Yesterday's paper had a short article about the Coming-of-Age ceremony in a large city in Japan. According to the article, the mayor of the city formally apologized to an enraged professor who delivered a speech at the ceremony that was all but ignored by 20-year-olds in the city.

The officials prepared 7,000 seats in a gymnasium where the ceremony was held for the 17,000 twenty-year-olds residing in the city. But most of the seats were empty during the speech. And many of the 20-year-olds who did show up ignored the professor and spoke among themselves or talked on their mobile phones. Some even made a ruckus (骚动) outside the gymnasium.

One 20-year-old who attended the ceremony said youngsters came to the ceremony not to

listen to speeches but to see their classmates. The mayor criticized the young generation at a news conference on Tuesday, saying such behavior "is symbolic of the postwar era which failed to

nurture healthy character and social intelligece."

Personally I feel people should not generalize the whole generation or the whole era when he criticizes something. But it is also true generation gap is getting bigger and bigger regarding the ceremony of Coming-of-Age Day. So far this ceremony has been held with citizens' tax money. Many older generations understand this festival as an entrance ceremony of adults' world which requires maturity including responsibility, patience, and cooperativeness. Older people tend to be "educational" to younger ones, while younger people tend to feel they finally obtain a right to behave freely because they are now adults. Though, ironically, young people have to ask their parents to buy them new clothes for the ceremony.

It is about time to change the way we celebrate this festival, I think. The idea of blessing new 20-year-olds is not so bad. But there seems to be some other ways to celebrate more properly. The present way seems to me a little superficial and materialistic. It can provide solutionless arguments between different generations, instead of friendships and respects. Instead of eternally complaining about the young's behaviors at the ceremonies, people should consider how they can make their ceremonies worthier, I feel.

1．We can infer from the passage that 

    A．in Japan, girls and boys, when they are 20 years old, come to their adulthood

    B．there are 7,000 twenty-year-olds residents in the city

    C．the mayor criticized the young generation at a news conference

    D．it’s about time to change the way we celebrate the Coming-of-Age

2．When the professor was giving a speech the 20-years-olds are NOT________.

    A．talking with each other               B．chatting on their mobile phones

    C．talking with the professor             D．making ruckus outside

3．According to the author _________

    A．the festival is an entrance ceremony of adults’ world which requires maturity including responsibility, patience, and cooperativeness

    B．the young people tend to obtain a right to behave freely because they are now adults

    C．young people have to ask their parents to buy them new clothes for the ceremony

    D．it’s time to end complaining about the young’s behaviors at the ceremonies, and people should consider how to make their ceremonies worthier

4．What’s the best title for the passage

    A．There are solutionless arguments between different generations.

    B．Coming-of-Age ceremony should be much worthier.

    C．Old people should be educational to young people

    D．The younger ones’ behaviors stand for an era which failed to nurture healthy character and social intelligence

 

Breathe, wave and smile. Along with more than 300 other seniors, I marched into the stadium on the afternoon of May 10. The audience burst into deafening cheers. The huge stadium shook with all the whistling and clapping.
It was as if a Hollywood superstar had walked on stage. And indeed, every single senior that day was a star of the moment. Each deserved it. The seniors had been preparing for four years for this once-in-a-lifetime moment—the commencement.
Seated, I waited anxiously for the opening address. As a foreign exchange student, I was not able to receive a diploma. However, I still had the wonderful feeling of being part of things. Like the other graduates, I was dressed in purple cap and gown.
Our principal, Mr. Glover, delivered a short, warm greeting. The US national anthem followed and then, hands on chests, a solemn Pledge of Allegiance(效忠宣誓).
Students who had excelled academically gave farewell speeches. The tears in some eyes convinced me that many had deep feelings about the occasion. It was as the class motto says, “Life brings us tears, smiles and memories. The tears dry; the smiles fade; but the memories last forever.”
Then came the core (核心) of the commencement. Hundreds of names were announced. Each graduate walked across the stage to receive his or her diploma from the principal. From the different cheers each graduate got, we had the funny sense that it was a kind of competition of who could cheer the loudest.
To be honest, the presentation of diplomas got boring. A girl sitting next to me even started yawning. But it wasn’t boring for those receiving the diploma: they would treasure the moment the principal placed the sacred brown document in their hands for the rest of their lives.
A new page in the book of that person’s life had turned. They were glimpsing their futures: futures of challenge, hardship, perhaps loneliness too, which would take all of their courage.
【小题1】What’s the article mainly about? 

A．An American graduation ceremony.

B．The opening ceremony of a sports meeting.

C．A presentation of college diplomas.

D．A US college’s farewell party.

【小题2】According to the text, which of the following statements about the author is TRUE?

A．Hollywood superstars went to attend the ceremony.

B．Every single senior became a superstar at the ceremony.

C．When each graduate got his or her diploma, there were cheers.

D．All graduates would treasure the diploma for the rest of their lives.

【小题3】The right order of the following events is________.
a. Diplomas were presented to graduates.     
b. Students gave farewell speeches.
c. The US national anthem was played.       
d. The principal gave a short, warm speech.
e. Seniors went into the stadium.

