and short of breath, Andy and Ruby were the first to reach the top of Mount Tai.

A．Tired           B．Tiring            C．Being tired             D．To be tired

I felt somewhat disappointed and was about to leave,         something occurred which attracted my attention.

A．unless           B．until          C．when         D．while

Evidence came up        specific speech sounds are recognized by babies as young as 6 months old.

A．what            B．which            C．that            D．whose

It is not immediately clear      the high political tension will soon be over.

A．since        B．what          C．when          D．whether

The earthquake and the heavy losses      contributed to disabled this family to afford his education.

A．that         B．it          C．what          D．which

In schools, is it required that no parents        to classrooms during class time?

A．have access         B．has connection      C．have contacts       D．has access

I have never learned as much math in my life as I did 1ast year. It was because of Ms. Pam 1  I truly understood what I was learning. It might not seem  2  a big deal to some, but to me it is. I have never met a woman so caring and so determined to teach her  3  .

I never really wanted to work for good  4  in math class. I never knew how to study math and never understood some of the concepts. I can remember trying to sneak out of the classroom  5  Ms. Pam caught me and yelled across the  6  , “Lauren, are you coming to extra help during lunch?” It was a nightmare…she would always  7  me with one foot out of the door, it never  8  . Even then I just thought of it as a thing I had to do. It was funny to see how everyone would be in her room during lunch and then again after school. She would  9  everyone to come every day, just so we could do our homework in  10  .

Many of the students thought of her as a bit of nag, but  11  they knew that she was right and  12  for it. Many of her tests were hard at first, but as the year progressed, so did I. I knew that it was because of her.

Even outside class, she was  13  as ever. She always wanted to know what was going on in my(and everyone else’s)life, and she was always looking out for everyone’s best interest.

Ms. Pam is a sweet woman with a sense of  14  that you just have to laugh at. When regents were approaching, she was more concerned than ever about everyone doing well. Many of her precious students  15  high, and so she  16  the same from us. Day after day there were students in the classroom  17  problems. When it was time for our big test, I knew I was ready. I walked out of that test with my head  18  . I knew that I was a  19  and Ms. Pam had made me that way. I appreciated all the hard work that she put into helping me and my fellow students. I knew that I would  20  her.

1．A．how                  B．what                C．why                   D．that

2．A．a(chǎn)s                      B．like                  C．so                      D．a(chǎn)s if

3．A．students             B．children            C．classmates          D．family

4．A．grades               B．salary                C．life                     D．subjects

5．A．while                 B．until                 C．before                D．unless

6．A．seat                   B．classroom         C．yard                   D．kitchen

7．A．see                    B．help                 C．catch                 D．beat

8．A．succeeded           B．stopped            C．worked              D．failed

9．A．forbid                B．let                    C．encourage           D．hope

10．A．peace               B．confusion         C．surprise              D．home

11．A．inside               B．outside             C．a(chǎn)lmost                D．hardly

12．A．praised             B．scolded            C．blamed               D．respected

13．A．frightened         B．caring              C．hard                   D．right

14．A．duty                 B．time                 C．foolishness         D．humor

15．A．jumped             B．grew                C．scored                D．drank

16. A．expected            B．received           C．wished               D．hoped

17．A．previewing         B．reviewing         C．learning              D．making

18．A．high                    B．hanging               C．low                     D．down

19．A．failure                 B．student                C．success               D．hero

20．A．hate                    B．miss                    C．forget                 D．marry

Not all math skills are learned in the classroom．Some of them come naturally．Consider the split-second calculations  you make when you estimate（估計）the number of empty seats on the school bus or the number of cookies in a cookie jar．

These estimates can often be done without counting．That's because humans are born with the ability to closely guess the number of items in a group．Researchers call this ability a person's "number sense"．

To see how a person's inborn number sense might be linked to mathematical performance in the classroom, psychologist Justin Halberda and his colleagues from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, US ran some tests．

The scientists asked 64 14-year-olds to look at images of yellow and blue dots that flashed on a computer screen for a fraction （一小部分） of a second．Each image contained between 10 and 32 dots that varied in size．

Some images contained twice as many blue dots  as yellow dots．In other images, however, the number of blue and yellow dots was nearly equal．For each image, the students were asked to estimate which color had more dots．

The scientists found a wide variation in how well students could pick the color with the most dots．

The scientists then looked at the students' math scores dating back to kindergarten．Children that performed best in the image test also scored the highest in standard math tests．The same finding held true at the other end of the spectrum （范圍）．Students who didn't score well on the image test received lower math scores．

The study was the first to show a link between a person's inborn number sense and his or her achievement in formal math training．

Does this connection mean that one cannot be good in math if they have a weak number sense? Or that having a strong number sense is a guarantee for good grades in math? The answers are not clear．

While scientists continue looking at the possible links between a person's number sense and math achievement, one thing is certain: Doing lots of math homework will  boost your chances of success．

1．Justin Halberda and his colleagues ran some tests to               ．   

       A．look at the students' math scores dating back to kindergarten．

       B．a(chǎn)sk the students to estimate the dots

       C．see if a person's inborn number sense has something to do with math learning

       D．decide how to learn math well

2．What is the proper meaning of the underlined word "boost"?   

