2007专四真题

　　TEXT C

　　I am afraid to sleep. I have been afraid to sleep for the last few weeks. I am so tired that, finally, I do sleep, but only for a few minutes. It is not a bad dream that wakes me ; it is the realiry I took with me into sleep . I try to think of something else.

　　Immediately the woman in the marketplace comes into my mind.

　　I was on my way to dinner last night when I saw her . She was selling skirts. She moved with the same ease and loveliness I often saw in the women of Laos. Her long black hair was as shiny as the black silk of the skirts she was selling . In her hair, she wore three silk ribbons, blue ,green, and white. They reminded me of my childhood and how my girlfriends and I used to spend hours braiding ribbons into our hair.

　　I don’t know the word for “ribbons”, so I put my hand to my own hair and , with three fingers against my head , I looked at her ribbons and said “Beautiful.” She lowered her eyes and said nothing. I wasn’t sure if she understood me (I don’t speak Laotian very well).

　　I looked back down at the skirts. They had designs in them: squares and triangles and circles of pink and green silk. They were very pretty. I decided to buy one of those skirts, and I began to bargain with her over the price. It is the custom to bargain in Asia. In Laos bargaining is done in soft voices and easy moves with the sort of quiet peacefulness.

　　She smiled, more with her eyes than with her lips. She was pleased by the few words I was able to say in her language, although they were mostly numbers, and she saw that I understood something about the soft playfulness of bargaining. We shook our heads in disagreement over the price; then, immediately, we made another offer and then another shake of the head. She was so pleased that unexpectedly, she accepted the last offer I made. But it was too soon. The price was too low. She was being too generous and wouldn’t make enough money. I moved quickly and picked up two more skirts and paid for all three at the price set; that way I was able to pay her three times as much before she had a chance to lower the price for the larger purchase. She smiled openly then, and, for the first time in months, my spirit lifted. I almost felt happy.

　　The feeling stayed with me while she wrapped the skirts in a newspaper and handed them to me. When I left, though, the feeling left, too. It was as though it stayed behind in the marketplace. I left tears in my throat. I wanted to cry. I didn’t , of course.

　　I have learned to defend myself against what is hard; without knowing it, I have also learned to defend myself against what is soft and what should be easy.

　　I get up, light a candle and want to look at the skirts. They are still in the newspaper that the woman wrapped them in. I remove the paper, and raise the skirts up to look at them again before I pack them. Something falls to floor. I reach down and feel something cool in my hand. I move close to the candlelight to see what I have. There are five long silk ribbons in my hand, all different colours. The woman in the maketplace! She has given these ribbons to me!

　　There is no defense against a generous spirit, and this time I cry, and very hard, as if I could make up for all the months that I didn’t cry.

　　89.According to the writer, the woman in the marketplace

　　A refused to speak to her.

　　B was pleasant and attractive.

　　C was selling skirts ribbons.

　　D recognized her immediately.

　　90. Which of the following in NOT corret?

　　A. The writer was not used to bargaining.

　　B. People in Asia always bargain when buying things.

　　C. Bargaining in Laos was quiet and peaceful.

　　D.The writer was ready to bargain with the woman.

　　91. The writer assumed that the woman accepted the last offer mainly because the woman

　　A. thought that the last offer was reasonable.

　　B.thought she could still make much money.

　　C.was glad that the writer knew their way of bargaining.

　　D. was tired of bargaining with the writer any more.

　　92. Why did the writer finally decide to buy three skirts?

　　A.The skirts were cheap and pretty.

　　B.She liked the patterns on the skirts.

　　C.She wanted to do something as compensation.

　　D.She was fed up with further bargainning with the woman.

　　93.When the writer left the marketplace, she wanted to cry, but did not because

　　A. she had learned to stay cool and unfeeling.

　　B. she was afraid of crying in public.

　　C.she had learned to face difficulties bravely.

　　D. she had to show in public that she was strong.

　　94. Why did the writer cry eventually when she looked at the skirts again?

　　A.she suddently felt very sad.

　　B.she liked the ribbons so much.

　　C.she was overcome by emotion.

　　D.she felt sorry for the woman.

　　TEXT D

　　The kids are hanging out. I pass small bands of students, on my way to work these mornings.They have become a familiar part of the summer landscape.

　　These kids are not old enough for jobs. Nor are they rich enough for camp. They are school children without school. The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago. Once supervised by teachers and principals, they now appear to be “self care”.

　　Passing them is like passing through a time zone. For much of our history, after all, Americans arranged the school year around the needs of work and family. In 19th century cities, schools were open seven or eight hours a day, 11 months a year.In rural America, the year was arranged around the growing season. Now, only 3 percent of families follow the agricultural model, but nearly all schools are scheduled as if our children went home early to milk the cows and took months off to work the crops. Now, three-quarters of the mothers of school-age children work, but the calendar is written as if they were home waiting for the school bus.

　　The six-hour day, the 180-day school year is regarded as something holy. But when parents work an eight-hour day and a 240-day year, it means something different. It means that many kids go home to empty houses. It means that, in the summer, they hang out.

　　“We have a huge mismatch between the school calendar and the realisties of family life,”says Dr. Ernest Boyer ,head of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

　　Dr. Boyer is one of many who believe that a radical revision of the school calendar is inevitable."School, whether we like it or not, is educational. It always has been.”

　　His is not popular idea. Schools are routinely burdened with the job of solving all our social problems. Can they be asked to meet the needs of our work and family lives?

　　It may be easier to promote a longer school year on its educational merits and, indeed, the educational case is compelling. Despite the complaints and studies about our kids’ lack of learning, the United State still has a shorter school year than any industrial nation. In most of Europe, the school year is 220 days. In Japan, it is 240 days long. While classroom time alone doesn’t produce a well-educated child, learning takes time and more learning takes more time. The long summers of forgetting take a toll.

　　The opposition to a longer school year comes from families that want to and can provide other experiences for their children. It comes from teachers. It comes from tradition. And surely from kids. But the most important part of the conflict has been over the money.

　　95. Which of the following is an opinion of the author’s?

　　A."The kids are hanging out.”

　　B."They are school children without school.”

　　C."These kids are not old enough for jobs.”

　　D.“The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago.”

　　96. The current American school calendar was developed in the 19th century according to

　　A.the growing season on nation’s form.

　　B.the labour demands of the industrial age.

　　C.teachers’ demands for more vacation time.

　　D. parents’ demands for other experiences for their kids.

　　97. The author thinks that the current school calendar

　　A. is still valid.

　　B. is out of date.

　　C.can not be revised.

　　D.can not be defended.

　　98. Why was Dr. Boyer’s idea unpopular?

　　A. He argues for the role of school in solving social problems.

　　B. He supports the current school calendar.

　　C. He thinks that school year and family life should be considered separately.

　　D. He strongly believes in the educational role of school.

　　99.“The long summers of forgetting take a toll ”in the last paragraph but one means that

　　A. long summer vacation slows down the progress of learning.

　　B. long summer vacation has been abandoned in Europe.

　　C. long summers result in less learning time.

　　D. long summers are a result of tradition.

　　100. The main purpose of the passage is

　　A. to describe how American children spend their summer.

　　B. to explain the needs of the modern working families.

　　C. to discuss the problems of the current school calendar.

　　D. to persuade parents to stay at home to look after their kids.

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