Learning about problems between different races in other countries ________ you understand the tensions in other countries．

A．help           B．helps           C．helping               D．to help

The committee is discussing the problem right now．It will _______ have been solved by the end of next week．

A．eagerly          B．hopefully         C．immediately             D．gradually

“I don’t think it’s my ________ that the TV blew up．I just turned it on, that’s all,” said the boy．

A．error         B．mistake            C．fault              D．duty

--- What do you want to do next? We have half an hour until the basketball game．

--- ________．Whatever you want to do is fine with me．

A．It just depends                                     B．All right

C．It’s up to you                                      D．Glad to hear that

One morning I wasted nearly an hour watching a tiny ant carry a hug feather．Several times, it   1    several obstacles in its path．And after a momentary pause it would make the necessary detour （繞道）．  2   one point, the ant had to cross a crack about 10mm wide．After some   3   thoughts, the ant laid the feather over the crack, walked   4   it and picked the feather up on the other side, then continued on its way．I was  5   by the cleverness of this ant．It was only a small insect, lacking in   6   yet equipped with a brain to reason, explore, discover and overcome．  7    this ant, like the other two-legged creatures   8   on the earth, also shares human failings．

After some time the ant   9  reached its destination --- a flower bed and a small hole that was the entrance to its   10   home．It was there that the ant met its   11  ．How could that large feather possibly   12   such a small hole? Of course, it couldn’t．So the ant, after all this   13   and using great brightness, overcoming problems a1l along the way, just gave up the   14   and went home．The ant had not thought the problem through   15   it began its journey and in the end the feather was   16   more than a burden．Isn’t our   17   like that?

We worry about our families; we worry about the   18   of money; and we worry about all kinds of things．These are all burdens --- the things we pick up along life’s path, and drag them around the obstacles and over the cracks that life will bring, only to   19   that at the destination they are   20  and we can’t take them with us．

1．A．brought about        B．got over              C．came across        D．dealt with

2．A．At                        B．For                     C．To               D．With

3．A．brave             B．tiring            C．magic           D．short

4．A．a(chǎn)cross            B．through        C．beside             D．behind

5．A．frightened          B．a(chǎn)ttracted         C．a(chǎn)nnoyed          D．satisfied

6．A．size              B．height           C．depth             D．length

7．A．Therefore         B．But               C．Moreover        D．Otherwise

8．A．working           B．sleeping          C．1iving             D．walking

9．A．probably            B．suddenly          C．easily              D．finally

10．A．underground      B．lonely             C．comfortable      D．big

11．A．partner           B．match             C．parent             D．friend

12．A．fit               B．fix                C．suit               D．fill

13．A．decision          B．pleasure         C．trouble             D．matter

14．A．insect           B．problem          C．hole                  D．feather

15．A．a(chǎn)fter             B．until             C．before             D．once

16．A．nothing        B．a(chǎn)nything          C．something        D．everything

17．A．study          B．a(chǎn)im                C．dream             D．1ife

18．A．waste            B．lack              C．worth              D．danger

19．A．think            B．find              C．wonder          D．warn

20．A．bad             B．practical          C．useless            D．meaningful

When someone gives you advice, listen without judgment, try to find value in what you’re hearing, and say “Thank you”．This wise advice is easy to understand yet hard to practice．I’ll give you an example from my life when I totally blew it in terms of practicing what I teach．

In my work I travel constantly．I always put off going to the airport until the last second．My wife, Lynda, was sitting next to me in the front seat．I was racing along and not paying much attention．Lynda cried out, “Look out! There is a red light up ahead．”

Being a trained behavioral science professional --- who teaches others the value of encouraging advice --- I naturally screamed at her, “I know there is a red light up ahead! Don’t you think I can see?” When we arrived at the airport, Lynda didn’t speak to me．I wondered why she seemed mad at me．

During the flight to New York, I did a cost-benefit analysis．I asked myself, “What was the cost of just listening when Lynda called out the warning? Zero．” I then reasoned, “What was the potential benefit? What could have been saved?” Several potential benefits came to mind, including her life, my life, and the lives of other people．

20090507

I landed in New York feeling ashamed of myself．I immediately called Lynda and told her my cost-benefit story．I convinced her, “The next time you help me with my driving, I am just going to say, ‘Thank you．’”

A few months passed, and I had long forgotten the incident．Again, I was racing off to the airport, when Lynda cried out, “Look out for the red light!” I was embarrassed, and then shouted, “Thank you!”

