I opened my new patient's chart and headed for her room. My son, Eric, had just brought home a disappointing report card, and my daughter, Shannon, and I had argued again about her getting a driver's license. For the next eight hours I wanted to throw myself into helping people who I knew had much more to worry about than I did. Rebekah, mother of three lovely little girls, was only 32, admitted for chemotherapy after breast-cancer surgery, When I gave her an injection, Rebekah shut her eyes tightly and murmured a prayer until it was over. Then she smiled and squeezed my hand. “Before you go, could you get my Bible from the table?" I handed her the worn book. "Do you have a favorite Bible verse?" she asked. "Jesus wept. John 11: 35." "Such a sad one," she said. "Why?""It makes me feel closer to Jesus, knowing he also experienced human sorrow." Rebekah nodded thoughtfully and started flipping through her Bible as I shut the door quietly behind me.

During the following months, her hospital stays became frequent and she worried about her children. One day when I entered her room, I found her talking into a tape recorder. She picked up a notebook and held it out to me. "I'm making a tape for my daughters, " she said. I read the list on her pad: starting school, confirmation, turning 16, first date, graduation. While I worried how to help her deal with death, she was planning for her children's future. She usually waited until the early hours of the morning to record the tapes so she could be free from interruptions. She filled them with family stories and advice，trying to cram a lifetime of love into a few precious hours. Finally, every item in her notes had been checked off and she entrusted the tapes to her husband.

I often wondered what I would say in her place. My kids joked that I was like an FBI agent, with my constant questions about where they’d been and who they’d been with. Where, I thought, are my words of encouragement and love?

It was three o'clock one afternoon when I got an urgent call from the hospital. Rebekah wanted me to come immediately with a blank tape. She was breathing hard when I entered her room. I slipped the tape into the recorder and held the microphone to her lips. "Ruthie, Hannah, Molly, this is the most important tape." She held my hand and closed her eyes. "Someday your daddy will bring home a new mommy. Please make her feel special. Show her how to take care of you. Ruthie, honey, help her get your Brownie uniform ready each Tuesday. Hannah, tell her you don't want meat sauce on your spaghetti. Molly, don't get mad if there's no apple juice. Drink something else. It's okay to be sad, sweeties. Jesus cried too. He knows about sadness and will help you to be happy again. Remember, I'll always love you. I shut off the recorder and Rebekah sighed deeply. "Thank you, Nan, "You'll give this one to them, won't you?" she murmured as she slid into sleep.

A time would come when the tape would be played for Rebekah's children, but right then, after I smoothed Rebekah's blanket, I got in my car and hurried home. I thought of how my Shannon also liked her sauce on the side and suddenly that quirk, which had annoyed me so many times, seemed to make her so much more precious. That night the kids didn't go out; they sat with me long after the spaghetti sauce had dried onto the dishes. And we talked, without interrogations, without complaints，late into the night.

1.From the first paragraph we can learn that ____________ .

A. Nan was in a bad state and wept a lot in her daily life.

B. Nan was not on good terms with her children.

C. Nan was worried about how to help Rebeka deal with her death.

D. Nan laid more stress on attending on her patients than her children.

2.Which of the following scenes was most likely to be seen at Nan’s home before she met Rebekah?

A. The family sat down in a circle and shared an interesting story.

B. After dinner, the children either went out or shut themselves up in their rooms.

C. The son was the headache of the parents while the daughter their comfort.

D. When Eric did poorly at school, the parents comforted him and cheered him up.

3.Which was the most vital message Rebekah left to her children?

A. Bringing home satisfying school report cards 

B. Landing a job after graduation

C. Growing up healthily and happily          

D. Accepting their step-mother into their lives.

4.The writer learnt from Rebekah that a parent’s real concern should be_______.           .

