When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Sometimes she said I was thin. Sometimes she said I was lazy. Other times she said I wasn’t a good student. And still other times she said I talked too much, and so on. I tried to put up with her.

At last, I became very angry with her. With tears in my eyes, I ran to my father, who listened to me quietly and asked, “Are the things she said true or false? Mary, haven’t you ever wondered what you’re really like? Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that agree with her comments. Pay no attention to the things she said that don’t concern you.”

    I did as he told me. Much to my surprise, I discovered that over half the things were true.

    I brought the list back to my dad. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be helpful to you. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you think is right.”

    Many years have passed. The situation often appears in my mind. In our life we often meet with some trouble and we often go to someone and ask for advice. Some advice you will treasure all your life!

21. What did the author’s father do after he heard his daughter’s complaints?

   A. He agreed with her “enemy”.

   B. he let her continue to put up with her “enemy”.

   C. He told her to write down what her “enemy” had said about her.

   D. He told her not to pay attention to what her “enemy” had said.

22. The author felt _________ when she did the things as her father had told her.

   A. angry          B. surprised              C. disappointed          D. delighted

23. Which of the following can we know from the passage?

   A. The “enemy” thought the author was pretty.

B. The “enemy” thought the author studied hard.

C. The author couldn’t put up with her “enemy”.

D. The author is grateful to her father.

24. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

   A. What People Say About You Is Always Right      B. A Serious Criticism

   C. The Best Advice I Ever Had                    D. My Parents

Dolphins are not fish, but warm-blooded animals. They live in groups, and speak to each other in their own language. In this way they are like other animals, such as bees and birds. But dolphins are very different from almost all land animals. Their brain is nearly the same size as our own, and they live a long time — at least twenty or thirty years.

Like some animals, dolphins use sound to help them find their way around. They also make these sounds to talk to each other and to help them find food. We now know they do not use their ears to receive these sounds, but the lower part of the mouth, called the jaw.

Strangely, dolphins seem to like man, and for thousands of years there have been stories about the dolphin and its friendship with human beings.

There is a story about sailors in the 19th century. In a dangerous part of the sea off the coast of New Zealand, they learnt to look for a dolphin called Jack. From 1871 to 1903 Jack met every boat in the area and showed it the way. Then in 1903 a passenger on a boat called The Penguin shot and wounded Jack. He recovered and for nine years more continued to guide all ships through the area－except for The Penguin.

Today, some people continue to kill dolphins, but many countries of the world now protect them and in these places it is against the law to kill them.

25. By telling the story of Jack, the author wanted to show that __________.

A. people are cruel to animals

B. dolphins are friendly and clever

C. Jack is different from other dolphins

D. dolphins should be protected by law

26. Dolphins are different from many other animals in that they __________.

A. live in groups                     B. have their own language

C. are warm-blooded                  D. have large brains

27. Which of the following does the dolphin use to help it find its way around?

A. Its mouth.        B. Its ears.        C. Its nose.         D. Its eyes.

28. Why did the sailors off the coast of New Zealand look for Jack?

A. They wanted his help.               B. They enjoyed playing with him.

C. He was seriously wounded.           D. He was lonely and liked to be with people

Princeton University

Location

The University is in Princeton, New Jersey. It is an hour’s train ride south of New York City and an hour’s train ride north of Philadelphia.

Students   

There are 4,600 undergraduates (本科生). There are also 1,900 graduate students, but Princeton is unusual among universities in having a student body made up largely of undergraduates.

Faculty

Princeton has about 700 full-time faculty members (教员). There are another 300 or so part-time and visiting faculty. All faculty members at Princeton are expected to teach and research.

Degrees

Princeton offers two undergraduate degrees: the bachelor (学士) of arts (A.B.) degree and the bachelor of science in engineering (B.S.E.) degree.

Academic Year

An academic year runs from September to late May and lasts two terms (fall and spring). A normal course load is four or five courses per term, although many students take extra courses.

