Barack Obama
In the past hundred years, the U.S. presidency has turned more and more to the left – not in policy, but in handedness. Barrack Obama is the latest to join a long list of left – handed presidents from the 20th century: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Henry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were all southpaws.
What makes lefties so electable? Some experts think left-handed people have a greater aptitude for language skills, which may help them craft the rhetoric necessary for political office. And as for the bout of recent left-handed presidents, some think it’s because teachers only recently stopped working to convert lefties to rightist at an early age.
Bill Gates
Claiming the nation’s richest man among their number is a source of considerable pride for America’s society of southpaws. In fact, the Microsoft titan and philanthropist(巨头兼慈善家) is one of a surprising number of U.S. business moguls to be left-handed, including Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and former IBM head Lou Gerstner. But the club seems to be a guys-only fraternity — research suggests that while left-handed men tend to earn more than their right-handed colleagues, there is no similar advantage for women. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research floated the idea that left-handed men favor "divergent" thinking, a form of creativity in which the brain moves "from conventional knowledge into unexplored association." Maybe that’s what it takes to develop a net worth estimated at $ 57 billion.
Oprah Winfrey
The talk-show queen doesn’t need much more to set her apart from the rest — what with her estimated $ 2.7 billion fortune and a magic ability to sell books just by glancing at them — but she also has the distinction of being a member of the left-handed club. Since men are more likely to be left-handed than women, that makes Oprah doubly impressive. She’s in good company: Other show-business ladies of the left – handed  persuasion include Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie
Marie Curie
Not only was atomic scientist Marie Curie left-handed, but she was the matriarch of a whole family of accomplished, southpaw scientists. Curie, who discovered the principles of radioactivity and won two Nobel Prizes, was married to fellow lefty Pierre Curie, who was instrumental in helping Marie’s atomic research and shared one of her Nobel awards. Historians believe their daughter, Irene, was also left-handed. Irene went on to win a Nobel Prize of her own with her husband — who, you guessed it, was also left-handed.
59．The underlined word “southpaws” in the last sentence of Paragraph 1 means_______.
A．people coming from the south B．powerful presidents
C．people who use their left hand D．forceful speakers
60．What makes it so easy for lefties to be elected as presidents according to the passage?
A．Their great gift for foreign language.
B．Their great language skills to make speeches.
C．The need of left – hinders in the political office.
D．Teachers stopping to force them to use their right hand.
61．It can be implied that Bill Gates, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and Lou Gerstne_______.
A．have creative thinking              B．have formed a special club.
C．earn more money than their wives   D．are wealthy philanthropists
62．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 “She is in good company” means “_______”.
A．she works in a very good company   B．she has many good friends
C．she has got on well with others        D．she is among many female lefties

Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

Big climate changes in the last million years might have come from something very small: dust from outer space.

   Earth changes between ice ages and warm periods in a(n) ____ that includes several cycles, including a ___ one that lasts 100,000 years. Scientists ____suggested this cycle might be due to changes in the inflow of cosmic(宇宙) dust.

   The idea is that Earth ___above and below the imaginary plane that runs through the sun and Jupiter(木星), completing a cycle every 100,000 years. So maybe it encounters ___varying amounts of dust during each cycle that produce the climate trend.

   Now there is some ____, from ancient cosmic dust recovered in ocean-floor drilling near the Azores islands west of Portugal. The large quantity of the dust rises and falls with a wonderful 100,000 year cycle during the period analyzed, 253,000 years to 458,000 years ago. Periods of more dust are related to____ climates.

   But that is a long way from showing that the dust ____ climate. Some scientists argue that it is not clear how cosmic dust would make the climate warmer while dust from volcanoes is known to make it cooler. They say the cosmic dust is so thin that it is hard to see how it could have any climate____.

   Nevertheless, the new study shows scientists have to take the cosmic dust idea seriously.

When the first spring flowers blossom, Easter comes. It is the oldest Christian feast, in memory of the resurrection (复活) of Jesus Christ.

Along with the traditional Easter walk or outing, the giving of Easter eggs and, more recently, of Easter presents is a main feature of the feast. Parents give their children “Easter eggs” – colored and boiled eggs, chocolate eggs, marzipan eggs – Easter bunnies, sweets, and other gifts. In some German regions, children virtually “collect” Easter eggs from their relatives, especially their godparents.

Usually, the Easter eggs are carefully hidden in the garden or in the house and the children must search for them on the morning of the Sunday. They are told that the Easter bunny has brought them. This anonymous(匿名的), mysterious bunny is like Santa Claus at Christmas. But it is less of an “educational” figure than Santa Claus is, since the eggs are not given to children as rewards for being good.

Some Easter egg games have been preserved at certain places in Germany or have even been newly developed. Children try to outdo others in rolling colored eggs down grassy slopes, for instance, or they knock the eggs’ pointed ends together and the child whose egg does not shatter（砸碎） gets the broken one, too. In some places, this custom was even used as the name of local festival.

1.What are the main features of Easter?

A.        Easter walk, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and sweets.

B.        Easter outing and the giving of Easter presents.

C.        Easter walk, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and Easter egg games.

D.        Easter outing, the collecting of Easter eggs, and Easter games

2.The underlined word “outdo” means ________.

A. do better than               B. do worse than               C. do slower than              D. do the same as

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

E.         Easter bunny will give gifts to children for better or worse.

F.         Easter bunny is very similar to Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to children.

G.        Easter always falls on a Sunday.

H.        Some of the local festivals are named by Easter egg games.

E
There is a debate going on in America public schools over the best way to teach English to foreign students. Many schools use bilingual education. This means that students study their core subjects such as science, mathematics and social studies in their native tongues. They also take a few h ours of English.
Recently, many educators have begun to criticize bilingual education. Opponents claim that bilingual education slows not only students’ development of language skills but also their adjustment to American life. They often remain separated from the mainstream student body.
These critics have proposed the immersion method (沉浸式语言教学法). This means that students take only English classes until they can function effectively in regular subject classes. Proponents of the immersion theory argue that in order to prepare these foreign students for college or the job market, they must be able to communicate in English.
Despite this disagreement, nearly all educators agree that English is a necessary tool for improving the quality of one’s life in America.
72. In bilingual education programs, students ______.
A. study in their native countries
B. study their core subjects in their native languages
C. study only English until they can function effectively in regular subject classes
D. mainly work on adjustment to American life
73. A proponent is someone who ______.
A. supports a certain idea or policy      B. is against a certain idea or policy
C. uses the immersion method of teaching English   D. is a school administer
74. According to the article, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Nearly all educators agree that English is important for foreign students.
B. Students in bilingual education programs are often separated from American students
C. Nearly all educators agree that bilingual education is best for teaching English to foreign students.
D. Students with good English language skills have better chances for college or the job market.
75. What is the author’s opinion about the bilingual education in America?
A. He is for it strongly             B. He is against it strongly
C. He doesn’t show his own opinion  D. He is against all the educators