A car drew up outside the Swan Hotel and a young man got out．Pausing only for a moment to see that he had come to the right place，he went into the hotel and rang the bell on the counter of the bar．

Mrs．Crump，the landlady，who was busy in the kitchen at the time，hurried out，wiping her hands．The young man raised his hat．

“Excuse me，”he said．“I’m looking for my uncle，Mr．White．I believe he is staying here．”

“He was staying here．”Mrs．Crump corrected him．“But I’m afraid that he went back to London yesterday．”

“Oh，dear，”said the young man，looking disappointed．“I understood that he was going to stay here until the end of the month．At least that is what his servant told me when I rang up his house．”

“Quite right，”said Mrs，Cramp．“He planned to stay here the whole of July，as he always does． But yesterday he got a telegram to say that his relative was ill．So he caught the train back to London immediately．”

“I wish he had let me know, ”The young man said．“I wrote him a letter saying that I was coming．I’ve had all this trouble for nothing．Well，since he isn’t here，there’s no point in waiting．”

He thanked Mrs．Grump and went out．Mrs．Grump went to the window and watched him drive off．When his car was out of sight，she called out：“You can come out now, Mr．White. He’s gone．”

Mr．White came out of the kitchen，where he had been waiting．

“Many thanks，Mrs．Grump，”he said，laughing，“you did that very well．These nephews of mine never gave me any peace．That young man is the worst of them all．As you see，when he needs money, he even follows me into the country．Well，perhaps next time he won’t warn me by writing a letter!”

1.This story is about a man         ．

A．who was very much loved by his nephews

B．whose nephew went to visit him at the hotel

C．who was not willing to meet his nephew

D．whose nephew is always asking him for help

2.When his nephew came to the hotel，Mr．White            ．

A．took the train back to London

B．left to visit a sick relative

C．went to pick up a telegram

D．hid himself in the kitchen

3.Mr. White didn’t like his nephews because         ．

A．they always follow him around

B．they frequently disturb their relatives

C．they won’t write to him often

D．they usually visit him in hotels

 

       ……

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She is a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons, because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America: the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "we shall overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there’s so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves, if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? 

(From Obama’s victory speech, 2008 )

56. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Ann Nixon Cooper was once a slave.              B. Ann Nixon Cooper is a black woman.

C. Ann Nixon Cooper knows Obama and his family very well.

D. Ann Nixon Cooper contributed much to the changes of America.

57. What does the underlined part“cast her ballot”in the first paragraph probably mean?

A. expressed her happiness                                B. worked for Obama

C. voted in the election                                     D. celebrated the victory

58. What message does this part of Obama’s speech mainly send?

A. Ann Nixon Cooper has experienced the best time and the darkest hours of America in the last century.

B. America has undergone great development in the last century and is looking forward to more great changes.

C. Ann Nixon Cooper has witnessed the development and democracy of America.

D. This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations.

 

Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the planets. But for all the progress, people __1  don’t know one another very well.

That brings about Theodore Zeldin’s “  2  of conversation” — events   3  individuals sit in pairs with persons they don’ t know for three hours of  4  talk designed to help people know better about each other.

Mr. Zeldin heads Oxford Muse, a l0-year-old foundation based on the  _5  that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.

The “feast” in London looks  6 at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations among the sexes, hopes  7   fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives. The “menu of _8  ” includes topics like “How have your concerns changed   9  the years?” Or, “What have you done against the past?”

As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite  _10  communications like QQ and MSN in a globalized age, issues of human heart   11 . Many people are lonely, or occupied in dealing with their daily businesses that discourage knowing the _ 12 _ of one another. “We are trapped in _ 13 _ conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is sometimes painful,”he says. “But   14 _ interaction is what separates us from other species, __15  maybe dogs that do have interactions with humans.”

The main rules of the “feast”: Don’t   16 _ with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer. The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of people of different ages, in sun hats, ties and   __17_, looked to see   18  they would talk with for hours.   19  15 minutes later, everyone was seated and talking, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.

Some said they felt free to talk on   20   topics. Thirty-something Peter, from East London, said that “it might take weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up.”

1.                A．still            B．already         C．even D．yet

 

2.                A．topic           B．subject         C．idea D．feast

 

3.                A．what           B．when          C．that  D．where

 

4.                A．free           B．organized       C．guided   D．random

 

5.                A．theory         B．idea           C．opinion   D．fact

 

6.                A．not            B．not only        C．never    D．ever

 

7.                A．but            B．and            C．or   D．with

 

8.                A．talk            B．speech         C．conversation   D．communication

 

9.                A．during         B．over           C．for  D．within

 

10.               A．convenient      B．accessible       C．immediate D．instant

 

11.               A．leave          B．appear         C．disappear  D．remain

 

12.               A．depth          B．well           C．truth D．good

 

13.               A．small          B．daily           C．deep D．shallow

 

14.               A．thinking        B．talking         C．communicating  D．lecturing

 

15.               A．with           B．besides         C．except    D．from

 

16.               A．talk            B．pair           C．involve    D．sit

 

17.               A．dresses        B．skirts          C．T-shirts    D．coats

 

18.               A．which          B．whom          C．who  D．that

 

19.               A．So            B．And           C．But   D．Then

 

20.               A．hot            B．popular        C．sensitive   D．private

 

 

Actually,the students can______ very well without looking up the words in the dictionary.

A．get on

B．get over

C．get in

D．get down

 

 

         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 in school. They 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 have 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.

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

2．Open education may be a good idea for the students who_________

         A．enjoy learning                           B．worry about grades

         C．do well in a traditional classroom       D．are responsible for what they do in life.

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

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.

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.