Rising above the names

　　 I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.

　 “Mom，come here！There's this lady here my size！”

　　 The mother rushed to her son；then she turned to me to apologize.

　　 I smiled and told her，“It's okay.”Then I talked to the boy，“Hi，I'm Darryl Kramer.How are you？”

　　 He studied me from head to toe，and asked，“Are you a little mommy？”

　 “Yes，I have a son，”I answered.

　 “Why are you so little？”he asked.

　 “It's the way I was born，”I said.“Some people are little.Some are tall.I'm just not going to grow any bigger.”After I answered his other questions，I shook the boy's hand and left.

　　 My life as a little person is filled with stories like that.I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.

　　 It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness.I stand three feet nine inches tall.I was born an achondroplasia dwarf(侏儒)．Despite this，I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.

　　 I didn't realize how short I was until I started school.Some kids picked on me，calling me names.Then I knew.I began to hate the first day of school each year.New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.

　　 But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life.I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage.What I lacked in height，I made up for in personality.

　　 I'm 47 now，and the stares have not diminished as I've grown older.People are amazed when they see me driving.I try to keep a good attitude.When people are rude，I remind myself，“Look what else I have－a great family，nice friends.”

　　 It's the children's questions that make my life special.I enjoy answering their questions.My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers(a person of the same age，class，position，etc.)，whatever size and shape they come in，and treat them with respect.

1．Why did the mother apologize to the author?

A．Because the boy ran into the author.

B．Because the boy laughed at the author.

C．Because the boy said the author was fatter than him.

D．Because the mother thought the boy's words had hurt the author.

2．When did the author realize that she was too short?

A．When she grew up.

B．When she was 47 years old.

C．When she began to go to school.

D．When she met the boy in the supermarket.

3．Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word“diminished”？

A．Dismissed. 　　　　 B．Increased.

C．Decreased. 　　　　 D．Discriminated.

4．How does the author feel about people's stares?

A．Angry. 　　　　　　 B．Calm.

C．Painful. 　　　　　 D．Discouraged.

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41─60各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Nowadays 41  children go to school  42 few of them have ever asked themselves  43  they go there. Some children think that they go to school just to learn their mother tongue, English and other foreign languages, history, science,   44 and a few other  45 . But why do they learn these things? Are these the only things they should learn at school?
Actually children go to school to  46  themselves for the time when they will be grown up and will have to  47  themselves. They learn their own language   48 they will be able to  49 with people in foreign countries, make friends with them and learn  50  about their culture and history. They learn mathematics in order to be able to measure the things around them and calculate sums.  51 helps them understand something about the world around them and history teaches them about the past and people. Nearly everything they study at school has some use  52  in their  53 , but there is one more  54 reason why children go to school.
It is more important to receive education than just learning  55 .We go to school  56 to learn how to learn. Learning is not just for school but for life. So even after we have left school, we have to continue to learn. A man who  57 knows how to learn will always be  58 because whenever he is faced with a completely new task or problem, he will teach himself how to deal with it in the best way.  59 , children do not go to school just to learn languages, mathematics, geography, etc. They go to school to  60 how to learn.

阅读理解

　　The people below are now traveling in the U．S．，and now looking for a park to visit． After the description of these people，there is information about six American parks AF．Decide which park would be most suitable for the person mentioned in questions 610．There is one extra paragraph about one park which you don't need to use．

　　________1．Lisa is a naturalist．She loves the outdoors and is fascinated with adventure and all types of wildlife．Along with enjoying wildlife she also has a passion for backpacking and hiking．Lisa is also interested in photography and will climb as high as needed to get that great shot．

　　________2．Martin，who is specialized in geography，would like to see a d which is filled with exciting discoveries of facts about the earth movements．He also hopes to observe the changer in rocks due to time and erosion．

　　________3．Kelly，just graduated from university．Her major is archeology．She is interested in ancient finds such as ：fossils of animals and plant life，old pottery and especially things dating back to the prehistoric age．Kelly hopes to unearth something significant so that she can develop her career．

　　________4．Simon is one excitement．He enjoys all out-door sports especially white water rafting．He has been searching for a park that can fulfill his taste for adventure．And at the same time he can appreciate the beautiful sceneries along the way．

　　________5．Chris is looking for something famous perhaps a“superstar”of parks．He is interested in everything from wildlife to earth activities．He hopes he can find a park which can offer the most to him．

　　A．This park is a vast natural museum，and it is recognized as the lowest point in the U．S．All the great divisions of geological（地质的）time，the eras and most of their subdivisions，are represented（描写）in the rocks of the mountains bordering the great valley．These rocks and the land forms tell a story of endless changes in the earth's crust（地壳）-vast depositions，contortions，tilting，alternate rising and lowering，faulting and intense heats and pressures that changed the very nature of some rocks．

