第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，共40分）
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
A
After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack，my world crashed around me. My six children were all under 10，and I was burdened with the responsibilities of earning a living，and caring for the children. I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week，but from Friday nights to Monday mornings，the children and I were alone.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big pretty German Shepherd（牧羊犬）on our doorstep. This dog seemed to intend to enter the house. The children liked “German” immediately and begged me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner，but with no results.
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by，we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas，we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. No way was he going to be left behind.
Monday morning I let him out for a run. He didn’t come back and we were all disappointed. We were convinced that we would never see him again. We were wrong. The next Friday evening，German was back on our doorstep. Again he stayed until Monday morning，when our housekeeper arrived.
This pattern repeated itself every weekend for almost 10 months. We grew more and more fond of German. We took comfort in his strong，warm presence，and we felt safe with him near us. As German became part of the family，he considered it his duty to check every bedroom to be sure each child was cozy in bed.
Each week，between German’s visits，I grew a little stronger，a little braver and more able to handle; every weekend we were no longer alone and enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted him on the head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. We never saw German again.
56．The dog first came to the family when _______________.
A．it was needed most
B．the writer became strong enough
C．the writer was away on a business trip
D．the writer was busy on the weekday
57．The family planned to go on a picnic without the German Shepherd because ____.
A．it was too wild to control
B．it was too young to walk so far
C．the owner might come by to pick it up
D．it might spoil the trip
58．The writer was ____________ the German Shepherd.
A．afraid of B．grateful to C．cruel to D．annoyed with
59．Which of the following can’t be used to describe the dog？
A．Loyal B．Helpful C．Lovely D．Wild
The Taj Mahal (泰姬陵) is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the fines example of the late style of Indian architecture. It is at Agra in northern India. It lies beside the River Jumna in the middle of gardens with quiet pools. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor (皇帝) Shah Jahan, who ruled India in the seventeenth century. It is in memory of his favorite wife, Arjum and Banu Bagam, known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631.
The building, which was completed between 1632 and 1638,was designed by a local Muslim architect (建筑师) Ustad Ahmad Lahori. Thewhole building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643. The Taj Mahal stands at one end of the garden tomb with the marble (大理石) path. The room is softly lighted by the light that passes through double screens of carved marble set high in the walls. The building now is kept in good condition.
The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build. Shah Jahan planned a similar building, but in black instead of white, to lie on the other side of the river. But before it could be built, ShahJahan was imprisoned (监禁) by his son and buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal.The Taj Mahal was built for _____.
| A．Mumtaz |
| B．Shah |
| C．Either Mumtaz or Shah |
| D．Both Mumtaz and Shah |
Why do you think Shah Jahan was buried next to his wife?
| A．His own tomb hadn’t been built. |
| B．He hoped to be buried there. |
| C．King and Queen should be buried together. |
| D．He liked Mumtaz all his life. |
The passage mainly tells us _____.
| A．why the Taj Mahal was built |
| B．the love story between Mumtaz and Shah |
| C．some information about the Taj Mahal |
| D．the Taj Mahal—the pride of Indians |
From the passage we can learn that _____.
| A．the Taj Mahal looks more beautiful than before |
| B．the Taj Mahal doesn’t exist now |
| C．the Taj Mahal has completely changed |
| D．the Taj Mahal has become a place of interest |
How many years did it take to build the Taj Mahal?
| A．20 years. |
| B．22 years. |
| C．12 years. |
| D．23 years. |
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called”Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games, Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go t whoever was sick ad just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up () one of Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said “Bad girl”, she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet; she went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she'd let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we'd be out walking and as mal child would come over ad pulled her hair. She never barked or tried to get away. The funny thing is that she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loves everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss those days when she was with us.What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?
| A．Look at them sadly. |
| B．Keep them company. |
| C．Play games with them. |
| D．Touch them gently. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie _____.
| A．would eat anything when hungry |
| B．felt sorry for her mistake |
| C．loved playing hide-and-seek |
| D．disliked the author’s dad |
Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?
| A．She was treated as a member of the family. |
| B．She played games with anyone she liked. |
| C．She was loved by everybody she met. |
| D．She went everywhere with the family. |
Some people got frightened by Brownie when she _____.
A.smiled
B.barked
C.rushed to them
D.tried to be funny
Which of the following best describes Brownie?
A.Shy.
B.Polite.
C.Brave.
D.Caring.
Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable(可生物降解的)material inspired by insects’ hard outer shells. The material’s inventors say it has a number of possible uses and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The material, made from shrimp(虾)shells and proteins produced from silk, is called “shrilk”. It is thin, clean, flexible and strong.
