A． “Better road design and training hold the key to cycle safety”, the new Transport Secretary said today as he pledged to restore Britain’s safety record. Patrick McLoughlin told Conservative Party Conference that while cycling was enjoying a post-Olympics boom, the number of casualties among cyclists was also rising. “But the number of accidents has gone up too. That means it needs better design and better education too.” Mr McLoughlin said in his first speech as Transport Secretary. 
B.  Cycling in the UK will become safer through “sheer weight of numbers,” the founder of one of the world’s leading cycle brands has said as he backed The Times’s Cyclesafe campaign. Simon Mottram, founder and chief executive of Rapha, has added his support to 40 cross-party MPs who have signed a letter urging David Cameron to use his speech at the Conservative Party Conference to promote measures to make the streets safer for cyclists.
C.  Commuters who cycle to work face an increased danger as the casualty toll during peak hours rose by 10 percent last year. The rate at which cyclists were killed or seriously injured rose sharply last year, official figures showed yesterday.
D.  In future decades, Londoners will look back on the way cyclists jostled with buses and lorries on major roads as an absurd anachronism. Some risks are unavoidable. But other risks survive only because we are too slow to embrace bold solutions. That is the message from designers who are proposing an ambitious plan to create cycle lanes suspended above London’s busiest streets. London is one of the most dangerous places in the world for cycling. “SkyCycle” would remedy that problem by attaching dedicated cycle paths to existing railway viaducts.
E.  Money should be apportioned from the funding for major transport projects, such as the new Forth Crossing, to create a pot of cash for cycling, campaigners have told MSPs. Cycle groups have given warning that not enough money is being put into routes and promotion. They want the Scottish government to take a percentage of the funding allocated to key national projects and create an “active transport” fund to be distributed gradually.
F.  We’d like you to tell us why you love cycling by sending a photo of yourself, a family member or friend with their bike and a note about why it is so brilliant. To take part, instagram your photo with the hashtag #ilovemybike or email it to us at ilovemybike@thetimes.co.uk. We’ll post the best pictures here ilovemybike.tumblr.com.
请阅读以下信息，并为他们匹配合适的新闻内容。
【小题1】“Cycle lanes in the sky” answer to traffic danger
【小题2】More cyclists are seriously injured on Britain’s roads
【小题3】Share a picture of you and your bike and help us promote the fun and freedom of cycling
【小题4】“Weight of numbers” will bring safe cycling
【小题5】Transport Secretary calls for better road design and training to help cyclists

A． “Better road design and training hold the key to cycle safety”, the new Transport Secretary said today as he pledged to restore Britain’s safety record. Patrick McLoughlin told Conservative Party Conference that while cycling was enjoying a post-Olympics boom, the number of casualties among cyclists was also rising. “But the number of accidents has gone up too. That means it needs better design and better education too.” Mr McLoughlin said in his first speech as Transport Secretary. 

B.  Cycling in the UK will become safer through “sheer weight of numbers,” the founder of one of the world’s leading cycle brands has said as he backed The Times’s Cyclesafe campaign. Simon Mottram, founder and chief executive of Rapha, has added his support to 40 cross-party MPs who have signed a letter urging David Cameron to use his speech at the Conservative Party Conference to promote measures to make the streets safer for cyclists.

C.  Commuters who cycle to work face an increased danger as the casualty toll during peak hours rose by 10 percent last year. The rate at which cyclists were killed or seriously injured rose sharply last year, official figures showed yesterday.

D.  In future decades, Londoners will look back on the way cyclists jostled with buses and lorries on major roads as an absurd anachronism. Some risks are unavoidable. But other risks survive only because we are too slow to embrace bold solutions. That is the message from designers who are proposing an ambitious plan to create cycle lanes suspended above London’s busiest streets. London is one of the most dangerous places in the world for cycling. “SkyCycle” would remedy that problem by attaching dedicated cycle paths to existing railway viaducts.

E.  Money should be apportioned from the funding for major transport projects, such as the new Forth Crossing, to create a pot of cash for cycling, campaigners have told MSPs. Cycle groups have given warning that not enough money is being put into routes and promotion. They want the Scottish government to take a percentage of the funding allocated to key national projects and create an “active transport” fund to be distributed gradually.

F.  We’d like you to tell us why you love cycling by sending a photo of yourself, a family member or friend with their bike and a note about why it is so brilliant. To take part, instagram your photo with the hashtag #ilovemybike or email it to us at ilovemybike@thetimes.co.uk. We’ll post the best pictures here ilovemybike.tumblr.com.

