Nowadays more and more young athletes are taking part in the risky activities called “extreme sports” or “X-sports”.
In the past young athletes would play baseball. Today, they want risk and excitement — the closer to the edge, the better. They snowboard over cliff and hike deep mountains.
Extreme sports started as an alternative to more expensive sports such as golf. A city kid who couldn’t afford expensive sports equipment could get a skateboard and have fun. But now it has become a whole new area of sports, with specialized equipment and high levels of skill. There is even an Olympics for extreme sports, called the winter x-game, which includes snow mountain hiking and ice climbing.
What makes extreme sports so popular? Maybe it’s because people love the risk. City people want to be outdoors on the weekends and do something challenging. The new equipment is so much better that people can take more risks without getting hurt. Sure there’s a risk. Once you go mountain hiking or snowboarding, it’s impossible to go back to have riding or skiing. It’s just too boring.
Now even the older crowd is starting to join in. Every weekend, groups of friends in their early 30s get together. On weekdays they work as computer programmers in the same office. On weekends they hike mountains together.
Extreme sports are certainly not for everyone. Most people still prefer to play basketball or watch sports on TV. But it has been a fact that extreme sports are gaining popularity.
【小题1】Extreme sports started as an alternative to more expensive sports because _______.

Emilio and Michi spread the colorful tablecloth on the table. They made room for Drew, who was carrying a dish. “Watch out,” Drew warned. “This is pretty hot.”

A moment later, Kent and Alyssa added another hot dish to the table. “That smells so good!” said Michi. “Are most of the parents here yet? I’m hungry.”

Kent looked through the doors that led into the hallway. “I think Ms. Milano and Mr. Hasselbach just finished giving them the garden touring. They should be heading into the cafeteria next.”

The students of Jefferson Middle School in Saint Louis, US had spent all afternoon preparing for the evening meal. They did their best to transform the lunchroom into a beautiful dining area for their families.

As the families found their seats, Ms. Milano asked Drew, Emilio, and Michi to join her at the front of the room. She said, “I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate Drew, Emilio and Michi for their wonderful idea. A year ago, they first came to me with the plan for starting a garden at Jefferson. I wondered whether it would work, but they had thought through everything. Any time I had a question about how we would make this work, they had an answer prepared. As you can see, they were absolutely correct. About three-quarters of the food you will be enjoying came from the school garden. The students prepared the entire meal themselves.”

Ms. Milano handed Drew, Michi and Emilio a box each. They opened their box as Ms. Milano continued. “As a thank-you to these students for their creative idea and hard work, they have each received a stepping stone(垫脚石)for the garden. Their names and date appear on the stones.”

She turned to them. “Students for years to come will be enjoying the garden that you helped create,” she said. “We thought it would be appropriate for them to have a reminder of our garden’s founders.”

They held up their stepping stones and smiled as the crowd clapped. “And now,” said Ms Milano, “please help yourself to some of the mouthwatering food our young chefs have prepared. Dinner is served!”

1.What does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A.The students’ parents.    B.New students.      C.Teachers.        D.The school chefs.

2.According to the text, the food served on the table     

A.was served as a lunch

B. was cooked by the students

C.was prepared to thank the kids

D.was entirely from the school garden

3.What was Ms. Milano’s original attitude toward starting a garden at school?

A.She was doubtful about it

B.She felt it was worth a try

C.she was strongly against it

D.She thought it a wonderful idea.

4.Why did Ms. Milano give stepping stones to Drew, Michi , and Emilio?

A.They have good cooking skills.

B. They are the best students of the school.

C.They have made the school more beautiful.

D.They are the founders of the school garden.

5.What would be the best title of the text?

A.A school garden    B.Garden chefs    C.Creative students      D.A delicious meal

