After too long on the Net，even a phone call can be a shock. My boyfriend‘s Liverpudlian accent suddenly becomes too difficult to understand after his clear words on screen; a secretary‘s tone seems more rejecting than I’d imagined it would be. Time itself becomes fluid- hours becomes minutes， and alternately seconds stretch into days. Weekends， once a highlight of my week，are now just two ordinary days.

For the last three years，since I stopped working as a producer for Charlie Rose，I have done much of my work as a telecommuter. I submit (提交) articles and edit them by E-mail and communicate with colleagues on Internet mailing lists. My boyfriend lives in England, so much of our relationship is computer-mediated.

If I desired，I could stay inside for weeks without wanting anything. I can order food，and manage my money，love and work. In fact，at times I have spent as long as three weeks alone at home，going out only to get mail and buy newspapers and groceries.  I watched most of the blizzard of 96 on TV.

 But after a while，life itself begins to feel unreal. I start to feel as though I’ve merged (融合) with my machines，taking data in spitting them back out， just another node （波节）on the Net. Others on line report the same symptoms. We start to strongly dislike the outside forms of socializing. It’s like attending an A. A. meeting in a bar with everyone holding a half-sipped drink. We have become the Net opponents’ worst nightmare.

What first seemed like a luxury，crawling from bed to computer，not worrying about hair，and clothes and face，has become an avoidance，a lack of discipline. And once you start replacing real human contact with cyber-interaction，coming back out of the cave can be quite difficult.

At times, I turn on the television and just leave it to chatter in the background, something that I'd never done previously. The voices of the programs soothe (安慰) me, but then I'm jarred (使感不快) by the commercials. I find myself sucked in by soap operas, or compulsively (强制性能地) needing to keep up with the latest news and the weather. "Dateline," "Frontline," "Nightline," CNN, every possible angle of every story over and over and over, even when they are of no possible use to me. Work moves from foreground to background.

1．Compared to the clear words of her boyfriend on screen, his accent becomes____

    A．unreal       B．unbearable       C．misleading       D．not understandable

2．What does the last paragraph mean

    A．Having worked on the computer for too long, she became a bit strange.

B．She is so interested in TV programs that she often forgets her work

    C．She watches TV a lot in order to keep up with the latest news and the weather.

    D．She turns on TV now and then in order to get some comfort from TV program.

3．What is the author’s attitude to the computer?

    A．She has become bored with it.

    B．She dislikes it because TV is more attractive.

    C．She dislikes it because it cuts off her relation with the outside world.

    D．She likes it because it is very convenient.

4．The underlined phrase “coming back out of the cave ”probably means_______.         

A．going back to the dreaming world         B．coming back home from the outside world

C．restoring direct human contact            D．getting away from living a strange life

 

I fell in love with music from a young age and often sat down making a few songs of my own．What would life be like, I wondered, without a beautiful song? In 1992, I made two love songs to my darling wife and watched tears run down her face as I sang．"Sam," she said earnestly, "Your songs should be heard by more people."
She got my ballads and started bothering various media people about me, her singing barber husband．Two radio stations took an interest and played the songs．After the programme was aired, I became known in our community as the Singing Barber．
The biggest surprise, however, was still to come．I received a call from a music promoter who offered me a long-term recording contract．He explained that he would be investing a lot of money to market my songs．I needed to be wholly focused on selling my records all over Australia．
But I hesitated．
My friends all told me to go for it．And Mary also thought I should do．"Go, Sam．I'll manage with the family．．．it'll be OK．"
I watched my daughter and son playing in the backyard．Soon they would both be in high school．．．and where would I be? I was so used to my family turning to me for love and support．If I were to start a singing career, I would not only miss them terribly, I'd also certainly miss out on watching them grow up．Signing this contract would put a huge gap between my family and me．．．and I couldn't bear it．My family was my life．So I refused the music promoter's offer．I'm still making music, I'm rich in love and I have no regrets．
【小题1】When the author was offered the contract, most of his friends _____．

A．envied him

B．laughed at him

C．encouraged him

D．didn't believe him

【小题2】Why did the author give up the contract?

