“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him，and let him know that you trust him．” These words are from the black American educator，Booker Washington．He was saying that，“If you want people to grow up，you have to stop treating them like children．”
In America，families are close but children are encouraged to be independent，to make their own decisions，even at a very early age．It’s not unusual for a child of seven to be given an allowance（津贴）every week．The child is encouraged to save some of the money but he or she can spend it on whatever they choose，for example，buying clothes，school supplies or CDs．Some teenagers even have their own credit cards! That’s a big responsibility since even adults are tempted to overspend when they have credit cards．
From an early age，American children are asked for their opinions and they are included in family decision making．At the dinner table，teenagers will be listened to on any topic，from politics to buying a new family car or where the family will go on vacation．In this way, teenagers are getting practice in becoming individuals：they are learning how to stand on their own two feet．
Many Chinese young people are becoming almost as interested as American teens in searching for independence．They want to express those qualities that make them unique human beings．You can see this in the way they dress, the music they listen to and the friends they choose．“Super Girl” Li Yuchun caught the imagination of Chinese teenagers on the “Super Girl” television contest．She was not the traditional “nice，young Chinese girl”．With her short，spiky hair and boy-like clothes, she was telling everyone that she was different．She had the courage to be her own person and to stand on her own two feet．．．and she won!
There is an old saying，“Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him and then choose that way with all his strength．” If you do this, step by step, over a period of time, you may find that you have become the person you always wanted to be．
1.The passage is intended to encourage the youth to________．
A．save money for useful things B．become independent
C．express their great ambitions D．make important decisions
2.A child of seven is given an allowance so that he can______．
A．be accepted as a popular guy B．learn to decide how to use money
C．overspend money without care D．have school supplies of his own
3.The author implies that many Chinese children________．
A．are more independent than Americans
B．should become interested in America
C．are happy with their present situation
D．are not satisfied to be nice, quiet ones
4.The main idea of the last paragraph is________．
A．that we should do things step by step
B．why we should understand our desires
C．what we should plan for our own life
D．how we can manage to realize our dreams
WASHINGTON, Sept．6 （Xinhua） -- U．S．President Barack Obama on Monday announced a new plan to renew and expand the nation's roads, railways and runways, in a bid （努力） to restart the sluggish economy and to help create jobs．
Obama announced the billion-dollar infrastructure（基础设施） spending program at an event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, marking the Labor Day holiday in the United States．
The proposal calls for investments over six years, including rebuilding and modernizing 150,000 miles （241,350 kilometers） of roads, 4,000 miles （6,430 kilometers） of railways and 150 miles （ 241 kilometers） of runways．
"It sets up an Infrastructure Bank to leverage（杠杆；利用） federal dollars and focus on the smartest investment．All of this will not only create jobs now, but will make our economy run better over the long haul," Obama said．
"This is a plan that will be fully paid for and will not add to the deficit over time," said Obama．
The U．S．unemployment rate rose to 9．6 percent in August, reflecting business reluctance to hire among uncertain economic prospects, the U．S．Labor Department reported on Friday．
The president admitted that new jobs "have not been coming fast enough" in the United States．
"These years would be some of the most difficult in our history．The problems facing working families are nothing new, but they are more serious than ever．And that makes our cause more urgent than ever," he added．
1.What does the underlined word “sluggish” probably mean?
A．繁荣的 B．崩溃的 C．疲软的 D．行动迅速的
2.What’s the main idea of this passage?
A．The US president launched a new program aiming at improving the nation’s infrastructure．
B．The US unemployment rate rose according to the Labor Department．
C．These years will be the most difficult in the American history．
D．More roads, railways and runways will be rebuilt and modernized．
3.Which of the following will be changed most in length?
A．Roads． B．Railways．
C．Runways． D．Highways．
“Dad! He took a book without paying!” I yelled．
My father looked surprised．Before the boy could say anything, his mother grabbed his arm and shook it．“Is it true? You stole? Tell me!”
Everyone was quiet．The boy began to cry, and he nodded his head．He pulled out the comic book （漫画书） from under his shirt．
“Oh, Mr．Kim．I am sorry! My Ted made a big mistake!” Mrs．Diaz told my father．She tried to take the comic book, but Ted wouldn’t let go．
“It’s OK．He can keep it,” my father said with a smile．
“Oh no,” Mrs．Diaz said．“Let me pay right now ．．．” She dug in her purse．“How much?”
