Puerto Rico may be part of the USA but its music and dance is a mixture of both Spanish and African rhythms. The country, as a result, is a mixture of very new and very old. It exhibits the open American way of yet retains the more formal Spanish influences. This is reflected in the architecture, not just the contrast between the colonial and the modern in urban areas but also in the countryside, where older buildings sit side by side with concrete schools and buildings.
However, if you do not wander beyond the tourist areas on the coast, you will not experience the real Puerto Rico. Old volcanic mountains, long inactive, occupy a large part of the interior（内陆）, with the highest peak, Cerro de Punta, at 1,338m in the Cordillera Central. North of the Cordillera is the karst （岩溶）country where the limestone（石灰石）has been acted upon by water to produce a series of small steep hills and deep holes. The mountains are surrounded by a coastal plain with the Atlantic shore beaches cooled all the year round by trade winds.
The population is 3.8 million, of which about 1.5 million live in San Juan, although about another two million Puerto Ricans live in the USA Average life expectancy is 73.8 years and GDP per capita is US $12,212, the highest in Latin America, although not up to the level of mainland USA. Most Puerto Ricans do not speak English and less than 30% speak it fluently. Second generation Puerto Ricans who were born in New York but who have returned to the island, are called Nuyoricans. The people are very friendly and hospitable but there is crime, liked to drugs and unemployment.
【小题1】What are the disadvantages of Puerto Rico?

A．Too many Puerto Ricans live in the USA

B．Few people in Puerto Rico can speak English

C．Puerto Rico’s GDP is lower than that of the USA

D．Social problem connected with drugs and lack of jobs.

【小题2】We can learn from the passage that Puerto Rico _________.

A．is a state of the United States	B．used to be ruled by Spain
C．is an agricultural country	D．is gently affected by Africa

【小题3】Nuyorican is a person who _______.

A．has been living in New York

B．is living in New York

C．was born in New York but has returned to Puerto Rico

D．has got the citizenship of America

【小题4】What does the underlined word “retains” mean?

A．loses

B．keeps

C．enjoys

D．returns

For some people, music is no fun at all. About four percent of the population is what scientists call “amusic.” People who are amusic are born without the ability to recognize or reproduce musical notes (音调). Amusic people often cannot tell the difference between two songs. Amusics can only hear the difference between two notes if they are very far apart on the musical scale.
As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. Their inability to enjoy music set them apart from others. It can be difficult for other people to identify with their condition. In fact, most people cannot begin to grasp what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping mall can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics intentionally stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in withdrawal and social isolation. “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret, a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists are finally learning how to identify this unusual condition.
Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from the brains of people who can appreciate music. The difference is complex, and it doesn’t involve defective hearing. Amusics can understand other nonmusical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding ordinary speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can’t see certain colors.
Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed (诊断). For years, Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem with music. Now she knows that she is not alone. There is a name for her condition. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert, I just say, ‘No thanks, I’m amusic,’” says Margaret. “I just wish I had learned to say that when I was seventeen and not seventy.”                                                                                                                       (335 words)
【小题1】Which of the following is true of amusics?

A．Listening to music is far from enjoyable for them.

B．They love places where they are likely to hear music.

C．They can easily tell two different songs apart.

D．Their situation is well understood by musicians.

【小题2】According to paragraph 3, a person with “defective hearing” is probably one who __________.

A．dislikes listening to speeches

B．can hear anything nonmusical

C．has a hearing problem

D．lacks a complex hearing system

【小题3】In the last paragraph, Margaret expressed her wish that __________.

A．her problem with music had been diagnosed earlier

B．she were seventeen years old rather than seventy

C．her problem could be easily explained

D．she were able to meet other amusics

【小题4】What is the passage mainly concerned with?

A．Amusics’ strange behaviours.

B．Some people’s inability to enjoy music.

C．Musical talent and brain structure.

D．Identification and treatment of amusics.

There are some very good things about open education. This way of teaching allows the students to grow as people, and to develop their own interests in many subjects. Open education allows students to be responsible for their own education, as they are responsible for what they do in life. Some students do badly in a traditional classroom. The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning. Some students will be happier in an open education school. They will not have to worry about grades or rules. For students who worry about these things a lot, it is a good idea to be in an open classroom.
But many students will not do well in an open classroom. For some students, there are too few rules. These students will do little and will not make good use of open education. Because open education is so different from traditional education, these students may have a problem getting used to making so many choices. For many students it is important to have some rules in the classroom. They worry about the rules even when there are no rules. Even a few rules will help this kind of students. The last point about open education is that some traditional teachers do not like it. Many teachers do not believe in open education. Teachers who want to have an open classroom may come across many problems at their schools.
You now know what open education is. Some of its good points and bad points have been explained. You may have your own opinion about open education. The writer thinks that open education is a good idea, but only in theory. In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school. The writer believes that most students, but of course not all students, want some structure in their classes. They want and need to have rules. In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to.
【小题1】Open education allows the students to ______.

