Three quarters of Britain’s parents are too busy to read bedtime stories to their children，according to a study. The study was carried out by CITV to start their new children’s show Bookaboo，which is designed to encourage anyone to pick up a book and read with their children at any time of the day.
Worryingly，the study showed that only three percent of fathers now find the time to read to the kids compared to 89 percent of mothers. Lucy Goodman，creator of Bookaboo，said，“It’s important for young boys to be able to share a book with dads，granddads or male carers and it can be fun and rewarding，too.” Of the dads who said they didn’t read to their kids,87 percent blamed work while more than a third said they were too tired. While 89 percent of mums said they did read to their children，more than half of them said cleaning distracted (使分心) them and 49 percent were distracted by other household things.
Researchers also found parents are now relying heavily on other people to lend a hand with reading to their children with grandparents doing the most，followed by sisters and brothers，aunts and uncles. While 95 percent of parents read to their children at some point，only five percent read to their children during the day. More than one in ten said they read every couple of weeks or less，and five percent could not remember the last time they shared a book.
The study found parents also seem content with allowing their children to immerse (使沉浸) themselves in TV programs or playing computer games rather than reading.
Ex­goalkeeper David Seaman，who is a dad of two，has been a guest in Bookaboo.He says，“I think it’s important that fathers do read to their children because it’s a special time. Sometimes my two children will come to listen to the same book—it’s a magical moment and I advise fathers just to try it.”
【小题1】We can know from the passage that Bookaboo________.

My friend got married. His mother carried two bags of cotton from the countryside by bus and train to his city. After arriving at the city, there was still a long way to his house without any bus passing by the house. His mother walked to his home breathlessly for 40 minutes without taking a taxi in order to save money.

My friend felt bitter as well as funny at his mother’s deeds. He pointed to the cashmere and silk quilts and said, “So long as you have money, you can buy anything in the supermarket. There is no need for you to carry so much cotton here in such a long way.”

But his mother insisted and said, “The cotton of this year is light and warmth-keeping. Have a try and you will know!”

Maybe every parent is the same, caring for their children with stubborn love without caring about whether they know or like it.

This early spring, I went to visit my grandmother. We had dry beans stew （炖菜）, eggplant salad bar, sauce radish （酱萝卜条）for our dinner, all of which were dried by my grandmother last autumn and tasted wonderful. I loved the dishes to my heart’s content and could not help praising them again and again.

After a few days, my grandmother, who seldom visited us, came to my home and unpacked her bag, smilingly taking out bags of dried eggplants, dried beans and dried vegetable. She told me that I left so hastily last time that she forgot to give me some of these foods, so she took this chance to bring me what I liked.

I was speechless at that time. Due to my casual complimentary her food, my grandmother, a nearly 70-year-old lady, by taking three buses from the west of the city to the east, came to my home with the food I liked. But she was bus-sick in life and even seldom went strolling in the street.

My pretty girlfriend had a failed marriage in the past. After divorce, her parents shed the deepest protection and care to her by helping her attend to the child and offering financial aids. Her parents’ love made her pull herself together and forgot the man who had hurt her before.

Nonetheless, her father, an honest and upright old man, after hearing his ex-son-in-law got promoted in his company, felt terrifically irritated and went to his company to question his boss why a philandering man with corrupt conducts could get promoted. The whole office fell into a mess immediately and many staff just watched on the sidelines. Some people even whispered lightly, "It is a new era now and the relationship between men and women is very open. No one would care about that anymore!"

The old man stood silently in the office with his hands shivering and eyes tearing.

That night, my girlfriend cried heavily in front of me. I asked her whether it was her father’s stupid deeds that made her feel humiliated. But she said that she felt guilty for her dad and that though the rest of the whole world betrayed her, her old father would still back her up and help her get the justice she deserved, just as when she was young and the neighboring boy grabbed her ball, her father would get it back for her. However, this changed world was no longer the stage for her old father and his deeds became funnily obsolete. No one managed to see the real and ever-lasting love to his daughter behind his seemingly rude behaviors.

