Three Boys and a Dad
Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother.Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favorite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park.”he’d told his wife.“I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”
Things started well, but just after eight o’clock, his three little “good kids”---Mike,Randy, and Alex --- came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted“breakfast,daddy.” When food had not appeared on within thirty seconds,Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat(节拍) . Mike chanted“Where’s my toast,where’s my toast” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.
Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their eyes. Someone named “Not me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.
By ten o’clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the fish bowl refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating（装饰）kitchen wall with his color pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the sitting room, but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.
At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare center(日托所).“I suddenly  have to go into work and my wife is away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously“Yes” because Brad was smiling.
【小题1】When his wife left home, Brad expected___________.

Now let us look at how we read. When we read a printed text, our eyes move across a page in short, jerky （急动的）movement. We recognize words usually when our eyes are still when they fixate. Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span(范围)or the visual span. The length of time of which the eyes stop ---the duration of the fixation (定位)----varies considerably from person to person. It also varies within any one person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. Furthermore, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.

　　Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the printed page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, numerous exercises have been devised to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For instance, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for, say, a tenth or a twentieth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often constructed in the shape of rather steep pyramids so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive (连续的) fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently (因此), for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated (孤立的) words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.

1.The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following facts except ________ .

2.The author may believe that reading ______.

3.What does the author mean by saying “but it’s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.” in the second paragraph?

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

5.The tune of the author in writing this article is ________

There was a very special teacher who made a far-reaching difference in my life.

Fall, 1959, the first day of class at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School was about to begin. “Who”, I asked a senior, “is Mrs. McNamara, my 10th grade English teacher?” He just 1 and said something about my being in 2 . Soon, I understood what he meant. Mrs. McNamara had a pattern of 3 that she repeated again and again. We would have a literature reading task for 4 . The next day, when we came to class, there would be two or three topics on the blackboard 5 to the homework reading. We were 6 to write an in-class essay about one of the topics. The following day, she would 7 the corrected and graded essays and each person would be called 8 to stand in front of the class and to 9 his/her essay. The class were required to criticize （评论） that essay, 10 the grade of everyone in class would be reduced.

The first time that I 11 her read-write-criticize method, I had not 12 to do the homework and had written something without knowing what it meant. 13 the extreme embarrassment I suffered, standing before my classmates, 14 myself. No one laughed at me; no one would be 15 enough, or foolish enough, to do that in Mrs. McNamara’s class. The embarrassment came from 16 and along with it came a strong 17 not to let it happen again.

Mrs. McNamara kept all of our written work in files; it was easy to see the 18 in writing that had occurred. What was not so easy to see was the inner transformation that had taken place, at least for me. What Mrs. McNamara 19 me to do was to see myself as others see me and, having done that, I could improve myself. And I 20 . Thank you, Mrs. McNamara.

难易度：难

1..A.nodded　　　　 B. laughed　　　　 　 C. apologized　　 　 D. shouted

2. A. trouble　　　　 　 B. sorrow　　　　 　 C. danger　　　　 　 D. anger

3. A. behaviour　　　 　 B. evaluation　　　 C. activity　　　　 D. thought

4. A. review　　　　 B. performance　　 　 C. practice　　　　 D. homework

5. A. added　　　　 B. related　　　　 C. contributed　　 D. compared

6. A. expected　　　　 B. persuaded　　　 C. allowed　　　　 　 D. advised

7. A. collect　　　　 　 B. return　　　　　 C. send　　　　　 　 D. receive

8. A. on purpose　　　 B. at first　　　　 　 C. by chance　　　 　 D. in turn

9. A. talk through　　 B. hand over　　　 C. read out　　　　 D. show off

10. A. so　　　　　　 B. and　　　　　 C. but　　　　　 D. or

11. A. tried　　　　　 B. adopted　　　　 C. examined　　　 D. experienced

12. A. undertaken　　　 B. attempted　　　 　 C. bothered　　　 　 D. hesitated

13. A. Remember　　 B. Predict　　　　 　 C. Bear　　　　 D. Imagine

14. A. playing jokes on B. making a fool of C. setting a trap for 　 D.taking advantage of

15. A. brave　　　　　 B. careless　　　　 C. proud　　　　　 　 D. selfish

16. A. above　　　　　 B. within　　　　 　 C. behind　　　　 　 D. below

17. A. tendency　　　 　 B. preference　　 　 C. determination　 D. sense

18. A. improvements　 B. pains 　　　　　 C. difficulties　　　 　 D. advantages

19. A. trusted　　　　 B. invited　　　　 C. forced　　　　　 D. permitted

20. A. did　　　　　　 B. could　　　　　 　 C. had　　　　　 D. would

第二节:完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)
Learning values and character at home is as important as any schoolwork. We all hope that the very values 　36　 are important to each of us are　37　 along to our children. Often, 　38　, that hope is challenged by a great many of pop culture messages, peer pressure (同伴压力), and overscheduled lives.
In the real world of jobs and career, people are　39　 by two standards: Their professional skills and their 　40　 abilities. 　41　 grade school, high school, and college can teach skills and proficiency, it’s 　42　 parents to teach children the characters that make for　43　 in the real world—a cooperative attitude, 　44　, optimism and honesty. So take the work 　45　. Send your kids into the world ready to 　46　 not only the tasks of life but its difficulties with character.
You really can’t start soon enough. 　47　, children need personal integrity (个人操守) and morals as much as any adult. 　48　 the 5 to 10 most important messages you want your children to truly understand. Then think through 　49　 to teach these lessons. Talking to your kids should be only 　50　 of the plan. Letting them 　51　 honesty in action—through your own behaviour, by　52　 films about great people together, or even by visiting a courtroom—is the 　53　 way to pass the message.
By identifying the specific 　54　 you would like to see in your children, you’re more likely to 　55　  those characters. So make a point of it.
36. A. which                B. that               C. who             D.  /
37. A. handed                 B. given                C. belonged         D. passed
38. A. therefore              B. however            C. thus            D. besides
39. A. chosen                     B. divided            C. selected        D. judged
40. A. personal               B. outstanding         C. collective         D. genetic
41. A. While                B. When               C. Until           D. Unless
42. A. for                       B. to                C. on to           D. up to 
43. A. work                      B. success             C. grow           D. maturity
44. A. depression            B. encouragement       C. creativity       D. desertion
45. A. quickly                    B. eventually           C. seriously      D. obviously
46. A. face                      B. achieve              C. make              D. handle
47. A. First of all           B. After all             C. In all               D. All in all
48. A. Work out            B. Go over             C. Write down     D. Get through
49. A. how                  B. what               C. where         D. why
50. A. root                B. base                C. all            D. part
51. A. witness              B. stare                  C. gaze         D. scan
52. A. reading                    B. scanning            C. watching     D. examining
53. A. easiest                     B. strongest            C. cruelest        D. simplest
54. A. problems            B. manners            C. wonders       D. characters
55. A. strengthen           B. forget              C. remind            D. tear