《学位英语》试题精选四

My job was to make classroom observations and encourage a training program that would enable students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna was one of the volunteer teachers who participated in this __21__.One day， I entered Donna’s classroom， took a seat in the back of the room and __22__. All the students were working on a __23__. The student next to me was filling her page with “I Can’ts”. “I can’t kick the soccer ball” “ I can’t get Debbie to like me”. Her page was half full and she showed no __24__ of stopping. I walked down the row and found everyone was writing sentences， __25__ things they couldn’t do.By this time the activity aroused my __26__， so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on but I noticed she too was __27__ in writing. “I can’t get John’s mother to come for a parents’ meeting..” I felt it best not to __28__.After another ten minutes， the students were __29__ to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. They placed their “I can’t” statements into an empty shoes box. Then Donna __30__ hers. She put the lid on the box， tucked(塞进)it under her arm and headed out the door. Students followed the teacher. I followed the students. Halfway down the hallway Donna got a shove(铁铲）from the tool house， and then marched the students to the farthest comer of the playground. There they began to __31__. The box of “I can’ts ” was placed at the __32__ of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt. At this point Donna announced: “Boys and girls， please join hands and __33__ your heads.”They quickly formed a circle around the grave(墓地）.Donna delivered the eulogy(悼词）：“Friends， we gathered here today to __34__ the memory of “I can’t”. He is __35__ by his brothers and sisters “I can” and “I will”. May “I can’t” rest in __36__.She turned the students __37__ and marched them back into the classroom. They celebrated the __38__ of “I can’t”. Donna cut a large tombstone(墓碑)from paper. She wrote the words “I can’t” at the top and the date at the bottom， then hung it in the classroom. On those rare occasions when a student __39__ and said， “I can’t”，Donna __40__ pointed to the paper tombstone. The student then remembered that “I can’t” was dead and chose other statement.

Passage 2
The first year of school in America， known as kindergarten， usually begins between the ages of five and six. Among rich countries such a late start is very strange. President Obama believes it is an economic and social problem; his education secretary goes as far as to say that it is “morally wrong”. This statement has some support， as it is clear from research into vocabulary that youngsters from poor families enter kindergarten well behind those from rich families—a disadvantage that usually lasts a lifetime. Children from households on welfare knew 525 words by the age of three， while the children of professionals had mastered 1， 116.Pre-school can help close this gap. So in a speech last month， Mr. Obama called for a partnership between the federal government and the states to expand it to every American child. It later became known that “every” meant those who come from families with incomes of up to 200% above the poverty line—equal to an income of $ 47， 000 for a family of four.Some critics say that sending children to school at the age of four does not work. The evidence suggests otherwise. For example， on March 20th new results were announced from a study of 9-to-11-year-olds in New Jersey. This report found that disadvantaged children who had attended pre-school had better literacy (读写會这力)，language， maths and science skills. And two years of pre-kindergarten were better than one.Some studies also follow the effects of early learning over lifetimes， such as its effect on crime rates and other factors that may eventually burden society. Critics have singled out a government scheme called Head Start， created in 1965， which provides poor households with a range of services including school based early education.

Passage 1
Human needs seem endless. When a hungry man gets a meal， he begins to think about an overcoat; when a manager gets a new sports car， a big house and pleasure boats dance into view.The many needs of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels. When there is money enough to satisfy one level of needs， another level appears.The first and most basic level of needs involves food. Once this level is satisfied， the second level of needs， clothing and some sort of shelter， appears. By the end of World War II， these needs were satisfied for a great majority of Americans. Then a third level appeared. It included such items as automobiles and new houses.By 1957 or 1958 this third level of needs was fairly well satisfied. Then， in the late 1950s， a fourth level of needs appeared: the “life enriching” level. While the other levels involve physical satisfaction， that is， the feeding， comfort， safety， and transportation， this level stresses mental needs for recognition， achievement， and happiness. It includes a variety of goods and services， many of which could be called “luxury” items. Among them are vacation trips， the best medical and dental care， and recreation. Also included here are fancy goods and the latest styles in clothing.On the fourth level， a lot of money is spent on services， while on the first three levels more is spent on goods. Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of needs as their income increases， or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level？
A fifth level would probably involve needs that can be achieved best by community action. Consumers may be spending more on taxes to pay for government action against disease， ignorance， crime， and prejudice. After filling our stomachs， our clothes closets， our garages， our teeth， and our minds， we now may seek to ensure the health， safety， and leisure to enjoy more fully the good things on the first four levels.