Paris has some great museums ______ visitors can see fine works of impressionist painters.

A. where B. which C. that D. when

My grandmother Adele loved culture and was generous with its gifts. When I was a child, she took me to museums, restaurants, dances. She showered me with gifts from her travels around the world. But I can only remember her giving me one book—a book that, to this day, I have not read. She presented me with her own favorite childhood book: Hans Brinker. My grandmother was happy to share this book with me. She even decorated the title page with her proud writing.

I tried to read it. I adored reading, and would dive into a new pile of books from the library all at once. But something about Hans Brinker just wouldn’t let me in. The story was set in Holland, a long time ago. It felt dull and unfamiliar—even though I was a fan of classics of other times and places. I simply read the first pages over and over. I could not progress.

Standing on a bookshelf in our living room, the book was like something I avoided. It scolded me for not being interested, for not trying hard enough, for disappointing my grandmother.

The book started to fit in, almost forgotten, until Adele asked. Had I read it? Did I like it? Always determined, she wanted to know the answer. I would make some kind of excuse, feel bad, and open it again, hoping for a new reaction. The book weighed on me.

Years passed and finally Adele and I both accepted that I would never read Hans Brinker. Eventually I cleared the book from the shelf. The Hans Brinker experience led me to set a rule that I’ve lived by ever since: Do not ask about a book given as a gift. Don’t ask, despite your desire to discuss it to grow closer. The desire for such connection is what gives book-giving with special meaning—and increases the owner’s possibility to be a letdown.

Guilt is basically the same as for all gifts, though. If the giver doesn’t have the pleasure of seeing or hearing about the gift being enjoyed, and asks whether it is, then the owner—unless she can truthfully say “yes”—either has to admit to not liking the present, or else lie on the spot. Neither is pleasant. So, don’t ask.

1.When the author was a kid, his grandmother ________.

A. took him to travel around the world a lot

B. loved to take him to museums and stores

C. shared her childhood stories with him

D. gave him many gifts

2.What does the author think about the book his grandmother gave him?

A. Boring. B. Interesting.

C. Puzzling. D. Disappointing.

3.The underlined sentence “The book weighed on me” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______.

A. the book is too heavy for the author to carry

B. the author feels stressful facing the book

C. the book is full of powerful viewpoints

D. the author keeps reading the book

4.The author learns from the Hans Brinker’s experience that never________.

A. give others books as gifts

B. lie to people who give you gifts

C. get close to others through gifts

D. talk about the books given as gifts

---Have you heard about the shark attack accident at the SeaWorld show?

---Yeah, how horrible! A trainer ______ in front of the audience.

A．had been killed B．has been killed

C．was killed D．is killed

The spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria is believed _______ by August, 2014.

A．to be controlled

B．to have been controlled

C．to control

D．to have controlled

---The zookeeper was really annoyed with me.

--- How could he have been if you _______ stones at the animals?

A．didn’t throw

B．don’t throw

C．hadn’t thrown

D．haven’t thrown

According to the latest BBC news, a five-year-old boy from England _______ the youngest computer specialist in the world．

A．became B．becomes

C．had become D．has become

閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)

Summer is slipping away from me．Some days, it makes me want to cry．Other days, I feel a sense of expectation within me just thinking about fall that makes me want to burst．Tonight, all five of us were in the family room doing our own things.

At this moment, my littlest kid is my number one trouble and my number one joy．He has a tooth on the way and although it’s such a tiny thing, it’s causing so much grief．I’m holding him a lot and I’m not going to lie．I live for his afternoon nap(小睡) so I’m able to actually get dressed and use the restroom.

The big E is starting school soon．The other day, I found myself a bit depressed about the end of summer and the beginning of another school year．I looked out of our front window with eyes that were heavy and a bit teary．Then, I suddenly realized just how silly this end of summer depression of mine is．I can’t change time．But, I can change my emotions and my thoughts．I decided not to spend my final days of summer vacation walking around with a sad face．I decided to hug the last few days of summer and remind myself that before I know it, we will be back in our school routine and all will go well.

