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       David is a visiting professor from Canada and this is his first time to come to the city of Beijing . He is fully occupied and has only one day for sightseeing. As a close friend , it is your job to arrange for this one-say tour . What place will you suggest he go and why ?

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About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table . I couldn’t overhearing parts of their conversation . At one point the woman asked : “ So ,  how have you been ?” And the boy , who could not have been more seven or eight years old , replied , “ To tell the truth , I’ve been feeling a little depressed (压抑) lately . ”

       His words stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing . As far as I can remember , my friends and I didn’t find out we were “ depressed ” until we were in high school .

       The evidence of a change in children has increased steadily in recent years . Children don’t seem childlike anymore . Children speak more like adults , dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to .

       Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say , but it certainly is different . Childhood as it once was no longer exists . Why ?

       Human development is based not only on innate (天生的) biological states ,. But also on patterns of access to social knowledge . Movement from one social role to another usually involved learning the secrets of the new status . Children have always been taught adults secrets ,but slowly and in stages : traditionally ,we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden form fifth graders .

       In the last 30 years , however , a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has come into 98 percent of American home . It is called television . Television passes information , and indiscriminately (无区分) , to all viewers alike , be they children or adults . Unable to resist the temptation , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging , more vivid moving pictures .

       Communication through print , as a matter of fact , allows for a deal of control over the social information to which children have access .Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbols that must be memorized and practiced . Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials .

1．According to the author , feeling depressed is _______

       A．a sure sign of a psychological problem in a child

B．something hardly to be expected in a young child

C．an inevitable period of children’s mental development

D．a mental state present in all humans , including children

2．Traditionally a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________ .

       A．through contact directly with society    

B．gradually and under adults’ guidance

C．naturally and by biological instinct               

D．through exposure to social information]

3．The phenomenon that today’s children seem adult-like is explained by the author as the result of ________

       A．the widespread influence of television          

B．the poor arrangement of TV programs

C．the fast development of human’s intelligence 

D．the constantly rising of standard of living

4．Why is the author in favor of communication through print for children ?

       A．It enables children to gain more social information .

B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing

C．It helps children to remember and practice more knowledge

D．It can control what children are to learn at a proper age

5．What does the author think of the change in today’s children ?

       A．He feels amused by their behaviors and thoughts

B．He thinks it is a phenomenon worthy of note

C．He considers it a positive and good development

D．He seems to be upset about these strange behaviors

Americans : Restless ? Illiterate

       Americans are queer people ; they can’t rest . They have more time , more leisure , shorter work hours , more holidays , and more vacations than any other people in the world . But they can’t  rest . They rush up and down across their continent as tourists ; they move about in great herds to conventions (大会) ; they search the wilderness ; they flood the mountains ; they keep the hotels full .But they can’t rest . The scenery rushes past them . They learn it , Battles and monuments are announced to them on a tour bus . They hear them , but they don’t get them . They never stop moving ; they rush up and down as Shriners , Masons , Old Graduates , Bankers—they are a new thing each day , always rushing to a reunion or something . So they go on rushing about till eventually the undertaker (殡葬工) gather them to a last convention .

       Americans are queer people ; they can’t read . They have more schools , and better schools and spend more money on schools and colleges than all Europe . But they can’t read . They print more books in a year than the French print in ten . But they can’t read . They cover their country with one hundred thousand tons of Sunday newspapers every week . But they don’t read them . They’re too busy . They use them for fires and to make more paper with . They buy eagerly thousands of new novels at two dollars each . But they read only page one . Their streets are full of huge signs . They won’t look at them . Their streetcars are filled with advertising ; they turn their eyes away . Transparent colors , cart wheels , and mechanical flares whirl and flicker in the crowded streets at night . No one sees them . Tons of letters pour into the mail boxes , trough the houses , and down the garbage cans . No one reads them

1．The underlined word “ queer ” mean _______

       A．strange                  

B．difficult                  

C．forgetful         

D．friendly

2．According to the text , when do the Americans stop rushing about ?

       A．When they are to allowed to B．                 

B．Where they feel tired and sleepy

C．When they stop breathing eventually            

D．When they are seriously ill in bed

3．The Americans know the places of battles and monuments _______

       A．by driving there in person                    

B．when they are on the tour bus

C．from books and magazines                         

D．from their friends and co-workers

4．Why does the writer write this passage ?

       A．To tell people the Americans are illiterate

B．To prove the Americans to be a queer nation

C．To make fun of the American way of life

D．To give the readers information about USA

Wild elephants that destroy crops and damage trees are a serious problem in many parts of Africa . But there could be a simple and relatively safe way to stop them in their tracks , by employing the talents of the tiny African honeybees .

