New York Times-The already crazed competition for admission to the nation’s most famous universities and colleges became even more intense （激烈的） this year, with many recording the lowest acceptance rates．
Harvard College, for example, offered admission to only 7．1 percent of the 27,462 high school seniors who applied — or, put another way, it rejected 93 of every 100 applicants, many with extraordinary achievements, like a perfect score on one of the SAT exams．Yale College accepted 8．3 percent of its 22,813 applicants．Both rates were records．
Columbia College admitted 8．7 percent of its applicants, Brown University and Dartmouth College about 13 percent, and Bowdoin College and Georgetown University 18 percent — also records．
“We love the people we admitted, but we also love a very large number of the people who we were not able to admit,” said William R．Fitzsimmons, dean （主任） of admissions and financial aid at Harvard College．
Some colleges said they placed more students on their waiting lists than in recent years, in part because of uncertainty over how many admitted students would decide to enroll （登记入学）．Harvard and Princeton stopped accepting students through early admission this academic year; that meant that more than 1,500 students who would have been admitted in December were likely to have applied to many famous schools in the regular round．
Many factors contributed to the tightening of the competition at the most selective colleges, admissions deans said．The number of high school graduates in the nation has grown each year over the last decade and a half, experts estimate that the figure will reach the highest point this year or next, which might reduce the competition a little．
Other factors were the ease of online applications, expanded financial aid packages, an ambitious students’ applying to ever more colleges．
1.What’s the passage mainly about?
A．Harvard has the lowest admission rate this year．
B．Many factors have led to the intense competition．
C．Famous universities prefer to have more students on their waiting lists．
D．Admission to famous universities became even more difficult this year．
2.Which of the following has the highest acceptance rate this year?
A．Yale College． B．Georgetown University．
C．Columbia College． D．Dartmouth College．
3.How many of the 20,000 applicants would be rejected by Columbia College this year?
A．18,260 B．1,740 C．18,350 D．1,950
A well-dressed man came into a famous jeweler shop．He explained that he wished to buy a pearl （珍珠） for his wife's birthday and that the price didn't matter since business had been very good for him that year．After examining a number of beautiful and valuable pearls, he chose a nice black one that cost $ 5,000．He paid for the pearl, shook hands with the jeweler and left．
A few days later the man returned and said his wife had liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it．It had to be exactly the same size and quality（质地） as she wanted a pair of earrings （耳环） made．"Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man．The jeweler replied, "I would say it's nearly impossible to find an exact one like that pearl．”
The rich man asked the jeweler to advertise（登广告） in the newspapers, and offered $25,000 for the matching pearl．Many people answered the ad（广告）, but nobody had a pearl that was just right．Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came in．To his surprise, she pulled the wonderful pearl from her handbag．"I don't like to sell it," she said sadly．"I inherited（继承） it from my mother, and my mother inherited from hers．But now I really need the money．"
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind．Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news．The rich man, however, was nowhere to be found．
1.From the first paragraph we can guess that the jeweler considered the well-dressed man as_____________．
A．an honest jeweler to make friends with
B．a clever cheat （骗子） with a 1ol
C．a rich businessman and good husband
D．a poor gentleman who spent mc
2.He paid$ 5,000 for the pearl without bargaining（讨价还价）______________．
A．because he loved his wife very much
B．in order to get it as quickly as possible
C．since his business had been successful
D．so as to make the jeweler believe him
3.Which of the following is true?
A．The people who answered the ad wanted to sell their pearls at a high price．
B．The woman was the well-dressed man's wife．
C．The jeweler was lucky enough to buy the little old lady's pearl．
D．The rich man didn't know the little old lady．
4.The jeweler could not find the rich man anywhere because he__________．
A．had moved to another hotel B．was busy doing business with others
C．had escaped with $ 20,000 D．had told the wrong telephone number
Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year．My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends．I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night．To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction．（拍卖） I named him Cowboy．
Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world．But I didn’t care．I loved him beyond all reason．I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks．I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was broken．The other members rode beautiful, registered horses．
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate．No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty．My only chance to compete would be in the speed events．I chose the jumping race．
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events．She always won the blue ribbons． Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show．She didn’t need to．I came in next to last．
The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks（得意的笑） made me determined to beat her．For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena （赛马场）．We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted．All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came．I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place．
My turn finally came．I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena．At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one．Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line．As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence．Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!
