So I’m driving the lovely and patient older daughter to work. At 7 a. m., she pushes the seat
warmer button as her new Honda zooms across L. A., the City of Padded Shoulders.
"Oh, look, I’m low on gas," she says.
First, we pick up her boss, then we pick up her other boss. They are all headed to Staples Center for some awards show. My daughter does something in public relations, I’m not sure what. But when this show comes along, she gets very busy.
"In the past two nights I’ve gotten, like, seven hours sleep," she notes, the implication being that I sleep all the time, which is pretty much true.
In Los Feliz, a dashboard light confirms that we are, indeed, low on fuel. This does not perturb my daughter.
"Don’t worry, we’ll get there," she says.
My daughter says nothing about getting back home, which is my job. I’ve just agreed to drop her off, so she can avoid traffic later. My task is simple, though now full of uncertainty.
I don’t know how I ended up dropping my daughter and her bosses off at 7 a.m. on a Sunday. I just know that J.D. Salinger may now be dead, but I still feel like Holden Caulfield -- at the mercy of too many yammering adults.
Now, I’ve had mixed luck with adults.
Apparently, my daughter’s job in PR is to keep everyone happy while telling the truth as much as possible. I sent her to college to study that. Now she is an expert.
"After you drop us off, you can get gas," my daughter assures me.
I have been her chauffeur for 26 years. By the time she was 3, I’d snapped her into a car seat some 14,000 times. I took her to seventh-grade dances, ski trips, college.
Even after all that, we continue to have a civil relationship, sort of a queen-mum-and-her-
driver sort of dynamic. When I screw up, she just raises her pretty chin and snorts. It’s very British.
By the way, my daughter now has a nicer car than I do, which is a sign she is doing well. Or, as with so many young people, she is up to her hoop earrings in consumer debt.
1．Which of the following statements in NOT true about the author’s daughter?
A．She is fashionable. B．She always tells the truth.
C．She is doing well in her work. D．She lives a fast-paced life.
2．The author’s tone suggests that_________.
A．he is feeling left behind when his daughter has grown up and begun adult life
B．he is content with his grown daughter
C．he does not like his daughter’s bosses
D．he will not believe his daughter any more
3．It can be concluded from the passage that_________.
A．the author won’t have any difficulty in getting gas
B．the daughter cares for her father a lot
C．the author has done a lot to help his daughter get where she is
D．the British people have pretty chin and snort often
4．By referring to J. D. Salinger and Holden Caulfield, the author is most probably_________.
A．recalling his daughter’s childhood
B．mentioning his family members who are now dead
C．comparing his situation to a scene in a famous literary work
D．telling a story about his daughter’s friends
5．What is the best title for this passage?
A．A PR’s Busy Life
B．Relationship Between Dad and Daughter
C．A Loving Father
D．Go Ahead and Fill Her up, Dad
III．阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Now in his senior year in Bowdoin College, a small, elite liberal-arts（文科）college in Masine, Chen Yongfang has become such a devotee of the liberal-arts approach that he’s made it his mission to spread the word throughout China. He has coauthored a book called A True Liberal Arts Education, which essentially explains the little-known concept to Chinese students and their parents. Though there have been many books about how to get into Ivy League universities, “there was not a single book in China about the smaller liberal-arts colleges,” he says.
The book, which Chen wrote with friends Ye Lin and Wan Li, who also attend small U. S. colleges, touts（兜售）such benefits as intimate classes (the student-to-faculty ratio at Bowdoin is 9:1) and professors who focus on teaching rather than research. Chen, 23, explains that he was won over by Bowdoin’s commitment to nurturing skills for life, rather than simply for the workplace. “Liberal arts is abut fostering your identity,” he says. “They want to cultivate your mind.” He admits that liberal arts may be a hard sell in a country with an increasingly competitive job market. The book states bluntly that in the short term, a liberal-arts education won’t improve job prospects. “In China, employers are looking for someone who can come in and start working immediately when they graduate, not someone who still needs to be trained in practical skills,” Chen says.
The book, which received wide media coverage in
China and now has a waiting list for its second print run, is certainly timely:
it plays into a growing debate in China about what national universities should
be teaching. The country needs a workforce with the skills and creativity to
help move away from low-cost manufacturing and, in economic terms, move up the
value chain. And some educators believe liberal-arts training is vital to help
China deal with its increasingly complex new realities. Yet the well-known
intellectual historian Xu Jilin believes that China’s rapid expansion of higher
education has had a detrimental effect on curriculum as the country’s universities
race to compete globally. “Education these days in like factory-farming
chickens,” he says. “Universities all wan to get into international rakings—and
most of these depend on research. They’re not interested in providing a unique
education for our kids.”
1．According to Chen Yongfang, the benefits of attending liberal-arts colleges are the following EXCEPT .