　　B．This park protects a large deposit（存放）of fossil（化石）dinosaur bones-remains of the so-called“terrible lizards” that lived millions of years ago．The dinosaurs weren't really lizards，and most of them weren't even terrible．But some of the first dinosaur fossils ever found were huge bones and teeth，very lizard-like except for their size，and so the idea of monstrous lizards was born．Today，many ideas about dinosaurs are changing，and the fossils at this park continue to help us learn more about these fascinating animals．

　　C．With elevations ranging from 8，000 feet in the wet，grassy valleys to 14，259 feet at the weather-ravaged top of Long's Peak，a visitor to the park has opportunities for countless breathtaking experiences and adventures．A large variety of animals will delight wildlife-watchers of all ages．Wildflower-lovers are never disappointed in June and July when the meadows and hillsides are splashed with botanical color．359 miles of trail offer endless opportunities to hikers，backpackers and horseback riders．So far to find 60 peaks rising above 12，000 feet challenge intrepid hikers and climbers．

　　D．The world's largest concentration of natural stone arches is found in this park．Over 1500 of these“miracles of nature”grace the 73，000-acre area．And it is famous for the red arches of Entrada sandstone that occur there in great profusion．A 41-mile round-trip paved road in the park leads to the major sights， including Balanced Rock，Skyline Arch，and the Fiery Furnace．But there are also many other striking rock formations scattered over the park's 73，000 scenic acres．

　　E．Yellowstone is the oldest park in the U．S．park system and is its flagship．Visitors come to experience the park's restless geology；to see grizzlies，gray wolves，and herds of buffalo．Its turbulent（狂暴的）landscape-which remains among the most geologically active lands on the planet，with steam-spewing geysers（间歇温泉），gurgling fumaroles，and frequent earthquakes-was protected as the world's first national park in 1872．Yellowstone and the huge tracts of national-forest land that ring it comprise one of the world's last intact temperate ecosystems-all its major species of plants and animals are still present．

　　F．This park has a canyon 200 miles long and about a mile deep．Along the ride you follow the Colorado River which carved this massive canyon．At times the canyon is from 5 to 15 miles across．The Colorado River continues to shape and gouge its way through the canyon where about 90 species of mammals（哺乳动物）and some 290 species of birds live．River rafting along the Colorado River has different options for people．You can go on long trips with organizations or even take a smooth ride down the river with a picnic style lunch．

第二部分：阅读理解（第一节20小题，第二节5小题；每小题2分，满分50分）

第一节：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。

I'm from the South Bronx. At 7, my neighborhood was the beginning and end of my universe. It was a small town to me. Everyone knew each other, so if you got into trouble in school, chances are your mom knew about it before you got home. I felt watched over and safe.

But just before I turned 8, things began to change. I watched two buildings on my block burn down. I remember seeing my neighbor Pito go up and down the fire escape to get people out. Where were the firemen? Where was the truck? Somebody must have called them.

That same summer, after serving two tours in Vietnam, my brother was killed in the South Bronx. He was shot above the left eye and died instantly.

People who could moved out of the neighborhood, and all I wanted to do was get out, too. I used education to get away from there and got good at avoiding the topic of where I was from. To be from the South Bronx meant that you were not a good person. It felt like a stain.

After college, I didn't want to come back to the South Bronx, but in order to afford graduate school, I had to. I was almost 30 and could only afford to live at my parents' home. It felt like a defeat, and I hated it.

At the same time, the city was planning a huge waste facility here, and no one seemed to care — including many of us who lived here. They were like, "Well, it's a poor community; what's the difference?"

I was very angry. It drove me to act. It moved my spirit in a way that I didn't know was possible. And it changed my beliefs — it changed the way I felt about myself and my community. I worked hard with others who felt the same way, and together, we defeated the plan.

After that, I realized it's just as important to fight for something as it is to fight against something. So we dreamed up a new park on the site of an illegal waste dump — and after many community clean-ups, along with $3 million from the city, we have one. And it's a glory. It was the seed from which many new plans for our community have grown.

Today, the South Bronx is no longer a stain; it's a badge(象征) of honor for me. I believe that where I'm from helps me to really see the world. Today, when I say I'm from the South Bronx, I stand up straight. This is home, and it always will be.

1Paragraphs 2 and 3 make the readers believe ____________.

2.The author went back to the South Bronx after college because ____________.

3.The underlined sentences(Paragraph 2) imply that ____________.

4.What does the author want to convey in the passage?