“I would almost rather see you dead,” Robert S．Cassatt, a leading banker of Philadelphia shouted when his twenty-year-old eldest daughter announced that she wanted to become an artist．In the 19th century, playing or drawing or painting on dishes was all right for a young lady, but serious work in art was not．And when the young lady's family ranked among (跻身于) the best of Philadelphia's social families, such an idea could not even be considered．

　　That was how Mary Cassatt, born in 1844, began her struggle as an artist．She did not tremble before her father's anger．Instead, she opposed (抗拒) him with courage and at last made him change his mind．Mary Cassatt gave up her social position and all thoughts of a husband and a family, which in those times was unthinkable for a young lady．In the end, after long years of hard work and perseverance (坚持), she became America's most important woman artist and the internationally recognized leading woman painter of the time．

1．What was Cassatt's main reason in opposing his daughter's wish?

[　　]

A．Drawing or painting was simply unthinkable in those days．

B．He thought his daughter had no talent for art．

C．He believed an artist's life would be too hard for his daughter．

D．Ladies of good families should not become artists in those times．

2．What do we know about Mary Cassatt's marriage?

[　　]

A．Her marriage failed because she never gave a thought to her husband and family．

B．She never married because she did not want to be just a wife and a mother．

C．After marriage she decided to give up her husband．

D．She didn't marry because she couldn't find an ideal husband．

3．What did women consider the most important in Mary Cassatt's times?

[　　]

　　The Americans believe that anybody can become President of the United States．In a recent Hollywood comedy, that is exactly what happens．

　　Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs．He leads a typical American way of life, except for one thing he looks exactly like the President, Bill Mitchell．In fact, the only thing that makes him different from the nation's leader is that he is very nice!

　　The President has started using look-alikes during some public appearances．Dave is offered a chance to “serve his country” by becoming one．However, things go wrong．The President becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the President forever．Director Ivan Reitman, who made the popular and successful comedies like Twins, Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles, could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government．Instead, Dave is an attractive comedy about an ordinary man in extraordinary situations．Kevin Kline gives a double performance as Dave and the President, and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady．The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real classic．

　　The film is 100％ American．However, if you've ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power, then you'll enjoy Dave!

1．What is the purpose of the text?

[　　]

A．To tell the reader about the American government．

B．To discuss the Americans' ideas about the President．

C．To make a comparison between Dave and other films．

D．To introduce a new film to the reader．

2．Who plays the role of the President in the film?

[　　]

3．The underlined word one in the third paragraph refers to________．

[　　]

4．Which of the following is best supported by the text?

[　　]

A．The author makes fun of the President．

B．The author thinks highly of the film．

C．The author is a fan of Hollywood comedies．

D．The author wishes to become the American President．

　　I hitched (钩住) the traveling-can containing the food on to the carrier．I rolled the bicycle the short distance from the house to the road while Edna in a green-and-red dress walked beside me．Mounting the vehicle with the can on the back and Edna on the cross-bar proved a little tricky; but I am rather good with bicycles．I solved the problem by getting on the seat first and keeping the bicycle stationary with one foot resting firmly on the ground．Then Edna climbed on the bar sitting sideways;and I pushed off．The excitement of having her so close within my arms and the perfume of her hair in my nose would have proved overpowering if I'd had much time to consider it．I hadn't．The road to the hospital turned out to be quite hilly, not steep but just enough to take the wind out of one; and with the kind of passenger I had, I didn't care to admit too readily (爽快地) to being tired．So I raced up all the little hillocks until my heart raged like a bonfire (篝火) which was very stupid of me．

　　“You are very strong,” said Edna．

　　“Why?” I said, or rather out of breath, in one enormous expiration (呼气) as I rounded the summit of yet another small hill．

　　“You are eating all the hills like yam (山药)．”

　　“I haven't seen any hill yet,” I replied, getting back some

of my breath as I pedaled (踩自行车踏板) freely down the small, friendly descent that followed．These words were hardly out of my mouth when a stupid sheep and her four or five lambs rushed out of the roadside on my left．I braked sharply．Unfortunately Edna's back was resting on my left arm and prevented me applying the brake on that side effectively．So only the brake on the front wheel performed fully．The bicycle pitched (直冲) forward and crashed on the road．She was thrown farther up the road and as soon as I got up, I rushed to help her to her feet again．Without taking my eyes from the food I murmured that I was very sorry．

