第三部分:阅读理解(共两节,满分40分)
第一节(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从短文中所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Balzac was good at buying things at its lowest price. One day he wanted to buy a vase in a shop window that was much more expensive than he could offer. Not being able to make the shopkeeper cut down its price very much, he left without further talking. Collecting a half dozen of his friends, he explained his wish to them and they worked a plan. The first would enter the shop and make an offer, lower than the marked price. Not getting the vase at his price, he would walk out. Shortly after another would enter and ask for a price lower than the first. In this way, each of the others would offer a price lower than the one before, and the last of his friends made a great effort to attempt to get it at the lowest price. Before long Balzac himself would return, offer more than the last two or three persons made and trust to luck. The plan worked--- Balzac got the vase at his price!
41.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.vase in the window was placed much higher than Balzac could reach.
B.At first the price of the vase was much higher than Balzac could offer.
C.Balzac always wanted to buy a vase that was much more expensive than he could pay
D.Balzac was very poor. He couldn’t buy the vase at a high price.
42.How many friends did Balzac gather?
A.Six B.Twelve C.Ten D.Five
43.Who asked for the lowest price?
A.The first one. B.The second one. C.The last of his friends. D.Balzac.
44.What kind of person does the writer try to tell us about Balzac and his friends?
A.Unkind B.Dishonest C.Selfish D.Clever
This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers from all over the world will spend about ten months in US homes through an exchange program. They will attend US schools ,meet US teenagers, and form impressions of the real American teenagers . American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George's family . In turn, George's son, Mike, spent a year in Fred's home in America.
Fred, knew little German when he arrived, but after two month's study, the language began to come to him . School was completely different from what he had expected -much harder. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States.
"Back home ,you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time ,In Germany ,you walk ,but you soon learn to like it."
At the same time ,in America ,Mike ,a friendly German boy ,was also forming his idea ."I suppose I should criticize American schools ,"he says ."It is far too easy by our level .But I have to say that I like it very much .In Germany we do nothing but study . Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens .There ought to be some middle ground between the two."The whole exchange program is mainly to _________
A.help teenagers in other countries know the real America |
B.send students in America to travel in Germany |
C.let students learn something about other countries |
D.have teenagers learn new languages |
What did Fred and Mike agree on?
A.America has better traffic. |
B.German schools were harder than American schools. |
C.Americans and Germans were both friendly |
D.There were more cars on the streets in America. |
What is particular in American schools ?
A.There is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings. |
B.There are a lot of after-school activities. |
C.Students usually take 14 subjects in all. |
D.Students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car |
What did Mike think after experiencing the American school life?
A.A better education should include something good from both America and Germany. |
B.German schools trained students to be better citizens |
C.American schools were not as good as German schools. |
D.The easy life in the American school was more helpful to students. |
The underlined word “criticize” in the last paragraph can be replaced by"_________"
A.praise | B.regret | C.ignore | D.accuse |
The Convention(公约)concerning the protection of world cultural and natural heritage appeared from a need to call for international cooperation to protect the world's natural and scenic areas and historic sites for present and the future generations.
In 1959 there was international concern over the flooding of the Abu Simbel temples, a treasure of ancient Egyptian civilization, to build the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. Through an international campaign by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) on the request of Egypt and Sudan, resources were found to move the temples to a new site. In 1965,a conference at the White House in Washington DC, USA called for a "World Heritage Trust" and international cooperation to protect "the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future". In 1969, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed similar proposals for its members .Therefore, the Convention was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. By regarding heritage as both cultural and natural, the Convention reminds us of the ways in which people interact with nature , and of the basic need to keep the balance between the two.
The Convention identifies the natural or cultural sites on the World Heritage List, and sets out their role in protecting them .Although the emphasis has been on sites and natural features of "outstanding universal value", each country promises not only to conserve the World Heritage sites situated in its country, but also to protect and conserve its cultural and natural heritage.
There is also a "List of World Heritage in Danger" which are sites threatened by serious and specific dangers caused by changes in the use or ownership of the land , wars or natural disasters.What is the purpose of the World Heritage Convention according to the passage?
A.To call for international cooperation to help poor people. |
B.To protect the world's natural and cultural heritage. |
C.To save the natural resouces for next generation in the world. |
D.To raise money for the endangered heritage in the world. |
What can we infer from the second paragraph in the passage?
A.The history of the UNESCO is very long. |
B.The World Heritage Convention is not accepted by people. |
C.The Abu Simbel temples in Egypt are moved to a new site. |
D.The adoption of the World Heritage Convention takes al long time. |
The last two paragraphs mainly tell us __________.
