A

Ayesha and Latisha Jones need to take a break in their own homework to help their dad， because at the age of 52， John Jones is just now learning to read.

“I was so uncomfortable and so ashamed，” he said. For many years， unable to read a menu or a bus schedule， Jones was just one of the estimated 65，000 adults in Buffalo， New York who cannot read above a 5th-grade level.

And a new study shows the problem is getting worse in many states. California， New York and Florida have all shown surprising increases in illiteracy rates（文盲率）. The situation has improved in a few states， like Mississippi， Rhode Island and Kentucky. But worldwide， the United States doesnt perform well.

Fourteen countries rank higher in reading ability than the United States， including Finland， Canada， New Zealand， Australia， Ireland， South Korea， UK， Japan， Sweden， Iceland， Belgium， Austria， France and Norway.

Back in Buffalo， a program called Read to Succeed targets the problem early， teaching pre-schoolers shapes， colors and letters.

“We have a lot of poverty and that means a lot of children dont have the skills， but they have the potential（潛質(zhì)），” said Helene Kramer of Read to Succeed. The theory is： Youre never too young or too old to learn.

Working with Buffalos literacy volunteers has given Jones a fresh start. “They gave me a chance to open a door that I could never open before，” he said. “I could never open it before， because I couldnt read.” Its not easy， but Jones says seeing his daughters read inspires（激勵(lì)）him to try.

1. What state in America has seen an improvement in the situation of illiteracy？

A. New York. B. Mississippi.

C. Florida. D. California.

2. What can be inferred from Paragraph 4？

A. Norway ranks the lowest in reading ability.

B. The illiteracy rates in Belgium have dropped.

C. Japanese childrens ability to read is quite bad.

D. Canadians perform better in reading than Americans.

3. What would Helene Kramer probably think？

A. Kids should not learn to read too early.

B. Old people arent able to learn to read.

C. Most poor kids have difficulty reading.

D. Poverty contributes to poor reading ability.

4. What can we know about John Jones？

A. He thinks learning to read is easy.

B. His children dont like to help him.

C. He is very tired of learning to read.

D. He is thankful for the chance to learn to read.

5. What might be the best title for the passage？

A. Find Inspiration to Fight Illiteracy

B. Volunteers Help a Man Live a New Life

C. America Ranks Higher in Reading Ability

D. Reading Offers More Chances to Children

B

When a cat is frightened， its heart starts beating faster， its muscles（肌肉）get tense（繃緊的）， and there are changes in the chemicals in its blood stream. If the danger continues， it will protect itself， or it will run away as fast as possible.

Something like this also happens to people. When we are excited， angry or scared， our bodies go through many physical changes， all of which make us more alert（警覺(jué)的）and ready to react. We， also get ready to protect ourselves or run. Human beings， however， have a problem that animals never face. If we give way to our feelings and let them take over， we can get into trouble. Have you ever said something in anger or hit somebody—and regretted it later？ Have you ever shouted at a teacher， told somebody you were lonely， or said you were in love， and then wished later you had kept your mouth shut？ It isnt always wise to express your feelings freely.

Does this mean that its smarter always to hide our feelings？ No！ If you keep the feelings of anger， sadness and bitterness hidden away or bottled up inside， your body stays tense. Physical illnesses can develop， and you can feel disturbed badly inside. It can actually be bad for your health.

Feelings that you keep all bottled up inside dont just go away. Its as if you bought some bananas and stuck them in a cupboard. You might not be able to see them， but before long youd smell them. And if you opened the cupboard， chances are that youd see little fruit flies flying all over them. Theyd gone bad.

You can try to treat emotions as if they were bananas in the cupboard. You can hide them and you can pretend they dont exist， but theyll still be around. And at last youll have to deal with them， just like those bananas.

6. What does the author want to show us by taking a cat as an example？

A. People cant control their feelings.

B. Animals cant control their feelings.

C. Peoples physical reactions are like those of animals in a way.

D. Our bodies go through many physical changes in certain situations.

7. Why do human beings get into trouble according to Paragraph 2？

A. They are not as alert as animals.

B. They sometimes cant control our feelings.

C. They dont pay attention to our physical changes.

D. They sometimes do something wrong to other people.

8. What does the author want to tell us in the last two paragraphs？

A. Its good for our health to keep pleasant feelings.

B. We should treat emotions like bananas in a cupboard.

C. Feelings will gradually disappear when we hold them in.

D. We wont be able to completely get away from our feelings.

9. What would be the best title for this passage？

A. Feelings and Bananas

B. Express Feelings Freely

C. Deal with Feelings Wisely

D. Frightened Cats and Human Beings

It was unusually quiet in the emergency room on December 25. I didnt think there would be any 1 ， sighing about having to work on Christmas. Just then five bodies 2

at my desk， a pale（蒼白的）woman and four children.