       A．increase              B．grasp         C．miss                      D．possess

3．According to the passage, the most important thing to learn math well is that             ． 

       A．one should have an inborn number sense

       B．one should practice a lot

       C．one should do a lot of tests

       D．one should do a lot of counting

4．What is the result of Justin Halberda's tests?

       A．Students who did well in the tests also did well in math exams．

       B．One cannot be successful in math if he has a well number sense．

       C．One who has a strong number sense can not do math well．

       D．One should do a lot of math homework if he wants to have a number sense．

Did you get a flu shot this year? For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US is recommending that all children aged from 6 months to 18 years receive the flu vaccine．

Vaccines battle diseases caused by bacteria and viruses．A weakened form of the germ （微生物）is introduced into the body．The body makes special substances called antibodies to fight the germs．If the actual germs were to attack, the antibodies would fight it．

    Because there are many kinds of flu viruses, scientists must create a new vaccine  formula（方程式） each year．Researchers must make a prediction．

It is like forecasting the weather．Sometimes they are right on, and sometimes they are off．But even when the vaccine does not closely match circulating flu types, it can make the illness less serious．

   "The flu vaccine is not as effective as the polio（小兒麻痹癥）vaccine or the measles vaccine," says Dr William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine．"It's not a great vaccine, but it is quite a good vaccine．"

But a flu vaccine doesn't work for everyone．There are certain people who should be careful about taking it．

Because the vaccine is produced in eggs, those who are allergic（過敏的）to eggs should not take it．If you have a fever, you should wait until you recover．

Some people are afraid that they might get the flu from the flu shot．Scientists say that it is not possible, because the viruses in the flu shot are inactivated．But some minor side effects such as low-grade fever and body ache could occur．If they do, they begin soon after the shot and usually last only one to two days．

Did you know?

Smallpox was the first disease people tried to prevent by putting a virus into a healthy person．In 1796, English scientist Edward Jenner placed some infected material under a boy's skin．

1．By saying "It's not a great vaccine, but it is quite a good vaccine", the author means the flu vaccine               ． 

       A．is not as effective as the polio and measles vaccines

       B．is not effective, compared with the polio and measles vaccines

       C．does help to make illness less serious

       D．is quite good because it works for everyone

2．We can infer from the passage that               ．  

       A．those who are allergic to eggs should not take flu vaccine

       B．a(chǎn)ll the flu vaccines are not effective for everyone

       C．you should go to a doctor if you have a fever or body ache after taking the flu vaccine

       D．it is possible that some people might get the flu from the flu shot

3．It is not advisable for everyone to take flu vaccine because              ．  

       A．there are many kinds of virus

       B．the flu vaccine is not as effective as the polio and measles vaccines

       C．someone may be allergic to it

       D．it has some minor side-effects

4．What topic will be discussed in the following paragraph?

       A．What kind of people should be careful about taking smallpox vaccine．

       B．The side-effects of smallpox vaccine．

       C．The origin of the flu vaccine．

       D．How the smallpox vaccine worked on the boy．

For Chinese students the end of their senior year is filled with studying and stress as they prepare for the college entrance exams in June．But for American high school seniors the experience couldn't be more different．The end of senior year is a celebration of their time in high school and involves parties, games and fun．

Senioritis is a commonly used expression．It means seniors have a disease which makes them unable to do work．This starts in April when seniors find out whether they have been accepted to university．

Unwilling to do school work, seniors have plenty of other activities to focus on．

Many schools have a "Senior Show", in which only seniors are allowed to perform．Some seniors sing or dance but many of them perform skits （滑稽短�。�, where they make fun of their favorite teachers or their friends．For example, a group of boys may dress up and imitate a group of their girl friends．It is all very light-hearted．

The "Senior Show" is usually a part of Senior Week, which is a week specifically dedicated（專用的）to seniors．During this week, seniors usually get academic or athletic awards they have won over their high school careers．The seniors also vote for one of their male and female classmates who they believe is the best-looking or funniest or most involved, etc．These are then published in the yearbook．

The yearbook is an important part of high school for seniors．It is usually dedicated to them and has all their pictures and some words from them in it．Then seniors go around and get it signed by their friends so they can always remember their time together．

Of course during all of this time, seniors are preparing for the Senior Prom, which is an important moment in American culture．It is the most important dance in a young American's life．

The end of senior year is a truly special and wonderful time for American students．It's something they will remember for the rest of their lives．

1．Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined sentence in paragraph 1?

       A．For American high school seniors, things are quite different．

       B．It doesn't make difference at the end of the senior year．

       C．For American high school seniors, it is the best time of the year．

       D．It is the period filled with stress and workload．

2．What activities that seniors would like to do according to the passage? 

       A．School work                                        B．Voting for the film star

       C．Singing or dance contests                     D．Senior Show and Senior Prom

3．What will most probably be talked about in the next paragraph of the passage? 

       A．Activities on the sports field．

       B．The graduation ceremony where they receive their high school diploma．

       C．Their favorite film stars．

       D．The health of seniors．