The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog has a panel (专门小组) considering the pluses and minuses of summer homework. This has been the subject of debate in our house. Our 11th-grade daughter’s summer assignments were very challenging, to the point where I sometimes wondered if more of her time would have been better spent just riding a bicycle or swimming around a pool.

Here are some opinions from the panel:

Harris Cooper, psychologist, Duke University: “The long summer vacation disrupts the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school in the fall. My advice? Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign. Summer homework shouldn’t be expected to overcome a student’s learning deficits; that’s what summer school is for. Parents, if the assignments are clear and reasonable, support the teachers. ”

Nancy Kalish, co-author of the Case Against Homework: “Schools should rethink summer homework, and not just because it stresses out kids (and parents). The truth is, homework doesn’t accomplish what we assume it does. According to a Duke University review of more than 175 studies, there is little or no connection between homework and standardized test score or long-term achievement in primary school.”

Mark Bauerlein, professor of English at Emory University: “To the general question of whether or not schools should assign summer homework, the answer is ‘Yes.’ The reason comes not only from the brain drain of summer. It relates also to an attitude young people take toward education. They tie knowledge to the syllabus, not to themselves. They read and study to write the paper and score highly in the test, not to furnish their minds. In a word, they regard learning as a classroom thing. That’s all.”

It seems to me that summer homework is a good idea to keep the brain cells moving, but like everything else it should be given in moderation.

21. Harris Cooper seems to believe that________.

A. more summer homework causes students’ learning difficulties

B. students should go to summer school if they have no homework

C. teachers should give careful consideration to summer homework

D. parents should tell teachers how much homework their kids need

22. In the 4th paragraph, Nancy Kalish explains her idea by________.

A. making comparisons                 B. giving research findings

C. raising questions                       D. telling stories

23. Mark Bauerlein might agree that summer homework________.

A. should be based on the school’s teaching program

B. has no direct connection to students’ higher grades

C. brings more pressure to both students and their parents

D. helps students develop the right attitude toward learning

   Uncle Li and Uncle Wang are good friends. They live next to each other and their farms are both at the foot of the mountain. So they can help each other. But neither of them likes to use his head. They're both poor though they work hard. Most villagers have built new houses, but they still live in the low and broken houses. They never find out why.

    Once Uncle Li went to town to buy some medicine for his wife. In the town he heard the apples in a city were expensive. He told Uncle Wang about it as soon as he went back. They decided to carry some apples to the city. They borrowed some money from their friends and bought nearly 1,000 kilograms of apples in the villages and carried them to the city on a tractor. Bad luck! A lot of apples had already been carried there when they arrived. A few days later they had to sell them at a low price (价格)。They felt unhappy and returned to their village.

    "I can't understand why we sustained (蒙受) losses in business while others always profit (盈利)" Uncle Li asked one day.

    "The tractor was too small " Uncle Wang said without thinking. "We'll carry more apples on a truck next time!"

    "I agree!" said Uncle Li. "How foolish (傻的) we were !"

33. Uncle Li and Uncle Wang live in the low and broken houses because __________.

A. they hope to save money                    B. they're both poor

C. their farms are at the foot of the mountain     D. they're not far from their farms

34. The two farmers carried the apples to the city to _________.

A. make a journey               B. visit some places of interest

C. meet their friends           D. make a profit

35. the two farmers had to sell their apples at a low price because ________.

A. theirs weren't as good as the others'

B. theirs were much less than the others'

C. a lot of apples had been already carried to the city

D. they forgot to carry them on a truck

How long do you think it will be ______ another e-commerce giant comes out to exceed Alibaba?

    A. when                          B. before                            C. since               D. until

On Friday I called my parents, who are in their early 90s now. They were upset as they didn’t___21___what to send us and our adult kids for Christmas presents. Both of them have suffered serious___22___problems recently, and I___23___them not to worry about it because all of us had what we needed and didn’t___24___anything more.

