“My kids really understand solar and earth-heat energy,” says a second-grade teacher in Saugus, California. “Some of them are building solar collectors for their energy course.” These young scientists are part of City Building Educational Program (CBEP), a particular program for kindergarten through twelfth grade that uses the stages of city planning to teach basic reading, writing and math skills, and more.
The children don’t just plan any city. They map and analyze(分析)the housing, energy, and transportation requirements of their own district and foretell its needs in 100 years. With the aid of an architect(建筑师)who visits the classroom once a week, they invent new ways to meet these needs and build models of their creations. “Designing building of the future gives children a lot of freedom,” says the teacher who developed this program. “They are able to use their own rich imagination and inventions without fear of blame, because there are no wrong answers in a future context. In fact, as the class enters the final model-building stage of the program, an elected ‘official’ and ‘planning group’ make all the design decisions for the model city, and the teacher steps back and becomes an adviser.”
CBEP is a test of activities, games and imitations that teach the basic steps necessary for problem-solving: observing, analyzing, working out possible answers, and judging them based on the children’s own standards.
1. The Program is designed ______________.
A. to direct kids to build solar collectors B. to train young scientists for city planning
C. to develop children’s problem-solving abilities
D. to help young architects know more about designing
2. An architect pays a weekly visit to the classroom ____________.
A. to find out kids’ creative ideas B. to discuss with the teacher
C. to give children lectures D. to help kids with their program
3. Who is the designer of the program?
A. An official. B. An architect. C. A teacher. D. A scientist.
4. The children feel free in the program because ______________.
A. they can design future buildings themselves
B. they have new ideas and rich imagination
C. they are given enough time to design models
D. they need not worry about making mistakes
答案 1.C 2.D 3.C 4.D
解析：
1.这是一道细节题。第三段“CBEP is a set of... that teach the basic steps necessary for problem-solving”，由此可知，此项目的是提高孩子们解决问题的能力，选C。
2.这是一道细节题。第二段“with the aid of an architect， they invent new ways to meet these needs and build models of their creations”可知，建筑师来教室是为了帮助孩子们解决程序中遇到的问题。
3.这是一道细节题。第二段中间有“says the teacher who developed this program”可见教师是设计者。
4.这是一道细节题。第二段“because there are no wrong answers in a future context”，可知孩子们感到自由的原因是不用担心犯错误。
阅读二
Everyone should visit a lighthouse at least once.
The most important reasons for such a visit is to realize how our ancestors(祖先) battled nature with the basic tools they had. They had only basic ways of creating light, and yet they found a way of using this simple technology in isolated(孤零零的)places to save ships from hitting rocks.
Secondly, visiting lighthouses will help us to understand the lives of lighthouse keepers. By their very nature, lighthouses were built on some rocks of cliffs. Thus, the lighthouse keepers often lived lonely lives. To walk around their small home, and imagine the angry storm outside beating against the walls, is to take a step towards understanding the lives they had.
The reasons for a visit to a lighthouse are not all so backward-looking in time. It is true that lighthouses were built in out-of-the-way places. But on a pleasant sunny summer day, this very isolation has a natural beauty that many people will love to experience. Therefore, with the gentle waves touching all round the lighthouse, the visitor is likely to think it is a world preferable to the busy and noisy modern life.
Another reason for considering a visit is that the lighthouses themselves can be very attractive buildings. Mankind could often not be content just to put up a basic structure, but felt the need, even in such an isolated place, to build with an artistic touch. The result is a view for tired eyes to enjoy.
Finally, lighthouses have a romantic attraction, summed up by the image of the oil-skin coated keeper climbing his winding stairs to take care of the light to warn ships and save lives.
