Last Sunday I made a visit to some new neighbors down the block. No specific in mind, just an opportunity to sit at the kitchen table, have some tea and chat. As I did so, it occurred to me how rare the Sunday visit has become.

    When I was a kid in New Jersey of the 1960s, Sunday visits were routine. Most stores were closed, almost nobody worked, and the highways, as a result, were not desperate steeplechases(障碍赛跑) they have become today. My family normally traveled eight city blocks to the home of my grandmother, where adults would sit on the front porch and chat while we children played hide-and-seek.

The Sunday visit was something to desire strongly. It was the repetition to church, our reward for an hour of devotion, an opportunity to take advantage of the fact that Dad was not at work, we were not in school, and there was no housework that couldn’t wait until Monday. Sunday was, indeed, different from the other days of the week, because everyone seemed to be on the same schedule, which means that there was one day when everyone seemed to have time for everybody else.

Sunday as a day of rest is, or was, so deeply rooted in the culture that it’s surprising to find that, in a short span of time, it has almost entirely lost this association. In my childhood, it was assumed that everyone would either be home or visiting someone else’s home on Sunday. But now the question is, “What do you plan to DO this Sunday?” The answer can range from going to the mall, to participating in a road race, to Montreal for lunch. If one were to respond, “I’m making a Sunday visit to family,” such an answer would feel strange, which sounds like an echo from another era.

I suppose I should be grateful to live in Maine, a state of small towns, abundant land and tight relationships. Even though folks work as hard here as they do anywhere else, the state’s powerfully rural feature still keeps at least remnants(残余部分) of the moral of yesterday’s America, where people had to depend on one another in the face of economic vagaries(反复无常的情况) and a challenging environment.

1.The writer’s general impression of the Sunday in the past was a day when＿＿.

A. everyone was paying a visit to some relatives far away

B. everyone seemed to be free for others

C. Dad was not at work while Mom was busy cleaning the house

D. nearly every adult would go to church and children weren’t at school

2.In the fourth paragraph, the writer compares the response “I’m making a Sunday visit to family” to an echo from another era because_____.

A. people nowadays prefer staying at home on Sunday

B. such answers are rarely heard in our modern society

C. people in the city dislike being disturbed on Sunday

D. visiting someone on Sunday was routine in the past

3.From the last paragraph we may infer that_____.

A. people in Maine suffer more from economic depression and the changed environment

B. people in Maine have abandoned their tradition and lived an absolutely new life

C. land in Maine is short, thus the relationship between people is tense

D. people in Maine tend to help each other out of necessity

4.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Doing many activities on Sunday is beneficial.

B. We should often travel a long distance to visit some friends and relatives.

C. Nowadays, Sunday has almost lost its association as a day of rest.

D. We should abandon some old tradition.

 

Try and see inside your mind a wide open blue sky and a wide green sea far away. Breathe in as you circle your hands high above your head, then bend back a little. Breathe out as you circle your arms back down to your sides..."
Following the yoga teacher's gentle instructions, Bai Yunuo,15, from the High School attached to Beijing Normal University tried to get each of her poses correct.
Bai's school offered 24 elective courses (选修课) for Senor 1 students this term and she chose two. It was her first yoga class.
"I'm happy that I can learn yoga at school. I love dancing but I had some injuries on my knees when I was a kid. So I decide to try something soft. Simply stretching into different poses makes me feel free and quiet. And the music is quite comforting. The class is relaxing after a whole day's work," Bai said.
Liu Zehao,15, found his interest was Junior Achievement (企业经营模拟). The course brought students into the real world of business. In their first class, Liu and his group members named their company "Vision". Liu was elected as CEO of the company.
"Here we learn to think like an adult. We have to make our company get more money. It's new and different from other courses," he said.
Liu and Bai take their elective courses twice a week with students from other classes who share the same interest. The students will get two credits (学分) from each course at the end of this term. They have to achieve eight credit points from electives to graduate from high school.
If you are interested in more about elective courses, please CLICK HERE to register for general elective courses.
【小题1】 What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．Skills for imagination.	B．Learning tips.
C．Instruction for yoga students.	D．Breathing rules.

