44. The underlined phrase stately homes in paragraph 4 means___.

A. state-owned houses

B. houses in very good condition

C. grand houses open to the public

D. houses where statesmen meet regularly

43. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to measure the time?

A. Counting the beating of one's own heart.

B. Making use of candles, sand and water.

C. Observing shadows cast by the sun.

D. Keeping slaves busy day and night.

42. By quoting (引用) the remark of a being from another planet, the author intends to____.

　 A. suggest human beings are controlled by a clock

　 B. describe why clocks can rule the planet Earth

　 C. tell readers what clocks look like

　 D. compare chicks to human beings

41. According to the passage, collecting antique clocks____.

A. can hardly keep the value of your savings

B. will cost much of your savings

C. may increase your wealth

D. needs your bravery

63.We can infer from the passage that　　　　 .

A.praise for efforts should be more encouraged

B.praise for results works better than praise for efforts

C.praising a child’s achievements benefits his or her success in life

D.praising a child’s abilities encourages him or her to take on challenges

答案　 61.D　 62.C　 63.A

Passage 53

(07·广东A篇)

How should one invest a sum of money in these clays of inflation (通货膨胀)? Left in a bank it will hardly keep its value, however high the interest rate. Only a brave man, or a very rich one, dares to buy and sell on the Stock Market. Today it seems that one of the best ways to protect your savings, and even increase your wealth is to buy beautiful objects from the past. Here I am going to offer some advice on collecting antique clocks, which I personally consider are among the most interesting of antiques.

　 I sometimes wonder what a being from another planet might report back about our way of life. "The planet Earth is ruled by a mysterious creature that sits or stands in a room and makes a strange ticking sound. It has a face with twelve black marks and two hands. Men can do nothing without its permission, and it fastens its young round people's wrists so that everywhere men go they are still under its control. This creature is the real master of Earth and men are its slaves."

　　 Whether or not we are slaves of time today depends on our culture and personality, but it is believed that many years ago kings kept special slaves to tell the time. Certain men were very clever at measuring the time of clay according to the beating of their own hearts. They were made to stand in a fixed place and every hour or so would shout tire time. So it seems that the first clocks were human beings.

　　 However, men quickly found more convenient and reliable ways of telling the time. They learned to use the shadows cast by the sun. They marked the hours on candles, used sand in hour- glasses, and invented water-clocks. Indeed, any serious student of antique should spend as much time as possible visiting palaces, stately homes and museums to see some of the finest examples of clocks from the past.

　　 Antique clocks could be very expensive, but one of the joys of collecting clocks is that it is still possible to find quite cheap ones for your own home. After all, if you are going to be ruled by time, why not invest in air antique clock and perhaps make a future profit?

62.The author quoted(引用)Dr.Dweck’s words in the last paragraph in order to make the article　　　　 .

A.better-known　　　 B.better-organized　 C.more-persuasive　 D.more interesting

61.The underlined words“Praise-aholic kids”refer to kids who are　　　　 .

A.tired of being praised　　　　　　 B.worthy of being praised

C.very proud of being praised　　　　 D.extremely fond of being praised

50.What is the main purpose of the text?

A.To provide travel information.　　　　　 B.To report some recent news.

C.To teach tourists hiking skills.　　 D.To introduce the wild life

答案　 47.B　 48.B　 49.A　 50.A

Passage 52

(08·福建B篇)

For years we have been told that encouraging a child’s self-respect is important to his or her success in life.But child experts are now learning that too much praise can lead to the opposite effect.Praise-aholic kids who expect it at every turn may become teens who seek the same kind of approval from their friends when asked if they want to go in the back seat of the car.

The implication(含义)of saying“You are the prettiest girl in class,”or talking about the goals she scored but not her overall effort,is that you love her only when she looks the best,scores the highest,achieves the most.And this carries over to the classroom.

Social psychologist Carol Dweck,PhD,tested the effects of overpraise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University.She found that kids praised for “trying hard”did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”.

“Praising attributes(品质)or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality,and it devalues effort,so children are afraid to take on challenges,”says Dweck,now at Stanford University.“They figure they’d better quit while they’re ahead.”

49.Why were some deer killed on purpose at Grand Canyon?

A.They ate wrong things and became very ill.

B.They were a danger to other gentle animals.

C.They begged food from visitors.

D.They kicked and bit visitors.

48.What do the underlined words “pack out what you pack in”in Paragraph 4 probably

mean?

A.keep everything out of campgrounds

B.take away everything you bring in

C.carry all the necessary food

D.look after your personal belongings