13．Mini Book Excerpts（节选）
Biography
When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land，the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the netghboring area to protect it…The townspeople never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor．
J．D．Sulinger：A Life by Kenneth Slawenski（Random House，27）Mystery（疑案小说）"You're a smart boy．Benny'sdeathwasnoaccident，andyou'retheonlywhosawithappen．Doyouthinkthemurderershouldgetawaywithit？"Theboywasstartingstubbornlyathislapagain．AthoughtsuddenlyoccerredtoAnnika，"Didyou…Yourecognizedthemaninthecar，didn'tyou？"Theboyhesitated，twistinghisfingers，"Maybe，"hesaidquitely．RedWolfbyLizaMarklund（AtriaBooks，25.99）
Short Stories
She wants to say to him what she has learmed，none of it in class．Some women are borm stupid，and some women are too smart for their own good．Some women are born to give，and some women only know how to take．Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers，some who they don't want to be．Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't．Some mothers love so their daughters won't．
You Are Free by Danzy Senna （Riverhead Books，15）HumorDoyourkidsliketohavefun？CometoFunTimes!Doyouliketowatchyourkidshavingfun？BringthemtoFunTimes!FunTimes!'s"amusementcycling"isthemostfunyoucanhave，legally，intheUnitedStatesrightnow．WhyspendthousandsofdollarsflyingtoDisneyWorldwhenyoucanspenglessthanhalftothatwithinaday'sdrivelfmostcities？HappyAndOtherBadThoughtsbyLarryDoyle（Ecco，14.99）

56．If the readers want to know about the lite of Salinger，they should buy the book published byD．
A．Ecco
B．Atria Books
C．Riverhead Books
D．Random House
57．The book Hbppy And Other Bad Thoughts is intended forD．
A．young children
B．Disney World workers
C．middle school teachers
D．parents with young children
58．Which book describes women with characters of their own？C
A．Happy And Other Bad Thoughts
B．J．D．Salinger：A Life
C．You Are Free
D．Red Wolf
59．After finishing the book Red Wolf，the readers would learn thatA．
A．the boy helped arrest the murderer
B．Benny died of an accident
C．the murderer got away with the crime
D．Ammika carried out the crime．

12．A Book Review-The Snake-Stone by Berlie Doherty
The setting：Urban England （the cities），but also rural England （the countryside） including remote English villages．
The theme：The main theme is a teenage search of self-discovery，in this case the search for a mother from whom the hero was separated at an early age．Its other concerns are love，getting on with others，being persistent and courageous and trying to deal with doubts，troubles and worries．As the book moves to a close，James'swimming coach says to him："You are not like a kid obeying instructions any more．You are diving like a young man who knows where he is going．"
The characters：James is the hero of the story．He is a championship diver，and has a comfortable life with his foster parents （养父母）．Yet he also has the qualities to take him on a long journey to find his birth mother．The other characters in The Snake-Stone，James'parents，his diving instructor，best friend，the villagers，people he meets on his journey，are pictured realistically．
The turning point：The turning point in the story comes while James'foster parents are away in London，and he wonders about the identity of his birth mother．The only clue he has is a fossil，"the snake stone"which she left behind along with a note on which she had written："Take good care of Sammie．It was written on a torn envelope with parts of an address still there．
The journey：Instead of going to London，James decides to find his birth mother．With help from his geography teacher，James sets out for the remote country village where his mother might be found．James has painful，challenging，but also humorous and happy travels．The mother he finally meets，Anne，has a minor yet powerful voice in the novel．He comes to understand why she left him at a stranger's door fifteen years before．Although the meeting is not long，it leaves him with a feeling of completeness．As a journey of self-discovery The Snake-Stone also provides its readers with a happy ending．Its hero says，on returning to his foster parents，"I was home．"

