第三部分 任务型阅读（二）（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
Fairview Elementary School, Modesto, California, with some 1,000 students from kindergarten through sixth grade (about 80 percent of them Latino), has long suffering from discipline problems, poor test scores, and a near total lack of parental involvement. The difficulties aren't surprising given that many of the parents -- immigrants who work on farms or in factories -- speak little or no English.
Since 2002, Fairview Elementary School has been a First Amendment School, one of 97 developed across the country by the First Amendment Center. The idea behind the five-year-old program: To keep America strong, children must be trained to respect many points of view, weigh complex issues, and understand the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution(宪法) .As students learn good citizenship, the theory goes, they'll develop the skills and attitude to do well academically.
Fairview students enjoy "freedoms" other kids might envy (they voted to abolish school uniforms, for example). But the children don't just exercise rights. They also accept such responsibilities as speaking up during class discussions, and keeping the school clean and safe (Fairview is rated the cleanest of 33 schools in its district). In one departure from tradition, there's no hand-raising in class. "Instead," says teacher Deborah Supnet, "we teach them to listen for when the other child stops talking," Call it an exercise in respect.
Last year, the number of students evaluated advanced in math increased, from 15 to 30 percent. And Fairview graduates in their first middle-school mid-term exam averaged B grades; 96 percent passed all subjects. Particularly encouraging to Principal Rob Williams, the school now has an active parents' group, Parents With a Voice. One of those parents, Laura Malagon, praises the program for convincing her to play a more active role in her children's school life.
第三部分 任务型阅读（一）（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
Going up to university to study for a degree means you have decided to study professionally, rather than as an amateur; so being a student is now your profession for at least the next four years.
This involves a change of attitude in many ways. Now, instead of taking several subjects, you have chosen one major subject because you find it interesting and worth exploring further. You also have before you the goal of getting a degree. The degree and the stages you have to pass through to achieve it give you motivation. You are no longer forced to stay in school all day, and apart from your class time, you organize your own time and place for studying.
Another change is in the relationship with those who teach you. You are there to study actively rather than to be taught passively. Your teachers may or may not urge you, but they do want you to share their interest in the subject and they want you to succeed. If you get work back with a poorer mark than you expected and with various criticisms, don’t feel discouraged by this; if you don’t understand what is wrong and how to improve, ask your teacher to explain and don’t be satisfied until you do understand.
Professionalism involves training and practicing. Some activities, like reading, note-taking, speaking and discussing are basic to studying. Make sure you can do these effectively. You have to use time well, and practice to improve your skills.
Effective reading is part of your training. Since it is a learned skill we can change the way we did since in primary school and relearn it. Learn how to read fast—how to read with your eyes rather than your throat, how to ignore words like “of” and “the”, and how to keep what you read.
You take notes in class for yourself, not for anyone else, so make your notes easy to read, economical and pleasing to the eye. Vary the arrangement on the page to suit the material (diagrams, columns, underlining), use colored pens for different topics to catch the eye and make things stand out. Work out your own shorthand speedwriting.
Group discussions give you a chance to train your ability to express yourself. Don’t be the non-speaking member of the group. Take an active part in the discussion. In the future you are almost certainly going to have to be good at speaking, so get into the way of talking about your subject now. This is actually more fun than sitting being silently uncomfortable. Nobody will think what you say is foolish. Everyone will be thankful not to face embarrassed silence.
For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers. They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. "Come on!" My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. "You'll feel great."
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood jogging army, I'm not alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet will be a real pounding ruining down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn't kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn't my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, "I love being out there with just my thoughts." Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn't just the first week: it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn't fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don't jog any more, and I don't think I ever will. I'm walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I'm getting exercise, and I'm enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I've found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.
67. From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer's neighborhood ____.
A. jogging became very popular B. people jogged only during the daytime
C. Alex organized an army of joggers D. jogging provided a chance to get together
68. What was the writer's attitude towards jogging in the beginning?
A. He felt it was worth a try. B. He was very fond of it.
C. He was strongly against it. D. He thought it must be painful.
69. Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?
A. He disliked doing exercise outside. B. He found it neither healthy nor interesting.
C. He was afraid of having a heart attack. D. He was worried about being left alone.
70. From the writer's experience, we can conclude that ____.
A. not everyone enjoys jogging
B. he is the only person who hates jogging
C. nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit
D. jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport
Although women lead healthier, longer lives, the cruel opinion that they become "old” sooner than men is widespread in the workplace, research shows.