　　“It was not your fault,” she said．“It was the stupid sheep．”

　　Then I noticed with the corner of my eyes something that was bending down．I turned then and saw where she had grazed (擦伤) her knee on the road．

　　“Oh dear,” I said, “Edna, I am sorry．”

She left her frock (长袍) which she had held up a little at the knee and came to dust my shoulder where my new white shirt carried a thick patch of indelible (洗不掉的) red-earth．Then she bent down and picked up the traveling-can and began to wipe away the sand, and the spilt soup with green leaves．To my surprise she was crying and saying something like “ My mother will die of hunger today．” Actually I think her crying was probably due to hurt pride because the food lying on the road showed how poor her family was．But I may be wrong．At the time, I was greatly upset．

　　“Can she manage bread and corned (盐腌的) beef?” I asked．“We could buy some outside the hospital．”

　　“I haven't brought any money,” said Edna．

　　“I have some money,” I said, feeling the first breath of relief since the accident happened．“And we could get some disinfectant (消毒剂) for your knee．I'm terribly sorry, my dear．”

1．We can infer that, at the beginning of the passage, the writer had just________．

[　　]

A．offered to marry Edna

B．lied to her

C．offered to take some food to her mother in hospital

D．offered to give Edna a lift to visit her mother in hospital

2．The way the writer rode his bicycle over the hills shows that ________．

[　　]

A．he was very strong

B．Edna was so attractive that he couldn't concentrate

C．he wanted to impress Edna

D．he was not very observant

3．The accident could probably have been avoided if ________．

[　　]

A．he had not braked sharply

B．both brakes had worked properly

C．he had not been so busy admiring Edna

D．he had looked when he was going

4．Why was Edna crying?

[　　]

A．She had hurt her knee．

B．She thought that her mother would have to go hungry that day．

C．The food lying on the road showed her family was poor．

D．We cannot be sure．

5．After the accident the writer was________．

[　　]

A．sad because of the spoilt food

B．guilty because of Edna's grazed knee

C．worried about what Edna might think of him

D．angry at the stupid sheep

　　Erik Weihenmayer wants to climb Mount Everest．He loves to climb, and there is no place greater for climbers than the peak of 29,035 feet, the world's highest mountain．

　　Weihenmayer is blind．He has been blind since age 13, when an eye disease robbed him of his sight．His new book, Touch the Top of the World: A blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See, describes his blindness and climbing．He is the first blind man to attempt Everest．The team reached the base camp at 17,800 feet last Wednesday and began its climb Saturday．If all goes well, Weihenmayer will reach the top on or about May 15．

　　“I'm not just some broken blind guy,” Weihmmayer, aged 32, said hours before he left Los Angeles on Friday for Katmandu, Nepal．“I put my life in my fellow climbers' hands, and they put their lives in my hands．It's an honor to reach that state．”

　　“I want to experience the sense of adventure．Blindness has nothing to do with that．But a message of the climb is that a blind person can join a team and climb the highest mountain in the world．”

　　Weihenmayer has climbed the highest peaks on four continents: North America's Mount McKinley, South America's Aconcagua, Africa's Kilimanjaro and Antarctica's Vinson Massif．He is an expert rock and ice climber, having scaled EL Captain in Yosemite National Park．When he was 16, he attended a school that taught blind people to be independent．One day, a group went rock climbing．“I really liked it,” Weihenmayer said, “You can solve problems．It is sense in your inner mind．People didn't think blind people could go out and become expert rock climbers．”

1．The underlined word peak in the first paragraph means ________．

[　　]

2．The distance between the top of Mount Everest and the base camp was probably________．

[　　]

A．29,035 feet

B．17,800 feet

C．11,235 feet

D．not mentioned in the passage

3．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Weihenmayer 's blindness results from an accident．