1. What is the reason to look back into the past of a lighthouse?
A. To escape from the busy and noisy city.
B. To look for the tools used by our ancestors.
C. To experience the natural beauty of a lighthouse.
D. To learn about the living condition of lighthouse keepers.
2. The underlined phrase “out-of-the-way” in Paragraph 4 means ____________.
A. far-away B. dangerous C. ancient D. secret
3. Lighthouses were often built with an artistic touch _________.
A. to attract visitors B. to guide passing ships
C. to give a pleasant sight D. to remember lighthouse keepers
4. How many reasons are mentioned for a visit to lighthouse?
A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six
答案 1.D 2.A 3.C 4.C
解析：
1.这是一道推断题。从第四段“The reasons are not all so backward-looking in time”可判断出答案应从第三段中寻找，即D项正好是第三段讲的原因，了解守塔人的生活条件。
2.这是一道猜测词义题。前面讲了灯塔修建在“isolated placed，built on some rocks or cliffs”，因此可以推测out-of-he-way是“偏远的”意思。dangerous危险的，ancient古代的，secret秘密的。
3.这是一道细节题。第五段最后一句“The result is a view for tired eyes to enjoy”可知，修建有艺术格调的灯塔是为了外观美丽。
4.第二段到第六段每段讲了一个原因，因此是5个。
阅读三
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied(依赖)on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit(追求)of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “ I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.
1. What does this passage mainly talk about?
A. Competition helps to set up self-respect.
B. Opinions about competition are different among people.
C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D. Failures are necessary experience in competition.
2. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
A. It pushes society forward. B. It builds up a sense of duty.
C. It improves personal abilities. D. It encourages individual efforts.
3. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means __________.
A. those who try their best to win B. those who value competition most highly
C. those who are against competition most strongly
D. those who rely on others most for success
4. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?
A. One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.
B. One’s success in competition needs great efforts.
C. One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.
D. One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.
5. Which point of view may the author agree to?
A. Every effort should be paid back.
B. Competition should be encouraged.
C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.
D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.
答案 1.B 2.A 3.C 4.A 5.D
解析：
1.这是一道主旨题。第一段就讲了对竞赛有争论，此后，整篇文章都在谈不同的人对于竞赛的看法，因此选B。
2.这是一道细节题。第一段“Some value it highly， believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity.”说明它能推动社会的发展。
3.这是一道推测词义题。the most vocal前有一句话“they strongly blame competition”，因此推测the most vocal代表了反对竞赛的人。
4.这是一道细节题。desire to fail后说了一种想法与它相同，紧接着“Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others”，因此选A。
5.这是一道主旨题。第一段列举了对比赛的两种看法，第二段讲许多孩子过分追求成功和表现出色，第三段反映了作者的看法“what is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had tried and lost， they would mean a lot”，所以说作者同意“在竞赛中不应该害怕失败”的观点。
翻译
京剧(Beijing Opera)是中国的国粹。作为一门古老的艺术，京 剧的服装(costume)、脸谱(facial mask)更易被人喜爱。不同的服装 类型反映不同的人物身份特征。富贵者的服装缀满精美的刺绣;穷困 者的服装则简单朴素，少有装饰(elemental)。脸谱是京剧中塑造人物 形象的重要手段，它是用不同的颜色在脸上勾画出来的。脸谱的颜 色让人一看便知角色(portray)的善恶。比如白色代表奸诈(treachery)， 黑色代表正直不阿，黄色是骁勇，蓝、绿色多用于绿林好汉(rebellious fighters)，金、银色多用于神佛(divinity and Buddhism)等。
Beijing Opera is the cream of the Chinese culture. As a tradi¬tional art form, its costumes and facial mask are more popular with peo¬ple. Different styles of costumes are used to reflect the status of different characters. There are more decorations in the costumes of nobles，while those of the poor tend to be simple and less elemental. Facial masks can reflect qualities of different characters. Facial masks using different colors are important ways to portray a character. People can tell a hero from a villain by the colors of the masks. In general，white usually represents treachery, black represents righteousness, yellow represents bravery, blue and green represent rebellious fighters，while gold and silver represent di¬vinity and Buddhism.