Dear XXX,　

As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind.

Do your best in classes, but don’t let pressure get to you. If you graduate and learn something in your four years, we would feel happy. Your Columbia degree will take you far, even if you don’t graduate with honors. So please don't give yourself pressure. The only thing that matters is that you learned. The only measurement you should use is that you tried.

Most importantly, make friends and be happy. College friends are often the best in life, because during college you are closer to them physically than to your family. Also, going through independence and adulthood is a natural bonding (结合的) experience. Pick a few friends and become really close to them — pick the ones who are genuine and sincere to you. Don’t worry about their hobbies, grades, looks, or even personalities. If you think you like someone, tell her. You have very little to lose. People are not perfect, so as long as they are genuine and sincere, trust them and be good to them. They will give back. This is my secret of success — that I am genuine with people and trust them (unless they do something to lose my trust).

College is the four years where you have:

　　•the greatest amount of free time

　　•the first chance to be independent

　　•the most flexibility to change

　　•the lowest risk for making mistakes

So please treasure your college years – make the best of your free time, become an independent thinker in control of your destiny. May Columbia become the happiest four years in your life, and may you blossom into just what you dream to be.

                                                                   Love,

                                                                  XXX

1.What is the most probable relationship between the writer and the receiver of the letter?

A. Friends.                                                                                    B. A parent and his or her daughter.

C. A teacher and a student.                                                  D. Sisters.

2.Which of the following suggestions is not given to the receiver in the letter?

A. How to adapt to the college life quickly.                 

B. To make new friends.

C. To learn to be independent in thinking.                 

D. Not to make herself under much pressure in grades.

3.According to the writer of the letter, college is a time _______.

A. during which one may make mistakes      

B. during which one has little free time

C. during which it is hard for one to change    

D. during which one needs to learn to be independent

 

 

　　Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person's intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.

　　It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random(随机地) from the population,it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical (完全相同的) twins they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.

　　Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth playsa part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.

 

1.Which of these sentences best describes the writer’s point in Para. 1?

　　A. To some extent, intelligence is given at birth.

　　B. Intelligence is developed by the environment.

　　C. Some people are born clever and others born stupid.

　　D. Intelligence is fixed at birth, but is developed by the environment.

 

2. It is suggested in this passage that_______.

　　A. unrelated people are not likely to have different intelligence

　　B. close relations usually have similar intelligence

　　C. the closer the blood relationship between people, the more different they are likely

　 　　to be in intelligence

　　D. people who live in close contact with each other are not likely to have similar degrees

　 　　of intelligence

 

3. In Para. 1, the word "surroundings" means_______.

　　A. intelligence 　　　　　B. life

　　C. environments 　　　　　D. housing

4.The best title for this article would be_______.

　　A. On Intelligence

　　B. What Intelligence Means

　　C. We are Born with Intelligence

　　D. Environment Plays a Part in Developing Intelligence

 

 

Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both these questions is yes. To some degree our intelligence is given us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person's intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.

　　It is easy to show that intelligence is to some degree something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random(随机地) from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical (完全相同的) twins they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.

　　Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.    

Which of these sentences best describes the writer’s point in Para. 1?

　　A. To some degree, intelligence is given at birth.

　　B. Intelligence is developed by the environment.

　　C. Some people are born clever and others born stupid.

　　D. Intelligence is fixed at birth, but is developed by the environment.

It is suggested in this passage that_______.

　　A. unrelated people are not likely to have different intelligence

　　B. close relations usually have similar intelligence

　　C. the closer the blood relationship between people, the more different they are likely to be

  in intelligence

　　D. people who live in close contact with each other are not likely to have similar degrees

　 　　of intelligence

In Para. 1, the word "surroundings" means_______.

　　A. intelligence 　 　 B. life      C. environments 　 　D. housing

The best title for this article would be_______.

　　A. On Intelligence              B. What Intelligence Means

　　C. We are Born with Intelligence  D. Environment Plays a Part in Developing Intelligence

 

第四部分  阅读理解（满分 30分）

Dear Daughter,

As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write to tell you that is on my mind.

First, I want to tell you how proud we are. Getting into Columbia is real testament (证明) of what a great well – rounded student you are. You should be as proud of yourself as we are.

  Your college years will be the most important of your life. It is in college that you will discover what learning is about. This will be the period when you go from teacher taught to master inspired, after which you must become self – learner. So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn is of no practical use in real life, the learning skills you get will be something you will value forever.

　　Follow your passion in college. Take courses you think you will enjoy. Don’t be bothered by what others think or say, but make up your own mind. Most importantly, make true friends and be happy. Don’t worry about their hobbies, grades, looks, or even personalities.

Start planning early what you’d like to do. Where would you like to live? What would you like to learn? I think your plan to study fashion is good, and you should decide where you want to be, and get onto the right courses. I will always be there for you, but the time has come for you to be in the driver’s seat – this is your life, and you need to be in corral. Being in control feels great. Try it, and you’ll love it!

So please treasure your college years – make the best use of your free time, become an in depended ticker in control of your destiny, and learn through your successes and challengers.

May your years at Columbia be the happiest of your life, and may you grow into just what you dream to be .

Love,

Dad (& Mom)

(Excerpt from Kai – Fu Lee’s letter to his daughter)

1．We can read between the lined that            .

        A．Dad has s strong love for his daughter

         B．Dad is very strict with his daughter

         C．Dad always worries about his daughter

         D．Dad is much concerned about his daughter’s health

2．The underlined word “destiny” in the passage is the closest in meaning to “_______”.

         A．weight        B．life      C．position      D．time

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

         A．Plan thing – before you do them.

         B．Self – learning as very important in college.

         C．Follow your passion and what other people say.

         D．Leading a life is just like driving a car.

4．The purpose of the author in writing the letter is to tell his daughter to_________.

        A．smile to her trouble in life B．fight till she succeeds

         C．be confident and happy    D．make the most of the college

 

　　Lucky is the man who has no “skeleton in his closet”. When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a “skeleton in his closet”. Some people may have more than one skeleton.

　　As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England.

　　Before 1932, English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse(尸体) of an executed(处决) criminal.

　　But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices.

　　We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor would keep his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet.

　　After a time, people began to suspect(怀疑) every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase “a skeleton in the closet” took on a broader, more general meaning to describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory.

　　One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man’s guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac.

　　Baizac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet.

　　The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.   

1. Which of the following situations is suitable for using the phrase “skeleton in the closet” ?

　　A. You have stolen something precious and don’t want it discovered.

　　B. You are a doctor and have to keep a skeleton for research.

　　C. If you have cut open a dead human body for scientific examination you should keep the skeleton secret.

　　D. You have done a crime or done something foolish, but you want to keep other from discovering it.

2. From the text we know that there are _______ theories about how the phrase “skeleton in the closet” came into being.

　　A. one 　　　　　      B. two 　　　　　      C. three 　　　　D. four

3. In Chinese the world “skeleton” means _______.

　　A. 尸体 　　　　　B. 标本 　　　　　C. 收藏 　　　　D. 骷髅

4. Which of the following is right according to the text?

　    A. In the 20th century, doctors realized the importance of anatomy(解剖) in the development of medicine.

　　B. The doctors of the ancient times liked to collect as many skeleton as possible.

　　C. The thieves stole skeletons from tombs in order to help the doctors.

　　D. It was legal that corpses of anybody were cut open for scientific examination in history.

5. From the story Balzac told we know that the wife’s lover must have become _______.

A. a corpse 　　　　B. a phrase 　　　　C. a skeleton 　　　D. a secret