第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Cyber Step-Mother
I’ve often felt “step-parent” is a label  (标签 )we attach to whoever marries into families where children already exist. At  36   that’s how I feel about  37    a step-mother to my husband’s four children.
Over the years, we all learned to    38   our new family arrangement. We enjoyed vacations together, ate   39   meals, and so on.  40  , I continued to feel somewhat like a(n)  41   . There was a boundary line that could not be  42  .
When the children moved to a town five hours   43   , my husband was depressed. In order to    44   regular communication with the kids, we send e-mails. However, if a computer message came  45   to “Dad”, I’d feel forgotten and  46    . If my name appeared along with his, it would make me feel like I was part of their family unit  47   .
Late one evening, as I was checking my e-mail, an “instant message” appeared on the   48  . It was Margo, who was also sitting in front of her computer five hours away. We sent several messages back and forth,   49    the latest news. When we would “chat” like that, she wouldn’t  50   know if it was me or her dad. That night, she didn’t ask and I didn’t identify myself either. At about 11, I commented that I should go to sleep. Her return message  51   , “Okay, talk to you later! Love you!”
As I read this message, a wave of   52   ran through me and I realized that she  53   she was talking with her father. Feeling  54   for not identifying myself, yet not wanting to embarrass her, I simply responded, “Love you too! Good night!”
I felt again the sharp (剧烈的) ache of emptiness (空虚) and otherness. Then, as I was  55  to leave, Margo’s final message appeared, reading “Tell Dad good night for me too.” With tears filled eyes, I turned the machine off.
36.   A. most   B. least    C. present       D. last
37.   A. to be   B. being  C. is D. was
38.   A. adjust B. look forward to  C. expect D. adapt to
39.   A. family       B. school C. meat   D. fish
40.   A. But     B. Though      C. However    D. So
41.   A. outsider     B. member     C. stranger      D. foreigner
42.   A. across B. cross   C. crossing     D. crossed
43.   A. far      B. away   C. far from     D. away from
44.   A. maintain    B. entertain     C. contain       D. obtain
45.   A. addressing  B. signing       C. signed D. addressed
46.   A. neglected   B. devoted      C. ignore D. concerned
47.   A. in short      B. after all      C. above all    D. as a result
48.   A. programme       B. window      C. screen D. keyboard
49.   A. sending      B. exchanging C. discussing   D. commenting
50.   A. unexpectedly     B. carefully    C. fortunately D. necessarily
51.   A. read    B. reads   C. reading      D. wrote
52.   A. sickness     B. anger  C. nervousness       D. sadness
53.   A. must think  B. might have thought   C. must have thought     D. might think
54.   A. responsible B. stupid C. guilty  D. disappointed
55.   A. about  B. due     C. prepare      D. willing

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Cyber Step-Mother

    I’ve often felt “step-parent” is a label  (标签 )we attach to whoever marries into families where children already exist. At   36   that’s how I feel about   37    a step-mother to my husband’s four children.

    Over the years, we all learned to    38   our new family arrangement. We enjoyed vacations together, ate    39   meals, and so on.   40  , I continued to feel somewhat like a(n)  41   . There was a boundary line that could not be   42  .

    When the children moved to a town five hours   43   , my husband was depressed. In order to    44   regular communication with the kids, we send e-mails. However, if a computer message came   45   to “Dad”, I’d feel forgotten and   46    . If my name appeared along with his, it would make me feel like I was part of their family unit   47    .

    Late one evening, as I was checking my e-mail, an “instant message” appeared on the   48  . It was Margo, who was also sitting in front of her computer five hours away. We sent several messages back and forth,    49    the latest news. When we would “chat” like that, she wouldn’t   50   know if it was me or her dad. That night, she didn’t ask and I didn’t identify myself either. At about 11, I commented that I should go to sleep. Her return message   51   , “Okay, talk to you later! Love you!”

    As I read this message, a wave of    52   ran through me and I realized that she   53   she was talking with her father. Feeling   54   for not identifying myself, yet not wanting to embarrass her, I simply responded, “Love you too! Good night!”

    I felt again the sharp (剧烈的) ache of emptiness (空虚) and otherness. Then, as I was   55  to leave, Margo’s final message appeared, reading “Tell Dad good night for me too.” With tears filled eyes, I turned the machine off.

