A

On the first day of the 11th grade, our new math teacher Mr Washington asked me to go to the blackboard to do a math problem. I told him that I couldn’t do it. He asked, “Why not?” I paused, and then I said, “Because I’m educable mentally retarded (可教育智能迟滞).”

He came from behind his desk and looked at me. “Don’t ever say that again. Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality,” he said.

It was a very special moment for me. Doctors said that I was educable mentally retarded in the fifth grade, and I was put back into the fourth grade. When I was in the eighth grade, I failed again.

But Mr Washington changed my life. This person always gave students the feeling that he had high expectations of them, and then all of the students did their best to live up to what those expectations were. He often said, “You have greatness within you.”

One day, I caught up with him in the parking place and said, “Mr Washington, is there greatness within me, sir?”

He said, “Yes, Mr Brown.”

“But what about the fact that I failed English, math, and history? What about that, sir? I’m slower than most kids.”

“It doesn’t matter. It just means that you have to work harder. Your grades don’t determine who you are or what you can produce in your life.”

“I want to buy my mother a house.”

“It is possible, Mr Brown. You can do that.” And he turned to walk away.

“Mr Washington?”

“What do you want now?”

“Uh, I’m the one, sir. One day you’re going to hear my name. I’m the one, sir.”

School was a real struggle for me. Mr Washington put many demands on me. He made me believe that I could do it. At the end of that year, I was on the honor roll for the first time in my life.

Years later, I produced five programs on public television. When one of my programs was shown on the educational television channel, I had some friends call him. I was sitting by the phone waiting when he called me. He said, “May I speak to Mr Brown, please?”

“Oh, Mr Washington, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me. You were the one, weren’t you?”

“Yes, sir, I was.”

1.What does Mr Washington mean by saying “Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality”?

A．You needn’t have the same opinion as others.

B．You should believe what other people say.

C．What other people say about you may not be correct.

D．The doctor made a mistake.

2. What happened to the author at last?

A．He entered a good university.              B．He earned much honor.

C．He got a good job.                       D．He made television programs.

3. In the passage, the author implies that _________.

A．people shouldn’t believe what doctors say

B．no one can be successful with hard work and confidence

C．no one is really educable mentally retarded

D．a good teacher can change a student’s life

4.The best title for the passage would be “__________”.

A．Don’t believe others                   B．I am the one

C．My best teacher                        D．I succeeded at last

 

B

For a song to become popular, people need to bear it.  In order for people　to hear it, the program directors at radio stations have to play it on the air. A song’s popularity is directly related to how often it is played. That is a big responsibility for program directors. How do they decide what gets played and what doesn’t?

In the past, disc jockeys(音乐节目主持人) decided what music was played on the radio. These DJs had an ear for music and an understanding of what their audience wanted to hear. Today, that is all changing. Most major radio stations are owned by a few large national businesses. The decision of what gets played on the radio is made by executives(主管) who have little or no interest in music. They do, however, know how to run a business, and they know what sells. So, the music industry designs and creates pop entertainers, and executives in the radio industry make sure that their music is played on the radio. This explains why you do not often hear anything new and fresh on the radio. The executives do not want to give air time to music that has not been tested on the market. It is too risky. They prefer to go with music that they already know will sell. They know it will sell because it sold last week and last month and last year. They just have to change it a little.

One of the most criticized(批评) practices in the music industry is the practice of “payola”. This is when record companies pay radio stations to play the music of a given artist. This practice makes many people lose trust in the music industry and is therefore against the law. A radio station can accept money in exchange for air time of a song, but they have to make it clear that the song is being played because its air time was paid for. They cannot present the song as if it were part of the normal play schedule(时刻表).

Payola affects both artists and audiences. The artists who work with small record companies that cannot pay a lot of money to radio stations have a much harder time getting exposure. It creates an unfair playing field. Music lovers suffer because they are not able to hear all the music that is available.

60. According to the passage, most major radio stations belong to       .

A. national businesses                      B. program directors   

C. pop entertainers                         D. record companies

61. “Payola” is the practice of        .

A. artists paying radio stations to play their songs

B. record companies buying air time for certain music

C. radio station paying record company for new songs

D. program directors deciding what music gets played

62. Who can make the largest profits from payola?

A. Disc Jockeys.                               B. The given artists.

C.  Business executives.                        D. Program directors.

63. It can be concluded from the passage that the author        .

A. has a positive attitude towards the practice of “payola”

B. is dissatisfied with the present situation in music industry

C. is calling for a change in the normal play schedule

D. thinks that the radio stations are doing the right thing

 

B

For almost two months Dominic York, a 23-year-old hairdresser, wandered about hospitals all night, wearing a white coat and pretending he was a doctor. Yesterday he proudly claimed in court that despite his complete lack of medical experience or qualifications, he had saved several people’s lives. He had even been allowed to assist a surgeon during an emergency operation on a patient who was about to die on something she had swallowed.