A. protecting the children from the dangers they may be trapped in.

B. having encouraging and loving talks with children.

C. making tape records to guide the children in their future lives.

D. tolerating the children’s annoying quirks.

 

阅读理解

　　The British Museum is the biggest in the world. Notices tell you abut a hundred different things to see: clocks which have been telling the time far six hundred years, Roman money, some of the earliest books in the world, Shakespeare's own writing…

　　The story of the British Museum goes back four hundreds years to one unusual man, Sir Hans Sloane, doctor to King George Ⅱ. The doctor couldn't stop collecting——books, drawings, doctor warned everything to stay together when he died, so that people could come and look at it. The Museum started to grow. It has never stopped. The first difficulty was finding a home. One idea was Buckingham Place, but the Palace wasn't big enough. Finally people found a larger building for the Museum in the middle of London.

　　The British Museum opened in 1579, six years after Sir Hans Sloane died. Assistants with gun stood at the, doors. Only gentleman could visit the Museum and then they had to buy tickets Ladies could only come in pairs, and children were forbidden! And as the Museum was only open three days a week and only ten people could enter in an hour, there wasn't much time to see things. Visitors had to run through the rooms!

　　By about 1800, Wonderful statues, 3000 years old, arrived from Egypt. A Scotsman, Lord Elgin, brought back some of the oldest and mast beautiful Creek sculptures in the world.

　　New books as well as old ones arrived at the Museum a hundred years ago. When the new Reading Room opened, everybody said that the new Reading Room was wonderful! Since then, many famous men have written and studied there.

　　A lot of the Museum's work now is also scientific. New machines can find out how old things are and how to mend them and keep then for the future. It is open every day of the year, except for three holidays. There are lots of special exhibitions and every day there are different films and talks, some of them for children. Small machines tell you about the Museum as you walk round it: you can look and listen at the same time. So if you are one of the British Museum's two million visitors this year, you have a lot to look forward to. Don't try to see it all too quickly. There is a lifetime of looking in the British Museum.

(1)When did Sir Hans Sloane die?

[　　]

A．In 1579　　　　B．In 1585

C．In 1573　　　　D．In 1800

(2)________ is the founder of the British Museum.

[　　]

A．Hans Sloane.　　　　B．King George Ⅱ.

C．Lord Elgin.　　　　D．A man we don't know.

(3)________ used to be forbidden to enter the British Museum.

[　　]

A．Gentlemen　　　　B．ladies

C．Children　　　　D．foreigners

(4)The British Museum is now open ________.

[　　]

A．three days a week.

B．five days a week.

C．every days of the year.

D．every day of the year except 3 holidays.

 

       In the UK, students’ residence halls are run as profit-making business, but this can occasionally be to students’ disadvantage．

       As many universities choose to contract out their hall’s management to private companies, room rents are rising and student rights are suffering．

       In 2006, 55 percent of student rooms were managed by private companies --- only 27 percent by universities and colleges, the National Union of Students （NUS） has reported．

       These private companies are improving the hall’s facilities in return for higher room rents．The most noticeable example of this trend is the growth in luxury halls．These are halls for students willing to pay more for larger rooms with better services．

       Chancellors Court, at Edinburgh University in Scotland, is one such luxury hall．Rooms are divided between standard and large, with larger rooms costing 173 pounds each week, 40 pounds more than smaller rooms．They come with a scenic view, color TV, fast Internet connection and a modern bathroom．

       Other luxury halls have private gyms for their residents．Private companies capitalize （用…以牟利） on their investment by renting out the students rooms to travelers over the summer vacation period．

       But the NUS is concerned that luxury halls are affecting room rents at standard un-privatized halls．Most students in the UK pay on average 126 pounds a week for a private room in catered （提供餐饮的） halls of residence, the International Students Advice and Welfare organization has reported．According to the NUS, rent in UK halls of residence has risen by almost a quarter from 2005 to 2007．

       Veronica King, NUS vice-president of welfare, wants the privatization of university accommodation to stop．

       “For the students for whom luxury is not affordable, there is a significant risk that accommodation costs, coupled with the burden of complete fees, may reduce the choice of where to go to university,” she said．

       Legal quarrels with privatized （私有化了的） halls may also account for some of the 10 percent per year rise in student complaints to the office of the Independent Adjudicator（裁定者） for Higher Education （OIA）．The OIA is an independent student complaints scheme that has authority over all higher education institutions in England and Wales．

       Rob Behrens, chief executive of the OIA, said he was unsurprised by the rise in complaints．“The bottom line is that students today are more self-confident in thinking about what their rights are and what are the things they can get form the commitments they make．”

1.Why are room rents rising in British universities?