A．Because his wife was strongly against it．

B．Because the pay was not attractive enough．

C．Because he wanted to care about his two kids．

D．Because he didn't want his family life damaged．

【小题3】According to the passage, we can infer the author _____．

A．used to be a country singer

B．preferred his present life

C．went on the road to fame

D．regretted giving up his contract

【小题4】What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．One should know himself．

B．Interest is the best teacher．

C．Family should come first．

D．Every dog has its day．

The cars were honking （鸣叫） on the road one morning as I was walking to the park．I walked on and soon found the cause — a little taxi that had got stuck in the middle of the road．There was sweat on the driver's face as he tried to start the engine again and again — nothing happened．"No petrol,"

       I said to myself and then found myself getting angry．"Why doesn't the fool move his taxi to the side?" I thought, so did all the others who honked and shouted．

       He got up tiredly, and the passenger in the taxi got out．He was a young man in a white shirt, who watched the driver try to push it to the side．"Stupid guy!" I said．"Can't he lend a helping hand? "

       I watched as the poor driver pushed it to the side．Cars, buses and trucks went past cursing （咒骂 ） the poor man．The young man took another taxi and went off．

      The taxi driver began mending his taxi．"Stupid passenger!" I said to him．"He didn't help you!" The taxi driver slowly got up．"Sir!" he asked, "Did you?" I looked at him guiltily, then looked away, and walked away fast, asking myself, "Did I help the poor man push his taxi?"

       What had I been doing as the traffic jam took place? How had I helped deal with the problem? Did I help the poor man push his taxi? I’d done my bit, with my mouth．But never had I moved to solve the problem．I was shocked with guilt as I heard him asking, "Sir! Did you?"

Why did a traffic jam happen on the road when the author was walking to the park?

       A．There was too much traffic in the street．

       B．Truck drivers attempted to go ahead of others．

       C．A taxi driver couldn't start his engine．

       D．A young man wasn't good at driving．

The author's attitude toward the passenger is that of __________．

       A．anger       B．respect              C．sympathy  D．guilt

Why did the author feel guilty?

       A．Because he blamed the driver wrongly．

       B．Because he didn't help the driver, either．

       C．Because he tried to help but failed in the end．

       D．Because he didn't persuade the passenger to help．

From the incident, the author learnt a lesson that we should     _________．

       A．criticize those who don't help

       B．hurt the self-respect of others no more

       C．think more of those who are in need

       D．stop talking and start to help

 

第二部分       阅读理解(共两节，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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)

Mickey’s Goal

Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old son’s soccer team. It was the final quarter. The score was two to one, my son’s team in the lead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering encouragement.

       With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball suddenly rolled in front of my son’s teammate, Mickey O’ Donnel. With shouts of “Kick it!” echoing（回响）across the playground, Mickey

turned around and gave it everything he had. All around me the crowd erupted （沸腾）. O’ Donnel

had scored!m

       Then there was silence. Mickey had scored all right, but in the wrong goal, ending the game in a tie. For a moment there was a total hush. You see, Mickey has Down syndrome（综合症）and for him there is no such thing as a wrong goal. All goals were celebrated by a joyous hug from Mickey. He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored.

       The silence was finally broken when Mickey, his face filled with joy, hugged my son tightly and shouted, “I scored! I scored. Everybody won! Everybody won!” For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would react. I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, as my son threw up his hand in the classic high-five salute and started chanting, “Way to go Mickey! Way to go Mickey!” Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joining in the chant and congratulating him on his goal

       Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied, “It was a tie. Everybody won.

 1．What was the score of the soccer matchm

       A．Two to two, equal to both the teams.        

B．Three to one in Mickey’s team’s favor.

