I got home from work very___

o the question, "What do you do？" is always, "Oh, I'm just a housewife." JUST a housewife？ Anyone who spends most of her time in meal preparation and cleanup, washing and drying clothes, keeping the house clean, leading a scout troop, playing taxi driver to us kids when it's time for school, music lessons or the dentist, doing volunteer work for her favorite charity, and making sure that all our family needs are met is not JUST a housewife. She's the real Wonder Woman.

Why is it that so many mothers like mine think of themselves as second-class or something similar？ Where has this notion come from？ Have we males made them feel this way？ Has our society made "going to work" outside the home seem more important than what a housewife must face each day？

I would be very curious to see what would happen if a housewife went on strike. Dishes would pile up. Food in the house would run out. No meals would appear on the table. There would be no clean clothes when needed. High boots would be required just to make it through the house scattered with garbage. Walking and bus riding would increase. Those scout troops would have to break up. Charities would suffer.

I doubt if the man of the house would be able to take over. Oh, he might start out with the attitude that he can do just as good a job, but how long would that last？ Not long, once he had to come home each night after work to more household duties. There would be no more coming home to a prepared meal; he'd have to fix it himself. The kids would all be screaming for something to eat, clean clothes and more bus fare money. Once he quieted the kids, he'd have to clean the house, go shopping, make sure that kids got a bath, and fix lunches for the next day. Once the kids were down for the night, he might be able to crawl into an unmade bed and try to read the morning newspaper. No, I don't think many males are going to volunteer for the job. I know I don't want it. So, thanks, mom! I'll do what I can to create a national holiday for housewives. It could be appropriately called Wonder Woman Day.

By what means do the children of the author's family go to school？

A．They take school bus.

B．They take a taxi.

C．Their mother drives for them.

D．Scout troop sends them to school.

Philip: Hello! Is that you, Tom？

Tom: Yes, (56)

Philip: I can't believe I (57) you at last. And what have you been doing？

Tom: Yeah, I haven't been home a lot lately. And I've had a lot of work and social engagements. Oh,

Philip, (58) to London？

Philip: I just came back about a week ago, I (59) by phone several times, but you were not in.

Tom: Sorry, Sorry. Did you have a nice holiday, then？

Philip: Lovely. I went to Scotland and traveled around.

Tom: (60) ! I need a holiday indeed.

Philip: Well, I suppose so.

Tom: Oh , somebody's at the door. I have to go. And I have to say " good-bye'. Nice talking to you.

Philip: Same here, bye-bye.

56.

A. when did you get back

B. What a surprise I got

C. How I admire you

D. I am Tom

E. got hold of

F. got through

G. this is Tom

H. tried to contact you

as. These diplomas won't look any different from those awarded their luckier classmates. Their validity will be questioned only when their employers discover that these graduates are semiliterate(半文盲).

Eventually a fortunate few will find their way into educational-repair shops—adult-literacy programs, such as the one where I teach basic grammar and writing. There, high-school graduates and high-school dropouts pursuing graduate-equivalency certificates will learn the skills they should have learned in school. They will also discover they have been cheated by our educational system.

I will never forget a teacher who got the attention of one of my children by revealing the trump card of failure. Our youngest, a world-class charmer, did little to develop his intellectual talents but always got by. Until Mrs. Stifter.

Our son was a high-school senior when he had her for English. "He sits in the back of the room talking to his friends," she told me. "Why don't you move him to the front row？" I urged, believing the embarrassment would get him to settle down. Mrs. Stifter said, "I don't move seniors. I flunk(使…不及格) them." Our son's academic life flashed before my eyes. No teacher had ever threatened him. By the time I got home I was feeling pretty good about this. It was a radical approach for these times, but, well, why not？ "She's going to flunk you," I told my son. I did not discuss it any further. Suddenly English became a priority(头等要事) in his life. He finished out the semester with an A.

I know one example doesn't make a case, but at night I see a parade of students who are angry for having been passed along until they could no longer even pretend to keep up. Of average intelligence or better, they eventually quit school, concluding they were too dumb to finish. "I should have been held back," is a comment I hear frequently. Even sadder are those students who are high-school graduates who say to me after a few weeks of class, "I don't know how I ever got a high-school diploma."

