She may have lacked a home, but now this teen has top honors.

    A 17-year old student who spent much of high school living around homeless shelters and sometimes sleeping in her car-today graduated and spoke on behalf of her class at Charles Drew High School in Clayton County, Ga.，just outside of Atlanta.

    Chelsea Fearce, who held a 4.466 GPA and scored 1，900 on her SATs despite having to use her cellphone to study after the shelter lights were turned off at night.

    "I know I have been made stronger. I was homeless. My family slept on cushions on the floor and we were lucky if we got more than one full meal a day. Getting a shower, food and clean clothes was an everyday struggle,” Fearce said in a speech she gave at her graduation ceremony. Fearce overcame her day-to-day struggles by focusing on a better day. "I just told myself to keep working, because the future will not be like this anymore, she told WSBTV.

    Fearce，one of five children, grew up in a family that sometimes had an apartment to live in, but at other times had to live in homeless shelters or even out of their car, if they had one. "You're worried about your home life and then worried at school. Worry about being a little hungry sometimes and go hungry sometimes. You just have to deal with it, You eat what you can, when you can.”

    To our surprise, Fearce overcame the difficulties and even tested high enough to be ad- mitted into college halfway through her high school career. She starts college next year at Spelman College as a junior where she is planning to study biology, pre-"med（醫(yī)學(xué)預(yù)科），"Don't give up. Do what you have to do right now so that you can have the future that you want,”Fearce said.

1.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A. So Many Homeless Students in America

B. How Does a Homeless Student Live in Society?

C. The Hardship of  Fearce and Her Family in America

D. Homeless Teen Graduates as a Speaker of High School Class

2.How did Fearce go on with her study without access to lights?

A. By the car light.        B. By her cellphone.

C. By lights out of shelters.  D. By moonlight.

3.When Fearce starts college at Spelman College, she will＿_(dá)_．

A. have graduated earlier from high school than normal

B. be a 17-year-old student from a poor family

C. have a home without sleeping in her car or shelters

D. have raised enough money to go to college

4.From the passage, we can learn that＿_(dá)_．

A. SAT is easy for the students of high schools

B. Fearce's parents have six children to support

C. Fearce often had to struggle with starvation

D. Fearce gave a speech at a ceremony of Spelman College

5.What can we learn from Fearce's experience?

A. Knowledge can change your fate.

B. Don't give up, and tomorrow will be better.

C. Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.

D. He that will not work shall not eat.

 

第二部分：閱讀理解（共25題，第一節(jié)每題2分，第二節(jié)每題1分）

第一節(jié)：閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A，B，C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。

Trouve sat up on its back legs arid growled（吼叫）the words “How are you, Grandmama?” The audience roared with laughter and clapped. Twenty-year-old Aleck gave the dog a morsel（一口）of food. His hard wok paid off. His dog could talk!

Aleck was fascinated with the different sounds of people’s speech. His father taught students who had a speech problem to improve their speech. Aleck paid close attention. Could an animal form sounds into words, too? He decided to experiment with Trouve, the family dog.

The easy part was teaching Trouve to growl whenever Aleck wanted. The little dog growled for a morsel of food.

Next Aleck moved the dog’s “l(fā)ips’ as it growled. It sounded like “ma ma ma.” Trouve learned quickly to stop the growling just as Aleck’s hand moved away. They practiced and practiced until the dog said “ma ma” perfectly.

Soon Aleck discovered more. If he pushed gently under the dog’s jawbone（下顎骨）, it made the “ga” sound. If he pushed once and moved the dog’s lips twice, he could make the dog say, “ga ma ma”. With even more practice, it sounded like “grandmama.” Whenever Trouve said “grandmam,” Aleck gave the god two treats, so Trouve loved the lessons.

Aleck tried to teach his dog to move its tongue. So that Trouve could say more words. That didn’t work, but Aleck didn’t give up.

After many hours of practice, Trouve could say, “Ow ah oo ga-ma-ma?” This sounded just like “How are you, Grandmama?”

Friends and neighbors traveled to see young Aleck and his amazing talking dog. Rumors spread that the dog could speak by itself, which wasn’t true. No matter how much Aleck tried, the dog was never able to move its lips without help.

Aleck’s full name was Alexander Graham Bell. He wanted to know more about the world all his life. He had many ideas. Some worked; others didn’t. But he kept trying—always learning; One of his inventions was something called the telephone.

41．Which of the following is TRUE of Aleck?

A．His father had an influence on him.      

B．He had a talent for giving speeches.

C．He taught Trouve to talk in honor of his grandmother.

D．He carried out many experiments to improve people’s speech.

42．Trouve grew fond of practicing talking because         .

A．it liked being together with Aleck  B．it was given some food for that

C．it would like to develop its potential      D．Aleck treated it like one of the family

43．Which of the following words can best describe Aleck?

