At about 4 am, after hours of being unable to sleep, of shivering in the cold mountain air and trying to silence my crying kids who kept waking up, of attempting to find a comfortable sleeping position, of listening to whether there might have been a bear outside our tent, I finally couldn’t stand it any more. I complained, “Everything has gone wrong.”
My wife and I were in one tent with our two young kids. A hundred yards east away was Summit Lake, where the glorious early morning mist was shimmering（闪烁）off the water. A couple miles to the southwest was the base of the Lassen Peak Trail. The base was 8,000 feet above sea level, and huge snow dotted the scenery even in mid August. Further west still was Bumpass Hell, with steam rising up.
As the sun crept up over the edge of the Lassen peak, we fired up the camp stove and had breakfast. Half an hour later, my six-year-old daughter and I were in the parking lot of the Lassen peak trail, getting ready to go up the mountainside. We wouldn’t make it all the way, but it didn’t matter. We would see nature at its extremes: the volcanic ash that layered on the earth turning the melting snow a mysterious pink as the sun struck it; the blues of the sky shading into the blues of distant lakes, which in turn shaded into the whites and grays of the snow.
My daughter grabbed my camera. She wanted to take a photo of “the composite（混合物）”of colors. Looking out over that scenery, and seeing my daughter fascinated by nature, I felt stupid about my morning complaints.
Yes, camping is uncomfortable. And yes, there’s a lot to be said for getting out a credit card,reserving a room in a nice hotel, and going out for a fancy meal. But there’s also something wonderful about being so close to raw nature. And , as important, there’s something vital about getting young children out of their increasingly modern comfort zones and forcing them to meet the world around them.
1..According to the passage, what contributed to the author’s sleeplessness ?
①the cold weather ②his crying children ③fear of bears
④sounds of bears ⑤the aches of his lower back ⑥his own complaints
A. ①④⑥ B. ①②③ C. ②④⑤ D. ②③⑤
2..Which of the following maps correctly shows the places ?
3..The underlined word “colors” in Paragraph 4 refers to ______ .
A.blue, white, gray and pink B.white, yellow, gray and pink
C.white, green ,gray and pink D.blue, green,white and gray
4..How did the author’s feeling change from the beginning to the end ?
A.Calm→Satisfied. B.Excited→Frustrated.
C.Sad→Calm. D.Regretful→Satisfied.
5..Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage ?
A.Nature is the glass reflecting truth.
B.Nature is the best scenery designer.
C.The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.
D.A bad beginning makes a bad ending.
In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child’s acquisition of each new skill-the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing．It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child: This might happen at any stage．A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads．On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself．
Patents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children．Some may be especially strict in money matters．Others are severe over times of coming home at night or punctuality for meals．In general, the controls imposed represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child’s own happiness．
As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching．To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality．Also, parents should realize that “example is better than precept”．If they are not sincere and do not practice what they teach, their children may grow confused, and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled．
A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents’ principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment．
1..Eagerly watching the child’s acquisition of new skills _________．
A.should be avoided
B.is universal among parents
C.sets up dangerous states of worry in the child
D.will make him lose interest in learning new things
2..In the process of children’s learning new skills, parents ______．
A.should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read
B.should not expect too much of them
C.should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own
D.should create as many learning opportunities as possible
3..The second paragraph mainly tells us that __________．
A.parents should be strict with their children
B.parental controls reflect only the needs of the parents and the values of the community
C.parental restrictions vary, and are not always intended for the benefit of the children alone
D.parents vary in their strictness towards their children according to the situation
4..In moral matters, parents should __________．
A.observe the rules themselves
B.be aware of the marked difference between adults and children
C.forbid things which have no foundation in morality
D.consistently ensure the security of their children
Britain’s symbolic red phone boxes have become out of date in the age of the mobile, but villages across the country are stepping in to save them, with creative intelligence. Whether as a place to exhibit art, poetry, or even as a tiny library, hundreds of phone boxes have been given a new life by local communities determined to preserve a typical part of British life. In Waterperry, a small village near Oxford, the 120 residents have filled the phone box next to the old house with a pot of flowers, piles of gardening and cooking magazines, and stuck poems on the walls.
They took control of the phone box when telecoms operator BT said it was going to pull it down, an announcement that caused such dissatisfaction that one local woman threatened to chain herself to the box to save it. “I’d have done it,”insisted Kendall Turner. “It would have been heartbreaking for the village.”Local councilor Tricia Hallam, who came up with the idea for the phone box’s change, said quite a few people would have joined her, adding, “We couldn’t let it go because it’s a British symbol.”
Only three feet by three feet wide, and standing 2.51-meter tall, the phone boxes were designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1936 for the 25th anniversary of the reign of King George V.Painted in “Post Office red” to match the post boxes, they were once a typical image of England and the backdrop（背景）to millions of tourist photographs.
Eight years ago there were about 17,000 across Britain, but today, in a country where almost everybody has a mobile phone, 58 percent are no longer profitable and ten percent are only used once a month. “On average, maintaining them costs $800 a year per phone box — about ￡44 million annually,” said John Lunb, general manager for BT Payphones.
1..Some red phone boxes in Britain have been used for ______ .
a.selling flowers b.cooking c.reading d.exhibiting art or poetry
A.a,b B.c,d C.a,b,c D.b,c,d
2..Why do the villagers want to keep the red phone boxes ?
