Britain’s parents have admitted school is harder today than it was when they were kids．A poll（民意测验）of 1，500 parents shows that those with children who have recently sat（参加）A-level or GCSE exams believe today’s exams are harder than the ones they sat at school．One in four thought A-levels were getting harder-compared to just twelve percent who thought they were easier．The figures for GCSEs were more evenly split with 26 percent thinking they were harder and 21 percent believing they were easier．This is the first survey（调查）of the opinion of parents whose youngsters have just sat exams．They told pollsters they believed the higher pass rates in examinations today were due to the youngsters concerned working harder．"But another reason given was that they believed today’s youngsters felt there was little chance of success in life without qualification（资格）．Parents are seeing standards rise and their children working harder and being smarter than their generation." says Dr Christina Townsend，president of the Ed excel exam board，which commissioned（委托） the survey．The poll，carried out by Opinion Research Business for the exam board，also showed parents supported government plans to allow students to see their marked papers after they had completed their exams．The move（行动）is designed to help them decide whether they should doubt their standard．
59. What do you know about Britain’s school education from the text？
A. Students are burdened with too much homework after school．
B. Students are tired of learning at school．
C. Most students can’t pass the A-level or GCSE exams．
D. Exams are more difficult today and pupils are working harder．
60. The writer’s purpose in writing this text is ____．
A. to show the result of a poll of 1，5000 parents
B. to tell parents that their youngsters are working hard
C. to prove that youngsters are smarter than their parents
D. to request that exams be easier
61. We can infer from the text that ____．
A. the government will take steps to lower the standards of exams．
B. Students were once not allowed to see their marked papers．
C. Parents didn’t work hard when they were at school
D. More parents think A-levels are getting harder and GCSEs are getting easier

.
Millions of people will be able to track each and every move by friends and family through their mobile phones，thanks to a new feature launched by Google yesterday．
The new system named “Latitude” uses a map to show exactly where a loved one is at any time, sometimes discovering their location to a few meters．Worried parents will be able to check up on where their children have got to after school, friends can meet for a quick drink if they see they are nearby and wives will be able to see if their husbands really are working late at the office．
The feature was made available immediately on millions of mobile phones that can access the web，such as the Black Berry．Within weeks Google hopes to launch a new one that will also work on computers as well．
“Once you've shared your location，you can hide it from all of your friends at once，or you can turn off Google Latitude completely at any time．” said a Google spokesman．“You can adjust your privacy settings in Latitude so that you share as much or as little about your location as you want，with whom you want．”
Google said that the company had tested the product with thousands of people to make sure that it was safe for the customers，but experts were not so sure．Simon Davies，director of Privacy International，said Latitude would open up a “privacy minefield（危险地带）”．
“It's about the little white lies．You might be avoiding going to work, and now your boss might be able to see that you're at Twickenham instead of at home．”said Ian Angell, an information expert at the London School of Economics．“You've already got mobile phone technology where husbands and wives track each other in secret．Now Google is so widely used that it will only worsen the situation．”
60. According to Google，the new system “Latitude” can ___________．
A．prove that the partner has told a lie about working late
B．tell the parents the locations of their children after school
C．provide the friends with the most suitable pub for a drink
D．help people find what their loved ones are doing at any time
61. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 probably refers to ___________．
A．the new system                                      B. the Google company  
C.  the mobile phone                               D. the privacy minefield
62. From the passage，we know that Ian Angell believed ___________．
A．Latitude keeps husbands and wives in good relationship
B．Google tricked all its customers to make more money
C．with Latitude more privacy problems would come up
D．privacy settings could protect your personal information
63. The best title of the passage might be ___________．
A．Google Allows You to Track Friends' and Families' Every Move  
B．Google and BlackBerry Open the New Webs to Their Customers
C．Latitude Working on Computers is Being Developed by Google
D．Latitude Sets a Good Example on Mobile Phone Privacy Settings

I cheated on a unit test in math class this morning during second period with Mr. Burke. Afterward, I was too sick to eat lunch just thinking about it.
I came straight home from school, went to my room, and lay on the floor trying to decide whether it would be better to run away from home now or after supper. Mostly I wished I was dead. It wasn't even an accident that I cheated.
