A man came home from work late,tired,finding his fiveyearold son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy,how much money do you make an hour?”
“If you must know,I make $20 an hour.”
“Oh.” the little boy replied,with his head down.He thought for a moment,looked up and said,“Daddy,could you lend me $10?”
The father was furious,“If you asked for the money to buy a toy or some other rubbish,then go straight to your room and think about why you are being so selfish!”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.After about an hour or so,the father calmed down,and started to think,“Maybe he really needs to buy something and he didnt really ask for money very often.” So he went to the little boys room.
“Sorry! Maybe I was too hard on you just now.” said the man,“Heres $10.”
“Oh,thank you,Daddy!” he said happily.Then,the boy took out some coins.When the father found that the boy already had money,he got angry again.
“Why do you want more money since you already have some?” the father shouted angrily.
“Because I didnt have enough,but now I do.” the little boy replied,“Daddy,I have $20 now.Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow.I would like to have dinner with you.”
()1.How much does the boys father make an hour?
A.$10 B.$20
C.$30 D.$40
()2.In this passage,the underlined word “furious” means.
A.very angry B.quite happy
C.too excited D.a little nervous
()3.At first,the father refused to lend the boy any money because.
A.he thought the boy wanted to keep the money for himself
B.he did not have enough money at that moment
C.he thought the boy would buy something of no use
D.the boy always borrowed money from him
()4.The boy wanted to buywith twenty dollars.
A.a new book for himself B.a nice present for his father
C.a toy for his own birthday D.an hour of his fathers time
()5.From the passage,we can infer that the boys father.
A.often played with his son
B.spent little time with his son
C.didnt love his son at all
D.often came back home early
Passage 2
When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance,the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list.Music is nice,people seem to say,but not important.Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment,but certainly not an education priority(优先).This view is shortsighted.In fact,music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are.Because music is an expression of the beings who create it,it reflects their thinking and values,as well as the social environment it came influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions.Music expresses our character and values.It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception(感知)that cannot be acquired any other way.Science can explain how the sun rises and sets.The arts explore the emotive(情感的)meaning of the same phenomenon.We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols.They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other.They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears,our curiosities,our hungers,our discoveries,our hopes.The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others.When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music,we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human.The arts do.Music is an important way we express human suffering,celebration,the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.
()6.According to Paragraph 1,students.
A.regard music as a way of entertainment
B.disagree with their parents on education
C.view music as an overlooked subject
D.prefer the arts to science
()7.In Paragraph 2,the author uses George Gershwin as an example to.
A.compare it with rock music
B.show music identifies a society C.introduce American musical traditions
D.prove music influences peoples lifestyles
()8.According to the passage,the arts and science.
A.approach the world from different angles
B.explore different phenomena of the world
C express peoples feelings in different ways
D.explain what it means to be human differently
()9.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Music education deserves more attention.
B.Music should be of top education priority.
C.Music is an effective communication tool.
D.Music education makes students more imaginative.
Passage 3
The economy of the United States after 1952 was the economy of a wellfed,almost fully employed people.Despite occasional alarms,the country escaped any postwar depression and lived in a state of boom.An economic survey of the year 1955,a typical year of the 1950s,may be typical as illustrating the rapid economic growth of the decade.The national output was value at 10 percent above that of 1954 (1955 output was estimated at 392 billion dollars).The production of manufacturers was about 40 percent more than it had averaged in the years immediately following World War Two.The countrys business spent about 30 billion dollars for new factories and machinery.National income available for spending was almost a third greater than it had been in 1950.Consumers spent about 256 billion dollars;that is about 700 million dollars a day,or about twentyfive million dollars every hour,all round the clock.Sixtyfive million people held jobs and only a little more than two million wanted jobs but could not find them.Only agriculture complained that it was not sharing in the room.To some observers this was an ominous echo of the mid 1920s.As farmers share of their products declined,marketing costs rose.But there were,among the observers of the national economy,a few who were not as confident as the majority.Those few seemed to fear that the boom could not last and would eventually lead to the oppositedepression.
()10.What is the best title of the passage?
A.The Agricultural Trends of 1950s
B.The Unemployment Rate of 1950s
C.U.S.Economy in the 1950s
D.The Federal Budget of 1952
()11.In Line 3,the word “boom” could best be replaced by.
A.nearby explosion B.thunderous noise
C.general public support D.rapid economic growth
()12.It can be inferred from the passage that most people in the United States in 1955 viewed the national economy with an air of.
A.confidence B.confusion
C.disappointment D.suspicion
()13.Which of the following were LEAST satisfied with the national economy in the 1950s?
A.Economists B.Farmers
C.Politicians D.Steelworkers
()14.The passage states that income available for spending in the U.S.was greater in 1955 than in 1950.How much was it?
A.60%
B.50%
C.33% D.90%
Passage 4
In the collegeadmissions wars,we parents are the true fighters.We are 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.Ive 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 weve raised them.But we cant acknowledge that our obsession(痴迷) is more about us than them.So weve contrived various justifications that turn out to be halftruths,prejudices or myths.It actually doesnt matter much whether Aaron and Nicole go to Stanford.
We have a fullblown prestige panic;we worry that there wont be enough prizes to go around.Fearful parents urge their children to apply to more schools than ever.Underlying the hysteria(歇斯底里) is the belief that scarce elite degrees must be highly valuable.Theyre more successful because they get a better education and develop better contacts.All that is plausible—and mostly wrong.We havent found any convincing evidence that selectivity or prestige matters.Selective schools dont 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 their graduates lifetime earnings.The gain is reckoned at 2%-4% for every 100point increase in a schools average SAT scores.But even this advantage is probably a statistical fluke(偶然).A wellknown study examined students who got into highly selective schools and then went elsewhere.They earned just as much as graduates from higherstatus schools.
Kids count more than their colleges.Getting into Yale may signify intelligence,talent and ambition.But its not the only indicator and,paradoxically,its significance is declining.The reason: so many similar people go elsewhere.Getting into college is not life only competition.Oldboy networks are breaking down.Alan Krueger studied admissions to one top Ph.D.program.High scores on the GRE helped explain who got in;degrees of prestigious universities didnt.
So,parents,lighten up.The stakes 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 be on top that anything less disappoints.
()15.Why does the author say that parents are the true fighters in the collegeadmissions 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.
()16.Why do parents urge their children to apply to more school than ever?
A.They want to increase their children 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 students than they used to.
()17.What does the author mean by kids count more than their colleges(Line1,Paragraph 4)?
A.Continuing education is more important to a person success.
B.A persons happiness should be valued more than his 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.
()18.What does Krueger 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 sustained long after graduation.
()19.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
Ⅳ.Writing 15%
Directions: In this part,you are required to write a letter.Suppose you are Tom.Write a letter to your friend Li Hong.You should write at least 120 words according to the situation given below in Chinese:
假设你的好朋友李宏是大学四年级学生，正在考虑是考研究生继续深造还是大学毕业后就走上工作岗位。请给他写封信提出你的建议。