第二部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2．5分，满分50分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
The key to happiness is how quickly you can get back your focus on what’s important．
-----Anonymous
Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab．Here's what happened．I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station．We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us．My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!
The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us．My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy．And I mean, he was friendly．So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck．"
Many people are like garbage （rubbish） trucks．They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment．As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it．And if you let them, they'll dump it on you．When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally．You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on．You'll be happy you did．
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do anymore．"
Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting．Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses．Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about．The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day．What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here's my bet．You'll be happier．Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets．So, Love the people who treat you right．Forget about the ones who don't．
36．What happened one day when the author was taking a taxi?
A．The taxi almost hit another car．
B．The taxi driver was injured．
C．The author scolded the driver of the other car．
D．The author learned a lesson from the driver of the garbage truck．
37．How did the taxi driver respond to the behaviour of the driver of the black car?
A．He yelled back at the driver． B．He sent the driver to the hospital．
C．He was friendly towards the driver． D．He dumped some garbage in front of his car．
38．What does the taxi driver think of people according to Paragraph 3?
A．Many people like to drive garbage trucks．
B．Many people dump garbage wherever they like．
C．Many people are warm-hearted to make others happy．
D．Many people tend to be very much depressed．
39．What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
A．The author used to have a lot of garbage trucks．
B．The author used to complain a lot．
C．The author used to have a lot of money．
D．The author used to be a good manager．
40．According to the passage, what should you do if people “dump garbage” on you?
A．Ignore them and go on with our own work．
B．Try our best to persuade them not to do that again．
C．Tell them to dump the garbage in the right place．
D．Take over their work and carry the garbage to somewhere else．
A Take a view, the Landscape（风景）Photographer of the Year Award, was the idea of Charlie Waite, one of today's most respected landscape photographers.Each year, the high standard of entries has shown that the Awards are the perfect platform to showcase the very best photography of the British landscape.Take a view is a desirable annual competition for photographers from all comers of the UK and beyond.
|
Mike Shepherd (2011) Skiddaw in Winter Cumbria, England |
It was an extremely cold winter's evening and freezing fog hung in the air. I climbed to the top of a small rise and realised that the mist was little more than a few feet deep, and though it was only a short climb, I found myself completely above it and looking at a wonderfully clear view of Skiddaw with the sum setting in the west. I used classical techniques, translated from my college days spent in the darkroom into Photoshop, to achieve the black-and-white image（图像）. |
|
Timothy Smith (2014) Macclesfield Forest Cheshire, England |
I was back in my home town of Macclesfield to take some winter images. Walking up a path through the forest towards Shutlingsloe. a local high point, I came across a small clearing and immediately noticed the dead yellow grasses set against the fresh snow. The small pine added to the interest and I placed it centrally to take the view from the foreground right through into the forest. |
1. Who would most probably enter for Take a view?
| A． |
Writers. |
B． |
Photographers. |
C． |
Painters. |
D． |
Tourists. |
2. What do the works by Shepherd and Smith have in common?
| A． |
They are winter images. |
| B． |
They are in black and white. |
| C． |
They show mountainous scenes. |
| D． |
They focus on snow-covered forests. |
3. Where can the text be found?
| A． |
In a history book. |
B． |
In a novel. |
C． |
In an art magazine. |
D． |
In a biography. |
Challenging work that requires lots of analytical thinking，planning and other managerial skills might help your brain stay sharp as you age，a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology suggests．
Researchers from the University of Leipzig in Germany gathered more than 1，000 retired workers who were over age 75 and assessed the volunteers' memory and thinking skills through a battery of tests．Then，for eight years，the scientists asked the same group to come back to the lab every 18 months to take the same sorts of tests．
Those who had held mentally stimulating（刺激），demanding jobs before retirement tended to do the best on the tests．And they tended to lose cognitive（认知）function at a much slower rate than those with the least mentally challenging jobs．The results held true even after the scientists accounted for the participants' overall health status．
"This works just like physical exercise，" says Francisca Then，who led the study．"After a long run，you may feel like you're in pain，you may feel tired．But it makes you fit．After a long day at work﹣sure，you will feel tired，but it can help your brain stay healthy．"
It's not just corporate jobs，or even paid work that can help keep your brain fit．Then points out．A waiter's job，for example，that requires multitasking，teamwork and decision﹣making could be just as stimulating as any high﹣level office work．And "running a family household requires high﹣level planning and coordinating（协调），" she says．"You have to organize the activities of the children and take care of the bills and groceries．"
Of course，our brains can decline as we grow older for lots of reasons﹣including other environmental influences or genetic factors．Still，continuing to challenge yourself mentally and keeping your mind busy can only help．
（1）Why did the scientists ask the volunteers to take the tests？
| A． |
To assess their health status． |
| B． |
To evaluate their work habits． |
| C． |
To analyze their personality． |
| D． |
To measure their mental ability． |
（2）How does Francisca Then explain her findings in paragraph 4？
| A． |
By using an expert's words． |
| B． |
By making a comparison． |
| C． |
By referring to another study． |
| D． |
By introducing a concept． |
（3）Which of the following is the best title for the text？
| A． |
Retired Workers Can Pick Up New Skills |
