第二部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分ASam-优题课

第二部分阅读（共两节，满分80分）
第一节：阅读理解（共35小题；每小题2分，满分70分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21~55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
　　August has always been difficult for me. It is the time when I realize that the books my English teacher assigned to me are not going to read themselves and that I have a difficult month in front of me.
　　You might think that I don’t want to spend my summer reading, but that’s not the problem: I love reading. On the first day of my summer holidays this year, I went to the library and got “A Gathering of Old Men” by African-American writer Ernest Gaines. I enjoyed it very much. I read all the magazines that my parents subscribe to and spend about 30 minutes every day with the morning paper. So why do I hate summer reading for school? Because the books on summer reading lists are often slow-going and just uninviting. Teachers and librarians don’t understand that summer reading can be entertaining as well as educational. They choose books that a friend of my mother’s calls “spinach books”: good for you, but not much fun to take in. Every summer, I read them, hate them and get bitter about the experience.
　　This bitterness started three years ago when I was about to begin high school. As preparation, my English teacher told me to read “The Age of Innocence” by American author Edith Wharton. I’m sure there are many people who enjoyed “The Age of Innocence” — some might even say it’s their favorite book.
　　But I don’t think any of these people read it as a 14-year-old boy on his summer vacation.
　　“The Age of Innocence” is the story of a forbidden romance in New York 100 years ago. At 14, my only experience with romance was my love for baseball. I couldn’t imagine being in love, much less being in love in 1900. “The Age of Innocence” was totally different to my life.
　　Most of my required summer reading has been like that — books written in a style that plays up the adjectives and plays down the verbs. I guess teachers don’t think exciting plots make for “good literature”. To me, though, a good writer describes events and characters in a way that makes the reader want to know what happens next.
　　If I were making up a summer reading list, it would include “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” by George V. Higgins, “The Right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe, and “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer. These are all books that have literary value but, just as important, can also entertain kids on vacation. If the teachers could stand a little fun in the books they assign, my Augusts would be a lot more enjoyable.
1. The author thinks he will have a difficult August because ____________.
A. he doesn’t like reading in summer vacation
B. he is to read the books boring and not right for kids
C. he hates the English teacher assigning homework
D. he hates August
2. What can make students interested in August reading ought to be ___________.
A. romantic B. out of date
C. entertaining and educational D. pure
3. The author listed such books as “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” because he thinks __________.
A. they can change his opinion B. he can learn a lot more from them
C. they are of literary value, and enjoyable D. he has to do as teachers tell him to
4. In the opinion of the author of this passage, a good writer should be ___________.
A. one who describes events and characters in different ways
B. one who is full of imagination
C. one who is learned
D. one who uses a way of describing that makes the reader wish to know what to happen next
5. Which of the following could be the best title of this passage?
A. Why Can’t Teachers Set Us Fun Books?
B. I Don’t Like Reading on the Vacation
C. Teachers, Don’t Set Us Any Reading Assignments
D. Teachers, Set Us Free

The Peppered Moth, a kind of insect, is found in England. It is light brown in color and likes to settle on trees which are also light brown. This makes the moth difficult to be seen and birds are less likely to notice and eat it.
But with the development of industry, smoke from factories began to reach the trees where the moth settled. It made the trees blacker. Then something very strange took place: in industrial areas, the Peppered Moth began to change color. It became darker as well. Although the change took several years, some scientists soon noticed that newly-born moths were a little darker than usual.
A scientist called Kettle Well decided to make a careful study of this. He marked some of the light moths and some of the darker ones, and set them free in the woods near Birmingham, an industrial city. Later he retarget as many the marked moths as possible ( The result was given in the chart ).
Kettle Well’s research was done in the early 1950s. Soon afterwards Britain introduced new laws to reduce smoke and factory pollution.
Can you imagine what would happen to the Peppered Moth as the air became cleaner again?

	light moths	darker moths
Moths set free	201	601
Moths recaught	34 ( 16%)	206 ( 34%)

1. The trees where the Peppered Moth settled changed their color because _____________________________.
A. the Peppered Moth changed its color
B. the Peppered Moth couldn’t be easily found on them
C. industry in England developed quickly
D. the smoke from factories polluted them
2. The Peppered Moth began to change its color in industrial areas because _____________________________.
A. it changed its color all the time
B. it was fond of the color of its living place
C. it had to protect itself by doing so
D. it was a special sort of insect
3. From the results of Kettle Well’s research, we can see that _________________.
A. many more of the light moths were killed or eaten
B. more than one-fifth of the light moths escaped being killed
C. three times as many dark moths were kept safe as light ones
D. more dark moths were killed in industrial areas
4. Kettle Well’s work gives us a good example of _________________________.
A. Air Pollution B. Choice of Color C. Laws of Nature D. Changing Insects
5. As the air became cleaner, _________________________.
A. the number of the light moths increased
B. the total number of the light moths remained unchanged
C. more of the darker moths would be recaught
D. the darker moths changed into the light ones before long

