C
It’s the oldest trick in the book: threaten the kids with a piece of coal, and they’ll behave in the name of Santa Claus.Some people say that parents are purposely taking in their kids by lying to them about Santa. Is it purposely cheating or playing along with the fantasy? There are always those stories about the kindergarten teacher or parent who would tell the kids there’s no Santa Claus, and they’d all start crying on the lost dreams.But if another teacher goes into a third-grade class and says there is a Santa Claus, they’ll all laugh at her.What I say is that if they’re at the age when they’re still believing,why bother to end it?
Then how long should parents pretend? Studies indicate that after eight,75 percent of kids don’t believe.That’s the first “S” word that parents have to deal with—it’s not sex. It’s Santa.So the parent has to sit down and say it in a gentle way. “Listen,Santa did exist. He was a person who gave to others and now that you’re older, you can give to others and be Santa,too.”Do you think if a kid who believes in Santa walks into a third-or-fourth-grade class, his friends are going to tell him in a gentle way?No.They’re going to make fun of him, and the kid is going to run home crying ,saying you lied to him. We all remember how the news is broken to us, so if we all remember, then there’s some significance or we would have forgotten it. And it’s better to have a memory if someone doing it nicely than some kids laughing at you.
Santa is also used as an instrument of guilt, because Santa knows everything.So even if the kids did bad things and got away with them, Santa knew.Still.Santa alone is not a good behavioral tool.You can’t,in,say, January, play the Santa card to your child—because Christmas is too far away.
28.According to the first paragraph,parents should__________.
A. telling the kids that Santa does not existB. lie to their children on the problem of Santa Claus
C. not tell the truth if their children believe Santa Claus exists
D. tell children in advance in case of being laughed at by classmates
29.Why could your kid possibly be made fun of in the fourth grade?
A. He tells a lie that he believes in Santa. B. He says Santa does exist in this world.
C. He expects gentle talks from his friends. D. He gives to others and acts as Santa does.
30.The underlined part in the last paragraph most probably means to__________.
A. play cards with children happily B. talk the kids out of doing something bad
C. clarify the truth of Santa to the kids in a gentle wayD. let the children figure the problem out by themselves
31.The author’s intention in writing this text is to__________.
A. introduce the detailed story of Santa Claus in all aspects
B. prevent children from being laughed at by fellow classmates
C. help children to understand whether Santa Claus is real or not
D. instruct parents how to explain the existence of Santa Claus to kids
D
Oumuamua,an object through space that was discovered on October 19th, has already made history.The speed at which it is moving relative to the sun means that it cannot be native to the solar system. Its official name is thus II/2017 UI, with the “I” standing for “interstellar(星际)”—the first time this name has ever been used.
That is exciting.Some scientists, though, entertain an ever more exciting possibility: what if Oumuamua is not an asteroid(小行星),as most think, but an alien(外星的)spacecraft? Asteroid come in ll sorts of shapes and sizes, but Oumuamua seems particularly different.As best as astronomers can tell, it is cigarlike,being roughly 180 meters long but only about 30 meters wide.That makes it longer than anything known of in the solar system.Such a shape would be a sensible choice for a spaceship,since it would minimize the scouring(冲刷)effect of interstellar dust.
With that in mind the Breakthrough Listen project, an organization aimed at hunting for alien life, plans to turn the world’s biggest radio telescope,the Green Bank instrument in Virginia,towards Oumuamua to see if it can hear anything interesting.Oumuamua is currently about twice as far from Earth as Earth is from the sun. At that range,the telescope should be sensitive enough to pick up a transmitter about as powerful as a mobile phone after just a few seconds—worth of observations.
Will it find anything? Almost certainly not.Oumuamua has the same reddish color as many as asteroids,so probably has a similar composition.And, if it really is a spaceship, it is strange that signs of its artificial origin have not been seen already.It could, in theory, be a derelict(遗弃星球). But in that case the telescope is unlikely to hear anything. By far the most likely option is that it is exactly what it seems to be: a huge space rock, one that has come to the solar system from the vast space between the stars.
32.What makes some scientists think Oumuamua is possibly an alien spacecraft?
A.Its size. B.Its color. C.Its shape. D.Its speed.
33.What does the underlined word“that”in the third paragraph probably mean?
A. The research into the solar system. B. The purpose of hunting for alien life.
C. The effect of interstellar dust on Oumuamua.D. The possibility of Oumuamua being a spaceship.
34.What is Oumuamua most likely to be according to the author?
A.An asteroid. B.A space rock. C.Interstellar dust. D.An alien spacecraft.
35.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that__________.
A. Oumuamua will return to where it’s from soonB. Oumuamua’s real identity remains to be found out
C. astronomers have not seen signs of Oumuamua’s artificial origin
D. the Green Bank telescope has already heard something from Oumuamua
第二节 (共5小题;每小题2分，满分10分)
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填人空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Many students want to learn English well,but don’t know where to start.Here is some advice.
Before you begin(or go back to) studying English, ask yourself:Why do you want to study English? 36 Like every decision in life, studying English must be something you want to do.
If you know why you want to study,setting goals is easy.For example,maybe you want to travel to an English-speaking country.Great! Your goal might be to learn“Survival English”. 37
Then, you may also ask yourself how long you need to study to achieve your goals.This answer is different fore every student. 38 If you work 60 hours per week, don’t plan on spending another 40 hours a week studying English.Start off slow, but study regularly.Use material that is challenging,but not too difficult.
39 Do you study best at night,or on the bus on your way to work?Do you like to study alone in a quiet place,or with friends and background music?After you have studied for a few weeks,adjust your study plan accordingly.
It’s generally accepted that 40 .If you aren’t having fun learning English, you are not studying the right way!
You can be a serious student who has fun at the same time.Make up your own rewards programme to give yourself encouragement to stay on task.
A. It is wise to make a timetable.
B. The important thing is to be realistic.
C. It’s better to find out what works for you.
D. Learning English is interesting and rewarding.
E. Whatever your goals are, work hard on them.
F. The things we do best in life are the things we enjoy doing.
G. Is it because you want to, or because someone else wants you to?