Passing students who have not mastered the work cheats them and the employers who expect graduates to have basic skills. We excuse this dishonest behavior. by saying kids can't learn if they come from terrible environments. No one seems to stop to think that most kids don't put school first on their list unless they perceive something is at risk. They'd rather be sailing.

Many students I see at night have decided to make education a priority. They are motivated by the desire for a better job or the need to hang on to the one they've got. They have a healthy fear of failure.

People of all ages can rise above their problems, but they need to have a reason to do so. Young people generally don't have the maturity to value education in the same way my adult students value it. But fear of failure can motivate both.

What is the subject of this essay？

A．view point on learning

B．a qualified teacher

C．the importance of examination

D．the generation gap

When I was a kid, I never knew what my parents—or anyone else's—did for a living. As far as 1 could tell, all grownups had mysterious jobs that involved drinking lots of coffee and arguing about Richard Nixon. If they had job-related stress, they kept it private. Now American families are expected to be more intimate. While this has resulted in a lot more hugs, "I love you's," and attendance at kids' football games, unfortunately we parents also insist on sharing the frustrations of our work lives.

While we have complained about our jobs or fallen asleep in car-pool lines, our children have been noticing. They are worried about us. A new survey, "Ask the children, "conducted by the Families and Work Institute of New York City, queried more than 1, 000 kids between the ages of 8 and 18 about their parents' work lives. "If you were granted one wish to change the way your parents' work affected your life," the survey asked kids, "what would that wish be？" Most parents assumed that children would want more time with them, but only 10% did. Instead, the most common wish (among 34%) was that parents would be less stressed and tired by work.

Allison Levin is the mother of three young children and a professional in the growing field of "work/life quality". Levin counsels employees who are overwhelmed by their work and family obligations to carefully review their commitments-not only at the office but at home and in the community too—and start paring them down. "It's not about getting up earlier in the morning so you can get more done," she says. "It's about saying no and making choices."

We can start by leaving work, and thoughts of work, behind as soon as we start the trip home. Do something to get yourself in a good mood, like listening to music, rather than returning calls on the cell phone. When you get home, change out of your work clothes, let the answering machine take your calls, and stay away from e-mail. When your kids ask about your day, tell them about something good that happened. (In the survey, 69% of morns said they liked their work, but only 42% of kids thought their mothers really did.)

Parents can also de-stress by cutting back on their children's activities. If keeping up with your kid's schedule is killing you, insist that he choose between karate lessons and the theater troupe. Parents should also sneak away from work and family occasionally to have some fun. I keep a basketball in the trunk of my can. I might never be able to fix everything at work or at home, but at least I can work on my jump shot.

Which of the following sentences can be the best title of this passage？

A．Kids Say: Chill

B．Kids Stress Parents

C．Parents Complain about work

D．Parents Get in Good Mood

A young woman rode with her new husband in a wagon(四轮马车). They came to a log cabin(小棚屋). The mall shouted and a little boy came running out of the cabin. Sarah, the young woman, got down from the wagon, opened wide her arms and held the boy close.

"Hello, Abe Lincoln," she said. "I think we'll be good friends."

The new mother with the smiling face went to' work at once. She washed Abe and his sister and tidied(整理) their hair. And that night she threw away the boy's mattress(床垫) of leaves and gave him a soft mattress and enough blankets to keep him warm at night.

Sarah wove cloth and made new shirts for Abe. She made him new deerskin trousers and even deerskin shoes.

Maybe, if she hadn't come to the cabin, he wouldn't have lived to be a man. When Abe's father told him not to go to school any more and help on the farm, Sarah took Abe's part against his father. Abe would rather read than eat, and when his father told him to stop, Sarah said, "Let the boy read."

In 1830 the day came when Abe would leave home to work in New Salem. For the last time she had taken Abe's part against his father. For the last time she had kept the cabin quiet so that Abe could read.

More than twenty years later, when Abe, who had then become famous, was going to make a speech in a nearby town, Sarah went there just to watch him. In the crowd she tried to make herself small, but he saw her and, in front of everybody, got out of his carriage and went over and put his arms around her and kissed her. Yes, that was her Abe.