    Not happy with that,they___25___getting us all-something. Although they were in poor health this year, they still thought it was___26___for them to send something to us all. My mother said that she was___27___the other brothers and sisters fruit and delicious food baskets. That gave me a(n)___28___.I asked her to___29___,in that case, giving whatever she would have given us to a local food bank.Or___30___,they donate money she would have___31___on all of us to the food bank. When I checked with my kids, I knew what I suggested was proven exactly.___32___,for all of us would be ___33___to know we had been able to donate to a local food bank.

    She and my father___34___this idea, but had no idea where a food bank would be.___35___my father was still quite able and interested in doing his own computer searches,his___36___to do this has gradually been going down.I looked it up right there and then discovered not one___37___three local food banks, and the center for a state-wide food bank___38___right there in their town. I gave them the___39___and phone number, which they asked for. They seemed to feel a great___40___at this suggested solution and I was very grateful.

21. A. admit            B. abolish      C. know             D. keep

22. A. finance          B. health           C. work             D. affection

23. A. begged           B. ordered      C. warned           D. rejected

24. A. borrow           B. sell         C. refuse               D. need

25. A. gave up          B. insisted on      C. dreamed of           D. applied for

26. A. difficult            B. strange      C. impossible           D. important

27. A. giving           B. owing            C. lending          D. sharing

28. A. belief           B. mind         C. idea             D. opinion

29. A. allow            B. consider    C. practice         D. avoid

30. A. easier           B. worse            C. less             D. stronger

31. A. made         B. paid         C. spent                D. cost

32. A. real         B. controversial   C. unreasonable      D. right

33. A. delighted        B. disappointed   C. generous           D. energetic

34. A. deleted          B. hated            C. liked                D. found

35. A. Unless           B. Although    C. If                   D. When

36. A. chance           B. purpose      C. desire               D. ability

37. A. and          B. so           C. but              D. or

38. A. floated          B. located      C. covered          D. adjusted

39. A. address          B. date         C. appointment      D. sign

40. A. egret            B. curiosity        C. interest         D. relief

作为一名高三学生，你或许经常跟你的父母就看电视问题闹矛盾。你的父母以学业繁重和影响视力等为由阻挠你看电视，而你又认为电视能满足你的兴趣爱好同时繁重的学业下也需要放松，最后你们之间相互妥协达成了一致意见。请你以该话题写一篇字数120左右的短文。

注意：1. 就双方的理由可以进行适当的扩充，协议自己想象。

      2. 开头已写好，不计入字数

    I am a Senior 3 student. I often quarrel with my parents over whether I can watch TV after school.

Kobe Bryant probably could have achieved more if he and Shaquille O'Neal never ______.

A. broke down     B. split up

C. took off       D. put off

A man enters a store to buy milk. He walks out of the store with milk. That is all-milk. At the same time, a woman enters the same grocery store also to buy milk. She buys it. But she also buys chicken and lemons to make dinner that night. Then she remembers to buy food for her son to eat at school. She also gets a bottle of wine for drinks with friends and a birthday card for her husband’s niece. Then she gets coffee for breakfast, ice cream for dessert and remembers stamps to mail the bills. And don’t forget soap for the bathroom.

And that is the difference between the female and male brains simply explained in a grocery store.

Generally speaking, men do one thing at a time. Women do many. Now scientific research supports this theory about male and female brains. A recent study has confirmed what we have known all along—men and women think differently.

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania studied brain images of 949 people aged from eight to 22 years old. They found that male brains have more connections on one side of the brain, or hemisphere. In the female brains, they found more activity and connections between the right and left sides of the brain. The left side of the brain is known as the side of “reason.” The right hemisphere is known as the “creative” side.

Regina Verma is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She co-wrote the report. She says when women are asked to do something difficult they might use different parts of the brain. Men, she adds, generally use just one side of the brain. As a result, men generally deal directly with a problem. There is a strong connection between the “understanding” and the “action” parts of their brains. Women, however, might include other parts of the brain when solving a problem. Women take a less direct path to find a solution.

