I am a psychologist. I first met Timothy, a quiet, overweight eleven-year-old boy, when his mother brought him to me to discuss his declining grades. A few minutes with Timothy were enough to confirm that his self-esteem(自尊) and general happiness were falling right along with them. I asked about Timothy’s typical day. He awoke every morning at six thirty so he could reach his school by eight and arrived home around four thirty each afternoon. He then had a quick snack, followed by either a piano lesson or a lesson with his math tutor. He finished dinner at 7 pm, and then he sat down to do homework for two to three hours. Quickly doing the math in my head, I found that Timothy spent an average of thirteen hours a day at a writing desk.

What if Timothy spent thirteen hours a day at a sewing machine instead of a desk? We would immediately be shocked, because that would be called children being horribly mistreated. Timothy was far from being mistreated, but the mountain of homework he faced daily resulted in a similar consequence —he was being robbed of his childhood. In fact, Timothy had no time to do anything he truly enjoyed, such as playing video games, watching movies, or playing board games with his friends.

Play, however, is a crucial part of healthy child development. It affects children’s creativity, their social skills, and even their brain development. The absence of play, physical exercise, and free­from social interaction takes a serious toll on many children. It can also cause significant health problems like childhood obesity, sleep problems and depression.

Experts in the field recommend the minutes children spend on their homework should be no more than ten times the number of their grade level. As a fifth­grader, Timothy should have no more than fifty minutes a day of homework (instead of three times that amount). Having an extra two hours an evening to play, relax, or see a friend would soundly benefit any child’s life quality.

1.What does the underlined word “them” in the first paragraph probably refer to?

A. Timothy’s parents.                                                        B. Timothy’s grades.

C. Psychologists.                                                              D. The students.

2.What did the writer think of Timothy after learning about his typical day?

A. Timothy was very hard­working.

B. Timothy was being mistreated.

C. Timothy had a heavy burden.

D. Timothy was enjoying his childhood.

3.Which of the following statements best describes the writer’s opinion?

A. Children should be allowed enough time to play.

B. Playing board games works better than playing video games.

C. The more they play, the more creative children will become.

D. The depression caused by homework makes children unwilling to play.

4.According to the passage, how long should a third­grader spend a day doing homework?

A. About ten minutes.

B. No more than twenty minutes.

C. No more than thirty minutes.

D. About fifty minutes.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分） 阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Once upon a time, there were two men. One was hard-working and had a lot of   31   and perseverance (坚定不移), while the other was   32   and never did any work. One night, they decided to have a competition between them. The contest was simple: the   33  person to see daylight would be the winner, and the winner would  34   a prize. Both men agree to do it, and the competition started.
The hard-working man immediately  35  and ran towards the west after the sun, while the lazy man just sat there and   36 . The hard-working man, looking at the competitor,  37  at his foolishness and kept going at his quick pace. Running through the jungles, swimming  38   the rivers and seas, and he kept running and running,  39  that he would reach his goal sooner or later. Meanwhile, the lazy man was still sleeping.
The hard-working man had been   40  for 6 hours already, and he was surprised that he still had not   41   daylight. Thinking it would be just around the corner, he  42  on running until he finally came back to where he started, 24 hours   43  . Upon arriving, he saw the lazy man seated there, smiling and waiting for him, holding the  44  he earned.
The hard-working man was   45   how this lazy man could earn it ---he hadn't done anything at all! Then the lazy man said," You are   46  a persevering and patient man, but you were running towards the   47  , running after the sun that kept moving away from your  48   whereas I just waited for the sun to come to me. You were lucky. If I had decided to  49   you and not to tell you, you would be continuing this pursuit (追赶) till your death." The hard-working man knew in his heart that the lazy man was right.
Sometimes, perseverance can   50  you from the truth that what you are doing is wrong.
31. A. hobbies            B. ideas                      C. patience               D. money
32. A. lazy                B. patient                 C. kind-hearted             D. hard-working
33. A. last                B. first                         C. second                D. only
34. A. accept                B. keep                       C. win                   D. defeat
35. A. set in               B. set aside               C. set up                 D. set out
36. A. worked              B. drank                      C. slept                  D. played
37. A. laughed               B. glared                    C. stared                D. looked
38. A. across               B. through                 C. over                   D. past
39. A. representing         B. believing                C. emphasizing            D. complaining
40. A. swimming            B. jumping                 C. resting                 D. running
41. A. admired             B. invented                C. found                  D. realized
42. A. commented          B. carried                            C. figured                 D. depended
43. A. before               B. later                       C. next                  D. further
44. A. money             B. medal                     C. prize                  D. gold
45. A. believing             B. recognizing           C. discussing               D. wondering
46. A. true                B. indeed                    C. certain                 D. hardly
47. A. west                  B. east                        C. north                 D. south
48. A. ears                   B. hands         C. sight                           D. mind     
49. A. hide from             B. learn from      C. keep from              D. come from   
50. A. make                  B. let             C. blind                          D. protect  

A well-dressed man came into a famous jeweler shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl (珍珠) for his wife's birthday and that the price didn't matter since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a number of beautiful and valuable pearls, he chose a nice black one that cost $ 5,000. He paid for the pearl, shook hands with the jeweler and left.