B．Weihenmayer is among the blind men to attempt Everest．

C．Weihenmayer is a man of adventure．

D．Weihenmayer plans to climb highest mountains on other continents．

4．Erik shares all of the following with his teammates EXCEPT ________．

[　　]

A．understanding

B．mutual confidence

C．friendship

D．visual (视觉的) communication

　　Youth volunteers from Beijing University visited Songtang Hospital, a care clinic for the aged and dying patients, during the second Global Youth Service Day on April 21．

　　Thirty student volunteers from the university's School of International Studies sat at the beds of the patients in their specially decorated “care huts”．They talked with them and gave massages (按摩) to patients kept in their beds．

　　“I felt sorry that I could not offer more to these people than talking with them and trying to cheer them up,” said Deng Yetao, 20, a third-year student．“But it occurred to me that they need more care and love than babies．They are afraid of the coming death．Their loneliness is worse than physical pains．”

　　“Even though they are suffering a lot, the majority of the elderly people want to talk to us．Each of them has a lot of life experiences and philosophies to share．Instead of doing them a favor, I felt I was gaining a valuable lesson．” said Mao Xiaohua, another third-year student．

　　Mao talked with two elderly patients for a whole afternoon．The fact that most of the patients in the 80-room clinic are aged people with diseases which will lead to death soon made the volunteers' hearts heavy．

　　Ninety-one percent of the patients will spend the last days of their lives in the clinic, according to a survey by the hospital．

　　Daily visits and services by social workers and youth volunteers are a very important part of their programme．A total of 330,000 Beijing students from 119 universities and colleges have visited the hospital．Many continue to offer services in their spare time．Some of them volunteer to hold the hands of dying patients during the last minutes of their lives．

　　Yin Hang, a student from Beijing Medical College, said he felt “the glory of life” as he saw the fading smile on the face of the old man who passed into a deep unconsciousness (昏迷) while he was holding his hands．

1．Youth volunteers from Beijing University went to Songtang Hospital to________．

[　　]

A．pay a visit to the aged

B．talk to the aged

C．show their love for the aged

D．help the aged out

2．What the aged are most worried about is________．

[　　]

3．The underlined sentence probably means________．

[　　]

A．I taught myself a lesson by talking to them

B．I learned something important instead of only helping them

C．I only wanted to get something rather than do them a favor

D．I was glad to have given them a favor

4．When volunteers know most of the aged people are dying patients, they feel________．

[　　]

5．After reading the passage, we know________．

[　　]

A．the youth are fond of performing charities

B．the Second Youth Service Day is started by the Chinese government

C．91％ of the aged in China are facing death

D．the volunteers are taking an active part in this kind of service

　　Two students started quarrelling at school．One student shouted dirty words at the other, and a fight began．What can be done to stop fights like this at school? In some schools, the disputants sit down with peer mediators (同龄调解人)．Peer mediators are students with special training in this kind of problems．

　　Peer mediators help the disputants to talk in a friendly way．Here are some of the ways they use:

　　1．Put what you think clearly but don't say anything to hurt the other．Begin with “I feel…”instead of “You always…”

　　2．Listen carefully to the other person who is speaking．Don't stop the other person's words．

　　3．Keep looking at the other person's eyes when he or she talks．

　　4．Try to see the other person's side of the problem．

　　5．Never put anyone down．Saying things like “You are foolish” makes the talk difficult．

　　6．Try to find a result that makes both people happy．

　　Peer mediators never decide the result or the winner．They don't decide who is right and who is wrong．Instead, they help the two students to find their own win-win result．A win-win result can make everyone feel good．

Peer mediators' work is often successful just because it gets people to talk to each other．And getting people to talk to each other is the first step in finding a win-win result．

1．The underlined word disputants refers to the students ________．

[　　]

2．When there is a fight at school________．

[　　]

A．the peer mediators help the disputants talk in a friendly way

B．the peer mediators decide who the winner is

C．the two students who quarrel decide who the winner is

D．the two students sit down and listen to the peer mediators

3．Peer mediators' work is________．

[　　]