Now we have grown up so much so that we could support our family and have our own children. But in our parents’ heart, they are still worried that we do not have sufficient quilts and dried vegetables. They would not feel troubled to bring all these to us regardless of long tough journey. They even would not like us to suffer a bit and try all means to protect us without caring about whether what they do is awkward and stupid or not.

Who in the world would love us so deeply and relentlessly without asking for any repay? Only our parents!

1.What does the author want to tell us?

A. The love from our parents is real and deep though sometimes it doesn't appear so.

B. The love from our parents is awkward sometimes, which is rather annoying.

C. Children should appreciate parents' love because their life is so hard.

D. The world is changing so the love of parents should change too.

2.The underlined world "humiliate" in the eleventh paragraph means ________.

    A. guilty        B. moved       C. happy      D. ashamed     

3.How many examples of older generation’s love are mentioned in the passage?

    A. One         B. Two        C. Three       D. four

4.After the author's girlfriend's former husband got promoted, her father _____.

A. congratulated him

B. made his daughter marry him again

C. had a quarrel with him

D. argued with his boss

5.From the passage we can learn the author's grandmother is ___________.

A. upright and honest        B. loving and troublesome

C. thoughtful and careful       D. generous and active

三.完形填空（20分）

Seventeen-year-old Rivertown teenager, John Janson, was honoured at the Lifesaver Awards last night for carrying out lifesaving first aid on his neighbour after a shocking knife  36 .

John was presented with his award at a ceremony(仪式) which recognized the  37  of ten people who have saved the life of  38  person.

John had been studying in his room when he heard  39 . When he and his father rushed outside, they  40  that Anne Slade, mother of three, had been stabbed  41  with a knife by her ex-boyfriend. The man ran from the  42  and left Ms Slade lying in her front garden  43 very heavily. Her hands had almost been cut from her body.

It was John’s quick  44  and knowledge of first aid that saved Ms Slade’s life. He immediately asked a number of  45  people for bandages, but when nobody could put their hands on any, his father got some tea towels(毛巾) and  46  from their house. John used these to dress the most severe  47  to ms Slade’s hands. He slowed the bleeding by applying pressure to the wounds until the  48  and ambulance arrived.

“I’m  49  of what I did but I was just doing what I had been  50 ,” John said.

John had taken part in the Young Lifesaver Scheme at his high school. When  51  John. Mr Alan Southerton, Director of the Young Lifesaver Scheme said, “There is no doubt that John’s quick thinking and the first aid  52  that he learnt at school saved Ms Slade’s life. This shows that a simple knowledge of first aid can make a real  53 .”

John and nine other Life Savers also attended a  54  reception yesterday hosted by the Prime Minister before  55  their awards last night.

36.A. show                B. attack                   C. fight                     D. defend

37.A. bravery            B. courage                 C. achievements          D. progress

38.A. any other          B. another                  C. the other                D. others

39.A. quarrelling               B. arguing                 C. shouting                D. screaming

40.A. realized             B. believed                 C. thought                  D. discovered

41.A. repeatedly        B. rudely                   C. frequently              D. gradually

42.A. home                B. place                     C. scene                     D. garden

43.A. shaking             B. struggling              C. bleeding                D. crying

44.A. action                      B. operation                      C. experience             D. request

45.A. several              B. nearby                   C. familiar                 D. curious

46.A. water                B. tape                       C. instrument             D. luggage

47.A. damages            B. pains                     C. injuries                  D. cuts

48.A. neighbours               B. children                   C. doctor                   D. police

49. A. proud              B. fond                    C. sure                       D. tired

50.A. expected           B. taught                    C. encouraged            D. educated

51.A. praising            B. referring to            C. talking with           D. congratulating

52.A. skills                B. instructions            C. treatments                D. methods

53.A. discovery          B. contribution           C. difference              D. choice

54.A. recent                      B. public                    C. private                   D. special

55.A. giving               B. remembering          C. announcing            D. receiving

