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)
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
There’s a man in the habit of hitting me on the head with an umbrella．At first I couldn’t stand it, now I’m used to it.
I don’t know his name．I know he’s average in appearance, wears a gray suit, and has a common face．I met him five years ago one hot morning when I was sitting on a tree-shaded bench in Palermo Park, reading the paper．Suddenly I felt something touch my head．It was the very same man who now, as I’m writing, keeps hitting me, mechanically (机械地) and impassively, with an umbrella．
On that occasion I turned around filled with anger．He just kept on hitting me．I asked him if he was crazy, he didn’t even seem to hear me．Then I threatened to call a policeman．Calmly, cool as a cucumber, he stuck with his task．After a few moments of hesitation, and seeing that he was not about to change his attitude, I stood up and hit him on the nose．The man fell down, but he immediately got back on his feet, obviously with great effort, and without a word again began hitting me on the head with the umbrella．His nose was bleeding and, at that moment, I felt sorry for him．I felt regret for having hit him so hard．After all, the man wasn’t exactly hitting me; he was merely tapping me lightly with his umbrella, not causing any pain at all．Of course, those taps were extremely bothersome．As we all know, when a fly lands on your forehead, you don’t feel any pain; what you feel is annoyance．Well then, that umbrella was one huge fly that kept landing on my head time after time.
Convinced that I was dealing with a madman, I tried to escape．But the man followed me, wordlessly continuing to hit me．So I began to run (I should point out that not many people run as fast as I do)．He took off after me, trying to land a blow．The man was out of breath so that I thought, if I continued to force him to run at that speed, he would drop dead right then and there．
41．When the man began to strike the author with an umbrella, the author ________.
A．became angry B．called the police
C．turned around and escaped D．turned around and fought back
42．The author would most probably agree that the man was ________.
A．deaf B．blind C．dead D．mad
43．The author felt sorry for the man because ________.
A．the man formed a bad habit of beating others
B．he hit the man so hard that his nose bled
C．the man couldn’t catch up with him
D．there was a fly on the man’s head
44．It can be learned from the passage that the man ________.
A．shouted loudly while hitting the author
B．wanted to tell the author something
C．ran after the author breathlessly
D．acted as if he were a fly
More college graduates in China are seeking for work experience instead of advanced degrees, a survey shows. The practical approach, coupled with a record number of students graduating from college, is expected to strengthen competition in the job market, analysts said.
More than 76 percent of university students said they wanted to work after earning their degrees this summer, up from 68.5 percent in 2012 and 73.6 percent last year, according to poll results from Zhaopin.com, a major online agency, Zhu Bo.
The annual survey also shows that about 20 percent university graduates chose to further education after graduation, while about 3 percent wanted to start their own businesses.
Zeng Hao ,a 25-year-old media major, managed to land a job in a publishing company in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, before he received his master's degree from the University of Macau in June. " Work experience really matters in the publishing industry" he said.
Wei Guihong , a program administrator at Nanjing University, said about 60 percent of the school's graduates entered the labor market every year. “More and more students majoring in a foreign language choose to go abroad to continue their studies to improve their language skills," she said continuously, "That's perhaps a bright future.”
Liu Junsheng , a researcher at the Labor and Wage Institute of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, believes that economic conditions play a vital role in shaping college graduates' choices .“There were fewer job opportunities in the market. ” he said. "Although academic degrees still matter, more and more employers value job seekers' work experience." he said.