36.   A. most    B. least    C. present        D. last

37.   A. to be    B. being   C. is D. was

38.   A. adjust  B. look forward to    C. expect D. adapt to

39.   A. family  B. school  C. meat    D. fish

40.   A. But       B. Though         C. However      D. So

41.   A. outsider       B. member       C. stranger       D. foreigner

42.   A. across B. cross    C. crossing       D. crossed

43.   A. far        B. away    C. far from        D. away from

44.   A. maintain      B. entertain     C. contain         D. obtain

45.   A. addressing  B. signing          C. signed D. addressed

46.   A. neglected    B. devoted        C. ignore  D. concerned

47.   A. in short         B. after all        C. above all      D. as a result

48.   A. programme B. window        C. screen D. keyboard

49.   A. sending        B. exchanging  C. discussing    D. commenting

50.   A. unexpectedly       B. carefully       C. fortunately  D. necessarily

51.   A. read     B. reads   C. reading         D. wrote

52.   A. sickness       B. anger   C. nervousness         D. sadness

53.   A. must think   B. might have thought     C. must have thought      D. might think

54.   A. responsible B. stupid  C. guilty   D. disappointed

55.   A. about   B. due       C. prepare        D. willing

Ⅲ. Reading Comprehension: 35%
Part A: Cloze Test 15%
Competition for admission to the country’s top private schools has always been tough. This is spreading from Manhattan to the rest of the country. Precise 50 data on private schools are unavailable, but interviews with representatives of independent and religious schools all told the same 51: too many applicants, higher rejection rates. Surveys indicate that Americans’ No. 1 52 is education. 53 the long economic boom(繁荣) has given parents more income, many are turning to private schools, even at price tags of well over $10,000 a year. “We’re getting applicants from a broader area, 54, than we ever have in the past,” said Besty Haugh of the Latin School of Chicago, which experienced a 20 percent increase in 55 this year.
The problem is that while demand has increased, supply has not. “Every year, there are a few children who do not find places, but this year, for the first time that I know of, there are a(n) 56 number of children who don’t have places,” said Krents, who also heads a private-school admissions group in New York.
So what can parents do to give their 4-year-old a(n) 57? Schools know there is no simple way to pick a class when children are so young. Many schools give preference to boys or girls or alumni(校友) children. Some use lotteries. But most rely on a 58 of subjective and objective measures: tests that at best 59 developmental maturity and learning potential, interviews with parents and observation of applicants in classroom settings. They also want a diverse mix. Children may end up on a waiting list simply because their birthdays 60 at the wrong time year, or because too many applicants were boys.
The worst thing a parent can do is to pressure preschoolers to perform --- 61, by pushing them to read or do math exercises 62 they’re ready. Instead, the experts say, parents should take a breath and look for 63. Another year in preschool may be all that’s needed. Parents, meanwhile, may need a more 64 mind about relatively unknown private schools --- or about magnet（具有吸引力的）schools in the public system. There’s no sign of the private-school boom letting up.
50. A. traditional                B. current                                   C. processed                 D. average
51. A. story                       B. advice                             C. context                     D. promise
52. A. venture                    B. concern                           C. occupation                D. interest
53. A. For that                   B. So that                                   C. Now that                  D. After that
54. A. intellectually            B. psychologically                C. commercially            D. geographically
55.   A. applications             B. locations                         C. schools                     D. admissions
56.   A. considerate               B. inadequate                       C. significant                D. moderate
57.   A. advantage                 B. skill                                C. place                        D. school
58.   A. choice                      B. mix                                C. preference                D. base
59.   A. identify                    B. exploit                                  C. employ                    D. confirm
60. A. set                           B. fix                                  C. date                         D. fall
61. A. in a word                 B. to a great extent               C. in any case               D. for example
62. A. when                       B. since                               C. before                      D. until
63.   A. occasions                 B. competitions                    C. alternatives               D. pressures
64.   A. open                        B. closed                             C. active                       D. secret 

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Language is the most astonishing behavior in the animal kingdom. It is the species-typical behavior that sets humans completely   36   from all other animals. Language is a means of   37   , but it is much more than that. Many animals can   38   . The dance of the honeybee communicates the location of flowers   39   other members of the hive (蜂群). But human language permits communication about anything,   40   things like unicorns (独角兽) that have never existed. The key   41   in the fact that different words can be   42   together in different ways, according to   43   to communicate different meanings.

