Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time: if corrected too much, he will stop talking．He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the languages those around him used. Bit by bit, he makes necessary changes to make his language like other people's. In the same way, children learning to do all tile other things they learn to do without being taught——to walk, run, climb. whistle, ride a bicycle compare their own performances with those of more skilled, and slowly make the needed changes.

　　But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself. We do it for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not.

　　If it is a matter of right answers, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer look. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such daily work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can't find the way to get right answers. Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn：how to measure their own understanding and how to know what they know or do not know.

(1) According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by ________.

[　　]

A．listening to skilled persons' advice

B．asking older people many questions

C．making mistakes and having them corrected

D．doing what other people do

(2) The passage suggests that learning to speak or to ride a bicycle is _________.

[　　]

A．different from learning other skills

B．the same as practising other skills

C．more important than other skills

D．a good chance to find out mistakes and correct them

(3) If you want to be a good teacher in school according to the writer, you should ___________.

[　　]

A．let children mark their own work and learn from practice

B．point out children's mistakes and correct them as soon as possible

C．give children more book knowledge

D．explain mathematics in detail so as to give them correct answers

　　Believe it or not, American's favorite snack food is the potato chips. There is a story behind how it was first made. One might somewhere a genius thought up the first potato chips, but it didn't happen that way. Picture an elephant restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1853. The Moon Lake Restaurant's menu included Frenchfried potatoes, a popular food recipe brought back from France by Thomas Jefferson. There were thickly cut potatoes, fried until golden brown and crisp on the outside. One evening a guest in the dining hall felt that his potatoes were too thick and sent them back to the kitchen. The cook sliced some potatoes thinner than before and prepared them for the complaining guest. He was still not satisfied and sent them back again! By this time the cook was angry and decided to do exactly what the dinner guest wanted：slice the potatoes as thin as possible. When they would be so crisp that the diner wouldn't be able to use his fork to eat them. When the paper-thin browned potatoes arrived, the diner was satisfied. He was so happy with them that other guests started ordering the new potatoes. The cook's plan to stop the dinner guest from complaining did not turn out as he had planned. Soon Saratoga chips appeared on the menu and became so popular that people wanted to take some home. The restaurant started selling all over the United States. But be cause the potatoes had to be peeled（削皮）by hand, it was a timeconsuming（耗时的）chore and potato chips were often out of stock. In the 1920s a mechanical potato peeler was invented and soon there were potato chips in abundance（充足）. They gradually spread all over the world, and have remained popular ever since.

(1) According to this passage, mass (large quantity) production of potato chips was made possible when ___________.

[　　]

A．potatoes were peeled by machines

B．potatoes were peeled by a large number of cooks

C．there was a growing demand for them

D．they first appeared in a Saratoga restaurant

(2) According to this passage, the cook of the Moon Lake Restaurant _________.

[　　]

A．enjoyed making potato chips very much

B．planned to sell potato chips everywhere

C．wanted to silence a complaining diner

D．was pleased that other guests liked the chips

(3) Potato chips have been popular in the U. S.____________.

[　　]

A．for more than 200 years

B．ever since 1920

C．for less than 100 years

D．since the 19th century

　　Betty and Harold have been married for years. But one thing still puzzles （困扰）old Harold, How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa, talking, go out to a ball game, come back three and a half hours later, and they're still sitting on the sofa, talking?

　　What in the world, Harold wonders, do they have to talk about?

　　Betty shrugs. Talk? We're friends.

　　Researching this result called friendship, psychologist Lillian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men. No matter what their age, their jobs, their sex, the results were completely clear：women had more friendships than men, and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships was“marked and unmistakable”.

　　More than two thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed would not name a best friend. Those who could were likely to name a woman. Yet three quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend, and almost always it was a woman. More married men than women named their wives/husbands as best friends, most trusted persons, or the ones they would

turn to in time of emotional distress（感情危机）. “Most women,” says Rubin, “identified（认定） at least one, usually more, trusted friends to whom they could turn in a trouble moment, and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives.”

　　 “In general,”writes Rubin in her new book, “women's friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support, but men's relationships are marked by shared activities.”For the most part, Rubin says, interactions （交往）between men are emotionally controlled——a good fit with the social requirements of “mainly behavior”.

　　“Even when a man is said to be a best friend,”Rubin writes,“the two share little about their innermost feelings. Whereas a woman's closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage, it wasn't unusual to hear a man say he didn't know his friend's marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on a sofa.”