61．What is the main theme of the novel？C
A．Life with foster parents．
B．Life in the world of diving．
C．A journey of self-discovery．
D．A travel around the country．
62．What do the coach's words in Paragraph 2suggest？D
A．James is a successful diver．
B．James is a hopeful swimmer．
C．James is an outgoing young man．
D．James is an independent young man．
63．The snake stone in the novel isB．
A．a stone with an address on it
B．a clue left by the birth mother
C．a gift from the swimming coach
D．a fossil left by the foster parents
64．Which of the following is true about the novel？C
A．The story has a sad ending．
B．The story takes place in the city of London．
C．The characters are vividly described．
D．The turning point comes after the hero meets his birth mother．
65．It can be concluded that James'journey isA．
A．worthwhile B．boring
C．comfortable D．disappointing．

11．Franz Kafka wrote that"a book must be the ax （斧子） for the frozen sea inside us．"I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders，and it didn't seem to require any explanation．
We'd just finished John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men．When we read the end together out loud in class，my toughest boy，a star basketball player，wept a little，and so did I．"Are you crying？"one girl asked，as she got out of her chair to take a closer look．"I am，"I told her，"and the funny thing is I've read it many times．"
But they understood．When George shoots Lennie，the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen．In my 14years of teaching in a New York City public middle school，I've taught kids with imprisoned parents，abusive parents，irresponsible parents； kids who are parents themselves； kids who are homeless； kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods．They understand，more than I ever will，the novel's terrible logic-the giving way of dreams to fate （命运）．
For the last seven years，I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher，reading classic works of literature with small groups of students from grades six to eight．I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school-one that often attracts the literary-minded children of Manhattan's upper classes-into a less competitive setting．The daughter of immigrants，with a father in prison，she perhaps felt
uncomfortable with her new classmates．I thought additional"cultural capital"could help students like her develop better in high school，where they would unavoidably meet，perhaps for the first time，students who came from homes lined with bookshelves，whose parents had earned Ph．D．'s．
Along with Of Mice and Men，my groups read：Sounder，The Red Pony，Lord of the Flies，Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth．The students didn't always read from the expected point of view．
About The Red Pony，one student said，"it's about being a man，it's about manliness．"I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth，nor had I heard Lady Macbeth's soliloquies （独白） read as raps （说唱），but both made sense； the interpretations were playful，but serious．Once introduced to Steinbeck's writing，one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that"all these people hate each other，and they're all white．"His historical view was broadening，his sense of his own country deepening．Year after year，former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes．
Year after year，however，we are increasing the number of practice tests．We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts，not for emotional punch （碰撞） but for text complexity．Yet，we cannot enrich （充实） the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts．We are teaching them that words do not amaze but confuse．We may succeed in raising test scores，but we will fail to teach them that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them．

66．The underlined words in Paragraph 1probably mean that a book helps toD．
A．realize our dreams
B．give support to our life
C．smooth away difficulties
D．awake our emotions
67．Why were the students able to understand the novel Of Mice and Men？D
A．Because they spent much time reading it．
B．Because they had read the novel before．
C．Because they came from a public school．
D．Because they had similar life experiences．
68．The girl left the selective high school possibly becauseC．．
A．she was a literary-minded girl
B．her parents were immigrants
C．she couldn't fit in with her class
D．her father was then in prison
69．To the author's surprise，the students read the novelsA．．
A．creatively      
B．passively      
C．repeatedly       
D．carelessly
70．The author writes the passage mainly toB．
A．introduce classic works of literature
B．advocate teaching literature to touch the heart
C．argue for equality among high school students
D．defend the current testing system．

