Puerto Rico（波多黎各）may be part of the USA but its music and dance is a mixture of both Spanish and American rhythms. The country, as a result, is a mixture of very new and very old. It exhibits the open American way of life yet remains the more formal Spanish influences. This is reflected in the architecture, not just the difference between the old and the modern in urban areas but also in the countryside, where older buildings sit side by side with schools and houses. It is found in the cooking, too many fast food restaurants together with local cooking which has its roots in the mixture of culture of all the Caribbean and in the music, where rock music is played in beach resorts（圣地）but in the hilly center, Puerto Rican music can be heard. Old volcanic mountains, long motionless, take up a large part of the center, with the highest peak, Cerro de Punta, at 1338m in the Cordillera Central. The mountains are surrounded by a coastal plain with the Atlantic shore beaches cooled all the year round by trade winds（信风）.

　　The population is 3.8 million, of which about 1.5 million live in San Juan, although about another two million Puerto Ricans live in the USA. Average life is 73.8 years and GDP per person is$ 12212,the highest in Latin America, although not up to the level of mainland USA. The people are largely a mixture of Amerindian, Taino-Arawak, Spanish and African. Most Puerto Ricans do not speak English and less than 30％speak it fluently（流利地）.Second generation Puerto Ricans who were born in New York, but who have returned to the island, are called Nuyoricans（新波多黎各人）.The people are very friendly and hospitable but there is crime, linked to drugs and unemployment.

(1) It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．Puerto Rico belongs to the USA

B．Puerto Rico is part of Spanish

C．Puerto Rico is an independent country

D．Puerto Rico has the highest peak in Latin America

(2) The underlined word“It”in the first paragraph refers to ________.

[　　]

A．the country

B．a result

C．a mixture of very new and very old

D．Puerto Rico

(3) What's the character of the culture of Puerto Rico?

[　　]

A．Either new or old.

B．A mixture of different peoples.

C．Too many fast food restaurants.

D．Either Spanish or American.

(4) What are the disadvantages of Puerto Rico?

[　　]

A．Too many Puerto Ricans live in the USA.

B．Few people in Puerto Rico can speak English.

C．Puerto Rico's GDP is lower than that of the USA.

D．Social problems connected with drugs and lack of jobs.

(5) According to the passage, old volcanic mountains lies ________.

[　　]

　　Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time: if corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people's. In the same way, children learning to do all the other things they learn to do without being taught--to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle--compare their own performances（行为）with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what his word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not.

　　If it is a matter of right answers, as it may be in mathematics of science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such routine work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells that he can't find the way to get the right answer. Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what they know or do not know.

(1) According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by ________.

[　　]

A．listening to skilled people's advice

B．asking older people many questions

C．making mistakes and having them corrected

D．doing what other people do

(2) Which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?

[　　]

A．Give children correct answers.

B．Allow children to make mistakes.

C．Point out children's mistakes to them.

D．Let children mark their own work.

(3) According to the writer, teachers in school should ________.

[　　]

A．allow children to learn from each other

B．point out children's mistakes whenever found

C．correct children's mistakes as soon as possible

D．give children more book knowledge.

(4) The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are ________.

[ ]

A．different from learning other skills

B．the same as learning other skills

C．more important than other skills

D．not really important skills

(5) The title of this passage could probably be ________.

[　　]

A．Let Us Teachers Stop Work

B．Let Us Make Children Learn

C．Let Children Correct Their Exercises

D．Let Children Learn by Themselves

　　People travel for a lot of reasons. Some tourists go to see battlefields or religious shrines（圣地）.Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on.

　　Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it. People of cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam spend a lot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. This is the reason the Mediterranean has always attracted them Every summer, more than25million people travel to Mediterranean resorts（胜地）and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason: sun !

　　The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries. Italy's 30000 hotels are booked solid（全部客满）every summer. And 13 million people camp out on French beaches, parks and roadsides. Spain's long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else. 37 million tourists visit yearly, or one tourist for every person living in Spain.

　　But there are signs that the area is getting more tourism than it can handle. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. And with increased tourism, it's getting worse. The French can't figure out what to do with all the garbage left by campers around St. Tropez. And in many places, swimming is dangerous because of pollution.

None of this, however, is spoiling anyone's fun. The Mediterranean gets more popular every year with tourists. Obviously, they don't go there for clean water and loneliness. They bear traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches. They don't even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, it's still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Oslo.

