When 47-year-old volunteer Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and “never been kissed, actually”, few in the audience would have wondered why. This Ms Boyle, looking unfashionable, from a village in Scotland, shocked the three judges and the audience with the song I dreamed a dream from the musical Les Miserables on a show of Britain’s Got Talent, one of the hottest reality shows in Britain.
She couldn’t hide the awkwardness when walking to the center of the stage in a housedress, and everyone — including the judges — seemed laughing at her when she said she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. As soon as she began singing, however, everyone in the auditorium fell silent, then rose within seconds to applaud her incredible voice as the celebrity judges sat open-mouthed, and remained standing to the end.
After her performance, one of the judges Piers Morgan said, “Without doubt that was the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years of this show. When you stood there everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now. That was amazing.” Actress Amanda Holden followed, “I’m so thrilled because I know that we everybody were against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical (憤世嫉俗的) and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever.”
Susan obviously won over the hearts of millions around the world with sensation spreading across the Atlantic. Hollywood actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore — who between them have nearly 1.5 million followers — speak highly of her. Kutcher posted a link to the video clip (片段). The Scottish talent made her live American debut via satellite connection on CBS’s The Early Show, doing an interview and singing live from her room. And she already accepted an invitation from talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Now Boyle has become one of the world’s hottest celebrities. The video clip of her performance has been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube, becoming a hit on the Internet.
小題1: We learn from the passage that Susan Boyle ______.

A．rose from a low social class

B．had an unhappy marriage

C．lived with a dog alone on a farm

D．won the championship in the Britain’s Got Talent show

小題2: At the beginning of the show, almost everybody ______.

A．looked forward to her wonderful performance

B．was attracted by her beautiful dress

C．looked down upon her

D．placed great hope on her

小題3:We can infer that ______ contributed most to her global popularity.

A．the judges

B．the Internet

C．the newspaper

D．the advertisement

小題4:The 4^th paragraph intends to tell us ______.

A．how Susan Boyle achieved her success

B．the comment made by American actor Ashton Kutcher

C．Susan Boyle’s influence in the USA

D．Oprah Winfrey’s invitation to Susan Boyle

Every year in America, high-school students who want to go to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them or whether any will be admitted at all. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one’s mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English portion（部分）involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.
But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, hand-written on the spot. That’s an interesting way to test writing ability, put content aside, have you ever seen young people’s handwriting lately? Or anyone’s for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks. They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word. And they hand-write, or more often print, a word or two of identification on luggage and lunch bags. Otherwise penmanship (書法) — once taught so morally and easefully by second-grade teachers, has gone the way of the dodo bird which has died out.
Yet today’s kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and legibly (字跡清楚地), for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl of young people who’ve been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one’s score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers and earn bigger tax refunds (退稅) because the tax inspectors can actually read the computations (計(jì)算結(jié)果). And don’t forget, we all have to turn to handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when power goes out.
小題1: The subjects to be tested in the SAT include ______.

A．math, English, reading and handwriting

B．math, grammar, reading and writing

C．math, foreign language and writing

D．math, English and handwriting

小題2:The author writes this passage to introduce the fact that ______.

A．writing seems to be very important in the SAT

B．those who will go to colleges have to take the SAT

C．students should practice handwriting more often

D．in the computer age kids know how to write legibly

小題3: What does the underlined word “scribble” probably mean?

A．Write quickly and roughly.	B．Take notes difficultly.
C．Print penmanship carefully.	D．Describe written word generously.

小題4:According to the passage good handwriting can ______.

A．help students get high scores in tests	B．make a student more popular
C．measure students’ ability	D．a(chǎn)ssist one to get a job

On a cold January morning in a Washington, DC Metro Station, a man with a violin played for about an hour. During that time about 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He stopped for a few seconds and then hurried on. Four minutes later the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat without stopping and continued to walk. After 6 minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and walked away. After 10 minutes, a 3-year-old boy stopped but his mother dragged him along hurriedly. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
Finally only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $ 32. When he finished playing, no one applauded.
The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate (復(fù)雜的) pieces ever written, with a violin worth $ 3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $ 100 each.
The program was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about understanding, taste, and people’s social position. In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we appreciate beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
If we do not take a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
小題1: The first paragraph is aimed to tell us ______.

A．the man chose a bad place for playing	B．what background the story was set in
C．how busy people were that morning	D．many people showed interest in music

小題2:We can infer from the passage that ______.

