Heads turned, tears dropped, and gossip-filled whispers went on and on from the hospital passages to the house windows. There was a problem: a daughter had been born. She wasn’t the first disappointment born to her family. Although my aunt didn’t care about giving birth to a girl, her mother-in-law constantly reminded her of the criticism she would have to face if she gave birth to a daughter. In India, most people held these views.

When I visited my relatives during the summer, one sentence managed to fill me with anger and start arguments with my so-called relatives. “You are a girl, stay within your limits.” They simply don’t know how different it is living in the US. Anyway, comparisons to my cousins led me to end the arguments for the moment and accept the way they lived their lives.

My words didn’t make sense to them so my mind was set on proving them wrong.

Although their words didn’t tear me apart, their actions managed to. The amount of sexism(性别歧视) in this culture, especially my hometown, made me feel bad. It was the 21st century, yet women had to eat after the men at family gatherings. They had to cook all the family meals and were asked to take jobs that required little skill or education. It was time to change these views.

As I was growing older, the same relatives repeatedly questioned me about my future: “What do you want to be?” And the answer was always the same：electrical engineer. I have a passion for electronics; as clichéd(陈词滥调的) as it sounds, I was born to do it. When I connect wires together to repair something, I can’t contain my excitement. But when I tried to explain this to my relatives, all of them, except for my parents and grandparents, would be shocked and laugh at me — laugh because they didn’t think I could live up to my goals, being a “girl and all”. It was time to change these views.

In my world, being a girl is not a problem. Rather, it is an opportunity to allow passion, not stereotypes(成见), to shape my future. I decided to channel my relatives’ views into positive energy. Rather than letting them bring me down, I let them be motivation to achieve my goal of becoming an engineer. I, a female, will become a successful engineer.

【小题1】The first paragraph was mainly written to    .

A．describe how bad the author’s aunt felt for having a baby girl

B．describe the pressure the author’s aunt had to face when she was going to have a baby

C．show that most Indian people are strongly prejudiced against women

D．show that the author’s aunt’s generation is fighting against prejudice against women

【小题2】From the second and third paragraphs, it can be concluded that    .

A．the author realized that just using words couldn’t change the relatives’ sexism

B．the author’s friends and relatives were jealous about her life in the US

C．the author got used to being reminded to stay within her limits after she was born

D．the author often argued with her relatives because she believed US lifestyles were right

【小题3】According to the text, the author decided to change her relatives’ views by    .

A．achieving her ambition of changing her hometown

B．using her relatives’ comments as motivation

C．letting stereotypes influence her future decisions

D．achieving her dream of becoming an engineer

【小题4】In the article, in what way does the author show how serious the amount of sexism was in her hometown?

A．By describing feeling defeated after arguments.

B．By describing people’s words, behavior and common practices.

C．By stressing the conflicts she had with her relatives.

D．By giving examples of how her goals were laughed at repeatedly.

Why College Is Not Home

The college years are supposed to be a time for important growth in autonomy(自主性) and the development of adult identity. However, now they are becoming an extended period of adolescence, during which many of today’s students are not shouldered with adult responsibilities.

For previous generations, college was a decisive break from parental control; guidance and support needed to come from people of the same age and from within. In the past two decades, however, continued connection with and dependence on family, thanks to cell phones, email and social media, have increased significantly. Some parents go so far as to help with coursework. Instead of promoting the idea of college as a passage from the shelter of the family to autonomy and adult responsibility, universities have given in to the idea that they should provide the same environment as that of the home.

To prepare for increased autonomy and responsibility, college needs to be a time of exploration and experimentation. This process involves ＂trying on＂ new ways of thinking about oneself both intellectually(在思维方面)and personally. While we should provide ＂safe spaces＂ within colleges, we must also make it safe to express opinions and challenge majority views. Intellectual growth and flexibility are fostered by strict debate and questioning.

Learning to deal with the social world is equally important. Because a college community(群体) differs from the family, many students will struggle to find a sense of belonging. If students rely on administrators to regulate their social behavior and thinking pattern, they are not facing the challenge of finding an identity within a larger and complex community.

Moreover, the tendency for universities to monitor and shape student behavior runs up against another characteristic of young adults: the response to being controlled by their elders. If acceptable social behavior is too strictly defined(规定) and controlled, the insensitive or aggressive behavior that administrators are seeking to minimize may actually be encouraged.

It is not surprising that young people are likely to burst out, particularly when there are reasons to do so. Our generation once joined hands and stood firm at times of national emergency. What is lacking today is the conflict between adolescents’ desire for autonomy and their understanding of an unsafe world. Therefore, there is the desire for their dorms to be replacement homes and not places to experience intellectual growth.

Every college discussion about community values, social climate and behavior should include recognition of the developmental importance of student autonomy and self-regulation, of the necessary tension between safety and self-discovery.

【小题1】What’s the author’s attitude toward continued parental guidance to college students?

A．Sympathetic.	B．Disapproving.
C．Supportive.	D．Neutral.

【小题2】The underlined word ＂passage＂ in Paragraph 2 means___________.

A．change	B．choice
C．text	D．extension

【小题3】According to the author, what role should college play?

A．To develop a shared identity among students.

B．To define and regulate students’ social behavior.

C．To provide a safe world without tension for students.

D．To foster students’ intellectual and personal development.

【小题4】Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage?

A．	B．
C．	D．

短文改错

As everyone knows it, people can get many information through the Internet. Meanwhile, people are also clear aware of its disadvantages, and some children don't realize they sometimes make friends with bad people online. In my opinion, people can use the Internet make friends, download useful materials and go shopping online. However, there were also many disadvantages of the Internet. If you can't use it correctly, it may be harmful for you. In junior middle school, I was once crazy about play online games and I couldn't control myself. As the result, my study results were getting from bad to worse. Besides, if you believe whichever your friends say online, you will be cheated by them some day.

短文改错
Dear Editor,

I’m writing to tell you about discussion we recently had about if it is good or not for families to own cars.

As the development of people’s living conditions, more and more people have our own cars. Some of us think it’s good to own a car. Firstly, it’s a convenient, fast, and comfortable mean of transportation. Secondly, it shows that people are becoming richer, and the country much strong. It also makes relative businesses and industries to develop faster.

Others have different opinions. They think that cars give off waste gases and polluted the environment. Too many cars will have some bad effects, such as more accidents. Beside, the limited parking space is another big problem.

In my view, people should think careful before they buy a car.

Yours truly,

Li Hua

学生的眼睛近视已经成为人们关注的话题。请结合下面的要点提示，写一篇英语短文，分析这种现象出现的原因，并提出自己的建议。

近视的原因	用眼习惯不健康
	电视、电脑对视力的影响
建议	养成良好的用眼习惯
	不要在强光下阅读

 
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.文章的开头已给出，但不计入总词数。

Nowadays many students are wearing glasses.

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