Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up．The sense of humour is mysteriously(神秘地)connected with national characteristics．A Frenchman ,for instance, might find it hard to laugh at Russian joke．In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears．
Most funny stories are based on comic situations．In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a worldwide request．No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say ,Charlie Chaplin’s early films．However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from America, has recently come into fashion．It is called “sick humour”．Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent (cause by force)death or serious accidents．Many people find this sort of joke distasteful．The following example of “sick humour” will enable you to judge for yourself．
A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas．From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering(纠缠) his doctor tell him when he would be able to go home．He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital ．Though the doctor did his best, the patient’s recovery was slow．On Christmas day, however, the doctor consoled(安慰)him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good．The man took heart and, sure enough , on New Year’s Eve he was able to hobble(跛行) along to a party．To compensate(补偿)for his unpleasant experiences in hospital , the man drank a little more than what was good for him．In the process, he enjoyed himself and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals．He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg．Whether you find “sick humour” funny or not will depend on ________．
| A．your having been brought up in America |
| B．the joke being related to a really comic situation |
| C．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event |
| D．your ability to laugh until you cry |
The man spent Christmas day feeling miserable because ________．
| A．the doctor had failed to cure him |
| B．he was not able to be with his friends |
| C．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital |
| D．he thought he might also miss the New Year’s Eve celebration |
The point of the joke taken to explain “sick humour” is that ________．
| A．no sooner was the out of hospital than he had to go back in again． |
| B．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals |
| C．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life |
| D．the man had not got a leg to stand on |
What can you learn from this story ?
| A．On New Year’s Eve, the man was able to walk properly to the party． |
| B．At the party , he enjoyed himself but only drank a little． |
| C．He had to go to hospital again though he hated it． |
| D．The man got well soon because the doctor took good care of him． |
D
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit(追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try. ” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.
66. What does this passage mainly talk about?
A. Competition helps to set up self-respect
B. Opinions about competition are different among people.
C. Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D. Failures are necessary experiences in competition
67. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
A. It pushes society forward B. It builds up a sense of duty.
C. It improves personal abilities. D. It encourages individual efforts.
68. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means__________.
A. those who try their best to win
B. those who value competition most highly
C. those who are against competition most strongly
D. those who rely on others most for success
69. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?
A. One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others
B. One’s success in competition needs great efforts.
C. One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills
D. One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.
70. Which point of view may the author agree to?
A. Every effort should be paid back.
B. Competition should be encouraged.
C. Winning should be a life-and-death matter.
D. Fear of failure should be removed in competition.
C
Handshaking, though a European practice, is often seen in big cities of China. Nobody knows exactly when the practice started in Europe. It is said that long long ago in Europe when people met, they showed their unarmed hands to each other as a sign of goodwill. As time went on and trade in cities grew rapidly, people in cities began to clap each other’s hands to make a deal or to reach an agreement, This practice was later changed into shaking hands among friends on meeting or leaving each other. “Let’s shake (hands) on it” sometimes means agreement reached.
Do the Europeans shake hands wherever they go and with whomever they meet? No. Sometimes the Chinese abroad reach out their hands too often to be polite. It is really very impolite to give your hand when the other party, especially when it is a woman, shows little interest in shaking hands with you and when the meeting does not mean anything to him or her. Even if, for politeness, he holds out his unwilling hand in answer to your uninvited hand, just touch it slightly. There is generally a misunderstanding among the Chinese that westerners are usually open and straightforward, while the Chinese are rather reserved (保守的) in manner. But in fact some people in western countries are more reserved than some Chinese today. So it is a good idea to shake hands with a westerner only when he shows interest in further relations with you.
63. The first paragraph mainly tells us___________
A. where handshaking was first practised.
B. how handshaking came about.
C. about the relationship between handshaking and trade.
D. about the practice of handshaking both in Europe and in China.
64. According to the text, which of the following statements is true?
A. Westerners are more reserved than the Chinese.
B. Westerners are unwilling to shake hands.
C. We should make a judgement before shaking hands.
D. We shouldn’t shake hands with European women.
65. The main purpose of the text is_______.
A. to tell us some differences between the East and the West
B. to offer us some important facts about handshaking
C. to introduce us to some different customs in the West.
D. to give us some advice before we travel abroad
B
We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions.
