题。
Text 7
W：Hello，Mike.What are you doing in this part of London? M：Well，in fact，I'm looking for a flat round here. W：A flat? Do you want to move?
M：Yes，actually，believe it or not，Mandy and I are getting married. W：It's great！Congratulations.When did you decide?
M：Only last week.⑨ It was when we were staying with her family in Scotland.Now we're trying to find a suitable flat.
W：It will be great to have you as neighbours.I hope you manage to buy one soon.
M：Oh，we aren't looking for one to buy.We don't have enough money yet.We want to find somewhere to rent.
W：Yes，of course.That's what we did at first.⑩ In fact，in the end my brother lent us some money.That's how we managed to buy ours.
M：Really? Perhaps I'll talk to my family about it.Now，what about a coffee? There's a good place just round the corner.
W：What a good idea!
听下面一段对话，回答第11至第13三个小题。现在，你有15秒钟的时间阅读这三个小题。
Text 8
M：Where were you when the hurricane hit your area?
W：? We were invited to stay in my daddy's friend's in Amelia. M：What do you know about Katrina?
W：Katrina was the strongest hurricane in the history of hurricanes.? When she hit early on Monday August 29,2005，it was about 3：30 in the morning.The storm lasted until about noon on Monday.The winds were very strong，up to about 100 miles per hour.It was very frightening.
M：Were there any injuries?
W：Thankfully，no one was hurt in our area. M：Can you say something about your trip back home?
W：Finally，on August 30,2005，we were on our way home from Amelia.Our trip home was sad，seeing houses with roofs torn off.? We had to drive slowly because broken tree branches were everywhere.
听下面一段对话，回答第14至第16三个小题。现在，你有15秒钟的时间阅读这三个小题。
Text 9
M：? Where are you going on vacation this year?
W：Well，we were thinking about going on the voyage to the Caribbean Sea.It's a beautiful part of the world.
M：It certainly is.I went on one last year.But the weather can sometimes be really bad. W：I know.? I have been reading weather reports for the Caribbean on the Internet.They seem to have lots of storms.
M：They certainly do.? When we went on a voyage we stopped at Jamaica and the Kombi Islands.And both had been hit by storms two weeks before.You could still see a lot of damage.
W：Well，if I decide to go，I'll just have to hope for the best.
听下面一段独白，回答第17至第20四个小题。现在，你有20秒钟的时间阅读这四个小题。
Text 10
February 14 is a day for people who have fallen in love.On this day，these men and women give gifts and cards to each other for Valentine's Day.
? This day has been popular with people in love for a long time. At first，this holiday was called Lupercalia.Then the name of the day was changed to Saint Valentine's Day.The man named Saint Valentine was killed on February 14,270 A．D.because he was a Christian.
Before Saint Valentine was killed，February 14 was the old Roman holiday，Lupercalia.The church wanted people to think of a Christian holiday on this day，so the church changed the name of the holiday.
? This change did not stop people in love from giving gifts to each other.? People usually gave gloves，handkerchiefs，or even underwear as gifts.Sometimes people also put hearts and flowers on the present before giving it to other person.
? Valentine cards did not become popular until the 1750s.The first Valentine cards were made by hand.People wrote their own words on the cards.These words are usually kind and funny.
Cards made by machines became more popular around 1850.All of a sudden，Valentine's Day became a big holiday for people who made and sold cards.
Now every year around February 14，cards and chocolates fill stores for people in love. 第二节到此结束。
第二部分 阅读理解(共两节，满分40分) 第一节(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades.Other forms of parental_involvement，including volunteering at school and observing a child's class，also fail to help，according to the most recent study on the topic.
The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting(养育子女) where schools expect them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to school on time，fed，dressed and ready to learn.
Keith Robinson，the author of the study，said，“I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was parents' help with homework.” Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the tasks.“They may either not remember the material their kids are studying now，or in some cases never learnt it themselves，but they're still offering advice.”
Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general，about 20% of parental involvement was positive，about 45% negative and the rest statistically insignificant.
Common sense suggests it is a good thing for parents to get involved because “children with good academic success do have involved parents”，admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success.“A big surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach，conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives.”
语篇导读
本文为议论文，题材为学校教育类。主要对父母参与孩子的学习活动所产生的影响进行了论述。
21．The underlined expression “parental involvement” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
A．parents' expectation on children's health B．parents' participation in children's education C．parents' control over children's life D．parents' plan for children's future
解析：B 词义猜测题。根据第一段中的关键信息“父母帮助孩子做作业”和“Other forms”可推测画线短语应是“父母参与孩子的学习活动”这一含义，故选B项。
22．What is the major finding of Robinson's study?