(1) What old Harold cannot understand or explain is the fact that ________.

[　　]

A．he is treated as an outsider than a husband

B．women have so much to share

C．women show little interest in ball games

D．he finds his wife difficult to talk to

(2) Rubin's study shows that for emotional support a married woman is more likely to turn to ________.

[　　]

(3) According to the text, which type of behavior is NOT expected for a man by society?

[　　]

A．Ending his marriage without good reasons.

B．Spending too much time with his friends.

C．Complaining about his marriage trouble.

D．Going out to ball games too often.

(4) Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph?

[　　]

A．Men keep their innermost feelings to themselves.

B．Women are more serious than men about marriage.

C．Men often take sudden action to end their marriage.

D．Women depend on others in making decisions.

(5) The research done by psychologist Rubin centers around ________.

[　　]

A．happy and successful marriages

B．friendships of men and women

C．emotional problems in marriage

D．interactions between men and women

　　How to protect children web fans from unsuitable material on-line while encouraging them to use the Internet has long been discussed in the U.S.

　　For some parents, the Internet can seem like a jungle, filled with danger for their children. But jungles contain wonders as well as danger and with good guides, some education, and a few precautions（预防）, the wilds of the Internet can be safely navigated（操纵）.“Kids have to be on-line. If we tell our kids they can't be allowed to surf the Internet, we are cutting them from their future.”said an expert.

　　Most kids have started to use search engines（搜索引擎）. Many of them are great for finding tons of interesting Internet sites, and they can also locate places where you might not want your kids to go. There are search engines designed just for kids. A certain software contains only sites that have been selected as safe. The most popular way would be to use what is known as a “content screener”. But this can't be wholly reliable, and the best thing parents can do is to talk to their kids and let them know what is OK or not OK to see or do on the Internet. Another way is that Mum or Dad is nearby when the child is surfing the Internet.

　　A few other tips：

　　Don't put the PC in a child's room but keep it in an area where Mum or Dad can keep an eye on things. That can also make the Inter net more of a family activity.

　　——Ask your child what he or she has been doing and about the friends they make on-line.

　　——Tell your child not to give on-line strangers personal information, especially like address and phone number.

　　——And tell your children never to talk to anyone they meet on-line over the phone, send them anything, accept anything from them or agree to meet with them unless you go along.

(1) The following are some good ways to protect children from improper（不合适的）material except ________

[　　]

A．to talk to the children and persuade them to tell right from wrong

B．to be nearby when they are surfing the Internet

C．to fix a“content screener”on the computer

D．to forbid the children to surf the Internet

(2) Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? _____

[　　]

A．Surfing the Internet is the best way of educating children.

B．Using a content screener is most reliable.

C．Searching engines designed just for kids can help children to select suitable material.

D．Children's not having chances to surf the Internet may have more advantages in their progress than those who surf the Internet.

(3)The author has written this article in order to tell us_______.

[　　]

A．software fit for children needs improving

B．the Internet contains a lot of harmful sites

C．how to protect children against unsuitable material on-line

D．a child who is on-line is in danger

(4) What's the meaning of the underlined word“tips”?

[　　]

　　Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. These mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure（基础设施）that must be maintained.

　　Unfortunately, these systems are starting to break down. It's not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.

　　Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the park to deal with.

　　Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Ganyon. The National Park Service, had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipes almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.

　　Why hasn't the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is a lack of money. The United States has 378 monuments, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needed for repairs.

　　Yosemite is one national park that does have money for repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra

Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park.

　　A Sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowded park.

(1) According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when they are appreciated from ________

[　　]

A．the bottom of the valleys

B．the top of the mountains

C．the side of the mountains

D．the edge of the valleys

(2) National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to meet the need of visitors because__________

[　　]

A．their transport management needs improving

B．they spend too much on their service systems

C．their service systems frequently go out of order

D．they need help from environmental organizations

(3) The main problem of Yosemite National ________ Park is its _______.

[　　]

(4) According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be __________.

[　　]

A．an environmental group

B．an information center

C．a travel service

D．a law firm

　　You either have it, or you don't ——a sense of direction, that is. But why is it that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map, while others can lose themselves in the next street?

　　Scientists say we're all born with a sense of direction, but it is not properly understood how it works. One theory is that people with a good sense of direction have simply worked harder at developing it. Research being carried out at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don't use it, we lose it.

