D

This brief book is aimed at high school students , but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life.

   Its formal ,serious style closely matches its content ,a school-masterly book on schooling .The author , W .H . Armstrong ,starts with the basics : reading and writing . In his opinion , reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page ; it means taking in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as one digests a sandwich and makes it a part of himself .The goal is to bring the information back to life , not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees . Reading and writing cannot be completely separated from each other ; in fact ,the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text .I’ve seen it again and again ：someone who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all.

Only a third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history. He generally handles these topics thoroughly and equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion regarding history. Well, he was a history teacher---if conveyed only a tenth of his passion to his students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across .To my disappointment, in this part of the book he ignores the arts. As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind. Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired ,actually ,learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics.

My other comment is that the text aged. The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s—none of the references(参考文献)seem newer than the late 1950s. As a result, the discussion misses the entire computer age.

These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion. I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student.

According to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________.

A. gain knowledge and expand one’s view

B. understand the meaning between the lines

C. express ideas based on what one has read

D. get information and keep it alive in memory

The author of the passage insists that learning the arts_________.

A. requires great efforts

B. demands real passion

C. is less natural than learning math

D. is as natural as learning a language

What is a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?

A. Some ideas are slightly contradictory.

B. There is too much discussion on studying science.

C. The style is too serious.

D. It lacks new information.

This passage can be classified as________.

A. an advertisement

B. a book review

C. a feature story

D. A news report

On numerous drives throughout my childhood, my mother would suddenly pull over the car to examine a flower by the side of the road or rescue a beetle (甲虫) from certain tragedy while I, in my late teens and early twenties, sat impatiently in the car.

    Though Mother’s Day follows Earth Day, for me, they have always been related. My mom has been “green” since she became concerned about the environment. Part of this habit was born of thrift (节俭). Like her mother and her grandmother before her, Mom saves glass jars, empty cheese containers and re-uses her plastic bags.

    Mom creates a kind of give-and-take relationship with wildlife in her yard. She knows to pick the apples on her trees a little early to fend off the bears and that if she leaves the bird feeders out at night, it’s likely they’ll be knocked down by a family of raccoons (浣熊). Spiders that make their way into the house are captured (捕获) in a juice glass and set loose in the garden.

    I try to teach my children that looking out for the environment starts with being aware of the environment. On busy streets, we look for spent (开败的) dandelions (蒲公英) to parachute; we say hello to neighborhood cats and pick up plastic cups and paper bags. This teaching comes easily, I realize, because I was taught so well by example. Mom didn’t need to lecture; she didn’t need to beat a drum to change the world. She simply slowed down enough to enjoy living in it and with that joy came compassion and an instinct (本能) for preservation.

    I am slowing down and it isn’t because of the weight of my nearly forty years on the planet, it is out of my concern for the planet itself. I’ve begun to save glass jars and re-use packing envelopes. I pause in my daily tasks to watch the squirrels race each other through the palm (棕榈树) leaves above my porch (门廊).

    Last summer, in the company of my son and daughter, I planted tomatoes in my yard. With the heat of August around me, I ate the first while sitting on my low wall with dirt on my hands. Warm from the sun, it burst on my tongue with a sweetness I immediately wanted to share with my mom.

Why does the author say Earth Day is connected with Mother’s Day?

A. Because Mother’s Day falls shortly after Earth Day.

B. To stress that all the older women in her family are environmentalists.

C. To stress how much her mother cares about the environment.

D. Because on Mother’s Day her mother shows her how to be friend to nature.

According to the fourth paragraph, which of the following is the author’s mother NOT likely to do?

A. When she came across a lost dog, she helped it to find its shelter.

B. In spring, she spent some time watching the plants growing in the garden.

    C. She joined in the campaign to encourage the public to contribute actively towards a better environment.

    D. She walked to a nearby shop which was within ten minutes’ walk rather than drove there.

What can we conclude from the article?

A. The author’s mother is very patient with her children.

B. The author’s mother knows how to live in harmony with nature.

C. The author’s mother always took care of the wildlife that came into her yard.

D. The author’s mother used to remind her to slow down to protect the environment.

We can infer from the article that ______.