    A few days later the man returned and said his wife had liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality(质地) as she wanted a pair of earrings (耳环) made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler replied,   "I would say it's nearly impossible to find an exact one like that pearl.”

    The rich man asked the jeweler to advertise(登广告) in the newspapers, and offered $25,000 for the  matching pearl. Many people answered the ad(广告), but nobody had a pearl that was just right. Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came in. To his surprise, she pulled the wonderful pearl from her handbag. "I don't like to sell it," she said sadly. "I inherited(继承) it from my mother, and my mother inherited from hers. But now I really need the money. "

    The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The rich man, however, was nowhere to be found.

He paid$ 5,000 for the pearl without bargaining(讨价还价)______________.

A. because he loved his wife very much  

B. in order to get it as quickly as possible

C. since his business had been successful           

D. so as to make the jeweler believe him

Which of the following is true?

A. The people who answered the ad wanted to sell their pearls at a high price.

B. The woman was the well-dressed man's wife.

C. The jeweler was lucky enough to buy the little old lady's pearl.

D. The rich man didn't know the little old lady.

The jeweler could not find the rich man anywhere because he__________.

A. had moved to another hotel    B. was busy doing business with others

C. had escaped with $ 20,000     D. had told the wrong telephone number

The Quiet Hero 沉默的英雄

    It was Mother’s Day, the day we celebrate everything mothers are and everything we do. But I’ll   1    that Sunday in 2000 was bittersweet for me. As a single mother I   2    to think of my shortcomings — how many evenings I couldn’t spend with my children, and how many things I couldn’t   3    my waitress’ salary to buy.

    But what   4    kids I had! My daughter Maria was a senior in college, and Denny was home visiting from his freshman year at Harvard University. They were   5    impolite enough to complain, but there was so much more I   6    I had done for them. I just hoped they   ___7  .

As I walked into the   8    quietly to start breakfast, I was greeted by a vase   9    a dozen red roses! When had Denny possibly slipped down to leave them? But even their delicate beauty was overshadowed by the note sitting beside them, in the quick, manly   10    of an eighteen-year-old. It was about a story that happened between Denny and me long ago. It   11  :

She took a day off from her busy   12    to take the boy to see his hero in the flesh at the stadium. It took 3.5 hours just to get there, and they had to be there early   13    he could see his hero take batting practice.   14    their arrival, she took her hard-earned money to buy an overpriced T-shirt on which was   15    his hero making a diving catch. After the game, of course he had to   16    his hero’s signature, so she stayed with the little boy    17    one in the morning…

   It took me long enough to   18    it, but I finally know who the   19    hero is. Mom, I love you!

   And suddenly, it was a   20    Mother’s Day, after all.

1. A. admit                B. adopt                    C. deny                   D. refuse

2. A. intended             B. liked                     C. tended                     D. hesitated

3. A. stress                 B. spare                     C. strengthen            D. spend

4. A. poor                      B. great                     C. faithless                   D. pretty

5. A. merely              B. usually                      C. never                       D. often

6. A. wished              B. hoped               C. expected                  D. desired

7. A. supported          B. understood             C. approved                 D. disgusted

8. A. 1iving-room        B. kitchen                  C. bed loom                 D. study

9. A. including                  B. containing             C. possessing            D. pinning

10. A. handwriting    B. description             C. tone                        D. scratch

11. A. wrote               B. recorded                C. memorized              D. read

12. A. event               B. content             C. schedule                  D. circumstance

13. A. or                  B. for                        C. but                          D. so

14. A. At                  B. In                             C. On                          D. By

15. A. impressed        B. printed                      C. presented                 D. pressed

16. A. buy                 B. abandon                C. get                          D. swap

17. A. before             B. until                     C. after                        D. when

18. A. see                         B. hear                      C. realize                     D. tell

19. A. actual              B. true                      C. imaginary            D. visual

20. A. sad                      B. bitter                    C. happy                      D. Exciting