The child of today owes much of its pleasant school life to the work of Maria Montessori and others who felt as she did.

　Maria Montessori was born in 1870 in northern Italy. Both her parents were well educated.

　While Maria was a student, she took great interest in the study of the particular nature of the child's mind. It came to her that small children should have freedom(自由) to learn.

　Maria became a doctor and a professor at Rome University. In 1907, after working with backward students, she was given a chance to try out her ideas on children. There were sixty children, aged three to six, in the Children's House. The rooms were bright and colorful. Maria let the children make their own choice of what they wanted to do and work with their own speed. They became busy, peaceful and happy.

　　Maria Montessori was one of the world's great teachers. She traveled in Europe, America and Far East. She thought that true education, providing(提供) for the real needs of the child, would produce wise and happy grown-ups and therefore a peaceful world. Her original way of education has changed our whole idea of what childhood is.

　　Maria Montessori died in Holland at the age of eighty-two.

45. The short passage is mainly about .

　　A. the education of backward students

　　B. a new idea of education

　　C. the importance of proper education

　　D. the life of Maria Montessori

46. Maria traveled a lot in the world to .

　　A. teach the backward students

　　B. enjoy her life in real nature

　　C. spread her ideas of teaching

　　D. study the situation of education

47. In what way did Maria teach the children in the Children's House?

　　A. She taught them the best way of learning well.

　　B. She let them learn in a very pleasant way.

　　C. She taught them by showing them how to do things.

　　D. She just let them choose the most interesting subjects.

48. We learn from the passage that ________.

　　A. Maria left her homeland in order to study abroad

　　B. Maria didn't get married

　　C. Maria's own parents were her teachers

　　D. Maria fully understood the child's mind

49. Which of the following best explains why Maria was one of the world's great teachers?

　　A. She created a new way in teaching, which changed the old idea of children's education.

　　B. She taught the backward students very successfully and produced a peaceful world.

　　C. She showed great love for the children and trained them in a new way.

　　D. She taught backward students in many different countries and let them learn freely.

Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are the envy of the United States and Europe. But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline of the traditional work-moral values. Ten years ago young people were hardworking and saw their jobs as their primary reason for being, but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, and young people don't know where they should go next.

The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teenagers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japans rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs. In a recent survey, it was found that only 24.5 percent of Japanese students were fully satisfied with school life, compared with 67.2 percent of students in the United States. In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than their counterparts did in the ten other countries surveyed.

While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression." Those things that do not show up in the test scores, personality, ability, courage or humanity are completely ignored," says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's education committee." Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids to drop out and run wild." Last year Japan experienced 2,125 incidents of school violence, including 929 assaults on teachers. Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis on moral education. Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, who was then education minister, raised eyebrows when he argued that liberal reforms introduced by the American occupation authorities after World WarⅡ had weakened the "Japanese morality of respect for parents."

But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles." In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro, "it’s never a question of whether you enjoy your job and your life, but only how much you can endure." With economic growth becoming centralization, fully 76 percent of Japans, 119 million citizens live in cities where community and the extended family have been abandoned in favor of isolated, two generation households. Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes (travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions, but as the old group and family values weaken, the discomfort is beginning to tell. In the past decade, the Japanese divorce rate, while still well below that of the United States, has increased by more than 50 percent, and suicides have increased by nearly one-quarter.

1. In the Westerners eyes, the postwar Japan was_____ .

　A. under aimless development          B. a positive example

　C. a rival to the West                    D. on the decline

2.According to the author, what may chiefly be responsible for the moral decline of Japanese society?

　A. Women's participation in social activities is limited.

　B. More workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.

　C. Excessive emphasis has been placed on the basics.

　D. The life-style has been influenced by Western values.

3.Which of the following is true according to the author?

　A. Japanese education is praised for helping the young climb the social ladder.

　B. Japanese education is characterized by mechanical learning as well as creativity.　　　　

　C. More stress should be placed on the cultivation of creativity.

　D. Dropping out leads to frustration against test taking.

4. The change in Japanese life-style is revealed in the fact that____.

　A. the young are less tolerant of discomforts

　B. the divorce rate in Japan exceeds that in the U.S.

　C. the Japanese endure more than ever before

　D. the Japanese appreciate their present life

阅读理解

　　The American cowboy was a great national hero through facts and stories.

　　In history, the real cowboy was a simple farm worker on horseback. He spent twelve to fourteen hours a day outdoors working with cows. The work was dirty, tiresome and not very well paid. In winter, most cowboys had to find other jobs. They were seldom alone. Most of them worked in teams of eight to ten.

　　People could raise beef cattle at low cost in the western states and send them by train to the eastern markets. Hut someone had to look after the cattle on the open land and get them to the nearest railroad . This was the job of a cowboy. Sometimes the railroad was more than a thousand kilometers away and it could take as long as six months to move the cattle. The cowboy moved the cattle slowly so that the cattle would not lose weight.