(1) The writer seems to mean that Europeans travel mostly for the reason that they

[　　]

A．want to see historic remains or religious spots

B．are interested in different cultural traditions and social customs

C．would like to take pictures in front of famous sites

D．wish to escape from the cold, dark and rainy days at home

(2) In Paragraph 2, cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam are mentioned to ________.

[　　]

A．show that they are not good cities in terms of geography and climate

B．tell us how wealthy their citizens are

C．suggest that these cities lack places of historic interest and scenic beauty

D．prove that they have got more tourists they can handle

(3) According to the passage, which of the following countries attracts more tourists than the others?

[　　]

(4) The latter half of the last sentence in Paragraph 3“or one tourist for every person living in Spain”means ________.

[　　]

A．all the 37 million people living in Spain are tourists

B．every year almost as many tourists visit Spain as there are people living in that country

C．every person living in Spain has to take care of a tourist

D．every Spanish is visited by a tourist every year

(5) According to the passage, which of the following factors might spoil the tourists' fun at Mediterranean resorts and beaches?

[　　]

　　Mr.Robinson had to travel somewhere on business, and as he was in a hurry, he decided to go by air. He liked sitting beside a window when he was flying, so when he got on to the plane, he looked for a window seat. He found all of them had already had been taken except for one. There was a soldier sitting in the seat beside this one, and Mr.Robinson was surprised that he had not taken the one by the window, but, anyhow, he at once went towards it.

　　When he reached it, however, he saw that there was a notice on it. It was written in ink and said, “This seat is preserved for proper load balance, thank you”. Mr.Robinson had never seen such unusual notice in a plane before, but he thought that the plane must be carrying something particularly heavy in it, so he walked on and found another empty seat, not beside a window, to sit in.

　　Two or three people tried to sit in the window seat beside the soldier, but they too read the notice and went on, when the plane was nearly full, a very beautiful girl hurried into the plane. The soldier, who was watching the passengers coming in, quickly took the notice off the seat beside himself and in this way succeeded in having the company of the girl during the whole trip.

(1) Which of the followings is most similar to the underlined word “preserved” in this passage?

[　　]

(2) Actually, it is ______ that wrote the notice.

[　　]

(3) Who took the window seat beside the soldier at last?

[　　]

A．One of the other passengers

B．the beautiful girl

C．Nobody

D．Mr.Robinson

(4) What do you think was the relationship between the girl and the soldier?

[　　]

A．They were husband and wife.

B．They were lovers.

C．They were friends.

D．They didn't know each other.

　　Good humor lets us escape（逃脱）our daily routines（日常事务）. No matter how bad your day was, you can always sit down and watch“Seinfeld”or“The Simpsons, ”and for a half hour forget about your problems and just laugh.

　　Humor itself is the act of being laughable. A people's sense of humor allows them the opportunity（机会）to pick and choose what they think is funny. Not all people have the same sense of humor, and that is why we see some of the things we do today.

　　Shows like“South Park,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Punk'd”and“Friends”are all made for different audiences.

　　Some people like crude（粗鲁的）humor, some like witty humor, some like humor at the expense of others, and some people like good-hearted humor.

　　People can Say they don't think one thing is funny or how can someone possibly laugh at that, but this is what makes humor unique. It's different for everyone.

　　While it is true that people can have similar senses of humor, just like snow flakes, no two are alike. And this is why we have such a large variety of humor to surround ourselves.

　　Humor doesn't care about where you've been or where you're going. All humor cares about is helping you get there with a smile.

　　One of the keys to having a good life is having a good sense of humor. Being able to laugh at a joke, appreciate a funny movie and being able to laugh at yourself will do wonders for the body. Why do you think George Burns lived to be 100 years old? Not because he took great care of his body, but because he was a comedian and had spent his whole life laughing. After all, laughter is the best medicine, and it doesn't cost a dime（一角硬币）.

(1) Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．All people have the same sense of humor.

B．All people don't have the same sense of humor.

C．Most people like good-hearted humor.

D．People should not like crude humor.

(2) The underlined word “unique”most probably means ______.

[　　]

(3) We have a large variety of humor to surround ourselves because ______.

[　　]

A．people like to make fun of each other.

B．each of us has different sense of humor.

C．no two snowflakes are alike.

D．we want to escape out daily routines.

(4) The writer mentions “George Burns ”in the passage in order to ______.

[　　]

A．show that he was a famous comedian.

B．help you save some money.

C．tell you that laughter is the best medicine for your health.

D．tell you that everyone should take care of himself.

　　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother's who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very proud to earn my own pocket money and my parents never interfered（干涉）with how I spent it, even when I was spending it foolishly. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from my mistakes, I would become more mature and responsible about how to handle work, relation-ships with others, and money.

