In 2008, the main candidates ( 候选人 ) for President each used this expression ：You can put lipstick ( 口红 ) on a pig, but it is still a pig.” This means that it is a waste of time to change something from ugly or unpleasant-looking to beautiful.
There are other expressions about improving a pig’s appearance, like this one: “ A hog in a silk waist coat is still a hog.” Hogs are similar to pigs, only bigger. Americans use many other expressions about pigs, hogs and female hogs called sows, like this one, “ You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” This means you cannot create something valuable from something that has no value. Then there is the expression “ Cast pearls before swine ( 猪 ).” That means wasting something valuable on someone who will not be thankful or care about it.
Hogs which are very large animals, take up a lot of space but people should not take up more than their share. If one of your children is taking up too much space sitting in front of the television, other children might say : “ Do not hog the couch.” And a road hog is a driver who uses more than his share of the road. Such a driver increase dangers for other drivers.
Pigs terms are also used in American politics. Farmers mark their pigs’ ears to identify them. In politics, earmarks are money set aside for projects in a congressman’s ( 议员 ) home state.
In many areas, pigs provide ham, bacon and other pork products to eat. All Americans want to be able to bring home the bacon because they want to earn enough money to provide the necessities of life. Experts say this term was first used in the 1920s. But it is believed to come from the much older game of catching a greased ( 涂了油的 ) pig. This was a popular event at country fairs in which the winner was awarded the pig.
66.The author writes this passage mainly to ________________.
A.express his support for the President Election
B.criticize ( 批评 ) the bad influence caused by expressions about pigs
C.discuss some problems caused by expressions about pigs
D.introduce some expressions used in American daily life
67.If you give a good book to a person who can’t read, which of the following is the most suitable to describe it?
A.Cast peals before swine.
B.You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.
C.A hog in a silk waistcoat is still a hog.
D.You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
68.A driver who takes up too much space on the road is often referred to as ________________.
A. a greased pig B. a couch hog C. a road hog D. a road earmark
69. How many words which refer to the same animal are mentioned in this passage?
A. Six B. Four C. Five D. Three
70. Which of the following expressions are similar to “ You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.?
A. When pigs fly! B. To eat like a pig.
C. To sell a pig in a pork. D. To sweat like a pig.
第三部分：阅读理解（共 20小题；每小题 2分，满分 40分）
阅读下列短文，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和 D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was unfeeling. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense that she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks came toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the cold water of the sea, she struggled on — hour after hour — while millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still warming her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.” It was not fatigue (疲劳) or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith ready and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim across the Catalina Channel, eclipsing (让……黯然失色) the men’s record by two hours!
56. What can be the best title for the text？
A. Keep your goals in sight.
B. Woman can be better than men.
C. How to swim across the Catalina Channel.
D. Where there is a will, there is a way.
57. Why did Florence give up swimming across the Catalina Channel the first time?
A. She couldn’t swim with the dense fog.
B. She could hardly see her support boats.
C. She was all worn out.
D. She couldn’t see the land ahead.
58. It can be inferred from the text that_______.
A. weather has little effect on swimmers
B. knowing one’s goal is very important
C. Florence had great desire to break the men’s record
D. Florence was full of energy after two months’ rest
59. Which of the following is NOT true about Florence?
A. She didn’t know only a half mile left the first time.
B. She had long distant swimming experience before.
C. The TV audience felt unsatisfied because she quit on the half way.
D. It’s dangerous for her to swim across the Catalina Channel.
Win a trip to the OREGON COAST-Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. Build the biggest sand castle on the beach. Search tide pools for sea life. Watch the bright orange sunset over the ocean. Whether you’ve been to the Pacific Ocean before or have only closed your eyes and imagined it, we want to know how you would explore the Oregon Coast if you had the chance to go this summer.
JUDGING
1. Clear relationship between the Essay and the Drawing 40%
2. Creativity and skill in design and form of the Drawing 
40%
3. Expression of the passion to draw and explore 10%
4. Journalistic quality, tidy nature and overall quality of the Essay 10%
PRIZE
By entering, you will have the chance to win an all expense paid trip to the ORECON COAST. Activities will include: kite flying, studying beaut
iful sea creatures, searching for sea life in a boat, science exploration at a science center and roasting over a beach campfire.
Who may enter: The competition is 0pen to kids aged 6 - 14.
TERM : Entries(参赛作品) must be postmarked no later than July 31 ,2009.
How to enter
Surf travelogue. com/kids to download and print out an entry form.
Be sure to mark whether you have or have not been to the Pacific Ocean in山e form. Create a drawing of the Pacific Ocean on a piece of paper using a pen or paints.
Write an article of 100 words or less to explain why you want to go, what you think you would see and what you would explore if you have never been to the Pacific Ocean, or describe your favorite memories from your last visit.