But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.
I said, “What are you doing, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister?” Is it because I’m not pretty? Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?
I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better.
Now, whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.
59. The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over” (Paragraph 4) means “_____” .
A. show much concern about B. have a special effect on
C. list jobs to be done for D. do good things for
60. The guests praised Kelly for carrying coats upstairs because of her________.
A. beautiful hair B. pretty clothes
C. lovely smile D. young age
61. Kristen felt sad and cried because_________.
A. the guests gave her more coats to carry
B. she didn’t look as pretty as Kelly
C. the guests praised her sister more than her
D. her mother didn’t introduce her to the guests
62. We can conclude from the passage that______.
A. parents should pay more attention to the elder children
B. the younger children are usually more easily hurt
C. people usually like the younger children more
D. adults should treat children equally
四、阅读理解(每小题2分，共30分)
A
You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature. But, rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation(撤离) of an island nation—the citizens of Tuvalu will have to have their homeland.
During the 20th century, sea level rose 8-12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions(导致温室效应的气体排放), which are a main cause of global warming. “By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable(易受影响的) to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”.
56. The text is mainly abou_________ .
A. rapid changes in earth’s temperature
B. bad effects of global warming
C. moving of a country to a new place
D. reasons for lowland flooding
57. According to scientists, the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is________.
A. greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B. higher surface water temperatures of the sea
C. continuous global warming
D. rising sea levels
58. Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not_______.
A. agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
B. sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C. allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D. believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
E
The earth is getting warmer. The planet is suffering. But what can you do about it? Reduce the amount of waste you generate. Use cleaner energy sources and go greener today, starting with these steps:
1. Get a reusable water bottle
Americans buy about 25 billion single-serving plastic water bottles each year. That's an average of 83 bottles per person per year. Plastic bottles take plenty of resources to produce, including fuel for transportation and petroleum to make the plastic. Even recycling bottles uses energy.
2. Eat less meat
You don't need to become a vegetarian to help save the planet. Eating meat just one day less a week can reduce your negative impact on the environment. More water, energy and land are required to produce meat than to produce grain.
3. Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs
Most households use standard incandescent (白炽的) bulbs. But compact fluorescent (荧光的) light bulbs, or CFLs, use 66 percent less energy than standard bulbs, produce just as much light, last up to 10 times longer and don't need to be replaced as often. If every household in the United States replaced just one incandescent light bulb with a CFL bulb, it would equal removing one million cars from the road.
4. Buy organic and local food
Did you know that only 1 percent of pesticides (杀虫剂) applied to crops reach the pests they target? The rest enter the environment. Organic food is grown without the use of pesticides. Organic farming can use 50 percent less energy than traditional farming methods. Buying local food saves on the fuel used to transport food grown elsewhere, thousands of miles across the country or around the world.
5. Recycle your electronics
Everyone knows the importance of recycling glass and plastic, but what about cell phones, computers, CDs and batteries? Electronics are responsible for about 40 percent of toxic (有毒的) heavy metals such as lead and mercury. Check with your city's recycling facilities to see if they take electronics.
72. The readers of this passage are called on to ______.
A. help reduce global warming B. use water in a wise way
C. donate money for charity D. keep a balanced diet
73. What is an advantage of CFLs according to the passage?
A. They use more energy but produce more light.
B. They can last longer so don't need to be replaced often.
C. They cost less than standard incandescent bulbs.
D. They are as energy-efficient as incandescent bulbs.
74. Which of the following figures is correct according to the passage?
A. Every year an American buys 63 plastic water bottles on average.
B. Eating meat one day less a week helps cut environment costs.
C. 99 of the pesticides used on crops is effective in practice.
D. Electronics account for half of poisonous heavy metals on the earth.
75. Which can be the best title for this passage?
A. Why is the earth getting warmer? B. What can we do about pollution? C. How can you lead a greener life? D. Who is to blame for global warming?