“A lot of learning comes through play,” says Mardy McGarry, 52, who has been a special education teacher for 28 years. But her students were too often left out. She had seen the wood chips and sand of traditional playgrounds stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks. When she wanted to build a playground for children with special needs，she knew it wouldn’t take long to develop interest in it around the small fishing village. But she never expected that 2,800 people — a third of the town—would all be willing to make a great effort to bring her vision to life.

McGarry started doing some research into play equipment and contacting design companies and she also found a piece of land available. When the city council(市议会) agreed to set aside an area for a playground, she also asked physical and professional therapists(治疗专家) for their investment. And she turned to her friend, Sue, for help. “Neither of us is good at maths, which is why $450,000 didn’t sound like a lot of money,” McGarry says of the initial estimate.

Her Kiwanis Club came through with $7,000，and that’s when the grassroots movement really got started. One woman gave $25,000 and had her company match it. Soon, smaller businesses were joining in. There was a silent effort to collect money. The local Pieper Family Foundation offered to donate half of the remaining $170,000. All McGarry needed was 500 volunteers to work six 12-hour days.

On September 16, 2008, the first day of construction, they came. Two women heard about the project on the way to work and took the day off to help. A couple in their 80s operated their tractors. Ten-year-olds cleared up the mess. “None of them was paid. It was truly an amazing week,” says McGarry. Only three building managers were paid. Volunteers with “building experience” became coordinators(协调人); those who could operate power tools formed a separate group. One team served meals donated from local restaurants and churches, and another organized activities for the children of volunteers.

Today, Possibility Playground is one of the most popular destinations in Ozaukee County. All children, including the ones with special needs, play shoulder to shoulder. “Some playgrounds have special equipment in a different section. Here, you see all the kids in the same playground, all having fun.”

It’s exactly what McGarry imagined. “People used to ask, ‘Why do you want to build a playground just for children with disabilities?” She says, “It’s only when you build a playground for children with disabilities that you build one for all children.”

It didn’t occur to Mardy McGarry that __________.

A. her plan would soon draw the interest of people in the small village

B. so many people would volunteer to help her realize her dream

C. she would meet with so many difficulties in raising funds

D. the playground would be the most popular destination in Ozaukee County

We can learn from the fourth paragraph that __________.

A. the playground was finished in September 2008

B. everything was well prepared, apart from the volunteers

C. everyone worked unpaid, except for three building managers

D. the playground is so popular that it is overcrowded all the time

It can be inferred from the text that __________.

A. Mardy McGarry is a famous architect in the small town

B. Sue was forced to join in the project because of her son

C. people always ignore the real needs of disabled children

D. Mardy McGarry’s vision has been successfully accomplished at last

What would be the best title for this text?

A. Mardy McGarry: A Woman with Great Determination.

B. Cooperation: The Greatest Power in Overcoming Any Difficulty.

C. Show Real Concern for Poor Disabled Children.

D. Make it Matter to Build a Playground for Disabled Children.

It is not unusual at all for teens to answer their parents with one work answers. “Where are you going?” “Places.” “When will you be back?” “Sometime.” “Who will you be with?” “People.”

That means that the days of your children bounding in the front door with the details of their day are over. They are breaking away from you so that they’ll be able to stand on their own as a young adult.

Some parents feel sad about this loss of their children’s closeness. Of course you miss those conversations and friendly talks. Once your children move out after high school and establish themselves confidently as a young adult, they’ll come back for easy conversations and even ask for advice. But in order to determine who they are right now they need to separate from you.

Your job, however, is to keep them safe——and that requires knowing there they are and who they are with. Let them know clearly that it’s not because you want to dominate their life and control them; it’s because it’s a safety issue for family members to keep track of one another.

When they’re home and sit down to eat a meal, sit down with them. You need to open up to them about your life. Tell them of an interesting incident at the office, let them in on a bit of family gossip(闲谈), discuss a piece of news with them. They are glad that you see them as old enough to be in on a few experiences of your life. By letting a teen in on your life, they just may let you in of theirs

The underlined word “That” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to “       ”.

     A．teens no longer tell parents their detailed information

     B．teens don’t tell parents where they had been any more

     C．parents are impatient to listen to their children

     D．parents are occupied by doing their business

It can be inferred from the passage that       .

     A．the generation gap is becoming wider and wider

     B．teens quarrel a lot with their parents

     C．teens don’t want to live with other family members

     D．some parents feel distant from their teenage children

The author believes that teens’ one-word answers show       .

     A．their awareness of independence     

       B．their physical and mental changes

     C．an unpleasant parent-child relationship

       D．their wishes for keeping silent

What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

     A．Parents should understand their children.

     B．parents should keep their children safe.

     C．Parents should open their hearts to their children.

