He wishes the holiday season would end already . His back aches , his red suit feels like a spacesuit , his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours —and still the kids keep coming and coming , like ants at a picnic . As Christmas becomes more commercialized (商业化) across the U. S. and Canada , so must Santas . As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen .
The questions from children these days are harder than ever . Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan , the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable . For example , “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning ?”
Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued (指控). A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story : A Santa had a girl on his knee , and he commented , “You have nice eyes and nice hair .” The girl later said it was sexual harassment (骚扰) . When a Santa feels anxious , he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do : The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended . Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again .
56.In the first paragraph , “spokesmen” refers to .
A.businessmen B.political leaders
C.organizers of the activities D.Santa Clauses
57.The passage implies that the job of Santa Claus is .
A.well-paid B.very hard C.worth doing D.dangerous
58.According to the third paragraph, Santas may sometimes be blamed for .
A.doing something against the law B.hanging around the dinner table
C.being lazy and sleeping in bed for days D.not playing their roles as expected
59.What would be the best title for the passage ?
A.Christmas : Not a Good Festival for Santas B.Is Santa Claus Really Alive ?
C.A Christmas Story D.What Does Santa Claus Do for Children ?
(2)-------易题
A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present.On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin (顽童) was walking around the shining car.“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked.
Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised.“You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…” He hesitated.
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for.He wished he had a brother like that.But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”
“Oh yes, I’d love that.”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled a little.He thought he knew what the boy wanted.He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car.But Paul was wrong again.“Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.
He ran up to the steps.Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast.He was carrying his little crippled (残疾) brother.He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs.His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent.And some day I’m going to give you one just like it… Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car.The shining-eyed older brother climbed in and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.
1.The street urchin was very surprised when __________.
A.he saw the shining car
B.Paul told him about the car
C.he was walking around the car
D.Paul received an expensive car
2.From the story we know that the urchin __________.
A.wished to give his brother a car
B.wished Paul’s brother to give him a car
C.wished Paul could be a brother like that
D.wished he could have a brother like Paul’s
3.The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ______.
A.to show he had a rich friend
B.to show his neighbors the car
C.to let his brother ride in the car
D.to tell his brother about his wish
4.We can infer from the story that __________.
A.Paul couldn’t understand the urchin
B.the urchin’s wish came true in the end
C.the urchin wished to have a rich brother
D.the urchin had a deep love for his brother
5.The best title for the story probably is __________.
A.A Christmas Present B.A Street Urchin
C.A Brother Like That D.An Unforgettable Ride
III.阅读理解
命题意图:以下几篇题阅读理解题主要选用了主题突出,语言流畅的叙述文、应用文和说明文,旨在训练学生的基本阅读能力------快速搜索信息能力和简单的信息处理能力(如时空排序能力等)。请针对学生实际情况,选用以下训练题。
(1)------易题
Doing Favours Can Be Dangerous
I found out one time that doing a favour for someone could get you into a lot of trouble.I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test.During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn’t understand.So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen.She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write.I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk.
Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed.As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she mentioned how important it was to stand on your own feet and be responsible for your own acts.For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating themselves.She made me promise that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave.I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.
Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test.When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as though I was copying answers from the girl’s test paper.I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed awfully strange to her that I hadn’t mentioned anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test.Even though I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favour by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued to believe that I had cheated on the test.
1.As the author didn’t understand what the girl was whispered, he __________.
A.paid no attention to her
B.turned to the teacher for help
C.tried to find out what it was all about
D.whispered back, meaning to silence her
2.The teacher believed that the author was trying __________.
A.to help the girl next to him B.to copy the answers from others
C.to lend his pen to his partner D.to whisper the answers to the girl
3.The main point stressed in the teacher’s talk was __________.
A.honesty B.independence C.sense of duty D.willingness to help
4.The boy came to see what had happened to him __________.
A.the moment he was asked to stay behind
B.when the teacher started talking to him
C.when he was walking out
D.only some time later
With many college graduates struggling to find jobs, one of the most important for you to understand is that you’re in school all your life. In fact, your real education is just beginning.
I’d like to pass on a few lessons that you didn’t necessarily get in school. If you’ve been out of school for a few years or a lot of years, they could still teach you something.
·Develop relationships and keep networking. If I had to name a single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I’ve met, I’d say it is the ability to create and nurture (培育) networks of contacts. Start strengthening your relationships now, so that they’ll be in place when you really need them later. In
the classroom it was mostly about individual performance. Success in real life requires relationships.
·Set goals. Ask any winner what the key to his or her success was, and you’ll hear four consistent messages: vision, determination, persistence, and setting goals. If you don’t set goals and determine where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? Goals give you more than a reason to get up in the morning; they are an incentive (激励)to keep you going all day.
·Sense of humor. I’m a firm believer in using humor, though not necessarily jokes. A good sense of humor helps one understand the unconventional( 非传统的 ), tolerate the unpleasant, and overcome the unexpected. There are plenty of times to be serious, but I believe that keeping things light and comfortable encourages better teamwork.
·Volunteer. It might be hard to do a lot of volunteer work at first, but people who help others on a regular basis have a healthier outlook on life.