I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day．At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it．
1.The underlined expression "shown the gate" （paragraph 3） most probably means ______．
A．told how to enter the arena
B．shown how to make the horse beautiful
C．removed from the competition early
D．told to enter the timed-speed events
2.When the final race finished, nobody cheered because ．
A．the audience didn’t like Cowboy B．people envied the writer
C．the win was unexpected D．the writer bad run out of time
3.Why was the writer not confident of victory?
A．He was an inexperienced rider．
B．He had not practiced enough．
C．He believed he was unpopular with the crowd．
D．He thought his horse wasn’t as good as the others．
4.What did the writer learn from his experience?
A．Life can sometimes be unfair．
B．Anything is possible if one tries hard enough．
C．A positive attitude will bring success．
D．One should not make judgments based on appearance．
Life in 2060
Let us suppose it is now about A．D．2060．Let’s make believe （假装；虚构） it is about sixty years from now．Of course, things have changed and life is very different．
Voyages to the moon are being made every day．It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe．At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built．The hotels are air-conditioned, naturally．In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window．Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment （娱乐） of young and old．
What are people eating now? People are still eating food．They haven’t yet started to take on heir （继承） supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power．They may some day．But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants．
Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet’s surface has to be filled．The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests．The harvest is always good．
Farming, of course, is very highly developed．Very few people have to work on the farm．It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then．
People are now largely vegetarians （素食者）．You see, as the number of people increases, the number of animal decreases．Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds, and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain, and it is possible to get rid of diseases．No one has to be ill any more．
Such would be our life in 2060．
1.When was the passage written?
A．In about AD．2060． B．In about 1960．
C．In about 2000． D．In about 2004．
2.According to the passage, what will be on the moon in about AD．2060?
A．Many tourists． B．Many other animals．
C．Many plants． D．A sea．
3.What will people eat then according to the passage?
A．Biscuits in pill form． B．Foods in pill form．
C．Foods in water form． D．Foods in gas form．
4.The passage tells us that in 2060, ____ on the earth than now．
A．there are fewer population B．there are more pests
C．there is less water D．the crops are getting better
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项中选出能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。
Scientists find that hard-working people live longer than average men and women．Career women are ___1___ than housewives．Evidence shows that ___2___ are in poorer health than the job-holders．A study shows ___3___ the unemployment rate increases by 1%, the death rate increases correspondingly（相应的） by 2%．All this ___4___ one point: Work is helpful to health．
Why is work good for health? It is because work keeps people busy, _5__ loneliness and solitude．Researches show that people feel __6__ and lonely when they have nothing to do．Instead, the happiest are those who are ___7___．Many high achievers who love their careers feel that they are happiest when they are working hard．Work serves as __8___ between man and reality．By work, people ___9___ each other．By collective activity, they find friendship and warmth．This is helpful to health．The loss of work _10__ the loss of everything．It affects man spiritually and makes him liable to （易于）___11__．
__12___, work gives one a sense of fulfillment and a sense of ___13___．Work makes one feel his value and status in society．When ___14_ finishes his writing or a doctor successfully __15___ a patient or a teacher sees his students ___16___, they are happy __17___．
From the above we can come to the conclusion ___18___ the more you work, __19___ you will be．Let us work hard, __20__ and live a happy and healthy life．
1.A．more healthier B．healthier C．weaker D．worse
2.A．career women B．the busy C．the jobless D．the hard-working
3.A．whenever B．whether C．though D．since
4.A．comes down to B．equals to C．adds up to D．amounts to
5.A．on B．at C．in D．away from
6.A．interested B．joyful C．unhappy D．worried
7.A．busy B．free C．lazy D．empty
8.A．a river B．a gap C．a channel D．a bridge
9.A．come across B．come into contact with
C．look down upon D．watch over
10.A．means B．stands C．equals D．matches
11.A．success B．death C．victory D．disease
12.A．Besides B．Nevertheless C．However D．Yet
13.A．disappointment B．achievement C．regret D．apology
14.A．a worker B．a farmer C．a writer D．a manager
15.A．manages B．controls C．operates on D． deals
16.A．raise B．grow C．rise D．increase
17.A．in a word B．without a word C．at a word D．beyond words
18.A．that B．which C．what D．不填．
19.A．the lonelier and weaker B．lonelier and weaker
C．happier and healthier D．the happier and healthier
20.A．study well B．studying well C．study good D．studying good
Let’s keep to the point or we ___________ any decisions．
A．will never reach B．have never reached
C．never reach D．never reached