25. The author mentioned the shopping in Paragraph 1 to___________.

   A. show women’s carefulness                  B. prove men’s quick action

   C. object to an opinion                       D. bring up the topic to be discussed

26. The main idea of Paragraph 4 is that ___________. 111]

   A. women have two same brains on both sides      B. men have more complicated brains than women

   C. different kinds of brain images have been studied  D. men’s structure of brain is different from women’s

27.What causes the difference between men’s and women’s behavior?     

   A. Watching things from different sides.        B. Having different attitudes towards life.

   C. Using different parts of the brain to think.  D. Reacting at different speed to problems.

 --- Shall we watch Personal Tailor directed by Feng Xiaogang this weekend?

   ---        . Isn’t it meaningful that we do some voluntary work in the nursing house?

A. How come       B. Forget it        C. Don’t mention it    D. Couldn’t agree more

 After a lengthy discussion, they finally_______ up with a suggestion for solving the problem.

  A. went         B. came       C. kept       D. looked

   Our body clock, or natural body rhythm, influences our energy and alertness. Paying attention to it can help us choose the suitable time of the day when we best perform specific tasks.

  The reality, however, is that most of us organize the time around work demands, school deadlines, commuting or social events. Doing whatever the body feels like doing is a luxury in today’s fast-paced modern society.

  But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. Obeying our body clock has significant health benefits. Disrupting our natural body rhythm, on the other hand, has been linked to problems such as depression, obesity, or headache, says Steve Key, a biology professor.

  When the body clock can synchronize (使……同步) the rhythms of its natural processes, it “gives us an advantage in daily life”, says Key.

  According to him, when it comes to cognitive (认知的) work, most adults perform best in the late morning. As our body temperature starts to rise just before awakening in the morning and continues to increase until midday, our memory, alertness and concentration gradually improve.

  However, he adds, our ability to concentrate typically starts to decrease soon thereafter. Most of us are more easily distracted (分心) between noon and 4 pm.

  Alertness also tends to fall after eating a meal and sleepiness tends to peak around 2 pm, making that a good time for a nap.

  Surprisingly, tiredness may increase our creative powers. For most adults, problems that require open-ended thinking are often best dealt with in the evening when they are tired, according to a study in the journal Thinking & Reasoning.

  When choosing a time of the day to exercise, paying attention to your body clock can improve results. Physical performance is usually best from about 3 to 6 pm, says   Michael Smolensky, a professor of biomedical engineering.

  Of course, not everyone’s body clock is the same, making it even harder to synchronize natural rhythms with daily plans.

28. If we know our natural body rhythm well, we can ______.

A. find out the suitable time to do specific tasks

B. organize our time around work demands

C. do whatever our body feels like doing

D. be sure to be healthy

29. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Our alertness is influenced by our natural body rhythm.

B. Doing whatever your body feels like is very difficult in our modern society.

C. Obeying our body clock is good for our health.

D. Disrupting our natural body rhythm can lead to obesity.

30. Inspiration (灵感) to solve a difficult problem will most probably come to us______.

A. when we get up in the morning

B. when we are tired in the evening

C. when we are full of energy in the late morning

D. when we are asleep at night

31. Which of the following can be the suitable title for the passage?

A. What is natural body rhythm?

B. Natural body rhythm is good for us.

C. Something about natural body rhythm.

D. The latest research about natural body rhythm.     

The result of the study indicated that it was the type of fat, ______ is often the case, ________ made the difference.

  A. as; that                 B. which; what              C. that; who         D. which; that

Festivals and celebrations of all kinds   61   (hold) everywhere since ancient times. Most ancient festivals would celebrate the end of cold weather,    62    (plant) in spring and harvest in autumn. At that time people would starve if food was difficult to find, especially during the cold winter months.

