三、阅读理解
On New Year’s Eve
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, people in Rome, Italy, throw out all the things they no longer want. The streets are filled with old chairs, beds, clothes and dishes. In Madrid, Spain, the new year comes in more quietly. People flock to the main square. Each holds a bag of grapes. As the clock strikes twelve, the people eat the grapes— one for each stroke.
In Tokyo people eat noodles on New Year’s Eve. This food is said to bring long life. Early the next morning, some Japanese families climb Mount Fuji. There they watch the first sunrise of the new year.
41. This story is about New Year’s Eve in ____.
A. Italy and Spain B. China and Japan C. Japan D. both A and C
42. In Rome, Italy, the streets are filled with old things on New Year’s Eve because __ .
A. people throw out all the things they no longer want
B. the city has never been clean
C. people want to change back what they want
D. they want to see the sun come up
43. People in both Spain and Japan bring in the new year by____.
A. throwing things away B. eating a special food
C. climbing a mountain D. watching the first sunrise
44. In Tokyo, people eat noodles on New Year’s Eve _____.
A. because they like eating noodles very much
B. so that the daytime could be longer
C. in order that they could live longer
D. though they don’t eat them
All parents know that one of their most important tasks is to prepare their children for an independent life，but any parent can tell you that it’s hard to let go of your children．That balance between keeping your children safe and allowing them to learn from their own mistakes can be heartbreaking．Years of experience means that parents often do know best，but on the other hand，the young，being less bound by tradition，are often more creative，more able to find new solutions to old problems．Revolutions are led by the young．
Good teachers make the growth of critical （批判性的） thinking easier in their students，only to find that this can lead to a questioning of the teachers’ basic beliefs．Schools encourage parents to become involved，but are often embarrassed when parents have reservations about some of the educational methods being used．Governments encourage unimportant groups to empower themselves in order to participate fully in the development process．And they are often surprised when the new leaders of these groups turn around and attack the policies of that same government．The rebellions （叛逆的）young and the newly unimportant groups are important in social development．They are not necessarily representatives of those they want to represent or not realistic in their demands，but their voices must be heard．
Good parents know that just forbidding particular behaviors does not prevent their children from finding ways to engage in these forbidden activities．Indeed，sometimes the forbidden fruit is more inviting，just because it is not accepted by authority．Parents must work with their children to educate them on the facts，know as much as possible about he lives of their children，provide a good example，encourage more wholesome activities but also support their children when they don’t follow what is expected of them．But the most important point is that they also need to learn how to let go．By saying “Revolutions are led by the young”，the author indicates that young people are more___________________．
| A．conventional | B．creative |
| C．realistic | D．heartbreaking |
From the second paragraph we know__________________．
| A．the voice of the rebellious young should be heard by the government |
| B．schools encourage parents to question their education methods |
| C．movement is satisfied with the new leaders’ attack on the policies |
| D．teachers’ basic beliefs should be questioned by students |
In order to educate children well，parents should_________________．
| A．forbid particular behaviors in their daily life |
| B．know as much as possible as their children |
| C．educate them with facts and expect much of them |
| D．know them well and set a good example to them |
From the passage we can learn that the author prefers ___________________．
| A．free parenting | B．traditional parenting |
| C．smart parenting | D．critical parenting |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Teaching Methods – for Teachers and Schools |
| B．Parents’ Tasks – in Children’s Development |
| C．Way of Growth – for the Young Groups |
| D．Letting Go – for Children’s Independent Life |
However urban life strikes you，cities worldwide have been growing even more rapidly．Some of this growth has occurred in the developed world，but the most dramatic increase has been in the Third World．Almost all the world’s population growth over the next 30 years will take place in the cities of developing countries
By the year 2030，for the first time in history，60 percent of the world’s people will be living in cities．
This is actually good news in some ways．“Cities are the fundamental building blocks of prosperity,” says Marc Weiss，chairman of the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development，“ both for the nation and for families．” Industrial and commercial activities in urban areas account for between 50 and 80 percent of the gross domestic product （GDP） in most countries of the world“ there’s the crazy notion that the way to deal with a city’s problems is to keep people out of them,” Weiss continued．“But the problems of the rural life are even more serious than those of the city．” For better or worse，urban-watchers are clear on one point: The quality of life for most people in the future will be determined by the quality of cities．Those cities will be bigger than ever．And yet，population numbers by themselves don’t determine a city’s prospects； after all，Addis Ababa，Ethiopia，and Hamburg，Germany，have the same population．Nor is explosive growth necessarily the determining factor．“City problems,” one authority points out，“mostly have to do with weak，ineffective，and usually unrepresentative city governments．”The passage mainly discusses ______________．
| A．Big cities． | B．City life． |
| C．Population． | D．Gross Domestic Product． |
According to the passage，in the year of 2030 _______．
| A．there will be 21 cities having a population of more than 10 million． |
| B．rural area will be extinct． |
| C．most people will live in cities． |
| D．the third world will keep abreast with the developed world． |
In the author’s opinion，_________．
| A．better city，better life |
| B．both urban and rural areas have a larger population |
| C．the larger population，the faster a city develops |
| D．both urban and rural areas have larger gross domestic products |
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The developing countries develop faster than the developed countries． |
| B．Cities contribute more to the GDP than the villagers． |
| C．Some problems are more easily solved in cities than in country． |
| D．It’s impossible to solve urban problems by getting people out of cities． |
The last paragraph implies that ____________．
| A．public services are ineffective． |
| B．cities are increasing too fast． |
| C．population is not linked with development． |
| D．government should be responsible for the problems in the cities． |
“Long time no see” is a very interesting sentence．When I first read this sentence from an American friend’s email，I laughed．I thought it was a perfect example of Chinglish．
