I am an elementary school teacher. I think homework should be done by the child and it should take only about a half an hour. Parents should write a note if they had to help a lot, this tells the teacher that the day’s lesson needs more review. Some things are more easily learned if they are practiced at home. Students should develop independence and organization. I send home fairly simple homework because I do not wish to see how creative mom, dad, the neighbors and grandma are with large projects... what is this teaching the child? Independence? Creativity?

　 Many readers are noticing the alarming trend to test, test, test. These new tests are not like the ones we remember. They are really difficult and abstract. Besides the usual math problems, third and fourth grade tests now ask about probability, tessellations and flips, slides, turns. Some teachers have had to increase the pace of their instruction to cover all the topics that will appear on the tests, thus, they send home homework that kids may not fully understand or send more homework home so they can, they hope, cover more content faster. It’s not a good idea, but the trend of testing has driven teachers to push, push, push. Parents should be concerned about the testing that is such an important issue. I would advice parents to talk to the teacher if they find the homework too hard. Is the child not getting work done at school, or is it simply too much? Some teachers will change the amount of work. And yes, I have been on the other side of the blackboard and had to make my son and daughter do their homework. I was a stickler for not doing it for them.

1. The passage might be an opinion posted on the internet under the title _________.

　 A. How Should Homework Done Independently by Students

　 B. Should Parents Contribute to Kids’ Homework

　 C. Should You Say No to Homework

　 D. How Should Test Papers Be Written

2. According to the writer, __________.

　 A. reasonable amount of easy homework is necessary

　 B. neighbors are not creative and independent enough

　 C. homework is good to children and teachers

　 D. parents are placed too much burden by teachers

3. The tests referred to by the author ________.

　 A. are questioned about the possibilities to solve the math problems

　 B. catch up with the increasing number of topics

　 C. are the result of teachers’ pushing

　 D. include much more demanding problems

4. Which of the following would the author most likely agree?

　 A. It is advisable for parents to pay enough attention to their kids’ lessons.

　 B. It is a good idea for teachers to send some difficult assignments home.

C. It is encouraging for parents to help with their children’s homework.

D. It’s practical for parents to leave their children’s homework with the teachers

 

Once upon a time a king, in the company of his ministers, went to the imperial garden for a walk. When he was walking around a pond, a strange idea 26 upon him and he asked, “How many buckets(桶) of water are there in the pond?” The ministers looked at each other,  27 to give an answer.

Rather 28 , the king ordered, “You have three days’ grace. Any one who offers an answer will be handsomely awarded. Those who fail will be 29 .”

The time limit was due in the twinkling（闪烁）of an eye, yet the ministers were still at their wit’s end. At this time a child appeared who declared that he knew the answer. The king told his 30 ministers to go with the child for the measurement. To their 31 , the child refused the suggestion with a smile, “It is very easy. No 32 to go to the pond.” This made the king laugh 33 ,  “Alright, let us know what it is.” The child winked (眨眼) and said, “That 34 on the size of the bucket. If it is as big as the pond, there is one bucket of water; if it is half as big, two buckets; if one third as big, three buckets; if...” “Stop! That’s it. You’ve got the 35 .” The king was satisfied and the child was duly rewarded.

Why did the ministers feel it so different to settle the problem? Because they fell in a pitfall (陷阱), following a wrong way of thinking. People’s thinking often goes a habitual way — the beaten track of straightforwardness. 36  is a static (静态的) way presupposing every object definite and certain, i.e. the size of the pond and the bucket should be clearly 37 . If one of them is unknown, it will be difficult to do the measurement, let alone 38 . Why not change your mode of thought — from static to dynamic（动态的）, from concrete to 39  ? If you adopt an indirect way and try to find out the proportional relation between the pond and the bucket, you’ll get an answer — flexible yet 40 to solve the problem.

Sometimes to get out of the difficulty one must change one’s way of thinking, or simply change one’s approach towards a problem.

1. A. fixed           B. focused           C. came            D. looked

2.A. struggling       B. thinking           C. falling          D. failing

3.A. disappointed     B. excited            C. pleased         D. contented

4.A. killed          B. punished           C. blamed         D. scolded

5.A. exciting        B. amazing            C. surprising       D. trembling

6.A. doubt          B. surprise            C. envy           D. delight

7.A. good           B. use              C. need             D. wonder

8.A. wonderfully     B. joyfully           C. cheerfully         D. doubtfully

9. A. decides         B. depends          C. calls              D. looks

10.A. award          B. reward            C. answer           D. number

11.A. This           B. That              C. It                D. Such

12.A. marked         B. measured          C. signed           D. known

13.A. another         B. other              C. one             D. both

14.A. detailed         B. easy              C. simple           D. abstract

15.A. acceptable      B. available           C. adequate         D. proper

 

二.完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从第36至第55小题所给的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。

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but    36   could he get what he wanted. There were enough princesses, but it was    37    to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it    38    be. So he came home again and was sad,  39   he would have liked very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm    40   ; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was    41    at the city gate, and the old king went to open it. It was a princess    42    out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what    43    the rain and the wind had    44    her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels.    45    she said that she was a real princess.

“Well, we'll soon find that out.”    46    the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and    47    a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses（床垫）and put    48   on the pea, and then twenty eiderdownbeds（鸭绒被）on top of the    49   .

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked    50   she had slept. Ks5u"Oh, very badly!" said she. "I have    51    closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard,    52    I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had     53   the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.

Nobody but a real princess could be as    54   as that.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess. And the pea was put in the museum,    55   it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.

36. A. nowhere      B. everywhere        C. anywhere          D. somewhere

37. A. easy            B. simple               C. abstract             D. difficult

38. A. could          B. should              C. would               D. might

39. A. which          B. when                C. for                    D. then

40. A. came on     B. came around    C. came across      D. came out

41. A. listened              B. heard                C. told                  D. seen

42. A. looking              B. sitting               C. standing            D. wandering

43. A. a scene        B. a girl                C. a princess          D. a sight

44. A. caused         B. led                    C. got                   D. made

45. A. And            B. So                  C. And yet             D. Not yet

46. A. said             B. thought             C. shouted             D. whispered

47. A. laid             B. lain                   C. lay                    D. lied

48. A. them           B. it                      C. her                   D. that

49. A. beds            B. bedstead            C. beddings           D. mattresses

50. A. if                B. whether             C. how                  D. when

51. A. nearly         B. scarcely             C. almost               D. merely

52. A. in order that B. in case                     C. only if                     D. so that

53. A. felt                 B. touched             C. smelt                D. tasted

54. A. careful        B. sensitive            C. active                D. thoughtful

55. A. which         B. though                     C. where               D. that