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第三部分:阅读理解
What happens to old school buses when they can no longer safely carry kids to school? Most go to waste factories to be changed into pieces of metal. But a few of the old vehicles (车辆) find new lives in the center of Africa. Most of those buses end up on the streets of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Kinshasa buses are that yellow color, which makes them stand out (突出) in the city’s heavy traffic, but the buses don’t look at all as they did in the United States. In Kinshasa their taillights(尾灯) are almost all missing or broken. They don’t obey traffic rules and often race around the city very fast. The buses compete with motorcycles, cars, trucks, and other vehicles for space on the road. They make loud sounds when moving, and they are packed with people carrying loads of goods, such as fish, milk, beans and onions.
However, Kinshasa business people love the old, yellow buses, which they buy from American companies, because the vehicles are strong, reliable (可依靠的) and inexpensive. A used bus sells for about $2,000 in Congo. A new bus is more expensive. In the United States, a new school bus with all its lights working costs about $80,000.
The fare (票价) to travel across the city is usually about 30 US cents. “Transport is a big problem in Kinshasa,” says passenger Bruce Kingambo. “But the yellow buses help people here get around.”
56．The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means “In the center of Africa some old US school buses can be_________.”
A．useful B．expensive C．free D．new
57．Before the school buses leave America for Congo, they_________
A．have broken taillights
B．don’t obey the traffic rules and move at full speed
C．carry many people and goods
D．don’t compete with other vehicles
58．How many used buses can you buy in Congo for the price of a completely new school bus in the USA?
A．10. B．20. C．30. D．40.
59．The passage mainly tells us _________
A．how to use old school buses
B．about new lives for old school buses
C．to try to take old school buses
D．how to drive old school buses
There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckets. One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and dilapidated one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled (溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked（漏水） along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, “See how great I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”
And all that the old bucket could say was. “I know I am not very useful, but I can only do my best. I am happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”
One day, the gardener heard that kind of conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare（光秃秃的）earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.What does the underlined word “dilapidated” probably mean?
| A．dirty | B．dark | C．dusk | D．broken |
What was the old bucket ashamed of?
| A．His leaking. | B．His aging. | C．His manner. | D．His past. |
The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to_________.
| A．show off its beautiful looks | B．feel sorry about the old one |
| C．laugh at the old one | D．praise the gardener’s kindness |
Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?
| A．Because it was used to keep balance（平衡） |
| B．Because it stayed in its best condition |
| C．Because it had its own value |
| D．Because it was treated as a treasure |
It doesn’t matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That’s what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin. Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.
Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.
The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They asked him many questions, hoping to find an answer. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason? No one could be sure.
Herpin died at the age of 94.The doctors came to Herpin’s home in order to ______.
| A．treat him for his illness |
| B．find the reason why some old people didn’t need any sleep |
| C．get some proof to show his sleeplessness was not really true |
| D．help him to have a rest in some day |
After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin ______.
| A．needed some kind of sleep | B．needed no sleep at all |
| C．was too old to need any sleep | D．often slept in a chair |
The word “puzzled” in this passage probably refers to “______”.
| A．make you think a lot because you do not understand it |
| B．make you worry a lot because you cannot sleep well |
| C．make you sad because something unusual has happened |
| D．make you fear because something terrible has happened |
The main idea of this passage is that ______.
| A．large numbers of people do not need sleep |
| B．everyone needs some sleep to stay alive |
| C．people can live longer by trying not to sleep at all |
| D．a person was found who actually didn’t need any sleep |
As prices and building costs keep rising, the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) trend (趋势) in the U.S. continues to grow.
“We needed furniture(家具) for our living room.” Says John Ross, “and we just didn’t have enough money to afford it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $ 280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $ 420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourself”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don’t have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.We can learn from the text that many newly married people _______.
| A．find it hard to pay for what they need |
| B．have to learn to make their own furniture. |
| C．take DIY courses run by the government. |
| D．seldom go to a department store to buy things |
John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _____
| A．run a DIY shop | B．make or repair things |
| C．save time and money | D．improve the quality of life. |
When the writer says Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim ____
| A．makes shoes in his home | B．does extra work at night |
| C．does his own car and home repairs | D．keeps house and looks after his children |
It’s school time again! You’re probably feeling excited and maybe a little sad that summer is over. Some kids feel nervous or a little scared on the first day of school because of all the new things: new teachers, new friends, and even a new school. Luckily, these “new” worries only stick around for a little while. Let’s find out more about going to a new school.