【小题2】What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Bai does not like dancing.	B．Yoga is softer than dancing.
C．Students study hard for credits.	D．The elective courses are easy.

【小题3】 Which of the sentence is NOT true about Liu Zehao?

A．He was interested in Junior Achievement which brought him the real world of business.

B．He was elected as CEO of the company named "Vision".

C．He was an adult and he tried to make more money for his company.

D．He took their Junior Achievement twice a week.

【小题4】Where can you possibly find this passage?

A．A textbook

B．A newspaper

C．A magazine

D．The internet

Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom.
“Notre Dame,” it said. “Big envelope!”
Mike, a senior at a Californian high school, shouted with joy. The big envelope meant that the excellent university in Indiana had offered him a place in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual fee is a big trouble. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and are figuring out the costs of tuition, housing and holiday trips home.
This year, money is the driving factor(因素) for a growing number of high school seniors, who have to decide what colleges to attend this fall. Less jobs and house prices have changed family spending.
“We’re excited that Mike got into eight great schools,” said Mike’s father, an engineer at Microsoft. “But if you consider going to school out of state, you’ve got to think about all of the other costs: moving, flying back and forth for the holidays. You’re looking at about $3,000 a year, just for travel.”
As families weigh their choices, some are going back to financial aid offices hoping help packages can be increased.
Rachel Brown was happy to get a thick envelope from New York University (NYU). Although she has always wanted to live in Manhattan, she is seriously considering the University of California San Diego (UCSD), because of the high cost in New York.
“The tuition for NYU is twice as much as UCSD,” said Rachel, 17. “My mom doesn’t want me to have a big debt when I graduate, and I don’t want that either. I’d have to take out a loan of $15,000. I’ll check and see if there’s any way that NYU can offer me any financial aid.”
More than 7.6 million American students have filled out the Free Application for Students Aid, 19.9 percent increase over last year.
This month the Federal Department of Education urged college financial aid officers to give more help to certain families. A record 30,428 students applied for 2,300 places at Stanford, partly because the university increased financial aid for families earning below $10,000.
【小题1】Mike may give up Notre Dame because of ______.

A．travel fees

B．financial concerns

C．poor exam results

D．worries about living far away from home

【小题2】The phrase “Big envelope” in paragraph 2 probably refers to“______”.

A．A text message	B．A large gift package
C．An admission letter	D．A scholarship letter

【小题3】What can we learn from the passage?

A．The number of American senior students applying for financial aid is increasing.

B．Rachel Brown has given up NYU because of its high tuition and big debts.

C．It is inevitably hard for college students to borrow money to cover costs.

D．An interest-free loan for students helps more students apply for Stanford.

