It was a party. I was 18 and it was fresher(大一新生) week. I was at the beginning of a course in English Literature and full of enthusiasm for my subject. She was also 18 and enrolled in a course in physics.
“Your major is of no use to society. What will you do with it when you graduate, other than teach? Plus, you’re going to be poor your whole life,” she said. “You have no soul and your degree is boring. I don’t care how much money you’re going to earn. I’d rather be poor and don’t mind being a teacher. If I love my work I’ll have something far more meaningful than a big bank account!” came the reply.
And so it went, back and forth, neither of us giving the other an inch, each of us stubbornly committed to our prejudice. We were both ignorant, but our ignorance was also society’s ignorance. It had always been that way. Scientists mocked(嘲笑) humanists; humanists laughed at scientists. Back in the 1960s, the physicist-turned novelist C. P. Snow labeled the sciences-humanities divide “a problem of ‘the two cultures’” . He said it was bad for society. The modern world needed well-rounded people.
I think I know better now, but it would have helped if we had been encouraged to think a little more outside our science and arts “boxes”.
That’s why I believe it is healthy that China is beginning a debate on whether it’s wise for young people to have to choose which direction their careers – and lives – will take at such an early age. At the moment, in their second year of high school, students must choose either the sciences or the humanities. After making the choice, they focus their energies on passing the appropriate college entrance exam.
But now, people in China are asking: Is this forced, early decision good for young people or society? Young people need time to explore, to discover where their real talents and interests lie. There are more than just a few middle-aged people out there, stuck in jobs they hate because they made the wrong choice at the wrong time.
And from the point of view of society, isn’t it better for students to delay a while before they decide what to study? Scientists can benefit from learning to develop the critical skills associated with the humanities; students in the humanities, surely, only stand to gain by finding out a little more about science and technology, which are so important to the future of a developing country like China.
With any luck, in the future young people fresh to college will be better informed about the possibilities of education than people of my generation.
【小题1】The author describes what happened at a fresher party to ________.

When you visit America, you will see the word Motel on signs and notice boards. It is made up of “motor” and “hotel” and it is really a hotel for people who arrive by car (how-ever, you don’t need a car to stay at one). You have to pay when you arrive for your room, which usually has a bath. Meals are not provided, but there will certainly be a cafeteria (自助餐馆). Americans eat a lot of salads and sandwiches. Along the main roads there are a lot of motels. Each tries to offer more than next. Some provide television in every bedroom; others have swimming pools; and so on. Motels are especially useful when you are in the country, far from a town or city. You will also find them in the big National Parks.
In these great National Parks, you may meet guests you don’t expect to see. An American friend told me a little story. In the middle of a moonless night she heard strange noises outside her motel window in the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Thinking it might be a thief, she jumped out of bed, opened the door and crept towards a dark shadow. As she got close, she saw the thief. She was dreadfully frightened: it wasn’t a human thief — it was a big black bear. The bear was turning over some empty tins with its paw, looking for tasty bits of food. My friend decided to leave that particular thief alone!
There are also, of course, places called “rooming houses”,  where they receive lodgers (房客). You will see such signs as Tourists or Rooms Rent, and you could try one of these. A word of warning — looking for a room in New York during the tourist season is like looking for gold on the moon!　
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE about motels?