A. the author thinks that too many people now label themselves environmentalists   

B. the author’s mother knows how to get rid of the wildlife in her yard   

C. the author believes that only by learning to slow down, can we enjoy life

D. the author realizes that she should teach her children by example as well

What is the main idea of the last three paragraphs?

A. How the author taught her children to protect the environment.

B. How the author’s mother influenced the author.

C. What inspired the author to slow down and enjoy life.

D. How the author spent her time with her children.

On Saturday, millions of people around the world will celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, which honors Patron Saint (or main religious figure) of Ireland. Communities across the United States will host parades, parties, and other festivities to mark the occasion.

This year, cities like Boston, New York, and Chicago have organized massive events celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. In New York City, hundreds of thousands of people will gather to watch the Saint Patrick’s Day parade—the nation’s largest. It is one of the most watched parades in the world. Last year, almost 2 million spectators and more than 150,000 participants filled the streets. The parade, first held in 1776, is also one of the oldest.

Chicago also throws a big celebration. Every year, the Chicago River, which crosses the city, glows green as event organizers dump about 40 pounds of fluorescence, a powerful dye, into the water.

Boston keeps its parade rolling for three hours or more. It is the nation’s second-largest parade. The city will also salute one of its most famous former residents, President John F. Kennedy, by opening the exhibit "A Journey Home: John F. Kennedy and Ireland," at his official library.

Patron Saint lived in Britain in the early fifth century, when it was still part of the Roman Empire. He was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland when he was only 16．He eventually escaped slavery and turned to a life of religious devotion. He trained to become a minister and set out to spread Christianity throughout Ireland. After 30 years as a religious leader, Patrick died on March 17, 1461．Saint Patrick’s Day is always celebrated on March 17．In Ireland, it is an official holiday.

What’s the best title of the passage?

        A．History of Saint Patrick’s Day   B．An Official Holiday in US

        C．The Largest Parade in the World  D．Celebrations across the Country

What do you think is the official color of St. Patrick’s Day?

        A．Green.      B．Red.   C．Black.        D．Yellow.

The last paragraph is mainly about _____.

        A．the cruel slave trade.      B．Saint Patrick’s contribution.

        C．activities during Saint Patrick’s Day  D．Ireland’s Patron Saint

On the 36th day after they had voted, Americans finally learned Wednesday who would be their next president: Governor George W. Bush of Texas.

Vice President Al Gore, his last realistic avenue for legal challenge closed by a U. S. Supreme Court decision late Tuesday, planned to end the contest formally in a televised evening speech of perhaps 10 minutes, advisers said.

They said that Senator Joseph Lieberman, his vice presidential running mate, would first make brief comments. The men would speak from a ceremonial chamber of the Old Executive office Building, to the west of the White House.

The dozens of political workers and lawyers who had helped lead Mr. Gore’s unprecedented fight to claw a come-from-behind electoral victory in the pivotal state of Florida were thanked Wednesday and asked to stand down.

“The vice president has directed the recount committee to suspend activities,” William Daley, the Gore campaign chairman, said in a written statement.

Mr. Gore authorized that statement after meeting with his wife, Tipper, and with top advisers including Mr. Daley.

He was expected to telephone Mr. Bush during the day. The Bush campaign kept a low profile and moved gingerly, as if to leave space for Mr. Gore to contemplate his next steps.

Yet, at the end of a trying and tumultuous process that had focused world attention on sleepless vote counters across Florida, and on courtrooms form Miami to Tallahassee to Atlanta to Washington the Texas governor was set to become the 43d U. S. president.

The news of Mr. Gore’s plans followed the longest and most rancorous dispute over a U. S. presidential election in more than a century, one certain to leave scars in a badly divided country.

It was a bitter ending for Mr. Gore, who had outpolled Mr. Bush nationwide by some 300000 votes, but, without Florida, fell short in the Electoral College by 271votes to 267—the narrowest Electoral College victory since the turbulent election of 1876.

Mr. Gore was said to be distressed by what he and many Democratic activists felt was a partisan decision from the nation’s highest court.

The 5-to –4 decision of the Supreme Court held, in essence, that while a vote recount in Florida could be conducted in legal and constitutional fashion, as Mr. Gore had sought, this could not be done by the Dec. 12 deadline for states to select their presidential electors.

