The secretary and principal ________ at the meeting now.

A.are speaking                                                        B.is speaking

C.were making a speech                                    D.have a speech

Too cold for recess?  School policies vary as much as temps

When is it too cold for schoolchildren to go outside for recess（課間休息）? The answer varies widely based on where a school is located and what the kids are used to.

Consider:  One northern Minnesota school says it has to be 15 below zero before kids are kept inside. But in areas along the East Coast, temperatures below 35 to 40 degrees could keep kids inside. Canceling recess because of the cold is no small issue considering that much of the USA is trembling through what may be its coldest winter in a generation, according to AccuWeather.

There is no national temperature standard for when to keep kids inside during the winter months, the U.S. Department of Education says. Decisions are made at the local level, either by principals or school districts.

Consequently, policies are all over the map:

?? In International Falls, Minn., the self-described "Icebox of the Nation," where the average high temperature in January is 13 degrees, Falls Elementary School Principal Jerry Hilfer says, "if it's 15 below (or warmer), they go out, no matter what." "At 20 below, it gets iffy," he adds.

?? In Wicomico County, Md., principals typically keep children indoors when temperatures drop below freezing, or if it's raining or snowing, says Susan Jones, the school system's director of elementary education.

"That's the bottom line," says Curtis Twilley, principal of Pemberton Elementary School in Salisbury, Md. Twilley says students get little exercise when recess stays indoors. At Pemberton Elementary, the students will typically play board games or computer games in a classroom because the school's gym is occupied with other classes, he says.

?? For schools in Marquette, Mich., which averages about 12 feet of snow per season, school officials acknowledge students are probably a little more prepared than those in some more mild climates.

Which of the following is not true according to the passage_________.

A. No national temperature standard is made for when to keep kids inside during the winter months.

B. Susan Jones insists students get little exercise when recess stays indoors.

C. In Wicomico County, children are kept indoors when temperatures dip below freezing.

D. Mich has about 12 feet of snow per season on average.

Which place calls itself Box of Ice?

Wicomico County  B. Marquette    C.Salisbury       D. Minn

Considering_______, canceling recess In USA because of the cold is a big issue.

A. different schools have different principles.

B. much of the USA has very cold winter.

C. physical activity can boost student performance.

D. decisions are made at the local level,

The underlined word iffy means _______.

A. uncertain        B. surprising  C.  serious     D. worse

What will be talked about next?

A. More school policies 

B. The reasons why school policies vary.

C. Measures to improve the situation.

D. Necessities to improve the situation

第三部分： 完形填空（共20小題；每小題1分，滿分20分）
My Teacher in the School of Life
I spent the opening day of school this year at DeMatha Catholic High School in much the same way I spent the first day of classes   36   30 years ago; I sat in Dr Charles E. Offutt’s British literature class, listening to him   37   what his seniors would learn and get them excited about the journey they would  38  . I’m the principal (校長) of the school now , but for a few minutes I was back in 1975,   39  what the future held.
I have been learning from Dr Offutt for 30 of the 51 years he had been teaching at DeMatha. He not only taught me to think, he   40  me, as much by example as  41  , that it was my moral duty to do so and to serve   42   .
Neither of us could know how our  43  would develop over the years. When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English. I worked for Dr Offutt, the then department chair. After several years, I was  44  department chair, and our relationship changed   45  . I thought that it might be  46  chairing the department, since all of my former English teachers were still there, but Dr Offutt   47  me throughout. He knew when to give me   48   about curriculum, texts and personnel, and when to let me design my own course.
In 1997, I needed his advice about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school. If he had asked me to stay at DeMatha, I might have.   49   , he encouraged me to seize the new     50  .
Five years ago, I became the   51   of DeMatha. Once again, Dr Offutt was there for me, letting me know that I could   52  on him as I tried to fill such big shoes. I’ve learned from him that great teachers have a (n)   53   wealth of lessons to teach.   54  his students don’t know it yet, I know how   55   they are; I’m still one of them.
36．A．mostly         B．exactly   C．only           D．simply
37．A．explain    B．predict   C．speak         D．teach
38．A．keep            B．a(chǎn)chieve  C．choose    D．take
39．A．preparing    B．discovering  C．wondering   D．realizing
40．A．a(chǎn)ssisted    B．reminded       C．a(chǎn)dvised   D．convinced
41．A．words   B．a(chǎn)ction       C．explanation  D．models
42．A．the others        B．everyone       C．others          D．a(chǎn)nyone
43．A．relationship  B．position     C．situation   D．condition
44．A．pointed      B．named       C．given          D．taken
45．A．a(chǎn)lready      B．yet   C．still          D．a(chǎn)gain
46．A．foolish     B．surprising        C．uncertain  D．challenging
47．A．promoted        B．a(chǎn)ccepted   C．supported  D．welcomed
48．A．a(chǎn)dvice       B．information       C．notice          D．thought
49．A．Otherwise       B．Therefore        C．Furthermore  D．Instead
50．A．choice    B．opportunity     C．occupation   D．possibility
51．A．teacher    B．principal  C．officer   D．clerk
52．A．live      B．look            C．depend   D．take
53．A．rich     B．little            C．valuable        D．endless
54．A．Once          B．Even if    C．Unless    D．Until
55．A．fortunate B．curious       C．innocent   D．satisfied