I’m a long way from perfect, but I’m getting better．My suggestion is that you get in the habit of asking the important people in your life how you can do things better．And be ready for an answer．Some people may tell you things like “Look out for the red light．” When this happens, remember that there is possibly some potential benefit．Then just say, “Thank you．”

1．What do we know about the author?                                                      

       A．He is expert at behavioral science．       B．He is gifted in cost-benefit analysis．

       C．He seldom takes his wife’s advice．      D．He often runs the red traffic light．

2．The underlined part “blew it” in Paragraph 1 probably means “__________”．         

       A．became annoyed with the adviser          B．forgot the practical method

       C．failed to say “Thank you”                     D．lost personal judgment

3．It can be inferred from the passage that people __________．

       A．tend to be defensive when given advice 

       B．intend to follow others’ suggestions

       C．had better study behavioral science

       D．should give their opinions patiently

4．The purpose of the passage is to advise people to __________．

       A．do a cost-benefit analysis in daily life

       B．treasure others’ suggestions

       C．learn from the author’s experiences

       D．discover potential benefits

You are invited to join PTPI （People to People International）’s President and CEO, Mary Jean Eisenhower, in America’s Capitol for the 2009 Global Youth Conference!  In D．C．, you will spend four exciting days exploring into this year’s theme, “Global Sustainability: It’s All Connected!”  Come to the GYC to learn how you can work together with friends from around the world to create a better, brighter and greener future!

250 students will stay in the Hyatt Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia from November 11-15, 2009 for this eye-opening conference．We hope that you will join us in exploring PTPI’s mission through international understanding, education, leadership and humanitarianism! 

Highlights of this event will include:

• A key-note address presented by PTPI’s President and CEO, Mary Jean Eisenhower!
• An interactive student group, featuring your peers from across the globe!
• Take an active part in sustaining Washington, D．C．through a service project benefiting the

Anacostia Watershed!

• A unique tour of Washington, D．C．--- we promise that you have never seen D．C．this way before!

• An opportunity to reunite with old friends and make new ones from around the World!

Application

Successful applicants aged 13-18 who will be enrolled in a middle school, high school or home school during the time of the conference will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis．   

We urge students to APPLY ON-LINE TODAY, as applications will likely exceed available space．Upon acceptance into the Global Youth Conference, you will receive a confirmation notice and other important information via e-mail．If you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact People to People International: youthconference@ptpi．org

1．Which of the following students is most likely to be able to attend the GYC?

       A．A third grader in a primary school．     

       B．A 19-year-old student at college．

       C．A student who receives a confirmation notice．

       D．A student who sends the application on Nov．17．

2．Which of the following can best explain the underlined part “on a first-come, first-served basis”?

       A．Your application will be dealt with as soon as it is received．

       B．Your application will be dealt with in the order in which it arrives．

       C．Although your application arrives late, it will be dealt with in time．

       D．You’d better send your application early．

3．The following are the attractions of this event EXCEPT that __________．

       A．there will be a very special tour of Washington, D．C．

       B．it’ll be a great chance to make new friends from across the world

       C．Mary Jean Eisenhower will deliver a key-note address

       D．they will stay in a famous hotel in Arlington

California, once regarded as a leader in the United States for its public higher education system, ranks next to the last in the U．S．for its number of adults with at least a high school diploma, according to the report, titled “California at the Edge of a Cliff,” released by the California Faculty Association．

Meanwhile, the state’s investment（投資） in public higher education has dropped over the past three decades, and now ranks 22nd in the country．That’s despite having the country’s largest public higher education system, the report said．

“It's a collapse（衰退）,” said Thomas Mortenson, author of the report, who is an independent analyst living in Iowa and a senior scholar at the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington, D．C．  “Ranking 49th out of 50 states is an indication that shows the quality of the state’s educational has become much worse in recent decades．” Mortenson said in the report．As of 2007, California ranked 14th in the United States in terms of college educated members of the workforce over 25 years of age, a drop from eighth place in 1981, the report showed．Mortenson said that California has never been the state of high status in education and economy while other states have made greater gains in building a college-educated workforce．

The California Faculty Association is using the report’s findings to criticize Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed funding cuts for education．

