第二部分 阅读理解（共25小题；第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将
该项涂黑。
It was the old lady’s eightieth birthday. She was sure Myra wouldn’t forget her mother’s birthday, even if she was busy. After all, eighty was a special birthday. Perhaps Myra might come. Even if Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of colour brightened her cheeks. She was excited like a child.
Mrs. Morrison had brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake. Johnnie, the little boy next door, was now up with her with a packet of sweets.
“I guess you’ll get lots and lots of presents,” he said. “I did last week when I was six.”
What would she like? A pair of slippers perhaps. A blue new cardigan. Or a table lamp. Or a little clock, with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.
She stood by the window, watching. The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat fast. Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate.
“Granny, granny,” Johnnie returned. “I’ve got your post!”
He gave her four envelopes. Three were from old friends. The fourth was in Myra’s writing.
“No parcel, Johnnie?”
“No, granny.”
Almost reluctantly, she tore the fourth envelope open. Folded in the card was a check. Written on the card was a message: Happy Birthday—Buy yourself something nice with the check, Myra and Harold.
The six-figure check fell to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady bent to pick it up. Her present, her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.
41. As can be inferred from the passage, ______.
A. the neighbours cared little about the old lady in daily life
B. the friends sent the old lady many lovely presents by post
C. Myra was stopped by her husband from seeing her mother
D. the old lady lived alone in a flat away from her daughter
42. The old lady felt ______ when she saw the fourth envelope in her daughter’s writing.
A. excited B. disappointed C. happy D. impatient
43. The reason the old lady tore the check into small pieces was that______.
A. she was sure her daughter would come, not the check
B. she didn’t notice there were six figures on the check
C. she would prefer a present with love from her daughter
D. she didn’t think the check was large enough for a present
44. Which of the following might serve as the best title for the passage?
A. The Present. B. The Check. C. The Birthday. D. The Daughter.
Register （注册） in person, by phone 264-8833,or by mail. Use form given.
178 IN Winchester St., Chicago
Basic Photography This is an eight-hour course for beginners who want to learn how to use a 35mm camera. The teacher will cover such areas as kinds of film, light and lenses （镜头）. Bring your own 35mm camera to class. Course charge: $ 50. Jan. 10, 12, 17, 19, Tues. &Thurs. 6:00-8:00 pm. Marianne Adams is a professional photographer whose photographs appear in many magazines.
Understanding Computers This twelve-hour course is for people who do not know much about computers, but need to learn about them. You will learn what computers are, what they can and can’t do, and how to use them. Course charge: $ 75. Equipment charge: $10. Jan. 14, 21, 28, Sats. 7:00-9:50 pm. Joseph Saimders is Professor of Computer Science at New Urban University.
He has over twelve years of experience in the computer field.
Stop Smoking Do you want to stop smoking? Have you already tried to stop and failed? Now it’s the time to stop smoking using the latest methods. You can stop smoking, and this twelve-hour course will help you do it. Course charge: $ 30. Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25, Wends. 4:00-7:00 pm. Dr. John Goode is a practicing psychologist （心理学家） who has helped hundreds of people stop smoking.
Typing This course on week-days is for those who want to learn to type, as well as those who want to improve their typing. You are tested in the first class and practice at one of eight different skill levels. This allows you to learn at your own speed. Each program lasts 20 hours. Bring your own paper. Course charge: $125. Materials charge: $ 25. Two hours each evening for two weeks. New classes begin every two weeks. This course is taught by a number of business education teachers who have successfully taught typing courses before.
All the courses listed above are offered to the people .
| A．who live in the city of Chicago | B．who are free in the evening |
| C．who want to take some special courses | D．who like to learn something new |
Of all the courses mentioned in the passage, the shortest one is .
| A．Understanding Computers | B．Basic Photography |
| C．Stop Smoking | D．Typing |
There are typing courses .
| A．on Saturdays and Sundays | B．from Monday to Friday |
| C．from Monday to Saturday | D．on each day in the week |
One Sunday a few of us decided to take advantage of the first sunny day we’d have for ages to take a trip down to the coast to visit the penguins again. Last time I went down there was a couple of months ago and it was a dull cold day. Sunday couldn’t have been more different — clear skies and sunshine made it feel like summer, although it was still -25°C.