“Are you all 3 ？” I asked. “Yes，” she said weakly and lowered her head.

But when it came to 4 of their problems， things got a little strange. They all claimed to have headaches， but the headaches werent 5 by the normal body language of holding the head or trying to keep it still.

Something was wrong. Our hospital policy， 6 ， was not to turn away any patient. I explained it might be a little while

7 a doctor saw her. She responded immediately， even a bit

8 “Take your time，” and then added， “its warm in here.”

Then， I checked their registration form out of curiosity. No address—they were 9 . The waiting room was warm. I went back to the nurses station and mentioned we had a homeless

10 in the waiting room. The nurses， complaining of 11

on Christmas， turned to sympathy（同情心）for a family just trying to get some 12 on Christmas. The team went into action， much as we do when theres a 13 emergency. But this was a Christmas emergency.

We were all 14 a free meal on Christmas Day， so we took back that meal and prepared a big dinner for our 15 .

We needed presents. We 16 candies， fruits and other things

17 that could be presents from different departments. As seriously as we met the 18 needs of the patients， our team worked to meet the needs of a family who just wanted to be warm on Christmas.

19 ， as the family walked to the door to 20 ， the mother came running back， gave me a hug and whispered（低聲說(shuō)）， “Thanks for being our angels today.”

1. A. customers B. patients C. workers D. doctors

2. A. showed up B. took in C. came out D. looked on

3. A. tired B. hungry C. sick D. sad

4. A. descriptions B. comments C. instructions D. results

5. A. obvious B. cruel C. lucky D. weak

6. A. therefore B. otherwise C. however D. moreover

7. A. after B. since C. before D. when

8. A. shyly B. happily C. calmly D. politely

9. A. lonely B. curious C. clever D. homeless

10. A. family B. holiday C. woman D. Christmas

11. A. operating B. cleaning C. managing D. working

12. A. present B. warmth C. freedom D. agreement

13. A. helpful B. friendly C. medical D. different

14. A. praised B. offered C. allowed D. ordered

15. A. neighbors B. relations C. brothers D. guests

16. A. borrowed B. received C. collected D. bought

17. A. expensive B. useful C. convenient D. available

18. A. healthy B. physical C. grateful D. mental

19. A. Soon B. Later C. Next D. Gradually

20. A. come B. cry C. leave D. shout

用方框里單詞的正確形式填空，使其句意完整，每空一詞。

bald concern extinction insect

lay live wonder involve

1. Being a sailor ____ long periods away from home and some dangers that will happen whenever.

2. The cat was playing with a ____ mouse happily and then ate it up quickly.

3. Some tropical fish reproduce their kind by ____ eggs.

4. Television is one of the ____ of modern science.

5. Ants are another group of social ____ that have powerful chemical protection.

6. The mans ____ head was full of sweat.

7. The government is ____ about the education system for future generations.

8. This species is on the brink of ____ ， so we must manage to help them survive.

下列各句均有1個(gè)錯(cuò)誤，請(qǐng)改正。

1. If we compare French schools to British schools， we will find there are many differences. ____

2. He was so happy that he was weighed much less. ____

3. The difference between the twins from appearance is very small. ____

4. It is very unbelievable that his plan is more and less the same as mine. ____

1. 他的目標(biāo)是成為一位像他父親一樣成功的作家。（aim）

2. 任何政府都將嚴(yán)懲那些企圖分裂國(guó)家的人。（get tough with；divide）

3. 據(jù)昨天報(bào)紙所說(shuō)，當(dāng)今世界正處于危險(xiǎn)邊緣。然而，我們?nèi)詰?yīng)對(duì)生活有信心。（on the brink of）

4. 雖然他不是故意弄壞了我的新書(shū)，但是他理應(yīng)為我的書(shū)買(mǎi)單。（on purpose）

閱讀下面材料，在空白處填入適當(dāng)?shù)膬?nèi)容（1個(gè)單詞）或括號(hào)內(nèi)單詞的正確形式。

Some people say they have the solution 1 the problems of car crowding and pollution. In many cities， 2 （hundred） of people ride bikes to work every day. In New York City， some bike riders have even founded a group： Bike for a Better City. They say if 3 （many） people rode bikes to work， there would be fewer cars and less dirty air.

For several years this group 4 （try） to get help for bike riders. They want 5 （have） special roads for bikes only， 6

when bike riders use the same roads beside cars， there may be accidents. Bike for a Better City feels if there were bike roads， more people would use 7 （bike）. But no bike roads have been ready yet. Not everyone 8 （think） it is a good idea.

Drivers dont like it， and some shop owners， 9 . And most people live too far from the city to travel by bike. Still， something has been done about it. On Saturdays and Sundays， the 10 （large） open park in New York is closed to cars， and the roads may be used by bikes only， but the group still says this is not enough and goes on fighting to get bike roads.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.