Bacteria(细菌) are extremely small living things. While we measure our own sizes in inches or centimeters, bacterial size is measured in micron. One micron is a thousandth of a millimeter; a pinhead is about a millimeter across, Rod-shaped bacteria are usually from two to four microns long, while rounded ones are generally one micron across. Thus, if you magnified a rounded bacterium a thousand times, it would be just the size of a pinhead, while a grown-up human enlarged by the same amount would be over a mile tall.
Even with an ordinary microscope(显微镜), you must look closely to see bacteria. Using a magnification of 100 times, one can hardly find bacteria. Nor can one make out anything of their structure(结构), of course. Only by using special colors, can one see that some bacteria have wavy-looking “hairs” called flagella. Others have only one flagellum. The flagella move round a central point, pushing the bacteria through the water. Many bacteria lack flagella and cannot move about by their own power, while others can move along over surface by some little-understood “machinery”.
From the bacterial point of view, the world is a very different place from what it is to humans. To a bacterium, water is as thick as molasses(糖浆) is to us. Bacteria are so small that they are affected by the movements of the chemical molecules(分子) around them. Bacteria under microscopes, even those with no flagella, often jump up and down in the water. This is because they knock with the water molecules and are pushed this way and that.
36. The underlined word magnified means _______________.
A. enlarged B. widened
C. killed D. caught
37. We know from the passage that _______________ is the smallest.
A. a pinhead B. a rounded bacterium
C. a microscope D. a rod-shaped bacterium
38. The relationship between a bacterium and its flagella is most nearly like which of the following?
A. A rider jumping on a horse back
B. A ball being hit by a bet
C. A boat powered by a motor
D. A door closed by wind
39. Why does the writer compares water to molasses in the third paragraph?
A. To tell us how difficult it is for bacteria to move through water.
B. To suggest that bacteria are fond of different liquids.
C. To show different chemicals are of different structures.
D. To show that bacteria are the best swimmers.
40. Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?
A. The characteristic (特点) of bacteria.
B. How bacteria reproduce.
C. The various parts of a bacterium’s body
D. How bacteria cause diseases.

Valentine’s Day is named for Saint Valentine an early Christmas churchman who reportedly helped young lovers. Valentine was killed for his Christian beliefs on February 14 more than 1700 years ago, but the day that has his name is even earlier than that.
More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers. As part of the celebration, girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a large container. Boys reached into the container and pulled one out. The girl whose name was written on the paper became his lover or sweet heart for a year.
Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper and they sent each other Valentine’s Day cards that tell of their love. Sometimes they also sent gifts, like flowers of chocolate candy. Americans usually send these gifts and cards through the mail system. But some used another way to send this message. They have it printed in a newspaper. The cost is usually a few dollars. Some of the messages are simple and short “Jane, I love you very much”. Others say more. This one, for example, “Dan, Roses are red. Violets are blue. I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever. May.”
Most of the newspapers that print such messages are local, but USA Today is sold throughout the United States, and 90 other countries as well. This means someone can send a Valentine message to lover in a far-away city or town almost anywhere in the world. These messages cost 80 dollars and more. An employee of USA Today says readers can have a small heart or rose printed along with their messages this year. Will this kind of Valentine’s Day message reach the one you love? Well, just make sure he or she reads the newspaper.
1. When was the day named after Valentine?
A. More than 1700 years ago before Valentine’s death
B. More than 2000 years ago
C. On February 24
D. It is not mentioned in the passage.
2. Which is not true about the Roman holiday?
A. Girls put into a container large pieces of paper with their own names on them.
B. Boys and girls became sweet hearts by chance
C. Girls and boys were not lovers for a year.
D. It was celebrated as a holiday for lovers
3. What is the cost of printing a message to show one’s love? It’s _______________.
A. a few dollars B. 80 dollars, and more C. very expensive
D. a few dollars in a local newspaper and 80 dollars in USA Today
4. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The ancient Roman girls were more open and easy-going than boys
B. Valentine was killed for helping lovers
C. Readers of USA Today can send roses to their lovers along with printed messages
D. Valentine was honored by people for his firm Christian belief and warm heart
5. What is the purpose of the passage?
A. To briefly introduce the origin of Valentine’s Day and the modern style.
B. To advertise for USA Today.
C. To tell you that Americans are open to express their love
D. To sell roses on Valentine’s Day.

One silly question I simply can’t stand is “How do you feel?” Usually the question is asked of a man in action — a man on the go, walking along the street, or busily working at his desk. So what do you expect him to say? He’ll probably say, “Fine, I’m all right,” but “you’ve put a bug in his ear” — maybe now he’s not sure. If you’re a good friend, you may have seen something in his face, or his walk, that he overlooked that morning. It starts him worrying a little. First thing you know, he looks in a mirror to see if everything is all right, while you go merrily on your way asking someone else, “How do you feel?”
Every question has its time and place. It’s perfectly acceptable, for instance, to asked “How do you feel?” if you’re visiting a close friend in the hospital. But if the fellow is walking on both legs, hurrying to catch a train, or sitting at his desk working, it’s no time to ask him that silly question.
When George Bernard Shaw, the famous writer of plays, was in his eighties, someone asked him, “How do you feel?” Shaw put him in his place. “When you reach my age,” Shaw said, “either you feel all right or you’re dead.”
26. The passage tells us that some greetings such as “How do you feel?” __________.
A. show one’s consideration for others
B. are a good way to make friends
C. are proper to ask a man in action
D. generally make one feel uneasy
27. The question “How do you feel?” seems to be correct and suitable when asked of _________________________.
A. a man working at his work B. a person having lost a close friend
C. a stranger who looks somewhat worried D. a friend who is ill
28. The writer seems to feel that a busy man should _________________.
A. be praised for his efforts
B. never be asked any questions
C. not be troubled
D. be discouraged from working so hard
29. “You’ve put a bug in his ear” means that you’ve _________________.
A. made him laugh merrily
B. given him some kind of warning
C. shown much concern for him
D. played a joke on him
30. George Bernard Shaw’s reply in the passage shows his __________.
A. cleverness B. cheerfulness C. power and skills D. politeness