Six of us drove to the coast. It was the first time we’d been off the base on our own without our field assistant, so it had a slightly different feeling — more like a few friends going to the seaside than an Antarctic field trip! When we reached Windy Creek, we luckily caught sight of quite a few small flying seabirds, which are seldom seen there.
Once on the sea ice we found that some of the more curious penguins had wandered over from the main group to come and check us out. We’d been told that then they were nursing their chicks (刚孵出的幼雏) and they would be more careful and nervous than last time, but that didn’t seem to be the case. We walked across to the main group which were stretched for a couple of miles along the coast. We sat down for some sandwiches and soon found ourselves surrounded by many curious observers. Without any attackers on land, they were very brave and came within a meter of us to pose (摆姿势) for photos.
Before heading back, we spent a few hours on the sea ice watching the penguins and their chicks, which had grown dramatically (明显地) since our last visit. It was such a nice day.
When did the trip most probably happen?
| A．On a dull Sunday. | B．On a warm Sunday. |
| C．On a summer Sunday. | D．On a winter Sunday. |
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that the six people _____.
| A．felt a little nervous |
| B．felt a little excited |
| C．were left all by themselves on their Antarctic base |
| D．got bored with staying with their field assistant |
What does the writer mean by saying “but that didn’t seem to be the case”?
| A．They were told a lie. |
| B．A wrong decision was made. |
| C．The truth was the opposite. |
| D．They didn’t believe what they were told. |
The six people did the following during the trip EXCEPT _____.
| A．feed the penguins |
| B．take pictures of the penguins |
| C．enjoy watching flying seabirds |
| D．watch the young penguins |
From a very early age，some children exhibit better self-control than others. Now，a new study that began with about 1, 000 children in New Zealand has tracked how a child’s low self-control can predict poor health, money troubles and even a criminal record in their adult years. 
Researchers have been studying this group of children for decades now. They observed the level of self-control the youngsters displayed. Parents，teachers，even the kids themselves，scored the youngsters on measures like“ acting before thinking ”and “Persistence in reaching goals. ”
The study led by Moffitt of Duke University and colleagues followed 1,000 children from birth to age 32 in Dunedin, New Zealand.
“The children who had the lowest self-control when they were age three to ten，later on had the most health problems in their 30s，” Moffitt said，“and they had the worst financial situation. They were more likely to have a criminal record and to be raising a child as a single parent on a very low income. ”Moffitt explained that self-control problems were widely observed，and weren’t just a feature of a small group of misbehaving kids.
Moffitt said it’s still unclear why some children have better self-control than others，though she said other researchers have found that it’s mostly a learned behavior, with relatively little genetic influence. But good self-control can be set to run in families because children with good self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthy and prosperous parents. But the good news，Moffitt said，is that self-control can be taught by parents，and through school curricula that have been shown to be effective.
From the first two paragraphs we learn that .
| A．the research has been carried out for five years |
| B．self-control in kids tends to determine their future |
| C．self-control was assessed by children’s intelligence |
| D．children’s self-control is almost the same at early age |
Children with low self-control are more likely to .
| A．become wealthy in later life | B．get good school performance |
| C．have better financial planning | D．adopt negative behaviors |
According to Moffitt, .
| A．only good genetic factors can shape their lives in the future |
| B．scientists know well why some children have better self-control |
| C．self-control in childhood has nothing to do with criminal activity |
| D．willpower as a child really influences people’s chances of adulthood |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Self-control cannot be taught in schools. |
| B．The study is restricted within few participants. |
| C．It’s never too late to deal with self-control problems. |
| D．Good parenting can improve self-control and life success. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage？
| A．Child’s self-control predicts future health, success |
| B．Kids are encouraged to take risks at an early age |
| C．Children’s development cannot be changed by teachers |
| D．How to teach the kids a bit of self-control in schools |
If you know exactly what you want, the best way to get a job is to get specialized training. A recent survey shows that companies like graduates in such fields as business and health care who can go to work immediately with very little on-the-job training.
