When I learned that my 71-year-old mother was playing Scrabble – a word game – against herself, I knew I had to do something. My husband suggested we give her a computer to play against. I wasn’t sure my mother was ready for it. After all, it had taken 10 years to persuade her to buy an electric cooker. Even so, we packed up our old computer and delivered it to my parents’ home. And so began my mother’s adventure in the world of computers.

    It also marked the beginning of an unusual teaching task for me. I’ve taught people of all ages, but I never thought I would be teaching my mother how to do anything. She has been the one teaching me all my life: to cook and sew; to enjoy the good times and put up with the bad. Now it was my turn to give something back.

    It wasn’t easy at the beginning. There was so much to explain and to introduce. Slowly but surely, my mother caught on, making notes in a little notebook. After a few months of Scrabble and other games, I decided it was time to introduce her to word processing(文字处理). This proved to be a bigger challenge to her, so I gave her some homework I asked her to write me a letter, using different letter types, colors and spaces.

    “Are you this demanding with your kindergarten pupils?” she asked.

    “No, of course not,” I said. “They already know how to use a computer.”

     My mother isn’t the only one experiencing a fast personal growth period. Thanks to the computer, my father has finally got over his phone allergy(过敏反应). For as long as I can remember, any time I called, my mother would answer. Dad and I have had more phone conversations in the last two months than we’ve had in the past 20 years.

1.What does the author do?

A. She is a cook.                  B. She is a teacher.

C. She is a housewife.              D. She is a computer engineer.

2.The author decided to give her mother a computer        .

A. to let her have more chances to write letters

B. to support her in doing her homework

C. to help her through the bad times

D. to make her life more enjoyable

3.The author asked her mother to write her a letter           .

A. because her mother had stopped using the telephone

B. because she wanted to keep in touch with her mother

C. so that her mother could practice what she had learned

D. so that mother could be free from housework

4.After the computer was brought home, the author’s father          .

A. lost interest in cooking           B. took more phone calls

C. played more games              D. began to use it

Recently I spoke to some of my students about what they wanted to do after they graduated, and what kind of job prospects they thought they had.

Given that I teach students who are training to be doctors, I was surprised to find that most thought that they would not be able to get the jobs they wanted without “outside help”. “What kind of help is that?” I asked, expecting them to tell me that they would need a relative or family friend to help them out.

“Surgery(外科手术)”, one replied. I was pretty alarmed by that response. It seems that the graduates of today are increasingly willing to go under the knife to get ahead of others when it comes to getting a job. One girl told me that she was considering surgery to increase her height. “They break your legs, put in special extending screws, and slowly expand the gap between the two ends of the bone as it regrows, you can get at least 5cm taller!”

At that point, I was shocked. I am short, I can’t deny that, but I don’t think I would put myself through months of agony(痛苦) just to be a few centimeters taller. I don’t even bother to wear shoes with thick soles, as I’m not trying to hide the fact that I am just not tall!

It seems to me that there is a trend toward wanting “perfection”, and that is an ideal that just does not exist in reality.

No one is born perfect, yet magazines, TV shows and movies present images of thin, tall, beautiful people as being the norm. Advertisements for slimming aids, beauty treatments and cosmetic surgery clinics fill the pages of newspapers, further creating an idea that “perfection” is a requirement, and that it must be purchased, no matter what the cost. In my opinion, skills, rather than appearance, should determine how successful a person is in his chosen career.

1.We can know from the passage that the author works as ______.

A．a doctor          B．a model           C．a teacher          D．a reporter

2.Many graduates today turn to cosmetic surgery to______.

A．marry a better man\woman               B．become a model

C．get an advantage over others in job-hunt     D．attract more admirers

3.According to the passage, the author believes that ______.

A．everyone should purchase perfection, whatever the cost

B．it’s right for graduates to ask for others to help them out in hunting for jobs

C．media are to blame for misleading young people in their seeking for surgery

D．it is one’s appearance instead of skills that really matters in one’s career

4.What does the author think of his height?

A．He hates to be called a short man.

B．He tries to increase his height through surgery.

C．He always wears shoes with thick soles to hide the fact.

D．He just accepts it as it is

Several parents and children escaped the summer heat and enjoyed a refreshing “Leap Into a Good Book”．About 30 children and parents gathered as volunteers for both agencies.

After the readings，refreshments (点心) were offered and children and parents were given books，a gift bag and a bookmark with information on adult literacy (读写能力) programs.

Learn to Read of Northwest Florida Inc.and Even Start coordinated the event with hopes that combining their programs will help target functionally illiterate adults and their families.A functionally illiterate adult is one who has reading skills below a seventh?grade level.That often means they have difficulty filling out job applications，understanding a lease，reading medication labels or to their children.

