Employers fear they will be unable to recruit (招募) students with the skills they need as the economic recovery kicks in, a new survey ___21___.

Nearly half of the organizations told researchers they were already struggling to find ___22___ with skills in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), ___23___ even more companies expect to experience ___24___ of employees with STEM skills in the next three years.

The Confederation of British Industry___25___694 businesses and organizations across the public and ___26___sectors , which together employ 2.4 million people.

Half are ___27___ they will not be able to fill graduate posts in the coming years, while a third said they would not be able to ___28___ enough employees with the right A-level skills.

　　“___29___ we move further role recovery and businesses plan ___30___ growth, the demand for people with high-quality skills and qualifications will ___31___.” said Richard Lambert, Director General, CBI. “Firms say it is already hard to find people with the right ___32___ or engineering skills. The new government must make it a top ___33___ to encourage more young people to study science-related ___34___.”

　　The survey found that young people would improve their job prospects (预期) ___35___ they studied business, maths, English and physics or chemistry at A-level. The A-levels that employers ___36___least are psychology and sociology. And while many employers don’t insist on a ___37___ degree subject . A third prefer to hire those with a STEM-related subject.

The research ___38___ worries about the lack of progress in improving basic skills in the UK ___39___. Half of the employer expressed worries about employees’ basic literacy and numeracy（计算) skills, while the biggest problem is with IT skills, ___40___ two-thirds reported concerns.

1.	A．submits B．reveals C．launches D．relieves

2..

A．audience

B．officials

C．partners

D．staff

 

3.	A．while B．because C．for D．although

 

4.	A．exits B．shortages C．absences D．sources

5..

A．surveyed

B．searched

C．exposed

D．expanded

 

6.	A．collective B．private C．personal D．civil

 

7.	A．conducted B．combined C．concerned D．confused

 

8.	A．provide B．reach C．transfer D．hire

 

9.	A．Lest B．Unless C．Before D．As

10..

A．with

B．for

C．on

D．by

11..

A．control

B．stretch

C．ensure

D．heighten

12..

A．creative

B．technical

C．narrative

D．physical

13..

A．priority

B．option

C．challenge

D．judgment

 

14.	A．procedures B．academics C．thoughts D．subjects

 

15.	A．until B．since C．whereas D．if

16..

A．rate

B．discuss

C．order

D．observe

 

17.	A．typical B．particular C．positive D．general

18..

A．highlighted

B．described

C．focused

D．touched

19..

A．masses

B．workforce

C．faculty

D．communities

 

20.	A．what B．whom C．where D．why

 

Peanuts to This

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.Confused, I glanced toward my stone­faced teacher.Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself.“What could be causing everyone to act this way？”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task.This was the first real task I received in my new school.It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington.Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before.As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America.I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant.I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice：flip(掷) a coin.Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost.Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong.As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington，the man who started the American Revolution.”The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful.Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around.I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re­dos; no new grade.I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance.Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year.Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster's office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation.I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade.Justice is sweet!

16．What did the author's classmates think about his report?

A．Controversial.  B．Ridiculous.

C．Boring.  D．Puzzling.

17．Why was the author confused about the task?

A．He was unfamiliar with American history.

B．He followed the advice and flipped a coin.

C．He forgot his teacher's instruction.

D．He was new at the school.

18．The underlined word “burning” in Para.3 probably means ________．

A．annoyed  　B．ashamed  　C．ready  D．eager

19．In the end, the author turned things around ________．

A．by redoing his task

B．through his own efforts

C．with the help of his grandfather

D．under the guidance of his headmaster

                                                               WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - US President Bush said on Monday that he wanted Osama bin Laden “dead or alive” for last week’s attacks on the World Trade Center and the pentagon, but many of Washington’s allies are cool on strikes against Afghanistan.

　　Bush has named Saudi - born militant Osama bin Laden as a prime suspect, though he has provided no evidence for his claim. Still, he had been building public support for military action and has warned Afghanistan’s Taliban to give up Bin Laden.