　　Like many American parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they worried a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around Europe. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great experience for me. In the end, my father won the argument on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother's home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins spread out through the country who could provide shelter and help if I needed it.

　　Three years later, when he was eighteen, my younger brother decided to take a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not eager to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a fascinating year working his way on trains and ships to earn passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common. Most parents start pushing their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, selected the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future career, and so on.

(1) Why did the writer's parents allow their children to do what they want?

[　　]

A．Because they thought that their children would become braver.

B．Because they believed that their two sons would earn some pocket money.

C．Because they thought that their children would find a job easier.

D．Because they thought that it would bring good to their children's future.

(2) What does the writer think of his brother's travel?

[　　]

A．He thought his brother gained valuable experiences during the travel.

B．He thought his brother earned a lot of money by working.

C．He thought his brother didn't disappoint is father.

D．He thought his brother's travel was better than his to France.

(3) Which of the following statements is TRUE?

[　　]

A．The author went to France in order to see his relatives.

B．The writer's mother managed to prevent the children doing what she thought might be dangerous.

C．The writer's brother gave up his university to travel through the USA and the Caribbean.

D．American kids do things by themselves to make preparations for the future with the encouragement of their parents.

(4) The best title of the passage probably is“________”.

[　　]

　　Fred was born in a rich family. His father had a big company and he had four brothers. He was the strongest of them five but he did not like to use his head. Of course he could not pass the examinations.

　　Suddenly the war broke out. Young men were called on to join the army. His father thought for a long time and at last decided to send him to the military camp（军营）. Soon after that he was sent to France where they fought with Germans. The young man hated the life in the camp. They could not be supplied with enough food and had to live in the cold and wet houses, sometimes they had to sleep on the hard ground and he was often afraid to be shot. He usually remembered the life in his country and tried to leave the camp.

　　Once he made an excuse in order not to the front. Another soldier whose name was Bob reported the captain about it. Fred was punished for it. He hated Bob and the captain very much. In a fight he hurt the captain and he was sent to the court（法庭）at once.

　　“Have you hurt the captain, Fred?”asked a judge.

　　“Yes, I have, sir.”answered the young man,“but it was a fortuitous（偶然的）accident.”

　　“Oh?”the judge said in surprise,“Why?”

　　“The captain was standing just in front of Bob while I was shooting at the young soldier. So I hurt him by mistake.”

(1) Fred could not pass the examinations because ________.

[　　]

(2) Fred was sent to the military camp because ________.

[　　]

(3) ________ , so he hated the life in the military camp.

[　　]

A．Fred wanted to see his parents

B．Fred was too hungry to fight with the enemy

C．Fred had to sleep on the wet ground

D．Fred was afraid the Germans would shoot him

(4) Fred hated Bob because ________.

[　　]

A．the young soldier made him go to the front

B．the young soldier was not polite to him

C．the young soldier caused him to be punished

D．the young soldier did not love their country

　　Then by chance, Darwin read a book by Malthus, an Englishman. The book was forty years old, and Malthus was already dead. But it suddenly pushed Darwin nearer to some answers. Malthus said,“The number of people in the world can grow very quickly. Just think, a man and his wife could have ten children. When these ten grow up, every one of them could have ten more children. So now we have a hundred children. Again, if every one of these has ten children, we will have a thousand children and this can continue. We will have more and more people.”

　　All this could happen. But did it? Malthus said,“No. It doesn't happen in the real world. The number of people remains almost the same. Why? The reason is this. We just can't grow food quickly enough. Soon there's not enough food. So some people can't eat. They die before they bring any more children into the world.”

　　These ideas came at just the right time for Darwin. He asked one more question: Which people will die before they have children? For Malthus, this was not an important question. But for Darwin, it was very important.

　　He asked,“Which people will have children? Why does this man have children, and why does that man not have any?”And soon of course he was thinking of the Galapagos finches（鸣鸟）again.

　　“The number of finches remains almost the same. So usually two birds must give us only two new birds. But a finch lays more than two eggs. Which two young birds will live, and give us more eggs? Which will not?”

　　The answer is some birds can't get enough food--they will die. But why can't they get enough? Why are some birds better than them? The birds in one family are not quite the same. Some are stronger, some are quicker, some are bigger, some have longer beaks, some have lighter bodies. The best birds will live.

　　And always an answer brought with a question: What is“best”? Darwin now, had his list of facts and questions, answers and ideas. Could he put them together and make a clear story? Could he explain the evolution（进化）of the finches?

　　He could and he did.