A．closer relationship with tutors
B．teachers more devoted to teaching
C．practical skills for getting a job in China
D．development in mind and life-long ability
2．It can be inferred from the passage that .
A．the teaching quality in big research universities not as good as small colleges
B．it is more difficult for liberal-arts graduates to find a job because employers don’t believe that they can perform well
C．literal-arts education is of little help to China’s economic development
D．research universities received more Chinese applicants than smaller liberal-arts colleges
3．The word “detrimental” in Para.3 probably means “_________.”
A．instant B．rewarding C．damaging D．obvious
4．According to Xu Jilin,___________.
A．the expansion of higher education has improved the competitive strength of China’s universities
B．Chinese universities are providing the same courses as foreign universities
C．many universities are not paying enough attention to teaching
D．research should gain more attention in order to improve China’s universities’ rankings
5．This passage is most probably adapted from_________.
A．an article introducing liberal arts
B．an article introducing the book A True Liberal Arts Education
C．an article criticizing China’s higher education
D．an advertisement for Bowdoin College
第二节 语法填空（共10小题，每小题1.5分，满分15分）
阅读下列短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答卷标号为31—40相应位置上。
Childhood is 31 time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he 32 (raise), looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much 33 having to do anything in return. But a child has his pains. He is not so free to do 34 he wishes to; he is again and again being told not to do something, or being punished 35 what he has wrongly done.
When a young man starts to make his own living, he can no longer expect 36 to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room. if he spends most of his time 37 (play) about in the ways that he used to as a child, he will go 38 (hunger). And if he breaks the laws of society 39 he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If, 40 , he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his position in society.
II．语言知识及应用（共两节, 满分35分）
第一节：单项填空（共15小题，每小题1分，满分15分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21—30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Obtaining good health insurance while you are studying overseas is a real necessity to protect you from minor and catastrophic medical expenses that can wipe out not only your savings, but your dreams of an 21 abroad.
There are often two different types of health insurance you can consider buying: international travel insurance and student insurance in the country where you will be 22 . An international travel insurance policy is usually 23 in your home country before you go abroad. It generally covers a wide variety of medical services, and you are often given a list of 24 in the area where you will travel who may even speak your 25 language. The 26 might be that you aren’t reimbursed（赔偿）for your medical expenses immediately. In other words, you may have to pay all your medical expenses and then later submit your receipts to the insurance company.
On the other hand, getting student health insurance in the country where you will study might 27 you to only pay a certain percentage of the medical cost at the time of service (commonly called a co-pay), and thus, you don’t have to have sufficient cash to pay the 28 bill at once.
Whatever you decide, obtaining some form of health insurance is something you should plan
29 you go overseas rather than waiting until you are sick 30 major medical bills to pay off.
21．A．occupation B．adventure C．education D．experience
22．A．living B．going C．coming D．applying
23．A．made B．received C．adopted D．purchased
24．A．services B．agents C．doctors D．officials
25．A．mother B．native C．foreign D．local
26．A．difficulty B．benefit C．advantage D．drawback
27．A．encourage B．enable C．allow D．require
28．A．remaining B．separate C．entire D．rest
29．A．when B．before C．once D．if
30．A．of B．about C．from D．with
二．近来，有学生在校外租房而不愿住大寝室。请根据下面提示，一分为二地用英语写一篇短文，说明两者各自的好处和坏处，并表明自己的观点。20分。
学习时间；
安全；
自由性；
与同学交往；
学习效果。
（注：开头和结尾已经给出，不包含在5句话当中。）
[写作要求]
只能使用5个句子表达全部内容。句子结构准确，信息内容完整，篇章结构连贯。
Nowadays, some students would not like to live in a dorm .Instead, they rent houses outside the school. There are advantages and disadvantages for both.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ So living or not living in dorm depends on your own need. Anyhow, as a student, I prefer living in a dorm.
第五部分:写作: 20分
阅读概括：
阅读下面短文，以约30个词概括短文的要点。5分
Dear Ms Jordan,
I am sorry for misbehaving in class .I won't do it again.
Tyler Vincent Turner
This is a letter of apology that my six-year-old son Tyler wrote to his teacher .It was simple enough and took less than five minutes to write, but I hoped the message I was sending to Tyler was one that would have a lasting effect.
When I made the decision, I hoped it was the right thing to do .It turned out that Ms Jordan was thrilled when she received the note . She told me that in her 25 years as a teacher no student had ever written her a letter of apology for misbehavior . She literally looked like she was going to cry.
I want him to realize that he is responsible for his behavior, good or otherwise .That’s why I decided to make him write the letter of apology .I didn’t tell him what to write--- the words were his own. And he did so without any reluctance and gave it to his teacher this morning with a verbal apology.If it happens again, he’ll have to write another letter. Taking responsibility for your own actions should start as young as possible and a six-year-old boy is certainly old enough.
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