Today's festivals have many   63_ (original), some religious , some seasonal, and some for special people or events. Some festivals are held to honor the dead or to satisfy the ancestors, who might return either to help or to do harm. For example, the Japanese festival Obon is honored in __64  (memorize) of their ancestors. People then should go to clean graves, light lamps and play music  __65   they think that this will lead the ancestors back to earth. In Mexico, people celebrate the Day of the Dead in early November.   66__ this important feast day, people eat food in  _67_  shape of skulls and cakes with "bones" on them. They offer food, flowers and gifts to the dead. The Western holiday Halloween also had  _68   origin in old beliefs about the return of the spirits of dead people. It is now a children's festival, __ 69    they can dress up and go to their neighbors' homes to ask for sweets. The Dragon Boat Festival in China honors the famous ancient poet, Qu Yuan. India has a national festival on October 2 to honor Mohandas Gandhi, the leader who helped gain India's  __70__ （depend) from Britain.

People always feel headache about academic writing.Jennifer Ahern-Dodson provides some suggestions with some students and teachers.She asks about their earlier writing experiences.Were they negative or positive?She advises that you are not alone if you have had problems with your writing.She says everyone struggles with writing.

“Writing is hard.All writers struggle at some point.And even if writing has come easily for you,at some point in your work as a student,that eventually you’re going to hit a roadblock.So it’s really important to take a moment to think about their past writing experiences.And when the writing was going well,what was happening?When the writing wasn’t going well,what was happening?”

She says most people’s negative writing experiences happened because a very specific formula is required for a paper including an exact length.”And so they primarily focus on,and worry about,what the final product has to look like,like how many pages for a research essay?Or if it is in the second or third language,you know,punctuation and grammar,like whether it gets communicated in the right language.

Another problem can arise when the need to do well on a paper is extremely important.“...like a timed essay exam,or a college application essay,or a research paper that is at the end of the semester,and it’s tied to the entire grade for the class.So worrying about what will happen if they don’t do well–get bad grades,don’t get into college–creates,of course,significant anxiety.And that can make it harder to get the writing done.”

Then she and the people she’s helping move to more positive projects.She says usually when writing comes easily,the writers feel they have something important to say.The teacher advises thinking about who your audience is,and what it is that you really want to say to them.

5. What does Jennifer Ahern-Dodson think of academic writing?

A. It is made up of past experiences.    B. It has positive effects.

C. It is hard for everyone.    D. It makes people think.

6. Which can best explain the underlined words“hit a roadblock”in Paragraph 2?

A. Have an accident.    B. Meet into trouble.

C. Break some record.    D. Graduate from school.

7. What can be the problem with academic writing?

A. Research subjects.    B. Required styles.

C. A certain formula.    D. Lack of patience.

8. According to Jennifer,how can we improve writing?

A. By stopping worrying.    B. By thinking positively.

C. By focusing on the subject.    D. By thinking about audience.

文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在此处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及修改均仅限一词；

   2.只允许修改10处，多者（从11处起）不计分。

I was sitting at my favorite table in a restaurant last Sunday and wait for the food I had ordered to arrive. I suddenly found that Lin Ling, one of my classmate, worked like a waitress there. Honest speaking, it was great surprise for me to find her working there. As far as I know, she’s from a richer family. What was it that made her to work there? I walked up to her and asked her the reason. When asking, she said, “I just want to earn some pocket money so that we can help some children in poor areas go back to school.” How a good girl! I should learn from her.

    假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

    增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

    删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)画掉。

    修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

    注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

          2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

    Some old people are not taken good care. Their children don't visit themselves regularly. They don't have proper food or medicine when they are ill. The reasons for this are clearly. For one thing, many young people are so busy to look after their old parents. For another, some young people think it heavy burden to spend a lot of money on their parents.

    It is the Chinese tradition respect the old and protect the young. The old people deserve our attention and love because they have made great contribution to our society. If that we don't treat the old properly today, we will be badly treated when we got old. Let's take action from now on. Let's show concern to the old around us.

 It is apparent that an equal ________ of the educational resources is what  the public need badly nowadays.

A. contribution    B. distribution   C. location               D. separation