I was a newcomer of Miss Burn’s seventh grade. Past“newcomer”experiences had been difficult, so I was

very anxious to fit in.

    Lunchtime was a pleasant surprise when the girls all crowded around my table. Their chat was friendly, so

I began to relax. My new classmates filled me in on the school, the teachers and the other kids. it wasn’t long

before the class herd(书呆子)was pointed out to me: Mary Lou. Actually she called herself Mary Louise. A

formal, overmodest young girl with old-fashioned clothes, she wasn’t ugly—not even funny looking. Practical

shoes, long wool skirt and a blouse completed the image of a complete herd. The girls’ whispers got louder and

louder. Mary Lou didn’t notice this. After school, the girls invited me to join them in front of the school.

   Arms wrapped around her backpack, Mary Lou came down the school steps. The taunting began—rude,

biting comments and disrespectful words from the girls. I paused, then joined right in. My force began to pick

up as I approached her, mean(卑劣)remarks falling from my lips. I even pulled the belt of her backpack and then

pushed her. The belt broke, Mary Lou fell. Everyone was laughing and patting me. I fit in. But I was not proud.

Something inside me hurt.

   Mary Lou got up, gathered her books and—without a tear shed—off, she went. She held her head high as a

small trickle of blood ran down from her injured knee.

   I turned to leave with my laughing friends and noticed a man standing beside his car. His skin, dark hair

and handsome features told me this was her father. Respectful of Mary Lou’s proud spirit, he remained still and

watched the lonely girl walk toward him. Only his eyes—shining with both grief and pride—followed. As I

passed, he looked at me in silence with burning tears that spoke to my shame and scolded my heart. He didn’t

speak a word.

   No scolding from a teacher or a parent could linger(逗留)as much as that hurt in my heart from the day a

father’s eyes taught me kindness and strength and dignity. I never again joined the cruel herds. I never

again hurt someone for my own gain.

1. The writer felt she fit in when       .

   A. she relaxed and talked with her new classmate    B. she became a leader of a school club

   C. she picked a wing off a butterfly       D. others cheered for her after she treated Mary badly

2.What does the underlined word“taunting”mean in the article?

   A. Playing a game        B. Joining a club

   C. Criticizing a person     D. Watching a movie

3.Mary’s father      after he saw what happened to her daughter.

   A. felt shameful and angry for his daughter      B. felt sad and proud for his daughter’s bravery

   C. felt it necessary to teach the writer a lesson    D. felt it a pity that she didn’t fight back

4.The writer would never hurt someone for her own gain because she     .

   A. was impressed by Mary’s calmness    

B. was afraid to be scolded by Mary’s father

   C. was sorry she hurt Mary’s knee

   D. was aware that it was a shame to make fun of Mary

5.According to the article, the writer is probably      .

   A. a rude girl who enjoys making fun of others

   B. a clever girl who is good at making friends with others

   C. a shy girl who isn’t good at communicating with others

   D. a brave girl who is willing to correct her mistakes

 

I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square, It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.

You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.

But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be bull - grown.

According to the passage, the Indians _______.

A. don’t have modern instruments in their homes

B. refused to move from round places

C. lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses

D. lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses

Two things being compared in the passage are _______.

A. the Indians’ past and present living conditions

B. the Indians’ past and modern beliefs

C. the Indians’ old and new power

D. people and nature

In the second paragraph “the four quarters” refers to _______.

A. the four rooms of the Indian’s house

B. the four kinds of natural power

C. the four seasons

D. the four directions

According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, _______.

A. they had to move to other houses   

B. boys took more time to grow into men

C. they forgot the old way of life           

D. everyone was not happy

.

“Don’t just stand there,” goes a typical bit of American advice, “do something!” This expression is normally used in a crisis situation, yet, in a sense, it describes most Americans’ entire waking life, where action—any action—is seen to be superior to inaction.

Americans routinely plan and schedule an extremely active day. Any relaxation must be limited in time, preplanned, and aimed at “recreating” their ability to work harder and more productively once the recreation is over. Americans believe leisure activities should assume a relatively small portion of one’s total life. People think that it is “sinful(有罪的)” to “waste one’s time”, “to sit around doing nothing”, or just to “daydream”.