　　Most cowboys were young, unmarried men. A cowboy's horse was his most important tool. A good horse made the job of moving cattle much easier. A good cowboy understood cows and knew how to control them. At night, he sang to the cows to keep them calm .

　　The cowboy quickly received popular praise. Historians say that was because the cowboy appeared during a time of change in American life. In the late 1800's, America was changing from a nation of farms to one of factories and cities. The cowboy seemed free and more independent than other Americans.

　　Today, the life of real cowboys has changed greatly. One change has been the use of trucks. There is no need for the modem cowboy to sleep on the ground. Modem cowboys are better paid. They are likely to be married. Today cowboys are found in almost every state of the United States . Some of them are farmers or teaches or truck drivers . Some work for big companies. But at night and on weekends they became cowboys. Most have less than a thousand cows, and some have only two or three, those part-time cowboys increase the total production of meat, keeping beef price low. Most modem cowboys do not make much money from raising cattle. Many do it because they love the cowboy life.

1．In the past, the cowboy's work ________.

[　　]

A．was covered with dirt

B．cost much labor

C．was less paid

D．all of the above

2．Sometimes it took the cowboys ________ to move the beef cattle from the western states to the eastern markets.

[　　]

3．The cowboy's important instrument in the past was the ________.

[　　]

4．The cowboys quickly received popular praise because they appeared ________.

[　　]

A．in the western parts of the United States

B．in the eastern markets every year

C．in the time of great changes in America

D．in the early 1800's

5．Which of the following statements is true?

[　　]

A．The modem cowboys not only use their horses but also their trucks.

B．The modern cowboys still have to sleep on the ground outdoors.

C．The modern cowboys are badly paid.

D．Most modern cowboys don't love their work.

Since 1989, Dave Thomas, who died at age 69, was one of the most recognizable faces on TV. He appeared in more than 800 commercials（商业厂告）for the hamburger chain named for his daughter. “As long as it works," he said in 1991, I'll continue to do those commercials.”

　 Even though he was successful, Thomas remained troubled by his childhood. "He still won’t let anyone see his feet, which are out of shape because he never had proper fitting shoes," Wendy said in 1993. Born to a single mother, he was adopted as a baby by Rex and Auleva Thomas of Kalamazoo in Michigan. After Auleva died when he was 5, Thomas spent years on the road as Rex traveled around seeking construction work. "He fed me,” Thomas said, "and if I got out of line, he’d beat me.”

　 Moving out on his own at 15, Thomas worked, first as a waiter, in many restaurants. But he had something much better in mind. "I thought, if I owned a restaurant,” he said, "I could eat for free.” A 1956 meeting with Harland Sanders led Thomas to a career as the manager of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant that made him a millionaire in 1968.

　 In 1969, after breaking with Sanders, Thomas started the first Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, in Columbus, Ohio, which set itself apart by serving made-to-order burgers. With 6,000 restaurants worldwide, the chain now makes $6 billion a year in sales.

　 Although troubled by his own experience with adoption, Thomas, married since 1954 to Lorraine, 66, and with four grown kids besides Wendy, felt it could offer a future for other children. He started the Dave Thomas Foundation（基金会）for Adoption in 1992.

　 In 1993, Thomas, who had left school at 15, graduated from Coconut Greek High School in Florida. He even took Lorraine to the graduation dance party. The kids voted him Most Likely to Succeed

　 "The Dave you saw on TV was the real Dave,” says friend Pat Williams. "He wasn’t a great actor or a great speaker. He was just Joe Everybody”

1.What is the article mainly about?

　 A. The life of Dave Thomas.　　　　　　　 B The dream of Dave Thomas

　 C. The schooling of Dave Thomas, 　　　　D. The growth of Dave Thomas’s business

2.What do we know about his childhood?

A. He lived a poor life.　　　　　　　　　 B. He had caring parents.

C. He staved in one place.　　　　　　　　 D. He didn’t go to school.

3. Choose the right time order of the following events in Thomas’s life.

　 a. graduated from high school

　 b. started his own business

　 c. became a millionaire

d. started a foundation

e. met Harland sanders

　 A. e, b, c, d, a　　　 　　 B. a, e, c, b, d　　　　 C. e, c, b, d, a　　 D. a, e, b, c. d

4. " He was just Joe Everybody” in the last paragraph means____________.

　 A. Dave was famous　　 　 B. Dave was ordinary C. Dave was showy D. Dave was shy

5. What’s the name of Dave Thomas’s business?

A. Thomas’s　　 　　　　 B. Wendy’s　　　　 C. Lorraine’s　　 　 　D. Rex’s