Send to Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. NG1145 14th street NW. Washington D. C. 20036
72. What is the most important for the judging?
A. Whether your article is written in a neat way.
B. The article and the drawing should be closely related.
C. Whether you show your passion to draw and explore.
D. The skill in your drawing the map of the Atlantic Ocean.
73. If you win the competition, you may____
A. search the beach for sea plants
B. fly a kite on the beach
C. roast the sea creatures over a beach campfire
D. win an all expense paid trip to Washington D. C.
74. What information can you get from the passage?
A. Your article should be 8t least 100 words.
B. Every kid can rake part in the competition.
C. You must send the drawing before June 31, 2009.
D. Your entry form should be downloaded and printed out.
75. You can most probably read the passage in _ .
A．a textbook B．a travel guide
C．a newspaper D．a research book
As school starts again, there's so much more for an American parent to nag （唠叨）about, like homework，bedtime and lost hours on the Internet.
But in the age of digital childhood，Jacky Longwell, 45 , of McLean, Virginia, often text – messages what she once told her children by mouth: Be nice to your brother; walk the dog; remember your reading.
This is the world of the modern family, in which even reminding children to do something has become electronic.
There are changes in how parents nag and in what they nag about and in how often of their nagging.
With technology," you nag more, and you are a little bit more precise （其体的）with your nagging,” said Reginald Black, 46, of Woodbridge. Virginia.
For many young people electronic nagging is part of the experience of growing up.
Charles Flowers, 17, a senior at St. John’s College High School in Washington, says his mother reminds him about everything from laundry, being on time to baseball practice and mowing the lawn by text.
When she uses capitals he knows she’s serious: GET HOME!
Some say technology has made nagging less annoying. Jacky Longwell thinks texts are less emotional than spoken messages and less likely to be resisted by teenagers.
“It’s not as painful for them to hear it by text. It becomes grouped with the friendly communication.” she said. “They can’t hear the nagging.”
She thinks a good way to do it is to mix friendliness with nagging. A parent can always start by saying hello.
Not all parents like the new electronic nagging. Joyce Bouchard, 51, a mother of four in Fairfax, Virginia , texts her 14 - year - old son but says that for many things-chores, homework-the old - fashioned way works better. Nagging by text has risks. She notes: “I always think, if you’re texting them something and they’re with their friends, they are getting a big laugh out of it.”
68. The main idea of the article is .
A. what American parents like to nag about
B. why American parents like to nag their children
C. that electronic nagging is becoming common in the US
D. how American parents began to nag their children by text mess
ages
69. The example of Reginald Black is used to show readers .
A. that her nagging is thoughtful
B. that she likes nagging her children very much
C. the kind of skills a parent needs to nag effectively
D. how the amount and kind of nagging have changed with the arriva
l of the digital age
70. The underlined sentence “Nagging by text has risks.” most probably means“ ”
A. Electronic nagging costs too much
B. Nagging messages may he resisted
C. Receiving texts is harmful to teenagers’ health
D. Parents are likely to be addicted to nagging by text
71. We can infer from the article that .
A. it’s better for parents to nag in a friendly way
B. if nagging is electronic, it is not annoying
C. American parents generally don’t like to nag
D. American parents like to use capital letters in messages
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
The first time I saw Crlos I would 
never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when I ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
“My God, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry, I walked to seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with anything else. That would be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington.
“ Take that seat,” Mr. McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room.
Carlos grinned, “ But I need a couple of dictionaries.” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president. “How come? ” I kept asking myself, “How come this shrimp who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”
So that morning, I stopped Carlos and said, “It doesn’t seem to bother you-being short.” He looked up at me, “ Of course I mind being short. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted, “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
56. The author was angry because .
A. the class made fun of her B. Carlos was too rude to her
C. she had to carry many books D. Reed Harrington didn’t date her.
57. Which of the following about Carlos is NOT TRUE?高考资源网
A. He was popular. B. He was new in the school.
C. He was shorter than the author D. He was chosen president in the school elections.
58. We 
can infer from the passage that .
A. Carlos and the author have become good friends.
B. the author will be more confident.
C. Carlos always encouraged the author.
D. the author was tall
59. What’s the best title of the passage?
A. How to be popular B. A tall girl
C. Be yourself D. Something about Carlos
七．阅读理解 (20分)
Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment (营养). The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away ”is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form, believing that these will make them healthy.
But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn’t need or use extra vitamins, so why waste money on them?
In the modern western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly.They throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening.
1.“Your body has close relations with the food you eat.”It really means that ______.
A.all kinds of food you eat can be made into your body
B.your body is made up of the food you eat
C.what you eat has great effect on your health
D.the more you eat, the fitter you will feel
2.The old saying referred to in the passage tells us that ______.
A.eating apples regularly does lots of good to our health
B.the apple is the best among all kinds of fruits
C.apples can take the place of doctors
D.an apple is a sure cure for illness
3.In the second paragraph,the writer tries to let us know ______.
A.our bodies need food or we can’ t live B.often eating apples is a good habit
C.taking extra vitamin pills is completely useless
D.a good diet is of great importance for our health
4.In the modern western countries ______.
A.people don’t want to pay more attention to their eating
B.lots of people’ s illnesses are caused or made worse by bad eating habits
C.people throw everything into their stomachs without chewing
D.people are only too busy to cook meals for themselves
5.From the passage we can draw a conclusion that if we want to keep healthy, we should ______.
A.only eat an apple a day
B.eat properly
C.take as many vitamin pills as possible
D.throw something into our stomachs slowly and carefully