10．Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic （流行病） sweeping across
America's farmland．It has little to do with the usual challenges，such as flood，rising fuel prices
and crop-eating insects．The country's farmers are getting older，and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place．National agricultural census （普查） figures show that the fastest-growing group of farmers is the part over 65．Merrigan is afraid the average age will be even higher when the 2012statistics are completed．
Merrigan，a former college professor，is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture．Aside from trying to stop the graying of America's farmers，her work is made tougher by a recent blog posting that put agriculture at No.1on a list of"useless"college degrees．Top federal agriculture officials are talking about the posting，and it has the attention of agricultural organizations across the country．
"There couldn't be anything that's more incorrect，"Merrigan said．"We know that there aren't enough qualified graduates to fill the jobs that are out there in American agriculture．"
In addition，a growing world population that some experts predict will require 70% more food  production by 2050，she said．
"I truly believe we're at a golden age of agriculture．Global demand is at an all-time record  high，and global supplies are at all-time record lows，"said Matt Rush，director of the Texas Farm Bureau．"Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be involved in agriculture．"
The Department of Agriculture has programs aimed at developing more farmers and at increasing interest in locally grown food．The National Young Farmers'Coalition has also been pushing for state and federal policy changes to make it easier for new farmers．
Ryan Best，president of Future Farmers of America，has been living out of a suitcase，traveling the country and visiting with high school students about careers in agriculture．The 21-year-old Best hopes his message-that this is a new time in agriculture-will motivate the next generation to turn around the statistics．"Never before have we had the innovations （创新） in technology which have led to agriculture in this country being the most efficient it has ever been，"he said．"There's really a place for everybody to fit in．"

59．What is the new challenge to American agriculture？A
A．Fewer and older farmers．
B．Higher fuel prices．
C．More natural disasters．
D．Lower agricultural output．
60．Why is Merrigan visiting universities across the country？D
A．To draw federal agriculture officials'attention．
B．To select qualified agriculture graduates．
C．To clarify a recent blog posting．
D．To talk more students into farming careers．
61．According to Matt Rush，American agriculture will provide opportunities for younger people  becauseC．
A．the government will cover production costs
B．global food supplies will be even lower
C．investment in agriculture will be profitable
D．America will increase its food export
62．What do the underlined words"to turn around the statistics"in the last paragraph mean？C
A．To re-analyze the result of the national census．
B．To increase agricultural production．
C．To bring down the average age of farmers．
D．To invest more in agriculture．

9．Mapping Your World
Different forms of maps are appearing．They allow independent travelers to get local knowledge of places they are visiting，from the official to the unusual．Meanwhile，hi-tech developments are creating new ways for us to map the world．Here are two of our favorites；
Green Maps
Green Maps allows people to share with the world their knowledge of environmentally friendly places and attractions in the local areas．Users add information with a set of icons（图标），making it easy to read any map，whatever the  nationalities of those who produce it．At present，there are over five hundred map projects being developed in 54countries Green Maps'advertised  idea is"think global，map local"．It is a wonderful way of gaining all sorts of  a place，ranging from community garden to good places of bird watching．
Green Maps is not specifically intended for travelers．Not all of its maps are online，so it may be necessary for some users to communicate with producers through the Green Maps website．
Maps Mashups
Many people use online maps developed by Google，but not many know about the mashups of them．Working in a similar way to Green Maps，Maps Mashups allows people to add icons of their own to existing maps to express a certain topic．The mashups is so called because it combines all the knowledge you could ever need．It ranges from the extremely useful，such as where all the World．Heritage Site are，to the most bizarre （古怪的），such as where America's drunkest cities are．With the mashups added to the basic Google Maps，a multi-layered （多层的） map can be created．

60．According to the passage，which of the following is a characteristic of Green Maps？B
A．Aiming at environmental protection．
B．Introducing local attractions with icons．
C．Offering advice to independent travelers．
D．Cllecting icons worldwide for local maps．
61．Which of the following icons is most probably NOT used in Green Maps？B
A．A picture of a tree     B．A picture of a calendar．
C．A picture of a bird     D．A picture of some grass．
62．Map Mashups is named with the word"mashups"becauseB
A．it is produced by users all over the world
B．it gathers various kinds of information
C．it shares icons with Green Maps
D．it is a branch of Google Maps
63．What do Green Maps and Map Mashups have in common？C
A．They are created by local people．
B．They are environmentally friendly．
C．Users can edit maps on the Internet．
D．Users need to communicate with produces．