Yesterday Mr. Burke announced there'd be a unit test and anyone who didn't pass would have to come to school on Saturday, most particularly me, since I didn't pass the last unit test. I did plan to study just to prove to him that I'm plenty smart—which I am mostly—except in math.
Anyway, I got my desk ready to study on . Just when I was ready to work, Nicho came into my room with our new rabbit and it jumped on my desk and knocked the flashcards all over the floor. What a mess! Nicho and I finally took the rabbit outside but then Philip came to my room and also Marty from next door and before long it was dinner.
After dinner my father said I could watch a special on television if I'd done all my homework. Of course I said I had. That was the beginning. I felt terrible telling my father a lie about the homework.
It was nine o'clock when I got up to my room and that was too late to study for the unit test so I lay in my bed with the light off and decided what I would do the next day when I was in Mr. Burke's math class not knowing the 8- and 9-times tables. So, you see, the cheating was planned after all.
The next day, I'd go into class as usual, acting like things were going just great. I'd sit down next to Stanley Plummer—he is so smart in math it makes you sick—and from time to time, I'd glance over at his paper to copy the answers.
Lying on the floor of my room, I begin to think that probably I've been bad all along. It just took this math test to clinch it. I'll probably never tell the truth again. I tell my mother I'm sick when she calls me to come down for dinner. She doesn't believe me, but puts me to bed anyhow. I lie there in the early winter darkness wondering what terrible thing I'll be doing next when my father comes in and sits down on my bed.
"What's the matter?" he asks. "I've got a stomachache," I say. Luckily, it's too dark to see his face. "Is that all?" "Yeah." "Mommy says you've been in your room since school." "I was sick there too," I say. "She thinks something happened today and you're upset." That's the thing that really drives me crazy about my mother. She knows things sitting inside my head the same as if I was turned inside out.
"Well," my father says. I can tell he doesn't believe me. "My stomach is feeling sort of upset." I hedge. "Okay," he says and he pats my leg and gets up.
Just as he shuts the door to my room I call out to him in a voice I don't even recognize as my own. "How come?" he calls back not surprised or anything. So I tell him I cheated on this math test. To tell the truth, I'm pretty much surprised at myself. I didn't plan to tell him anything.
He doesn't say anything at first and that just about kills me. I'd be fine if he'd spank me or something. And then he says I'll have to call Mr. Burke. It's not what I had in mind. "Now?" I ask surprised. "Now," he says. He turns on the light and pulls off my covers. "I'm not going to," I say.
But I do it. I call Mr. Burke, and I tell him exactly what happened, even that I decided to cheat the night before the test. He says I'll come on Saturday to take another test, which is okay with me, and I thank him a whole lot for being understanding and all.
"Today I thought I was turning into a criminal," I tell my father when he turns out my light. Sometimes my father kisses me good night and sometimes he doesn't. I never know. But tonight he does.
【小题1】After the author cheated on the math test, he felt ____________.

(D)
Inventor，physicist，surveyor，astronomer，biologist，artist…Robert Hooke was all these and more．Some say he Was the greatest experimental scientist of the 17th century．In the course of his work，he cooperated with famous men of science like Isaac Newton，and the great architect, Chrish@ler Wren．
Hoocke's early education began at home，under the guidance of his father．He entered Westnfinster School at the age of 13，and from there went to Oxford，where he came in contact with some of the best scientists in England．Hooke impressed them with his skills at designing experiments and inventing instruments．In 1662，at the age of 28, he was named Curator of
Experiments at the newly formed Royal Society of London—meaning that he was responsible for demonstrating new experiments at the society’s weekly meetings．Hooke accepted the job，even though he knew that the society had no money to pay him!
Watching living things through a microscope was one of his favorite pastimes．He invented a compound microscope for this purpose．One day while observing a cork(软木塞)under a microscope，he saw honeycomb-like structures．They were cells—the smallest units of life．In fact，it was Hooke who invented the term“cell” as the boxlike ceils of the cork reminded him of the cells of a monastery(修道院)．
Another achievement Of Hook’s was his book Micrographi which introduced the．Enormous potential of the microscope．It contains fascinating drawings of the things he saw under the  microscope．The book also includes，among other things，ideas on gravity，light and combustion(燃烧)that may have helped scientists like Newton when they were developing their own theories on these phenomena．
Hooke made valuable contributions to astronomy too．A crater(坑)on the moon is named  after him in appreciation of his services to this branch of science．
68．Why possibly did Hooke accept the job as Curator of Experiments?