A.the detailed purpose of the World Heritage Convention |
B.how to make a list of world heritage in danger |
C.how to make a world heritage list |
D.the importance of making two lists |
Which of the following has the same meaning as the underlined word "conserve"?
A.Pretend. | B.Prevent. | C.Preserve. | D.Prepare. |
According to Paragraph 4, there are many sites in danger for reasons EXCEPT________.
A.abuse of land | B.conflicts | C.lack of money | D.natural disasters |
Jaguar(美洲虎) was very rare. It was said that there less than 20 jaguars in the world, one of which was living in the national zoo of Peru. In order to help this jaguar, Peruvians set up a zoo for it, where there were sheep and deer for the jaguar to eat. However, strange enough, no one had ever seen the jaguar hunt the deer and sheep. What they could see was its lying in its cave, sleeping and eating the meat provided by the zoo keepers.
At first, people thought that the jaguar felt too lonely, so they found a female tiger to accompany it. However, it did not make too much sense. The jaguar just sometimes went out of its cave with its “girlfriend” for a while before it came back to its house again' It is normal for the jaguar to be lazy here. Tiger is the king of forest but you simply put some small animals around him. That is why the jaguar shows no interest in going out' a visitor said. So people put five wolves into the jaguar's zoo. Since then, the jaguar did not go back to its cave any more . It either stands on top of the hill yelling or runs up and down the hill without sleeping all day long .
Actually, one creature without any rivals is a lifeless creature. If a man lives without rivals, he is likely to be satisfied with the present and will not fight for the better. He will hold back before all difficulties . Hard environment tends to make successful people . Therefore, we need some rivals to push us to go ahead in all difficulties and competitions in our lives. Due to our rivals, we can bring out our potential to the best. Due to our rivals, we will continuously improve our abilities when competing with them!Why did Peruvians set up a zoo for the jaguar?
A.To protect this endangered animal. |
B.To entertain people. |
C.To satisfy people's curiosity. |
D.To do some experiments. |
That the jaguar always lying in its cave leaves people an impression that __________.
A.it must be treated badly |
B.it must be seriously sick |
C.it must miss the forest |
D.it needs to be accompanied |
What happened to the jaguar after it got five wolves around?
A.The jaguar remained the same. |
B.The jaguar became very energetic. |
C.The jaguar lost his girlfriend. |
D.The jaguar got mad finally. |
What does the underlined word "rivals" in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Colleagues. | B.Followers. | C.Competitors. | D.Relatives. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.How Jaguars can be protected. |
B.Family plays an important part. |
C.Enemies can inspire us to succeed. |
D.jaguars like to stay with wolves. |
Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains.
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.
Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables(绳索) that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.
In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills(钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered.How is bamboo like grass?
A.It is thin and easy to cut. | B.It grows everywhere. |
C.It grows quickly after its cut short. | D.It is short and green. |
The underlined sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”
A.short | B.strong | C.thick | D.tall |
From the text we know ______.
A.most people call bamboo plant trees |
B.a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days |
C.the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows |
D.a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago |
Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?
A.Because it is cheap. | B.Because it is colorful. |
C.Because it drills fast. | D.Because it is used by Asians. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.There are many different kinds of bamboo with different colors. |
B.Cables made of bamboo can last for over a thousand years. |
C.Bamboo can be used for buildings, bridges and watering projects. |
D.Bamboo plants are able to grow well in any part of the world. |
Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth—so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?”“Twenty pounds,”I said. “OK,”he said. “I'll give you twenty pounds.”“It's got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, it's nothing.”
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.”“I'll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean?” “You've just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I've changed my mind. I am sorry. I'll give you twenty seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,”he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You're right,”I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said,‘Would you mend this chair for me?’”“I wouldn't have agreed to do it,”he said. “We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I'll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver(五英镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer_________.
A.was rather impolite |
B.was warmly received |
C.asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair |
D.asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair |
The underlined word “approach” in the second paragraph means _________.
A.plan for dealing with things | B.decision to sell things |
C.idea of repairing things | D.way of doing things |
The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper ____.
A.changed his mind | B.accepted the offer |
C.saw the writer's purpose | D.decided to help the writer |
How much did the writer pay?
A.£5. | B.£7. | C.£20. | D.£27. |
From the text, we can learn that the writer was _________.
A.honest | B.careful | C.smart | D.funny |