Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
I made a pledge to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two
weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands
or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was
quoting a Biblical（圣經(jīng)的）passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives.
Then he went on to say,“Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.”
To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks
that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said,“That
new yellow sweater（套頭衫） looks great on you.”
“Oh, Tom, you noticed,”she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.
After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the
beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought,“Evelyn’s been alone here with
the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.”We walked on the beach
while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director;
a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy,
that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering
to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I
still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed,
Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?”I asked her.
“Tom,”she said in a voice filled with distress,“do you know something I
don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…that checkup（體檢） I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell
you something about me？Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,”I said, wrapping her in my arms.“You’re not dying; I’m just
starting to live.”
26. In the first paragraph,“No ifs, ands or buts”probably means“_________.”
[A] Unintentionally
[B] Inevitably
[C] Impressively
[D] Unconditionally
27. From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ________.
[A] with his family
[B] with Evelyn
[C] alone
[D] with his children
28. During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because
_________.
[A] she looked lovely in her new clothes
[B] he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm
[C] he was determined to be a good husband
[D] she was seriously ill
29. The author says,“There was one thing that went wrong with my
experiment.”What was the one thing that went wrong?
[A] He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.
[B] She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.
[C] He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.
[D] He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.
30. By saying“I’m just starting to live,”Tom means that ________.
[A] he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life
[B] he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband
[C] he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change
[D] he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Americans who remember“the good old days”are not alone in complaining about
the educational system in this country. Immigrants（移民）complain,too. Lately
a German friend was filled with anger when he learned that the mathematics test
given to his son on his first day as a college freshman included multiplication
and division. Japanese businessmen in Los Angeles send their children to private
schools staffed by teachers imported from Japan to learn mathematics at Japanese
levels, generally considered at least a year more advanced than the level here.
But I wonder: If American education is so poor, why is it that this is still the
country of innovation（創(chuàng)新）?
When I was 12 in Indonesia, I had to memorize the name of all the world’s major
cities, from Kabul to Karachi. At the same age, my son, who was brought up a
Californian, thought that Buenos Aires was Spanish for good food. However, unlike
children of his age in Asia and Europe, my son had studied creative geography.
When he was only 6, he drew a map of the route that he traveled to get to school,
including the streets, the traffic signs and the houses that he passed.
Dissatisfied American parents forget that in this country their children are able
to experiment freely with ideas; without this they will not really be able to
think or to believe in themselves.
Critics of American education cannot grasp one thing: freedom. America, I think,
is the only country that extends even to children the license to freely speak,
write and be creative. Our public education certainly is not perfect, but it is
a great deal better than any other. I think I have found the answer to my question.
31. From the text we learn that _________.
[A] both Americans and immigrants are dissatisfied with the quality of American
education
[B] the author shares the general idea that American education is worse than
education in many other countries
[C] Japanese schools in America require their American teachers to teach
mathematics at Japanese levels
[D] the author’s German friend was a little displeased because the mathematics
test for his son was too easy
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
I made a pledge to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two
weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands
or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was
quoting a Biblical（圣經(jīng)的）passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives.
Then he went on to say,“Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.”
To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks
that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said,“That
new yellow sweater（套頭衫） looks great on you.”
“Oh, Tom, you noticed,”she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.
After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the
beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought,“Evelyn’s been alone here with
the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.”We walked on the beach
while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director;
a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy,
that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering
to choose love.
There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I
still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed,
Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?”I asked her.
“Tom,”she said in a voice filled with distress,“do you know something I
don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…that checkup（體檢） I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell
you something about me？Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”
It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
“No, honey,”I said, wrapping her in my arms.“You’re not dying; I’m just
starting to live.”
26. In the first paragraph,“No ifs, ands or buts”probably means“_________.”
[A] Unintentionally
[B] Inevitably
[C] Impressively
[D] Unconditionally
27. From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ________.
[A] with his family
[B] with Evelyn
[C] alone
[D] with his children
28. During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because
_________.
[A] she looked lovely in her new clothes
[B] he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm
[C] he was determined to be a good husband
[D] she was seriously ill
29. The author says,“There was one thing that went wrong with my
experiment.”What was the one thing that went wrong?
[A] He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.
[B] She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.
[C] He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.
[D] He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.
30. By saying“I’m just starting to live,”Tom means that ________.
[A] he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life
[B] he is just beginning to enjoy life as a loving husband
[C] he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change
[D] he is beginning to feel regret for what he did to his wife before
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Americans who remember“the good old days”are not alone in complaining about
the educational system in this country. Immigrants（移民）complain,too. Lately
a German friend was filled with anger when he learned that the mathematics test
given to his son on his first day as a college freshman included multiplication
and division. Japanese businessmen in Los Angeles send their children to private
schools staffed by teachers imported from Japan to learn mathematics at Japanese
levels, generally considered at least a year more advanced than the level here.
But I wonder: If American education is so poor, why is it that this is still the
country of innovation（創(chuàng)新）?
When I was 12 in Indonesia, I had to memorize the name of all the world’s major
cities, from Kabul to Karachi. At the same age, my son, who was brought up a
Californian, thought that Buenos Aires was Spanish for good food. However, unlike
children of his age in Asia and Europe, my son had studied creative geography.
When he was only 6, he drew a map of the route that he traveled to get to school,
including the streets, the traffic signs and the houses that he passed.
Dissatisfied American parents forget that in this country their children are able
to experiment freely with ideas; without this they will not really be able to
think or to believe in themselves.
Critics of American education cannot grasp one thing: freedom. America, I think,
is the only country that extends even to children the license to freely speak,
write and be creative. Our public education certainly is not perfect, but it is
a great deal better than any other. I think I have found the answer to my question.
31. From the text we learn that _________.
[A] both Americans and immigrants are dissatisfied with the quality of American
education
[B] the author shares the general idea that American education is worse than
education in many other countries
[C] Japanese schools in America require their American teachers to teach
mathematics at Japanese levels
[D] the author’s German friend was a little displeased because the mathematics
test for his son was too easy