阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Articles in magazines and newspapers and special reports on radio and television reflect the concern of many Americans about the increasing dropout rate in our junior and senior high schools．Coupled with this fact is the warning that soon we will no longer have workforce to fill the many jobs that require properly-educated personnel．

　　The highest student dropout rate is not a recent development．Ten years ago, many urban schools were reporting dropout rates between 35 and 50 percent．Some administrators believe that dropout remains the single greatest problem in their schools．

　　Consequently, much effort has been spent on identifying students with problems in order to give them more attention before they become failures．Since the dropout problem doesn't only start in senior high school, special programs in junior high school focus on students who show promise but have a record of truancy, that is, staying away from school without permission．Under the guidance of counselors(顾问), these students are placed in classes with teachers who have had success in working with similar young people．Ways to motivate students in high school include rewarding academic excellence by electing scholars of the month, or by giving out clothing, such as school letter jackets formally given only to athletes．No one working with these students claims to know how to keep all students in school．Counselors, teachers, and administrators are in the frontlines of what seems at times to be a losing battle．Actually, this problem should be everyone's concern, since uneducated, unemployed citizens affect us all．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Last year, around Labor Day, I read a "Happy Ad" in our local newspaper．There was a lady in a local nursing home, who was celebrating her 90th birthday and her family wanted everyone to know about it．It said that if you wanted to drop her a line, here was her address．So I did．I found a birthday card and dropped her a short note, wishing her a happy birthday．

　　A week or so later, someone knocked at my front door．I opened the door and found a middle-aged man standing on my doorstep．He introduced himself as the son of this woman to whom I had sent the card．He explained that he just wanted to drop by in person and thank me for sending such a nice card to his mom．Apparently, like many older folks, she did not receive much mail and was quite excited to receive mine．I just didn't know what to say．I told him it was my pleasure and that I hoped his mom had enjoyed her birthday．

　　That year, I did not send out any Christmas cards, except to this lovely old lady in the nursing home．I just told her that I was thinking about her and hoped that she had a nice holiday．I sent her a Valentine and also a couple of notes in between．I just thought she might like to have someone write to her, to get some mail．

　　She passed away a couple of months ago．I never met this lady, but I did keep her and her family in my thoughts．I dropped them a line of sympathy．I hope that my few little notes were enough to brighten a couple of her days here on earth．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　“My kids really understand solar and earth-heat energy, ” says a second-grade teacher in Saugus, California．“Some of them are building solar collectors for their energy course．” These young scientists are part of City Building Educational Program(CBEP), a particular program for kindergarten through twelfth grade that uses the stages of city planning to teach basic reading, writing and math skills and more．

　　The children don't just plan any city．They map and analyze(分析)the housing, energy, and transportation requirements of their own district and foretell its needs in 100 years．With the aid of an architect(建筑师)who visits the classroom once a week, they invent new ways to meet these needs and build models of their creations．“Designing buildings of the future gives children a lot of freedom, ’’ says the teacher who developed this program．“They are able to use their own rich imagination and inventions without fear of blame, because there are no wrong answers in a future context．In fact, as the class enters the final model-building stage of the program, an elected ‘official’ and ‘planning group’ make all the design decisions for the model city and the teacher steps back and becomes an adviser．

　　CBEP is a set of activities, games and imitations that teach the basic steps necessary for problem-solving：observing, analyzing, working out possible answers, and judging them based on the children's own standards．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2011．The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its car-plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2011．

　　“It's the next ‘wow’ vehicle, ”said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh．“Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don't fly．”

　　The car plane has wings that unfold for flying－a process the company says takes one minute－and fold back up for driving．A runway is still required to take off and land．

　　The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both．The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations．

　　The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly．They say it saves you the trouble from trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports：You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go．When you land, you fold up the wings and hit the road．There are no expensive parking fees because you don't have to store it at an airport－you park it in the garage at home．

　　The car-plane is designed to fly primarily under 10, 000 feet．It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1, 430 pounds, including fuel and passengers．Terrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under bad weather instead of flying into marginal(临界)conditions．

　　The Transition's price tag：＄194, 000, But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, transponder or GPS．Another option is a full-plane parachute．

　　“If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option, ” Gersh said．

　　So far, the company has more than 70 orders with deposits．“We’re working very closely with them, but there are still some remaining steps, ” Brown said．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Suppose you work in a big firm and find English very important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen．Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English, especially your spoken English．

　　Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers．

　　You may find the information you need．

　　★Global English Center

　　*General English in all four skills：listening, speaking, reading, and writing．

　　*3-month(700yuan), 6-month(1200yuan)and one-year(2000yuan)courses．

　　*Choice of morning or evening classes, 3 hours per day．Mon-Fri．

　　*Experienced college English teachers．

　　*Close to city center and bus stops．

　　Tel：67605272 Add：105 Zhongshan Road, 100082．

　　★Modern Language School

　　Special courses in English for business．traveling, banking, hotel management and office skills．

　　*Small classes(12-16 students)on Sat．＆Sun．From 2∶00－5∶00pm．

　　*Native English teachers from Canada and USA．

　　*Language lab and computers supplied．

　　*3-month course：1, 050yuan; 6-month course：1, 850yuan．

　　Write or phone：Modern Language School, 675Park Road．100056

　　Tel：67353019

　　★The 21^st Century English raining Center

　　*We specialize in effective teaching at all levels．

　　*We offer morning or afternoon classes, both of which last three months and a half at

　　a cost of 800yuan．

　　*We also have a six-week TOEFL preparation class during winter and summer holidays．

