An old man found a sparrow with a broken wing. He brought it home and nursed it back to 26  . Afterwards, though it could fly, the sparrow   27  to leave the house. The old man`s wife asked her husband to get rid of the bird as it was  28  the house.But he wouldn`t listen.
One day while her husband was asleep, the woman  29  the sparrow, took it far away from the house,and let it go,warning it never to   30  . The old man missed his friend and hoped it would come back,  31  it never did. Then one day,several weeks later,he was walking past an old house when he heard a  32  sound.He looked up and there was the  33  , sitting on the gate.The sparrow gave the old man a gold  34  it had found in the house.
The old man did not   35   much about money,but his wife was  36  when she saw the coin,and made up her mind to get more from the sparrow.   37 ,early the next morning she slipped out of her house and made her  38  to the old house.When she saw the sparrow she 39  it to return.
“If you have found  40  __,bring it along and I`ll spend it all on you.”she promised.
The sparrow brought her an old  41   with the help of its friends.The basket was   42  but the woman did not wait to find out what was in it.She grabbed it and ran,  43  that the sparrow would follow and take up residence(住所）in her house again.
The moment she reached home,she  44 the basket,expecting it to be filled to the eaves(屋檐）with gold and silver.Instead,out  45 dozens of sparrows.
The woman spent the rest of her life trying to drive the sparrows out.

We are all interested in equality，but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality，others，still in the name of equality，want only to destroy it．

Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils．The standards may be changed—no examination is perfect--but to have no external(外部的)tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards．There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in external examinations or in any contr schools or on teachers.This would mean that everything would depend on luck every pupll would depend on the efficiency(效率)，the ideal and the purpose of teacher．

Without external examinations， employers will 1ook for employees from highly respected schools and from families known to them--a form of favoritism will  replace equality．At the moment，the bright child from an ill—respected schoo1 can show certificates(证书)to prove he or she is suitable for a job，while the lack of a certificate shows the unsuitability of a dull child attanding a well—respected schoo1.This defence of excellence and opportunity would disappear if external examinations were taken away，and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school’s fame(名誉)，unable to compete for employment with the child from the favored schoo1．

The opponents(对手)of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils．According to these  people，there must be no special，different，academic class． They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area：all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection．The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer．

1. The word “favoritism” in paragraph 3 is used to decribe the phenomenon that _____. 

A.bright children also need certificates to get satisfying jobs.

B.Pooor children with certificates are favored in job markets.

C.Children attending ordinary schools achieve great success.

D. children from well-respected schools tend to have good jobs.

2.What would happen if examinations were taken away according to the author?    

A.Children’s job opportunity would be affected by their school reputation. 

B. Schools for bright children would lose their reputation

C.There would be more opportunities and excellence.

D.Children from poor families would be able to change their schools.

3. The opponents of the examination system will agree that _____.

A.Computers should be selected to take over many jobs.

B.Special classed are necessary to keep the school standards.

C.Jobs should not be assigned by systematic selection.

D.Schools with academic subjects should be abolished.

4. The passage mainly focuses on ____.

  A. schools and certificates   B opportunity and employment

C. examinations and equality  D. standards and reputation

Life in 2060
Let us suppose it is now about A.D. 2060. Let’s make believe(假设；虚构) it is about sixty years from now. Of course, things have changed and life is very different.
Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built. The hotels are air-conditioned, naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment(娱乐) of young and old.
What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven’t yet started to take on heir(继承) supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power. They may some day. But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.
Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet’s surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.
Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.
People are now largely vegetarians(素食者). You see, as the number of people increases, the number of animals decreases. Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds, and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain, and it is possible to get rid of diseases. No one has to be ill any more.
Such would be our life in 2060.
【小题1】According to the passage, what will be on the moon in about A.D. 2060?
A. Many tourists.   B. Many other animals.   C. Many plants.     D. A sea.
【小题2】What will people eat then according to the passage?

Since my son is getting ready for first grade, I asked a friend where she shops for school supplies．For price and convenience, she had a quick answer: schoolpak．com．Parents can buy items or packaged equipment for all grades．The Generic Elementary School-pak for first through fifth graders, for example, is $23．28．（Teachers can also e-mail their grade’s or school’s whole list for a price on customized kits（销售包）．Shipping（运送）is free for 75 or more kits）
Teachers thinks highly of educational warehouse．com for its learning tools and games—everything from puzzles and puppets to software and chalks．Classroomdirect．com has great prices on over 10．000 products and a special corner offering even deeper discounts．
Pick your lunch box
The second-most-difficult back-to-school decision, right after what to wear on the first day, is what kind of lunch box to buy．Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana? Ariel or Elmo? Your kids can examine their （and your） lunch boxes at platesplus4kids．com and lunchboxes．com．
Trade in sports tools
My garage is a tangle（混乱） of bikes and balls, sticks and clubs, so I was excited to find play it again sports．com --- a company that helps you sell quality, name-brand sporting equipment．You’ll have to visit one of its 320 stores, located in 46 states and the District of Columbia．
3 sites for saving
Feed the pig．org
Think about the savings if your kids （and you） stopped buying lunch out every day and brown-bagged（自带午餐）it．
Good shop．com
Support your favorite school by shopping at more than 1,000 participating shops．Up to 30 percent of every purchase is donated．And you’ll find hundreds of deals and coupons（优惠券）．
Tax admin．org
Click on 2009 State Sales Tax Holidays to see if your state has a tax-free shopping day．Check what’s included before going to the store．
【小题1】The passage is mainly aimed at__________．