A.Because millions of people visit Britain to see the red phone boxes.
B.Because the local people could earn a lot of money from the red phone boxes.
C.Because the red phone boxes have already become a symbol of Britain.
D.Because the red phone boxes may be useful for some people in emergency.
3..What is the color of the British post boxes according to the passage ?
A.Green. B.Red. C.Black. D.Yellow.
4..What is John Lumb’s attitude towards pulling down the red phone boxes ?
A.Supportive. B.Opposed. C.Neutral. D.Indifferent.
A dog who chewed off his owner’s infected toe（脚趾）while he was passed-out drunk has been called a lifesaver. Jerry Douthett had been out drinking when his dog Kiko bit off a large part if his big toe. His wife, Rosee, rushed him to hospital where tests showed the 48-year-old musician had dangerous high blood-sugar levels. Doctors told him his toe would have had to be cut off anyway.
Mr Douthett said he had refused to get medical advice despite his toe being swollen for months. “I was hiding it from people, Rosee included,” he said. “It smelled , and I look back now and realize every time we’d visit someone with a dog, their dog would smell all over my foot.”
The night before Mr Douthett had agreed to see a doctor, he passed out at home after going out drinking. He said, “I woke up and the dog was lying along side by foot. I said, ‘Ah, there’s blood everywhere.’ I ran to the bathroom and started to scream.”
However, he believes Kiko could sense the disease coming from his big toe. “He’s a hero,” Mr Douthett said. “It wasn’t an aggressive attack. He just ate the infection. He saved my life. He ate it. I mean, he must have eaten it, because we couldn’t find it anywhere else in the house. I look down. There’s blood all over, and my toe is gone.”
Before the operation, Mr Douthett asked a nurse, “Is there any chance I can get whatever’s left of my toe, so I can give it to Kiko as a treat?” Kiko is still with the family but is under observation by authorities.
1..Mr Douthett didn’t want to get medical treatment because ______ .
A.he didn’t know about his disease at all
B.he was unwilling to let others know about his disease
C.doctors had no good ways to treat his bad toe
D.his wife advised him not to do that
2..From Paragraph 3 we can infer that ______ .
A.Rosee managed to persuade her husband to go to hospital
B.Mr Douthett made his big toe worse by frequent drinking
C.Mr Douthett didn’t know his toe was chewed off at first
D.it is dangerous for people to let pet dogs sleep in the bedrooms
3..What did Mr Douthett think of his dog ?
A.It was clever and brave.
B.It never attacked healthy people.
C.It was a cruel but helpful dog.
D.It was a dangerous dog in fact.
My father was in the navy, which meant that my mother was married to both my father and the sea．As was often the case, we had to pack our belongings into boxes and 31 those we had grown to love．We would arrive at our new home and find ourselves once again 32 at the pier （码头） waving good-bye to my father as his 33 pulled him away from us．My mother would turn my brother and I around before the ship was out of 34 , wipe our tears, and take us back home to start the process of 35 in the new environment again．
Throughout the years of changing 36 , schools and friends, there remained one constant in my childhood — my mother．For both my 37 and I, she was the cook, maid and teacher．She played these roles while 38 some type of part-time job．Leaving a promising career is just one of the 39 which my mother made for my family as we moved around the world with our father every three years or so． 40 she had to deal with only a small budget, my mother, 41 , managed to make each house to be the very home that is safe and 42 ．
This probably sounds like a depressing way to live, 43 with two small children: “single” parenthood, short-term friendships, and the inability （无能） to 44 a career or establish a home．But it was not for my mother．She turned this 45 into adventure for us all! Each relocation （变换位置） was a chance to 46 another part of the world．My mother greeted each new culture, climate and neighborhood．Each new house was a 47 to rearrange furniture, make curtains and 48 pictures．Every part-time job was an opportunity to learn something new and work with interesting people．
No matter how difficult the life was, she was always having a 49 attitude．She always had strength in the face of struggle and change．My mother was so 50 all those years during my childhood — she was my island in a sea of change．She is my hero．
1.．A．leave behind B．leave out C．leave off D．leave for
2.．A．living B．staring C．standing D．going
3.．A．car B．ship C．train D．plane
4.．A．range B．shape C．sight D．control
5.．A．adapting B．suiting C．matching D．fitting
6.．A．names B．jobs C．addresses D．directions
7.．A．father B．classmates C．brother D．relatives
8.．A．performing B．seeking C．waiting D．applying
9.．A．programs B．sacrifices C．contribution D．cooperation
10.．A．Once B．While C．When D．Unless
11.．A．somewhere B．somewhat C．sometime D．somehow
12.．A．romantic B．comfortable C．mysterious D．wealthy
13.．A．generally B．actually C．especially D．unfairly
14.．A．desert B．develop C．affect D．limit
15.．A．lifestyle B．value C．journey D．opportunity
16.．A．acquire B．explore C．occupy D．realize
17.．A．load B．sadness C．result D．challenge
18.．A．hang B．draw C．take D．sell
19.．A．changeable B．cautious C．positive D．negative
20.．A．experience B．brave C．ordinary D．annoyed
People there now have no _____ to safe drinking water due to the Japanese Earthquake.
A.attempt B.access C.adjustment D.admission
