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，从每题所给的四个选项中(A、B、c和D)00，选出最佳选项，并在答卡上将该项涂黑。
Ryan and Lowry had been friends since high school， but it wasn’t until after college
that they hit on the idea of a home—care-products company．“We were shocked to learn how toxic cleaning products were，” says Ryan． Why couldn’t they create green products that would be just as environmentally pure as Aveda’s skin—and—hair—care lines?
When Ryan’s mom heard about the plan，she stared at him blankly: “I’ve never even seen you clean your room!” Not discouraged，Lowry experimented with nontoxic ways to clean． while Ryan focused on marketing． In February 2001，they mixed their first four cleaning sprays and convinced the managers of 20 grocers to try them· Once they had their approval，they tapped friends and family and pooled their savings to come up with $90，000 in seed money．
From the start，“Go big or go home’’was their mantra(口头禅)．Their first financing— that $l million—was due to be signed on September 11, 2001. By the time they got it, two months later，says Ryan, "we had$16 in the bank and personally owed$300，000·”
Seeking a national retailer(零售商)proved just as troublesome．The friends set their sights on Target，known for its trendy，affordable goods．“But Target didn’t like the product or the brand，”recalled Ryan．“We thought the deal was dead，but then a new buyer saw that even though we weren’t selling big volumes, we were profitable, just on a smaller scale．”They won over Target．
Consumers were hooked on the natural things and wonderful fragrance. Today，the partners sell 130 products in more than 8,000 stores，and taxes are over$100 million. Such rapid growth has at times stressed the men’s friendship． “Eric and I agree on ‘what’ but never on‘how，’” says Lowry． “Although we are willing to challenge each other，we come up with interesting and smarter solutions．There’s little fire and ice between us·
56．The underlined word“toxic”in Paragraph 1 most probably means——·
A．poisonous B．dirty C．expensive D．troublesome
57．When Ryan told his mom his plan, ___________.
A．he knew his mom was sure to support him
B．his mom asked him to clean his room
C．his mom suspected his ability
D．he was discouraged by his mom
58．We can learn：from the third paragraph that __________________．
A．Ryan and Lowry wanted to gave up and go home at first
B．their plan didn’t go smoothly at the very beginning
C．they made profit two months later after their first financing
D．$1 million was not enough as their seed money
59．The partners’cleaning products are sold very well because——．
A．the products are made of natural material and smell nice
B．their friends and family offered to use their products
C．they cooperated with a well—known national retailer
D．they convinced 20 grocer managers to try them
60．It can be inferred from the—passage that——．
A．Aveda’s skin—and—hair-care lines are not so successful as Ryan and Lowry’s
B．Target is a famous environment-friendly cleaning brand
C．The friends "cooperation with Target was very successful
D．The partners get on well with each other in their business
As societies develop, their members start to see things not so much according to what they need, but according to what they want. When people have enough money, these wants become demands.
Now, it' s important for the managers in a company to understand what their customers want if they are going to develop effective marketing strategies. There are various ways of doing this. One way at supermarkets, for example, is to interview customers while they're doing their shopping. They can be asked what they prefer to buy and then the results of the research can be studied. This provides information on which to base future marketing strategies. It' s also quite normal for top managers from department stores to spend a day or two each month visiting stores and mixing freely with the public, as if they were ordinary customers, to get an idea of how customers act.
Another way to get information from customers is to give them something. For example, some fast food restaurants give away tickets in magazines or on the street that permit customers to get part of their meal for nothing. As well as being a good way of attracting customers into the restaurants to spend their money, it also allows the managers to get a feel for where to attract customers and which age-groups to attract.