       A．Because the world is facing a financial crisis．

       B．Because most universities are getting bored about students’ complaints．

       C．Because many universities let private companies run students’ halls．

       D．Because not all universities can meet the demands of the students．

2.Which of the following is not mentioned about a luxury hall?

       A．Students have to pay more for a luxury hall．

       B．Students can have a good view in a luxury hall．

       C．Students can enjoy their own gym in a luxury hall．

       D．Students can have an Internet connection free of charge．

3.Why do some students want to pay more for a luxury hall?

       A．Because they just want to show that they are rich．

       B．Because they are better served in a luxury hall．

       C．Because there are too much complaints about small rooms．

       D．Because there are no other choices．

4.What may happen to those who can’t afford the accommodation fee?

       A．They may borrow more money from the bank．

       B．They may go to work in OIA．

       C．They may not go to college．

       D．They may go abroad for further study．

 

       In the UK, students’ residence halls are run as profit-making business, but this can occasionally be to students’ disadvantage．

       As many universities choose to contract out their hall’s management to private companies, room rents are rising and student rights are suffering．

       In 2006, 55 percent of student rooms were managed by private companies --- only 27 percent by universities and colleges, the National Union of Students （NUS） has reported．

       These private companies are improving the hall’s facilities in return for higher room rents．The most noticeable example of this trend is the growth in luxury halls．These are halls for students willing to pay more for larger rooms with better services．

       Chancellors Court, at Edinburgh University in Scotland, is one such luxury hall．Rooms are divided between standard and large, with larger rooms costing 173 pounds each week, 40 pounds more than smaller rooms．They come with a scenic view, color TV, fast Internet connection and a modern bathroom．

       Other luxury halls have private gyms for their residents．Private companies capitalize （用…以牟利） on their investment by renting out the students rooms to travelers over the summer vacation period．

       But the NUS is concerned that luxury halls are affecting room rents at standard un-privatized halls．Most students in the UK pay on average 126 pounds a week for a private room in catered （提供餐饮的） halls of residence, the International Students Advice and Welfare organization has reported．According to the NUS, rent in UK halls of residence has risen by almost a quarter from 2005 to 2007．

       Veronica King, NUS vice-president of welfare, wants the privatization of university accommodation to stop．

       “For the students for whom luxury is not affordable, there is a significant risk that accommodation costs, coupled with the burden of complete fees, may reduce the choice of where to go to university,” she said．

       Legal quarrels with privatized （私有化了的） halls may also account for some of the 10 percent per year rise in student complaints to the office of the Independent Adjudicator（裁定者） for Higher Education （OIA）．The OIA is an independent student complaints scheme that has authority over all higher education institutions in England and Wales．

       Rob Behrens, chief executive of the OIA, said he was unsurprised by the rise in complaints．“The bottom line is that students today are more self-confident in thinking about what their rights are and what are the things they can get form the commitments they make．”

1．Why are room rents rising in British universities?

       A．Because the world is facing a financial crisis．

       B．Because most universities are getting bored about students’ complaints．

       C．Because many universities let private companies run students’ halls．

       D．Because not all universities can meet the demands of the students．

2．Which of the following is not mentioned about a luxury hall?

       A．Students have to pay more for a luxury hall．

       B．Students can have a good view in a luxury hall．

       C．Students can enjoy their own gym in a luxury hall．

       D．Students can have an Internet connection free of charge．

3．Why do some students want to pay more for a luxury hall?

       A．Because they just want to show that they are rich．

       B．Because they are better served in a luxury hall．

       C．Because there are too much complaints about small rooms．

       D．Because there are no other choices．

4．What may happen to those who can’t afford the accommodation fee?

       A．They may borrow more money from the bank．

       B．They may go to work in OIA．

       C．They may not go to college．

       D．They may go abroad for further study．