"He loved me truly," she said later.

Which of the following is not true？

A．The young woman in the wagon was Abe's new mother.

B．The man in the wagon was Abe's new father.

C．The little boy was the young woman's new son.

D．The little boy running out of the cabin was Abe.

usiness 【62】 of the city. The city 【63】 larger than I thought it would be. Well, the business section is smaller than I thought it would be. I suppose that's 【64】 Washington is a special kind of city. 【65】 of the people in Washington work for the government.

At about 9:30 we went to the White House. It's 【66】 the public from 10 【67】 12, and there was a long line of people 【68】 to get in. We didn't have to wait very long, because the line moved 【69】 quickly.

The White House is really white. It is painted every year. And it seems very white, because it's got beautiful lawns 【70】 around it, with many trees and shrubs. The grounds 【71】 about four square blocks. I mean, they're about two blocks long 【72】 each side.

Of course, we didn't see the whole building. The part 【73】 the President lives and works is not open to the public. But the part we saw was beautiful. We went 【74】 five of the main rooms. One of them was the library on the ground floor. On the next floor, there are three rooms named 【75】 the colors that are used in them: the Red Room, the Blue Room, and the Green Room. The walls are covered with silk 【76】 There are 【77】 of old furniture from the time 【78】 the White House was 【79】 built. And everywhere there are paintings and statues of former presidents and 【80】 famous people from history.

(61)

A．made

B．took

C．went

D．set

feteria(自助食堂) although in tile seventh grade, because all the other boys were doing it and thought it was cool. I washed dishes in the junior high school lunchroom once in a while in exchange for a free lunch. But I like going back to my own house at once.

Mom is always there; she had soup ready in the breakfast room by the time that Ann and Jim and I get home. Ann and Jim have never gone in for the cafeteria, either. Our house in only about a ten-minute walk from the school building, so we can make it back in plenty of time.

There's something about eating in the cafeteria--and not leaving the high school from morning until afternoon -- that feels a little like being in prison. By the end of the morning, I've got to get out of the building. And Mom never seems to mind fixing lunch for us; she never suggests that we eat in the cafeteria.

It's really the only time we have to be alone with her. In the morning Dad's there, and by the time I get home after messing around(混时间) after school, he's usually at home from work. So the time that Mom and I talk together is usually at lunch.

I feel sorry for the students who eat in the cafeteria every day. It would drive me mad, I don't know if their moms just don't like to cook for them in the middle of the day, or if they actually like the cafeteria and the cafeteria food.

When the author was in junior high school, ______.

A．he never ate in the cafeteria

B．he ate in the cafeteria sometimes but not often

C．he always went back for lunch

D．he often ate in the cafeteria

A.come to

B.come in

C.come down

D.come up

section of the city. I told you yesterday that the city【58】larger than I thought it would be. Well, the business section is smaller than I thought it would be. I suppose that's【59】Washington is a special kind of city.【60】of the people in Washington work for the government.

About 9:30 we went to the White House. It's【61】the public from ten【62】twelve, and there was a long line of people【63】to get in. We didn't have to wait very long, because the line moved pretty quickly.

The White House is really white. It【64】every year. And it seems very white, because it's got beautiful lawns【65】around it, with many trees and shrubs. The grounds【66】about four square blocks. I mean, they' re about two blocks long【67】each side.

Of course, we didn't see the whole building. The part【68】the president lives and works can not be visited by the public. But the part we saw was beautiful. We went through five of the main rooms. One of【69】was the library, on the ground floor. On the next floor, there are three rooms named【70】the colors that are used in them: the Red Room, the Blue Room, and the Green Room. The walls are covered with silk【71】There are【72】old furniture, from the time【73】the White House was【74】built. And everywhere there are paintings and statues of former presidents and【75】famous people from history.

(56)

A．made

B．took

C．did

D．set

If you work from home, you can do anything you like at anytime.

A.condensed work week

B.compressed work week

Students from other countries think that ______.

A. it's easier to get part-time work abroad

B. there are more activities to take part in than at home

C. everyone can get scholarships or special loans

D. their main problem abroad is the lack of money