69. Which of the following statements on the email is not true?

A. It was probably form a neighbor who didn’t build the snowman that day

B. It was mainly written to share joys for the coming of spring

C. The writer of the email encouraged the author to keep being vigorous and joyous.

D. The author was deeply touched and inspired by its words.

68. From the passage we can know that the snowman_______.

A. was built only by the author’s family

B. was surprisingly big in size

C. made people more forgiving

D. made building snowman popular

67. The reason for her husband to make a snowman was that ________.

A. he had to please his neighbors　　　 B. he was better at it than others

C. he wanted to cheer himself up　　　　 D. he must get the last chance before spring

66. How did the author plan to spend that cold day at first?

A. By having a busy day.　　　　　　　　 B. By staying at home.

C. By building a snowman.　 　　　　 D. By visiting neighbors.

65. The passage is most probably taken from _______.

A. a science magazine B. a research paper　 C. a personal diary D. a newspaper

C

It might have been a really bad stressful day, feeling trapped inside by the cold and snow which surrounded us. My husband was the first to shift his consciousness. He dressed accordingly and announced that he was going outside to build a giant snowman.

At first he stood alone, piling massive amounts of snow. Soon after a neighbor joined in my husband’s quest to embrace the opportunity the winter presented. Maintaining less than desirable attitudes, we reluctantly put on our snow gear(用具) and headed outside. It wasn’t long before we were smiling and enjoying the abundance of snow that Mother Nature had provided. Others came to our yard one by one to give a hand in the making of our giant snowman.

In the end we all stood back and marveled at what we had created. He was eleven feet high, twenty-five feet around at the base and decorated with many household items supplied by various families. There he stood, our glorious, gigantic (巨人般的) snowman.

People drove by and smiled. Some even stopped to enjoy his existence. The spirit that went into creating him seemed to catch on and we all enjoyed it while the cold temperatures allowed.

With the passing of time, the spring made its way back into our yard and the snowman changed form considerably. In a final effort to save what we created for just a little bit longer somebody stopped by and changed the snowman’s remains to look like a rabbit.

As I prepared for the start of another week, I decided to check my email before going to bed. I found a curious message that contained the subject line: enjoy the snowman. I decided to read the message even though I did not recognize who sent it. The words it contained melted my heart.

The email said: … your neighbor looks on in disbelief! I am sure you people are enjoying the sounds and smells, along with sights of spring. The energy displayed in Mr. Snowman or Ms, is filled with vigor and joyous energy. You and your family keep it up, as this is what the world needs now. Love sweet love. More power to you and your loved ones, keep sharing with the world around.

Perhaps it was more than snowman we built that day. I’d like to agree that it was. The message seems clear. Our circumstances will turn out to be what we make of them. The possibilities are endless and the choice is ours.

64. What Hyde said in the last paragraph means that ________.

　 A. standardized tests should assess the sorts of reasoning so that the skills may be taught

　 B. testing and instruction focuses on more challenging content in the USA

　 C. students in other countries are cleverer than American students

　 D. students should be tested frequently on "recall" and "skill/concept" items

63. The underlined word “crucial” in the last paragraph most probably means______.

A. necessary　　 B. unimportant　　 C. important　　 D. cruel

62. Earlier research results ______.

　 A. are the same as that of this latest report

　 B. indicate that boys are much better in complex problem-solving than girls

　 C. indicate that girls are much better in complex problem-solving than boys

　 D. are completely wrong

61. What is the best title of the passage?

A. A new study result about math.

B. No gender differences in math.

C. Girls are not good at math.

D. Girls do better in math than boys.

60. _________is the reason of global warming according to the skeptics.

A. Human activity　　　　　　　　　 B. Fossil fuels　

C. The cutting down of trees　　　　　 D. Natural climate change

B 　

By analyzing academic data from 10 states, representing the testing of more than 7.2 millions of youths, U.S. researchers found that gender differences in math scores were extremely small among all ethnic groups in grades 2-11.

　 These findings are in contrast to earlier results from 1990 that indicate measurable differences favoring males in complex problem-solving, beginning in the high school years.

　　 Janet Hyde from University of Wisconsin and colleagues reported their study results in the journal Science on Friday.

　　 Currently, women are largely absent from the highest levels of careers in mathematics, the physical sciences, and engineering. In the United States, Ph.D. programs in engineering currently average only about 15 percent women, and similar statistics have led to stereotypes (成见)about girls and women lacking in mathematical ability.

　　 Now, it is clear that the general population no longer shows a gender difference in mathematical skills, according to this latest report.

　　 And this new data on academic performance in the United States shows that students are tested frequently on "recall" and "skill/concept" items, but rarely on "strategic thinking"(战略思维) or "extended thinking" concepts.

　 If standardized tests do not assess (评估)the sorts of reasoning that are crucial to careers in science and math, then the skills may not be taught, putting American students at a disadvantage to students in other countries where testing and instruction focuses on more challenging content. "This is a gap that should be fixed," Hyde said.