A．to give lessons to disputants

B．to help find a way to make both sides happy

C．to find out who starts a quarrel

D．to give disputants some special training

4．During the talk, if you say You are lazy or I feel angry, ________．

[　　]

A．the other person will be unhappy

B．the other person will hate you more

C．it's easy to decide who is wrong

D．it's hard to get a “win-win” result

　　Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships．One strength of the human condition is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful (有压力的) conditions．Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties．Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems．People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties．Studies over types of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely．

　　Social support cushions stress in a number of ways．First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us．Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties．Second, other people often provide us with informational support．They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them．Third, we typically find social companionship supportive．Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles．Finally, other people may give us instrumental support money aid, material resources, and needed services that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems．

1．Interpersonal relationships are important because they can ________．

[　　]

A．make people live more easily

B．smooth away daily problems

C．deal with changes in life

D．cure types of illnesses

2．The researches show that people's physical and mental health________．

[　　]

A．lies in the social medical care systems which support them

B．has much to do with the amount of support they get from others

C．depends on their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles

D．is related to their courage for dealing with major life changes

3．Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work is an example of________．

[　　]

A．instrumental support

B．informational support

C．social companionship

D．the strengthening of self-respect

4．What's the subject discussed in the text?

[　　]

A．Interpersonal relationships．

B．Kinds of social support．

C．Ways to deal with stress．

D．Effects of stressful condition．

Dear Mr．Expert:

　　I grew up in an unhappy and abusive home．I always promised myself that I'd get out as soon as possible．Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I'm really proud of the independence I've achieved．

　　Here's the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine so much so that they make mine theirs．

　　It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me．But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like．They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever．

　　I enjoy having my friends here sometimes it makes the place feel comfortable and warm but this is my home, not a party house．I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can't I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy(隐私)?

Joan

Dear Joan:

　　If your family didn't pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now．

　　And if you've gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere, you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict you grew up with or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy．You need to understand that in true friendship it's okay to put your own needs first from time to time．

Be clear about the message you want to send．For example, I really love your company but I also need some privacy．So please call before you come over．

1．We can learn from the first letter that Joan Edward ________．

[　　]

A．lives away from her parents

B．takes pride in her friends

C．knows Mr．Expert quite well

D．hates her parents very much

2．We can infer from the first letter that________．

[　　]

A．Joan considers her friends more important than her privacy

B．Joan's friends visit her more often than she can accept

C．Joan doesn't like the parties at all

D．Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over

3．According to Mr．Expert, why can't Joan tell her friends her feelings?

[　　]

A．She is afraid of hurting her friends．

B．She does not understand true friendship．

C．Her family experience stops her from doing so．

D．She does not put her needs first．

4．The underlined word conflict in the second letter means ________．

[　　]

5．The second letter suggests that Mr．Expert________．

[　　]

A．is worried about Joan's problem

B．warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends

C．advises Joan on how to refuse people

D．encourages Joan to be brave enough

　　Since 1989, Dave Thomas, who died at age 69, had been one of the most recognizable faces on TV．He appeared in more than 800 commercials (商业广告) for the hamburger chain named for his daughter．“As long as it works,” he said in 1991, “I'll continue to do those commercials．”

　　Even though he was successful, Thomas remained troubled by his childhood．He still won't let anyone see his feet, which are out of shape because he never had proper-fitting shoes, Wendy said in 1993．Born to a single mother, he was adopted (收养) as a baby by Rex and Auleva Thomas of Kalamazoo in Michigan．After Auleva died when he was 5, Thomas spent years on the road as Rex traveled around seeking construction work．“He fed me,” Thomas said, “and if I got out of line, he'd beat me．”

　　Moving out on his own at 15, Thomas worked, first as a waiter, in many restaurants．But he had something much better in mind．I thought if 1 owned a restaurant, he said, 1 could eat for free．A 1956 meeting with Harland Sanders led Thomas to a career as the manager of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant that made him a millionaire in 1968．

　　In 1969, after breaking with Sanders, Thomas started the first Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, in Columbus, Ohio, which set itself apart by serving made-to-order burgers．With 6,000 restaurants worldwide, the chain now makes $ 6 billion a year in sales．

