Fish Ears Tell Fish Tales
　 Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths (耳石).
　 As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.
　 Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.
　 The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.
　 Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.
　 In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.
　 This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.
【小题1】What can we learn about fish ears from the text?

A．They are small soft rings.

B．They are not seen from the outside.

C．They are openings only on food fish.

D．They are not used to receive sound.

【小题2】Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?

A．Trees gain a growth ring each day.

B．Trees also have otoliths.

C．Their growth rings are very small.

D．They both have growth rings.

【小题3】Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?

A．The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea.

B．Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim.

C．We can know more about fish and their living environment.

D．Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is.

【小题4】How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?

A．They are very interested in Thorrold’s research findings.

B．They want to know where they can find fish.

C．They lend their fish for chemical studies.

D．They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears.

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids but we made them worse. For my naughty boys, I’d know better. I’d really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and home-made ice cream and leftover meatloaf. I really would.
My cherished boys, I hope you learn humility (谦逊) by surviving failure and that you learn to be honest even when no one is looking. I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in. I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it is all right to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl (爬) under the covers (被子) with you because he’s scared, I hope you’ll let him. And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants to tag along, I hope you take him.
　　I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books, and when you learn to use computers, you also learn how to add and subtract (减) in your head.
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on the stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole (旗杆). I hope you get sick when someone blows smoke in your face. I don’t care if you try beer once, but I hope you won’t like it.
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandpa or go fishing with your uncle.
I hope your father punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor’s window, and that your mother hugs you and kisses you when you give her a plaster of pared mold (一个石膏模型) of your hand.
　 These things I wish for you—tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.
【小题1】Who wrote the letter?

A．A grandmother.

B．A grandfather.

C．A father.

D．A mother.

【小题2】What does the author hope for the boys?

A．they learn a lesson from a fight with others.

B．they know how to calculate with computers.

C．they get on well with family members..

D．they burn their hand on the stove and stick their tongue on a frozen flagpole.

【小题3】It can be inferred from the text that the boys _________________.

A．often fight with others	B．are to develop good qualities
C．always keep their grandpa company	D．score high in the exam

【小题4】 Why does the author write the letter?

A．To show the boys it’s not easy growing up.

B．To teach the boys dos and don’ts on the way growing up.

C．To help the boys to avoid making mistakes on the way growing up.

D．To encourage the boys to fully experience life on the way growing up.

 

    In the college-admissions wars, we parents are the true fighters. We’re pushing our kids to get good grades, take SAT preparatory courses and build resumes so they can get into the college of our first choice. I’ve twice been to the wars, and as I survey the battlefield, something different is happening. We see our kids’ college background as a prize demonstrating how well we’ve raised them. But we can’t acknowledge that our obsession(痴迷) is more about us than them. So we’ve created various justifications（辩解）that turn out to be half-truths, prejudices or myths. It actually doesn’t matter much whether Aaron and Nicole go to Stanford.

We have a full-developed panic; we worry that there won’t be enough prizes to go around. Fearful parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever. What causes the hysteria(歇斯底里) is the belief that scarce elite（精英）degrees must be highly valuable. Their graduates must enjoy more success because they get a better education and develop better contacts. All seems right but mostly wrong. We haven’t found any convincing evidence that selectivity or prestige matters. Selective schools don’t systematically employ better instructional approaches than less selective schools. On two measures—professors’ feedback and the number of essay exams selective schools do slightly worse.

By some studies, selective schools do enhance（提高） their graduates’ lifetime earnings. The gain is reckoned at 2-4% for every 100-point increase in a school’s average SAT scores. But even this advantage is probably a statistical fluke(偶然). A well-known study examined students who got into highly selective schools and then went elsewhere. They earned just as much as graduates from higher-status schools.

Kids count more than their colleges. Getting into Yale may signify intelligence, talent and ambition. But it’s not the only indicator and, surprisingly, its significance is declining. The reason: so many similar people go elsewhere. Getting into college is not life’s only competition. In the next competition—the job market and graduate school—the results may change. Princeton economist Alan Krueger studied admissions to one top Ph.D. program. High scores on the GRE helped explain who got in; degrees of famous universities didn’t.

