In communities north of Denver, residents are pitching in to help teachers and a

In communities north of Denver, residents are pitching in to help teachers and a

题型:不详难度:来源:
In communities north of Denver, residents are pitching in to help teachers and administrators as the Vrain school District tries to solve a $13.8 million budget shortage blamed on mismanagement. “We’re worried about our teachers and principals, and we really don’t want to lose them because of this,” one parent said. “If we can help ease their financial burden, we will.”
Teachers are grateful, but I know it may be years before the district is solvent (有综合能力的). They feel really good about the parent support, but they realize it’s impossible for them to solve this problem.
The 22,000-student district discovered the shortage last month. “It’s extraordinary. Nobody would have imagined something happening like this at this level,” said State Treasurer Mike Coffman.
Coffman and district officials last week agreed on a state emergency plan freeing up a $9.8 million loan that enabled the payroll (工资单) to be met for 2,700 teachers and staff in time for the holidays.
District officials also took $1.7 million from student-activity accounts of its 38 schools.
At Coffman’s request, the District Attorney has begun investigating the district’s finances. Coffman says he wants to know whether district officials hid the budget shortage until after the November election, when voters approved a $212 million bond issue for schools.
In Frederick, students’ parents are buying classroom supplies and offering to pay for groceries and utilities to keep first-year teachers and principals in their jobs.
Some $36,000 has been raised in donations from Safeway. A Chevrolet dealership donated $10,000 and forgave the district’s $10,750 bill for renting the driver educating cars. IBM contributed 4,500 packs of paper.
“We employ thousands of people in this community,” said Mitch Carson, a hospital chief executive, who helped raise funds. “We have children in the school, and we see how they could be affected.”
At Creek High School, three students started a website that displays newspaper articles, district information and an email forum. “Rumors about what’s happening to the district are moving at lighting speed,” said a student. “We wanted to know the truth, and spread that around instead.”
46. What has happened to the Vrain School District?
A. A huge financial problem has arisen.
B. Many schools there are mismanaged.
C. Lots of teachers in the district are planning to quit.
D. Many administrative personnel have been laid off.(A)
47. How did the residents in the Vrain School District respond to the budget shortage?
A. They felt somewhat helpless about it.
B. They accused those responsible for it.
C. They made their efforts to help solve it.
D. They demanded a thorough investigation.(C)
48. In the view of State Treasurer Mike Coffman, the educational budget shortage is ________.
A. unavoidable       B. unbelievable       C. insolvable        D. invisible(B)
49. Why did Coffman request an investigation?
A. To see if the financial problem was covered up on purpose
B. To find out how serious the consequence of the case would be.
C. To make sure that the school principals were innocent.
D. To stop the voters approving the $212 million bond issue.(A)
50. Three high school students started a website in order to ________.
A. attract greater public attention to their needs
B. appeal to the public for contributions and donations
C. expose officials who neglected their duties
D. keep people properly informed of the crisis
答案
46-50.  ACBAD 
解析