请阅读以下信息，并为他们匹配合适的新闻内容。

1.“Cycle lanes in the sky” answer to traffic danger

2.More cyclists are seriously injured on Britain’s roads

3.Share a picture of you and your bike and help us promote the fun and freedom of cycling

4.“Weight of numbers” will bring safe cycling

5.Transport Secretary calls for better road design and training to help cyclists

Part B: Vocabulary 9%

F. negative       G. failures         H. defined          I. mark          J. reliable  

We might be surprised at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It is really extraordinary that after all years, educationists have still failed to devise something more 41 than examinations. For all the 42 that examinations test what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact 43. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person’s true ability.

As anxiety-makers, examinations are 44 to none. That is because so much depends on them. They are the 45 of success or failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. It doesn’t matter that you weren’t feeling very well, or that your mother died. Little things like that don’t 46: the exam goes on. No one can bring out the 47 in him when he is in terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of fierce competition where success and failure are clearly 48 and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of “dropouts”: young people who are written off as 49 before they have started a career? Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students?

A Child Who Could Not See, Hear, Or Speak

For the first nineteen months of her life, Helen Keller was like other pretty happy babies in every way. Then a sudden illness destroyed her sight and hearing. Because she could not hear what other people were saying, the child could not learn to speak. For the next seven years, she lived in a world of darkness, without sounds or words.

The person who changed Helen’s world was her teacher, Anne Sullivan, who entered her life on March 3, 1887. Miss Sullivan had accepted a job a blind child who had never learned to act like a human being, because no one had ever been able to guide her in any way. No one could control Helen. She acted like a young animal, rushing wildly around, throwing things, and hitting anyone whom she could reach. Who could believe that such a child could be taught?

But Anne Sullivan was a very special kind of teacher. She had been blind during part of her own childhood and had learned to read Braille, system of writing that uses raised dots which can be felt by the fingers of a blind person. She had learned to see again after several operations, but she had never forgotten the experience of being blind.

Miss Sullivan understood Helen. She loved her and believed she could teach her. Anne Sullivan could not teach Helen Keller to speak until some other important things had been learned. The little girl had to learn to control her actions and feelings. She had to learn that she could not always do what she wished to do. She had always been able to get what she wanted by using force. The teacher had to change such habits without breaking the child’s spirit.

Miss Sullivan’s battle began. Sometimes, there was real fighting between the wild child and the strong young teacher. At last, however, the battle was won by Miss Sullivan, who had succeeded in showing Helen that she loved her and wanted to help her. The child and her teacher became friends. They continued to be friends until the teacher’s death, fifty year later.

The day on which Helen finally accepted Miss Sullivan as her friend and teacher was a great day in Helen’s life. After that, the teacher could begin to teach the child language.

1．Helen Keller acted like a wild animal for she 　　　　.

A. had never had a teacher

B. could not understand any words

C. had never learned to know the world around

D. could not hear anyone speak

2．　　   , Sullivan believed she could teach Helen.

A. Being a blind person herself

B. Having learned Braille when she was young

C. Having been specially trained to be a teacher

D. Knowing how a blind child feels

3．Helen 　　   and so she could neither hear nor learn to speak.

A. lost her hearing at an early age

B. had disease with her ears and tongue

C. lost her ability in hearing and speaking

D. did not know any words

4．The most important thing for Helen was that she should learn　　   .

A. not always to use force

B. to keep her spirit from breaking

C. to tell what was wrong and what was right

D. not to get angry again

5．Sullivan won the battle　　   .

A. because she was stronger than Helen

B. by helping Helen understand why they fought

C. through fighting until she beat Helen

D. through real fighting and beating

For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romance languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as ＄ 145 a performance, opera goers also had a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.

But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.

Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to associate opera with common people. That means no formal suits, old-style theatre or bank breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.

The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened version of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel ￡Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75^th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.

72. Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?

A.　 Opera is famous for is history.　　　　　　　

B Opera is only for rich people.

C. Opera companies are trying to keep operas alive.

D. Young people are not interested in operas.

73．The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A. breaking up the old rules　　　　　 B. changing the dresses

C. making the audience at ease　　　　 D. advertising themselves

74. The San Francisco Opera employs young students in order to ________.

A. attract young people　　　　　　　　 B. reduce the cost

C. celebrate its 75^th anniversary　　　　　 D. make Cinderella popular

75．What can you infer from the passage?

A.　 The tickets for opera are very expensive at present.

B.　 Opera is performed in a language difficult to understand.

C.　 Opera is not so popular an art form today.

D.　 Students enjoy performing operas very much.