So, parents, take it easy（lighten up）. The stakes (利害关系) have been vastly exaggerated. Up to a point, we can rationalize our pushiness. America is a competitive society; our kids need to adjust to that. But too much pushiness can be destructive. The very ambition we impose on our children may get some into Harvard but may also set them up for disappointment. One study found that, other things being equal, graduates of highly selective schools experienced more job dissatisfaction. They may have been so conditioned to being on top that anything less disappoints.

1. Why does the author say that parents are the true fighters in the college-admissions wars?

         A. They have the final say in which university their children are to attend.

         B. They know best which universities are most suitable for their children.

         C. They have to carry out intensive surveys of colleges before children make an application.

         D. They care more about which college their children go to than the children themselves.

2. Why do parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever?

         A. They want to increase their children’s chances of entering a prestigious college.

         B. They hope their children can enter a university that offers attractive scholarships.

         C. Their children will have a wider choice of which college to go to.

         D. Elite universities now enroll fewer student than they used to.

3. What does the author mean by “kids count more than their colleges” Line1, para.4?

         A. Continuing education is more important to a person’s success.

         B. A person’s happiness should be valued more than their education.

         C. Kids’ actual abilities are more important than their college background.

         D. What kids learn at college cannot keep up with job market requirements.

4. What does Krueger’s study tell us?

         A. Getting into Ph.D. programs may be more competitive than getting into college.

         B. Degrees of prestigious universities do not guarantee entry to graduate programs.

         C. Graduates from prestigious universities do not care much about their GRE scores.

         D. Connections built in prestigious universities may be kept long after graduation.

5. One possible result of pushing children into elite universities is that______

         A. they earn less than their peers from other institutions　　

         B. they turn out to be less competitive in the job market

         C. they experience more job dissatisfaction after graduation　

         D. they overemphasize their qualifications in job application

 

.

阅读下面短文, 并回答问题。（每小题2分）

　　   This is really a very fast game, the fastest I have seen so far this year. Both sides are fighting for the ball all the time. The crowd love every minute of it. They are shouting at the top of their voices.

　　 Willis has the ball now. This is only his third game for Scotland, but

he            that it won’t be his last, I’m quite sure.

　　   Willis passes the ball to Cotton. Cotton kicks it over the heads of the waiting Frenchmen, towards the goalmouth. But he’s too far away, Dupond picks it up easily, and throws it to Patou, out on the left.

　　   France and Scotland still have one goal each, and there are only two minutes left of the game. But during that time, anything can happen. Patou kicks the ball across to Crozat. It’s a beautiful kick, but Steven jumps and just stops the ball with the side of his head. But Meunier is there, he passes to Crozat, and Crozat, without waiting a second, puts the ball into the back of the goal. It takes everybody by surprise. I’ve never seen a goal like it.

71. Why does the crowd enjoy every minute of the game?

_______________________________________________________________________________

72. Why cannot Cotton kick the ball into the goalmouth?

_______________________________________________________________________________

73. Who are in the same team with Crozat?

_______________________________________________________________________________

74. Please fill in the blank in the second paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (Please answer within 5 words.)

_______________________________________________________________________________

75. Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph.

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

People are being lured (引诱)onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up large amounts of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.
　　Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook because people don’t really know what their personal data is worth.
　　The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you keep everything private. That was the great thing about facebook—you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things— your city, your photo, your friends' names—were set, by default (默认)to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
　　According to Facebook’s vice-president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a “less satisfying experience”.
　　Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model， which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page， totally failed.  Who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?
　　The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April. Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites.“I think the senator rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,” Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy, it’s only the beginning, which is why I’m considering deactivating(撤销)my account. Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t know. That’s too high a price to pay.
【小题1】What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?

A．It is a website that sends messages to targeted users.

B．It makes money by putting on advertisements.

C．It profits by selling its users’ personal data.

D．It provides loads of information to its users.

【小题2】What does the author say about most Facebook users?

A．They are reluctant to give up their personal information.

B．They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook.

C．They don’t identify themselves when using the website.

D．They care very little about their personal information.

【小题3】Why does Senator Charles Schumer propose?

A．Setting guidelines for advertising on websites.

B．Banning the sharing of users’ personal information.

C．Working out regulations for social-networking sites.

D．Removing ads from all social-networking sites.

【小题4】Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?

A．He is dissatisfied with its current service.

B．He finds many of its users untrustworthy.

C．He doesn’t want his personal data to be used in a wrong way.

D．He is upset by its frequent rule changes.