Struggling with a 14．8-billion-dollar state budget deficit（赤字）, Schwarzenegger has proposed a combination of sales tax increases, borrowing and major budget cuts, including cutting billions of dollars from the state’s education budget．

1．The passage is mainly about __________．

       A．funding cuts for high education in California

       B．the dangerous situation in California

       C．California’s worse situation in higher education

       D．California’s research on education and economy

2．From the passage we can infer that __________．

       A．California had higher quality in higher education in the past

       B．governor in California agreed to spend more money on education

       C．Thomas Mortenson works at California Faculty Association

       D．investment in higher education has dropped in all states

3．The reason why California has a lower rank in education is that________．

       A．the number of adults has decreased recently

       B．the money to invest in education has been cut

       C．the progress in other states has been made

       D．the result of report has been published late

4．According to the report’s findings, ________ is to blame for the drop in rank of education．

       A．Thomas Mortenson                             B．Arnold Schwarzenegger

       C．the Pell Institute                                   D．California Faculty Association

Scott Langteau has this message for kids: Spend less time playing video games．

It’s a message that many a mom and dad have tried to impress upon many a youngster （and some not-so-youngsters） who spend perhaps a bit too much time with game controllers in hand．

But the 40-year-old Langteau isn’t a parent．He’s a veteran（老手） of the video game industry --- one who played producer on three “Medal of Honor” games and co-founded his own game development company．

Langteau has just published a children’s book called “Sofa Boy”, which tells the story of a kid who spends too much time sitting on the couch with controller held in hand and the rather terrible consequences that follow．

It’s a fairy tale picked straight from Langteau’s own experiences as a kid with a fondness for video games and his own bouts with a bit of game addiction．But first, Langteau would like to make one thing clear: “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t play video games．I think video games are great．I think they do great things for kids．” Instead, Langteau says his book is all about a little something called “moderation（克制）．”

“It’s about being well rounded,” he says．“Just like with anything else, we all need to make sure that there’s a variety in what we do．”

Video gamers can be rather bad-tempered when it comes to accepting criticism about their favorite entertainment．And understandably so．After all, most people who go around talking about the dangers of playing video games tend to be outsiders --- people who don’t play video games and certainly don’t understand that they can be a valuable and healthy form of entertainment．

But Langteau and “Soft Boy” seem to be in a unique position to deliver a message of gaming moderation that the young game masses might actually listen to．After all, this is a man who understands what it means to be a kid with a passion for games．His early experience has taught him a lesson．

1．Which of the following is true of the book “Sofa Boy”?

       A．The book tells of the writer’s own story．

       B．The book describes a veteran on games．

       C．The boy in the book wins a medal for games．

       D．The boy in the book is not an addict on games．

2．We learn from the passage that __________．

       A．Langteau advises the young not to play games

       B．Langteau advises the young play games within limits

       C．playing video games ruins the future of kids

       D．playing video games is of no benefit to kids

3．By saying “It’s about being well rounded”, Langteau thinks __________．

       A．games do great things for kids              B．gamers are usually fat and round

       C．games should be viewed from all sides   D．gamers are to blame for their behaviors

4．What topic will be discussed in the following paragraph?

       A．His idea to create “Sofa Boy”．

       B．His great achievement in games as a kid．

       C．His hard times to set up his game company．

       D．His enthusiasm for games when he was a small boy．

閱讀下面短文，根據(jù)以下提示：1）漢語提示，2）首字母提示，3）語境提示，在每個空格內(nèi)填入一個適當?shù)挠⒄Z單詞，并將該詞完整地寫在右邊相對應的橫線上。所填單詞要求意義準確，拼寫正確。

Dear editor,

I’m a student of Senior Three in a middle school in Fujian Province．

In order to make the best of learning ________ （材料）, the Students’            1．_________

Union of our school is ________ （安排） an activity．We students of Senior  2．_________

Three are called on to give ________ our used books, newspapers or magazines     3．_________

to the students in the lower ________ （年級） after graduation．The idea,     4．_________

________ is intended to promote friendship and encourage economy, is              5．_________

highly praised and s         by the teachers and students alike．The               6．_________

activity will be h        on the first floor of the school library and it will          7．_________

last about ten days, from June 10 to 20．As a student, I am strongly ___           8．_________

the activity because it is very meaningful and h       ．I hope that this            9．_________

kind of activity will continue every year in the ________．                               10．________                                                     

                                            Yours sincerely

                                                Lin Hua