　　Although troubled by his own experience with adoption, Thomas, married since 1954 to Lorraine, 66, and with four grown kids besides Wendy, felt it could offer a future for other children．He started the Dave Thomas Foundation (基金会) for Adoption in 1992．

　　In 1993, Thomas, who had left school at 15, graduated from Coconut Creek High School in Florida．He even took Lorraine to the graduation dance party．The kids voted him Most Likely to Succeed．

The Dave you saw on TV was the real Dave, says friend Pat Williams．He wasn't a great actor or a great speaker．He was just Joe Everybody．

1．What is the article mainly about?

[　　]

A．The life of Dave Thomas．

B．The dream of Dave Thomas．

C．The schooling of Dave Thomas．

D．The growth of Dave Thomas's business．

2．What do we know about his childhood?

[　　]

A．He lived a poor life．

B．He had caring parents．

C．He stayed in one place．

D．He didn't go to school．

3．Choose the right time order of the following events in Thomas's life．

a．graduated from high school

b．started his own business

c．became a millionaire

d．started a foundation

e．met Harland Sanders

[　　]

4．“He was just Joe Everybody” in the last paragraph means ________．

[　　]

5．What is the name of Dave Thomas's business?

[　　]

　　TUVALU, a tiny country in the Pacific Ocean, has asked for help as it will be swallowed up by the sea．

　　Storms and huge waves are a constant threat and none of Tuvalu's nine little islands is more than five meters above sea level．Salt water is already entering the country's drinking water supply, as well as damaging plants that produce fruit and vegetable．Without urgent help, the country's days are numbered ．

　　But Tuvalu is not the first place to face sinking into the sea．Venice, a historic city in Italy best known for its canals, has sunk about 24 cm over the past 100 years．Experts say that it will have sunk another 20-50 cm by 2050．A century ago, St．Mark's Square, the lowest point of the city, flooded about nine times a year．Nowadays, it happens more than 100 times．While Venice is slowly sinking into the mud on which it stands, global warming causes Tuvalu's rising sea level．

　　The average global temperature has increased by almost 0．5 centigrade degrees over the past century; scientists expect it will rise by extra 1-3 degrees over the next 100 years．

　　Warmer weather makes glaciers (冰川) melt, adding more water to the ocean．The warmer temperatures also make water expand, so it takes up more space, causing the sea level to rise．The sea level has risen about 10-25 cm in the last 100 years．

The main cause of global warming is human pollution．Through burning coal, oil and gas, people have been increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as CO₂．This adds to the power of the greenhouse effect, making the planet even warmer．

　　Many scientists believe that, if the warming is not stopped, there will be huge climate changes．The sea level could rise by one meter this century．Should this come true, the sea will swallow up millions of homes and the world will be flooded with “climate refugees” looking for somewhere to live?

1．We can infer from the second paragraph that________．

[　　]

A．Tuvalu is in danger of being swallowed up by the sea

B．all Tuvalu's islands are about 5 meters above the sea level

C．drinking water in Tuvalu has been destroyed

D．Tuvalu is often flooded by storms and waves

2．The author uses Tuvalu and Venice as examples in order to explain________．

[　　]

A．they are the first place sinking into the sea

B．they are both sinking into the mud where they stand

C．they will disappear in the future

D．their trouble is caused by global warming

3．Put the following events in the right order．

a．Glaciers began to melt．

b．People burn coal, oil and gas．

c．The greenhouse effect is growing．

d．The earth is getting warmer and warmer．

e．The sea level is rising．

f．More CO₂ is produced．

g．Many places are sinking into the sea．

[　　]

4．What does “climate refugees” mean?

[　　]

A．People who are forced away from their homeland by climate．

B．Climate changes．

C．Rare animals．

D．Climate effect．

5．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Tuvalu's nine little islands are less than five meters a-bove the sea level．

B．The average global temperature has risen by 1-3 centigrade degrees over the past 100 years．

C．The warmer temperature causes the sea level to rise．

D．There will be huge climate changes unless the warming is stopped．