第三部分：阅读理解（共 20 小题；每小题 2 分，满分 40 分）
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
It was Monday. Mrs. Smith's dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.
Considering that there was no better way. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it：“Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently：“Take this to the butcher（* person whose job is selling meat）and he's going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher's. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady's handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers（*people who buy sth. from a shop）.
But, the dog came again at four o'clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the third time at six o'clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled . He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today？”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it！
56、Mrs. Smith treated her little dog quite .
A、cruelly B、fairly C、kindly D、friendly
57、It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper Mrs. Smith gave it .
A、might do it much harm B、could do it much good
C、would help the butcher D、was worth many pounds
58、The butcher did not give any meat to the dog .
A、before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs. Smith
B、when he found that the words on the paper were not clear
C、because he had sold out all the meat in his shop
D、until he was paid enough by Mrs. Smith
59、From its experience, the dog found that .
A、only the paper with Mrs. Smith's words in it could bring it meat
B、the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it
C、Mrs. Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher
D、a piece of paper could bring it half a pound of meat
60、At the end of the story, you'll find that .
A、the dog was clever enough to write on the paper
B、the dog dared not go to the butcher's any more
C、the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog
D、the butcher found himself cheated by the clever animal
It was a comfortable sunny Sunday. I was going to meet an old university friend I hadn't seen for years, and was really excited to hear all his news.
My train was running a little late, but that was no big problem - I could text him to say I would be delayed. He would understand. But… where was my mobile phone? I had that familiar sinking feeling. Yes, I'd forgotten it at home.
No mobile phone. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling anxious, on edge and worried when I don't have my phone with me. In fact, I know I'm not alone: two-thirds of us experience ‘nomophobia’, the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. That's according to a study from 2012 which surveyed 1,000 people in the UK about their relationship with mobile phones.
It says we check our mobile phones 34 times a day, that women are more ‘nomophobic’ than men, and that 18-24 year-olds are the most likely to suffer fear of being without their mobiles: 77% of them say they are unable to be apart from their phones for more than a few minutes.
Do you have nomophobia ?
· You never turn your phone off
· You obsessively check for texts, missed calls and emails
· You always take your phone to the bathroom with you
· You never let the battery run out
It's funny to think that around 20 years ago the only people with mobile phones would be businessperson carrying their large, plastic ‘bricks’. Of course, these days, mobile phones are everywhere. A UN study from this year said mobile phone subscriptions would outnumber people across the world by the end of 2014.
And when there are more phones than people in the world, maybe it's time to ask who really is in charge? Are you in control of your phone, or does your phone control you?
So, what happened with my university friend? When I arrived a few minutes late he just laughed and said: "You haven't changed at all – still always late!" And we had a great afternoon catching up, full of jokes and stories, with no interruptions and no nagging(唠叨的) desire to check my phone.
Not having it with me felt strangely liberating. Maybe I'll leave it at home on purpose next time.What does the passage talk about ?
| A．The history of mobiles. |
| B．The story of meeting an old university friend. |
| C．The addiction of playing mobile phone. |
| D．The terrible feeling of being without their mobiles. |
The underlined phrase “on edge”in the third paragraph probably means_______.
| A．nervous | B．energetic | C．crazy | D．surprised |
Which word is used to describe old mobile phones according to the passage?
| A．digital phone | B．cell phone | C．bricks | D．smart phone |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the using mobiles?
| A．Worried | B．Favorable | C．Neutral | D．Critical |
Cell phones: is there a cancer link?
Could your cell phone give you cancer? Whether it could or not, some people are worrying about the possibility that phones, power lines and Wi-Fi could be responsible for a range of illnesses, from rashes to brain tumors.
Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties. David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences at the university at Albany, in New York, thinks there’s a greater than 95 percent chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemia(白血病). Also there’s a greater than 90 percent chance that cell phones can cause brain tumors. “It’s apparent now that there’s a real risk, ” said Carpenter.
But others believe these concerns are unjustified. Dr Martha Linet, the head of radiation epidemiology(流行病学) at the US National Cancer Institute, has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion. “I don’t support warning labels for cell phones, ” said Linet. “We don’t have the evidence that there’s much danger. ”
Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs(电磁场) and illness— so weak that it might not exist at all. A multinational investigation of cell phones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been underway for several years. It’s funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cell phone industry group. The final report should come out later this year, but data so far don’t suggest a strong link between cell phone use and cancer risk. From the passage we can learn that some people are worried because _______.
| A．they have evidence that the use of cell phones can lead to cancer |
| B．they make a fuss over cell phone use |
| C．some experts have given a warning |
| D．cell phones are responsible for brain tumors |
By saying “I don’t support warning labels for cell phones, ” Dr Martha Linet has the idea that _______.
| A．the worrying is unnecessary |
| B．cancer-warning labels should be on cell phones |
| C．there is a link between cell phones and cancer |
| D．cell phones have nothing to do with cancer |
Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author towards the debate?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Objective. |
| C．Opposite. | D．Casual. ] |
For many centuries，countless scholars have asked the question：What is beauty? As designers update the latest fashions and artists create their masterpieces, what is considered beautiful changes at an alarming pace.
Fifty years ago，the full-figured Marilyn Monroe was a symbol of the American aesthetic(美学的)value；today，many Hollywood actresses different in appearance from Marilyn’s have taken her place. However，aesthetic values not only differ from generation to generation，but do so along cultural lines as well. Often, what is considered disgusting to one civilization is just the aesthetic appeal in another. Thus it is difficult to give an absolute definition(定义)of beauty.