第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节：（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
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。
A
As Christmas approaches, towns and cities around the UK are preparing for a very British celebration．
The switching on of a town' s Christmas lights has become an increasingly competitive event over the years, with some councils （会议） spending lots of money to attract A-list famous persons to do the honors．
The American singer Mariah Carey flew to London in November to switch on the lights at one of the city's biggest shopping centers, while Jim Carrey lighted Oxford Street and promoted his new film at the same time．
Traffic in the historic English city of Bath was brought to a halt as thousands of fans crowded to see the Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage conducted the switching-on ceremony．
Some celebrations do not go according to the plan, as was seen in Birmingham when dozens of people were injured as the famous British boy band JLS took the stage．
Not all towns can afford to bring in an internationally-known star, so many switchon ceremonies are handled by ex-TV talent show competitors．
Pantomime （圣诞童话剧） stars are also much in demand at this time of year, as they aim to promote their Christmas shows．
But if your council hasn't got the budget to bring in a famous face, what are the cheaper alternatives?
A town in the west of England chose to let the public decide by giving their suggestions online．The result: a 21-year-old DIY store worker was given the honor．
"I was amazed and delighted to be asked," said Scott Parker, "it's just a special gift and not something I'd, ever thought about before．"
56．According to the passage, what kind of special celebration can you see at Christmas in UK?
A．People meeting their favorite stars and getting special gifts．
B．Well-known persons invited to make a performance in public．
C．A-list persons lighting Oxford Street and promoting their films．
D．Switching-on ceremonies that are conducted by honored persons．
57．The underlined word "halt" in Paragraph 4 probably means "______" ．
A．start  B．stop              C．ban       D．run
58．Which of the followings can be learned from the passage?
A．Mariah Carey is invited to Bath to switch on the lights．
B．Pantomime stars rarely appear at events like this．
C．Not all those who switch on the Christmas lights can make lots of money．
D．Average persons can not get a chance to switch on the Christmas lights．
59．The following are famous persons EXCEPT _____．
A．Scott Parker      B．Mariah Carey         C．Nicolas Cage       D．Jim Carrey

While surfing television channels over the weekend，a scene from a family classic of last year portraying the now-so-familiar sorry state of retired parents being ill-treated by their children and families caught my attention. I wondered why the description of this relationship had not changed much over the many years! Even though the same movies and soaps accurately capture several other social changes around us — from value systems to new found economic freedom to the importance of technology and the changing approach to consumerism(消费主义) — are these creative efforts far from the truth in telling us that an average retiree is still struggling?

Look around and you will agree that the post-retired lifestyle for an ex-salaried class people is often a pale shadow of their last working years. Even self employed people, who have handed over the responsibility to the next generation, are no exception. Did the average middle class not save enough through his working years?

Socially, we already know that the Indians are taught the benefits of start saving early on in life. Household savings data supports this social behavior — India has the highest rates of savings among various economies and is far ahead of the west. Yet, tragically, a lifetime of savings does not seem to provide enough for a comfortable retirement!

A closer look at the pattern of what we do with our financial savings may tell us a bit more. Over half of households’ financial savings is put into a “safe” deposit, followed by large portions in insurance, pension, provident funds（福利基金） and the rest in physical currency. Less than a tenth goes into “risky” assets(资产) like stocks. While there might be nothing, in particular, worrisome in this investment pool, one has to consider inflation(通货膨胀). The real value of savings, over a few decades, may actually be lower than the starting point.

1.What had not changed much over the many years according to the passage?

A. Value systems                      B. The poor situation of retirees

C. Economic freedom                  D. Approach to consumerism

2.Which of the following statements about saving in India is right?

A. the concept of saving has been well received by Indians.

B. the amount of the savings ranks number one across the world.

C. long-standing savings can help the retirees live a care-free life. 

D. saving early can not benefit people at all.

3. What can be inferred according to the last paragraph?

   A. Half of the financial savings in stocks can be accepted.

   B. The real value of saving must be lowered in a few years.

C. A loss of savings may hardly be avoided.

   D. Inflation can be avoided on condition that you consume instead of saving.

4.What’s the best title of the text?

   A. Retirees being treated unfairly

   B. Is saving enough

   C. Saving in India

   D. How to deal with saving