Dine with General St. Amour
General St. Amour was famous for his bravery, but he was born into the family of a poor peasant. Even when he became a general, he never   【小題1】  his humble origin（卑微的出身）. 
While his   【小題2】  was stationed in his hometown, he invited some of his principal officers to a dinner party at a   【小題3】 . They had just sat down at the table when his father   【小題4】  to drop in on him. When the guard   【小題5】  it to the general, he   【小題6】  rose and told his guests that his father had   【小題7】 .
He said that he knew the   【小題8】  he owed to them, but at the same time he hoped they would  excuse him   【小題9】  he withdrew (退出) because he would like to   【小題10】  with his father in another room.
Hearing what he said, all the guests present   【小題11】  that the father should be introduced to them, 【小題12】  that they would be very pleased to see one who was so closely   【小題13】  to him. But to their 【小題14】 , General St. Amour replied, “Ah, no, gentleman. You are   【小題15】  wrong. I mean my father would find himself so   【小題16】  in company with so many people who are unsuited to his rank.   【小題17】 , it would deprive(剝奪) us both of the only pleasure of the   【小題18】  ——the natural intercourse(交流) of a parent and his son.”
He then   【小題19】  himself from the table and spent the evening dining with his father.
The moral of the story is: you can’t give people   【小題20】 , but you can provide the kind of understanding that makes people keep their pride.

    I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a big company. I told him honestly that the principal reason that I was interviewing with them was my need to keep my family in Boston. My wife had recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some pain for my 16-year-old daughter and me. It was important to me to keep her present high school.

      Bruce, the interviewer, was politely kind, but he didn't search any further. He acknowledged(承認) my loss and, with great respect, moved on to another subject. After the next round of interviews, Bruce took me to lunch with another manager. Then he asked me to take a walk with him. He told me that he had lost his wife. And, like me, he had also been married 20 years and had 3 children. I realized that he had experienced the same pain as I had and it was almost impossible to explain to someone who had not lost a loved one. He offered his business card and home phone number and suggested that, should I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call. Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help.

      From that one act of kindness, when he had no idea if we could ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of life's greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview process into an act of earing and supporting for another person in a time of extreme need.

According to the passage, the interviewer, Bruce, was very       .

    A. generous         B. kind            C. happy         D. mean

The underlined word "principal" in the first paragraph probably means     .

    A. main            B. unimportant     C. necessary     D. possible

We can infer from this passage that       .

    A. the writer didn't get the job in the company

    B. Bruce made the writer pass the interview

    C. another manager also lost his wife

    D. the business interview was cold

Which of the following statement is NOT true?

    A. The writer's daughter was studying in Boston at that time.

    B. Both the writer and the interviewer experienced the same pain.

    C. Bruce was a senior manager of a big firm.

    D. Bruce wanted to make Mends with him because he gave him his business card and home phone number.