A．none of the passers-by were fond of music

B．beauty can only be enjoyed in particular places

C．in a way, the violinist was mistaken as a beggar

D．Joshua Bell first played the violin in the station

小題3:According to the writer, people should _____.

A．listen to as many great musicians as possible

B．try to create beautiful things for others to enjoy

C．show kindness to anyone whether they’re rich or not

D．notice and appreciate what’s going on in their daily life

When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.
It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie’s basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.
“Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint.” She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted bit stripes (條紋) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!
The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn’t wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.
My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, “What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors’ trees, but this! Come inside right now!” I stood there glaring hack at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art. 
“Now go clean it up!” Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.  
Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.
小題1:What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?

A．To introduce Stephanie to her.	B．To prevent her from seeing his painting.
C．To put the materials back in the yard.	D．To show his artwork to her.

小題2: In his mother’s eyes, the writer_______.

A．was a born artist	B．a(chǎn)lways caused trouble
C．was a problem solver	D．worked very hard

小題3:The underlined word “rainbow” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

A．the rainbow in the sky	B．the stripes on the pavement
C．something imaginative and fun	D．important lessons learned in childhood

小題4:It can be learned from the passage that parents should ________.

A．encourage children to paint	B．value friendship among children
C．discover the hidden talent in children	D．protect rather than destroy children’s dreams

Today is my first day at Merchiston Castle School,and I was really nervous about it, because I have never visited the school before and didn’t take any summer course. Despite my anxiety,I soon relaxed once I arrived; the staff were so nice that I felt my spoken English was better than it actually was! As soon as I walked into the dayroom of my boarding house,I was absolutely(完全地) amazed by the friendly atmosphere; everyone was so friendly that a boy as shy as I had no difficulty in setting in,and I made many new friends on my very first day,although I was struggling to remember all the names.
Also I realized there were other international students in the house from all over the world,such as South Korea,Japan and Russia.Although their English was not so fluent,it didn’t take long for us to understand each other at all.In some ways,it was even better to practice Enlgish by speaking to the international students,because we were both learning.
As a boarder,the quality of food is something I consider very important,and Merchiston has not let me down.The school kitchens are run by a professional catering company,and the quality of food is excellent,also they take the issue of a healthy diet really seriously.I remember once I was asked to take more salad for my meal by a member of the kitchen staff for I did not have enough vegetables.This brings to another point of being a boarder:you need to learn how to look after yourself and be responsible for yourself.One of the huge advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school,which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of the bed as early as the daypupils!
小題1:Why was the writer nervous when he was at Merchiston Castle School on the first day?

A．Because he had no friends and relatives there.

B．Because he didn’t know the school well.

C．Because he was not good at English.

D．Because he was shy.

小題2:On the first day,        .

A．though the writer was anxious,he soon relaxed

B．he found the dayroom of his boarding house terrible

C．he made many new friends,but he didn’t remember any of their names

D．he thought he spoke English better than the staff in the school

小題3:Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?

A．In the boarding house,there are only students from South Korea,Japan and Russia.

B．The international students in the boarding house don’t speak Englsih very fluently.

C．The food in Merchiston doesn’t make the writer disappiointed.

D．The professional catering company thinks the issue of a healthy diet is very important.

小題4:The underlined word“boarder”in the first paragraph means“      ”.

A．a(chǎn) student who is from abroad	B．a(chǎn) student who lives at school
C．a(chǎn) student who is good at English	D．a(chǎn) student who used to be shy

Many American schools have a student exchange program with foreign countries. Along with this program,there is usually another one called the“American Host Family”program.As its name suggests,the program gets American families involved in foreign students’ lives in America and offers homes for them.
Foreign students generally welcome such an opportunity to have a“family”here,but there are also those who prefer to stay“homeless”.
Many American families volunteer to host foreign students.However,if there is a shortage of host families,schools also get in touch with local people and introduced foreign students to them.
The“American Host Family”program changes in lengths of time.It can go from a few days to a few years,depending on each individual school.After the first year is over,it is up to foreign students and their“families”to decide if they want to stay together as a“family”.American families can host as many foreign students as they like.They can either have several students or just one at a time.Many families start with new students each year while still keeping in touch with the old ones.Schools usually leave it to foreign students and their host families to decide their activities after both sides meet.
My school, however, holds activities every year. On major holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas,foreign students are usually invited to their thomes for dinner.Even schools that do not have host family programs often arrange students to get together with American families on these special holiday occasions.
It is typical that a host family invites its foreign daughter or son over,and they cook the student’s home food together,Undoubtedly,Chinese students are usually considered good cooks,whether or not they are really qualified for such praise at home.Although many Chinese students rarely cooked at home,they often have a hard time making their American friends believe that they cannot cook.It often happens when a Chinese student promises to cook a Chinese meal for his host family,he usually sees a little crowd expecting him:friends or relatives are also invited over for the“special”Chinese food!
小題1:The best title of the passage might be          .