Such a “no nonsense” attitude toward life has created many people who have come to be known as “workaholics”, or people who are addicted to their work, who think constantly about their jobs and who are frustrated if they are kept away from them, even during their evening hours and weekends.

The workaholic syndrome(综合症), in turn, causes Americans to identify themselves wholly with their professions. The first question one American will ask another American when meeting for the first time is related to his or her work: ”Where do you work?” or “Who(what company) are you with?” And when such a person finally goes on vacation, even the vacation will be carefully planned, very busy and active.

America may be one of the few countries in the world where it seems reasonable to speak about the “dignity(尊严) of human labor”, meaning by that, hard, physical labor. In America, even corporation presidents will engage in physical labor from time to time and gain, rather than lose, respect from others for such action.

64.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A.How Americans act during a crisis situation.

B.The workaholic syndrome in America.

C.Americans’ attitude towards relaxation.

D.Americans’ “no nonsense” attitude toward life.

65.Americans hold the belief that _______.

A.they should try to enjoy life as much as possible

B.they should go all out to help others in a crisis situation

C.they should not spend too much on relaxation

D.leisure activities should be an important part of their life

66.In America, corporation presidents will _______.

A.give instructions to workers only

B.often take part in physical labor themselves

C.look down upon the laborers

D.do physical labor only when it is necessary

67.When workers see their boss doing physical labor, they’ll _______.

A.take the place of him

B.stand by and watch

C.be more respectful to him

D.laugh at him

 

任务型阅读(共10题；每小题1分，满分10分)

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。

注意：每空格1个单词。

D. R. Gaul Middle School is in Union, Maine, a blueberry-farming town where the summer fair finds kids competing in pig scrambles and pie-eating contests.

Gaul, with about 170 seventh- and eighth-graders, has its own history of lower level academic achievement. One likely reason: Education beyond the basic requirements hasn't always been a top priority for families who've worked the same land for generations. Here, few adults have college degrees, and outsiders (teachers included) are often kept at a respectful distance.

Since 2002, Gaul's students have been divided into four classes, each of them taught almost every subject by two teachers. The goal: To find common threads across disciplines to help students create a big picture that gives fresh meaning and context to their classwork -- and sparks motivation for learning.

Working within state guidelines, each team makes its individual schedules and lesson plans, incorporating non-textbook literature, hands-on lab work and field trips. If students are covering the Civil War in social studies, they're reading The Red Badge of Courage or some other period literature in English class. In science, they study the viruses and bacteria that caused many deaths in the war.

Team teaching isn't unusual. About 77 percent of middle schools now employ some form of it, says John Lounsbury, consulting editor for the National Middle School Association. But most schools use four- or five-person teams, which Gaul tried before considering two-person teams more effective. Gaul supports the team concept by "looping" classes (跟班) so that the same two teachers stick with the same teens through seventh and eighth grades. Combining teams and looping creates an extremely strong bond between teacher and student. It also, says teacher Beth Ahlholm, "allows us to build an excellent relationship with parents."

Ahlholm and teammate Madelon Kelly are fully aware how many glazed looks they see in the classroom, but they know 72 percent of their eighth-graders met Maine's reading standard last year -- double the statewide average. Only 31 percent met the math standard, still better than the state average (21 percent). Their students also beat the state average in writing and science. And in2006, Gaul was one of 47 schools in the state to see testing gains of at least 20 percent in four of the previous five years, coinciding roughly with team teaching's arrival.

 

A Classroom With Context
Problems of the school	Being a farming town, it (1)         little in education before.
(2)         education is considered less important.
The community is relatively （3)    ____ rather than open to the outsiders.
Ways of solving the problems	The division of classes is made and students are well (4)    ____.
Individual schedules and lesson plans are (5)    ____ by each team.
A strong (6)    ____ between teacher and student is established through combining teams and looping.
Signs of (7)    ____	72 percent of the eighth-graders (8)    ____ Maine's reading standard
(9)________ percent higher than the state average in maths
the school beating the state average in writing and science
four of the previous five years (10)    ____ at least 20 percent test gains

 

 

Our attitude toward our teachers should be _____, but not slavish or superstitious.

A. respectable    B. respected    C. respective    D. respectful