Steve knew he’d been adopted as a baby, and when he turned 18, in 2003, he decided he’d try to track down his birth mother. The agency from which he’d been adopted gave him his mother’s name: Tallady. But online searches didn’t turn up any results about it, and Steve had to let it go.

           In 2007, though, he searched for the name again online. This time, the search results included a home address near the Lowe’s store where Steve, then 22, worked as a deliveryman. When he mentioned the coincidence to his boss, his boss said, “You mean Tallady, who works here?”

           Steve and Tallady, a cashier, had said hello to each other a few times at the store, but they’d never really talked. He hadn’t even known her name. Steve thought there was no possible way she was his mother though they shared the same name. For a few months, Steve avoided Tallady. “I wasn’t sure how to approach her,” he told a local reporter. Finally, the agency volunteered to arrange their reunion.

           When Tallady realized that the nice guy she’d been waving at was his son, she sobbed. She’d always hoped to meet her birth son one day. Later that day, mother and son talked for almost three hours at a nearby bar. She’d given him up for adoption in 1985, when she was 23. “I wasn’t ready to be a mother,” she told him. Married with two other children, Tallady says, “I have a complete family now.”

1．Steve gave up the on-line search for his birth mother in 2003 because _____.

          A. the agency didn’t give him any help         

          B. there was no information about his mother

          C. his mother didn’t turn up online                

          D. he missed the information about his mother

2．What did Steve find about his mother online in 2007?

         A. Her home address.                               

         B. Her full name.         

         C. Her boss’s name.                                  

          D. Her new job.

3．Why Steve avoided Tallady for months?

          A. Because she didn’t want to talk to him.

          B. Because he wasn’t fully prepared for the reunion.

          C. Because she was very difficult to approach.

          D. Because he didn’t think she was his birth mother.

4．The best title for the text is _____.

          A. The Love of Mother                 

          B. An Unexpected Meeting    

          C. The Power of the Internet              

          D. An Unusual Reunion

          For the first time, researchers have discovered that some plants can kill insects in order to get additional nutrients. New research shows that they catch and kill small insects with their own sticky hairs near the roots and then absorb nutrients through their roots when the insects are killed and fall to the ground.

          Professor Mark Chase, of Kew and Queen Mary, University of London, said: “The cultivated (改良的) tomatoes and potatoes still have the hairs. Tomatoes in particular are covered with these sticky hairs. They do trap small insects on a regular basis. They do kill insects.”

        The number of these carnivorous plants is thought to have came up to 50 percent and many of them have until now been wrongly regarded as among the most harmless plants. Among them are species of petunia（矮牵牛）, some special tobacco plants and cabbages, some varieties of potatoes and tomatoes, etc. Researchers at Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, which carried out the study, now believe there are hundreds more killer plants than previously realized.

         It is thought that the technique was developed in the wild to get necessary nutrients in poor quality soil – and even various plants grown in your vegetable garden still have the ability.

        The researchers, publishing their finding in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, said: “We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think.” “We are accustomed to thinking of plants as being immobile and harmless, and there is something deeply frightening about the thought of meat-eating plants," they added.

5．Tomatoes and potatoes kill insects to _____.

          A. get more sticky hairs                                                   B. make themselves grow better

          C. make their roots stronger                                          D. avoid falling down to the ground

6．The word “carnivorous” in Paragraph 3 most probably means _____.

          A. fast-growing         B. harmless            C. insect-killing                     D. nutritious

7．The insect-killing technique of vegetables is  developed most probably through _____.

          A. evolution of species                             B. helps from other garden plants

          C. artificial cultivation                             D. nutrients preserved in rich soil

8．The text is probably taken from _____.

          A. a student book          B. a science fiction       C. a scientific repot        D. a bulletin board

On a February day during an unusually mild winter, I found myself missing the snowy beauty． I enjoyed the feeling that comes from watching snow fall gently from heaven while I'm cosy inside with a good fire burning in the stove．But there were more serious concerns, like the lack of rainfall making our woods more accessible to summer forest fires．Local ski fields and hotels, all dependent on a snowy season, felt sorry for the vacant lifts, empty restaurants and unused snowmobiles．

Then I happened to see three little robins （知更鸟） fly into our yard．What were they doing here? West of us, in the Willamette Valley, wild flowers burst this time of year．But here in central Oregon, even if a groundhog （ 土拨鼠） had wanted to appear, it couldn't have broken through the frozen earth．And yet, these robins had arrived．

Their presence brought me a flow of happiness．It felt like a celebration as I dug into my bag of birdseed and spread a handful on the ground．Above me, the deep blue sky was cloudless, perfectly quiet but for some smoke from a neighbor's chimney．The lively cold made the air fresh and clean． My robins jumped lightly toward the seed．My soul jumped with them, feeling equally carefree．

Caught up in the moment of spring fever, I checked our snowless flower beds．To my delight, I spotted a green branch sticking out through the brown soil．