A．Studying in the U.S.

B．The“Host Family Program”in the U.S.

C．The“Student Exchange Program”in the U.S.

D．Activities in American Schools

小題2:What’s the purpose of the“American Host Family program”?

A．To bring foreign students closer to American life.

B．To provide homes for foreign students.

C．To make greater progress in the study of foreign students.

D．To supply“sons”or “daughters”for American families.

小題3:What can we know about the program from the fourth and fifth paragraphs?

A．Its time,the number of students and families.

B．Its activities,the number of schools and students.

C．Its lengths of time,the number of students and activities.

D．The number of students,the lengths of time and important holidays.

小題4:We can know from the last paragraph that          .

A．foreign students must prepare their home food for their host family

B．not all Chinese students are good cooks in the eyes of Americans

C．it is good manners to invite relatives or friends to taste foreign food

D．Americans are very interested in foreign food

 

Dear Expert: I was asked to retrieve my 14-year-old daughter from a five-day camping trip.She was suffering from such severe separation anxiety,her teacher thought she should go home.She hadn’t eaten anything and had refused to participate in any activities.The thing is my daughter is extremely bright and has many friends;she organized a few friends into a band,and it belongs to several school clubs.She’s just always had an extreme fear of being away from home.I don’t want her to miss out on other trips. Yours truly, Jonathan

 

Dear Jonathan: Sometimes kids can push through homesickness,but in other instances they become hurt mentally and develop greater anxiety around outings,which can worsen and prolong(延長) the problem.Separation anxiety can be the result of many complex interactions some genetic(遺傳的) and some learned. People with high anxiety tend to be fearful and worried, ever when the sense of threat is minimum（最低程度）.Lots of talented,creative and successful people are exceedingly anxious. I believe your daughter is bright,active and popular,but simply can’t do well outside her home base.My suggestion is to take things in small steps,so your daughter can experience success,and always have a fallback(退卻) plan if she needs it.For instance,she can plan an overnight with a friend,but assure her it’s no big deal to pick her up at midnight if she changes her mind. What’s important is to recognize the fear,and make plans to deal with whatever may cause distress.In other words,don’t try to talk your daughter out of her fears,equip her to master them.This way she’ll eventually gain the confidence to go on further trips. Expert

 
小題1:What does the underlined word“retrieve”mean?

A．Go with someone.	B．Take someone back.
C．Separate from someone.	D．Miss someone.

小題2:Which of the following statements is TURE?

A．Separation anxiety is the result of different reasons.

B．Separation anxiety is genetic.

C．Only creative people suffer from separation anxiety.

D．Separation anxiety is of the same level.

小題3:When can’t the 14-year-old daughter function well?

A．When organizing a band at school.

B．When she is not far away from her home.

C．When she is in a club.

D．When she is camping far away from home.

The first day of school we were interested to get to know a new classmate.I looked around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.I found a little old lady with a warm smile.
She said,“Hi ! I’m Rose.I’m 87 years old.Can I give you a hug?”I laughed and I heartily responded,“Of course!”
“Why are you in college at such a young,innocent(天真無邪的)age?”I asked.
She jokingly replied,“I’m here to meet a rich husband,get married,have children, and then travel around.”
“Not seriously,”I asked.I was curious why she took on this challenge at this age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”she told me.We became instant friends.
Over the year,Rose became a campus icon(偶像) and she easily made friends wherever she went.She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students.
At the end of the semester,we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us.
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.Here are the secrets to staying young.You have to laugh and find humor every day.You’ve got to have a dream.When you lose your dreams,you die.Unfortunately we have many people like this walking around?”she said.
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.Anybody can grow older.That doesn’t take any talent or ability,”she added.“But growing up requires finding the opportunity in change.Have no regrets.The elederly usually don’t regret what they did,but rather things they did not do.”
One week after graduation that year,Rose died peacefully in her sleep.She taught us by example that__________________.
小題1:Why was Rose in college at 87? Because        .

A．she wanted to meet a rich husband

B．she wanted to get married and have children

C．she wanted to travel around

D．she dreamed of having a college education

小題2:According to the passage,Rose loved to do the following EXCEPT       .