James Baker 3rd, the former secretary of state who represented Mr. Bush in the Florida dispute, issued a short statement after the U. S. high court ruling, saying that the governor was “very pleased and gratified.”

Mr. Bush was planning a nationwide speech aimed at trying to begin to heal the country’s deep, aching and varied divisions. He then was expected to meet with congressional leaders, including Democrats. Dick Cheney, Mr. Bush’s ruing mate, was meeting with congressmen Wednesday in Washington.

When Mr. Bush, who is 54, is sworn into office on Jan.20, he will be only the second son of  a president to follow his father to the White House, after John Adams and John Quincy Adams in the early 19th century.

Mr. Gore, in his speech, was expected to thank his supporters, defend his hive-week battle as an effort to ensure, as a matter of principle, that every vote be counted, and call for the nation to join behind the new president. He was described by an aide as “resolved and resigned.”

While some constitutional experts had said they believed states could present electors as late as Dec. 18, the U. S. high court made clear that it saw no such leeway.

The U.S. high court sent back “for revision” to the Florida court its order allowing recounts but made clear that for all practical purposes the election was over.

In its unsigned main opinion, the court declared, “The recount process, in its features here described, is inconsistent with the minimum procedures necessary to protect the fundamental right of each voter.”

That decision, by a court fractured along philosophical lines, left one liberal justice charging that the high court’s proceedings bore a political taint.

Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in an angry dissent:” Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year’s presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation’s confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the law.”

But at the end of five seemingly endless weeks, during which the physical, legal and constitutional machines of the U. S. election were pressed and sorely tested in ways unseen in more than a century, the system finally produced a result, and one most Americans appeared to be willing at lease provisionally to support.

The Bush team welcomed the news with an outward show of restraint and aplomb. The governor’s hopes had risen and fallen so many times since Election night, and the legal warriors of each side suffered through so many dramatic reversals, that there was little energy left for celebration.

The main idea of this passage is

[A]. Bush’s victory in presidential election bore a political taint.

[B]. The process of the American presidential election.

[C]. The Supreme Court plays a very important part in the presidential election.

[D]. Gore is distressed.

     What does the sentence “as if to leave space for Mr. Gore to contemplate his next step” mean

[A]. Bush hopes Gore to join his administration.

[B]. Bush hopes Gore to concede defeat and to support him.

[C]. Bush hopes Gore to congraduate him.

[D]. Bush hopes Gore go on fighting with him.

     Why couldn’t Mr. Gore win the presidential election after he outpolled Mr. Bush in the popular vote? Because

[A]. the American president is decided by the supreme court’s decision.

[B]. people can’t directly elect their president.

[C]. the American president is elected by a slate of presidential electors.

[D]. the people of each state support Mr. Bush.

     What was the result of the 5—4 decision of the supreme court?

[A]. It was in fact for the vote recount.

[B]. It had nothing to do with the presidential election.

[C]. It decided the fate of the winner.

[D]. It was in essence against the vote recount.

     What did the “turbulent election of 1876” imply?

[A]. The process of presidential election of 2000 was the same as that.

[B]. There were great similarities between the two presidential elections (2000 and 1876).

[C]. It was compared to presidential election of 2000.

[D]. It was given an example.

A man worked in a post office. His job was to handle all  36  that had unclear addresses. One day he came across a letter which was  37  to God. He opened it and it  38  , "Dear God, I am an 83-year-old woman and I live on a very small pension (养老金). Yesterday someone stole my  39  . There was a hundred dollars in it, which was all the money I had  40  until my next pension comes. Next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, and I have invited my last two friends for  41 . Without that money, I have  42  to buy food with. I have no family to  43  , and you are my only  44  . Can you please help me?" The man was  45  , and went around showing the letter to all the other workers. Each of them  46 their wallets and donated a few dollars. By the time he  47  his showing, he had collected 96 dollars.  48  then he sent it to the old woman. Thanksgiving Day came and went. The workers 49  forgot about it. Then one day, there came another letter from the old lady to God. All the 50  gathered around when the letter was  51 . It read, "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your kindness, I was able to  52  a lovely dinner for my friends. We had a very  53  day, and I told my friends about your  54 gift. Thank you very much!" Seeing this, all the workers felt 55  with the nice thing they had done. They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled.
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