Passage 1:

In America Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. On that day we send our mothers a special Mother’s Day card, and perhaps some flowers or candy, to show our love and appreciation for all they have done for us. Although Mother’s Day is a relatively new holiday in America, more and more other countries are also setting aside a day to honor their mothers.

I want to tell you today how the idea of having a special day for mothers began. It all started over a hundred years ago with a woman named Anna May Jarvis.

Anna was born on May 1, 1864, just before the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Lincoln. She was the daughter of a “minister”, which in American English means a church leader. She was a quiet girl who liked to study in school, but she liked everyone and was liked by everyone as well.

After she became an adult, Anna worked for a life insurance company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-a city about halfway between New York City and Washington, D.C. then, in 1906, just two weeks after Anna’s 42nd birthday, her mother died. It was the second Sunday in May.

In the months that followed, Anna began to change. No longer was she so gentle, so relaxed and easy-going. Instead she now had just one goal for her life-to have her mother and all other mothers honored throughout the whole world on the second Sunday of May.

After more than a year of careful planning, Anna arranged the first Mother’s Day church service, on May 10, 1908, in Grafton, West Virginia. The next year Anna was able to get the city of Philadelphia, where she lived and worked, to proclaim the second Sunday of May as an official Mother’s Day-the first city to do so. After three more years, the state of West Virginia, where Anna’s mother had lived, made Mother’s Day a statewide observance – not a holiday in the normal sense, but still a day to remember what mothers have done for their children and society.

1. Which answer is right about Mother’s Day?

A) In America, Mother’s Day is a holiday with a very long history.

B) More and more countries are put aside their tradition of celebrating Mother’s Day.

C) In America, Mother’s Day is on the second Sunday in May.

D) Throughout the world, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the same day.

答案： D

解析： 细节题。根据第一段的内容可以知道A、B、C是正确的，C错在the same day和文章的意思不一样，仅仅是说其它的国家抽出一天但是没有说是在同一天。

2. Choose the right explanation of the word “observance” in the last paragraph

A) remark made by people

B) action in accordance with custom

C) performance of certain tradition

D) notice paid widely

答案： C

解析： C的含义是传统的履行，实际上是过节日。根据上下文的含义应该是庆祝母亲节选择C较合适。

3. How long in all had Anna spent to establish Mother’s Day in West Virginia?

A) from May 10, 1908 to May 10, 1911

B) for more than four years

C) for more than three years

D) for about three years

答案： B

解析： 细节题。这题有一定的推算性，on May 10, 1908然后After three more years可以知道应该至少是四年。B是正确的答案。

4. Choose the right understanding of this passage.

A) Anna was born just before the assassination of President Lincoln which ended the Civil War.

B) Anna was a daughter of a minister which in English means a church worker.

C) Anna’s mother’s death had done a little damage to him easy life.

D) The Mother’s Day celebrated in West Virginia is not a normal holiday, but a day with special meaning.

答案： D

解析： 细节题.最后一段的Mother's Day a statewide observance – not a holiday in the normal sense, but still a day to remember what mothers have done for their children and society.可以知道答案。

5. According to the passage, what most probably happened in the paragraph following?

A) The United States Congress proclaimed the Second in May as Mother’s Day forever in the United States.

B) Mother’s Day gradually became a conventional celebration.

C) Anna retired from her job with a fortune of over a hundred thousand dollars.

D) People stopped buying candy to their mothers.

答案： B

解析： 文义推论题。本文的作者主要是说母亲节的来历，到文章的最后只是说明了这个节日的历史，但尚没有说出在以后的时间里渐渐成为一个conventional(惯常的、惯例的)节日。

Passage2:

Many of us believe that a person’s mind becomes less active as he grows older. But this is not true, according to Dr Jarvik, professor of psychiatry at the University of California. She has studied the mental functioning of aging persons for several years. For example, one of her studies concerns 136 pairs of identical twins, who were first examined when they were already 60 years old. As Dr Jarvik continued the study of the twins into their 70s and 80s, their minds did not generally decline as was expected.

However, there was some decline in their psycho-motor speed. This means that it took them longer to accomplish mental tasks than it used to. But when speed was not a factor, they lost very little intellectual ability over the years. In general, Dr Jarvik’s studies have shown that there is no decline in knowledge or reasoning ability. This is true not only with those in their 30s and 40s, but with those in their 60s and 70s as well.

It is true that older people themselves often complain that their memory is not as good as it once was. However, much of what we call “loss of memory” is not that at all. There usually was incomplete learning in the first place. For example, the older person perhaps had trouble hearing, or poor vision, or inattention, or was trying to learn the new thing at too fast a pace. In the cases where the older person’s mind really seems to decay, it is not necessarily a sign of decay due to old age. Often it is simply a sign of a depressed emotional state.

6.This passage is mainly about ____.

A) how Dr Jarvik studied mental functioning of the twins.

B) what caused mental decay.

C) the results evidenced by Dr Jarvik’s studies.

D) the difference between middle – aged and older persons

答案： C

解析： 大意题。本文主要向读者传达了人的记忆和分析能力不是随着年龄的增大而消退，主要是通过.Dr Jarvik的研究成果来显示的。其它选项不是文章的主旨意思。

7. The word “psychiatry” in paragraph 1 most probably means ____.

A) the study of human behavior.

B) the study of disease of the mind.

C) the study of problems with aging persons.

D) the study of twins growth.

答案： B

解析： 大意题。同上题的解释。主要的是disease of the mind和年龄的区别。

8. A long – term study of 136 pairs of twins showed that ____.

A) they lost a little ability to reason over the years.

B) the only factor which declined over the years was their speed with which to perform mental tasks.

C) their memory was not as good as it had once been.

D) their minds became is not considered as they grew older.

答案： B

解析：　细节和推论.文章的第一段最后一句和第2段的前两句都是说明这样的一个实验说明研究结果.即，仅仅和速度有关系，课文的下面部分也相应作了解释.

9. Which of the following is not considered as an instanced of “incomplete learning”?

A) Poor hearing.

B) Bad eyesight.

C) Lack of attention.

D) The attempt to learn too many new things at the same time

答案： D

解析：最后一句的中间部分For example, the older person perhaps had trouble hearing, or poor vision, or inattention, or was trying to learn the new thing at too fast a pace没有提到D项的内容.D项仅仅说的是心理原因造成的结果.

10. What we call mental decay is usually a sign of ____.

A) a low – spirited state.

B) a worsening state of health.

C) old age.

D) nervous tension

答案： A