While homework in kindergarten requires coloring and learning the ABC's, the high school homework load has become increasingly difficult and time-consuming.（耗费时间的）"I think homework takes a long time to do," Ross Perry, Grade 10, said. "It helps you learn sometimes, but not really that much. I stay up until midnight doing homework and sometimes there is no point in even starting to do it." Hallie Rojeski, a junior high teacher, tries not to give her classes homework, hoping not to discourage students. "I try to give minimal （最小限度的）homework because students should be playing and taking exercise more than working inside all day. Students usually don't have good study habits when they come into the 7th and 8th grade. I offer a necessary after-school assignment（功课） so they will learn them."  　　Teenagers are encouraged to get 8-9 hours of sleep and participate in sports or physical activity outside school. With 2-3 hours of homework it can be difficult to do everything.  　　Homework takes different amounts of time based on what courses students take. "I give my Spanish students little bits of homework," Melody Downie, a Spanish teacher, said. "That is about what we learned in class, because for a foreign language you need to do work that reinforces (巩固) what we learn. I hardly give my history class homework."  "When students do their homework they should be in a quiet area," Hallie Rojeski said. "They also need to do work for 30 minutes and then take a 10-minute break because it is hard for students to keep focused for a long time."  The University of Michigan found in a recent study that the amount of homework had increased by 51% since 1981. Harris Cooper at Duke University says that students who do small amounts of homework do better on their tests, but when they exceed 60-90 minutes of homework，the test scores fall. "Homework is given to motivate students to learn," Principal Gary Schultz said. "Repeating what they learn in school helps them to remember and learn things for tests. Some kids do not need homework to learn but most do. I believe practice makes perfect."  　　

21. According to Ross Perry, doing homework__________.  　　

      A. is really a waste of time  　　  B. is sometimes unnecessary for students   　

　    C. is usually a great help to students D. is always a good way of learning

   22. The reason why Hallie Rojeski gives her students minimal homework

      is that she thinks ______.  　　 

      A. too much homework will make students' test scores fall      

      B. students should learn good studying and living habits　　

      C. little bits of homework will reinforce what students learn in class  　　

　　  D. it is too hard for students to focus on school assignment for a long time  　　

23. The underlined word "exceed" can be replaced by ________?  　　

      A. finish    B.  do     C. are against     D.  are beyond

　 24. What is the main idea of the passage?  　　

      A. Students do not like doing too much   homework. 　　

      B. Proper amounts of homework are necessary. 　

      C. Students do not need to do after-school homework.  　　

      D. More homework should be given to motivate students.  　　

The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome stuff they call “books”. I was going to have my examination the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.     The clock struck 12."Oh, dear!" I cried, "ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy ."     The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learnt I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes   later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.

25. When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house   were_____ .

        A.  outside   B. working in bed   C. asleep  D. quietly laughing at him

    26.  Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because ________.       

   A.  it was too late at night         B. he was very tired  

   C.  he hadn’t studied hard before the examination

   D.  his eyes l ids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open

    27.What do you suppose happened to the author？

       A. He went to a church to pray again   B. He passed the exam by luck    

       C. He was punished by his teacher       D. He failed in the exam 

    28. The best title for the passage would be __________ .

        A. A Slow Student                  B. Working Far into the Night

       C. The Night Before the Examination      D. Going Over My Lessons             

Algae(水藻) are very simple plants. They grow in fresh water or salty water. Seaweed （海藻）is algae that grow in salty water. Seaweed is red or brown in color. The Japanese people use these plants from the sea in many ways. From it, they make a food called Kombu. Kombu is seaweed that has been dried, cooked and pressed together. Then it is dried again and cut into long pieces. The Japanese eat a lot of Kombu and like it very much.    Japanese farmers often use seaweed as fertilizer. It makes their plants grow better. Many farmers also find seaweed makes a fine food for their animals.    From seaweed the Japanese also get iodine(碘), which they sell to other countries. Iodine is used in many ways all over the world. It is used in making medicine. It is added to the salt we use at the table. Scientists even use one form of iodine to “ seed clouds” when they want rain to fall.