A．grow as the educated	B．be responsible for their future
C．develop their own interests	D．discover subjects outside class

【小题2】Open education may be a good idea for the students who ______.

A．don't enjoy learning	B．worry about grades
C．do well in a traditional classroom	D．are responsible for what they do in life.

【小题3】Some students will do little in an open classroom because _____.

A．there are too few rules	B．they hate activities
C．open education is similar to the traditional education	D．they worry about the rules

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Some traditional teachers do not like it.

B．Many teachers do not believe in open education.

C．Teachers may have problems in open classrooms.

D．The teacher’s feelings and attitudes are important to the students.

【小题5】Which of the following best summarizes the passage?

A．Open education is a really complex idea.

B．Open education is better than traditional education.

C．Teachers dislike open education.

D．The writer thinks that open education is a good idea in practice.

Few of us haven't read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams, Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity（默默无闻） or neglect．
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too．Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high Mary is shy but loves to dance．Compared with other girls, she is invisible．However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears．
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable．Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball．They meet and falHn love with each other．But when Mary has to．rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams．Of course, there is a wicked（邪恶的） stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies．Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school．Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her．
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modem day twists to the classic fairy tale．Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful．There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies．
"The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson．"The focus is firmly on following your dream．"
【小题1】The first paragraph is mainly to _____．

A．build interest and lead us to Mary's secret dream

B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years

C．inform us of the main topic of the whole passage

D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is

【小题2】In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who     .

A．is brave in expressing her iove[来源:学&科&网]

B．is attended badly by the stepmother

C．has a dream of meeting a prince

D．is embarrassed by the pop singer

【小题3】What can we infer from the passage?

A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary's class．

B．Mary's mother influences her a lot m singing．

C．Not many people have a dream to be realized．

D．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary．

【小题4】The passage is mainly _____．

A．an introduction to a film

B．a review about a film

C．an essay about dreams

D．an advertisement of Cinderella

【小题5】According to the passage．Another Cinderella Story _____．

A．follows Cinderella with nothing new[来源:学_科_网]

B．pays more attention to the looks of the actors

C．encourages young people to follow their dreams

D．focuses more on materialism than other films

A new era is upon us. Call it what you will: the service economy, the information age, the knowledge society. It has changed the way we work. Already we’re partly there. The percentage of people who earn their living by making things has fallen dramatically in the Western World. Today the majority of jobs in America, Europe and Japan (two thirds or more in many of these countries) are in the service industry, and the number is on the rise. More women are in the work force than ever before. There are more part-time jobs. More people are self-employed. But the breadth (广度) of the economic transformation can’t be measured by numbers alone, because it also is giving rise to a basic new way of thinking about the nature of work itself. Long-held concepts about jobs and careers, the skills needed to succeed, even the relation between individuals and employers — all these are being challenged.

We have only to look behind us to get some sense of what may lie ahead. No one looking ahead 20 years possibly could have foreseen the ways in which a single invention, the chip (芯片), would transform our world thanks to its applications in personal computers, digital communications and factory robots. Tomorrow’s achievements in biotechnology, artificial intelligence or even some still unimagined technology could produce a similar wave of dramatic changes. But one thing is certain: information and knowledge will become even more important, and the people who possess it, whether they work in manufacturing (制造业) or services, will have the advantage and produce the wealth. Computer knowledge will become as basic a requirement as the ability to read and write. The ability to solve problems by applying information instead of performing routine tasks will be valued above all else. If you cast your mind ahead 10 years, information services will be predominant (最重要的). It will be the way you do your job.

1.One of the great changes caused by the knowledge society is that ______.

A．most people have to take part-time jobs

B．people have to change their jobs from time to time

C．people’s traditional concepts about work are no longer completely true

D．the difference between the employee and the employer has become unimportant

2.The future will probably belong to those who ______.

A．have more brains

B．are involved in the service industries

C．cast their mind ahead instead of looking back

D．possess and know how to make use of information

3.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A．Computers and the knowledge society

B．Features and meanings of the New Era

C．Service Industries in the Modern Society

D．Rapid Advancement of Information Technology