第三部分：阅读理解（共两节，40分）第一节：（共15小题；每-优题课

Where have all the boys gone? You may be able to find them in the gym, at work or hanging out, but there is one important place where boys are under-represented, and the problem seems to be getting worse. These days, at high school graduation ceremonies, there are a lot more girls than boys.
In fact, every year, 10 percent more girls graduate from high school than boys. “I think that there’s a tendency to focus on boys as problems at this point, rather than recognizing that boys have problems,” says Joanne Max, PhD. Experts say the problems start in grade school, where there’s often an emphasis on sports instead of reading, for example. “I think that with boys there’s some idea that it’s not masculine(男子汉的)to read,” says Rob Jenkins, an English professor.
There’s also a shortage of male teachers as role models. “I think boys need role models, so if you’re a boy and you don’t have a dad in your home and then you have one male teacher and he’s your athletic coach, then I don’t think you have a message that education is very important,” says Carol Carter, another expert. In addition, classrooms often have too little activity and too much passive listening, which is not conducive (有益的) to boys’ learning.
Experts say parents can fight back in many ways. Read to your sons early and often; show by your action that you value their education. Ask them about their schoolwork, offer help, drop by their classroom and, finally, appeal to their competitive spirit, challenge them to do better and help them understand that their future depends on it.
60. According to the passage, boys have the problem that they think _____________.
A. reading is more important than sports B. it is shameful for boys to read
C. boys should not work as a teacher D. boys lack the gift for reading
61. Carol Carter’s words in the third paragraph implies that ______________.
A. parents play an important role in education
B. athletic coaches contribute a lot to education
C. lack of role model affects boys’ attitudes to school work
D. classrooms lack enough activities that are suitable for boys
62. The passage is written mainly for _____________.
A. parents B. boys C. teachers D. experts

When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored (发起) “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.
56. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Charles’ parents supported him and performed together with him.
B. Charles was found and hired by the famous showman.
C. Charles put lots of advertisements to arouse interest.
D. Charles’ success was largely due to Mr. Barnum’s help.
57. Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by an eight-foot-tall person probably because ______________.
A. the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was dancing
B. it made Tom look taller
C. the eight–foot–tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted
D. the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller
58. The underlined words “talk of the town” in the second paragraph from the bottom means ______________.
A. it was in the newspaper B. people spread bad rumors about it
C. it was the most popular topic D. it was discussed in a city meeting
59. What does the author think about Tom’s wedding?
A. It helped people cheer up in a dark time. B. People gave it too much of their attention.
C. It was funny and ridiculous. D. Tom and Lavinia were stupid.

The sandstorm has a bad effect on human beings, but it also brings some good results. There wouldn’t have been our Chinese nation if there had been no sandstorms. Sandstorms have existed for millions of years, while the written history of human beings has lasted only 5,000 years. The Loess Plateau(黄土高原) was formed by sandstorms over millions of years. The Yellow River, while moving through the Loess Plateau, carries a great deal of sand and has formed the North China Plain. The Loess Plateau is regarded as the place where Chinese civilization(文明) began. If there had been no Loess Plateau, the North China Plain wouldn’t have existed, nor would have the Chinese civilization.
Sandstorms don’t bring only loess to human beings. When sandstorms move from central Asia to the Pacific regions, they carry some minerals into the air, which will later fall into the ocean in the form of rain. The minerals will help some planktons(浮游生物) to survive. The planktons are eaten by small shellfish, and fish live on these small shellfish, and fish are eaten by humans. This forms a biological chain which shows a relation between humans and nature.
So it is unrealistic to say we should stop sandstorms. What we can possibly do is to reduce their bad influence as much as we can.
59. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means _________.
A. there are many sandstorms in China
B. the land of China was made by sandstorms
C. sandstorms helped to form Chinese civilization
D. the history of sandstorms was longer than that of Chinese nation
60. How does the sandstorm help to form the biological chain?
A. The sandstorm carries lots of rain into the ocean.
B. The sandstorm helps some minerals fall into the ocean.
C. Some minerals directly fall into the ocean in the form of rain.
D. The sandstorm moves from central Asia to the Pacific regions.
61. The writer thinks that _______.
A. the sandstorm only has a bad effect on human beings
B. sandstorms bring about lots of trouble, but we can still make use of them
C. without sandstorms, there would be no Chinese civilization and human beings
D. sandstorms play an active role in the Chinese civilization, so we should protect them
62. The text mainly talks about _______.
A. the history of sandstorms B. what the biological chain is
C. how the Loess Plateau formed D. the good effects of sandstorms