第二节 完型填空 （共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）．
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36－55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项。
John and Mary had a nice home and two lovely children, a boy and a girl. John had a good   36   and had just been asked to go on a business trip to another city and it was   37   that Mary needed an outing and would go along too. They   38  a reliable woman to care for the children and made the   39   , returning home a little earlier than they had planned.
40   they drove into their home town, they found a home in flames (火焰). Mary said, “Oh well, it isn’t our   41  , let’s go home. ”
But John drove closer and exclaimed, “That home belongs to Fred Jones who works at the plant. He wouldn’t be   42   work yet, maybe there is something we could do. ”
John drove up and they were both   43   -stricken to see the whole house in flames. A woman on the lawn was in hysterics   44   , “The children! Get the children! They are in the basement. ”
45   Mary’s protests, John grabbed the water hose and soaked (浸湿) his clothes, put his   46  hand-kerchief on his head and dashed for the basement which was full of   47   . He found two nearly suffocated (窒息的) children and after carrying them to  48   , he asked how many more children were down there. They told him two more and Mary   49  his arm and screamed, “John! Don’t go back! It’s   50  ! That house will cave in (坍塌) any second!”
But he shook her off and went back by   51   his way down the smoke filled hallway and into the room. It seemed a long time   52   he found both children and started back and at last when they came out into the   53  and fresh air, he found that he had just   54   his own children.
The baby-sitter had   55   them at this home while she did some shopping.
(   ) 36. A. job                   B. family                  C. wife                         D. boss
(   ) 37. A. known                     B. believed                   C. decided                    D. hoped
(   ) 38. A. asked                B. hired                    C. begged                     D. paid
(   ) 39. A. preparations      B. mistake                C. decision                   D. trip
(   ) 40. A. Before                     B. As                           C. Once                        D. Since
(   ) 41. A. duty                 B. neighbor                  C. business                   D. fire
(   ) 42. A. off                   B. on                           C. out of                      D. at
(   ) 43. A. nerve                B. sorrow                        C. horror                 D. poverty
(   ) 44. A. coughing          B. screaming             C. waving                     D. crying
(   ) 45. A. Except for        B. In case of            C. Instead of          D. In spite of
(   ) 46. A. clean                B. soft                          C. wet                          D. large
(   ) 47. A. smoke                     B. darkness                   C. children                  D. danger
(   ) 48. A. entrance            B. ground                     C. rest                          D. safety
(   ) 49. A. pulled               B. took                         C. grabbed                    D. held
(   ) 50. A. dangerous         B. useless                     C. over                         D. stupid
(   ) 51. A. pushing            B. feeling                        C. jumping                   D. moving
(   ) 52. A. that                  B. when                       C. while                   D. before
(   ) 53. A. shade                B. sunlight                    C. open                        D. crowd
(   ) 54. A. helped                     B. found                   C. recognized            D. rescued
(   ) 55. A. left                   B. charged                    C. removed                   D. forgot

       “Dad! He took a book without paying!” I yelled .
My father looked surprised. Before the boy could say anything, his mother grabbed his arm and shook it. “Is it true? You stole? Tell me!”
Everyone was quiet. The boy began to cry, and he nodded his head. He pulled out the comic book (漫画书) from under his shirt. 
“Oh, Mr. Kim. I am sorry! My Ted made a big mistake!” Mrs. Diaz told my father. She tried to take the comic book, but Ted wouldn’t let go.
“It’s OK. He can keep it,” my father said with a smile.
“Oh no,” Mrs. Diaz said. “Let me pay right now ...” She dug in her purse. “How much?”
“Three seventy-five.”
Mrs. Diaz’s eyes widened, and she dug deeper. I saw her mouth make a small line. “Three seventy-five?” she asked.
“It’s OK. You can pay later,” my father said.
“No,” Mrs. Diaz said. She kept looking in her purse. “I have money here.”
I felt bad for yelling, for I realized that Ted had tried to steal the comic book because he didn’t have the money. Maybe the boy could have a job, I thought.
I had an idea.
“What if he worked with me?” I asked. They turned to me.
I said, “He can work with me to pay for the comic book.”
“Good,” my father said smiling at me. Mrs. Diaz nodded. She turned to her son, “You hear? You will work and buy the comic book!”  
“Yes, Mama,” Ted said, hanging his head.
As they left, Ted looked back, and though he still seemed sad, he stuck out (伸出) his tongue at me.
Ted has been working here for two weeks. He has paid for the comic book, but my father says he is such a good worker that he can work with me as long as he wants. We are friends now. 
【小题1】 Where did the story most probably take place? 

I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as Mother sat doing letters(学问). Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk”, she said again, “is for Elizabeth.” I never saw her anger, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was too emotional. But she lived “on the surface”.
As years passed, I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive（原谅）me. I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came. My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace-it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written in, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told me, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside－a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded and refolded many times. Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you chose. Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.
【小题1】The writer began to love her mother’s desk _______.