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（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项。
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的) when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? " The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this.
56. The 3-year-old girl was punished by her father for ________.
A. wasting gold B. wasting wrapping paper
C. putting the box under the Christmas tree D. bringing the gift to her father
57. What’s inside the box according to the little girl?
A. nothing B. air
C. kisses D. gold wrapping paper
58. The father remembered the love of his daughter by ________.
A. kissing the gold box.
B. putting gold into the box.
C. taking out an imaginary kiss from the box.
D. keeping the little girl’s ash box by his bed.
59. Choose the best title for the passage.
A. The kisses in the box. B. A girl and his father
C. A love story D. The box under the Christmas tree.
If you’re planning on traveling, there are a few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your journey.
First of all, always check and double-check departure (起程) time. It is amazing how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at the airport a few minutes after ten. My secretary had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10:50. When I arrived at the airport, the clerk at the departure desk told me that my flight was closed. Therefore, I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting.
The second rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards, it is still important to have at least a little of the local currency(货币) with you when you arrive in a country. This can be necessary if you are flying to a place few tourists normally visit. Once I arrived at a place at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. The only way to get to my hotel was by taxi and because I had no dollars, I offered to pay in pounds instead. “Listen! I only take real money!” the driver said angrily. Luckily I was able to borrow a few dollars from a clerk at the hotel, but it was embarrassing.
The third and last rule is to find out as much as you can about the weather at your destination before you leave. I feel sorry for some of my workmates who travel in heavy suit and raincoats in May, when it is still fairly cool in London or Manchester, to places like Athens, Rome or Madrid, where it is already beginning to get quite warm during the day.Where is the writer most probably from?
| A．Italy | B．The USA | C．Britain | D．Greece |
According to the passage, the driver was angry because_______.
| A．the author gave him false (假的) money |
| B．the author did not give him the local money |
| C．the author offered to pay by credit card |
| D．the author had no enough change |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The author tells people to choose warm places as their travel destinations. |
| B．You don’t have to take credit cards when traveling. |
| C．You should know more about the weather of the place you’ll visit. |
| D．It’s unnecessary to check the departure time carefully. |
The writer mainly tells us ______.
| A．how to make life easier |
| B．how to be well prepared for a trip |
| C．how to enjoy ourselves on trip |
| D．how to plan our trip |
When I was 12, all I wanted was a signet (图章) ring. They were the "in" thing and it seemed every girl except me had one. On my 13th birthday, my Mum gave me a signet ring with my initials(姓名首字母) carved into it. I was in heaven.
What made it even more special was that it was about the only thing that wasn't being "replaced". We'd been burnt out in fires that swept through our area earlier that year and had lost everything—so most of the " new" stuff (东西) we got was really just to replace what we'd lost. But not my ring. My ring was new.
Then, only one month later, I lost it. I took it off before bed and it was missing in the morning. I was sad and searched everywhere for it. But it seemed to have disappeared. Eventually, I gave up and stopped looking for it. And two years later, we sold the house and moved away.
Years passed, and a couple of moves later, I was visiting my parents' when Mum told me that she had something for me. It wasn't my birthday, nor was it Easter or Christmas or any other gift-giving occasion. Mum noticed my questioning look. " You'll recognize this one," she said, smiling.
Then she handed me a small ring box. I took it from her and opened it to find my beautiful signet ring inside. The family who had bought our house 13 years earlier had recently decided to do some redecorations, which included replacing the carpets. When they pulled the carpet up in my old bedroom, they found the ring. As it had my initials carved into it, they realized who owned the ring. They'd had it professionally cleaned up by a jeweler before sending it to my mother. And it still fits me..The underlined word "in" in the first paragraph probably means "_____".
| A．fashionable | B．available |
| C．practical | D．renewable |
.When she got the ring back, the writer was about _____.
| A．13 years old | B．15 years old |
| C．26 years old | D．28 years old |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The writer's family moved several times. |
| B．The writer never stopped looking for her ring. |
| C．The writer's ring was cleaned up by the new house owner. |
| D．The writer lost her ring in the morning when she took it off. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．My New Ring | B．Lost and Found |
| C．Lost and Replace | D．An Expensive Ring |
Low-Cost Gifts for Mother's Day
Gift No.1
Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits
whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part ? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr. Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构) Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green" - and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity. What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits?
| A．Take notes. | B．Be with her. |
| C．Buy medicine. | D．Give her gifts. |
What can be a gift of organization for your mother?
| A．Keeping her medical information together. |
| B．Buying all gifts for her from one company. |
| C．Making a list of her medical check-ups. |
| D．Storing her medicines in a safe place. |
Where can you find a gift idea to improve your mother’s sleep?
| A．In Gift No. 1. | B．In Gift No. 2. |
| C．In Gift No. 3. | D．In Gift No. 4. |
Buying gifts from Presents for Purpose allows mothers to ____.
| A．enjoy good sleep | B．be well-organized |
| C．bet extra support | D．give others help |
Years ago, there lived a wealthy man named Mr. Cooper who, with his dearest young son John, loved art collecting. Together they traveled around the world, collecting the finest art treasures.
One winter, war came to the nation, and John left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram reading that John had died while saving a fellow soldier. Filled with sadness, the old man cried. On the coming Christmas morning, a soldier called on him and gave him a picture of John.
The following spring, the old man became ill and passed away. According to his will, all of his works of art would be auctioned (拍卖) on Christmas Day, when he had received the greatest gift of his life. The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to buy some of the world’s greatest paintings. The auction began with a painting of the old man’s son. “Who will open the bidding (出价) with $100?” the auctioneer (拍卖人) asked. Minutes passed, but no one spoke. Finally, a neighbor of the old man’s spoke. “Can I take the painting for ten dollars? It is all I have, and he is a good man.”
“Will anyone go higher?” called the auctioneer. After more silence, the auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice, gone.” The gavel（槌）fell. “Now we can get on to the real treasures,” someone shouted angrily. But the auctioneer said that the auction was over. Someone asked, “It’s over? We didn’t come here for a picture of some old guy’s son. There are millions of dollars worth of art here!” The auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple. According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son ... gets all.” The underlined words “the greatest gift” in Paragraph 3 refer to _______.
| A．a picture of John |
| B．the painting John collected |
| C．the finest work of art |
| D．the telegram about his son |
It can be inferred from the passage that______.
| A．the old man and the auctioneer were good friends |
| B．no art collectors wanted to buy Mr. Cooper’s collection of art |
| C．John was a successful art collector and an excellent artist |
| D．the old man, Mr. Cooper, loved his son very much |
About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green--a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.The passage is mainly about _____________.
| A．color and its surprising effects. |
| B．women being luckier than men |
| C．danger caused by color blindness |
| D．color blindness |
According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”, we can____________.
| A．tell different shapes |
| B．see in a weak light |
| C．kill mosquitoes |
| D．tell orange from yellow |
Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
| A．Women are more careful. |
| B．There are fewer color-blind women |
| C．Women are fonder of driving than men. |
| D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking. |
Which of the statements about the color- blind is true?
| A．Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing color. |
| B．None of them can see deep red. |
| C．None of them can tell the difference between blue and green. |
| D．All of them see everything in shades of green. |
We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a __________.
| A．red light | B．yellow light |
| C．blue light | D．green light |