Language is the most important learning we do. Nothing can   44   humans so much as our ability to communicate abstract   45  , whether about the university, the mind, love, dreams, or ordering a drink. It is an extremely complex   46   that we take for granted. Indeed, we are not aware of most   47   of our speech and understanding. Consider what happens when one person is speaking to   48   . The speaker has to translate thoughts into  49   language. Brain imaging studies suggest that the time from thoughts to the   50   of speech is extremely fast. Only 0.04 seconds! The listener must hear the sounds to   51    what the speaker means. He must use the sounds of speech to   52   the spoken words, understand the pattern of   53   of the words (sentences), and finally   54   the meaning. This takes somewhat longer, a minimum of about 0.5 seconds. But once started, it is of course a(n)    55   process.

1.A. apart                      B. off                               C. up                      D. down

2.A. advertisement   B. communication   C. discovery                  D. invention

3.A. transfer           B. move                         C. convey                    D. communicate

4.A. to                            B. from                             C. over                             D. on

5.A. only             B. almost                    C. even                    D. just

6.A. stays                      B. situates                    C. hides                             D. lies

7.A. stuck                     B. joined                           C. rung                             D. controlled

8.A. rules                     B. scales                       C. laws                      D. standards

9.A. combine         B. contain                      C. define                      D. declare

10.A. activities            B. thoughts                   C. effects                           D. chances

11.A. expectation    B. progress                C. process                  D. produce

12.A. aspects         B. abstracts               C. angles                     D. assumptions

13.A. anybody              B. another              C. other                           D. everybody

14.A. body                    B. gesture             C. written                     D. spoken

15.A. growing    B. fixing                     C. beginning              D. building

16.A. put out                 B. take down                  C. draw up                          D. figure out

17.A. identify      B. locate                    C. reveal                        D. discover

18.A. performance    B. organization      C. design                      D. show

19.A. regulate    B. justify                    C. release                           D. interpret

20.A. slow                     B. interesting                 C. continuous           D. serious

Ⅲ. Reading Comprehension: 35%

Part A: Cloze Test 15%

Competition for admission to the country’s top private schools has always been tough. This is spreading from Manhattan to the rest of the country. Precise 50 data on private schools are unavailable, but interviews with representatives of independent and religious schools all told the same 51: too many applicants, higher rejection rates. Surveys indicate that Americans’ No. 1 52 is education. 53 the long economic boom(繁荣) has given parents more income, many are turning to private schools, even at price tags of well over $10,000 a year. “We’re getting applicants from a broader area, 54, than we ever have in the past,” said Besty Haugh of the Latin School of Chicago, which experienced a 20 percent increase in 55 this year.

The problem is that while demand has increased, supply has not. “Every year, there are a few children who do not find places, but this year, for the first time that I know of, there are a(n) 56 number of children who don’t have places,” said Krents, who also heads a private-school admissions group in New York.

So what can parents do to give their 4-year-old a(n) 57? Schools know there is no simple way to pick a class when children are so young. Many schools give preference to boys or girls or alumni(校友) children. Some use lotteries. But most rely on a 58 of subjective and objective measures: tests that at best 59 developmental maturity and learning potential, interviews with parents and observation of applicants in classroom settings. They also want a diverse mix. Children may end up on a waiting list simply because their birthdays 60 at the wrong time year, or because too many applicants were boys.

The worst thing a parent can do is to pressure preschoolers to perform --- 61, by pushing them to read or do math exercises 62 they’re ready. Instead, the experts say, parents should take a breath and look for 63. Another year in preschool may be all that’s needed. Parents, meanwhile, may need a more 64 mind about relatively unknown private schools --- or about magnet（具有吸引力的）schools in the public system. There’s no sign of the private-school boom letting up.

50. A. traditional                B. current                                   C. processed                 D. average

51. A. story                       B. advice                             C. context                     D. promise

52. A. venture                    B. concern                           C. occupation                D. interest

53. A. For that                   B. So that                                   C. Now that                  D. After that

54. A. intellectually            B. psychologically                C. commercially            D. geographically

55.   A. applications             B. locations                         C. schools                     D. admissions

56.   A. considerate               B. inadequate                       C. significant                D. moderate

57.   A. advantage                 B. skill                                C. place                        D. school

58.   A. choice                      B. mix                                C. preference                D. base

59.   A. identify                    B. exploit                                  C. employ                    D. confirm

60. A. set                           B. fix                                  C. date                         D. fall

61. A. in a word                 B. to a great extent               C. in any case               D. for example

62. A. when                       B. since                               C. before                      D. until

63.   A. occasions                 B. competitions                    C. alternatives               D. pressures

64.   A. open                        B. closed                             C. active                       D. secret