Sarah came running in saying, "Look what l found. " Over the top of the paper I was reading I saw a long object that made me jump. It was a piece of snakeskin that had been shed （脱皮)  by one of our garden snakes.

'Isn't it beautiful?" said my wide-eyed 7~year-old daughter. I stared at the organic wrapper and thought to myself that it really was not that beautiful, but I did not want to disappoint Sarah.  Everything children see for the first time is elementary to their sense of beauty and creativity. They see only merit (忧点) and excellence in the world.

"Why does it do this?" Sarah asked. I like to teach my children that there is something else going on besides what they see in front of them. "Snakes shed their skin because they need to renew themselves," I explained.

"Why do they need to renew themselves?" Sarah asked. "We often need to shed our skins, those coatings that we cover ourselves with," I said to my now absorbed daughter. "We outgrow some things and find other stuff unnecessary. This snake no longer needs this skin.  It is probably too old, and the snake probably doesn't think it looks as smart in the skin as it once did.  Like buying a new suit. "

Of course, I'm sure this explanation won't suit naturalists. But Sarah got the point. As we talked, I knew that she began to understand that renewal is part of progress; that we need to take a good look at ourselves, and rooms and schoolwork and creativity, and she began to see what we need to keep and what need to cast off.  I was careful to point out that this is a natural process, not one to be forced.

"Snakes don't peel off their skin when they feel like it," I explained.  "lt happens as part of their growth. "

"I see, Dad. " said Sarah.  She then jumped off my lap, grabbed the snakeskin, and ran off.

I hoped she would remember this. Often, in order to find our real selves underneath the layers of community and culture we are cloaked (掩饰) in year after year, we need to start examining these layers. We need to gently peel some away, as we recognize them to be worthless, unnecessary, or flawed (有缺陷的);  or at best,  remember the things we discard（丢掉）to teach us how we can improve.

1.When Sarah asked the author whether the snakeskin was beautiful,___________

A．he was shocked and jumped

B．he tried to understand her point of view

C．he thought that telling the truth was a merit

D．he decided to teach her something about the garden

2.How did Sarah feel about the author's explanation?

A．Confused.         B．Boreci            C．Satisfied.          D．Excited.

3.Which of the following would the author agree with?

A．By reflecting on ourselves, we can better ourselves.

B．It is necessary to force others to remove some things.

C．The community and culture force us to change.

D．It is natural to keep some old clothes.

4.From the text, we can conclude that the author___________.

A．does not like nature much

B．takes the chilcl's feelings lightly

C．is both a logical and thoughtful person

D．loves to see his daughter excited about animals

5.Which of the following could be the best title for the article?

A．The things we should cast off              B．A shed snakeskin in Sarah's eyes

C．A natural part of our growth               D．Renewal for snakes and us

When newspapers and radio describe the damage caused by a hurricane named Hazel,girls named Hazel are probably teased by their friends.To keep out of trouble,the Weather Bureau says,“Any resemblance between hurricane names and the names of particular girls is purely accidental.”
Some women became angry because hurricanes are given their names,but many other women are proud to see their names make headlines.They don’t even care that they are the names of destructive storms.Because more women seem to like it than dislike it,the Weather Bureau has decided to continue using girl’s names for hurricanes.
In some ways a hurricane is like a person.After it is born,it grows and develops,then becomes old and dies.Each hurricane has a character of its own.Each follows its own path through the world,and people remember it long after it gone.So it is natural to give hurricanes’ names,and to talk about them almost if they were alive.
1.What happens to girls named Hazel according to the passage?
A.They suffer from hurricanes.
B.The Weather Bureau look for them.
C.Others often make fun of them.
D.They can’t find boyfriend.
2.The underlined word“resemblance”probably means ______.
A.trouble                      B.difference                  C.sameness                   D.success
3.According to the passage,which is more reasonable?
A.Some women feel unhappy because hurricanes are given their names.
B.A lot of women complain of the Weather Bureau.
C.Many women want to be known.
D.All the hurricanes are caused by women.
4Public opinions make the Weather Bureau ______.
A.consider the disagreement of some women
B.go on naming hurricanes after women
C.name hurricanes after men
D.look for a new method to name hurricanes
5.It is natural to give hurricane names because ______.
A.they become old and die
B.all of them should be remembered
C.each hurricane has its own day to come
D.each hurricane has its own character

It is natural that children are curious (好奇的) about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.