  29. Kombu is a kind of ____ according to the text.   

     A. food         B. medicine          C. plant       D. fertilizer

  30 . In the last sentence of the text, “seed clouds” means ____.

 A. clouds spreading like seeds     B. the seeds like clouds   

 C. dropping seeds by clouds    

 D. to make rain fall with human power

  31. The main idea of the story is that ____.

 A. The Japanese eat seaweed when they want rain to fall.

  B. Kombu is made into medicine for farmers.

  C. The Japanese eat a lot of Kombu.

  D. The Japanese use seaweed in many ways. 

Have you seen a picture of George Washington lately? Take a look at a dollar or check out a book on Washington from the library. You probably won’t find any pictures of him smiling.

Did the painter forget to tell the President to say “cheese”? Actually, Washington began losing his teeth at age 22 and was entirely toothless by age 64. Most of his pictures were painted while he wore dentures (假牙). His various sets of dentures were made from both animal and human teeth. These teeth were held together with springs(弹簧) so powerful that George’s jaws (颚) had to work hard to keep the upper and lower parts together. If he relaxed, his mouth would open! This may be the reason why Washington always looks so stern in his pictures.

Washington lived in the 1700s, a time when people didn’t take care of their teeth the way we do today. They didn’t have toothpaste with fluoride (a chemical that prevents teeth from becoming bad). Most people used powdered chalk to clean their teeth. Some people had toothbrushes made of animal hairs with wood or metal handles.

Back then, people didn’t visit the dentist every six months for a checkup and cleaning. George’s dentist, John Greenwood, lived and worked in New York. Washington regularly mailed his dentures to Greenwood so they could be repaired. Otherwise, he would see his dentist only to have teeth taken out because they caused him pain. During the American Revolutionary War, General Washington’s teeth bothered him so much that he sent for the French dentist La Mayeur.

Today we don’t have to suffer like George did. So the next time someone takes your picture, show off your teeth and say cheese!

32. There are few pictures of Washington smiling because when his picture was painted _____.

A. he had to try to keep his false teeth in

   B. the painter forgot to tell him to smile

C. he was unhappy to be a painter’s model

D. the painter didn’t draw his teeth

33. The underlined word “stern” in Paragraph 2 probably means _____.

A. happy       B.  puzzled      C. serious         D. confident

34. In Washington’s time, _____.

A. people were unwilling to clean their teeth

B. people used toothpaste to clean their teeth

C. there was no way to stop teeth becoming bad

D. there were toothbrushes made of animal hairs

35. What can we know about George Washington?

 A. He said cheese when his picture was being taken.

 B. He and his dentist lived in the same city.

 C. He suffered a lot from losing teeth.

 D. He got medical care only from Greenwood.

Four most important eye expressions

The language of our eyes is one of the most powerful and useful tools of non-verbal (非语言的) communication.   36   Here are four most important eye expressions that we see every day.

1. Smiling eyes

Researchers have long noticed that a sincere smile starts with our eyes. When we are sincerely happy, the skin around the corners of our eyes crinkles (出现皱纹). But a social, polite smile touches only our lips (嘴唇).   37   For example, when a shop assistant smiles at you, offering help, you will immediately get the feeling that they are just trying to sell you something.

2.   38  

People who avoid eye contact during a conversation are often considered as insincere. What does little or no eye contact mean then? Anything from shyness to nervousness.

3. Friendly eyes

When you are carrying on a conversation, looking the speaker straight in the eyes sends a clear message to him:   39   This is why so many public speaking experts advise keeping eye contact with the speaker.

4. “Shut” eyes

Covering the eyes for a long period of time sends a message that you are trying to block out something that you do not want to hear. For example, a man who is asked to work on the weekend may cover his eyes with his fingers as he answers, “No problem.”   40    

A . So it is important to learn how to read the body language of the eyes.

B. Empty eyes

C. Such behavior is seen with liars.

D. You are paying attention to the talk.

E. The smile you are given is not in the eyes.

F. What his gestures are showing is that he is not happy about it at all.

G. Shy eyes