8．One evening in February 2007，a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote road in Wales．She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path．That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train．Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line．Seconds later，she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks．
Ceely's near miss made the news because she blamed it on he GPS （导航仪）．She had never driven the route before．It was dark and raining heavily．Ceely was relying on her GPS，but it made no mention of the crossing．"I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train，"she told the BBC．
Who is to blame here？Rick Stevenson，who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail Us，points the finger at the limitations of technology．We put our faith in digital devices，he says，but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job．They are filled with small problems．And it's not just GPS devices：Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards．
The problem with his argument in the book is that it's not clear why he only focuses on digital technology，while there may be a number of other possible causes．A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map．Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention．Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor singalling system．Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment．But Stevenson doesn't say．
It's a problem that runs through the book．In a section on cars，Stevenson gives an account of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars．He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft； both show a small rise in some parts of the country．He says that once again not all new locks have proved reliable．Perhaps，but maybe it's also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets．Or changing social circumstances．Or some combination of these factors．
The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex．It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in．Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser use of technology．
If there is such a way，it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines．After all，we have lived with them for thousands of years．They have probably been fooling us for just as long．

41．What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident？D
A．She was not familiar with the road．
B．It was dark and raining heavily then．
C．The railway workers failed to give the signal．
D．Her GPS device didn't tell her about the crossing．
42．The phrase"near miss"（Paragraph 2）can best be replaced byC．
A．close hit     B．heavy loss    C．narrow escape     D．big mistake
43．Which of the following would Rick Stevenson most probably agree with？B
A．Modern technology is what we can't live without．
B．Digital technology often falls short of our expectation．
C．Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be．
D．GPS error is not the only cause for Ceely's accident．
44．In the writer's opinion，Stevenson's argument isA．
A．one-sided    B．reasonable     C．puzzling     D．well-based
45．What is the real concern of the writer of this article？B
A．The major causes of traffic accidents and car thefts．
B．The relationship between human and technology．
C．The shortcomings of digital devices we use．
D．The human unawareness of technical problems．

7．

60．Which of the following is discouraged by the Friends organization？A．
A．To bulid massive complexes for public amusement．
B．To prevent possible damages to the National Park．
C．To help protect and improve the Park for all to enjoy．
D．To sponsor publicationsand projects in local school．
61．One of thebenefits for members of Friends is toC．
A．have Friends'goods free of charge
B．visit any place not open to the public
C．take part in work parties if they want to
D．give talks in their fields on current issues
62．The purpose of this poster is to invite more people toB．
A．raise money for the Friends organization
B．join the Friends organization and be members of it
C．work as managers for Pembroke shire National Park
D．enjoy the landscape of Pembroke shire National Park．

6．Winners Club
You choose to be a winner!
The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers．It has been made to help you better manage your money．The Winners Club is a transaction account（交易账户）where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7-that's 24hours a day，7days a week!
It's a club with impressive features for teenagers：
No account keeping fees!
You're no millionaire so we don't expect you to pay large fees．In fact，there are no account keeping or transaction fees!
Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow．The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits（储蓄）without taking them out in a month．
Convenient
Teenagers are busy-we get that．You may never need to come to a bank at all．With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet…You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account．This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!
Mega magazine included
Along with your regular report，you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money．There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members．The
Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers．And it is so easy to join．Simply fill in an application form．
You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian （so we can organize that cool key-card） but
it is easy．We can't want to hear from you．It's the best way to choose to be a winner!

