LONDON—Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent(永久的) fast-forward.

Their full school day and her job as a lawyer's assistant are busy enough. But Hagner also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club.

Often, the exhausted family doesn't get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today's world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line.

Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child.

"Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress," says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota.

Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It's a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four.

"There is a new parenting trend under way which says that you have to tap all your child's potential at a young age; otherwise you will let him down,” says Terry Alter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist （青少年精神病专家）

"It isn't entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted."

1.From the second paragraph of this passage we can find that ______.

A．Hagner wastes much time helping her children's lessons

B．Hagner doesn't spend much time on her full-time job

C．Hagner is interested in spots and music

D．Hagner busies herself by following a trend

2.British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _____.

A．treat their children as spots players

B．pay no attention to their children's lessons

C．bring up their children in a simple way

D．give their children little time to develop freely

3.The writer's opinion about after-school clubs is that ______.

A．activities in the country are too competitive

B．children should attend four clubs at a time

C．some clubs result in competitive pressures

D．clubs should have more subjects for school children

4.The last paragraph tells us that in Britain ______.

A．parents used to take their children to every club

B．parents used to be wise on how to raise children

C．parents have all benefited from children's clubs

D．parents have come to know the standard of education

 

完形填空 (共20小题；每小题1分, 满分20分)

请认真阅读下面短文, 从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

My first full time job after high school was selling vacation packages via telephone for a well-known company.  One day, the dialer ____36____ me to a man who answered the phone and ____37_____ a bit out of breath.  I started with my normal pitch（推销）, and _____38____ to hear the normal, "I don't want any," and be hung up on.  

Instead he spoke in a low, weak voice and told me how he wished he could take a ____39_____ like the one I was offering, but couldn't ____40_____ he was dying of emphysema (肺气肿).  He ____41_____ how he was on oxygen, and it took almost all his ____42_____ just to get to the phone to answer the call.  I ____43_____, and my heart fell into my stomach.  He asked me if I smoked, which I did, and then begged me to stop.  He told me smoking is ____44_____ was killing him, and how horrible it was.  He told me to ____45_____ every day with my loved ones, and tell them all the time how much I love them. At this ____46_____, I was in tears, and couldn't control myself, and he could tell. 

After a few moments, I decided to write down his name and ____47_____, and just send him a card telling him that I ____48_____ his advice and that I would pray for him and his family.  Shortly after, I received a nice letter back from Frank, along with a picture of him and his wife.  We continued to write back and forth over the next few months or so, and became very ____49_____ of each other.  He was old enough to be my grandfather, and in many ways, I felt ____50_____ he was. 

It was about a year later I received a letter from his wife, and when I started to read it, my eyes were filled with tears.  She told me how Frank's ____51_____ with the disease had finally come to an end, and he ____52_____ shortly before Christmas.  She wanted to thank me for the letters I had written to Frank, and then explained how Frank touched many lives over the years.  At his ____53_____, to show just that, they read the 1st letter I had written to Frank to show how he ____54_____ a 19 year old he had ____55_____ even met. 

I will never forget how much that meant to me.

36. A. took                 B. connected             C. accompanied                 D. led

37. A. felt                            B. looked                    C. sounded                          D. proved

38. A. expecting       B. wondering            C. considering                    D. worrying

39. A. break               B. rest                         C. change                                     D. vacation

40. A. because                   B. though                            C. while                                D. before

41. A. described       B. exposed                 C. explained                        D. expressed

42. A. power             B. energy                   C. strength                         D. force

43. A. apologized     B. excused                 C. pardoned                        D. forgave

44. A. that                 B. what                       C. which                               D. how

45. A. take                 B. cost                        C. pay                                   D. spend 

46. A. point                B. case                        C. way                                  D. situation

47. A. number           B. hobby                     C. address                           D. whish

48. A. agreed            B. appreciated                   C. followed                          D. approved

49. A. interested      B. content                  C. fond                                 D. curious

50. A. if only              B. even if                    C. only if                               D. as if

51. A. battle              B. strike                      C. defense                           D. working

52. A. gave away     B. turned away         C. took away                      D. passed away

53. A. birthday                   B. funeral                            C. ceremony                       D. performance

54. A. changed                   B. improved               C. affected                          D. promoted

55. A. always            B. seldom                   C. ever                                 D. never

 

I can think of many cases, ________students obviously knew a lot of English words and expressions but couldn’t write a good essay.  

A．which            B．as               C．what             D．where

 

Why don’t birds get lost on their long migratory (迁居的) flights? Scientists have puzzled over this question for many years. Now they’re beginning to fill in the blanks.

Not long ago, experiments showed that birds rely on the sun to guide them during daylight hours. But what about birds that fly mainly by night? Tests with artificial stars have proved conclusively that certain night-flying birds are able to follow the stars in their long-distance flights.

One such bird, a warbler(鸣禽) , had spent its lifetime in a cage and had never flown under a natural sky. Yet it showed an inborn ability to use the stars for guidance. The bird’s cage was placed under an artificial star-filled sky at migration time. The bird tried to fly in the same direction as that taken by his outdoor cousins. Any change in the direction of the make-be-live stars caused a change in the direction of his flight. Scientists think that warblers, when flying in daylight, use the sun for guidance. But the stars are apparently their main means of navigation (导航). What do they do when the stars are hidden by clouds? Apparently, they find their way by such landmarks as mountain ranges, coast lines, and river courses. But when it’s too dark to see these, the warblers circle helplessly, unable to get their direction.

1.The reasons why birds don’t get lost on migratory flights__________.

A．have been known to scientists for many years

B．are known by everyone

C．have only recently been discovered

D．will probably remain a mystery

2.Warblers migrate__________.

A．from North America to South America

B．using what is apparently an inborn navigational ability

C．only once during their lifetime

D．when they are freed from their cages

3.When the stars are hidden by clouds, warblers find their way by__________ .

A．an artificial star	B．some landmarks
C．their inborn ability	D．A and B

4.This article is a good example of the way scientists__________ .

A．discover workable answers to universal questions by studying particular cases(特别案例)

B．jump to conclusions

C．find a law and then investigate（调查）

D．are disappointed by the habits of animals

 

 

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）

I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. On arriving at the beach cottage, I kissed Evelyn meeting me at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, sh e said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I  started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.?

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “ I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”

It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

1.  From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.

A. with his family     B. with Evelyn    C. alone      D. with his children

2. During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ______.

A. he was determined to be a good husband

B. he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm

C. she looked lovely in  her new clothes

D. the doctor said his wife was seriously ill

3. The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What does “one thing” refer to?

A. He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.

B. She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.

C. He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.

D. He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.

4. By saying “I’m just starting to live,” Tom means that ______.

A. he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life

B. he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband

C. he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change

D. he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before