Obviously，it is a word-by-word literal translation of the Chinese greetings with a ruled English grammar and structure! Later on，my friend told me that it is a standard American greeting．I was too thrilled to believe her．Her words could not convince me at all．So I did a research on google．com．To my surprise，there are over 60 thousand web pages containing “Long time no see．” This sentence has been widely used in emails，letters，newspapers，movies，books，or any other possible places．Though it is sort of informal，it is part of the language that Americans use daily．Ironically，if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word，the software will tell you that the grammar needs to be corrected．
Nobody knows the origin of this Chinglish sentence．Some people believe that it came from Charlie Chan’s movies．In the 1930s，Hollywood moviemakers successfully created a world wide famous Chinese detective named “Charlie Chan” on wide screens．Detective Chan likes to teach Americans some Chinese wisdom by quoting Confucius．“Long time no see” was his trademark．Soon after Charlie Chan，“Long time no see” became a popular phrase in the real world with thanks to the popularity of these movies．
Some scholars refer to America as a huge pot of stew．All kinds of culture are mixed in the stew together，and they change the color and taste of each other．American Chinese，though a minority ethnic（少数民族的成员） group in the United States，is also contributing some changes to the stew! Language is usually the first thing to be influenced in the mixed stew．
You can have some other examples than adoptions from Chinese，such as pizza from Italian，susi from Japanese，and déjà vu from French etc．There is a long list! Americans do not just simply borrow something from others．They will modify it and make it their own，so you would not be surprised to find a tofu and peanut butter hamburger in a restaurant，or to buy a bottle of iced Chinese green tea with honey in a grocery store．Since Americans appreciate Chinese culture more and more nowadays，I believe more Chinese words will become American English in the future．In this way the American stew keeps adding richness and flavor．The writer himself felt surprised at ______．
| A．the Chinglish expression “Long time no see” |
| B．“Long time no see” used as standard American English |
| C．so many literal translation of the expressions used in America |
| D．finding out Americans use the expression every day |
The word “stew” in the 4th paragraph probably means ______．
| A．mixture literature | B．Confucius’ words |
| C．a kind of cooked dish | D．American changing cultures |
According to the passage，it can be inferred that ______．
| A．detectives translate the phrase “Long time no see” |
| B．Hollywood made “Long time no see” popular |
| C．the huge pot of stew greatly affects all kinds of languages |
| D．cultures can be changed in the huge pot of stew |
The main idea of the passage is that ______．
| A．some Chinese expressions are introduced into English |
| B．you’ll not be surprised at a tofu in a restaurant in America |
| C．some American expressions can be used in China |
| D．American English keep being enriched from different cultures |
According to the passage，which of the following statements is not true?
| A．Informal language sometimes doesn’t go with grammar and structure． |
| B．Languages are always ruled by grammar and structure． |
| C．“Long time no see” has been used in at least four media mentioned in the passage． |
| D．There are four languages mentioned to be adopted in the American stew． |
While watching the Olympics the other night，I came across an unbelievable sight．It was not a gold medal，or a world record broken，but a show of courage．
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks．For one reason or another，two of them false started，so they were disqualified．That left only one to compete．It would have been difficult enough，not having anyone to race against，even though the time on the clock is important．
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong．I’m not an expert swimmer，but I can tell a good dive from a poor one，and this was not exactly medal quality．When he resurfaced，it was evident that the man was not out for gold – his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle．The crowd started to laugh．Clearly this man was not a medal competitor．
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time．Finally he made his turn to start back．It was pitiful．He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out．But in those few awful strokes，the crowd had changed．
No longer were they laughing，but beginning to cheer．Some even began to stand and shout “Come on，you can do it!” and he did．
A clear minute past the average swimmer，this young man finally finished his race．The crowd went wild．You would have thought that he had won the gold，and he should have．Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history，this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors．
Just a short year ago，he had never even swum，let alone race．His country had been invited to Sydney．
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold，or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors，it is nice to watch an underdog．From the passage we can learn that the young man．
| A．made his turn to start back pitifully |
| B．was skillful in freestyle in the game |
| C．swam faster than the average swimmer |
| D．was not capable enough to win the medal |
The crowd changed their attitudes because．
| A．they felt sorry for the young man |
| B．they were moved by the young man’s courage |
| C．they wanted to show their sympathy |
| D．they meant to please the young man |
According to the passage，“it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means．
| A．it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself |
| B．it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills |
| C．it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors |
| D．it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The event started with three men，two of whom were disqualified later． |
| B．The crowd started to laugh at the athlete’s arms waving in an attempt at freestyle． |
| C．The athlete，as well as the author，is an expert swimmer． |
| D．The swimming event is a show of courage rather than a fierce competition． |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Compete for Gold! | B．Try again! |
| C．Break a Record! | D．Go for it! |
How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments－mostly for entertainment purposes－is fair and respectful?
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.
Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range(分布区). The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs.
The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusually and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding(圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats. Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos?
| A．Dangerous. | B．Unhappy. | C．Natural. | D．Easy. |
In the state of zoochosis, animals _________.
| A．remain in cages |
| B．behave strangely |
| C．attack other animals |
| D．enjoy moving around |
What does the author try to argue in the passage?
| A．Zoos are not worth the public support. |
| B．Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals. |
| C．Zoos should treat animals as human beings. |
| D．Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment. |
The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _________.
| A．pointing out the faults in what zoos do |
| B．using evidence he has collected at zoos |
| C．questioning the way animals are protected |
| D．discussing the advantages of natural habitats |
Although he argues against zoos, the author would still agree that __________.
| A．zoos have to keep animals in small cages |
| B．most animals in zoos are endangered species |
| C．some endangered animals are reproduced in zoos |
| D．it’s acceptable to keep animals away from their habitats |