When you cover the novel, you will have ____better understanding of___ life．

A．a(chǎn); the   B．the; a   C．不填; the    D．a(chǎn);不填

---- I did well in the English exam last week.

---- I did _____ . I got a full mark.

A. no better          B. no worse         C. even worse          D. not better

This is the age of the quick action. We have instant satisfaction, fast food, speed reading, mobile phones; even the stress management books have titles like “Stress Management in 60 Seconds”.

Canadian Classics Professor Margaret Visser points out that the perception that we have “no time” is one of the most strict concepts of Western culture. Visser says that “no time” is used as an excuse and also as a spur(刺激); it both stimulates us and forces us, just as a concept such as ‘honour’ did for the ancient Greeks. According to Visser, the feeling that Westerners have “no time” is abstract, quantitative, amoral(非道德性的), unarguable, bringing pressure on each person as an individual. At the same time, the “no time” excuse escapes censure by claiming to be a condition created entirely out of our good fortune.

Life offers “so many pleasures, so many choices”.

The fact that women now work outside the home has contributed to the “no time” trend. But more important, Visser says, is the fact that feeling rushed has become an important component(成分) of our economy. Marketing of “time-saving” products causes people to buy more and work longer. So we eat out or buy prepared food to save time. The fax-it-to-my-car technology only contributes to the constant hurry. In our rushed and exhausted state, even the obligation(義務(wù)) to sit down to casual meal with family seems like a pressure. In comparison with the decision to act on a sudden whimz (一時(shí)的興致) to consume a microwave mug of soup， the act of eating together and not getting up from the table until everyone else has finished seems an incredibly time-consuming event. Being in one’s own personal hurry in the West is somehow “free and preferable”

The word “censure” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to “             ”

       A．examination     B．force C．blame       D．pressure

Which of the following doesn’t contribute to feeling rushed?

       A．Marketing of time-saving products.

       B．The fax-it-to-me-car technology.

       C．Eating together and not getting up until everybody has finished

       D．Longer working hours.

We can learn from the passage that “no time” trend ___________.

       A．brings pressure on the individual

       B．is very desirable to the individual

       C．is not harmful if you have no control of events

       D．has caused heart diseases and psychological problems

--How long ___________ each other before they__________ married?

--For about a year.

A. have they known;get

B. did they know; were going to get

C. do they know;are going to get

D. had they known; got

He’s particular about food, I dare not serve him the dish, __________ his scolding.

A．with fear of　　　　　　　　　　 B．in fear of

C．for fear of　　　　　　　　　　　D．on fear of

An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money left. When she heard her daddy say to her  1  mother with whispered desperation（絕望）, “  2  a miracle（奇跡） can save him now”, the little girl went to her bedroom and took out her piggy bank. She   3  all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Then she   4  her way six blocks to the local drugstore（藥店）.

“And what do you want?” asked the chemist.

“It’s   5  my little brother,”  the girl answered back. “He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a   6   . His name is Andrew and he has something  7  growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him.”

“We don’t   8   miracles here, chilD．I’m sorry,” the chemist said, smiling   9  at the little girl.

In the shop was a   10  customer. He stooped (彎腰) down and asked the little girl, “What kind of miracle does your brother   11   ?”

“I don’t know,” she replieD．“He’s really sick and mommy says he needs   12   . But my daddy can’t pay for it, so I have brought my  13   .”

“How much do you have?” asked the man.

“One dollar and eleven cents,   14  I can try and get some more,”  she answered quietly.

“Well, what a coincidence（巧合）,”  smiled the man.  “A dollar and eleven cents — the   15  price of a miracle for little brothers.  16  me to where you live. I want to see your brother and   17  your parents.”

That well dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon（外科醫(yī)生）. The operation was completed without   18  and it wasn’t long before Andrew was   19  again and doing well.

The little girl was happy. She knew exactly how much the miracle cost ... one dollar and eleven cents ... plus the   20  of a little child.

