B

　　Last fall was a first-of-its-kind season. I did not arrange (安排) any after-school classes for my children. No swimming.'No music lessons. No play dates. Nothing.

　　Once they finished their homework, they were free to do what they pleased, but only one hour of TV. In the beginning, my sons, Ben, 11, and Nick, 9, were anxious about this sudden,unplanned freedom. I had to, push them out of the door with a ball, a bike, and so on. "Play? ordered.

　　I learned that this new plan takes time, patience and a lot of faith in the theory that having excellent grades isn't really important.

　　When my older kids, now in college and high school, were young, I brought in the rules of modern parenting. They are unspoken, but followed carefully. First, you must let your child have a variety of activities. After all, you never know where you'll find a genius (天才). Second, if the child shows the slightest talent (才能), the activity must be pushed with lessons, special coaching (輔導(dǎo)) and practice of several days a week. Every minute should be taken and every minute has a purpose. That was really too much for my children.

　　Now with the new plan, we told stories, We listened to music. And' the. kids played with bikes, balls, and whatever was handy. Nobody kept score. In fact, the boys played outside so much that the lawn was worn down to the soil in places. They've made friends with those who come from all over the neighbourhood to play games.

　　We like those peaceful evenings. Ben and Nick have a good time this fall, MaYbe that's because the time off has allowed us to enjoy each other's company;

　　40.What was new for the family last fall?

　　A. The children began to learn music when school was over.

　　B. The writer arranged no' extra lessons for the children.

　　C.The writer found no time to play with the sons.

　　D. The children had nothing to do alter school

　　41. At the beginning of that season the children

　　A. Hated to spend more time on their homework

　　B. felt excited about making their own decisions

　　C. were pleased to have more freedom

　　D; were worried about the change

　　42. According to ',modern parenting" discussed in Paragraph 4, parents should

　　A. make use of every minute to be with the children

　　B, provide coaching and practice for each, activity .

　　C.try ex, cry means to find a child's real talent

　　D. know the rules but never talk about them

　　43. Fromthe passage we learn that

　　A. children like story'telling more.than bike-riding

　　B. parents should teach theirchildren how to make a plan

　　C. children should have time to enjoy themselves after school

　　D. parents can enjoy their evenings when children play with others

　　C

　　A woman:heads into apopular New York City coffee shop on a cold: winter rooming. Just ahead of her, a man drops a few papers. The woman pauses to help gather them. A clerk ata busy store thanks a customer who has just bought something. "Enjoy" the young woman says, smiling widely. "Have a nice day." She sounds like she really means it. These arethe common situations we may see every: day.

　　However, in her best-selling book Talk to the Hand, Lynne Truss argues that common good manners such as saying "Excuse me" almost no longer exist. There are certainly plenty who would agree with her. According to one recent study, 70 percent of the U.S. adults (成A.)said people are ruder now than they were 20 years ago.

　　Is it really true? We decided to find out if good manners are really hard to see. In this politeness study, reporters were sent to many cities in the world. They performed three experiments: "door tests" (would anyone hold the door open for them?); "paper drops" (who would help them gather a pile of "accidentally" dropped papers?); and "service tests" (which salesclerks would thank them for a purchase [購物]?)

　　In New York, 60 tests (20 of each type)were done. Along the way, the reporters met all types of people: men and women of different races, ages, professions (職業(yè)), and income levels. And guess what? In the end, four out of every five :people they met passed their: politeness test making New York the most polite city in the study.

　　44, What does Lynne Truss argue in Talk to the Hand?.

　　A. People are not as polite as they used to.

　　B. "Excuse me" is not welcome nowadays.

　　C. Of all the adults in the US 70% are rude,

　　D. People don't care about manners any more.

　　45. What is TRUE about the politeness study discussed in the passage?

　　A. The study was reported in many cities of the world.

　　B. New York was the most suitable city for the experiment.

　　C. Sixty tests were designed to see if people are polite to each other.

　　D. Experiments were performed to see if common good manners exist.

　　46. What is found in the study?

　　A. More people passed the tests in New York than in any other cities.

　　B. Different kinds of people acted differently in the New York tests.

　　C. Four out of five people passed the politeness test in the study.

　　D. Manypeople in the experiment passed the tests by guessing.