　　“Children as young as seven have the ability to find their way around,”says Jim Martland, Research Director of the project.“However if they are not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere By car, they never develop the skills.”

　　Jim Martland also emphasizes that young people should be taught certain skills to improve their sense of direction. He makes the following suggestions.

　　●If you are using a map, turn it so it relates to the way you are facing.

　　●If you leave your bike in a strange place, put it near something like a big stone or a tree．Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike．When you return, go back along the same route.

　　●Simplify the way of finding your direction By using lines such as streets in a town, streams, or walls in the countryside to guide you. Count your steps so that you know how far you have gone and note any landmarks such as lower blocks or hills which can help you find out where you are.

　　Now you will never get lost again!

(1) Scientists believe that __________.

[　　]

A．some babies are born with a sense of direction

B．people learn a sense of direction as they grow older

C．people never lose their sense of direction

D．everybody possesses a sense of direction from birth

(2) What is true of seven-year-old children according to the passage?

[　　]

A．They never have a sense of direction without maps.

B．They should never be allowed out alone if they lack a sense of direction.

C．They have a sense of direction and can find their way around.

D．They can develop a good sense of direction if they are driven around in a car.

(3) If you leave your bike in a strange place, you should _________.

[　　]

A．tie it to a tree so as to prevent it from being stolen

B．draw a map of the route to help remember where it is

C．avoid taking the same route when you come back upon

D．remember something easily recognizable on the route

(4) According to the passage, the best way to _________ find your way around is to

[　　]

A．ask policemen for directions

B．use walls, streams, and streets to guide yourself

C．remember your route by looking out for steps and stairs

D．count the number of landmarks that you see

　　You might think that“global warming”means nothing more than a rise in the world's temperature．But, rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation（撤离）of an island nation——the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.

　　During the 20th century, sea level rose 8~12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu have experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country's drinking water.

　　Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.

　　Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions（导致温室效应的气体排放）, which are a main cause of global warming.“By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years.”Laupepa told the BBC. Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.

　　Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable（易受影响的）to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311000 an“endangered nation”.

(1) The text is mainly about ________.

[　　]

A．rapid changes in earth's temperature

B．bad effects of global warming

C．moving of a country to a new place

D．reasons for lowland flooding

(2) According to scientists, the direct cause of more and fiercer storms is ________.

[　　]

A．greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations

B．higher surface water temperatures of the sea

C．continuous global warming

D．rising sea levels

(3) Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not ________.

[　　]

A．agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions

B．sign an agreement with Tuvalu

C．allow Tuvaluans to move to the US

D．believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real

(4) The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is ________.

[　　]

A．Australia

B．New Zealand

C．the Maldives

D．the United States

　　It was an early September day, cool and bright and just right for running, and I was in the first few miles of a l0-mile race over a course（路线）with a few high hills. Still, I felt energetic; despite the hills it was going to be a fine run.

　　Just ahead of me was Peggy Mimno, a teacher from Mount Kisco, New York. She too was running easily, moving along at my speed. The pace（步速）felt comfortable, so I decided to stay where I was; why pay attention to pace when she was setting such a nice one? I'd overtake（追上）her later on when she tired.

　　So I ran behind her. The course headed north for five miles, wandered west for a hilly mile, then turned south again along a winding road. The race was getting harder. We had four miles left and already it was beginning to be real work.

　　Peggy overtook a young runner. She seemed to know him, for they exchanged a few cheerful words as she passed him. Their exchange worried me. You don't chat during a race unless you are feeling good, and Peggy plainly was.

　　Still, I was close enough to overtake her if she tired, so I didn't give up hope completely. We were getting nearer to a long, punishing hill now and it would be the test. We were a mile from the finish line, so whatever happened on the hill would almost certainly determine who crossed it first.

　　As I moved up the hill, my attention wandered for a few minutes. When I looked up. Peggy was moving away-first five yards, then ten, then more. Finally it was clear that there was no hope of catching her. She beat me soundly.

　　There is an important lesson in that race. Women are thought to be weaker, slower and not nearly as skilled in sport. Yet as Peggy Mimmo so clearly showed, the similarities between men and women runners are more important than the differences. I have run with a number of women, and I can say that it is often hard work.

(1) What did the writer think of the race in the beginning?

[　　]

A．It would be hard work.

