About 21,000 young people in 17 American states do not go to classes in school buildings. Instead, they receive their school education by working at home on computers. The Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools,” and that is about twice as many as two years ago.
The money for students to go to a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.
Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.
Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular. For example, a new cybershool called Common-wealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.
Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical(技術(shù)的) services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computer when necessary.
Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another. But 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time. They were guests honor at their graduation.
【小題1】What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschool?

Imagine an eco-conscious city where rooftops have been transformed into fertile, green gardens. It's a place where every home is equipped with a system that recycles valuable water resources. In this town, protecting the planet is a way of life. That's how Abby Sharp, 14, Wyatt Peery, 13, and Tom Krajnak, 14, saw their city of tomorrow. The vision won the eighth-graders from Bexley, Ohio, first prize at the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition.
The annual design competition challenges middle school students to use engineering to deal with issues that affect the earth. This year the competition focused on water conservation. Participants had to come up with ways to improve water use in the home. Kids from 38 middle schools across the country competed in the finals. The event took place from February 17-18 in Washington, D.C. More than 30,000 students entered the competition.
Abby, Wyatt and Tom call their winning city Novo Mondum. The name means "new world" in Latin. Novo Mondum sits on the coast of Iceland. The group chose the spot for its wealth of clean energy resources, such as geothermal（地?zé)岬模?energy and hydropower. Both sources use the power of nature to generate electricity. Geothermal energy draws heat from deep inside the Earth. Hydropower gets energy from flowing water. "Our city is very globally aware," Abby told TFK.
Students team up with a teacher and a volunteer engineer mentor（顧問）to develop their cities. Each group creates a fictional city on SimCity 4 Deluxe, a computer game that allows players to build virtual towns. Then they construct tabletop models of the cities and write essays describing their project. The models must be made using recycled materials and cost no more than $100 to build.
【小題1】 What’s the main feature of the city designed by the three winners?

There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.
People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things: the pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend (hurt) many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing(批評(píng)) and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation(模仿). It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors(擁有者). The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.
Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend(冒犯) many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings. These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact(接觸) with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.
【小題1】People who are unhappy________.

A nine-year-old girl named Arwa lives with her parents and six brothers and sisters in an old, two-roomed house. She knows nothing of wealth and power but, in her own way, she has helped make history.
Arwa was the youngest of three Yemeni girls who recently went to court complaining they were married against their will and asking for a divorce（離婚）. It forced the government to change its law on early marriage.
Her father Abdul Ali described how a stranger asked him in the market if he knew some marriageable girls. After visiting their home and seeing Arwa and her 15-year-lold sister, he chose the younger child. Abdul Ali said the man had promised he would wait for the girl to reach puberty（青春期）before calling her to his house but then changed his mind.
So why did he sell his daughter to a stranger? “He gave me $150 and promised another $2,000. I was really in need of money and thought it was a solution for the family,” he explained.
When Arwa fought against her husband, she was beaten. The pain only came to an end when her husband and father quarreled and Abdul Ali allowed her to seek outside help. Then she went looking for a neighbor to lend her money for the journey to court. The judge at court took pity on her and gave her freedom.
Yemen’s Minister for Social Affairs, Professor Amat al-Razak Hammed, recognizes that the government needs to make a change and will personally decide on a legal age of 16. She says that both fathers who marry their children off early and officials who sign the marriage contracts should be punished.
Arwa’s courage to seek a divorce was inspired by another young girl from the capital, Sana’a who has become a national famous person.
60. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 refer to?
A. Arwa’s behavior influenced the government to change the law on early marriage.
B. Arwa was the first girl to fight for the right of women to have freedom of marriage.
C. Arwa worked together with the government to draw up new marriage laws.
D. Arwa set a good example to other girls who have similar problems.
61. How much money did Arwa’s father probably get in total by selling her?
A. $150.          B.$2,000.      C.$2,150.             D.$3,000.
62. Which of the following statements about Arwa is NOT true?
A. She is too young to know anything about wealth and power.
B. She got the money for the journey to court from her father.
C. She was one of the Yemeni girls who used the law to seek a divorce.
D. Her husband treated her very badly.
63. According to the new marriage law in Yemen, _______.
A. girls can’t get married until they are 20 years old
B. girls can get married without their parents’ permission
C. officials are forbidden to sign marriage contracts
D. fathers who marry their children off early will be punished

完形填空（共20小題；每小題1分，滿分20分）

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。

One day in summer I stepped into a tiny coffee shop to drink a cup of black coffee. As I entered, I found a very old woman bent   1.   a table near the door. Her back was so   2. twisted(彎曲) by some sadness that her face nearly  3.  the table-top. I sat down facing her two tables away.

    "Poor woman," I thought. "What does she  4.  life? Why does God let people live so 5.  past their prime(黃金時(shí)期)?"

As I thought,   6.   aged lady entered the shop and sat down with her. Soon the two of them were talking about    7.  . They talked of how little the shop had  8.   in 70 years... In minutes the two of them were   9.   with laughter.

    I looked again at the   10.  woman, then in the mirror on a nearby wall,   11.  a picture of  myself.

    I was wearing a dirty shirt. She was well dressed in white, gold rings on her fingers.

    I was in   12.   spirits. She was laughing, smiling.

    I was putting the  13.    of my life together. She had millions of wonderful   14.   to recall.

    She was   15.    the day with a good friend. I was   16.   worried about getting old. She was old but it wasn't  17.  her.

    As I left the shop, I thought of my   18.   questions about God letting people live past their prime. Why, that woman was more  19.   and more sensitive than I was.    20.   has not bent her spirit. But I am always filling my mind with something unpleasant.

 21. A. to              B. on           C. over                 D. toward

 22. A. heavily             B. badly            C. slightly             D. hardly

 23. A. struck              B. reached      C. stuck           D. touched

24.A. get out of        B. get off      C. get away with        D. get into

 25. A. hard                B. long             C. slowly          D. rapidly

 26. A. other               B. the very         C. another         D. a certain

 27. A. bright future       B. recent history   C. the present day      D. childhood days

 28.A. changed          B. improved         C. rebuilt              D. developed

  29. A. jumping            B. trembling        C. burning         D. running

  30. A. older              B. poor             C. first                D. younger

31. A. watching        B. taking       C. searching       D. catching

  32. A. high               B. low          C. good            D. sad

33. A. dreams             B. pages            C. pieces          D. hopes

34. A. affairs           B. sufferings       C. incidents            D. memories

35. A. spending           B. enjoying         C. sharing         D. wasting

36. A. certainly         B. completely   C. naturally            D. secretly

37. A. hurting            B. choking      C. defeating            D. beating

38. A. funny         B. foolish      C. serious         D. curious

39. A. alive              B. strong       C. useful               D. powerful

40. A. Wealth           B. Life             C. Time             D. Age