That’s especially true of booming fields that are challenging for workers. At Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, for example, bachelor’s degree graduates get an average of four or five job offers with salaries ranging from the high teens to the low 20s and plenty of chances for rapid advancement. Large companies, especially, like a background of formal education coupled with work experience. But in the long run, too much specialization doesn’t pay off. Business, which has been flooded with MBAs, no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval. The MBA may open doors and command a higher salary initially, but the effect of a degree washes out after five years.
As further evidence of companies gradually losing faith in specialized degrees, Michigan State’s Scheetz mentions a pattern in hiring practices. Although companies tend to take on specialists as new hires, they often seek out generalists for middle and upper-level management. “They want someone who isn’t constrained（限制）by details to look at the big picture,” says Scheetz. This sounds like a formal statement that you approve of the liberal-arts （文科）graduates. Time and again labor-market analysts mention a need for talents that liberal-arts majors are assumed to have: writing and communication skills, organizational skills, open-mindedness and adaptability, and the ability to analyze and solve problems. David Birch, manager of the Boston Red Sox, claims he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree, “I hire only liberal-arts people because they have a less-than-canned way of doing things,” says Birch.
For a liberal-arts degree, students focus on some basic courses that include literature, history, mathematics, economics, science, human behavior—plus a computer course or two. With these useful and important courses, you can feel free to specialize, “A liberal-arts degree coupled with an MBA or some other technical training is a very good combination in the marketplace,” says Scheetz.
What kinds of people are in high demand on the job market?
| A．Students with a bachelor’s degree in humanities. |
| B．People with an MBA degree from top universities. |
| C．People with formal schooling plus work experience. |
| D．People with special training in engineering |
By saying “…but the effect of a degree washes out after five years”(Para 2), the author means .
| A．most MBA programs fail to provide students with a solid foundation |
| B．an MBA degree does not help in the future promotion |
| C．MBA programs will not be as popular in five years’ time as they are now |
| D．people will not forget about the degree the MBA graduates have got |
According to Scheetz’s statement ( Para. 3), companies prefer people who .
| A．have a strategic mind | B．are talented in fine arts |
| C．are ambitious and aggressive | D．have received training in mechanics |
David Birch claims that he only hires liberal-arts people because they .
| A．are more capable of handling changing situations |
| B．can stick to established ways of solving problems |
| C．are thoroughly trained in a variety of specialized fields |
| D．have attended special programs in management |
Which of the following statements does the author support?
| A．Specialists are more expensive to hire than generalists. |
| B．Formal schooling is less important than job training. |
| C．On-the-job training is, in the long run, less costly. |
| D．Generalists will do better than specialists in management. |
If cars had wings，they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2011.The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its car-plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2011.
“It’s the next ‘wow’ vehicle，”said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh .“Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don’t fly.”
The car plane has wings that unfold for flying—a process the company says takes one minute—and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land.
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly. They say it saves you the trouble from trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you’re good to go. When you land, you fold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive parking fees because you don’t have to store it at an airport—you park it in the garage at home.
The car-plane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers. Terrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under bad weather instead of flying into marginal(临界)conditions.
The Transition’s price tag: $194,000, But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, transponder or GPS. Another option is a full-plane parachute.
“If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option,” Gersh said.
So far, the company has more than 70 orders with deposits.“We’re working very closely with them, but there are still some remaining steps,” Brown said.
We can learn from the first paragraph that .
| A．car-planes will be popular in 2011 |
| B．people might drive a car-plane in 2011 |
| C．both Transition and Ferrari can take off and land |
| D．Richard Gersh is the vice president of Massachusetts |
lt takes the car-plane one minute to .
| A．fold and unfold its wings | B．unfold wings for flying |
| C．land in the airport | D．meet flying safety regulations |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. The car-plane needs a runway to take off and land.
B. To meet aircraft regulations, the company has been working with FAA.
C. The car-plane may fly as high as normal planes.
D. People can park the car-plane in the garage at their home.
The underlined word “it” in the last but one paragraph refers to .
| A．the radio | B．the transponder | C．the GPS | D．the full-plane parachute |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Cars With Wings May Be Just Around The Corner |
| B．Which to Choose: A Ferrari or a Car Plane? |
| C．A more Convenient and Cheaper Way to Fly |
| D．Cars With Wings Can Fly as Fast as Planes |