“I watched one of those TV dramas about a hospital and suddenly I felt like playing one of the roles myself. So I put on a white jacket and a stethoscope(听诊器)and walked around one of the biggest hospital in London. At first I just watched. Once you learn how doctors talk to patients, nurses and others doctors, it’s easy to take people in,” he said.

One of the patients he treated was Laura Kennan. She had been knocked down by a car and fainted. When she came to in hospital, York was standing over her.

“He looked very professional. He told me his name was Doctor Simon. Then he gave me some sort of injection,” she said. And then he suddenly cleared off when a nurse asked who he was. She didn’t think there was anything wrong. “I would never have realized he was a fake if a policewoman hadn’t showed me his photograph a week later. When the policewoman told me who he really was, I could hardly believe my ears.”

Judge Raymond Adams told York that he was. “ shocked and horrified” that he got away with his deceiving for so long, and then sentenced him to eighteen months in a special prison for criminal with mental disorders.

“I can only hope that this will not lead to further problems. After all, you will have considerable opportunity to study the behaviour of the psychiatrists(精神科医生)who will look after you while you are there. If you try to persuade people that you yourself are a psychiatrist after you are set free, I shall make sure that you are given a much longer sentence.” Judge Adams warned York.

5. York was proud of the fact that ___________.

A. a surgeon let him watch an operation.

B. he could perform some duties of a doctor.

C. he had cheated doctors for so long

D. people thought he could become a real doctor

6. York learned how to behave like a doctor by __________.

A. watching other doctors work             B. talking to doctors and nurses

C. getting some training and experience         D. observing doctors while he was a patient

7. Why was Laura Kennan in hospital?

A. She had swallowed something and almost died.

B. She had to have and emergency operation.

C. She had been injured in a road accident.

D. She had lost consciousness while driving.

8. The judge’s remark implied that York would be more severely punished if he _________.

A. pretended to be a psychiatrist            B. tried to get away from prison

C. was proud of what he had done     D. studied the behaviour of the psychiatrist

 

C

At one time it was the dream of many little girls to become a nurse. Today, however, America is facing its worst nurse shortage since World War I. Recently about 2,000,000 nurses are needed and 60 percent of all hospitals in the US have shortages large enough to threaten(="say" that you will hurt somebody if they don’t do what you want) the quality of care provided. The demand for nurses spreads widely throughout the nursing field.

What has become of these women in white? The answer lies in not one but several causes. One possibility is the fact that women have greater career options(职业选择). In the past, women who chose to work outside the home had two basic choices: nursing or teaching. Today, more women than ever are in the work force, but their choices have greatly increased. There are women doctors, lawyers, firefighters and police officers. In fact, women today are found in nearly every field of work. Nursing has been left behind, as women move on to jobs with higher pay and greater status(地位). A woman or man in the nursing field is often looked down upon as “just a nurse”. Teachers may be also at fault. Many high school students are actually being steered(劝导) away from nursing, told by teachers that they are “too bright to be a nurse”.

Americans are living longer than ever and requiring more medical attention. In fact, the number of elderly patients has almost doubled in the past twenty years. Obviously a larger population requires more nurses. AIDS and other diseases have caused more and more people to need nursing care. Usually fatal diseases mean long hospital stay, that is to say, more nurses are needed to care for these patients. It is estimated that the demand for nurses will be doubled the supply in the coming ten years.

63. Why is America facing its worst nurse shortage?

A. Because American health conditions are becoming worse and worse.

B. Because more and more women prefer to be teachers and doctors.

C. Because women have been provided with many different jobs.

D. Because women no longer choose to be nurses.

64. The passage tells us that high school teachers are at fault for ___________.

A. not mentioning the worst nurse shortage in the US

B. introducing jobs with higher pay and greater status to their students

C. not asking the government to raise the nurses’ payment

D. persuading the students not to be nurses

65. The author wrote this passage in order to __________.

A. describe the unequal treatment of women in the US

B. warn people to pay more attention to the nursing problem

C. tell us women’s free choice of jobs today

D. call on women not to be nurses

66. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. High school students think themselves too bright to be nurses.

B. Women in the US have greater career choice than those in other countries.

C. Of all the hospitals in the world 60 percent more nurses are badly needed.

D. Nursing used to be a popular job among women.

 

B

For years I wanted a flower garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.

But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.”

Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.

I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no-frills budget.

Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on — and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: “IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin.”

Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis (棚架), a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.

That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.

I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes — every time.

I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

59．By saying “Do you see a money tree outside .….,” the mother actually means “      ”

       A．Observation is the best teacher.      B．Seeing is believing.

       C．The outsider sees the most of the game.       D．It is not easy to gain money

60．The best title for the passage would probably be         .

      A．My flower garden          B．Marvin helps to realize my dream

       C．Love in Michigan          D．Money grows on trees

61．The underlined word “no - frills” in the fifth paragraph is similar in meaning to        .

       A．wasteful   B．tight  C．absurd      D．helpful

62．From the last two paragraphs we can infer that the mother is         .

       A．divorced when she was young

B．not caring for her kids any longer

       C．alone but not at all lonely      

D．prouder with her garden than with her kids.