A Letter to a Friend

February 12,2001

　　Dear Mary,

　　It is early afternoon and I am sitting in a small restaurant close to my work. It is raining and I'm feeling homesick(思乡的). I'm thinking of you and all of my friends in Mexico. I miss everyone. Outside the streets are crowed with people. All of them are wearing coats and carrying umbrellas. Everyone is in a hurry to get to a dry place. Buses and cars are moving up and down the street. Inside it is warm and pleasant. There are two old women at the table next to mine. One of them is wearing a funny hat. They are talking and laughing. A young man is sitting at a small table near the window. He is eating a piece of pie. It looks delicious. You know, the food in New Orleans is very good. I am fine. I am learning a lot in my classes. I like most of my teachers and classmates. I have classes every morning. I work every afternoon and I study every evening. I don't have much free time, but I like my life in New Orleans.

　　I hope that you are well and happy. How is school? How 1s your English? Can you read my letter? Please write soon. I enjoy your letters with news from home.

Your friend,

Maria　　

根据所给短文，回答下列问题。

1．Where does this letter come from?

It comes from________ ________.

2．What does Maria do every afternoon?

She ________ in the restaurant every afternoon.

3．What was the weather like that day?

It ________ ________.

4．How was Maria's life every day?

He was ________ ________ every day.

5．How was Mary's English? Do you know?

Mary's English is ________ ________ than Maria's.

Even in early time, people could realize the important of dreams and knew that dreams gave meaning to life. Every great achievement has been the result of years of dreaming. If a person has a dream and holds fast to it, he or she will find a way to bring it into reality (现实).
Children do not have much experience or knowledge. However, they are natural dreamers. We should not laugh at them for being naïve. Many great men were dreamers when they were children. One such dreamer was Thomas Edison. He used to be ostracized (排斥) when he was in primary school, but his achievements were greater than everyone else’s in his time.
Teenagers and young people should also be encouraged to dream. The world is full of successful teenagers and young people. They dreamt big and their dreams changed their lives and even the world. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the good examples. They have developed technology and brought great progress to human besides making money for themselves.
Older people should believe that it is never too late to dream and that human mind is never too old to make dreams turn into reality. Colonel Saunders realized his dreams at the age of 67 and set up the biggest fried chicken company (KFC) in the world.
To dream is a wonderful ability which can lead to wonderful results. Olympic records were broken by players who were brave enough to dream. No one is too young or too old to dream and to make dreams come true.
【小题1】 People who ______ could probably realize their dreams.

A．find a way to dream	B．dream and hold fast to them
C．get the meaning of life	D．have very good school results

【小题2】 Young people should be encouraged to dream because ______.

A．their dreams are natural

B．they are greater than everyone else

C．they have much knowledge

D．their dreams might change the world

【小题3】 What does the example of Colonel Saunders show us?

A．Setting up a big company is a wonderful ability.

B．Developing technology can bring great progress.

C．Even older people can make their dreams come true.

D．People should be brave enough to dream when they are young.

【小题4】 The underlined word “naive” in the passage means “______” in Chinese.

A．逆反的	B．幼稚的
C．调皮的	D．冲动的

【小题5】 The best title (题目) for the passage is “______”.

A．From Dream to Reality	B．Good Examples of Dreams
C．Achievements in History	D．A list of Successful Dreamers

How would you like to study at an American university in China? With the news that New York University (NYU) is considering setting up a branch（分校）on Chinese mainland, the possibility of getting an American education becomes a reality. But how will Chinese students deal with a very different style of teaching? One that encourages debate（辩论）, discussion and critical thinking (批判思维)； one which puts little attention on rote learning.

You know how kids ask questions all the time? Asking questions shows they are curious (好奇). So when does that natural curiosity get weak? Not at kindergarten or nursery, nor at primary school. As you grow older perhaps refusing to draw attention to yourself by asking the teacher questions, you grow quiet. If so, that's a pity, because questioning your teachers should be encouraged. After all, they're the ones who've been educated, have a lot more experience than you and perhaps have a little wisdom. When I taught joumalim at college in Scotland I enjoyed answering students' questions. Some of them raised difficult questions. I didn't always know the answers. If I didn't, I'd accept it and try to find out later.