A. Because his parents couldn’t afford his education．
B．Because his family needed his support．
C．Because he wanted to please the famous scientists in England．
D．Because he liked designing experiments．
69．The cell got its name because of      ．
A．its use    B．its shape    C．Hooke’s favorites D．Hooke’s experiences
70．The last paragraph is to prove that          ．
A．Hooke was the greatest experimental scientist of the 17th century
B．Hooke was good at making discoveries
C．Hooke’s contributions were not limited to one field
D．Hooke was one of the greatest astronomers
71．The best title for the text may be          ．
A．The Greatest Scientist                B．A Helper of Newtom
C．A Brief Introduction to Hooke          D．Achievements of Hook

C
Cancun is a seaside town in Mexico, where most tourists come here to enjoy the beach, water sports and night life. In fact, it is so modern and Americanized that you might think you were in southern California or Florida.
But just a short two-hour hike from the town lie the ruins of the city of Chichen-Itza, one of the capitals of the lost Maya（玛雅）civilization. The center of the ruins of this city is the pyramid of El Castillo. The ancient Mayan religious people climbed this pyramid during festival to honor the Sun god. Tourists today climb it to view the architectural achievements of Chichen-Itza and to prove their fearlessness of heights and steep （陡峭的）climbs. There is a sign in Spanish, admonishing visitors “It’s dangerous to go up.” I gladly ignored it and started my climb.
The climbing was tough. The steps were higher than one might normally take., but the climb was not fearful at all. From the top of the pyramid, I had a wonderful view of the ruins of this Mayan city. What was most striking to me was that just beyond the ruins of splendid structures, gardens, temples and what looks like a modern sports stadium, you could only see forests for miles and miles. It was almost as if some race had mysteriously come out of nowhere, built it up and then suddenly disappeared from the planet, leaving only stones in its space.
The only remains on the top of the pyramid were the Temple of Kukulcan. During the festivals to worship the Sun god, only the high ranks would have the right to enter this temple.
After shooting a few pictures, I realized it was time to go down. Only then did I discover that what people fear about the climb is not the trip going up, but the way going down. I saw a few brave souls who were walking down as if they were in their own house. Looking down at the steepness of the pyramid, I desperately feared this great height. My first desire was to joke with a few people, “Where is the elevator（电梯）?” I figured that a civilization that was this advanced would have had the foresight(预见) to construct an elevator. Lacking such modern equipment, I had to use the chain provided by the Mexican tourist authorities and climb down on all fours.
My climb was complete eventually. I quickly got on the bus back to my comfortable hotel. Leaving the ruined city, I was still wondering what possibly happened long ago. But a few hours later, I was back in the modern world drinking cocktails on the beach, bathing in the sunshine before boarding the plane and waiting for my trip back home to the US, where all the modern things such as elevators are available!
57. Why did the writer pay a visit to the ruined city of Chichen-Itza?
A. He wanted to climb the pyramid of EL Castillo and know about the Mayan civilization.
B. He would got to the Temple of Kukulcan to attend a religious festival to honor the Sun god.
C. He thought the city of Chichen-Itza was quite different from the modern town of Cancun.
D. He was attracted by the ruined ancient buildings there and wanted to take some photos.
58. The underlined word “admonishing” in Paragraph 2 probably means “___________”.
A. urging          B. forcing          C. warning         D. frightening
59. Which of the following best shows climbing the pyramid of EL Castillo is a difficult task?
A. The steps are very high and it is much more scaring to climb to the top.
B. The climbing calls for courage and patience, and also takes a long time.
C. When tourist climb up to the top, there is no elevator to take them down.
D. The pyramid is high and steep, and climbing down is much more fearful.
60. From the last paragraph, we can infer that the writer ______________.
A. had a bad impression of the visit and decided to leave as soon as possible.
B. thought modernization could offer people comforts and conveniences.
C. got tired of the modern life and tried a different one in his own way.
D. enjoyed himself in the climb though it was very tiring and dangerous.