A．dress up

B．enjoy the attention from the other students

C．play football

D．make friends

小題3:According to what Rose said,we can know that to stay young you must not     .

A．laugh	B．be humorous
C．have a dream	D．lose your dream

小題4:According to the last paragraph but one we know         .

A．growing older is quite different from growing up

B．growing older needs talent

C．growing up doesn’t require ability

D．the elderly usually have no regrets

小題5:Which of the following can be used to fill in the blank at the end of the passage?

A．where there is a will, there’s a way

B．never too late to learn

C．Study hard and you will be young

D．never too late to be all you can possibly be

John Snow was born and worked as a __36__ in Great Britain．Exactly, he was an anaesthetist，37 means that he put people to sleep during operation．He also began to experiment using the same drugs to help women when they had   38 ．That is why he became the doctor who  39 Queen victoria to give the birth of her babies．
At the time he lived，cholera was the most  40 disease．Neither its cause，nor its  41 was understood．So many thousands of people died  42 there was an outbreak．John Snow was  43 to help ordinary people   44  from cholera．He  45  the disease began in the stomach and the patients died quickly after severe vomiting(嘔吐)and diarrhea (腹泄)．46 ，he believed cholera resulted from water．When another  47 hit London in 1854，John Snow set to work．
John Snow approached the problem in a systematic way．He marked on a map  48 all the dead people had lived and found many of the   49  were near a water pump．It seemed the water was the 50 ．So he collected information about the  51 habits of the dead people and used them eventually to prove his theory．With the information  52  ，John Snow was sure  that   53  water was the cause．
Then people were required to 54  the water company to supply them with clean water．Thanks __55___ John Snow there was no more outbreaks of cholera．

小題1:	A．scientist B．a(chǎn)n official C．a(chǎn)n officer D．doctor

小題2:A．who           B．that          C which        D．it

小題3:	A．pain B．a(chǎn)che C．difficulties D．babies

小題4:	A．a(chǎn)ssisted with B．took care C．look after D．joined

小題5:	A．surprising B．interesting C．interested D．frightening

小題6:	A．cure B．method C．result D．threat

小題7:	A．each time B．a(chǎn)t one time C．in no time D．the first time

小題8:	A．delighted B．devoted C．a(chǎn)bsorbed D．determined

小題9:	A．suffered B．having suffered C．suffering D．being suffered

小題10:

A．noticed B．was noticing C．has noticed D．had noticed

小題11:

A．Therefore B．As a result of C．So D．According to

小題12:

A．disease B．disaster C．outbreak D．case

小題13:

A．how B．where C．what D．in which

小題14:

A．women B．men C．death D．injuries

小題15:

A．result B．cause C．origin D．case

小題16:

A．drinking B．1iving C．working D．housing

小題17:

A．having collected B．being collected C．collected D．collecting

小題18:

A．being polluted B．polluted C．polluting D．having polluted

小題19:

A．take on B．call on C．depend on D．carry on

小題20:

A．to B．/ C．for D．on

One day a teacher was giving her young students a lesson on how the government works. She was trying to explain the principle of income tax (收入稅).
“You see ,” she began , speaking slowly and carefully , “each person who works must pay part of his or her salary (薪水) to the government . If you make a high salary , your taxes are high . If you don’t make much money , your taxes are low .”
“Is that clear?” she asked. “Does everyone understand the meaning of income tax?” The students nodded.
Are there any questions?” she asked. The students shook their heads.
“Very good!” she said.” “Now, I would like you to take a piece of paper and write a short paragraph on the subject of income tax.”
Little Joey was a slow learner. He had lots of problems with spelling and grammar, but this time he at least seemed to understand the task. He took his pen and after a few minutes, he handed the teacher the following composition:
Once I had a dog. His name was Tax.
I opened the door and in come Tax.
小題1:The teacher was trying to explain        one day.

A．the basic principles of the income tax

B．how the government works

C．everyone should pay income tax

D．how much tax one should pay for his income

小題2: After the teacher’s explanation,       .

A．a(chǎn)ll the students shook their heads

B．many of the students were still puzzled

C．Most students understood the meaning of income tax

D．Some students didn’t understand their teacher

小題3:The students were asked       .

A．to say something about income tax

B．to answer some questions on income tax

C．to write a composition on “income tax”

D．to explain the principle of income tax

小題4:Little Joey      .

A．was clear about the subject	B．grasped what income tax meant
C．wrote a paragraph about his dog	D．did as what he was told to do