       C．Two to one in the opposite team’s favor. 

D．Everybody won because of Mickey’s goal.

2．What did the author worry about when Mickey scored and hugged his son?

       A．The result of the match would fail his son. 

B．His son would shout at Mickey for his goal.

       C．Mickey would again hug the opposing players.

       D．His son would understand Mickey’s wrong goal.

3．It can be inferred from the passage that________.

       A．both teams liked and respected Mickey. 

B．both teams were thankful to Mickey for his goal.

       C．Mickey didn’t mind though his goal was wrong

       D．Mickey was a kind-hearted boy and hoped everybody won.

4．The purpose of the author in writing the passage is _______.

       A．to tell a joke to make readers laugh.  

B．to suggest we should not mind losing .

       C．to show enjoying a game is more than winning a game

       D．to present his son’s fine qualities of understanding others

 

The day I became a mom was not the day my daughter was born, but seven years later. Up until that day, I had been too busy trying to survive my abusive(辱骂的) marriage. I had spent all my energy trying to run a "perfect" home that would pass inspection each evening, and I didn't see that my baby girl had become a toddler. I'd tried endlessly to please someone who could never be pleased and suddenly realized that the years had slipped by and could never return. 

Oh, I had done the normal "motherly" things, like making sure my daughter got to ballet and gym lessons. I went to all of her recitals and school concerts, parent-teacher conferences and open houses alone. We suffered from my husband's rages(暴怒) when something was spilled(溢出) at the dinner table, telling her, "It will be okay, Honey. Daddy's not really mad at you." I did all I could to protect her from hearing the awful shouting and complaints after he returned from a night of drinking. Finally I did the best thing I could do for my daughter and myself: I removed us from the home that wasn't really a home at all. 

That day I became a mom was the day when my daughter and I were sitting in our new home having a calm, quiet dinner just as I had always wanted for her. We were talking about what she had done in school and suddenly her little hand knocked over the full glass of chocolate milk by her plate. As I watched the white tablecloth and freshly painted white wall become dark brown, I looked at her small face. It was filled with fear, knowing what the consequence of the event would have meant only a week before in her father's presence. When I saw that look on her face and looked at the chocolate milk running down the wall, I simply started laughing. I am sure she thought I was crazy, but then she must have realized that I was thinking, "It's a good thing your father isn't here!" She started laughing with me, and we laughed until we cried. They were tears of joy and peace and were the first of many tears that we cried together. That was the day we knew that we were going to be okay. 

Whenever either of us spills something, even now, seventeen years later, she says, "Remember the day I spilled the chocolate milk? I knew you had done the right thing for us." That was the day I really became a mom. I discovered that being a mom isn't only going to ballet or gym, recitals, and attending every school concert and open house. It isn't keeping a tidy house and preparing perfect meals. It certainly isn't pretending things are normal when they are not. For me, being a mom started when I could laugh over spilled milk. 

                                       ---- By Linda Jones from “Chicken Soup for Soul”

1.What does the underlined part "the right thing" refer to?

A．Becoming a single mother.

B．Divorcing with her abusive husband.

C．Doing all the motherly things well and running the family.

D．Not blaming on her daughter’s spilling the chocolate milk.

2.Which statement is NOT true?．

A．The author had suffered from an unfortunate marriage for a long time.

B．All the things the author did were to protect her daughter

C．The author hadn’t been a mother until she removed from her marriage.

D．Both the author and her daughter were frightened at the husband and father.

3.Why did the author and her daughter laugh and then cry?

A．Because it was a thorough relief after they had suffered too much.

B．Because they were actually crazy.

C．Because they wouldn’t see the abusive man any more.

D．Because spilling the chocolate milk on the wall was really funny.

4.What is the best title for this article?

A．How To Be a Better Mon?               B．The Day I Became a Mom

C．A Thing Happened 17 Years Ago          D．Survive an Abusive Marriage