     D．Parents should give their children enough freedom.

What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

     A．To give advice                 

       B．To direct teenagers

     C．To present findings                  

       D．To comfort parents

It was on a winter morning, near Oxford, Maryland, that I set the breakfast table beside the huge window, which __36__ the Tred Avon River．The snow decorated the shore in white．For a moment I stood quietly against the bookcase, appreciating what the night’s snow had __37__．

38    I leaned forward and peered （盯着看） close to the frosted window．“It really is!” I cried out loud．“There is a goose out there!” I __39__ to the bookcase and pulled out a pair of binoculars （望远镜）．Into their sights came the __40__ of a large Canada goose, very still, its wings folded tight to its sides, its __41__ frozen to the ice．

Then from the dark sides, I saw a line of swans．They crossed __42__ the west of the broad river, moving __43__ to the east．

As I __44__, the leader swung to the right, and then the white __45__ of birds become a white circle．It floated from the top of the sky downward．At last, as easy as feathers coming to earth, the circle __46__ the ice．The swans __47__ the frozen goose! Amazingly, those bills （啄） began to work on __48__．The long necks were lifted and curved down, __49__．It went on for a long time．At last, the goose was free and __50__ its big webbed （有蹼的） feet slowly．The goose __51__ its wings as far as they would go．The swans took off and __52__ their eastward journey, in perfect formation, to their secret destination．__53__ them, rising with incredible speed and joy, the goose moved into the sky．

I watched them __54__ they disappeared over the tips of the farthest trees．Only then did I realize that tears were running down my cheeks．

This is a true story．I do not try to interpret it here．I just often __55__ it in the bad moments, and tell myself, “If so for birds, why not for man?”

36．A．undertook B．overlooked       C．overshadowed  D．evaluated

37．A．destroyed  B．covered    C．painted     D．hidden

38．A．Finally     B．Unwillingly     C．Disappointedly D．Suddenly

39．A．rushed      B．returned    C．advanced  D．reached

40．A．figure       B．shadow     C．cry    D．baby

41．A．head  B．body C．feet   D．beak

42．A．along       B．from C．around      D．in

43．A．steadily    B．smoothly  C．in the snow      D．closely

44．A．watched    B．expected   C．predicted  D．feared

45．A．block       B．mass  C．dot    D．string

46．A．skated on  B．landed on  C．fell down to     D．broke into

47．A．threatened B．attacked    C．surrounded       D．killed

48．A．the ice      B．their feather     C．the river   D．the shore

49．A．one after another     B．side by side      C．now and then   D．again and again

50．A．washing    B．protecting C．moving     D．warming

51．A．enlarged   B．spread      C．lifted D．threw

52．A．started      B．carried on C．repeated    D．stopped

53．A．Behind     B．In front of       C．Along with      D．Including

54．A．after  B．although   C．unless       D．until

55．A．write about      B．keep  C．think of    D．retell

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night．The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently．

       My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him．I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same．I' m so glad I did．

       On the way to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape．After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea．As we got on board, we noticed two big humps （脊背） in the distance．

       On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby．We couldn't believe it — there aren't any whales along the coast here．The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive．

       The little baby whale —actually as big as our boat — was obviously stuck and could not move．The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools （漩涡） and waves．"She's trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side," my father said．At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently．With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water．Then it swam up right beside its mum．They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction．We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel．Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe -- and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes．Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance．

       In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half．That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day．Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea．

The author says "I' m so glad I did．" （ in Para．2） because _________．

       A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing

       B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

       C．he experienced the rescue of the whales

       D．he spent the weekend with his family

The mother whale failed to help her baby because __________．

       A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

       B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

       C．she had no other whales around to turn to for help

       D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

What is the theme of the story?

       A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness．

       B．Fishing provides excitement for children．

       C．It's necessary to live in harmony with animals．

       D．It's vital to protect the whale in the ocean．

A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of them fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.

Gerner manages school facilities （设施） for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes （样品）; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.

Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation （朝向）,”Mark McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”

Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of the most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.

How did the architects react to Gerner’s design requirements?

A. They lost balance in excitement.                B. They showed strong disbelief.

C. They expressed little interest.                     D. They burst into cheers.

Which order of steps is followed in carrying out the project?

A. Assessment — Prototype — Design — Construction.

B. Assessment — Design — Prototype — Construction.

C. Design — Assessment — Prototype — Construction.

D. Design — Prototype — Assessment — Construction.

What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County?

A. The large size.                                          B. Limited facilities.

C. The desert climate.                                    D. Poor natural resources.

What does Gerner think of the ideas of green schools?

A. They are questionable.                               B. They are out of date.

C. They are advanced.                                    D. They are practical.