A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic’s toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and 1960s. Decades later, however, plastic’s very durability(耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?
Shrilk not only will degrade in a landfill, but its basic components are used as fertilizer(肥料), and so will enrich the soil.
Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, found in everything ranging from shrimp shells, insect bodies to living plants. That makes shrilk low-cost, and its mass production possible should it be used for products demanding a lot of material.
Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The invertors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they’re also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They’re even exploring combining it with other materials, like carbon fibers, to give it new properties.Paragraph 1 of the passage is mainly about shrilk’s _____.
remarkable design
interesting name
major features
basic elementsWhat has become a concern about plastic?
Using it properly.
Producing it cheaply.
Developing its properties quickly.
Evaluating its contributions fairly.According to the inventors, shrilk has great potential partly because _____.
it can help plastic degrade
it can be found in living things
its mass production has been realized
its raw materials are abundant in natureWhat are the inventors doing in the lab?
Replacing carbon fibers with shrilk.
Testing shrilk’s use in wet conditions.
Making shrilk out of used household goods.
Improving shrilk’s flexibility for medical purposes.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
Recent Progress in Environmental Protection
Benefits of Insects in Scientific Research
The Harm of One-time Products
A Possible Alternative to Plastic
For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers(慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces.
“Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every morning. “You’ll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood hogging army. I’m alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet take a real pounding(重击)running down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts.” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week; it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?
He felt it was worth a try.
He was very fond of it.
He was strongly against it.
He thought it must be painful.From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer’s neighborhood _____.
jogging became very popular
people jogged only during the daytime
Alex organized an army of joggers
Jogging provided a chance to get togetherThe underlined word “them” (paragraph 4) most probably refers to _____.
| A．heart attacks |
| B．back problems |
| C．famous joggers |
| D．physical weaknesses |
Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?
He dislikes doing exercise outdoors.
He found it neither healthy nor interesting.
He was afraid of having a heart attack.
He was worried about being left alone.From the writer’s experience, we can conclude that _____.
not everyone enjoys jogging
he is the only person who hates jogging
nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit
jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport
Among the sportsmen, medals and pride, Olympics viewers may find something that drives this international athletic movement. There actually are things called Olympic values, and they are based on the idea of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. These values continue to inspire the Olympic tradition.
Coubertin considered respect, fair balance, pursuit of excellence, joy in effort, and balance between mind, body and will as the most essential Olympic values. Coubertin believed that sport can and should play a role in human development like science, literature and the arts. The self-control, adherence to rules, and respect for others necessary in athletic pursuits, are also necessary off the playing field, whether in the classroom, at work or at home.
So when he set out to revive the Olympic Games in 1894, he wanted to do more than establish a modern sporting competition. He wanted to create an international movement that combined sport and education as a model for peace and harmony.
According to Coubertin, the Olympics should have a set of values that become the base of all Olympic activities and can extend well beyond the playing field, making the Olympic Games different from all other sporting events.
This whole way towards sports taken by Coubertin is the same as taken by the ancient Greeks. “Sport is Man’s best way to achieve perfection in every respect,” Coubertin said. “The important thing in life is not the triumph(伟大胜利), but the fight.”
In order to place the original values in a modern context, the International Olympic Committee recently reframed them under three core theme: excellence, friendship and respect. Just like what Jacques Rogge said, “Sport is a universal language. It teaches us how to strive(奋斗)for excellence in all that we do, how to live in friendship and peace, and how to respect ourselves, each other and the rules. ”Which of the following does not belong to the Olympic values according to the passage?
| A．Disrespect. |
| B．Joy in effort. |
| C．Determination. |
| D．Pursuit of excellence. |
In Coubertin’s opinion, the Olympics should _____.
| A．be only a sporting competition |
| B．play a big role than science does |
| C．extend its themes all over the world |
| D．help encourage the human development |
Coubertin provided the Olympics with some values to _____.
| A．make the Olympics special |
| B．make the Olympics more modern |
| C．make the Olympics develop faster |
| D．make the Olympics more competitive |
Jacques Rogge considered sport as a universal language because _____.
| A．it is most people’s favorite activity |
| B．it’s the final aim for the Olympics |
| C．it spreads excellence, friendship and respect |
| D．the fight is more important than the triumph |
The passage is mainly to tell us _____.
| A．the Olympic tradition |
| B．the Olympic values |
| C．the founder of the modern Olympics |
| D．the development of the Olympics |