【小题4】The passage mainly focuses on ______

A．the calculation of different costs including tuition

B．the extremely hard financial situation in America

C．the excitement of students’ being able to enter ideal colleges

D．the financial crisis of families over college entrance

E

Trees should only be pruned (修剪) when there is a good and clear reason for doing so and , he number of such reasons is small . Pruning involves the cutting away of overgrown and unwanted branches , and the inexperienced gardener can be encouraged by the thought that more damage results from doing it unnecessarily than from leaving the tree to grow in its own way .
First , pruning may be done to make sure that trees have  desired shape or size . The object may be to get a tree of the right height , and at the same time to help the growth of small side branches , which will thicken its appearance or give it a special shape . Secondly , pruning may be done to make the tree healthier . You may cut out diseased or dead wood , or branches that are rubbing against each other and thus cause wounds . The health of a tree may be encouraged by removing branches that are blocking up the center and so preventing the free movement of air .
One result of pruning is that an open wound is left on the tree and this provides an easy entry for disease , but it is a wound that will heal (愈合) . Often there is a race between the healing and the disease as to whether the tree will live or die , so that there is a period when the tree is at risk . It should be the aim of every gardener to reduce that risk of death as far as possible . It is important to make the area , which has been pruned , smooth and clan , for healing will be slowed down by roughness . You should allow the cut surface to dry for a few hours and then paint it with one of the materials available from garden shops produced especially for this purpose . Pruning is usually done in winter , for then you can see the shape of the tree clearly without interference (妨碍) from the leaves and also it is very unlikely that the cuts you make will bleed . If this does happen , it is , of course , impossible to paint them properly .
71．Why should running be done ?
A．To make the tree grow taller .               B．To improve the shape of the tree .
C．to get rid of the small ranches .             D．To make the small branches thicker .
72．Trees become unhealthy if the gardener         .
A．To help a wound to dry .                     
B．To cover a rough surface .
C．damages some of the small side branches
D．Allows too many branches to grow in the middle
73．Why is a special material painted on the tree ?
A．To help a wound to dry .                      B．to cover a rough surface .
C．To make a wound smooth .                   D．To prevent disease entering a wound .
74．A good gardener prunes a tree         .
A．several times throughout the year         B．as quickly as possible
C．occasionally when necessary                 D．regularly every winter
75．What was the author’s purpose when writing this passage ?
A．To discuss different methods of pruning .
B．To introduce some common knowledge of pruning .
C．To explain how trees develop disease .
D．To give practical instruction for pruning a tree .

Trees should only be pruned (修剪) when there is a good and clear reason for doing so and , the number of such reasons is small. Pruning involves the cutting away of overgrown and unwanted branches, and the inexperienced gardener can be encouraged by the thought that more damage results from doing it unnecessarily than from leaving the tree to grow in its own way.
First, pruning may be done to make sure that trees have desired shape or size. The object may be to get a tree of the right height, and at the same time to help the growth of small side branches, which will thicken its appearance or give it a special shape. Secondly, pruning may be done to make the tree healthier. You may cut out diseased or dead wood, or branches that are rubbing against each other and thus cause wounds. The health of a tree may be encouraged by removing branches that are blocking up the center and so preventing the free movement of air.
One result of pruning is that an open wound is left on the tree and this provides an easy entry for disease , but it is a wound that will heal (愈合). Often there is a race between the healing and the disease as to whether the tree will live or die, so that there is a period when the tree is at risk. It should be the aim of every gardener to reduce that risk of death as far as possible. It is important to make the area, which has been pruned, smooth and clean, for healing will be slowed down by roughness. You should allow the cut surface to dry for a few hours and then paint it with one of the materials available from garden shops produced especially for this purpose. Pruning is usually done in winter , for then you can see the shape of the tree clearly without interference (妨碍) from the leaves and also it is very unlikely that the cuts you make will bleed. If this does happen, it is, of course, impossible to paint them properly .
【小题1】．Why should pruning be done?

A．To make the tree grow taller.	B．To improve the shape of the tree.
C．to get rid of the small ranches .	D．To make the small branches thicker.

【小题2】．Trees become unhealthy if the gardener__________.

A．giving a tree a special shape and a definite height

B．removing small side branches and making a tree look less thick

C．allowing too many branches to grow in the middle

D．having a tree surrounded by many other trees

【小题3】．Why is a special material painted on the tree?

A．To help a wound to dry.	B．to cover a rough surface.
C．To make a wound smooth.	D．To prevent disease entering a wound.

【小题4】．A good gardener prunes a tree _________ .

A．several times throughout the year	B．as quickly as possible
C．occasionally when necessary	D．regularly every winter

【小题5】．What was the author’s purpose when writing this passage?

A．To discuss different methods of pruning.

B．To introduce some common knowledge of pruning.

C．To explain how trees develop disease.

D．To give practical instruction for pruning a tree.