Residences

Princeton provides housing for all undergraduate students. Freshmen and second-year students are required to spend their first two years in one of its five colleges. Each college has its own dining hall, common rooms and computer centers.

Fees and Expenses (Academic Year 2014-2015)

Tuition: $ 29,910

Room and board: $ 8,387

Other expenses (books, telephone, etc.): $ 3,083

Total: $ 41,380

29. How many kinds of faculty members are there in Princeton University?

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

30. In Princeton University, an undergraduate will pay at least ___________ for the Academic Year 2014-2015 besides tuition.

A. $11,470          B. $ 41,380        C. $ 52,850          D. $ 8,387

31. In what way is Princeton University different from other American universities?

A. It has five colleges.

B. Its students are mainly undergraduates.

C. It provides housing for all undergraduate students.

D. All the faculty members at Princeton are expected to teach and research.

32. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Princeton offers two undergraduate degrees.

B. An academic year lasts about nine months in Princeton University.

C. Undergraduates should spend their first two years in one of its five colleges.

D. It’s about an hour’s train ride from Princeton University to the north of New York City.

There are so many different plastic cards that adults have to carry around—library cards, savings cards for different banks, credit cards, just to name a few... So why not have one to replace them all?

Scott Barnhill, an 1l-year-old fifth-grade student in the US, has come up with an idea for a “Security One Card”.

Sound smart? The US Patent (专利) Office thought so, and it approved a patent for his idea in April.

Barnhill has a lot of hobbies, including designing websites. He got the idea at the age of nine when he saw his father using a keycard to enter their hotel room. He thought, “The hotels are wasting money with the key cards.” So, instead of using a hotel-issued key card, guests could use their credit cards—only if the hotel added a special magnetic strip. At check-out, the strip would simply be removed.

Now that he has his patent, his next step is a letter-writing campaign to get support from major credit card companies.

“I’m going to be writing letters to credit card companies to ask if they can co-operate. I hope they’ll give me money every time someone puts a strip on the back of another card, or every time the idea is used, “ Barnhill said. “I’ll write the letters and see what they say. If they say no, I’ll ask someone else, another credit card company.”

He is hoping to make money from his patent and has decided it would be better to collect royalties (专利使用费) if the idea takes off rather than sell his patent.

“The ATM person who invented that sold it totally, and if he’d chosen royalties he’d get like 2 cents for every transaction (交易) and he’d be a billionaire now.” Scott said.

33. The advantage of “Security One Card” is that it ___________.

A. could avoid taking many cards          

B. would be very safe to carry about

C. could save you’re a lot of money       

D. could have a lot of magnetic strips on it

34. The immediate cause of Scott’s invention was that ___________.

A. he found that adults have to carry around so many plastic cards

   B. he found even a hotel issued its own cards—keycards

C. he realized it’s a big waste to make so many plastic cards

   D. he realized it would be a good chance to make big money

35. From the story, we can see Scott is ___________.

   A. very wealthy   B. clever but lazy   C. creative and determined    D. outdated

To have a successful family, there are several things that should be prepared. It is more than just having the resources to provide material things for family members.    36            

   37              Statistics have shown that broken families have resulted first from lack of money. Contrary to popular belief, having a job does not mean gaining enough money. Start having a good financial habit before having a family of your own.

Food, clothing, education are important to your children.    38              Consult the Internet or old people if you are not sure how to bring up your children.  

A family should have a time for itself. Set a schedule for days where you spend the time together with your wife or husband and your kids.    39              Remember that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to spending time with your family.

   40               So if you cannot beat them, join them. Get into video games where you can play with your kids. Invest in educational video games. But never forget the physical games that will keep your kids fit.

These things seem ordinary. But if you remember all of these to be able to provide what a family really needs, the reward will be great.

   A. Video games will be part of your children’s life.

B. Here is the list of things that a family really needs.

   C. You also need to know the best way to educate your children.

   D. Go swimming with you children when possible.

   E. Family requires money.

   F. Stay alone if you have something to do.

   G. It does not have to be very frequent.