B

As an effect of the high fuel prices spent on bus transportation, some American schools are changing to a four-day week. That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.

Having been approved for three years and beginning in the fall, students in the Maccray school district in Minnesota will be in school from Tuesday to Friday. Each school day will be 65 minutes longer. Officials say the district expects to save about sixty-five thousand dollars a year in transportation costs.

In new Mexico, the first school district changed to a four-day week in 1974 because of the Arab oil boycott(抵制). Now, 17 out of 89 districts use it.

In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to school four days a week since 1995. Superintendent Tim Creal says the change has saved about one million dollars over just the past eight years. He sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructional time, and activities that used to take up class time are now held on non-school days. He says that in the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes.

A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for students and teachers, but working parents may have to pay for child care for that fifth day.

1.According to Tim Creal, what makes it possible to have even fewer days in school?

A．The increasing number of private tutors.(私人教师)

B．The development of teaching methods.

C．The increase in the number of online classes.

D．The growth in the income of Americans.

2. It can be learned from the passage that______

A．students will be in school from Monday to Tuesday.

B．four-day week was first carried out in South Dakota.

C．Maccray will save one million dollars every year.

D．Minnesota state has approved the four-day week plan

3.The passage is mainly about______

A．some school’s four-day week plan         B．districts using a four-day week.

C．how to save on transportation fees.          D．expense of school transportation.

 

B

As a teenager of the digital era, it is really hard to say no to fantastic electronic gadgets(电子产品). Many of us can’t get through a day without using our mobile phones or checking our e-mails. No matter if we’re “@home”, “@school” or“@play”, living without technological toys seems more and more unthinkable.

However, although gadgets bring convenience, many of us can start to feel stressed out by them. And, a lot of electronics are fairly expensive. Fashionable gadgets come and go in the digital age in the blink of any eye. So, think twice before you pulling out your wallet.

Here are some of the most popular gadgets and their pros and cons:

Pros: Laptops have made our lives much easier. You can take your books, movies, music and homework everywhere.

Cons: They cost at least 4,000 yuan! If you only want to share photos or games with your friend, then a flash memory stick is a great cheap alternative.

Pros: As well as carrying your favourite music, a video MP3 player can play up to 150 hours of movies and TV programmes.

Cons: The price—sometimes more than 2,000 yuan—is the first concern. Secondly, though music is really important to young people, ask yourself if video is really necessary. A regular MP3 player is a lot cheaper. And remember, don’t let the loud volume damage your hearing.

Pros: New mobile phones combine traditional functions with a digital camera, MP3 player and even a radio. Some can also send and receive e-mails.

Cons: Always trying to keep up with the latest model can be a waste of money. There are always new, improved phones coming out. Don’t be a fool. Do you really need all these functions? Think twice before you buy.   

60. According to the writer, which of the following statements is true?

   A. Teenagers can’t live through a day without fantastic electronic gadgets.

   B. Teenagers can hardly live happily without electronic gadgets.

   C. Teenagers’ life is full of expensive electronic gadgets.

   D. It’s all but impossible for many teenagers to live without fantastic electronic gadgets.   

61. What conclusion can we draw from the passage?

A. Never buy the most updated gadgets.   

B. You should buy the gadgets with as many functions as possible.

C. We needn’t always pay the most part to buy the most up-to-date gadgets with many functions.

D. Never buy the latest model, it’s much too expensive.

62. Choose the statement most similar in meaning to the underlined sentence in Paragraph2.

   A. Fashionable gadgets are updated in the digital times in a flash.

B. Fashionable gadgets are transported everywhere in the digital age in the blink of any eye.   

C. People keep buying and throwing away expensive fashionable gadgets in the digital age in the blink of any eye.   

D. People use all kinds of fashionable gadgets all the time in the digital age.

63. What do the words “pros and cons” mean in the selection?

   A. Agreements and disagreements.

B. The views that are favoured and not favoured by people.

C. Benefits and bads.   

D. Advantages and disadvantages.

                                           B

As a result of pollution, Lake Erie, on the borders of the USA and Canada, is now without any living things.

    Pollution in water is not simply a matter of “poisons” killing large numbers of fish overnight, Very often the effects of pollution are not noticed for many months or years because the first organisms（生物体）to be affected are either plants or plankton(浮游生物). But these organisms are the food of fish and birds and other creatures. When this food disappears, the fish and birds die too. In this way a whole food chain can be wiped out, and it’s not until dead fish and water birds are seen at the river’s edge or on the seashore that people realize what is happening.

　　Where do the substances which pollute the water come from? There are two main sources of sewage（下水道污物）and industrial waste. As more detergent（洗涤剂）is used in the home, so more of it is finally put into our rivers, lakes and seas. Detergents harm water birds, dissolving the natural substances which keep their feathers water-proof (防水). Sewage itself, if not properly treated, makes the water dirty and prevents all forms of life in rivers and the sea from receiving the oxygen they need. Industrial waste is even more harmful as there are many highly poisonous things in it, such as copper and lead.