1．  A．tearful      B．hopeful     C．helpless    D．kind

2．  A．Simply     B．Just   C．Only D．More than

3．  A．drew B．pulled       C．put    D．poured

4．  A．followed   B．made C．took  D．found

5．  A．to     B．a(chǎn)s      C．for    D．on

6．  A．hope B．doctor      C．favor D．miracle

7．  A．bad   B．small C．extra D．impossible

8．  A．have  B．offer C．sell    D．store

9．  A．gently      B．sadly C．strangely   D．coldly

10．A．well dressed     B．kind hearted     C．well behaved    D．good looking

11．A．have  B．need  C．care   D．like

12．A．a(chǎn) doctor    B．a(chǎn) surgeon  C．a(chǎn)n operation     D．a(chǎn) kindness

13．A．savings     B．wishes      C．ideas D．suggestions

14．A．since B．a(chǎn)s      C．a(chǎn)fter  D．but

15．A．same B．exact C．proper      D．necessary

16．A．Show       B．Help  C．Take  D．Follow

17．A．help  B．encourage C．persuade   D．meet

18．A．difficulty  B．delay C．charge      D．result

19．A．happy       B．well  C．strong       D．home

20． A．cleverness      B．faith  C．courage    D．devotion

The old lady, as well as her two daughters __________ shopping every weekend.

A. go   B. goes C. has gone         D. have gone

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A,B,C and D. Fill in each blank with a word or phrase that best fits the context.

Being alone in outer space can be   36  . That is one reason why astronauts on solo(單獨(dú)的) space flights were given plenty of work to keep them   37  . They were also in constant communication with people on the earth.   38  , being with people from whom you cannot get away might be even harder than being alone. This is what happens on long submarine(潛水艇) voyages. It will also happen on  39  space flights in the future. Will there be special problems of adjustment under such conditions?

Scientists have studied the reactions of men to one another during long submarine voyages. They have also found that the longer the voyage lasts, the more serious the problem of  40  is. When men are  41  together for a long period, they begin to feel   42   . Everyone has little habits of speaking and behaving that are ordinarily acceptable. In the limited space over a long period of time, however, these little habits may become very   43  .

Apparently, although no one wants to be  44  all the time, everyone needs some degree of privacy. When people are enclosed together, they are in what is called stress situation. That means that they are under an unusual amount of  45  or stress.

People who are well-adjusted are able to   46  stress situations better than others. That is one reason why so much care is taken in   47  our astronauts. These men undergo a long period of testing and training. One of the things tested is their behavior under stress, and thus they can do better than ordinary people.

A. excited    B. frightening         C. confusing       D. brave

A. tired       B. asleep              C. conscious       D. busy

A. So far       B. After all           C. However         D. Therefore

A. long        B. fast              C. dangerous       D. direct

A. fuel        B. entertainment     C. adjustment      D. health

A. shut up      B. held up           C. brought up      D. picked up

A. uneasy     B. interested        C. comfortable      D. excited

A. pleasing     B. annoying         C. common       D. valuable

A. noisy         B. alone           C. personal     D. sociable

A. emphasis      B. conflict       C. power       D. pressure

A. handle       B. create           C. affect       D. investigate

    A. becoming      B. choosing            C. ordering    D. promoting

About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table. I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked: “So, how have you been?” And the boy, who could not have been more than seven or eight years old, replied, “Frankly, I’ve been a little depressed lately.”

This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed” until we were in high school.

The evidence of a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.

Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists, why?

Human development is based not only on innate(天生) biological states, but also on patterns of access to social knowledge. Movement from one social rote(生搬硬套) to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new status. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages: we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.

In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation(揭示) machine has been brought in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, indiscriminately (不加區(qū)分地). Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more vivid moving pictures.

Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access. Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbol that must be memorized and practices. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.

Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world______________.

A．through contact with society

B．naturally and by biological instinct (本能)

C．gradually and under guidance

D．through exposure to social information

The phenomenon that today’s children seem adult like is due to ____________.

A．the widespread influence of television

B．the poor arrangement of teaching content

C．the fast pace of human intellectual development

D．the constantly rising standard of living

Why is the author in favor of communication through print for children?

A．It enables children to gain more social information.

B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.

C．It helps children to memorize and practice more.

D．It can control what children are to learn.

What does the author think of the change in today’s children?

 A．He feels amused by their premature (早熟) behavior.

 B．He thinks it is a phenomenon worthy of note.

 C．He considers it a positive development.

 D．He seems to be upset about it.

---Where did you find your deskmate Tom?

 --- It is in the library _______ he studied.

A．that   B．where       C．which       D．if