举一反三

B
A 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the vice principal"s office at Millwood High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed to focus on the teacher, not his cellphone. The boy listened politely and nodded, and that"s when Mr. Gallagher noticed the student"s fingers moving on his lap. He was texting while being scolded for texting. “It was a subconscious act,” says Mr. Gallagher, who took the phone away. “Young people today are connected socially from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until they close their eyes at night. It"s compulsive.”
A study this year by psychology students at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga., found that the more time young people spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to have lower grades and weaker study habits. Heavy Facebook users show signs of being more socialable, but they are also more likely to be anxious, hostile or depressed. (Doctors, meanwhile, are now blaming addictions to "night texting" for disturbing the sleep patterns of teens.)
Almost a quarter of today"s teens check Facebook more than 10 times a day, according to a 2009 survey by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that monitors media"s impact on families. Will these young people get rid of this habit once they enter the work force, or will employers come to see texting and "social-network checking" as accepted parts of the workday?
Think back. When today"s older workers were in their 20s, they might have taken a break on the job to call friends and make after-work plans. In those earlier eras, companies discouraged non-business-related calls, and someone who made personal calls all day risked being fired. It was impossible to imagine the constant back-and-forth texting that defines interactions among young people today.
Educators are also being asked by parents, students and educational strategists to reconsider their rules. “In past generations, students got in trouble for passing notes in class. Now students are adept at texting with their phones still in their pockets,” says 40-year-old Mr. Gallagher, the vice principal, “and they"re able to communicate with someone one floor down and three rows over. Students are just fundamentally different today. They will take suspensions rather than give up their phones.”
46. The underlined word “a subconscious act” refers to an act __________.
A. on purpose     B. without realization        C. in secret         D. with care
47. Young people addicted to the use of Facebook _________.
A. are good at dealing with the social relationships and concentrate on their study
B. have high spirits and positive attitudes towards their life and work
C. have been influenced mentally in the aspects of behaviors and habits
D. are always in bad mood and have poor performance in every respect
48. Through the situation of today’s older workers in their 20s, it can be inferred that ___________.
A. the employers will not accept young people’s sending text messages
B. a cellphone is a must for today’s older workers instead of young people
C. the employers prefer older workers to young people
D. the employers will find it hard to control the interaction among young people
49. Mr. Gallagher reminds us that the students in the past and those today _________.
A. like to break rules and have the same means of sending messages
B. are always the big problem for the educators and their parents
C. like sending text messages but those today do it in a more secret and skillful way
D. cannot live without a cellphone
50. What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Teenagers and Cellphones                       B. Teenagers’ Texting Addiction
C. Employers and Teenagers                        D. Teenagers’ Education
题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
完形填空(共20分)
It’s a question anyone might ask in the future: Should your household robot be cool? Or practical? For Sony Corporation, robots ought to be entertaining. The company’s 41 robot, SDR—4 X, can sing and dance.
But for automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd, such 42 should perform useful tasks for their 43 masters.
“It is in the end a machine, a 44 ,” said Masato Hirose, Honda’s chief engineer.
Sony’s chief researcher Toshi Doi said robots performing such tasks as 45for ill or disabled people would not necessarily need a human 46  .
“The attractiveness of the SDR—4 X is its 47”, he said.
“It has feelings. It has instincts(直觉).” Drawing from its 48of 60,000 words, an SDR—4 X robot 49 last week that it can ask a 50 in a high voice: “Please 51still for a minute while I memorize your face.”
It also 52 off its ability to walk on uneven(不平的)floors, and come to its owner when it’s 53. While Honda’s robot is 54 used mainly for entertainment, it is 55 that one day it will be a useful companion. So its robot have been 56to be 120cm tall – more than twice the height of the SDR—4 X. Hirose said 120cm is the 57a robot that moves around a home should be.
“If you are going to have something that can move with 58 in a human surroundings(环境), then it is better to 59 the robot like a human,” he said.
Hirose said that he hopes the robot will be 60 enough so that he can buy one for himself and let it get him a beer.
41. A. earliest           B. latest            C. coolest                            D. smallest
42. A. matters          B. people          C. machines              D. inventions
43. A. human            B. own               C. creative                 D. all
44. A. tool                  B. robot             C. toy                          D. slave
45. A. looking            B. working        C. leaving                   D. caring
46. A. form                B. character     C. job                           D. ability
47. A. appearance   B. purpose        C. personality           D. material
48. A. storage           B. use                C. making                   creation
49. A. said                  B. announced  C. showed                  D. imaged
50. A. friend              B. partner                  C. servant                  D. guest
51. A. hold                 B. lie                   C. take                        D. make
52. A. left                            B. showed        C. put                          D. dropped
53.A. tired                 B. called            C. controlled             D. made
54.A. also                   B. still                C. again                      D. even
55. A. sure                 B. hoped           C. reported                D. described
56. A. expected        B. raised           C. proved                   D. designed
57 A. cheapest         B. dearest                  C. smallest                D. biggest
58. A. ease                B. care               C. difficulty                D. foot
59. A. buy                   B. use                C. invest                     D. design
60. A. useful              B. smart            C. cheap                     D. small
题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,撑握其大意,然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was the time when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication. A young man  36 for a job as a Morse Code(摩尔斯电码)operator.
Having answered an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was  37 .When he arrived, he entered a large, busy   38  filled with noise and clatter, including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A   39  on the wall told job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were   40  to enter the inner office. The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven  41 applicants in the waiting area.   42 a few minutes, the young man stood up suddenly,   43   the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in.   44  the other applicants came alive, wondering what was   45   . They whispered among themselves that they hadn’t been told to come yet and thought that the young man made a   46   and wouldn’t be accepted.
  47 , when the employer went out of the office with the young man, he said to the other applicants , “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the   48   has just been filled .”
The other applicants began   49   and one of them   50   , “Wait a minute, I don’t understand. He was the   51  to come in, and we never even got a chance to be   52   . Yet he got the job. That’s not fair!”
The employer said, “I’m sorry, but   53   you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been  54 the following message in Morse Code: If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.  55  of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”
36. A. allowed               B. applied              C. cared                           D. stood
37. A. listed                     B. proved                C. named                         D. formed
38. A. market                 B. school                 C. office                            D. clinic
39. A. letter                    B. book                    C. mirror                          D. sign
40. A. persuaded             B. refused              C. forced                          D. ordered
41. A. another                B. other                  C. others                          D. else
42. A. Since                     B. Before                C. After                            D. For
43. A. tied                        B. left                      C. crossed                       D. cleaned
44. A. Surprisingly         B. Strangely           C. Regularly           D. Naturally
45. A. going on               B. going for            C. set aside                     D. set up
46. A. difference            B. mistake              C. decision                     D. point
47. A. Therefore            B. However            C. Otherwise                  D. Moreover
48. A. job                         B. room                   C. seat                              D. gap
49. A. working                B. cheering            C. complaining               D. hesitating
50. A. spoke aloud         B. carried out       C. asked for                     D. told of
51. A .first                       B. best                    C. worse                          D. last
52. A. checked                B. interviewed      C. informed                     D. invited
53. A. at times               B. all the time       C. ahead of time            D. at one time
54. A. ticking out           B. knocking out     C. pointing out               D. showing out
55. A. Some                     B. None                   C. Any                                D. Each
题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
We’ve all heard the saying “Go Green”, but is it important? Can one person really make any difference? These may all be questions you’re asking yourself.
Our main source of energy, at the moment, is fossil fuels. We’ve been using fossil fuels for decades now, so why stop? You see, fossil fuels are created over time by the earth, and can only be replaced over time by the earth, but we were using them faster than the earth could produce them. On top of stripping(剥夺)the earth of her natural resources, we’re also damaging the atmosphere by burning things like coal, oil, and natural gases. That’s the greenhouse effect, which occurs when the burning of these fossil fuels help trap the sun’s energy inside the earth’s atmosphere, causing the temperature to rise over time.
With all the people in the world, how could you possibly make a difference? Well, here are a few things to think about.
How many lights do you use in your house?
How many miles do you drive to work?
How many electronics do you use, which you don’t need?
If you were to stop and think about it, you’re able to make a bigger difference than you might realize.
So many times you’ll hear people say, “So what? I won’t be around for it when things go bad.” But bad times are coming quicker than you might like to believe. It’ll be you children, or maybe even your grandchildren. With the temperature ever-rising, the polar ice caps are melting and water begins taking over land, so many people will crowd into so little space.
As you can see, this is no laughing matter. It’s time to take action. Don’t let your children or grandchildren live in a world without hope. One person at a time, we can begin to save this earth.
60. The passage is mainly to _______.
A. introduce what “Go Green is”
B. call on us to “Go Green”
C. warn us of the danger of burning fossil fuels
D. introduce the greenhouse effect
61. According to the author, if we want to “Go Green”, we should _______.
A. use natural resources             
B. make the temperature to be lower
C. stop the greenhouse effect         
D. try to avoid using fossil fuels
62. According to the author, some people don’t take “Go Green” seriously because they think ______.
A. it will cost them a lot             
B. its harm won’t fall on them
C. they haven’t grandchildren at all    
D. it is only a laughing matter
63. According to the author, which is the right order of the following things happening?
a. The rise of temperature.
b. The greenhouse effect.
c. The reduction of land.
d. The rising sea level.
e. The melting polar ice caps.
f. The using of fossil fuels.
A. f,b,e,d,a,c      B. b,a,f,d,c,e      C. f,b,a,e,d,c     D. b,a,e,d,c,f
题型:不详难度:| 查看答案