　　As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.

　　Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world. Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry .

　　These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world. For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.

　　Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.

　　We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.

1.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

　 A．People are curious in the same way.

　 B．People in different countries are interested in different things.

　 C．Men and women are curious about different things.

　 D．People of different ages are interested in different things

2.Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.

A．the earth , the oceans and the sky                 B．man-made things

C．plants and animals               D．ocean water

3.When you run, your muscles need ____.

A．more nutrition and oxygen    B．more signals   

C．more salt                  D．water

4.A rock cracks _____.

A．in wet regions                                     B．in dry regions

C．at very high or very low temperatures     D．when salty water falls in

5.People are always curious because ____.

A．they cannot explain many things  B．they know nothing about the world

C．they know little about the world  D．they want to be scientists

Starry Night
Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (产生幻觉的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.
I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (无限).
Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (绝望) and collapse in hopelessness.
Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.
And so the sky flows across the canvas (画布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (发光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.
What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?
【小题1】Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.

There is a famous story about British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was writing a poem when he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

This was an age before telephones. Someone was delivering a message. When Coleridge got back to his poem, he had lost his inspiration. His poetic mood had been broken by the knock on his door. His unfinished poem, which could otherwise have been a masterpiece, would now never be more than a fragment.

This story tells how unexpected communication can destroy an important thought, which bring us to the cellphone.

The most common complaint about cellphones is that people talk on them to the annoyance of people around them. But more damaging may be the cellphone’s interruption of our thoughts.

We have already entered a golden age of little white lies about our cellphones, and this is by and large(大体上)a healthy, protective development. “I didn’t hear it ring” or “I didn’t realize my phone had shut off” are among the lies we tell to give ourselves space where we’re beyond reach.

The notion of being unreachable is not a new concept—we have “Do Not Disturb” sign on the doors of hotel rooms. So why must we feel guilty when it comes to cellphones? Why must we apologize if we decide to shut off the phone for a while?

Now time alone, or a conversation with someone next to us which cannot be interrupted by a phone, is something to be cherished. Even cellphone devotees（信徒）, myself usually included, can’t help at times wanting to throw their phone away, or curse the day they were invented.

But we don’t and won’t, and there really is no need. All that’s required to take back our private time is a general social recognition that we have the right to it. In other words, we have to develop a healthy contempt for the rings of our own phones.

A cellphone call deserves no greater priority than a random word from the person next to us，though the call on my cellphone may be the one-in-a-million from Steven Spielberg—who has finally read my novel and wants to make it his next movie. But most likely it is not, and I’m better off thinking about the idea I just had for a new story, or the slice of pizza I’ll eat for lunch.

1.What is the point of the anecdote(轶事)about the poet Coleridge in the first three paragraphs?

A．To direct readers’ attention to the main topic.

B．To show how important inspiration is to a poet.

C．To emphasize the disadvantage of not having a cellphone.

D．To encourage readers to read the works of this poet.

2.What does the writer think about people telling “white lies” about their cellphones?

A．It is a way of signaling that you don’t like the caller.

B．It is natural to tell lies about small things

C．It is basically a good way to protect one’s privacy.

D．We should feel guilty when we can’t tell the truth.

3.According to the author, what is the most annoying problem caused by cellphones?

A．People get so obsessed (着迷) with the cellphone rings that they fail to notice anything else.

B．People feel guilty when they are not able to answer their cellphones.

C．Cellphones interrupt people’s private time.

D．With cellphones it is no longer possible to be unreachable.

4.What does the last paragraph suggest?

A．A person who calls us from afar deserves more of our attention.

B．Steven Spielberg once called the author to talk about the author’s novel.

C．You should always finish your lunch before you answer a call on the cellphone.

D．Never let cellphones disturb your life too much.