Miss Gogers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”
Tom at once answered, “Your brother. Because electricity travels faster than sound waves.” “That’s every good,” Miss Gogers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gogers said. “Yes, Kate.”
“I disagree,” Kate said. “Your brother would hear you earlier because when it’s 11 o’clock here it’s only 8 o’clock in Los Angeles.”
【小题1】 Miss Gogers was teaching her class_________.

Americans are thinking about national education standards recently developed by teachers and other education experts. The National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) led the effort.

　　The United States, unlike other nations, has never had the same school standards across the country. What is the reason? Education is not discussed in the Constitution. That document limits the responsibilities of the federal government. Other responsibilities, like education, fall to each state.

Local control of education probably was a good idea two hundred years ago. People stayed in the same place and schools knew what students needed to learn. But today, people move to different cities. And some people work at jobs that did not exist even twenty years ago.

Many American educators say that getting a good education should not depend on where you live. They say that some states have lowered their standards in order to increase student scores on tests required by the No Child Left behind Act.

　　Kara Schlosser is communications director for the CCSSO. She says the new standards clearly state what a student should be able to do to be successful in college and work.

　　Forty--eight states have already shown approval for the standards. Two states refuse to accept the idea. Critics say that working toward the same standards in every state will not guarantee excellence for all. Some educators in Massachusetts say adopting the national standards will hurt their students because the state standards are even higher. Others say the change will be too costly, requiring new textbooks and different kinds of training for teachers. Still others fear federal control.

　　Supporters say the standards are goals and do not tell states or teachers how to teach. They also say the federal government is not forcing acceptance. However, approving the standards will help states qualify (取得资格) for some federal grant money.

1.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Local Control of Education Standards out of Date

B．American National Education Standards under Consideration

C．Education Standards in Each State--Good or Bad.

D．Acceptance of the New Standards in the United States

2.Why is local control of education no 1onger a good idea today?

A．Because local standards are limited.

B．Because it is required by the federal government.

C．Because people today moves among states more often than before.

D．Because America has never had the same school standards throughout the country.

3.Some people are against the nationa1 education standards because__________

A．the standards are higher than those of each state

B．they are not yet prepared for the new standards

C．the standards may prevent some students gaining excellence

D．they don't want the federal government to train their teachers

4.If a state agrees to accept the national standards, it will probably get ________.

A．more students                         B．advice on how to improve teaching

C．better textbooks                        D．money from the federal government

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Miss Gorgers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she explained to one of her classes about sound, and she decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you and for what reason?”
Tom at once answered, “Your brother. Because electricity travels faster than sound waves.” “That’s very good,” Miss Gorgers answered; but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Gorgers said, “Yes? Kate.”
“I disagree. Your brother would hear you earlier because when it’s 11 o’clock here and it’s only 8 o’clock in Los Angeles.” Kate said.
1. Miss Gorgers was teaching her class ______.
A. how to telephone      B. about electricity
C. about time zone        D. about sound　
2. Miss Gorgers raised this question because she wanted to know whether ______.
A. it was easy to phone to Los Angeles
B. her student could hear her from 75 feet away
C. her students had understood her lesson
D. sound waves were slower than electricity
3. Kate thought Tom was wrong because ______.
A. clocks in Los Angeles showed a different time from those in New York
B. electricity was slower than sound waves
C. Tom was not good at physics at all
D. Tom’s answer had nothing to do with sound waves
4. Whose answer do you think is correct according to the law of physics?
A. Tom’s. 　　            B. Kate’s.          C. Both A and B. 　　      D. Neither A nor B.

The Fourth “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.

　　Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.

　　Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association （CUESA）.

　　Co-sponsors（联办单位）: English Speaking Union （ESU）, Lotus Software （China）Co. Ltd., Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.

　　Date: March 26（Friday）, 1999.

　　Place: Hilton Shanghai.

　　Competition Format （形式）: Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.

　　Prepared speech period: six minutes.

　　Q & A period: three minutes.

　　Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony （和谐）in a new age ＋ your personal opinion. （Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition）.

　　Prizes: Besides books and certificates （证书）, the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金） to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）

1.The main purpose of this passage is ________.

　　A. to invite you to take part in the competition

　　B. to tell you some information about the competition

　　C. to help to improve your spoken English

　　D. to show you how to win the competition

2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?________.

　　A. Where and when it will take place.

　　B. Its programs.

　　C. What each winner will be offered.

　　D. The number of its competitors.

3.Suppose you get the sixth place, you’ll________ .

　　A. travel to London for free.

　　B. become a one - year member of IATEFL

　　C. get some money, some books and a certificate

　　D. get a chance to study in Singapore

4. An “off- hand speech” is________.

　　A. a speech not longer than three minutes

　　B. a speech without preparation

　　C. a speech with a piece of paper in hand

D. a speech which is well prepared

Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of all the many colleges and universities in the United States. Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were opened soon after Harvard.

　 In the early years, these schools were much alike(*similar).Only young men went to college. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students graduated(*毕业),most of them became ministers or teachers.

　In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could receive their training in Harvard’s law school. In 1825, besides Latin and Greek, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German. Soon it began teaching American history.

　As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects. Students were allowed to choose the subjects that interested them.

　Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of them are made up of smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning. There’s so much to learn that one kind of school can’t offer it all.

1.The oldest university in the US is _________.

　A.Yale 　　   B.Harvard 　　  C.Princeton 　       　D.Columbia

2. From the second paragraph, we can see that in the early years,______.

　A.those colleges and universities were the same

　B.people, young or old, might study in the colleges

　C.students studied only some languages and science

　D.when the students finished their school, they became lawyers or teachers

3. Modern languages the Harvard taught in 1825 were ________.

　A.Latin and Greek              B.Latin, Green, French and German

　C.American history and German   D.French and German

4.As knowledge increased, colleges began to teach_______.

　A.everything that was known      B.law and something about medicine

　C.many new subjects             D.the subjects that interested students

5. On the whole, the passage is about___________.

　A.how to start a university    　B.the world-famous colleges in America

　C.how colleges have changed    D.what kind of lesson each college teaches