第二部分阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分
A
Sam and Joe were astronauts. There was once a very dangerous trip and the more experienced astronauts knew there was only a small chance of coming back alive. Sam and Joe, however, thought it would be exciting though a little dangerous. “We’re the best men for the job,” they said to the boss. “There may be problems, but we can find the answers.” “They’re the last people I’d trust,” thought the boss. “But all the other astronauts have refused to go.”
Once they were in space, Joe had to go outside to make some repairs. When the repairs were done, he tried to get back inside the spaceship. But the door was locked. He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked again, louder this time, and again no answer came. Then he hit the door as hard as he could and finally a voice said, “Who’s there?” “It’s me! Who else could it be?” shouted Joe. Sam let him in all right but you can imagine that Joe never asked to go on a trip with Sam again!
36. Most of the astronauts were unwilling to go on a trip because _______.
A.there was little chance of being selected      B.they weren’t experienced enough
C. they thought they might get killed         D. it wasn’t exciting enough
37. Why were Sam and Joe chosen?
A. The boss wanted them to get more experience.
B. The boss trusted them more than anyone else.
C. They were the last people who wanted to go.
D. They were the only men who offered to go.
38 Joe didn’t want to work with Sam again probably because he thought Sam _______.  
A. was very slow and possibly deaf     B.didn’t know how to operate the door
C. was less experienced than he was   D. didn’t know how to do repairs
39. The writer tells this story to _______.
A. show the dangerous side of the astronauts’ life   B. make people laugh
C. show the funny side of the astronauts’ life    D. make people think
题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
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