A．Modern parents raise children in a more scientific way. B．Punishing kids for bad marks is mentally damaging. C．Parental involvement is not so beneficial as expected. D．Parents are not able to help with children's homework.
解析：C 推理判断题。通读全文可知，Robinson的研究发现：父母参与孩子的学习活动并没有像原先认为的那样起作用，故选C项。
23．The example of Asian-American parents implies that parents should ________. A．help children realize the importance of schooling B．set a specific life goal for their children C．spend more time improving their own lives D．take a more active part in school management
解析：A 推理判断题。最后一段Robinson提出自己的观点为：父母参与孩子的学习活动不是他们获得成功的根本原因。然后列举了亚裔美国人几乎不直接参与孩子学习活动的例子来证明自己的观点。亚裔美国人主要是让孩子意识到学业的成功对他们改善未来生活的重要性，故选A项。
Imagine a world 400 years ago where children were used as chimney sweeps. The pay was low; it was a dirty trade and there was little reward for the men who did the job and even less for children.
Medway's annual Sweeps Festival recreates the joy and laughter enjoyed by the chimney sweeps at their traditional holiday: the one time of the year the sweeps could leave the soot(烟灰) behind and have some fun. The sweeps' holiday was traditionally held on 1 May each year. Locally，they used to mark the occasion by staging a procession through the streets of Rochester.
Their fun continued with the Jack-in-the-Green ceremony，a seven-foot character that they used to waken at dawn on Blue Bell Hill，Chatham. The Jack-in-the-Green would walk with the chimney sweeps in their parade. When the Climbing Boys' Act 1868 made it illegal to employ young boys to carry out the trade，the traditional procession gradually began to fade. The final May celebration was held in the early 1900s.
The modern day Rochester Sweeps Festival is a colourful mix of music，dancing and entertainment with more than 60 Morris sides and entertainers celebrating throughout the three-day festival. The festival was ________revived in 1981 by local businessman Gordon Newton，a keen historian. He decided it was time to bring it back and over the years he has helped develop the festival into what it is today—an excellent performance of traditional Britain.
Gordon researched the Sweeps' tradition and organized a small parade，involving local
Morris teams. In time，Medway Council took over organization of the festival but Gordon remained actively involved.
Today he is festival producer and plays melodeon(簧风琴) for several Morris teams. Doug Hudson is the festival's music director，a role he has held for many years. Through Gordon's vision and hard work，Doug's musical ability and the council's help，the Rochester Sweeps Festival has become the largest May Day celebration of its kind in the country.
语篇导读
本文是一篇记叙文，几百年前，扫烟囱节的出现为扫烟囱的人带来了些许欢乐和放松，在这一节日消失近一个世纪以后，通过高登·牛顿的不懈努力，扫烟囱节又重新回到人们的生活中。人们通过歌舞的形式来庆祝这一节日。
24．Medway's Sweeps Festival ________. A．has been organized by the Jack-in-the-Green B．dated back to the May celebration in the early 1900s C．is held to honor those chimney sweeps every other year D．has become a time for chimney sweeps to enjoy themselves
解析：D 细节理解题。由第二段中的the one time? have some fun可知，在当时，扫烟囱节成为扫烟囱工人娱乐的一种方式。A项中the Jack-in-the-Green为庆祝活动中的一个人物而非活动组织者；扫烟囱节可以追溯到400年前而非20世纪初，故B项不对；对于现代扫烟囱节举行的频率，文章并未提及，故C项有误。
25．The underlined word “revived” in the 4th paragraph most probably means “________”． A．realized C．recreated
B．reviewed D．recognized
解析：C 词义猜测题。根据文章可知，扫烟囱节在20世纪初举行过最后一次庆祝后于1981年又重新出现。根据语境及画线词后的Gordon Newton(高登·牛顿)可知是他重新创立(recreate)了扫烟囱节。其他各项含义；realized意识到，实现；reviewed复习；recognized认出，认可。
26．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A．the festival has never been supported by the local government B．The festival is a good way to see British folk customs in action C．youngsters have been forbidden to be chimney sweeps since 1981 D．the modern festival lasts five days celebrating the coming of spring
解析：B 推理判断题。由文章第四段中he has helped?an excellent performance of traditional Britain可推知，在现代扫烟囱节里，人们可以欣赏到英国传统的表演。
27．What is the passage mainly concerned about?