C.more                D.much

13.A.important         B.beautiful

C.familiar              D.standard

14.A.surely             B.always

C.regularly             D.often

15.A.let                B.kept

C.placed                 D.remembered

16.A.suitable           B.enough

C.effective             D.sacred

17.A.signal             B.certificate

C.consequence          D.reminder

18.A.tradition           B.hobby

C.habit                 D.custom

19.A.lose              B.die

C.miss                D.appear

20.A.thought           B.wanted

C.tried                       D.stopped

Ⅲ.阅读理解

(2009年合肥三模，D)

Marriages improve after children grow up and move out，according to an academic study，which suggests an“empty nest” is not always a bad thing.

Popular wisdom has it that parents’ relationships may suffer once their young fly the coop，because they feel they have lost their purpose in life.However，a new study by researchers at the University of California，Berkeley，has found that many couples actually feel happier when their children leave home because they are able to enjoy spending time together.

In total,123 American mothers born in the 1930s were tracked for 18 years and asked to rate their satisfaction levels shortly after marrying，when they were bringing up babies，once their children reached their teenage years and finally at age 61，when almost all had “empty nests”.

Although not all said they were happier in general，most claimed their marriages had improved since their children had left home.Researchers believe this is not just because the spouses were spending more time together，but because they were able to enjoy each other’s company more.

One of the participants in the study，which is published in the journal Psychological Science，said：“Once the kids grow up...there’s some of that stress removed...that responsibility removed，so things are a little more relaxed.”

Psychologist Sara Gorchoff，who carried out the investigation，said：“The take­home message for couples with young children is ‘hang in there’.” Her co­author Oliver John added：“Don’t wait until your kids leave home to schedule quality time with your partner.”

However，Dr Dorothy Rowe，from the British Psychological Society，said the effects of living in an “empty nest” will depend on the parents’ relationship with their children.“If you’re just waiting for them to leave home so you can get on with your life，then of course you’ll be pleased to see them go，” she said，“But if you’ve built your life around your children you’ll be terribly lonely.For some parents，their world falls apart when their children leave.”

1.It is commonly believed that________.

A.marriages improve after children leave home

B.an “empty nest” is always a happy thing

C.parents’ relationships may suffer once their young grow up and move out

D.parents will be pleased after their children leave home

2.When did many couples feel happier according to the study?

A.At age 61，when almost all had “empty nests”.

B.Shortly after marrying.

C.Once their children reached their teenage years.

D.When they were bringing up babies.

3.Marriages improve after children fly the coop not because______.

A.many couples are able to spend time together

B.many couples are able to enjoy each other’s company

C.things are a little more relaxed

D.many couples needn’t work at all

4.The author of the passage tends to agree that________.

A.parents should build their life around their kids

B.parents should schedule quality time with each other before kids leave home

C.parents’ relationship with their kids has no effect on marriages at all

D.parents should be pleased to see their kids leave home

Ⅳ.短文填词

There is a famous saying，“Time is money”.Not everyone see that time is valuable，even fewer knows it is

________(有限).We are told from time to time 1.________

that when time is g________it will never return to 2.________

us.Year after year we________goodbye to the past 3.________

year.It is a pity that many people fail to make

________of time.They waste their4.________

________(宝贵) time sleeping，drinking and 5.________

traveling.They don’t realize wasting time is equal

________wasting their lives.They always regret 6.________

having________(取得) nothing.Therefore，we 7.________

should form the h________of valuing time.Do not 8.________

put off________can be done until tomorrow.9.________

Idleness and________(懒惰) will bring us 10.________

nothing but failure.