       The number of elephants in Kenya has risen over the past ten years , with some disastrous results . Not only do these huge animals attack local farms , but they step someone to death an average of once every two weeks . Now a biologist has discovered a possible threat : the elephants are extremely aware of trees that house honeybee hives .

       “I an puzzled why nobody has thought of this before , ” says Fritz Vollrath at the University of Oxford . “ When an elephant knocks a beehive he runs and the bees will follow him or miles . ” He says that placing hives of the honeybees around local farms and fragile habitats could be an effective way to threaten the animals .

       Volirath put 30 unoccupied and 6 occupied beehives in some of the growing on a bush frequently damaged by elephants on Laikipia Plateau in Kenya . On average the elephants attacked 9 out of 10 trees that didn’t have hives , severely damaging a quarter . But they steered clear of all six trees with occupied hives . The elephants also left alone one-third of the trees with empty hives , suggesting that some had learnt not to take the risk .

       The bees threaten elephants by stinging vulnerable (易受伤)areas such as the eyes , belly , behind the ears and under the trunk . People could be at risk from the bees , admits Voilrath , but that may be outweighed by the risk of being killed by an elephant . Another experiment by Voilrath shows that elephants also avoid the sound of angry bees played from a loudspeaker .

1．What harm do the wild elephants in Africa do ?

       A．Killing local people                                     

B．Damaging beehives

C．Threatening animals                                   

D．Destroying villages

2．What can we learn from the underlined sentence ?

       A．They ran away from the trees with empty hives on it

B．They tried not to touch the trees with hives full of bees

C．They kept a distance from al the trees with hives on them .

D．They were clear that all the six trees were occupied by hives

3．What’s Volirath’s another experiment on this elephant’s case ?

       A．Let bees attack and kill elephants one by one

B．Encourage bees to sting elephants’ eyes and ears

C．Use the bees’ sound to drive elephants away

D．Employ tiny African honeybees to threaten elephants

4．From the passage we can conclude that _______

       A．there is always one thing to bet another

B．little bees can kill big and wild elephants

C．serious problems often come up in Africa

D．elephants enjoy attacking people and farms

The young Mother set her foot on the path of life . “ Is this a long way ? ”she asked . And her guide said “ Yes , and the ways are hard . And you will be old before you reach the end of it . But the end will be better than the beginning . ”

       The young Mother had her golden days . She played with her children , and gathered flowers for them along the way , and bathed them in the clear streams , and the sun shone on them .

       Then the night came , and the storm . The children shook with fear and cold , the Mother drew them close and covered them with blankets , the children said , “ Mother , we are not afraid , for you are with is . ”

       When the morning came ,there was a hill ahead . The children climbed and grew tired , Now and then the Mother said to the children , “ A little patience and we are there .” So the children chimbed , when they reached the top they said , “ Mother , we would not have done it without you . ” Lying down at night , the Mother looked up at the stars and said , “ This is a better day than the last , for my children have learned how to face hardship . Yesterday I gave them courage . Today I have given them strength .”

       The next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth—clouds of war , hate and evil , and the children got frightened and shook all over , the Mother said , “ Look up . Lift your eyes to the light .” The children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory , it guided them beyond the darkness . That night the Mother said , “ This is the best day of all , for I have shown my children hope .”

       The days went on and the Mother grew old . She was little and bent while her children were tall and strong . When the way was rough , they lifted her , for she was as light as a feather , and at last they came to a hill , and beyond they could see a shining road and a golden gate open wide .

       The Mother said , “ I have reached the end of my journey . Now I know the end is better than the beginning , for my children can walk alone .” The children stood and watched her as she went on alone , and the gate closed after her . They said , “ We cannot see her , but she is with us still . She is a living presence . ”

       Mother is always with you . She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street , she’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks , and she’s the cool hand on your forehead when you’re not well . Your Mother lives inside your laughter and your tear drops . She’s your first home and she’s the map you follow . Nothing on earth can separate you .

1．What three things does the Mother show her children ?

       A．Flowers , clouds and hills                           

B．Courage , strength and hope

C．Tear drops , maps and leaves                      

D．Storm , hardship and glory

2．The underlined word “golden gate ” suggests ________ .

       A．a gate which is made of shining gold            

B．a gate which separates effort and hope

C．a gate which stops wind and storms                   

D．a gate which lies between life and death

3．What feeling does the author intend to pass on you ?

       A．Sadness                 B．Pity                        C．Sorrow                   D．Beauty