My brother Ron joined the US army a few years ago. Most girls, especially those who are my age, are thrilled by anything that has to do with the “army”. It’s a novelty to them to shoot a gun, jump out of a plane, and wear uniform.

Now I know you’re thinking that I must find it really cool to know a solider, who’s my brother. That’s wrong, before I found out that my brother joined the army, I was crazy about the army. Firstly, I wanted to go to college, knew that joining the army was probably the only way I could get it as my parents couldn’t afford it. Additionally there were all the other points of the army that grabbed my heart. I wanted the challenge, I wanted the discipline and I wanted the feeling that I would be doing something beyond the ability of average citizen.

But as soon as my brother joined the army, all those things fell away. All I saw were dead people, guns shooting, tanks turning into a ball of fire, tents burning, and lots of blood. It was so horrible. When Ron went to Iraq, I freaked out whenever I didn’t hear from him for more than a week. I kept up with the news, reading the latest newspaper and listening to the hourly reports. And every time I heard that an American solider was killed, I prayed, it’ wasn’t Ron.

I’m proud of my brother for serving our country, and his willingness to devote his life to something he finds important. It’s great to see how discipline and mature he’s got, and I’m glad he has his college paid for. But although I am proud, I gladly give up the “coolness” of having a brother in the army. I would be perfectly all right if I had never seen that uniform on him, and he was just a plain old “boring” brother.

I love my brother, and I’m proud of him, but I want him back home!

21. What did the writer think of the army before Ron joined?

A. Joining the army was more beneficial than going to college.

B. Joining the army was a good choice for those who couldn’t afford college education.

C. Joining the army was meant risking one’s life for something important,

D. Joining the army did more harm than good.

22. After Ron joined the army, the writer          .

A. decide to join the army one day

B. became afraid of seeing soldiers

C. often showed off Ron in front of friends

D. became aware of the danger of joining the army

23. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Peace or war?                     B. Life in the army

C. Having a soldier in the family         D. A choice between your life and your dream

The greatest recent social changes have been in the lives of women. During the twentieth century there has been a remarkable shortening of the proportion of a woman's life spent in caring for the children. A woman marrying at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, four or five of whom lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five years and can be expected to live another thirty-five years and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has to take care of children, her work is lightened by modern living conditions.

This important change in women's life-patterns has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's economic position. Even a few years ago most girls took a full-time job after they left school. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school- leaving age is sixteen; many girls stay at school after that age, and though women usually marry older, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Many more afterwards return to full-or-part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money, and running the home, according to the abilities and interests of each of them.

24. At what age did most women marry around the 1890 according to the passage?

  A. At about twenty-five             B. In their earl fifties

  C. At the age of fifteen              D. At any age from fifteen to forty-five

25. Many girls, the passage claims, are now likely to_______.

　A. give up their jobs for good after they are married

　B. leave school as soon as they can

　C. marry so that they can get a job

　D. continue working until they are going to have a baby

26. When she was over fifty, a late nineteenth-century mother ______.

  A. was usually expected to die fairly soon

  B. would expect to work until she died

  C. would be healthy enough to take up paid jobs

  D. was less likely to find a job even if she wanted to

27. Nowadays, a husband tends to_______.

　A. play a greater part in looking after the children

　B. help his wife by doing much of the housework

　C. feel dissatisfied with his role in the family

　D. take a part-time job so that he can help in the home

The best example of something is often called the "gold standard." It sets the standard against which other things are measured. In economics, the term describes how major trading nations once used gold to set currency values and exchange rates. Many nations continued to use the gold standard until the last century.

In the United States, people could exchange paper money for gold from the eighteen seventies until nineteen thirty-three. Then-President Richard Nixon finally disconnected the dollar from the value of gold in nineteen seventy-one. From time to time, some politicians call for a return to the gold standard.

In 1978, the International Monetary Fund ended an official gold price. The IMF also ended the required use of gold in transactions with its member countries. Since that time, gold prices have grown and continued to be high. But people keep buying. Some people are "gold bugs." These are investors who say people should buy gold to protect against inflation(通货膨胀).

People have valued gold for thousands of years. The soft, dense metal polishes to a bright yellow shine and resists most chemical reactions. It makes a good material for money, political power -- and, more recently, electrical power. If you own a device like a mobile phone or a computer, you might own a little gold in the wiring.

The gold standard was the subject of one of the best-known speeches in American political history. William Bryan wanted the country to use both gold and silver as money. The idea was to devalue the dollar and make it easier for farmers to pay their debts. So he delivered a speech, which made him famous. He was a presidential candidate three times. But he never won.

28. The underlined word “transactions” probably means “           ”

 A. wars              B. trade              C. meetings             D. conflict

29. After the IMF ended the official gold price, the gold prices         .

 A. stayed the same     B. began to drop      

C. increased             D. increased a little at first and kept drop

30. What’s the fourth paragraph mainly about?

 A. The reason for valuing gold   B. The history of the use of gold

 C. New function of gold        D. How to obtain gold

31. We can learn from the last paragraph that William Bryan      .

 A. was once a farmer                   B. loved to collect gold 

C. was a famous political figure    D. was a good at giving speeches

Edward Wilson is America's, if not the world's, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world's natural resources. How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity(生物多样性)of our earth.

At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may as well read and act on the ideas in this book.

32. We learn from the text that Wilson cares most about       .

 A. the environment for plants

 B. the biodiversity of our earth

 C. the waste of natural resources

D. the importance of human values

33. How many species are most important to our present food supply?

 A. Twenty            B. Eighty        C. One hundred          D. Ten thousand

34. Wilson suggests that one way to keep biodiversity is to        .

 A. learn how to farm scientifically

 B. builds homes for some dying species

 C. makes it clear what to eat

 D. use more species for food

35. We can infer that the text is         

 A. description of natural resources

 B. a research report

 C. a book review

 D. an introduction to a scientist

What is the purpose of reading or studying? If you can't remember what you read or study, it will be a waste of time.   36    One useful aid that does help you remember what you study is to have a specific purpose or reason for reading.

Why does a clerk in a store go away when your reply to her offer to help is, "No, thank you, I'm just looking."? Both you and she know that if you aren't sure what you want, you are not likely to find it. But suppose you say instead, "Yes, thank you. I want a pair of sun glasses." She says, "Right this way, please.” It’s quite the same with your studying. If you choose a book, "just looking" for nothing in particular, you are likely to get just that—nothing.   37   Your reasons will vary; they will include reading or studying "to find out more about", "to understand the reasons for" and "to find out how"．

____38    Before you start to study, you say to yourself something like this, "I want to know why Stephen Vincent Benet happened to write about America"．Because you know why you are reading or studying, you relate the information to your purpose and remember it better．

Reading is not one single activity.    39    As you read, you take in ideas rapidly and accurately. But at the same time you express your own ideas to yourself as you react to what you read. You have a kind of mental conversation with the author．

This additional process of thinking about what you read includes evaluating it, relating it to what you already know, and using it for your own purposes.    40    One part of critical reading, as you have discovered, is distinguishing between facts and opinions．Facts can be checked by evidence. Opinions are one's own personal reactions．Another part of critical reading is judging sources. Still another part is drawing accurate inferences.

A. This is an effective studying way.

B. In other words, a good reader is a critical reader.

C. You remember better when you know what you’re reading.

D. At least two important processes go on at the same time.　

E. It is important for students to have a positive attitude to their study.

F. But if you do know what you want, you are almost sure to get it.

G. Perhaps you have already discovered some good ways to keep yourself from forgetting．