“How was school, Ben?” I asked my grandson after he began kindergarten(幼兒園) this year. “The work is too long… and there’s not enough time to play,” he replied.
I couldn’t help but remember Ben’s own mother, my daughter, Jane, and her reaction(反應(yīng)) to the first day of school. Julie was also disappointed with the first day of school and so was her little sister. My three-year-old daughter announced angrily after her big sister got on the big yellow school bus, “I want to go ‘sool’ and you not let me!”
When Julie returned home that afternoon, I asked her the same question that I asked Ben, “How was school, Julie?” Julie replied, “I didn’t learn to read today.”
This year as the school bus passed my house, my mind went back to those school days again. I could almost smell the chalk dust in the air. I also wonder what the children these days manage to get chosen to do in order to get out of school for a few moments since there are no erasers to clean. It was fun to be “chosen” for eraser cleaning duty. This was a task finished by going outside and beating erasers together while sneezing and coughing. No wonder so many babies now have allergies(過(guò)敏癥), and it’s simply because we all have chalk dust in our lungs!
On the first day of school, the expectation was so great that I would be ready long before it was time to leave for school. We didn’t have backpacks because we had cigar boxes. We carried our small supplies inside a cigar box from one of the local stores. We saved the cigar boxes and used them from year to year until they fell apart.
The first day of school was exciting. It was a new beginning. The doors of knowledge had been opened. The first day of school is an event in our lives that most of us remember. It’s a big step for a small child toward leaving babyhood and so “there isn’t enough time to play”.
【小題1】Why did Jane become angry according to the passage?

B
British science-fiction writer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke has been buried in his adopted country of Sri Lanka.                                         
Music from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was played at the funeral and members of the family cried as his coffin was lowered.
"Here lies Arthur Charles Clarke. He never grew up and did not stop growing, his gravestone in Colombo is to read, in accordance with the author' s wishes.
Sir Arthur died from heart failure and breathing problems at the age of 90.
A nationwide one-minute silence was ordered by the Sri Lankan government to coincide with the ceremony.
Sir Arthur' s brother, Fred Clarke, attended the funeral along with members of the Ekanayake family, with whom the writer had lived in recent years.
Fred Clarke said his elder brother had always loved the warm climate and the friendly people of Sir Lanka.
"He said he had managed to escape 40 British winters and had no regrets," Mr. Clarke told AFP news agency.
Tamara Ekanayake, who grew up at Sir Arthur' s home in Colombo, paid tribute to him, "We feel so proud that you left your mark on us. Your footprint will never fade (褪去).”
Before the funeral, yellow roses were thrown on to Sir Arthur' s body as a final gesture of respect as it lay on a white bed beneath curved elephant tusks.
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 1917-19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Spare Odyssey, which led to the film of the same name.
Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941-1946, proposed satellite communication systems in 1945 which won him a nomination ( 提名) in 1994 for a Nobel Prize, and 1999 for literature, and became the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947-1950 and again in 1953.
Clarke moved to Sri Lanka in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving, and lived there until his death.
66.What do you think the underlined phrase "paid tribute to' in paragraph 9 means?
A. Paid money to.                             B. Paid attention to.
C. Spoke highly of                            D. Expressed one' s thanks to.
67. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Charles Clarke suffered from breathing problems.
B. Charles Clarke made the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
C. Charles Clarke had served in the Royal Air Force for about 5 years.
D. Charles Clarke won a nomination for a Nobel Prize in 1994.
68.Where do you think the passage is most probably from?
A. A science fiction.                           B. A fashion magazine.
C. A news website.                            D. A students' textbook.
69. Which of the following is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To introduce Charles Clarke' s interest.
B. To inform readers about the danger of heart failure.
C. To introduce the books by Charles Clarke.
D. To inform readers of Charles Clarke' s funeral.

I believe in my mother. My belief began when I was just a kid,   【小題1】  I dreamed of becoming a doctor.
My mother was a  【小題2】. Through her work, she observed that  【小題3】  people spent a lot more time  【小題4】 than they did watch television. She  【小題5】 that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and  【小題6】 written book reports to her. She would mark them up with check marks and under-line the important 【小題7】 . Years later we realized her marks were only a  【小題8】  My mother was a illiterate (文盲). Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be  【小題9】.
When I entered high school I was an A-student,  【小題10】 not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang about with the guys. I went from being an A—student then to a B--student then to a C-student, but I didn't 【小題11】 . I was cool.One night my mother came home from working her multiple jobs and I  【小題12】 about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, "Okay, I will give you all the money I make this week by scrubbing floors and  【小題13】 bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all that you want." I was very  【小題14】 with that arrangement but  【小題15】  I got through allocating (分配) money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a  【小題16】 over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less to buy clothes. I also  【小題17】 that immediate satisfaction wasn't going to get me anywhere. Success  【小題18】 intellectual preparation. I went back to my studies and became an A—student
 【小題19】 , and eventually I fulfilled my dream and I became a  【小題20】 .

There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penage. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight, immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back..
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (擁抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey.
【小題1】The author expected the train trip to be_________.

If there is one thing I’m quite sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we still be reading newspapers. Not those newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of the news from the television or have the radio switched on in the background or in the car. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The basic British character won’t change, and one of the characteristics of the British is that we don’t much like talking to each other when we get up. So what better way is there to keep yourself thinking in the morning than to wrap yourself in a newspaper?
Over the past couple of centuries, human beings have developed a close relationship with the newspaper. It has become as natural as breathing or enjoying the sun. And it is not just the British who love newspapers. On suburban trains in Calcutta, for instance, just one person in the whole car will buy a newspaper and read aloud the best bits to his fellow passengers, much to everybody’s enjoyment.
The nature of what is news may change. What essentially makes news is what affects our lives and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do, whether it’s love or depression. We develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It’s quite possible that in the next century newspaper will be transmitted(傳送) electronically from the national equivalents of Fleet Street (倫敦的艦隊(duì)街，以報(bào)館集中而著稱(chēng)) and printed out in our own homes. In fact, I’m pretty sure that that is how it will happen in future. You’ll be probably selecting from a menu, making up your own bespoke newspaper by picking out the things you want to read and say. You might even have an intelligent screening device (裝置) to do the job for you.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about the competition between the different media. They actually have a relationship, feeding off each other. It was once predicted that television would kill off newspapers, which hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page is more enduring (持久的) than pictures on a flickering screen or sound lost in the sky. And as for the Internet, it’s never really satisfying to read something just on a screen.
【小題1】The author of the passage is most probably from _______________.