The Zhaopin.com survey shows that each of the graduates sent resumes(履历) on average to about 28 potential employers and received five interview opportunities.We can infer from the first three paragraphs that____
| A．the number of graduates from college is likely to decline gradually |
| B．the employment situation is still relatively optimistic |
| C．the majority of university graduates are ready for further education |
| D．those who want to start their own businesses are fewest |
From the text, we know that the real expert on employment is____
| A．Zhu Bo | B．Zeng Hao |
| C．Liu Junsheng | D．Wei Guihong |
What is Wei Guihong's attitudes towards her students' going abroad for their studies? ____ .
| A．Pessimistic. | B．Supportive | C．Critical | D．Negative |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Graduates pick work instead of taking advanced degrees. |
| B．Graduates take advanced degrees instead of picking work |
| C．Few graduates can get their jobs they seek for |
| D．Few Graduates receive the interview opportunities |
When looking at Western Europe，we don’t usually think about poverty—but in fact，some people in modern—day Britain are so hard up that they can’t afford to buy food．
Back in 2008,the financial crisis caused a lot of unemployment．Then there were the cuts to the welfare system in 2013 which added to the problem—and many British people fell into debt．It’s estimated that 500，000 people in the UK have turned to food banks，just to get by．
Steph Hagen，who works in a Nottingham food bank，says, “People do not go to a food bank because it's an open door．It’s a case where they go to it because they need to．With our food bank—we are an independent one．and we have limited stocks—everyone who comes through our door has no income．”
There are checks to make sure nobody is abusing the system．If a doctor or a social worker thinks someone needs to use a food bank—even for a short time—they can give them vouchers(凭证)．Then the people in need take them along to the food bank and they get handouts for three days．
Churches and individual donors provide most of the food in the banks．But some businesses might help out too．
And what sort of food is offered in food banks? Hagen says, “Basically，we’ve got porridge．We do occasionally get fresh produce but it’s very rare，especially in the winter months．It’s like tinned fruit，tinned ready meals．We have to give out ‘no-cooking’ food parcels because people can’t afford the gas and electricity”．
Community spirit has a lot to do with food banks．Volunteers say they are a great meeting place for people who are lonely and depressed．And when facing a crisis，some beneficiaries might need to feed not only their belly—but also their soul．According to the text，the food bank is a place_____．
| A．which is funded by the government |
| B．where people can get food randomly |
| C．which helps poor people live through crisis |
| D．where there is enough food supplies |
What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Systems． | B．Doctors． |
| C．Social workers． | D．Vouchers． |
Why do food banks mainly offer “no-cooking ” food?
| A．Poor people have no money for gas and electricity． |
| B．The volunteers hate to supply cooked food． |
| C．Food banks can’t afford cooked food． |
| D．This kind of food is easy to store． |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Community spirit can cure those who are depressed． |
| B．Food banks benefit poor people mind and body． |
| C．People can have great fun in food banks． |
| D．Volunteers tend to feel lonely and depressed in food banks． |
Jean is a bright young lady who comes from a rich and famous family. She goes to a good university and has everything that money can buy. Well, almost everything. The problem is that the people in Jean's family are so busy that they can hardly find time to be with her. So Jean spends a lot of time on her QQ. She likes being anonymous (匿名), talking to people who do not know about her famous family and her rich life. She uses the name Linda on QQ and has made a lot of friends who she keeps in touch with quite often.
Last year Jean made a very special friend on QQ. His name was David and lived in San Francisco. David was full of stories and jokes. He and Jean had a common interest in rock music and modern dance. So it always took them hours to talk happily on QQ and sometimes they even forgot their time. Of course, they wanted to know more about each other. David sent her a picture of himself: He was a tall, good-looking young man with a big happy smile. As time went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other.
When Jean's father told her that he was going on a business trip to San Francisco, she asked him to let her go with him so that she could give David a surprise for his birthday. She would take him the latest DVD of their favorite rock singer. But when she knocked on David's door in San Francisco, she found that her special friend was only a ten-year-old boy named Jim!Jean spends a lot of her time on QQ because she is .
| A．rich | B．young | C．lonely | D．talkative |
The following states are true about Jean EXCEPT that according to the passage.
| A．she is a university student |
| B．she was born in a wealthy family |
| C．she made a friend named Jim younger than her |
| D．she uses her family name on her QQ |
We could believe that Jean was when seeing Jim himself instead of David on QQ at the door.
| A．delighted | B．disappointed |
| C．regretful | D．confused |
Controlling traffic is a complex and high cost problem in many developed countries. It becomes more difficult and costly with the ever- increasing number of cars on the roads. But scientists and students at the CATT, at the University of Maryland are working to solve this problem. They are using simulation(模拟) technologies to help government and private business control and react to changing traffic conditions.