57. By saying “your real education is just beginning”, the author wants to .
A. explain why it’s difficult for college graduates to find jobs
B. show the importance of social experience, besides schooling, in education[
C. advise students to value their time at school, and to study hard
D. advise college graduates to face bravely the problems they may encounter(遭遇)
58. You should start to strengthen your relationships now because .
A. it will take you time to develop them before you need them
B. you may have gotten used to being judged as an individual, and need to change
C. successful people have no time to develop relationships with you
D. you need to spend a lot of time learning the importance of good relationships
59. The author believes that being humorous means that you .
A. should prepare jokes to be used in various situations
B. can deal with difficult situations in an easy and comfortable way
C. can show your difference from others and be able to succeed
D. should smile all the time and avoid being serious on any occasion
60. The target readers of this passage are probably .
A. educational experts
B. people who want to change jobs
C. college graduates who have just left school
D. high school students who are still at school
After years of hearing drivers complain about scratches (划痕) on their cars, Japan’s Nissan Motor Company has officially announced the next big thing--a paint that not only resists scratches and scrapes, but actually repairs itself within a few days.
The new material, developed by Nippon Paint Company, contains an elastic rubbery-like resin (弹性树脂) that is able to heal minor (较小的) marks caused by car wash equipment, parking lot encounters, road debris (石头碎片) or even on-purpose destruction.
The automaker admits its results vary depending on the temperature and the depth of the damage, but adds this is the only paint like it in the world, and tests prove it works.
Minor scratches, the most common type, are said to slowly fade over about a week. And once they’re gone, there is no trace (痕迹) that they were ever there.
The special paint is said to last for at least three years after it is first applied, but there is no word yet on whether more can be added after that period.
Nissan claims car washes are the worst offenders for this type of damage, accounting for at least 80 percent of all incidents.
But the complete auto-healing won’t come without scratching your wallet. The vehicle maker notes the special paint adds about $ 100 US to the price of a car.
It plans to use its new chemical mixture only on its X-Trail SUVs in Japan for now, as it looks for a more widespread presentation. And while plans to offer the feature overseas haven’t been made yet, if it’s a hit there, you can be almost sure market forces will drive it to these shores, as well.
53. From the article, we can find that .
A. the paint has already been used on cars by now
B. it beats other products of its kind in its lengthy effect
C. car damage is mainly caused by scratches and scrapes
D. marketing this paint in Europe is not under way
54. The paint used on cars can .
A. last 3 years before it is re-applied again
B. fade only in a few days
C. help to protect cars from minor paint damage
D. reduce car scrape incidents to 20 percent
55. What does the underlined part refer to?
A. Certain models of Nissan.
B. Name for one kind of paint.
C. Somewhere in Japan.
D. A word standing for a car-dealer store.
56. What can be inferred from the article?
A. The paint was developed by Nissan Motor Company.
B. The paint might work better in summer than in winter.
C. The mark on the car could disappear as soon as the paint is applied.
D. The paint is very popular in Japan.
We often focus on building relationships with others so that we forget the essential first step: being friends of ourselves. That is the crucial first step if we are to have good relationships with others. How can we have good relationships with others if we don’t even have good relationship with ourselves? The problem might be worse than we expect. Maybe we don’t like ourselves without realizing it.
For example, maybe you have made mistakes in the past which you feel bad about. You might be disappointed with yourself on why you could make such mistakes. Even if that happened in distant past, your subconscious (潜意识) mind still has a reason not to like yourself.
You might wish that you were born in different family, or that you have different background. Maybe you could not accept the fact that you are not as lucky as others, who seem to get whatever they want effortlessly because of their background.
You might have some personal traits that you don’t like. For example, you may be an introvert (内向的人) and you don’t like it; you wish you are an extrovert (外向的人).
Your achievements relate to others. They might have better achievements than you, and no matter how hard you tried, it might seem impossible for you to match them. You might then think that it’s because you are not smart enough or don’t have enough talents.
Is there anything that resonates (产生共鸣) with you? All these give reasons to you not to like yourself. That in turn makes it difficult for you to be a good friend to yourself.
Fortunately, there are always things you can do to fix the situation. Here are some tips:
1. Forgive yourself.
2. Accept things you can’t change.
3. Focus on your strengths.
4. Write your success stories.
5. Stop comparing yourself with others.
6. Always be true to yourself.
49. The underlined word “traits” in the fourth paragraph probably means
A. particular qualities B. some disadvantages
C. special abilities D. training courses
50. One can’t be friends with himself because
A. he won’t forgive others’ mistakes
B. he dislikes his background
C. he accepts some of his personal traits
D. he is proud of himself
51. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Resonating is very important for making friends.
B. How to make friends with ourselves is very difficult.
C. Writing your success contributes to stopping comparing with others.
D. Realizing your own advantages and good is good to you.
52. Which of the following is NOT mentioned according to the passage?
A. It’s normal to make mistakes, so do yourself a favor by giving yourself forgiveness.
B. You will feel much relaxed if you treat things you can’t change the way they are.
C. It’s useless to compare yourself with others.
D. If you have a good family, you’ll make friends with yourself.