A．b-c-a-d-e

B．b-d-c-e-a

C．e-d-b-a-c

D．e-d-c-b-a

【小题4】From the text, we can infer that_______.

A．foreign exchange students could get a diploma

B．a diploma guarantees a bright future

C．the ceremony symbolizes the beginning of a new stage in life

D．everyone felt excited at the presentation of the diploma

B

Our listener question this week comes from Abdullahi Farah, who wants to know about the life and work of Doctor Benjamin Carson.

Doctor Carson is an internationally recognized doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been the director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the hospital for twenty-five years. At the age of thirty-three, he became one of the youngest doctors in the United States to hold that position. And he was the first African-American to have that position at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Ben Carson is known for his work as a brain surgeon for children. For example, in nineteen eighty-seven, he led a team of seventy doctors and nurses in an operation to separate two babies joined at the head. Earlier attempts by other surgeons on other babies had failed. Doctor Carson successfully performed the operation. Both babies were able to survive independently.

Doctor Carson has written four books. His first book, "Gifted Hands," tells the story of his life. Benjamin Carson was born in nineteen fifty-one in Detroit, Michigan.

As a boy, Ben was not a good student. In fact, he was the worst in his class. When his mother learned of his failing grades she asked her sons to read two library books every week. She limited the amount of time they watched television. And she told them to respect every person.

Ben Carson soon became the top student in his class. He went on to study at Yale University, one of the best universities in the country, and later to medical school at the University of Michigan.

Doctor Carson has received many awards and honors. Last year he received the nation's highest civilian honor. Former President George W. Bush presented Benjamin Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House.

45. The passage is probably taken from _____.

A. a radio              B. a magazine        C. TV            D. a paper

46. What does the word “surgeons” in paragraph 3 mean?

A. nurses        B. doctors              C. hospitals     D. points

47. Benjamin Carson’s change in study was largely because of ______

A. his hard work           B. his teacher

C. his mother                D. his father

48. What’s the aim to write the passage?

A. To call on us to learn from Benjamin Carson.

B. To praise Benjamin Carson for his achievements.

C. To show us how Benjamin Carson succeeded

D. To introduce Benjamin Carson’s life and work

We couldn’t forget the historic moment on Oct.11, 2012, when the first Chinese Nobel laureate, Mo Yan, won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. Minutes after the award was announced, millions of Chinese expressed pleasure and pride for Mo Yan on the Internet. So a Chinese getting the Nobel Prize for literature did really increase the national pride.
On Dec.11 (Monday) in Sweden Mo was given the Nobel diploma, medal and a document confirming the prize amount. In his speech at the ceremony, Mo said receiving the prize felt like a fairy tale, but of course it was true and that literature was useless compared with science. Mo's award filled the blank left by Chinese literature in the world literary history. Meanwhile, Monday's Nobel awards ceremony set off another buying rush on Mo's works among Chinese readers.
【小题1】Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for _________.

A．history

B．Literature

C．peace

D．physics

【小题2】Which of the following words can best describe our Chinese feeling when hearing the news?

A．Calm

B．Relaxed

C．Proud

D．indifferent

【小题3】The underlined word “laureate” in Paragraph 1 most probably means _________.

A．loser

B．winner

C．fan

D．superstar

【小题4】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．It was hard for Mo Yan to believe he was awarded the prize.

B．Mo Yan thinks Literature is useless.

C．Mo Yan was given the Nobel Prize, medal and a document.

D．Mo Yan’s works were more popular after his receiving the prize.

第一节 完形填空 (共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21～30题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A robot called “Tiro” acts as master of ceremonies at a wedding for Seok Gyeong--Jae，one of the engineers who designed it，and his bride in Daejeon，130 kilometers south of Seoul．

“This is Tiro，master of ceremonies for today’s wedding，” the 21  --featuring a cone--shaped body, two arms and a dark--glassed 22  with eyes and a mouth of flashing lights---said in front of smiling guests．In a male voice，the robot  23   the couple to the crowd，let the couple bow to them and performed its 24___  duties．Manufacturer Hanool Robotics claims it is the first 25  in the world a robot has been 26  as master of ceremonies at a wedding．

After its marital（婚姻的）duties，Tiro---whose  27   was put at some 215，000 dollars---would be upgraded to perform various 28  functions，according to Hanool officials．Small other robots were also at the ceremony to 29  guests or give performances．

South Korean robots have also been given harder tasks to tackle. Last month it was  30  that a robot dubbed OFRO would be arranged as a school security guard in what was also claimed as a world first．

21．A．master             B．designer      C．engineer         D．robot

22．A．forehead   B．mind            C．face                 D．form

23．A．introduced        B．told             C．pushed          D．1ed

24．A．prepared   B．arranged      C．planned       D．programmed

25．A．day                  B．time            C．moment               D．stage

26．A．used                B．known  C．considered            D．created

27．A．wealth             B．cost             C．value                   D．charge

28．A．modem     B．special  C．old                      D．other

29．A．enjoy               B．guide           C．observe         D．visit

30．A．reported    B．believed      C．suggested             D．thought