B
While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states — at least in getting people off welfare. It’s estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls（名册） since 1994.
　　In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens Country have been cut in half. But 70 percent of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The result: The Athens Country poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent — twice the national average.
　　For advocates（代言人）for the poor, that’s an indication much more needs to be done.
　　“More people are getting jobs, but it’s not making their lives any better,” says Kathy Lairn, a  policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.
　　A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down.
　　But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory.
　　“Welfare was a poison. It was a toxin（毒素）that was poisoning the family,” says
Robert Rector, a welfare-reform policy analyst. “The reform is changing the moral climate in low-income communities. It’s beginning to rebuild the work ethic（道德观）, which is much more important.”
　　Mr. Rector and others argued that once “the habit of dependency is cracked,” then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards.
45. From the passage, it can be seen that the author _______.
　　A. believes the reform has reduced the government’s burden
　　B. insists that welfare reform is doing little good for the poor
　　C. is overenthusiastic about the success of welfare reform
　　D. considers welfare reform to be basically successful
46. Why aren’t people enjoying better lives when they have jobs?
　　A. Because many families are divorced.
　　B. Because government aid is now rare.
　　C. Because their wages are low.
　　D. Because the cost of living is rising.
47. From the passage we know that welfare reform aims at _______.
　　A. saving welfare funds
　　B. rebuilding the work ethic
　　C. providing more jobs
　　D. cutting government expenses
48. According to the passage before the welfare reform was carried out, _______.
　　A. the poverty rate was lower
　　B. average living standards were higher
　　C. the average worker was paid higher wages
　　D. the poor used to rely on government aid

Mary Masterman hasn't decided where she will attend college, but when she does, she'll have plenty of money to pay for it. The 17-year-old took home a $100,000 scholarship Tuesday as the top winner of the 2007 Intel Science Talent Search.

"It was a complete surprise," said the senior at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. "I wasn't expecting it." Masterman earned first place at this year's competition by building a low-budget spectrograph (摄谱仪)— an instrument that identifies the unique characteristics, or "fingerprints," of different molecules. Spectrographs are used in a variety of fields, including astronomy, medicine, and law enforcement. They can sense the presence of explosives or drugs, and they can also help determine the age of a piece of artwork.

Normally, the cost of a spectrograph can run as high as $100,000．Mary, however, built her device—which she crafted from lenses, a laser, aluminum (铝) tubing, and a camera—for just $300．"I wanted to build one that was lower-costing so it would be more available to anyone interested in spectrography," she said.

Sticking to a budget was only half the battle. Getting the machine to work was another challenge. "I had to keep coming up with creative ways to adjust or change something," Mary admitted. "It took three months to build and another three months before it actually functioned properly."

Mary competed with more than 1,700 other high school seniors in this year's science challenge. Forty finalists were invited to Washington, D.C., where they presented their projects at the National Institute of Science. In all, 10 students took home awards for their innovative projects.

1．What’s the best title of the passage?

　 A．Oklahoma teen comes to a great invention

　 B．Science competition for high school students

　 C．The 2007 Intel Science Talent Search

　 D．Oklahoma teen wins science scholarship

2．_____ is the biggest difference between Mary’s spectrograph and the normal one?

　 A．Use fields B．Function　　 C．The cost 　　 D．The size

3．How long did it take Mary to put his spectrograph into use?

　 A．Three months. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．Half a year. 　

　 C．About a year.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Several years.

4．It can be inferred that the Intel Science Talent Search is _____.

　 A．a high-tech research institute of fine instruments

　 B．an institute of science based in Washington, D.C.

　 C．a most highly regarded science competition for high school students

　 D．the nation's oldest award for the top scientists with great achievements

For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as ＄ 145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to associate opera with common people. That means no formal suits, old-style theatre or bank breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened version of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel ￡Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75^th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.

72. Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?

A.　 Opera is famous for is history.　　　　　　　

B Opera is only for rich people.

C. Opera companies are trying to keep operas alive.

D. Young people are not interested in operas.

73．The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A. breaking up the old rules　　　　　 B. changing the dresses

C. making the audience at ease　　　　 D. advertising themselves

74. The San Francisco Opera employs young students in order to ________.

A. attract young people　　　　　　　　 B. reduce the cost

C. celebrate its 75^th anniversary　　　　　 D. make Cinderella popular

75．What can you infer from the passage?

A.　 The tickets for opera are very expensive at present.

B.　 Opera is performed in a language difficult to understand.

C.　 Opera is not so popular an art form today.

D.　 Students enjoy performing operas very much.

While taking a walk with the professor, who was commonly called the students’ friend, the young man saw lying beside the 16 a coat and a pair of old shoes, 17 ---- he supposed---- belonged to a 18 man who was working in the field nearby.

The student wanted to play a 19 on the man --- to hide his shoes and wait to see his20 when he cannot find them. 21 , the professor advised him never to 22 　himself at the cost of the poor and 23 him to put a coin in each shoe and watch how this would 24 him.

The student did so and they both 25 themselves behind bushes. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had26 his coat and shoes. 27 putting on his coat he put his foot into one of his shoes, but felt something 28 . He bent down to see what it was, and 29 a coin. He stared at the coin in surprise, turned it around, and looked at it 30 . Then he looked around, but no person was seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and began to31 the other shoe. His 32 was doubled on finding another coin. He fell upon his knees33 , looked up and uttered (说出) aloud a thanksgiving in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread.

The student stood there 34 moved, and his eyes were filled with tears. It was not until then that he felt the true meaning of these words, which he35 understood before --- It is more blessed to give than to receive.

16. A. field　　 B. path　　　　　 C. woods　　　　　 D. grass

17. A which　　　 B. what　　　　　 C. when　　　　　　 D. that

18. A. rich　　　 B. strong　　　　 C. poor　　　　　 　D. tall

19. A. trick　　 B. part　　　　　 C. role　　　　　　 D. game

20. A. joy　　　 B. anxiety　　　　 C. fear　　　　　　 D. sadness

21. A. Besides　 B. Instead　　　　 C. Therefore　　　 D. However

22. A. praise　　 B. puzzle　　　　 C. please　　　　　 D. honor

23. A. ordered　 B. checked　　　　 C. promised　　　　 D. encouraged

24. A. suggest　 B. improve　　　　 C. affect　　　　　 D. wake

25. A. hid　　　 B. stood　　　　　 C. seated　　　　　 D. lay

26. A. forget　　 B. left　　 　　　C. lost　　　　　　 D. missed

27. A. Though　　　 B. Since　　　　 C. Unless　　　 D. While

28. A. new　　　　　 B. soft　　　　　 C. old　　　　　 D. hard

29. A. invented　　 B. received　　　 C. found　　　　 D. accepted

30. A. little by little　　B. again and again　　 C. sooner or later　　　 D. more or less

31. A. put up　　　 B. put down　　　 C. put on　　　　 D. put out

32. A. doubt　　　　 B. worry　　　　 C. surprise　　　 D. pity

33. A. excitedly　　 B. eagerly　　　 C. peacefully　　 D. miserably

34. A. slightly　　 B. deeply　　　　 C. weakly　　　　 D. highly

35. A. never　　　　 B. already　　　 C. still　　　　 D. ever