The online economics magazineForbes.comsays traffic congestion(拥挤) cost Americans $ 124 billion in 2014 and that number could rise to $ 186 billion by 2030.
Bui scientists at the CATT lab are trying to reduce those costs. They are developing a system that helps traffic managers. planners, emergency workers and businesses plan and react better. Michael Pack is CATT director. He says the system is important to help emergency workers, or first responders，reach an accident area faster.
The CATT Lab collects information from many sources, including roadside devices, GPS (global positioning system) equipment and wireless phones.
About 60 students and 30 software developers observe traffic flow and manage the computer servers at all times. They also work to develop software and applications that can help traffic run smoother and safer, Some of them turn the information gathered into so-called "visualizations". These visual representations help emergency workers better understand what is happening.
The center shares its findings with firefighters, police，Transportation departments and the military. They also share information with universities and transportation company. The technology company Google uses the data for its traffic-related websites. Michael Pack says, the information is then shared with anyone who wants to help traffic run more smoothly.
Mr. Pack says the goal is to help develop an intelligent system of road signals that will communicate with each other and with vehicles on the road.The second paragraph is written to
| A．attract more people to look throughForbes.com. |
| B．tell readers whatForbes.comsays on its website |
| C．show how much money controlling costs America |
| D．prove it is very expensive for some developed countries to control traffic |
What benefit can emergency workers get from the system developed by the CATT lab?
| A．They can be safer. |
| B．They can reach an accident area faster. |
| C．They can get more advice from people. |
| D．They can share their information with others. |
Which of the following is NOT true about the developers and the students at the CATT?
| A．They observe traffic flow continuously. |
| B．They develop software and applications. |
| C．They control the computer servers occasionally. |
| D．They change the information gathered into visual image. |
1n which column of the newspaper can you read this text?
| A．Daily life. | B．Science. | C．Education. | D．Exploration. |
You may think, salt is just a simple cooking element we shake on our food for a little extra taste. But salt is much more than that. Without salt our muscles would not move. Our nervous systems would not operate. Our hearts would not beat.
But do not think rubbing salt in a wound will help. Doing that would be painful and not heal the wound. To rub salt in a wound is an idiom that means to purposefully make a bad situation worse.
Early humans got the salt they needed to stay alive from the animals they killed. But advances in agriculture led to a diet low in salt. So, humans needed to find other sources. Those who lived near the ocean or other natural sources for salt were lucky. Those who did not had to trade for salt. In fact, people used salt as a method of payment in many parts of the ancient world. The word "salary" comes from the word "salt".
Salt also played an important part in population movement and world exploration. Explorers understood that if they could keep food fresh，they could travel longer distances. So they used salt to preserve food and explored the world.
Salt was so important that, according to food historians. it was traded pound-for-pound for gold. Today, people still use the expressions "to be worth one's salt" or "worth one's weight in salt". The expressions describe a person of value.
A person might also be called salt of the earth. That description means he or she is dependable and trustworthy. However, when you say "I think we should take what he said with a grain of salt" you mean you accept it but maintain a degree of doubt about its truth.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．Salt plays an important part in our life. |
| B．Salt makes food tasty. |
| C．Salt is considered to be part of our muscles. |
| D．Salt is sure to damage nervous systems. |
A beggar's bread was stolen last night.，which means .
| A．salt of the earth | B．rubbing salt in a wound |
| C．a diet low in salt | D．worth his salt |
If you describe a person as a great help, you mean .
| A．he is called salt of the earth |
| B．he is often taken as a grain of salt |
| C．he often uses salt to preserve meat |
| D．he is worth his weight in salt |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Salt Is More Than a Four-letter Word. |
| B．Salt Is a Basic Element in Cooking. |
| C．Salt Is a Word with a Long History. |
| D．Salt Is Popular with Different Persons. |