Despite the cold, I wasn't ready to go back inside．Just a short meeting with those robins had renewed my spirit．The next day I would return to my outdoor work with a cheerful heart and a hopeful eye for these signs of spring．

9．The author missed a snowy winter because snow could _

       A．prevent forest fires

       B．boom his business

       C．promise an early spring

       D．bring him a good feeling

10．The author felt happy when finding ______．

       A．the sky was deep blue with clouds

       B．three little robins flew into his yard

       C．wild flowers burst in the Willamette Valley

       D．a groundhog appeared through the frozen earth

11．We can infer from the passage that the author _____．

       A．would enjoy wild flowers the next day

       B．thought winter was already over

       C．longed for the coming of spring

       D．loved robins the most

Your dilemma （进退两难） has two aspects: your employer demands loyalty, but you want to help another working woman．The question is whether you can act properly towards both．Your personal view about the unfair maternity policy makes it complicated．In the United States, paid maternity leave （带薪产假） is not an automatic benefit guaranteed by the government．Even unpaid leave is only permitted for a limited period with certain working hours．

It's understandable that you feel such divided loyalties, said Gretchen Zetoony, a licensed clinical expert in Virginia．" On the one hand, you want to be careful not to provide information that might discomfort your employer in a negotiation; on the other hand, it's natural to feel sympathetic toward someone in a similar situation, particularly if you see the company's policy as unfair．" she said．

Before you give advice on negotiating a better maternity-leave package, remember to be careful with what you say．"If you are nervous that your employer could lean you had advised her, that should be a guide for you that you may wander into a questionable area．" Zetoony said．

What happens if your colleagues discover that this applicant benefits simply because of your advice．That may not be formal discrimination but it might create a bad feeling among colleagues who are not working mothers and who didn't join your organization armed with insider tips．"In this case, the risk isn't as much about betraying your employer or your fellow women as possibly creating conflict in the workplace if colleagues notice that you helped an applicant gain an advantage because you share some personal characteristics．" Zetoony said．If that happens, and you find that your colleagues are whispering about you, or openly complaining, address the situation with a calm sit-down．Explain that you felt you had to help this woman pass her way through the organization’s human-resources maze, and that you would do the same for anyone who asked you for advice．

There might be a better way to help women negotiate maternity leave than advising them． Consider getting together with colleagues who also care about this issue to advocate for better family leave policies within your organization, Zetoony suggests．The more employees who join you, the more likely management are to listen．It is also applicable in other components of an employment offer where you will face such a dilemma．

12．One may fall into a dilemma mainly because ______．

       A．he thinks the maternity policy unfair

       B．his employer breaks the maternity policy

       C．the US government protects his employer

       D．his woman colleague asks for a paid leave

13．According to Zetoony, your nervousness might lead to ______．

       A．your employer's forgiveness               B．an even more embarrassing situation

       C．your employer's sympathy                 D．an exposure to your characteristics

14．From the passage, in a similar dilemma, you'd better   ____．

       A．talk to your employer directly

       B．put forward more applicable solutions

       C．give your colleagues a helping hand sincerely

       D．gather more colleagues to work out better policies

15．What's the author's attitude towards maternity leave?

       A．Supportive．                                  B．Neutral．       

       C．Negative．                                  D．Critical．

Everyone needs a break, and vacations are not meant for serious study. __36__ The Spring Festival is coming up so this is the perfect time to discuss some great English language literature to take on a long train journey.

Before getting into the recommendations, you need to determine your English reading comprehension level. If you’re at the beginner level, there are two options: reading a children’s book or reading a book that you’ve read in Chinese translation. __37__ If you’re at the intermediate level, popular books like pop fiction, mysteries and thrillers are good options. For advanced readers, classic works of literature or modern prize winners (Nobel, Pulitzer) are good options.

__38__ When I pick up a book I like, even though the first few chapters are really hard to get through, I would try to get accustomed to the language the author uses. Generally, after the first few chapters, things get a lot easier, especially if I get involved in the story.

Another great way to keep yourself motivated is to find a friend who’s interested in reading the same book. You can make goals that you both want to achieve. __39__

  Some quick recommendations: Harry Potter, start with the first book and go on from there; the Narnia series; anything by US writer Michael Crichton; and if you like horror, US writer Stephen King is always unusual and fun. __40__ Happy reading! 

A. If you pick a book which is so challenging, it will be too stressful.

B. The most important thing is to pick a book that you’re really interested in.

C. You may also enjoy your reading when hanging out with your family.

D. You should just find a topic or author you’re interested in, and the rest will go from there.

E. You can also discuss plot lines or vocabulary issues with each other by SMS or e-mail.

F. Instead, they’re a great way to take a break and enjoy a good book.

G. This will help you get over any unfamiliar words or phrases, since you’re already familiar with the story.