“Three seventy-five．”
Mrs．Diaz’s eyes widened, and she dug deeper．I saw her mouth make a small line．“Three seventy-five?” she asked．
“It’s OK．You can pay later,” my father said．
“No,” Mrs．Diaz said．She kept looking in her purse．“I have money here．”
I felt bad for yelling, for I realized that Ted had tried to steal the comic book because he didn’t have the money．Maybe the boy could have a job, I thought．
I had an idea．
“What if he worked with me?” I asked．They turned to me．
I said, “He can work with me to pay for the comic book．”
“Good,” my father said smiling at me．Mrs．Diaz nodded．She turned to her son, “You hear? You will work and buy the comic book!”
“Yes, Mama,” Ted said, hanging his head．
As they left, Ted looked back, and though he still seemed sad, he stuck out （伸出） his tongue at me．
Ted has been working here for two weeks．He has paid for the comic book, but my father says he is such a good worker that he can work with me as long as he wants．We are friends now．
1.Where did the story most probably take place?
A．In a classroom． B．In a supermarket．
C．At a bookstore． D．At a library．
2.By saying “but Ted wouldn’t let go” in Paragraph 4, the author means Ted ______．
A．took the book by mistake B．wanted to keep the book
C．didn’t want to go home D．didn’t think he was wrong
3.From the underlined sentences in the eighth paragraph, we may infer that Mrs．Diaz ______．
A．didn’t think her son stole the book
B．had been out of work for a long time
C．forgot to take money with her that day
D．couldn’t afford to pay for the book
4.In the last paragraph, what does the author mainly tell?
A．His idea was successful． B．Ted didn’t like the job．
C．He liked Ted very much． D．Ted was a naughty boy．
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
In the United States there was an unusual story telling of the daughter of a mechanic（技工）．One day while walking along the bank of a lake, the girl 1to see 20 eggs laid by a wild goose．After some time the girl 2the mother would not return to her eggs and she 3to take them home．There she carefully 4the eggs in the heat of a lamp．Several days 5the eggs broke and the baby geese came into the 6．
Geese are known to take the first living thing they see as their mother． 7, to these young geese, the girl was their mother．
As they 8, the girl was able to 9her birds to run across the grass, but she could not teach them to 10．The girl became increasingly worried about this, both when 11and in her dreams．Later, she had an 12: She would pilot a plane to guide them in 13．She asked her father for a plane and he assembled （组装） a small aircraft for her．
Caring about 14safety, the father decided to pilot the plane himself．However, the birds did not __15__ or follow him, and 16slept in the grass．
One day, the girl 17into the plane, started it and soon left the 18．Seeing their mother take to the air, the birds 19flapped（拍打） their wings and 20．She flew the plane freely in the sky, her young birds following．
1.A．managed B．attempted C．happened D．supposed
2.A．realized B．expected C．imagined D．admitted
3.A．helped B．decided C．afforded D．meant
4.A．placed B．protected C．treated D．examined
5.A．ago B．out C．later D．long
6.A．family B．lake C．home D．world
7.A．But B．Also C．Thus D．Still
8.A．increased B．improved C．rose D．grew
9.A．ask B．lead C．want D．allow
10.A．fly B．race C．swim D．sing
11.A．asleep B．away C．around D．awake
12.A．idea B．opinion C．explanation D．excuse
13.A．sky B．space C．flight D．plane
14.A．his B．her C．their D．its
15.A．respect B．remember C．recognize D．receive
16.A．so B．instead C．hardly D．too
17.A．climbed B．looked C．reached D．fell
18.A．house B．floor C．water D．ground
19.A．secretly B．disappointedly C．patiently D．eagerly
20.A．looked away B．set out C． went by D．turned back
---The current international financial crisis is affecting most countries in the world．
---Would it be at least several years ____ everything returns to normal?
A．when B．that C．since D．before
____ , the boys were shouting and singing．
A．Happy and excited B．Happily and excited
C．Happily and excitedly D．Happy and excitedly