Another strategy used at some well-known parks such as Disneyland is for top managers to spend at least one day in their work, touring the park dressed as Mickey Mouse or something like that. This provides them with a perfect chance to examine the scene and watch the customers without being noticed.The text is designed for _______
| A．salesmen | B．mangers |
| C．researchers | D．customers |
Which of the following can help managers get useful information?
| A．Visiting customers themselves. |
| B．Giving customers free food on the street. |
| C．Visiting parks as ordinary customers. |
| D．Asking customers questions at supermarkets. |
What does the word "this" underlined in the last sentence refer to?
| A．Dressing up and walking around. |
| B．Wearing attractive clothes. |
| C．Acting Mickey Mouse. |
| D．Visiting Disneyland. |
The main idea of the text is _________.
| A．how to develop marketing strategies |
| B．how to do market research |
| C．how to encourage customers to spend more money |
| D．how to find out customers' social needs |
Astronauts on shorter shuttle missions（使命）often work very long days. Tasks are scheduled so tightly that break times are often used to finish the day’s work. This type of schedule is far too demanding for long missions on the International Space Station（ISS）. ISS crewmembers（船员） usually live in space for at least a quarter of a year. They work five days on and two days off to mimic the normal way they do things on Earth as much as possible. Weekends give the crew valuable time to rest and do a few hours of housework. They can communicate with family and friends by email, Internet phone and through private video conferences.
While astronauts cannot go to a baseball game or a movie in orbit, there are many familiar activities that they can still enjoy. Before a mission, the family and friends of each ISS crewmember put together a collection of family photos, messages, videos and reading material for the astronauts to look at when they will be floating 370 kilometers above the Earth. During the mission, the crew also receives care packages with CDs, books, magazines, photos and letters. And as from early 2010, the internet became available on the ISS, giving astronauts the chance to do some “web surfing” in their personal time. Besides relaxing with these more common entertainments, astronauts can simply enjoy the experience of living in space.
Many astronauts say that one of the most relaxing things to do in space is to look out the window and stare at the universe and the Earth’s vast land mass and oceans.What does the word “mimic” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Find | B．Lose | C．Change | D．Copy |
Which of the following best describes the families of the astronauts on the ISS ?
| A．They are impatient and annoyed |
| B．They are caring and thoughtful |
| C．They are impatient and annoyed. |
| D．They are excited and curious. |
In the final paragraph, the author shows that astronauts .
| A．love to see the Earth from space |
| B．find living in space a bit boring and tiring |
| C．regard space life as common |
| D．get more pleasure in space than on the earth |
The passage mainly discusses how astronauts .
| A．spend their free time in space |
| B．connect with people on the Earth |
| C．observe the Earth from space |
| D．work for longer missions in space |
To extinguish (熄灭) different kinds of fires, several types of fire extinguishers have been invented. They must be ready for immediate use when fire breaks out. Most portable (手提式的) kinds operate for less than a minute, so they are useful only on small fires. The law requires ships, trains, buses and planes to carry extinguishers.
Since fuel, oxygen and heat must be present in order for fire to exist, one or more of these things must be removed or reduced to extinguish a fire. If the heat is reduced by cooling the material below a certain temperature, the fire goes out. The cooling method is the most common way to put out a fire. Water is the best cooling material because it is low in cost and easy to get.
Another method of extinguishing fire is by cutting off the oxygen. This is usually done by covering the fire with sand, steam or some other things. A blanket may be used do cover a small fire.
A third method is called separation, which includes removing the fuel, or material easy to burn, from a fire, so that it can find no fuel.
The method that is used to put out a fire depends upon the type of fire. Fires have been grouped in three classes. Fires in wood, paper, cloth and the like are called Class A fires. These materials usually help keep the fire on. Such fires can be stopped most readily by cooling with water.If a fire breaks out on a bus, which of the follow should be ready there for you to use?
| A．Sand | B．Water | C．A blanket. | D．An extinguisher. |
To cover a small piece of burning wood with a basin in order to stop the fire is an example of .
| A．cutting off the oxygen | B．reducing the heat |
| C．removing the fuel | D．separating the fire |
In choosing how to put out a fire, we should first be clear about .
| A．when it breaks out | B．what kind it is |
| C．how it comes about | D．where it takes place |
What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Another type of extinguishers |
| B．Another class of fires |
| C．How fires break out. |
| D．How fires can be prevented. |
The technology is great. Without it we wouldn’t have been able to put a man on the moon, explore the ocean’s depths or eat microwave sausages. Computers have revolutionized our lives and they have the power to educate and pass on knowledge. But sometimes this power can create more problems than it solves.
Every doctor has had to try their best to calm down patients who’ve come into their surgery waving an Internet print-out, convinced that they have some rare incurable disease, say, throat cancer. The truth is usually far more ordinary, though: they don’t have throat cancer, and it’s just that their throats are swollen. Being a graduate of the Internet “school” of medicine does not guarantee accurate self-health-checks.