Fifty years from now the world’s population will be declining, with no end in sight. Unless people’s values change greatly, several centuries from now there could be fewer people living in the entire world than live in the United States today. The big surprise of the past twenty years is that in not one country did fertility (生育能力) stop falling when it reached the replacement rate（出生率）—2.1 children per woman. In Italy, for example, the rate has fallen to 1.2. In Western Europe as a whole and in Japan it is down to 1.5. The evidence now indicates that within fifty years or so world population will peak at about eight billion before starting a fairly rapid decline.
Because in the past two centuries world population has increased from one billion to nearly six billion, many people still fear that it will keep “exploding” until there are too many people for the earth to support. But that is like fearing that your baby will grow to 1,000 pounds because its weight doubles three times in its first seven years. World population was growing by two percent a year in the 1960s; the rate is now down to one percent a year, and if the patterns of the past century don’t change completely, it will head into negative numbers. This view is coming to be widely accepted among population experts, even as the public continues to focus on the threat of uncontrolled population growth.
As long ago as September of 1974 Scientific American published a special issue on population that described what demographers (人口统计学家) had begun calling the “demographic transition” from traditional high rates of birth and death to the low ones of modern society. The experts believed that birth and death rates would be more or less equal in the future, as they had been in the past, keeping total population stable after a level of 10-12 billion people was reached during the transition.
56. Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The world’s population in the future will be reducing endlessly.
B. When the earth population reaches 8 billion, it will see a rapid decrease.
C. In modern society the birth and death rates will be more or less equal in the future.
D. The public now pay little attention to the threat of uncontrolled population growth.
57. What’s reason for the sharp increase of world population in the past two centuries?
A. Because people fear that the world will explode.
B. Because the world’s replacement rate keeps falling.
C. Because people’s values has greatly changed.
D. The passage doesn't mention it.
58. The expression “demographic transition” (Paragraph 3) probably means _______.
A. high death rate to the low one
B. high birth rate to the low one
C. high rates of birth and death to the low ones
D. low rates of birth and death to the high ones
59. We can learn from the passage that _______.
A. in the near future there will be a rapid decline of the world population
B. the birth and death rates of modern society will be unequal in the future
C. there would be the same population living in the world than it in the US today
D. in Western Europe the replacement rate has declined to a negative number

The casual Friday concept (星期五便装日的概念) was one of the first signs that strict dress rules for offices were starting to relax. The principle of casual Fridays seems to have appeared around the 1950s. It was probably in response (回应) to the changing attitudes towards workplaces. Over time, some offices have relaxed their dress rules even more by using a "business casual" dress rule.
On casual Fridays, employees (员工) may wear clothes which are considered to be "business casual", meaning they still obey certain standards (标准). Clothes must be clean and in good condition, with no spots. Men are generally allowed to wear casual trousers and bright-colored clothes, and in some offices they may be allowed to wear button-down shirts or polo shirts, with or without a tie. Women often wear neat skirts or dresses; casual trousers are common and generally allowed to wear, except in very formal workplaces.
As a general rule, extremely casual clothes, like jeans, shorts, T-shirts, tank tops, and so on, are not encouraged on casual Fridays. Employees are still expected to make an effort to look professional, out of respect for their offices and their customers.
Many people feel that casual Fridays are good for employees’mood because they encourage employees to express their individuality (个性) and feel more comfortable in the offices. Others feel that business casual clothing and the concept of casual Fridays don’t show respect for the workplaces. Casual Fridays are dealt with differently, depending on the industry and the nation. The technology industry, for example, is well known for casual clothes in general, while major financial companies still dislike casual clothes.
【小题1】We can learn from the passage that ________.

Mothers and daughters go through so much—yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother, Sheila Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co－writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped(重叠)．

Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother's: both have full－time careers; both have published books, articles, and stories; each has three children; they both love to read.They also love to travel—in fact, they often take trips together.But in truth, the harder they look at their lives, the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.

A child of the Depression(大萧条), Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls.Starting with her college education, she has fought for everything she's ever accomplished.Perri, on the other hand, grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s.For Sheila, wasting time or money is a crime, and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury, but has not been successful at trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.

Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains, the love and bitterness, the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together.Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork.Perri admits that she can't sort out all the mess in the households, even though she knows it drives her mother crazy.Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working, admit long－hidden sorrows, and enjoy precious memories.

Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together, Perri and Sheila tell their mother－daughter story with honesty, humor, enthusiasm, and admiration for each other.A written account in two voices，Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet(二重奏) that produces a deep, strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.

1.Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother's?

A．They both have gone through difficult times.

B．They have strong emotional ties with each other.

C．They have the same joys and pains, and love and bitterness.

D．They both have experiences as daughter, mother and writer.

2.The word “luxury” in Paragraph 3 means________.

A．something rare but not pleasant

B．something that cannot be imagined

C．something expensive but not necessary

D．something that can only be enjoyed by boys

3.What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The content of the book.

B．The purpose of the book.

C．The influence of the book.

D．The writing style of the book.

4.How are women's lives explored in this book?

A．In a musical form.

B．Through field research.

C．With unique writing skills.

D．From different points of view.