A．Humorous.      B．Naughty.  C．Knowledgeable.       D．Curious.

44．What contributes most to Aleck’s success in teaching the dog to talk?

A．His own hard work.         B．His neighbor’s help.

C．His father’s encouragement.    D．The dog’s smartness.

 

Trouve sat up on its back legs and growled(吼叫) the words, “How are you, Grandmamma?” The audience roared with laughter and clapped. Twenty-year-old Aleck gave the dog a morsel(一口) of food. His hard work had paid off. His dog could talk!

Aleck was fascinated with the different sounds of people’s speech. His father taught students who had a speech problem to improve their speech. Aleck paid close attention. Could an animal form sounds into words, too? He decided to experiment with Trouve, the family dog.

The easy part was teaching Trouve to growl whenever Aleck wanted. The little dog growled for a morsel of food.

Next Aleck moved the dog’s “l(fā)ips” as it growled. It sounded like “ma mama”. Trouve learned quickly to stop the growling just as Aleck’s hand moved away. They practiced and practiced until the dog said “mama” perfectly.

Soon Aleck discovered more. If he pushed gently under the dog’s jawbone(下頜骨), it made the “ga” sound. If he pushed once and moved the dog’s lips twice, he could make the dog say, “ga mama.” With even more practice, it sounded like “grandmamma”. Whenever Trouve said “grandmamma”, Aleck gave the dog two treats, so Trouve loved the lessons.

Aleck tried to teach his dog to move its tongue so that Trouve could say more words. That didn’t work, but Aleck didn’t give up.

After many hours of practice, Trouve could say, “Ow ah oo ga-ma-ma?” This sounded just like “How are you, Grandmamma?”

Friends and neighbors traveled to see young Aleck and his amazing talking dog. Rumors spread that the dog could speak by itself, which wasn’t true. No matter how much Aleck tried, the dog was never able to move its lips without help.

Aleck’s full name was Alexander Graham Bell. He wanted to know more about the world all his life. He had many ideas. Some worked; others didn’t. But he kept trying—always learning. One of his inventions was something called the telephone.

Which of the following is TRUE of Aleck?

A. His father had an influence on him.

B. He had a talent for giving speeches.

C. He taught Trouve to talk in honor of his grandmother.

D. He carried out many experiments to improve people’s speech.

Trouve grew fond of practicing talking because _____.

A. it liked being together with Aleck

B. it was given some food for that

C. it would like to develop its potential（潛能）

D. Aleck treated it like one of the family

Which of the following words can best describe Aleck?

  A. Humorous.                     B. Naughty.      

C. Knowledgeable.                 D. Curious.

What contributes most to Aleck’s success in teaching the dog to talk?

  A. His own hard work.              B. His neighbor’s help.

C. His father’s encouragement.        D. The dog’s smartness.

According to the passage, how many statements are true?

  a. The audience was very excited to hear the dog growling the sound “ma”.

  b. The dog could understand Aleck’s sign.

  c. The dog could move its tongue successfully by itself.

  d. Aleck kept trying his ideas all the while.

  e. The only intention of Aleck’s is telephone.

  A. 2            B. 3            C. 4           D. 5

 

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 sociable, 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? k5u

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（熟練的） 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．” .

1．The underlined word “a subconscious act” refers to an act __________．

A．on purpose              B．without realization        

C．in secret                   D．with care

2．Young people addicted to the use of Facebook _________．

A．a(chǎn)re 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．a(chǎn)re always in bad mood and have poor performance in every aspect

3．Through the situation of today’s older workers in their 20s, it can be inferred that ___．

A．the employers will accept young people’s sending text messages

B．a(chǎn) 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

4．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．a(chǎn)re 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

5．What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Teenagers and Cellphones         B．Teenagers’ Texting Addiction

C．Employers and Teenagers          D．Teenagers’ Education

 

One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations (引文) showing how it was used.
This was a huge task. So Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as "Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire," 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next years, he became one of the staff's most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline(拒絕) to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell（地窖） at the Broadmoor Asylum (精神病院) for the Criminally insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined（下定義） 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
【小題1】According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary           .

A．came out before Minor died

B．was edited by an American volunteer

C．included the English words invented by Murray

D．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary

【小題2】How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?

A．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.

B．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray.

C．He provided a great number of words and quotations.

D．He went to England to work with Murray.

【小題3】 Prof. Murray and Dr. Minor became friends mainly because           .

A．they both served in the Civil War	B．they had a common interest in words
C．Minor recovered with the help of Murray	D．Murray went to America regularly to visit Minor

【小題4】What does the text mainly talk about?

A．The history of the English language.	B．The friendship between Murray and Minor
C．Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary	D．Broadmoor Asylum and his patients