The Florida Sea Base Programs
Diving Adventure
If you are a diver, this is your program. During the program you will be making as many as nine dives (weather permitting), including a night dive. We have open dates in June, July and August for the summer months and for fall we have opening in September, October, November and December. Check out the dates today. Click here!
Sea Exploring!
The name brings back the memory of pirates(海盗) sailing the high seas of the past. This adventure is for larger teams of 18 to 20 teammates. Sailing on a tall ship with your team, you will be making memories that you will share for the rest of your life with anyone who will listen. Be sure and check out the dates we have open. Click here! We can fit your timetable to meet your needs with these great dates.
Live Aboard Diving
The Florida Sea Base has the sailing and diving programs joined for one wonderful adventure! On this adventure, you will spend your days not only in diving, but also in sailing around the Florida Keys. There are openings this fall and winter. Check now for open dates to spend your winter holidays in the keys. Click here! Fall dates are open now. Check them out today!
Just around the corner: the Christmas season in the keys! We have an opening for the Live Aboard program on December 26. Book today---it won’t last long!
Diving Certification(证书)
The Diving Certification program is designed for teammates who want to get a certification--- all who complete the week successfully will be offered PADI certification! Come and learn how to dive in the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys.
We have the following dates open: August 5, August 12, August 19, August 22 and August 26. We also have programs we offer in the fall: September 30, October 7, October 14, October 21, and many more dates. Check out the rest of the dates. Click here!
55. The text is most probably found _________.
A. in a newspaper B. on the Internet
C. in a science magazine D. in a book about Florida Sea
56. Colin wants to join in the Diving Adventure. He is supposed to have ______.
A. 9 dives B. 10 dives
C. 19 dives D. as many dives as he likes
57. According to this text, Live-Aboard Diving is special in that ____.
A. diving goes on during the sailing
B. it is an adventure at sea
C. there are diving programs in it
D. it is held in the Christmas season
58. The purpose of the text is mainly to ________.
A. teach B. introduce C. report D. advertise

Online shopping started not so long ago. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1990. The first online bank opened in 1994. In 1995, Amazon started operating and is now one of the largest online shopping malls. Then in 1996, eBay started its online shopping site.
By sitting at home you can now buy anything from knives to cars. The worry you may have about traveling and parking can be avoided while you shop online. With online shopping, you need not worry about the weather. Online shops have no holidays, closing times or any other problems. You can shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Some online shops also keep customers’ opinions about each product, so you can easily find out what other customers think about the product before buying it.
When you go for real-world shopping, you can actually touch and feel it, but in online shopping you can only see the pictures. Also if you are shopping online, you have to be careful with your credit cards.
The first step in online shopping is to search for what you want to buy. Once you find the required product, put it in a “shopping cart” and continue shopping. After you have got enough in your “shopping cart”, check out the product. You can add or take out the products in your shopping cart. The next step is to login(登录) using a username and a password. Enter the address where you want the product to be sent. Some sites even ask for your email, phone numbers, etc. Then wait for the confirmation(确认)of your order. You can also cancel the order if needed. Online shopping is a different experience and you can make shopping online easy when you get used to it.
51. When shopping online, you can _______.
A. buy anything wherever you go B. park your cars where you want to
C. touch anything you want to buy D. know what others think of the product
52. The second paragraph mainly tells us ______.
A. the things people can buy in online shops
B. people can know different opinions of customers
C. people can do online shopping at their own homes
D. the advantages people can have through online shopping
53. From the text we can know that ______.
A. customers needn’t have a username to buy something online
B. customers must give their emails as well as their phone numbers
C. customers should be careful with their credit cards when shopping online
D. once customers put the products in their “shopping carts”, they can’t change them
54. If you want to buy a cup online, what is the right order of the following things you can do?
a. Enter the address
b. Search for a right cup
c. Wait for the confirmation of the order
d. Put the cup into your “shopping cart”
A. b-c-d-a B. b-d-a-c C. a-b-c-d D. c-d-a-b