Tom was one of the brightest boys in the year, with supportive parents. But when he was 15 he suddenly stopped trying. He left school at 16 with only two scores for secondary school subjects. One of the reasons that made it cool for him not to care was the power of his peer(同龄人) group.

The lack of right male(男性的) role models in many of their lives — at home and particularly in the school environment(环境) — means that their peers are the only people they have to judge themselves against.

They don’t see men succeeding in society so it doesn’t occur to them that they could make something of themselves. Without male teachers as a role model, the effect of peer actions and street culture(文化) is all-powerful. Boys want to be part of a club. However, schools can provide the environment for change, and provide the right role models for them. Teachers need to be trained to stop that but not in front of a child’s peers. You have to do it one to one, because that is when you see the real child.

It’s pointless sending a child home if he or she has done wrong. They see it as a welcome day off to watch television or play computer games. Instead, schools should have a special unit where a child who has done wrong goes for the day and gets advice about his problems — somewhere he can work away from his peers and go home after the other children.

1.Why did Tom give up studying?

2.What seems to have a bad effect on students like Tom?

3.What should schools do to help the problem schoolboys?

4.A teacher’s work is most effective with a schoolboy when he ______.

Heroes of Our Time

A good heart

Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa among great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship(奖学金) to study medicine — but Coach(教练) John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth, or the duty to share his fortune with others. He built a new hospital in his old hometown in the Congo. Af friend has said of this good-hearted man: “Mutombo believes that God has given him this chance to do great things.”

Success and kindness

After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipment, and began filming children’s videos(录像) in her own house. The Baby Einstein Company was born, and in just five years her business grew to more than $20 million in sales. And she is using her success to help others — producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Julie says of her new program: “I believe it’s the most important thing that I have ever done. I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe.”

Bravery and courage

A few weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station with his two little girls when he saw a man fall into the path of a train. With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks, pulled the man into the space between the rails(铁轨), and held him as the train passed right above their heads. He insists he’s not a hero. He says: “We have got to show each other some love.”

1.What was Mutombo praised for?

A. Being a star in the NBA.           B. Being a student of medicine.

C. His work in the church.                    D. His willingness to help the needy.

2.Mutombo believes that building the new hospital is ______.

3.What did the Baby Einstein Company do at its beginning?

4.Why was Wesley Autrey praised as a hero?

I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles”(风格) of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑) in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks(地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”

People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.

It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A new Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one.        A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

1.When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually ______.

2.What is the place where people measure distance in time?

3.People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ______.

4.What can we infer from the text?

My neighbor asked me to go for _________ walk, but I don’t think I’ve got _________ energy.

He was busy writing a story, only ______ once in a while to smoke a cigarette.

______ hungry I am, I never seem to be able to finish off this loaf of bread.

I thought we’d be late for the concert, ______ we ended up getting there ahead of time.

Have you heard ______ news？The piece of _______ petrol is going up again!

You’re sitting on the train home and the person opposite you yawns(打哈欠). Suddenly, you’re yawning with him, though you’re not tired.

This phenomenon confused scientists for years until a recent study found that people tend to sympathize with fellow humans. Supporting this claim was the discovery that those children who were unable to form normal emotional ties with others did not experience contagious(有感染力的) yawning, which showed that humans communicate regularly with out words.

Hugo Critchley, a neuroscientist, has conducted an experiment recently, which will prove that happiness and sadness can spread like the common cold. According to Critechley, our mind and body are in constant exchange about how we’re feeling. “Emotions are closely linked with states of internal(内部的) responses,” he explained. “ There are also more visible changes in our gestures and facial expression. When we’re in a group, these signals can spread to another person. For example, there’s the obvious tendency to smile when smiled at and there are less obvious changes that reflect emotions of surprise, anger or sadness such as a change in our heart rate and blood pressure.

Hugo Critchley further explained, “Our bodies synchronies and when we like the other person, we ever copy his behavior. Next time you chat with a friend, take note of how you’re sitting— it’s pretty likely that you will be the same. Scientists believe it’s our way of telling each other that we’re partners. Through body language, humans give each other very subtle(微妙的) but clear signals that show emotions.”

So, what lessons can we learn from this? “ Spend time with happy people— otherwise your health could suffer,” said Critchley.” When we’re sad, our body goes into fight or flight mode. But when we’re happy, our body works normally and we feel relaxed and positive. So we look bright, our skin glows, we feel healthy and it affects everyone around us.”

1. According to Hugo Critchley, ________.

2.The underlined word “synchronies” in Paragraph 4 means “_____”.

3.From the passage we can learn ________.

4.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

短文改错 （共10小题; 每小题1分，满分10分）

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上画一个勾（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

    此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉, 在该行右边横线上写出该词,并也用斜线划掉。

    此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

    此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

    注意： 原行没有错的不要改。

Last winter vacation, some of my classmates decide to                76.           

travel with their friends, while I chose to take par-time job        77.           

to gain experience and earn some money. I learned from my       78.           

 teacher that a nearby company was looking after students          79.           

 with good handwriting to write address on envelope. The          80.           

 pay were 10 cent per envelope. I headed for the company,         81.           

 feeling sue I would easy finish 300 envelops in five hours and      82.           

 to earn the money. Actually, I only finished 200. Now, I         83.           

fully understand how hard is to earn money. Getting out          84.           

of the classroom is indeed necessary for we all.                    85.