Merelin Hernandez,9，a fourth?grader at Warrington Elementary School，understands the importance of reading.She also says it makes her happy when she is bored.“Reading helps me go to another grade，”she says.“I feel proud when I get a B because then I know I am reading well.”Monae Walker,7，a student at Oakcrest Elementary School，says reading teaches her and makes her happy.

Learn to Read of Northwest Florida Inc.provides one?on?one tutoring for basic reading and writing skills to adults 16 and older who are not in school.Tutors go through a 12?hour workshop and tutor their students 3 hours per week.The program currently has 150 active tutors.

Even Start is a family education program at McMillan Learning Center，which offers adult education classes and infant，toddler and prekindergarten services at no cost to families.Linda Harris，a teacher in charge of the Escambia Even Start program，says the program equips parents so they can help their children.

1.The event “Leap Into a Good Book”________．

A．was mainly held by Learn to Read

B．targeted functionally literate parents

C．was attended by about 30 volunteers

D．was held to enjoy reading in summer

2.According to the passage，a functionally illiterate adult________.

A．has skills below a seventh?grade level

B．has never got school education

C．has no ability to recognize English words

D．can’t fill out a job application

3.According to the passage，Monae Walker________.

A．was attending the one?on?one tutoring

B．was a school?leaver

C．was having a good time there

D．read books with her parents

4.According to the passage，Even Start can________.

A．make parents able to help their children

B．educate children how to use words

C．offer some services for families in life

D．offer a good place for children

阅读下面短文，从短文后面各题所给的四个选项（A，B，C，D）中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

My husband used to be a workaholic(工作狂)．Nothing seemed to be more ____ to him than his work，not even his family.

He usually ____at 6 o’clock，and our ____ and I were still asleep then，and then left ____ having breakfast. I asked him to have breakfast ____，but he said it’s a waste of ____.I didn’t know what kept him so____.He even couldn’t finish all his work in the office. He came back at ten at night. However，I never expected that he would give me a kiss.____he got home，he would start to____.The kids had already been in bed，of course.

“Mom，where is Dad？Why I ____ see him？”the kids often asked.

“Well，Dad has to work. He is busy，”I always____like this. As time went by，they didn’t ask where their dad was again. Perhaps they had____that they had a dad. However，the situation changed several months ago.

Jenny，our daughter，suddenly became____.I sent her to the hospital.The____told me that she was seriously ill and that she was calling____all the time. Tears burst into my eyes when I____that.I finally called my ____and told him about that. Half an hour later，he came to the hospital and held Jenny’s little hands.

He____another job two weeks later.

“I just wanted to make as much___as possible for you and our kids. But now，I just want to____as much time as possible with you and the kids，”he said and that’s what he is doing now.

1.A. possible                        B．interesting              C．important      D．relaxing

2.A. sat down               B．got up                   C．stoop up       D．came up

3.A. kids                     B．pets             C．neighbors                       D．parents

4.A. on                     B．with                    C．without          D．after

5.A. in the office            B．on the way             C．in school         D．at home

6.A. money                 B．time                    C．energy          D．food

7.A. tired                   B．busy                    C．fast              D．excited

8.A .As soon as              B．In the end              C．Long before      D．Long after

9.A. eat                     B．sleep                  C．work             D．write

10.A. often                 B．never                 C．sometimes                 D．cheated

11.A. shouted              B．asked                  C．replied                    D．cheated

12.A. thought              B．forgotten         C．ignored               D．minded

13.A. fine                           B．worse            C．ill            D．angry

14.A. teacher              B．boss             C．officer                 D．doctor

15.A. mom                 B．sir                      C．dad             D．madam

16.A. noticed               B．realized          C．heard                 D．felt

17.A. mother               B．child                   C．brother        D．husband

18.A.  received           B．lost                     C  changed         D．found

19.A. money                         B．happiness              C．value            D．laughter

20.A. spend                B．make            C．set                    D．steal

Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance.

After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar , and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones—a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.

Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. "They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone."

Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.

 These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity（慈善机构）, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people—225 to date—who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000—in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.

Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar,  one of Rockstar's original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now."

1.Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?

A.      He needs to go to the doctor every day.

B.      He studies the leading cause of diabetes

C.      He has a positive attitude to this disease.

D.      He encourages diabetics by writing articles.

2.Diabeitcrockstar.com was created for _________.

A. diabetics to communicate

B. volunteers to find jobs

C. children to amuse themselves

D. rock stars to share resources

3.The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ______.

A. works full-time in a diabetes charity

B. employs 22 people for his website

C. helps diabetics in his own way

D. ties to find a cure for diabetes