As fundamental(基础的)physicists，my colleagues and I like to believe that we are involved in a search for a beauty that affects definition. The beauty that we search for is not what is set up through the work of people and subject to the tastes, but rather what has been laid down by nature Physics allows its students to look past outer appearances，into a deeper beauty. As a human being，I am attracted by the visual appeal of a wave crashing on the beach. As a physicist, however I am able to see the deeper beauty of the physical laws that govern such a phenomenon.
In truth，since Albert Einstein put forward the idea that there might be one main physical theory that governs the universe，aesthetics have become a driving force in modern physics. Einstein and other later physicists have discovered that：Nature, as its most fundamental level，is beautifully constructed. The extraordinary simplicity of the laws that govern the universe is really breathtaking . As Einstein said, it would seem more likely that we should find ourselves living in a“chaotic(无秩序曲)world，in no way graspable through thinking”. Yet we are now closer than ever to a full understanding of the universe’s beautiful clockwork. As new discoveries and technologies allow us to examine the physical world on deeper and deeper levels，we find that the beauty itself becomes much deeper.The reference to“Marilyn Monroe”in Paragraph 2 mainly serves to___________.
| A．provide an example of today’s beauty standards |
| B．show there is no fixed definition of aesthetics |
| C．compare traditions of the East to the West |
| D．discuss her abilities as an actress |
When appreciating a wave crashing on the beach，a physicist sees the beauty of___________.
| A．the visual attraction | B．the powerful sounds |
| C．the physical laws behind | D．the lovely creatures |
Why are Albert Einstein’s words mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．To detail the functions of physical laws. |
| B．To highlight the range of Einstein’s influence. |
| C．To show that Einstein doubted the beauty of physics. |
| D．To stress the very simplicity of the laws of the universe. |
The passage is mainly to___________.
| A．present a special way of seeing beauty |
| B．emphasize the influence of physics |
| C．discuss the awareness of cross-culture |
| D．argue the traditional ideas on value |
What’s the greenest place in America? If you answered something like the warm sunlight of Santa Barbara, you’d be wrong. The greenest place in America has almost no sign of nature— the buildings outnumber the trees— and the air isn’t all that great. What it has is density(密度)and efficiency— the twin qualities that finally define green in the global warming time. Applying those standards，the greenest place in America is New York City— particularly，the overcrowded，overpriced island of Manhattan, which produces 30％ less per-capita(人均)greenhouse gas than that of the nation．
It’s that density that makes Manhattan so green. Manhattan’s population density is 800 times the national average. Density comes with negatives，certainly— small living spaces，air pollution— but it also enables amazing efficiencies．Over 80％ of Manhattanites travel to work by public transport, by bike or on foot— compared to an average of about 8％ everywhere else in the country. Manhattan’s apartment buildings are far more energy-efficient than the houses in the suburbs.
What’s true of New York City is more or less true of other American urban areas, which explains why a growing part of the environmental movement now focuses on greening cities, hoping to attract more Americans back downtown. There’s an effort to make cities more sustainable(可持续的)，by improving public transport，reducing air pollution and upgrading energy efficiency. But even more important, it is quite urgent to change decades of government policies that have been in favor of the suburbs，with disastrous consequences for energy，the environment and the climate.
That’s exactly the difficult point. For all the high efficiency and convenience and richness of living in a city，there are disadvantages too．New York，for example，has some of the highest childhood asthma(哮喘)rates in the U.S.
So it’s welcome news that New York has continued to push its P1aNYC scheme, a long-term program to make the city greener and more sustainable over the next decades. Recently it announced an update to the plan that includes phasing out heavy heating oils in New York City apartment buildings by 2030，to be replaced with cleaner natural gas.Manhattan is considered as the greenest place in America because of its__________
| A．buildings and trees | B．density and efficiency |
| C．sunlight and nature | D．transport and population |
We can infer from the passage that___________.
| A．New Yorkers have urged the city government to carry out green policies |
| B．the public transport and living space are quite satisfactory in New York |
| C．life in the countryside is more comfortable and energy efficient than that in cities |
| D．the significance of making cities greener is gained in promoting energy efficiency |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to___________.
| A．New York city | B．PlaNYC scheme |
| C．Manhattan | D．Santa Barbara |
The underlined part “phasing out” in the last paragraph probably means___________.
| A．rapidly promoting dealing with |
| B．widely suggesting researching on |
| C．gradually stopping using |
| D．immediately forbidding producing |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Manhattan the Greenest Place in America? |
| B．The Higher Density，the Greener City? |
| C．PlaNYC Scheme：New York City’s Future |
| D．Living in Cities Does Good to the Environment |
Hong Kong plays host to exciting events ranging from colourful festivals to world class arts and sports events. When planning your next visit，be sure to include these signature events in your plans.
Where can sport lovers order tickets for sports events?
| A．At www．hkticketing．com． |
| B．At www． hksevens．com． |
| C．At Hong Kong Stadium． |
| D．At Auditorium，Kwai Tsing Theatre． |
How much should you pay at least to attend both the jazz concert and Writer’s Block?
| A．HK $260. | B．HK $310. | C．HK $440. | D．HK $500. |
In which event can audience see Woody Allen in person?
| A．Affordable Art Fair. |
| B．Jazz Concert— HKCO + Howard MeCrary. |
| C．Writer’s Block. |
| D．Hong Kong Sevens 2014. |