This week we plan on meeting teachers．I’m taking my girl to have her nails done before her first day of kindergarten．We want to bake a few dozen cookies．We’ll take our evening walks as usual and stay up late．And last but not least, I’ll get school clothes ready, I’ll pack lunches and write lunch notes, we’ll read “The Kissing Hand,” like we normally do, and I’ll tuck(掖好被子) my third grader and kindergartener in their little beds before the big first day.

Thank you summer, you’ve been warm and wonderful, you’ve been sweet and sticky, you’ve been refreshing and exactly what we need．And your sunsets have been amazing, so thank you．

1.According to Paragraph 1, the author ______.

A．feels excited

B．has mixed feelings

C．feels worried

D．has bad feelings

2.How will the author spend the final days of the summer vacation?

A．Live a simple life.

B．Stay at home and relax herself.

C．Treasure the vacation.

D．Walk around with a depressed face.

3.From the passage, we can learn that the author ______.

A．is fond of reading novels

B．has two annoying children

C．often takes evening walks

D．has no time to get dressed

I watch documentaries, not movies．I read history books, not fiction．I use every free moment to accomplish one of the tasks on my never-ending checklist, and I am completely filled with thoughts of productivity．An hour sleeping is an hour wasted．And like the rest of 21st century America, I like it．But this fixation on productivity is increasingly destroying character and transforming men into robots.

New York Times columnist David Brooks warned American University students of this cultural decline in a speech．“We cut off all things spiritual and emotional in a competitive urge to stand out”, he said, “The pressure to succeed professionally, to acquire skills, to do the things you need to do to succeed in an information age economy really became the overwhelming（難以應(yīng)付的） pressures, and it sort of eclipses the thinking about character and morality.”

Many students happily go to college, viewing it as a next step on their rise to professional achievement．Forcing as many success-building activities into their schedules as they can, they enjoy keeping busy with little sleep．“Today’s outstanding kids are likely to spend their afternoons and weekends shuttling from one skill-improving activity to the next,” Brooks wrote in an article, “We fear failure more than we desire success.”

A century ago, college was about character building．Today, our characters are in decline．We are experts on economics, material things and professional skills．We fail to discuss and understand relationships, emotions and all things spiritual．

Philosopher Karl Popper divided the world into two categories: Clocks and Clouds．Clock problems are those that can be taken apart, examined and solved through deductive reasoning（演繹推理）．Clouds cannot be taken apart．Cloud problems represent whole systems that need to be understood in a different way.

“When we have a Cloud problem, we try to turn it into a Clock problem,” Brooks said．And in a reason-centered culture, adding titles to one’s resume becomes a trend．At American University, 85 percent of seniors (and 89 percent of business majors) graduate with at least one practical experience which is often helpful to a student’s future career, but can sometimes draw focus away from academics.

To prevent the death of man’s character, Brooks urges rediscovering our human natures through falling in love．And by love he means love for a task, job, or another person．“Synchronicity is key to happiness,” he said．Rather than crazily increasing our long lists of accomplishments, we need to lose ourselves in what we do, and success will come on its own.

1.From Paragraph 1, we can learn that people __________.

A．a(chǎn)re controlled by time

B．a(chǎn)re keen on reading books

C．a(chǎn)re changing their characters

D．a(chǎn)re eager to achieve more

2.In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “eclipses” means _________.

A．deletes B．weakens

C．worsens D．emphasizes

3.The last paragraph mainly tells us that __________．

A．love is more important than focus

B．the focus on human natures counts

C．more work contributes to happiness

D．success comes from devotion to work

4.The purpose of this passage is to __________.

A．bring awareness to character building

B．stress the importance of productivity

C．warn about the pressure to seek success

D．criticize students’ desire for achievements

Mary has her weakness, ___________ that doesn’t mean she is not qualified for her job.

A. and B. yet C. so D. or

The paper ox my grandmother _________ for me is my most valued birthday gift.

A. cut B. will cut C. had cut D. cuts