mastered

28. A. formally                 B. merely                   C. probably                D. scarcely

29. A. ignore                     B. feature                   C. imitate                   D. follow

30. A. changed                   B. formed                 C. trembled                D. Disappeared

_____ with so much trouble, we failed to complete the task on time.

A. Faced                               B. Face                                 C. Facing                              D. To face

______ their hats into the air, the fans of the winning team let out loud shouts of victory.

   A. To throw   B. Thrown   C. Throwing   D. Being thrown

When I was quite young, I discovered that somewhere inside the telephone lived an amazing

person - "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know.　

One day while my mother was out, I hit my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but

there was no one home to give me any sympathy. I walked around the house, finally arriving at the telephone! Quickly, I called “Information Please" and told her what happened.  She told me to open the icebox and hold a little piece of ice to my finger.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. When my pet bird died, I told

"Information Please" the sad story. She tried to comfort me, she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone, “How do you spell ‘grateful’? ". All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was 9, we moved to Boston.

A few years later, on my way to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an

hour or so between planes. Without thinking, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, please."    　　

Surprisingly, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned on

this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell ‘grateful’?"  

There was a long pause. Then came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have

healed by now."   I laughed. "So it's really still you," I said, "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time."  I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again. "Please do," she said, "Just ask for Sally."　　

Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered me. I was told that Sally

passed away five weeks before.   　　

Before I could hang up she told me that Sally left a message for me—“Tell him I still say

there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.”  I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched

today?　

59. What does “Information, Please” refer to in the passage?

A. An amazing girl.

B. A special kind of telephone.

C. A communication system.

D. A service that helps telephone users.

60. What happened to the little boy one day when he was at home alone? 

A. He was amused by the telephone.

B. He hurt his finger with a hammer.

C. He found an amazing telephone.

D. He got a piece of ice from an icebox.

61. What did “Information, Please” give the little boy whenever he was in trouble? 

A. Information and conversation.

B. Good memories and happiness.

C. Sympathy and information.

D. Friendship and cheers.

62. When did the author get in touch with “Information, Please” again after he moved to

Boston?  

A. When he was in trouble on his way to college.

B. When his plane stopped in Seattle for half an hour.

C. When he went back to Seattle to visit his sister.

D. Three months later after he moved to Boston.

单词拼写(共10题；每小题1分。满分l0分)

    根据下列句子及所给汉语注释，在答题卡上相应题号的横线上写出空缺处各单词的

正确形式。

66．      (冰箱)can be used to keep food from going bad.

67． The name sounds so familiar．I seem to have heard it      (提到)over the radio.

68．Richard is always kind and      (耐心)like a real gentleman.

69．There are still many old      (城堡)in some European countries.

70．He now still      (欠)the butcher for the meat he bought last Sunday.

71．Mary was shy at her      (介绍)to the company．

72．The postman has already      (送)the letters and newspapers to the companies.

73．The plane is taking off．Please      (系好)your seat belt．

74．I      (就个人而言)prefer pizza to burgers.

75．He is an obedient son and makes a      (定期的)visit to his parents.