| B． |
Old People Should Take Challenging Jobs |
| C． |
Your Tough Job Might Help Keep You Sharp |
| D． |
Cognitive Function May Decline As You Age |
The traffic signals along Factoria Boulevard in Bellevue，Washington，generally don't flash the same length of green twice in a row，especially at rush hour．At 9：30am，the full red/yellow/green signal cycle might be 140 seconds．By 9：33am，a burst of additional traffic might push it to 145 seconds．Less traffic at 9：37am could push it down to 135．Just like the traffic itself，the timing of the signals changes．
Thatis by design．Bellevue，a fast﹣growing city just east of Seattle，uses a system that is gaining popularity around the US：intersection（十字路口）signals that can adjust in real time to traffic conditions．These lights，known as adaptive signals，have led to significant declines in both the trouble and cost of travels between work and home．
"Adaptive signals can make sure that the traffic demand that is there is being addressed，" says Alex Stevanovic，a researcher at Florida Atlantic University．
For all of Bellevue's success，adaptive signals are not a cure﹣all for jammed roadways．Kevin Balke，a research engineer at the Texas A&M University Transportation Institute，says that while smart lights can be particularly beneficial for some cities，others are so jammed that only a sharp reduction in the number of cars on the road will make a meaningful difference．"It's not going to fix everything，but adaptive signals have some benefits for smaller cities，" he says．
In Bellevue，the switch to adaptive signals has been a lesson in the value of welcoming new approaches．In the past，there was often an automatic reaction to increased traffic：just widen the roads，says Mark Poch，the Bellevue Transportation Department's traffic engineering manager．Now he hopes that other cities will consider making their streets run smarter instead of just making them bigger．
（1）What does the underlined word "that" in paragraph 2 refer to？
| A． |
Increased length of green lights． |
| B． |
Shortened traffic signal cycle． |
| C． |
Flexible timing of traffic signals． |
| D． |
Smooth traffic flow on the road． |
（2）What does Kevin Balke say about adaptive signals？
| A． |
They work better on broad roads． |
| B． |
They should be used in other cities． |
| C． |
They have greatly reduced traffic on the road． |
| D． |
They are less helpful in cities seriously jammed． |
（3）What can we learn from Bellevue's success？
| A． |
It is rewarding to try new things． |
| B． |
The old methods still work today． |
| C． |
It pays to put theory into practice． |
| D． |
The simplest way is the best way． |
I am an active playgoer and play﹣reader，and perhaps my best reason for editing this book is a hope of sharing my enthusiasm for the theater with others．To do this I have searched through dozens of plays to find the ones that I think best show the power and purpose of the short play．
Each play has a theme or central idea which the playwright（剧作家）hopes to get across through dialogue and action．A few characters are used to create a single impression growing out of the theme．It is not my intention to point out the central theme of each of the plays in this collection，for that would，indeed，ruin the pleasure of reading，discussing，and thinking about the plays and the effectiveness of the playwright．However，a variety of types is represented here．These include comedy，satire，poignant drama，historical and regional drama．To show the versatility（多面性）of the short play，I have included a guidance play，a radio play and a television play．
Among the writers of the plays in this collection，Paul Green，Susan Glaspell，Maxwell Anderson，Thornton Wilder，William Saroyan，and Tennessee Williams have all received Pulitzer Prizes for their contributions to the theater．More information about the playwrights will be found at the end of this book．
To get the most out of reading these plays，try to picture the play on stage，with you，the reader，in the audience．The houselights dim（变暗）．The curtains are about to open，and in a few minutes the action and dialogue will tell you the story．
（1）What do we know about the author from the first paragraph？
| A． |
He has written dozens of plays． |
| B． |
He has a deep love for the theater． |
| C． |
He is a professional stage actor． |
| D． |
He likes reading short plays to others． |
（2）What does the author avoid doing in his work？
| A． |
Stating the plays' central ideas． |
| B． |
Selecting works by famous playwrights． |
| C． |
Including various types of plays． |
| D． |
Offering information on the playwrights． |
（3）What does the author suggest readers do while reading the plays？
| A． |
Control their feelings． |
| B． |
Apply their acting skills． |
| C． |
Use their imagination． |
| D． |
Keep their audience in mind． |
（4）What is this text？
| A． |
A short story． |
| B． |
An introduction to a book． |
| C． |
A play review． |
| D． |
An advertisement for a theater． |
I remember the day shyness took over my life．I was 14 and having a French lesson．The teacher told us to record ourselves speaking about a holiday．Perfect! I recorded myself with confidence．Then，I pressed "play" to listen back．All I heard was a little kid talking．My immediate reaction was to assume I was listening to someone else's recording．But that was my voice．I realised there was something strange about me．
My little voice has made me feel really shy．And my shyness has caused me to avoid attending events，not make important connections，and keep my ideas to myself．As a shy person，working from home，hiding behind my computer was brilliant．But the more time I spent hidden away，the more my comfort zone shrank（缩小）．Everyday interactions，like ordering a coffee，became increasingly awkward and uncomfortable．
And then，one day I was at a big conference and it suddenly hit me like lightning．All speakers were confident，comfortable with being seen．There were no quieter voices．But the trouble is，if the loud voices are the only ones you hear，we quiet people feel even more alienated（疏远的）．The world needs a mixture of personalities．Success is not just about who can shout the loudest．The world needs quieter people，too．That day I chose to stop hiding and embrace my shyness．No more feeling like I needed to change who I am in order to succeed．No more living a small life．
Then I created the Shy and Mighty Society，a space for shy people like me to shine，and in the process of helping others，I could also push myself forward，bit by bit．Now，I'm happy to tell people I feel shy．I'm not ashamed any more．And I know that I'm not alone．
（1）Why did the author feel strange about herself after listening to the recording？（no more than 10 words）
（2）What is the main idea of Para．2？（no more than 10 words）
（3）What does the underlined word in Para．3 mean？（1 word）
（4）Why did the author create the Shy and Mighty Society？ （no more than 10 words）
（5）Suppose you are in charge of the Shy and Mighty Society，what will you do to help other shy people？ And why？（no more than 20 words）