　　So, if we want to stop this pollution, the answer is simple: sewage and industrial waste must be made clear before flowing into the water. It may already be too late to save some rivers and lakes, but others can still be saved if the correct action is taken at once.

70. Pollution of water is noticed________.

　　A. when the first organisms are affected　     

B. when a good many fish and birds die

　　C. when poisonous things are poured into water　

D. as soon as the balance of nature is destroyed

71.The living things die because there is no ________in the lake or river.

　　A. water　　　　　            B. fish            　 C. poison　　　　　   D. oxygen

72. Which of the following is harmful according to the passage?

　　A. Organisms               　B. Plants and plankton in the water

　　C. Waste water from cleaning    D. Industrial waste made clear before flowing into the water

73. The way to stop water pollution is to________.

　　A. realize the serious situation clearly

　　B. put oxygen into the river

　　C. make the waste material harmless before flowing into the water

　　D. make special room in the sea for our rubbish

D

What's your earliest childhood memory? Can you remember the first time you heard thunder or watched a television program? Adults seldom recall events much earlier than the year or so before entering school, just as children younger than three or four rarely retain any memory of specific, personal experiences.

A variety of explanations have been proposed by psychologists for this "childhood amnesia"( 记忆缺失,健忘).One argues that the hippocampus, the region of the brain which is responsible for forming memories, does not mature（成熟）until about the age of two. But the most popular theory maintains (主张）that, since adults do not think like children, they cannot access childhood memories. Adults think in words, and their life memories are like stories. But when they search through their mental files for early childhood memories to add to this verbal life story, they don't find any that fit the pattern. It's like trying to find a Chinese word in an English dictionary.

Now psychologist Annette Simms offers a new explanation for childhood amnesia. She argues that there simply aren't any early childhood memories to recall. According to Dr. Simms, children need to learn to use someone else's spoken description of their personal experiences in order to turn their own short-term, quickly forgotten impressions of these experiences into long-term memories. In other words, children have to talk about their experiences and hear others talk about them - Mother talking about the afternoon spent looking for crabs(蟹) at the beach or Dad asking them about their day at Ocean Park. Without this verbal reinforcement, says Dr. Simms, children cannot form permanent memories of their personal experiences.

69. According to the passage, it is widely believed that_________.

A. it is impossible for an adult to recall his(or her) childhood experiences

B. adults virtually have no access to their childhood memories

C. adults think in words while children think in images

D. adults and children have different brain structures

70. "Trying to find a Chinese word in an English dictionary" is stated in the passage to show that_______.

A. Chinese and English are totally different languages

B. it is unlikely to find a Chinese word in an English dictionary

C. adults and children have different memory patterns

D. memories are in some way connected with languages

71. According to Annette Simms,_______________.

A. verbal reinforcement is necessary for children to have permanent memories

B. there does not exist such things as childhood memories

C. children's brains are mature enough to form permanent memories

D. children are generally inexperienced and unable to remember things they don't understand

B

       As far back as he could remember，Larry had longed to go to Hollywood and become a film star．The young man’s hopes for success were broken again and again，however．Hollywood just did not seem interesting．When he first came to California，Larry had decided never to give up and return home without success．Therefore，he kept on trying．Someday，he told himself，his big opportunity would come．

       Larry found a job parking cars for one of Hollywood’s big restaurants．His pay was elementary，but since the guests were kind enough to give him more money，he managed to make a living．One day he recognized an important film director driving into the parking lot （停车场） and getting out of his car．Larry had recently heard that the man was ready to make a new picture．

       Larry got into the car and prepared to drive it on into the lot and park it．Then he stopped，jumped out，and ran over to the director．“Excuse me，sir，but I think it’s only fair to tell you that it’s now or never if you want me in your next picture．A lot of big companies are after me．”

       Instead of pushing away the boy，the director laughed，then wrote something on a card and handed it to the young man．“Come and see me tomorrow．”

Larry got a small part in the director’s next film．He was on his way！

66．Which of the following was Larry interested in?

       A．Working as a waiter．        B．Becoming a film star．

       C．Parking cars for film stars．   D．Owing a big company．

67．Why did Larry find a job parking cars?

       A．Because he liked the job．

       B．Because the parking lot was near Hollywood．

       C．To make a living and wait for the opportunity．

       D．To see a lot of film stars and work for them．

68．After reading the story what can we infer （推断） about the film director ?

       A．He wanted to laugh at Larry．

       B．He recognized Larry at first sight．

       C．He was kind and gave Larry a try．

       D．He thought Larry would become a star．

69．what does the word “elementary” mean in this passage?

       A．基本的             B．充足的             C．较高的             D．不达标的

70．“He was on his way”refers to the fact that ________．

       A．he gave up and returned home

       B．he began to work towards success

       C．he took a journey to Hollywood

       D．he had difficulty in playing the small part