　　*Entrance exams：June 1 and Dec．1．

　　*Only 15-minute walk from city center．

　　Call 67801642 for more information．

　　★The International House of English

　　*Three/Six-month English courses for students of all levels at very low cost：60yuan for 13 hours per week; convenient class hours：9：00-12：00am and 2：00-5：00pm．

　　*A four-month evening program for developing speaking skills(same cost as day classes)．

　　*Well-trained Chinese and foreign teachers experienced in teaching English as a second/foreign language．Free sightseeing and social activities．Very close to Central Park．

　　For further information call 67432308．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Feel tired lately? Has a doctor said he can't find anything wrong with you? Perhaps he has sent you to a hospital, but all the advanced equipment there shows that there is nothing wrong with you．

　　Then, consider this：you might be in a state of sub-health(亚健康)．Sub-health, also called the third state or gray state, is explained as a borderline(界限)state between health and disease．

　　According to the survey by the National Health Organization, over 45 percent of sub-healthy people are middle-aged or elderly．The percentage is even higher among people who work in management positions as well as students around exam-week．

　　Symptoms include a lack of energy, depression, slow reactions, insomnia, anger, and poor memory．Other symptoms include shortness of breath, sweating and aching in the waist and legs．

　　The key to preventing and recovering from sub-health, according to some medical experts, is to form good living habits, alternate work and rest, exercise regularly, and take part in open air activities．

　　As for meals, people are advised to eat less salt and sugar．They should also eat more fresh vegetables, fruits, fish because they are rich in nutritional elements-vitamins and other elements that are important to the body．

　　Nutrition experts point out that it is not good to eat too much at one meal because it may cause unhealthy changes in the digestive tract(消化道)．They also say that a balanced diet is very helpful in avoiding sub-health．

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阅读理解

　　A person may have an idea about himself that will prevent him from doing good work．He may have the idea that he is not capable(能胜任的)of it．A child may think he is stupid because he does not understand how to make the most of his mental faculties(机能), or he may accept another person's mistaken estimate(评价)of his ability．Older people may be handicapped(阻碍)by the mistaken belief that they are incapable of learning anything new because of their age．

　　A person who believes that he is incapable will not make a real effort, because he feels that it would be useless．He won't go at a job with the confidence necessary for success．He is therefore likely to fail, and the failure will strengthen his belief in his incompetence．Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this．When he was a small boy he got off to a poor start in arithmetic．His teacher got the idea that he had no ability in arithmetic, and told his parents what she thought in order that they would not expect too much of him．In this way, they too developed the idea, “Isn't it too bad that Alfred can't do arithmetic?” He accepted their mistaken estimate of his ability, felt that it was useless to try，and was very poor at arithmetic, just as they expected．

　　One day Adler succeeded in solving a problem which none of the other students had been able to solve．This gave him confidence．He rejected the idea that he couldn't do arithmetic and was determined to show them that he could．His newfound confidence stimulated him to go at arithmetic problems with a new spirit．He now worked with interest, determination and purpose, and he soon became extraordinary good at arithmetic．

　　This experience made him realize that many people have more ability than they think they have, and that lack of success is as often the result of lack of knowledge of how to apply one's ability, lack of confidence, and lack of determination as it is the result of lack of ability．

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阅读理解

　　In my long years of teaching, I often ask my student to read the texts until they can recite(背诵)them, and I tell them that recitation is an important part of their homework．However, some of my students are tired of doing so, thinking that it is both hard and useless．They argue that it takes a long time to recite a text from memory and text itself never appears in a test paper．

　　In my opinion, it naturally takes time to recite a text, but it is worth doing so．When you are able to recite a text, you are sure to be familiar with the words and expressions．When you need them in reading or writing or doing exercises, they will come to your mind quickly, and so you will give quick response to all kinds of language situation．How can we say that it is useless?

　　Besides, many students complain that they soon forget what they were once able to recite．This is true, but you don't need to worry．While you are reading and forgetting the texts, your language level is being raised．Sure you don't remember your Chinese texts that you once read in the primary school, but now you are able to read novels and newspaper．So, recitation of the texts will help you improve your language ability．

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阅读理解

　　Wearing ties was originally the mark of Britain's most powerful classes, which made the tie itself a symbol of power and respect．And that led it to be adopted(采用)by a much larger group-the business group．

　　You cannot wear a tie if you work with machinery(机械)．So wearing a tie became a sign that you were a man who used your brain to make a living, rather than your hands．It showed you were serious．It showed you were a professional(专业人员)．It meant that everyone who wanted a job in business had to wear one．It was just impossible to take seriously a man who didn't wear a piece of colored silk around his neck．

　　This is how millions of people came to be wearing ties across the world．They are part of the uniform of business．

　　Is there a future for ties? The signs are not promising．Many political leaders, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now go without ties．

　　It was common for men across the western world to wear hats as part of their business uniform up until around 1960．That changed with the election of John F．Kennedy to the presidency of the United States．Kennedy never wore a hat-in fact his nickname(绰号)was "hatless Jack"．Seeing that the most powerful man in the world did not have to wear a hat, millions of other men decided that they did not have to, either．Hats simply vanished across the Western world．Perhaps "tieless Tony"(former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair)will have the same effect as "hatless Jack"

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阅读理解

　　I found out one time that doing a favor for someone could get you into a lot of trouble．I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test．During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn't understand．So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen．She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write．I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk．

　　Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed(解散)．As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to stand on your own two feet and be responsible for your own acts．For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized(强调)the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating themselves．She made me promise that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave．I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things．

　　Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test．When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers from the girl's test paper．I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very very strange to her that I hadn't talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test．Even if I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued to believe that I had cheated on the test．

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