At university we were encouraged to challenge our classmates and teachers. There was often a regular meeting between teachers and some students. A student would prepare a paper on a subject and the other students would criticize it. It could be frightening. But it was a way of developing critical thinking.

We need to differentiate critical thinking with loudmouths. We've all come across loudmouths who speak out quickly as if they knew what they were talking about. I know one loudmouth who is paid a great deal of money by a British tabloid newspaper to entertain readers with his deeply-held prejudices(偏见). You might not agree with columnist(专栏作家) Richard Littlejohn, but you have to say that he is entertaining and there is an internal logic（内在的逻辑）to his statements. Having a logical mind can help develop critical thinking.

My wife doesn't have a logical mind, but she does have emotional intelligence（情商）. I can't say that I have anything like her emotional intelligence. but I'd like to think some of it rubbed off on me. If you can't at least try to put yourself in someone else's shoes, how can you understand their situation, their problems and issues?

So try to develop your powers of critical thinking. Start with books, films, music and newspapers. And don't believe everything you read or see. Think independently.

57. According to the passage, to develop your critical thinking, you can____________.

A. keep curious and follow your heart

B. think logically, not emotionally

C. do more reading and think actively

D. voice your opinion like a loudmouth

58. The underlined words 66rubbed off on mc" in Paragraph 5 probably mean " __________".

A. helped me solve the problem better

B. had some influence on me in a way

C. moved it backwards and forwards

D. advised me to wear others' shoes

59. What can be the best title for the passage?

A. Want to be different? Think critically

B. Want to be critical? Think for yourself

C. Choose NYU, choose critical thinking

D. Importance of improving critical thinking

Kelly Christopher, a student at Lutheran High School in California, US, loves oranges. One day last week, she used a pole(竿子) to pick oranges off trees and collect them in baskets. It's the first time in her 15 years she's picked fruit from trees.
"This is quite different from buying oranges in the supermarket," said Christopher. "Every time I eat an orange, I'll remember this experience."  
Christopher was one of the 30 student volunteers at Soil Born Farms. She volunteered as part of a project which was set up in 2009 to help homeowners in South Land Park pick oranges and other fruits out of their backyards. Before, the fruit would rot on the ground or get eaten by animals. Now the fruit is donated to those who need it.
"It is good for many people", said Randy Stannard, who works for the project. "The homeowner gets fruit picked and more people can have healthy food."
"Two harvests (收成 ) were organized in 2009 and volunteers picked 3,000 pounds (1,360kg) of fruit", Stannard said. In 2010, the number was 20,000. This year, Soil Born Farms hopes to get 40,000 pounds. They will harvest every weekend from January to April.
Shannon Galloway, Christopher's science teacher, brought her students into the project this year.
"You're making use of a resource that might be wasted," she said. "I think it's meaningful to everyone."
Donato Frazier, 15, always climbs up a ladder(梯子) and gets on the top of the tree.
"Standing on the treetop is pretty cool," Frazier said. "I can see clearly that many baskets are filled up, and even see that many people are eating healthy fruit because of our volunteer work."                                          
71. Christopher and other students went to pick fruits from real trees because they wanted to _____.
A. have some fresh fruit for themselves    B. make some money by selling fruit
C. provide people with more healthy fruit   D. buy some cheap fruit from their neighbors
【小题1】 When was the project set up?

A．In 2008.

B．In 2009.

C．In 2010.

D．In 2011.

【小题2】What will happen to the fruit if they don’t help the homeowners pick it?

A．The fruit will rot or be eaten by small animals.

B．People who need the fruit will come to pick it.

C．The fruit will be used as a resource for research.

D．Homeowners will pick the fruit and sell it.

【小题3】 What does the underlined word “mean?

A．资源

B．调查

C．对策

D．娱乐

【小题4】How do the students feel about their work?

A．It’s interesting and easy.	B．It’s meaningless and hard.
C．It’s meaningful and exciting.	D．It’s tiring and boring.