One day Mrs. Almond came to my hospital after feeling faint at work. While I took her blood sample and tried to find out what was wrong, she said calmly, “I know what’s wrong; I’ve got throat cancer. I know there’s nothing you doctors can do about it and I’ve just got to wait until the day comes.”
As a matter of routine I ordered a chest X-ray. I looked at it and the blood results an hour later. Something wasn’t right. “Did your local doctor do an X-ray?” I asked. “Oh, I haven’t been to the doctor for years,” she replied. “I read about it on a website and the symptoms fitted, so I knew that’s what I had.”
However, some of her symptoms, like the severe cough and weight loss, didn’t fit with it—but she’d just ignored this.
I looked at the X-ray again, and more tests confirmed it wasn’t the cancer but tuberculosis (肺结核)—something that most certainly did need treating, and could be deadly. She was lucky we caught it when we did.
Mrs. Almond went pale when I explained she would have to be on treatment for the next six months to ensure that she was fully recovered. It was certainly a lesson for her. “I’m so embarrassed,” she said, shaking her head, as I explained that all the people she had come into close contact with would have to be found out and tested. She listed up to about 20, and then I went to my office to type up my notes. Unexpectedly, the computer was not working, so I had to wait until someone from the IT department came to fix it. Typical. Maybe I should have a microwave sausage while I waited?Mrs. Almond talked about her illness calmly because ______.
| A．she had purchased medicine online |
| B．she thought she knew it well |
| C．she graduated from a medical school |
| D．she had been treated by local doctors |
It was lucky for Mrs. Almond ______.
| A．to have contacted many friends |
| B．to have recovered in a short time |
| C．to have her disease identified in time |
| D．to have her assumption confirmed |
Mrs. Almond said “I’m so embarrassed” (Para. 7) because ______.
| A．she had distrusted her close friends |
| B．she had to tell the truth to the doctor |
| C．she had to refuse the doctor’s advice |
| D．she had caused unnecessary trouble |
By mentioning the breakdown of the computer, the author probably wants to prove ______.
| A．it’s a must to take a break at work |
| B．it’s vital to believe in IT experts |
| C．it’s a danger to work long hours on computers |
| D．it’s unwise to simply rely on technology |
People fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor in 1944, when she starred in National Velvet—the story of Velvet Brown, a young girl who wins the first place in a famous horse race. At first, the producers of the movie told Taylor that she was too small to play the part of Velvet. However, they waited for her for a few months as she exercised and trained—and added three inches to her height in four months! Her acting in National Velvet is still considered the best by a child actress.
Elizabeth Taylor was born in London, four years after her parents, both Americans, had moved there for business reasons in 1928. When World War II started, the Taylor moved to Beverly Hills, California, and there Elizabeth started acting in movies. After her success as a child star, Taylor had no trouble moving into adult roles and won twice for Best Actress: Butterfield (1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? (1966)
Taylor’s fame（名声）and popularity gave her a lot of power with the movie industry, so she was able to demand very high pay for her movies. In 1963, she received $1 million for her part in Cleopatra—the highest pay received by any star up to that time.
Elizabeth Taylor is a legend (传奇人物) of our time. Like Velvet Brown in National Velvet, she has been lucky, she has beauty, fame and wealth. But she is also a hard worker. Taylor seldom acts in movies any more. Instead, she puts her time and efforts into her businesses, and into helping others—several years ago, she founded an organization that has raised more than $40 million for research and education.The producers didn’t let Taylor play the part of Velvet at first because they thought she ____.
| A．was too young |
| B．was small in size |
| C．did not play well enough |
| D．did not show much interest |
What Elizabeth Taylor and Velvet Brown had in common was that they were both _____.
| A．popular all their lives |
| B．famous actresses |
| C．rich and kind-hearted |
| D．successful when very young |
Taylor became Best Actress at the age of .
| A．12 | B．28 | C．32 | D．34 |
In her later life, Elizabeth Taylor devoted herself to .
| A．turning herself into a legend |
| B．collecting money for the poor |
| C．doing business and helping others |
| D．do research and education work |