A survey of more than 2,600 managers and personnel professionals showed that age discrimination is not only common in the workplace, but is shot through with inconsistencies (矛盾).
Six in ten managers reported being a victim of age discrimination -- usually because they were turned down for a job for being too old or too young. Yet more than a fifth admitted that they used age as an important standard.
Although the survey found widespread agreement that older workers were better than younger colleagues when it came to reliability, commitment (承担义务), loyalty (忠诚) and customer service, these qualities were not necessarily considered to be worthy of advancement.
A large number of persons believed that workers between 30 and 39 had the best promotion chances, with only 2 per cent giving examples of 50-year-olds or above.
There was evidence that people were considered old at different ages in different jobs. A young man working in IT said he was considered too old by the age of 28.
In fact there was no evidence to suggest that older workers were less valuable to companies than younger workers, in fact the opposite was often true because older workers often brought experience.
The findings also suggested that the Government's ideas on age in the workforce may also be out of step with reality.
63.Which is the discrimination mentioned in this passage?
A. The healthier women are, the sooner they will lose their jobs.
B. Society knows women should be respected, but it doesn't offer them any jobs.
C. Female managers respect male workers, but male managers don't respect female workers.
D. victims of age discrimination consider age as an important standard.
64.Older workers are better than younger colleagues because they have many advantages except that they are _____.
A. dependable B. married C. faithful D. helpful
65.Why does the writer mention a young man working in IT?
A. Because the writer thinks it a pity that this young man is old.
B. Because it's an example of different age standards in different jobs.
C. Because IT industry is developing too fast.
D. Because the writer doesn't think the young man is old.
66. Which statement is true according to the writer's attitude?
A. The present age standard doesn't go with reality.
B. The present age standard is reasonable.
C. women should work longer than men.
D. Young workers should learn from old workers.
WASHINGTON--President Bush plans to meet next week with top Pentagon and State Department officials, and hopes to offer a revised Iraq plan within two weeks, aides (政府官员的副手)said Friday.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today Bush wants to give a major speech on Iraq before Christmas, "but that is not set in stone."
At a morning meeting with congressional leaders, Bush said, "We talked about the need for a new way forward in Iraq."
Bush will visit the State Department on Monday and meetings with military officials will follow over the next two days, according to a tentative White House schedule. All are involved in an ongoing administration review of the situation in Iraq.
"These are deliberative(慎重的) meetings and discussions," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "They will inform the president's thinking, and he will inform their thinking."
Bush said he is also reviewing the Iraq Study Group report released Wednesday. Its suggestions include withdrawing US troops by early 2008, conditions permitting, and a new diplomatic(外交的) effort including Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria.
The president said he also wanted the troops home too, but not until the new Iraq government can sustain(支撑) itself. He expressed skepticism(怀疑态度) about possible talks with Iran and Syria, saying they must stop efforts to undermine(削弱) Iraq's fledgling(年轻的) democracy.
60. The word “revised” in Paragraph One can be replaced by "_______".
A. rewriting B. changed C. important D. directed
61. The word "that" in Paragraph Two refers to ________.
A. President Bush plans to meet next week with top Pentagon and State Department officials
B. the thing that President Bush hopes to offer a revised Iraq plan within two weeks
C. what White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said today
D. the thing that President Bush wants to give a major speech on Iraq before Christmas
62. The last paragraph shows us that _____.
A. President Bush wants to have a talk with Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria
B. Bush will make his troops go home unless the new Iraq government can sustain itself
C. Bush will make his troops go home if the new Iraq government can sustain itself
D. President Bush is sure to have a talk with Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria
第二部分 阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course," she said.
"Can we write him a letter?"
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."
My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.
"No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.
"Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Morn was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.
She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped(缠绕) the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.
"Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."
The balloon, carrying my letter, darted(猛冲) upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.
Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend(超越) this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditary(遗传的). I prayed to be a balloon.
56. When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother ______.
A. felt it hard to answer B. thought her a creative girl
C. believed it easy to do so D. found it easy to lie
57. When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she ______.
A. jumped with joy B. became excited
C. started writing immediately D. was worried that it couldn't be delivered
58. In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?
A. An incurable disease. B. An unforgettable memory.
C. The hard time her father had. D. The failures her father experienced.
59. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The strong red balloon B. An unforgettable experience
C. Fly to paradise D. A great father