Most teachers kick off the new school year by introducing themselves and talking about all the stuff you’ll be doing that year. Some teachers give students a chance to tell something about themselves to the rest of the class, too. When teachers do the talking on the first day, they often go over classroom rules and school rules so you’ll know what’s allowed and what’s not. Please pay close attention
You might already know a lot of people in your classes on the first day, but it’s a great day to make a new friend, so try to say hello to kids you know and new ones that you don’t. Make the first move and you’ll be glad you did, and so will your new friend!
Seeing friends you haven’t seen in a while can make the first day a good one. You can make the day feel special by wearing clothes that you really like. Maybe you got a great T-shirt on one of your vacations, or a pair of sneakers（运动鞋）. It also can make you feel good to be prepared and have all the things you need, such as pencils, folders, and whatever else you’ll be needing. But make sure that you pack them the night before in case you don’t have time in the morning.The underlined phrase “kick off” in the second paragraph probably means “_____”.
| A．start | B．study | C．find | D．teach |
The last paragraphs mainly tell us about ________.
| A．what to know about a new school |
| B．how to prepare for a new school |
| C．what to do on your first day of school |
| D．how to spend your first day of school |
According to the passage you usually do everything on the first day of school except ______.
| A．introduce yourself | B．learn about the school rules |
| C．make new friends | D．go over your new lessons |
If you happen to see an old friend on the first day of school, from the passage we know that you will feel ________.
| A．nervous | B．lucky | C．happy | D．excited |
You Mi, a lovely and confident 17-year-old student, is the first Chinese high school student to appear on the cover of the popular young adults’ fashion magazine Seventeen.
“You is IN,” said Wang Lihua，Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen. “She is active and mature (成熟) because of her knowledge on everything from academic studies，to books on art，to movies. We find she’s the very style we’re looking for to represent young people’s attitudes.”
You also impressed Wang with her fluent English when they first met last year. As the hostess of an English broadcasting program at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University（人大附中）， You is always praised for speaking English almost like a native speaker. “I’ve built up my English by watching thousands of English DVDs since I was 10,” she explained.
But for You，watching isn’t enough. Last year，while in Senior 1， she met a talented (有才能的) boy who showed self-made DV movies at the English Corner in her school.
“I thought it was so cool and I knew that I should start making my own films，” she said. So she wrote a campus (校园) story, persuaded schoolmates to star in it and then began shooting a 30-minute DV movie，all in English. “I played one of the leading roles，actually I was everything in my film. I worked on it every day during the holidays,” she recalled. The movie finally became a big hit on campus，earning You a strong reputation（名气） as a DV movie director.
But this is not the only field she wants to master. Though a science student, You likes art, literature and fashion design very much.
“There are people who can be artists，there are people who edit books, and there are people who become film producers. But I just hope to mix all the things up!” she said. “There is an old saying I believe：Chances favor only the prepared mind.”You Mi was chosen to be a cover of Seventeen, mainly because she _____.
| A．is beautiful | B．she is lovely and full of confidence |
| C．is active and mature | D．has rich knowledge |
You Mi’s fluent English is based on _____.
| A．her chance to host an English broadcasting program |
| B．the influence of her parents |
| C．her deep interest in it |
| D．her making DV movie |
The author mentioned a talented boy to show _____.
| A．the great influence he had on You Mi |
| B．he was admired by his schoolmates |
| C．the young can do things as well as the adults do |
| D．DV movies are popular at school |
In the 30-minute DV movie，You Mi didn’t act as a（n） _____.
| A．director | B．musician | C．actress | D．film-maker |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
| A．You Mi hopes to be a mixed talent. |
| B．the success of a 30-minute DV movie surprised You Mi. |
| C．You Mi dreams of becoming a scientist. |
| D．You Mi doesn’t like to study during holidays. |