I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated (控制) by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my PhD at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement --- jobs, research papers, awards --- was viewed through the lens of gender (性别) politics. So were my failures.
Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all annoyance. I don’t talk about that any more. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.
Today I research and teach at Bamard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.
【小题1】Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?

A．She is unhappy working in male-dominated fields.

B．She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination.

C．She is not good at telling stories of the kind at all.

D．She finds space research more important than that.

【小题2】We learn from Paragraph 2 that people would contribute the author’s failures to _______.

A．the very fact that she is just a woman

B．her involvement in gender politics

C．the very fact that she is just a scientist

D．her over-confidence as a female scientist

【小题3】Why does the author feel satisfied when talking about her class?

A．Female students no longer have to bother about gender issues.

B．Her students’ achievement has brought back her confidence.

C．Her female students can do just better than male students.

D．More female students now love science than before.

【小题4】What does the image that the author presents to her students suggest?

A．Women students needn’t have the concerns of her generation.

B．Women have more troubles on their way to academic success.

C．Women can balance a career in science and having a family.

D．Women now have no problems pursuing a science career.

—Tom, why didn’t you go to work today?

—Oh, the manager said he no longer wanted to see me again; _____, I was fired.

A.above all             B. after all             C. in other words   D. in some way

 

A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery （火红的） ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am.”
She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.
It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold, too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on— it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.
She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said, “Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but — where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different... she wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her snug bed in her pajamas （睡衣）.
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Are you feeling better now? You know you got us very, very scared.”
【小题1】What does “This thought” in the fourth paragraph refer to?

A．The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.

B．Her worry about her parents.

C．The idea of going back home.

D．The feeling of getting back home safely.

【小题2】Her father didn’t take care of the garden because _______.

A．he had to look after his wife

B．he was busy looking for her

C．he was not strict in his job

D．he no longer enjoyed working there

【小题3】How did Jennifer probably feel when she came back home?
a. worried    b. crazy    c. tired     d. disappointed     e. shocked     f. excited

A．a, c, e

B．a, b, c

C．b, c, e

D．d, e, f

【小题4】What can we conclude from this passage?

A．In fact Jennifer’s mother had been sick for days.

B．As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.

C．Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was really warm and safe for her.

D．When she found the garden deserted, she realized she got cross.

Facebook means never having to say goodbye. The social media website has earned a reputation for reconnecting old friends. Last week, a guy whom I hadn’t seen since my bachelor party five years ago sent me a friend request. I accepted and waited for “Easy E” to send me a greeting of some kind. He had sought me out, after all.
I learned from his profile that he was in a relationship and had a son. However, I’m pretty sure we won’t ever write wall-to-wall, let alone e-mail each other. But he’ll remain a friend of online until one of us makes a point of removing the other from his official list.
My pool of friends consists of family members, college buddies, co-workers from past and present, and friends of friends. There are 35 in all. If I spent some time uploading old e-mail addresses, I’m confident that I could increase my friend count actually.
A person could make a mission out of reconnecting with childhood friends, former classmates, distant cousins, and those one would like to get to know better. And some people can even handle hundreds of on-screen relationships, keeping up with the daily happenings of their small army of companions. After all, there are worse fates than having too many friends.
Thanks to e-mail, the inability to schedule face-to-face meetings no longer means a friendship must come to a close. But even with e-mail, people will lose touch if one or both parties stop writing back. That’s normal. People move from school to school, job to job, city to city. You never have to feel guilty for breaking away.
Every day, the masterminds of Web 2.0 find new ways of making human communication easier. However, convenience can be a walking stick. Some things shouldn’t be simplified. When it comes to friendship, there can be no shortcuts.
【小题1】According to Paragraph 1, the website is famous because       .

A．it has an interesting name of “Facebook”

B．it can send people a greeting of some kind

C．it helps people get in touch with old friends

D．it reminds people of events in the past

【小题2】From the second paragraph we can learn that the writer       .

A．would write to the friend quite often

B．did get some information about the friend

C．asked the friend to e-mail him

D．would keep in touch with the friend forever

【小题3】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The author communicates with all the 35 friends by e-mails.

B．There are 35 people in the author’s list of friends right now.

C．The list of 35 friends doesn’t include the old e-mail addresses.

D．It is not difficult for the author to increase his friend count.

【小题4】What does the writer mean by saying “However, convenience can be a walking stick”？

A．The masterminds of Web 2.0 also sell walking sticks online.

B．Taking a walking stick is a new way of making friends online.

C．Convenience is dangerous for human communication.

D．Convenience is not really good for human communication.

下面短文中有10处语言错误。请在有错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。 增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。 删除：把多余的词用斜线（﹨）划掉。  修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：      1. 每句不超过两个错误；

2. 每处错误及其修改均公限一词；       

3. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

It's reported that many people died of traffic accidents each year. Road safety has aroused the widely attention of the public. Many rules have made to reduce the traffic crashes, especially for the ones involved in the pedestrians. In my opinion, we should make road safety seriously in our daily life. While used the road, we must walk on the pavement and learn to protect us. Besides, car drivers should obey the traffic rules, that is both good for themselves and others.

In the word, obeying the traffic rules are what all of us should pay attention to particularly. After all, life is not a small matter.