　　But the Taliban, which has warned of “holy war” in response to any US attack, by Tuesday afternoon had given no indication of whether the man they call their“ guest” would be handed over.

　　On an unprecedented“ Day of terror”, two planes smashed into New York’s World Trade Center twin towers on September 11, putting them into ruins while explosions rocked the Pentagon in Washington, and the White House and State Department were evacuated. The attacks have left more than 5, 000 people dead or missing.

　　China has said it is ready to join international efforts in fighting “terrorism ”but insisted that peace, not war, is the best option.

　　In London, Blair declared it a“ war between the civilized world and fanaticism ”and determined to stand by an ally which aided Britain in two world wars. France, Germany and other, including Russia, are also supportive.　“The evil must be punished, ” Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “But we should not liken ourselves to bandit.” His defense chiefs have ruled out hosting NATO forces in former Soviet Central Asia or joining US military action, although Moscow says it will help with intelligence.

55. What building（s）was/were totally damaged?

　 A. The World Trade Center and the Pentagon

　 B. The World Trade Center.

　 C. The Pentagon.

　 D. The White House

56. In this passage, what country does the underlined part refer to?

　 A. Russia　　　　B. France　　　　C. Germany　　　 D. America

57. According to the passage, which of the following is right?

　 A. It was bin Laden that made the terrorist attacks, which have left more than 5, 000 people dead or missing.

　 B. Russian forces will join US military action.

　 C. There is no sign to show that the Tailbone will hand over bin Laden.

　 D. Few countries support America after the attacks.

58. From the passage, what problem is the world facing?

　 A. Wars　　　　B. Terrorism　　　C. Population　　　D. Explosions

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

　　阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - US President Bush said on Monday that he wanted Osama bin Laden “dead or alive” for last week’s attacks on the World Trade Center and the pentagon, but many of Washington’s allies are cool on strikes against Afghanistan．Bush has named Saudi - born militant Osama bin Laden as a prime suspect, though he has provided no evidence for his claim． Still, he had been building public support for military action and has warned Afghanistan’s Taliban to give up Bin Laden．

　　But the Taliban, which has warned of “holy war” in response to any US attack, by Tuesday afternoon had given no indication of whether the man they call their“ guest” would be handed over．

　　On an unprecedented“ Day of terror”, two planes smashed into New York’s World Trade Center twin towers on September 11, putting them into ruins while explosions rocked the Pentagon in Washington, and the White House and State Department were evacuated． The attacks have left more than 5, 000 people dead or missing．

　　China has said it is ready to join international efforts in fighting “terrorism ”but insisted that peace, not war, is the best option．

　　In London, Blair declared it a“ war between the civilized world and fanaticism ”and determined to stand by an ally which aided Britain in two world wars． France, Germany and others, including Russia, are also supportive．　“The evil must be punished, ” Russian President Vladimir Putin said． “But we should not liken ( 把…比着 )ourselves to bandit．” His defense chiefs have ruled out hosting NATO forces in former Soviet Central Asia or joining US military action, although Moscow says it will help with intelligence．

36．What building（s）was/were totally damaged?

　　A． The World Trade Center and the Pentagon

　　B． The World Trade Center．

　　C． The Pentagon．

　　D． The White House

37．In this passage, what country does the underlined part refer to?

　　A． Russia　　　　B． France　　　　C． Germany　　　 D． America

38．According to the passage, which of the following is right?

　　A． It was bin Laden that made the terrorist attacks, which have left more than 5, 000 people dead or missing．

　　B． Russian forces will join US military action．

　　C． There is no sign to show that the Taliban will hand over bin Laden．

　　D． Few countries support America after the attacks．

39．From the passage, what problem is the world facing?

　　A． Wars　　　　B． Terrorism　　　C． Population　　　D． Explosions

—What do you think of the manager of your company?

　　　　—Oh, he is ________ manager who’s pleasant to work with.

　　It’s ________ pleasure to work with him.

　　A. the; a　　　　B. a; a　　　　　　C. a; the　　　　　D. 不填; a