Peggy Hilt wanted to be a good mother. But day after day, she got out of bed feeling like a failure. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t connect with Nina, the 2-year -old girl she’d adopted from Russia as an infant （幼儿). The preschooler （学龄前儿童）pulled away whenever Hilt tried to hug or kiss her. Nina was physically aggressive with her 4-year-old sister, who had been adopted from Ukraine, and had violent tantrums（发脾气). Whenever Hilt wasn’t watching, she destroyed the family’s furniture and possessions. “Every day with Nina had become a struggle,” she recalls now.
As the girl grew older, things got worse. Hilt fell into a deep depression. She started drinking heavily, something she’d never done before. Ashamed, she hid her problem from everyone, including her husband.
On the morning of July 1, 2005, Hilt was packing for a family vocation, all the while swallowing one beer after another and growing increasingly angry and impatient with Nina’s deeds. “Everything she did just got to me,” Hilt said. When Hilt caught her reaching into her diaper（尿布）and smearing feces（粪便）on the walls and furniture, “a year and a half of frustration came to a head,” Hilt says. “I snapped（崩溃). I felt this uncontrollable rage.”
Then Hilt did something unthinkable. She grabbed Nina around the neck, shook her and then dropped her to the floor, where she kicked her repeatedly before dragging her up to her room, punching her as they went. “I had never hit a child before,” she says. “I felt horrible and promised myself that this would never happen again.” But it was too late for that. Nina woke up with a fever, and then started throwing up. The next day she stopped breathing. By the time the ambulance got the child to the hospital, she was dead.
Hilt is now serving a 19-year sentence for second-degree murder in a Virginia prison. She and her husband divorced, and he is raising their other daughter. She realizes the horror of her crime and says she isn’t looking for sympathy. “There is no punishment severe enough for what I did,” she told NEWSWEEK in an interview at the prison.
1. This story mainly tells us __________.
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A．a cruel mother who killed her daughter |
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B．a social problem of adoption |
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C．a family problem in Western countries |
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D．an unlucky child’s fortune |
2.How did Hilt let out her depression at the beginning?
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A．By hitting her adopted girl. |
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B．By showing her more love. |
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C．By drinking heavily. |
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D．By hugging and kissing her. |
3. What does the underlined sentence in Para.4 mean?
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A．It was too late to hit the girl in order to make her good. |
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B．It was too late to save the girl’s life. |
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C．It was too late to regret hitting the girl. |
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D．It was too late to regret adopting the girl. |
4.“NEWSWEEK” in the last sentence of this text refers to a __________.
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A．magazine |
B．journalist |
C．book |
D．policeman |
5. Why do some adoptions go so wrong？
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A．It’s the kid’s fault. |
B．It’s the mother’s fault. |
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C．It’s the fault of the society. |
D．The writer doesn’t mention the reason. |
I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving and never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism（乐观）, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers（移民局官员）, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles go away at last! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.
1. How did the author get to know America?
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A．From radio programs |
B．From books and pictures |
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C．From her mother |
D．From her relatives |
2. Upon leaving for America the author felt __________.
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A．excited |
B．confused |
C．worried |
D．amazed |
3. For the first two years in New York, the author __________.
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A．often lost her way |
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B．did not think about her future |
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C．studied in three different schools |
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D．got on well with her stepfather |
4. What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?
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A．She worked as a translator. |
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B．She attended a lot of job interviews. |
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C．She paid telephone bills for her family. |
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D．She helped her family with her English. |
5. The author believes that __________.
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A．her future will be free from troubles |
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B．it is difficult to learn to become patient |
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C．there are more good things than bad things |
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D．good things will happen if one keeps trying |
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road.
“Millions of animals die each year on U.S. roads,” the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today. The main reason? Roadkill.
“Eco-passages” may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. “These eco-passages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents,” said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the eco-passages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an eco-passage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of eco-passages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders（火蜥蜴）and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass!
1. The writer uses the example of “ocelots” to show that __________.
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A．wild animals have become more dangerous |
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B．the driving condition has improved greatly |
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C．an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents |
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D．the measure for protecting wildlife fails to work |
2.From the story, we know an eco-passage is __________.
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A．an underground path for cars |
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B．a fence built for the safety of the area |
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C．a bridge for animals to get over a river |
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D．a path for animals to cross the road |
3. When the writer says that “animals seem to be catching on” (Para. 6), he means __________.
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A．animals begin to realize the dangers on the road |
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B．animals are crossing the road in groups |
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C．animals are increasing in number |
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D．animals begin to learn to use eco-passages |
4. The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because __________.
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A．wild animals may attack cars |
B．they may see wild animals on eco-passages |
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C．they may see wild animals in the park |
D．wild animals may jam the road |
5. The best title for the passage is __________.
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A．Special bridges help animals cross the road |
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B．Endangered animals increase because of roadkill |
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C．Animals fail to cross the road |
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D．Take steps to protect animals in danger |
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Sam’s uncle had an old bird which sat in its cage all day. One day his uncle said, “It is too expensive to 36 that bird. We will get rid of it.” But Sam wanted to 37 the bird.
Sam’s grandfather told him that the bird was once a famous 38 bird. Now 39 people knew it. His grandfather took the bird out, and then quickly took his arms away. The bird opened its huge 40 and flew into the sky. After a few minutes, it 41 with a small rabbit, cut it open and started to 42 it.
The next morning, Sam asked his uncle out. Sam did 43 his grandfather had done, but the bird 44 to the ground and stood still. Sam’s uncle 45 . Later his grandfather told him that the bird only hunted in late afternoon when light was less 46 . Sam asked his uncle to come out before 47 . This time the bird caught a mouse. His uncle was quiet with 48 , but laughed again, “We can’t eat mice, so this bird is 49 .” And he sold the bird without telling Sam.
Before Sam found the bird was 50 , two angry men arrived in a car. They 51 his uncle and said, the bird couldn’t hunt and they wanted their money back. Sam’s uncle looked 52 and said, “I have spent it. But… don’t worry!” He 53 at Sam, “Sam will show you 54 to make the bird hunt! It’s a great bird, isn’t it, Sam?” Sam opened the door of the car and took out the 55 . It flew away and disappeared forever.
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—He failed in the exam again.
—He __________his teacher’s advice.
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A．should not have followed |
B．should not follow |
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C．mustn’t follow |
D．should have followed |
The English in the future will be quite different from the English of today. It is possible that some English words may even ________ completely.
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A．die down |
B．die out |
C．die off |
D．die of |