(1) What are the general differences between Darwin and Malthus according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Darwin thought of the evolution while Malthus considered the starvation.

B．Malthus believed that more food was needed for more people while Darwin found the answer to the problem of how to keep the“best one”.

C．Darwin concluded“the survival of the fittest”,while Malthus made it clear that the lack of food might prevent the increase of population.

D．Malthus felt it important for people to live better while Darwin supposed it more important for birds to have more young ones.

(2) What is Malthus'point of view about the problem of population?

A．It is natural for the population to increase without any plan.

B．It is unnecessary to make people have fewer children.

C．Some people could not have fewer children because of the lack of food.

D．The number of people would remain almost the same if the food conditions would not change.

(3) What was the result of Darwin's research?

[　　]

A．He wanted to find out why some birds can live better while some others cannot.

B．He only made an answer to the question“What is the best?”

C．He explained the evolution of the finches through his observation（观察）.

D．He discovered a lot more“Whys”than Malthus did.

(4) Which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．Darwin developed his theory with the help of Malthus'.

B．Darwin agreed completely with Malthus.

C．Darwin held the same opinion that lack of food made people have fewer children.

D．Darwin used finches to do experiments before using people.

(5) From the passage we can find out the author ________.

[　　]

A．preferred talking about Darwin to Malthus

B．just gave some facts of scientists'research work without any comments（评论）

C．thought Malthus'book led Darwin to the scientific research of the birds

D．believed Darwin had done much more research work than Malthus ever did

　　Once upon a time, there was an island inhabited by: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge and all the rest of it, including Love. One day, word got around that the island would sink, so all constructed boats left except for Love.

　　Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

　　When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

　　Richness was passsing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,“Richness, can you take me with you?”

　　Richness answered,“No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There's no place here for you.”

　　Love decided to ask Vanity（虚荣）who was also passing by in a beautiful boat.“Vanity, please help me !”

　　“I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,”Vanity answered.

　　Sadness was close by so Love asked,“Sadness, let me go with you.”

　　“Oh…Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself !”

　　Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

　　Suddenly, there was a voice,“Come, Love, I will take you.”It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the eider where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way.

(1) What idea did the writer intend to tell us in this passage?

[　　]

A．Love goes on against Vanity.

B．Love gets along without richness.

C．Love takes a long period.

D．Love is different from happiness.

(2) Why did all except the elder refuse to take Love with them?

[　　]

A．Because they have enough Love already.

B．Because they don't need Love.

C．Because in the writer's opinion, Love has nothing to do with them.

D．Because they look down upon Love.

(3) It can be inferred from the passage that the“elder”probably refers to ________.

[　　]

　　Remember your first romantic disappointment? Remember the pain and unhappiness of breaking-up--uncertainty?

　　Winne recalls feeling very sad after her first true love deserted（抛弃）her. Her mom came into her room carrying a beautiful nightgown and handed it to her, gave her a hug and said,“I know you are feeling very heartbroken. I thought you could use something to make you feel beautiful right now.”The nightgown didn't make Winne's hurt go away, but she knew that her mother understood and cared about her feelings.

　　As a parent, as much as you want to make it all better for your teens, give them space. Tell him or her that break-ups are hard and you are there for him whenever he wants to speak to you. Then let go.

　　Teenage girls often deal with break-ups by talking on the phone with their friends or diving into the Internet for a long chat. They review all the hurts and pains that are being cured. Boys react to broken relationships differently. Boys often become angry since that, unfortunately, is the only emotional（感情）choice that society accepts for boys. Some boys hide their pain. Respect your teen, when a relationship breaks up. It takes time to get over it, and the only way to get through that is to get through it.

　　Sometimes teenagers get into trouble while trying to feel accepted again or win back a loved one. Keep reaching out to troubled teenagers. At first, teens will refuse a parent's attempts to help. Don't be afraid to insist.

　　Teen break-ups can cause heart-wrenching pain, but sooner or later teenagers should be ready to date（约会）again. How can you make your child toward a healthy relationship? Teens are likely to meet others like themselves through activities. The secret to attracting good boys or girls is to become your own independent person who feels good about who she is and what she's about.

(1) The beautiful nightgown Winne's mother handed to her ________.

[　　]

(2) In the first paragraph, the underlined word“uncertainty”means ________.

[　　]

(3) Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Parents should be patient with their children, be a good listener and help them.

B．Teenage girls like to talk with friends and engage themselves in a long chat on the Internet when broken relationships happen to them.

C．Boys are usually becoming angry or hiding their pain.

D．Teenagers always refuse parents' attempts to help when they are in trouble.