61．The Winners Club is a bank account intended forB．
A．parents          B．teenagers          C．winners          D．adults
62．Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club？
A．Special gifts are ready for parents．
B．The bank opens only on work days．
C．Services are convenient for its members．
D．Fees are necessary for the account keeping．
63．The Winners Club provides magazines whichD．
A．encourage spending
B．are free to all teenagers
C．are full of adventure stories
D．help to make more of your money
64．If you want to be a member of the Club，you mustB．
A．be an Internet userB．be permitted by your parent
C．have a big sum of moneyD．be in your twenties
65．What is the purpose of this text？D
A．To set up a club．B．To provide part-time jobs．
C．To organize key-cards．D．To introduce a new banking service．

5．How is it that siblings （兄弟姐妹） can turn out so differently？One answer is that in fact each sibling grows upin a different family．The firstborn is，for a while，an only child，and therefore has a completely different experience of the parents than those born later．The next child is，for a while，the youngest，until the situation is changed by a new arrival．The mother and father themselves are changing and growing up too．One sibling might live in a stable and close family in the first few years； another might be raised in a family crisis，with a disappointed mother or an angry father．
Sibling competition was identified as an important shaping force as early as in 1918．But more recently，researchers have found many ways in which brothers and sisters are a lasting force in each others'lives．Dr．Annette Henderson says firstborn children pick up vocabulary more quickly than their siblings．The reason for this might be that the later children aren't getting the same one-on-one time with parents．But that doesn't mean that the younger children have problems with language development．Later-borns don't enjoy that much talking time with parents，but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sisters，learning entire phrases and getting an understanding of social concepts such as the difference between"I"and"me"．
A Cambridge University study of 140children found that siblings created a rich world of play that helped them grow socially．Love-hate relationships were common among the children．Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive communication as the other sibling pairs．
One way children seek more attention from parents is by making themselves different from their siblings，particularly if they are close in age．Researchers have found that the first two children in a family are typically more different from each other than the second and third．Girls with brothers show their differences to a maximum degree by being more feminine than girls with sisters．A 2003research paper studied adolescents from 185families over two years，finding that those who changed to make themselves different from their siblings were successful in increasing the amount of warmth they gained from their parents．

63．The underlined part"in a different family"（in Para.1）means"A"．
A．in a different family environment    B．in a different family tradition
C．in different family crises           D．in different families
64．In terms of language development，later-bornsB．
A．get their parents'individual guidance
B．learn a lot from their elder siblings
C．experience a lot of difficulties
D．pick up words more quickly
65．What was found about fights among siblings？D
A．Siblings hated fighting and loved playing．
B．Siblings in some families fought frequently．
C．Sibling fights led to bad sibling relationships．
D．Siblings learned to get on together from fights．
66．The word"feminine"（in Para.4）means"B"．
A．having qualities of parents      B．having qualities of women
C．having defensive qualities       D．having extraordinary qualities．

4．Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since．A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water．He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away．He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son．A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins"Twinkle，twinkle，little star"or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears．
One explanation is the law of overlearning，which can be stated as follows：Once we have learned something，additional learning trials increase the length of time we will remember it．
In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming，bicycle riding，and playing baseball long after we have learned them．We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as"Twinkle，twinkle，little star"and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks．We not only learn but overlearn．
The multiplication tables（乘法口诀表）are an exception to the general rule．that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school，because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood．
The law of overlearning explains why cramming（突击学习）for an examination，though it may result in a passing grade，is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course．By cramming，a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination，but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned．A little overlearning，on the other hand，is really necessary for one's future development．

67．What is the main idea of Paragraph 1？A
A．People remember well what they learned in childhood．
B．Children have a better memory than grown-ups．
C．Poem reading is a good way to learn words．
D．Stories for children are easy to remember．
68．The author explains the law of overlearning byD．
A．presenting research findings
B．setting down general rules
C．making a comparison
D．using examples
69．According to the author，being able to use multiplication tables isA．
A．a result of overlearning
B．a special case of cramming
C．a skill to deal with math problems
D．a basic step towards advanced studies
70．What is the author's opinion on cramming？B
A．It leads to failure in college exams．
B．It's helpful only in a limited way．
C．It's possible to result in poor memory．
D．It increases students'learning interest．