B．It would be an easy race.

C．It would be a test of his strength.

D．It would be a good learning experience.

(2) What worried the writer when Peggy greeted the young runner?

[　　]

A．Peggy overtook the young runner.

B．Peggy was running energetically.

C．Peggy was laughing at the writer.

D．Peggy paid no attention to the writer.

(3) By saying“a long, punishing hill”(paragraph 5), the writer implies that ______

[　　]

A．Peggy would fail to reach the hilltop

B．men are more skilled at climbing hills

C．overtaking Peggy would be easy

D．climbing the hill would be a demanding task

(4) What lesson does the writer learn from the race?

[　　]

A．Women are as good as men in sport.

B．Women are better at climbing hills.

C．He should have more training in a crosscountry race.

D．He should set a quicker pace at the beginning of a race.

　　There is much discussion today about whether economic growth is desirable. At an early period, our desire for material wealth may have been justified. Now, however, this desire for more than we need is causing serious problems. Even though we have good intentions, we may be producing too much, too fast.

　　Those who criticize economic growth argue that we must slow down. They believe that society is approaching certain limits on growth. These include the fixed supply of natural resources, the possible negative effects of industry on the natural environment, and the continuing increase in the world's population. As society reaches these limits, economic growth can no longer continue, and the quality of life will decrease.

　　People who want more economic growth, on the other hand, argue that even at the present growth rate there are still many poor people in the world. These proponents of economic growth believe that only more growth can create the capital（资金）needed to improve the quality of life in the world. Furthermore, they argue that only continued growth can provide the financial resources required to protect our natural surroundings from industrialization.

　　This debate over the desirability of continued economic growth is of vital importance to business and industry. If those who argue against economic growth are correct, the problems they mention cannot be ignored. To find a solution, economists and the business community must pay attention to these problems and continue discussing them with one another.

(1) According to those who argue against economic growth we must slow down for the following reasons except that ________

[　　]

A．our natural surroundings are in danger of being destroyed by industry.

B．the fixed supply of natural resources marks a point beyond which economic growth cannot continue.

C．the world population is ever increasing.

D．more efforts should be made to improve the quality of our material life.

(2) It can be inferred that the underlined word“proponents” (paragraph 3) most probably means ____.

[　　]

A．arguments in support of something

B．disagreements

C．people who argue against something

D．people who argue for something

(3) The passage is mainly about _______.

[　　]

A. the contradiction（矛盾）between economists and the business community

B．the present debate on economic growth

C．the importance of the debate on economic growth

D．the advantages and disadvantages of economic growth

(4) We may infer from the passage that ______.

[　　]

A．the author describes the case as it is

B．the author is for economic growth

C．the author is against continued economic growth

D．the author is very much worried about the problems caused by continued economic growth

　　When Susan White went back to high school couple of years ago, she never had any thought about actually getting a high school diploma（文凭）.

　　“I just wanted to learn more,”she said. But when she found out that many of her classmates were planning to graduate, Mrs White recalled（回忆）,“I said if my young friends can graduate from high school, so can I.”

　　She seems to have been right. As soon as she completes history course, Mrs White will graduate next month. And when she does, she will enter the record books as the oldest person ever to graduate from high school in the United States.

　　Mrs White is 98 years old, and nobody knows of anyone who has completed high school at an older age.

　　Mrs White dropped out of school（退学）in the 10th grade, but her ability to learn has obviously not been dulled（减弱）by the 80-year layoff（终止活动）.

　　Since going back to her studies she has kept up a straight——A record——that is the highest possible.

　　Now that she is about to get a diploma, Mrs White has become a strong believer in getting a good education.

　　“I don't like anyone dropping out of school, ”she said. “It makes me mad when a person decides to leave school, because future generations will have to know even more than we do in order to survive（生存）.”

(1) How many other students older than Mrs White have got a high school diploma?

[　　]

(2) Mrs White's ability, to learn is

[　　]

A．not as good as the younger students'

B．quite obvious

C．the best in the class

D．among the best of the class

(3) Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．Mrs White is determined to graduate from high school.

B．Mrs White has already been given a high school diploma.

C．Mrs White is the oldest person ever to graduate from high school in the US.

D．Mrs White said that the young had to know more.

(4) A good title for this true story would be

[　　]

A．Have Respect for old Age

B．Never Too Late to Learn

C．An Elderly Student

D．Mrs White's Ability to Learn