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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 reality 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 on 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 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 colors. The woman in the marketplace! 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 ____B____ .
A. refused to speak to her.
B. was pleasant and attractive.
C. was selling skirts and ribbons.
D. recognized her immediately.
解析：B。根据第3段对她的细节描写。 “She moved with the same ease and loveliness … 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.” 由此可见，作者对她的印象是愉快的。

90. Which of the following in NOT correct? ____A____
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.
解析：A。第5段 “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.” （在亚洲，人们有讨价还价的习俗。在老挝，人们讨价还价时总是轻言细语），由此可知，B、C、D是正确的。作者了解当地的习俗，所以很自然地开始bargain，所以A选项不对。

91. The writer assumed that the woman accepted the last offer mainly because woman ____A/C____ .
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.
解析：A/C。“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.”

92. Why did the writer finally decide to buy three skirts? ____C____
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 bargaining with the woman.
解析：C。第6段: “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.” 由此可知，作者因为价格很低，所以想多买几件作为对卖裙子的姑娘的一种补偿。

93.When did the writer left the marketplace, she wanted to cry, but did not because ____A____.
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.
解析：A。第8段：“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.”（我学会了抗拒困难，不知不觉中，我也学会了不被温柔和轻松俘获。）由此可知，作者没有哭是因为她已经学会控制自己的情绪不会轻易受到影响，所以选A。

94. Why did the writer cry eventually when she looked at the skirts again? ____C____
A. she suddenly felt very sad.
B. she liked the ribbons so much.
C. she was overcome by emotion.
D. she felt sorry for the woman.
解析：C。最后一段：“There is no defense against a generous spirit, and this time I cry…”（对于一颗慷慨的心你是无法防备的，所以这次我哭了，…）由此可知我哭是因为被卖丝绸裙子的姑娘感动了。

TEXT D

The kids are hanging out. I pass small bands of students, in 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 realities 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. School 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____
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.”
解析：A。 第一段的第一句：“The kids are hanging out.”跟第二段的最后一句： “Once supervised by teachers and principals, they now appear to be “self care”. 相呼应。作者的观点是现在的孩子上学的时间太短，很多时间都在外闲逛，无所事事。这里的hang out是指在某地逗留，浪费时间。后面也可以加个地方，旨在那个地方逗留，浪费时间。也可以with某人，指与某人在一起瞎混，浪费时间。例如：You guys spent too much time hanging out.
你们花太多时间瞎混了。B、C、D是客观事实陈述，并不是作者观点。

96. The current American school calendar was developed in the 19th century according to ____A____
A. the growing season on nation’s farm.
B. the labor demands of the industrial age.
C. teachers’ demands for more vacation time.
D. parents’ demands for other experiences for their kids.
解析：A。第三段提到：“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. (19世纪的时候，上学时间是根据农时来决定的。现在虽然只有3%的家庭从事农业，但几乎所有的学校的校历安排似乎是让孩子们早早回家去挤牛奶或是花上几个月时间去地里种庄稼.)

97. The author thinks that the current school calendar ____A____.
A. is still valid.
B. is out of date.
C. can not be revised.
D. can not be defended.
解析：B。从第三段可知，现有的校历是根据以前的情况制定的，已经不能适应现在的情况了。

98. Why was Dr. Boy’s idea unpopular? ____D____
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.
解析：D。A和B明显与文章不符。A指的是大众的观点；B选项Dr. Boy是不赞同现有的校历的。C选项与文章相反，文中提到Dr.Boy’s idea: “We have a huge mismatch between the school calendar and realities of family life,”… “School, whether we like it or not, is educational. It always has been.” 意思是如今的校历安排与现实生活脱节，暗指应该把两者结合起来。

99.“The long summers of forgetting take a toll ”in the last paragraph but one means that ____C____.
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.
解析：C。细看这句话：“learning takes time more learning takes more time, the long summer"s forgetting take a toll.” take a toll意思是造成损失或有不良的影响。这句话意思是：“学习要时间,更多学习要更多时间,而长时间的暑假会影响(它),会对(它)造成不好影响”。
文中作者的观点是现有的校历学习的时间不够长，“Despite the complaints and studies about our kids’ lack of learning, the United State still has a shorter school year than any industrial nation.”（虽然我们抱怨和研究我们的孩子学习不够，然而在美国，上学时间仍然比其他任何工业国家的都要短。）

100. The main purpose of the passage is ____C____
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.
解析：C。整篇文章讨论的是现有的校历安排存在的问题。