第三节:阅读理解(共25小题; 每小题2分, 满分50分)
It was 3:12 a. m. when nine-year-old Glenn Kreamer awoke to the smell of burning. Except for the crackling(爆裂声)of flames somewhere below there was not a sound in the two-storey house at Baldwin, Long Island.
With his father away on night duty at a local factory, Glenn was worried about the safety of his mother, his sister Karen, 14 and his 12-year-old brother Todd. He ran downstairs through the smoke filled house to push and pull at Karen and Todd until they sat up. Then he helped each one through the house to the safety of the garden. There, his sister and brother, taking short and quick breaths and coughing, collapsed on the lawn (草坪).
The nine-year-old raced back into the house and upstairs to his mother’s room. He found it impossible to woke her up. Mrs. Kreamer, a victim of the smoke, was unconscious, and there was nobody to help Glenn carry her to the garden. But the boy remained calm and, as a fireman said later, “acted with all the self-control of a trained adult.”
On the bedroom telephone, luckily still working, Glenn called his father and, leaving Mr. Kreamer to telephone the fire brigade and ambulance service, got on with the task of saving his mother.
First he filled a bucket with water from the bathroom and threw water over his mother and her bed. Then, with a wet cloth around his head he went back to the garden.
He could hear the fire engine coming up, but how would the firemen find his mother in the smoke-filled house where flames had almost swallowed up the ground floor?
Grasping firmly a ball of string from the garage, Glenn raced back into the house and dashed upstairs to his mother’s room. Tying one end of the string to her hand he ran back, laying out the string as he went, through the hall and back out into the garden.
Minutes later he was telling fire chief John Coughlan: “The string will lead you to mother.” Mrs. Kreamer was carried to safety as the flames were breaking through her bedroom floor.
1.Why did Glenn run downstairs first?
A.He wanted to find out what was happening.
B.He was worried about his mother’s safety.
C.He wanted to save his sister and brother.
D.He went to see if his father had come back from work.
2.How did Glenn help the firemen to save his mother?
A.By throwing water all over her and her bed.
B.By carrying her to safety with his brother.
C.By pushing and pulling at her.
D.By tying a string to her hand.
3.Who called the fire brigade and ambulance service?
A.Glenn. B.Glenn’s father. C.Glenn’s sister. D.Glenn’s neighbor.
4.What did Glenn do to protect himself?
A.He put a wet cloth around his head. B.He threw water all over himself.
C.He hid himself in the bathroom. D.He rushed out to the lawn.
5.Glenn saved his family because___________.
A.his father had taught him to do so on the phone
B.he had learned something about first aid
C.he had dealt with the emergency calmly and wisely
D.he had followed his mother’s instruction
Fifteen years ago, I entered the Boston Globe, which was a temple to me then. It wasn’t easy getting hired. But once you were there, I found, you were in.
Globe jobs were for life-guaranteed(终身聘用)until retirement. For 15 years I had prospered there—moving from an ordinary reporter to senior editor. I would have a lifetime of security if I stuck with it. Instead, I had made a decision to leave. I entered my boss’s office. Would he be angry? I wondered. He had a famous temper. “Matt, we have to have a talk,” I began. “I came to the Globe when I was twenty-four. Now I’ m forty. There’ s a lot I want to do in life. I’m resigning. (辞职)” “To another paper?” he asked. I reached into my coat pocket, but didn’t say anything. I handed him a letter that explained everything. It said that I was leaving to start a new media company. We were at a rare turning point in history. I wanted to be directly engaged in the change. "I’ m glad for you," he said, quite out of my expectation. "I just came from a board of directors meeting and it was seventy-five percent discouraging news. Some of that we can deal with. But much of it we can’ t," he went on. "I wish you all the luck in the world," he concluded. "And if it doesn’t work out, remember, there is always a place here for you."
Then I went out of his office, walking through the newsroom for more good-byes. Everybody was saying congratulations. Everybody--even though I’d be risking all the financial security I had carefully built up.
Later, I had a final talk with Bill Taylor, chairman and publisher of the Boston Globe. He had turned the Globe into a billion-dollar property. "I’ m resigning, Bill," I said. He listened while I gave him the story. He wasn’t looking angry either. After a pause, he said, "Golly, I wish I were in your shoes. " From the passage we know that the Globe is a famous 。
A.newspaper | B.magazine | C.temple | D.person |
If the writer stayed with the Globe 。
A.he would be able to realize his lifetime dreams. |
B.he would set up a new media company |
C.he would never be allowed to develop his ambitions |
D.he would never have to worry about his future life |
The writer wanted to resign because.
A.he had serous trouble with his boss. |
B.he wanted to be engaged in the new media industry. |
C.he got underpaid at his job for the Globe. |
D.he had found a better paid job in a publishing house. |
When the writer decided to resign, the Globe was faced with .
A.a trouble with its staff members |
B.a shortage of qualified reporters |
C.an unfavorable business situation |
D.a good business situation |
What did Bill Taylor mean by saying “I wish I were in your shoes.”?
A.The writer was to fail. |
B.He would do the same if possible. |
C.The writer was stupid |
D.He would refuse the writer’s request |
There’s a time to get angry, and it’s best for your child if you do. Let’s say your child hits a playmate with a toy hard enough to make the other child cry. How can you teach your child to feel sorry so he or she won’t do it again? Researchers say the best way for parents to react(反应)is to show their anger and to let the child know exactly why they are mad.
Many parents believe that it is best to control their feelings and to wait until they’re calm before scolding their children. But the mother or father who explains reasonably to a child , “Peter was crying because you hit him,” is not likely to attract much attention. Young children need to be scolded immediately, and strongly, before they’ll take criticism (批评)to heart.
When your young child does something wrong, scold him or her seriously at once. At the same time be sure to tell the child clearly what he or she has done wrong. An angry reaction without an immediate explanation does little good. Forbidding a child to play outside or not allowing him to watch TV as a punishment works well-but only when taken together with an explanation. Make sure your child understands that although his or her wrongdoing has made you angry, you still love him or her. Use simple, direct words such as, “You hurt peter. How would you feel if he hit you? You must never, never hurt people.” If your voice expresses strong feeling clearly, your message will carry enough weight.According to researchers, how should parents react when their child did something wrong?
A.Ask the child not to do it again any time. |
B.Show the child how angry they are and tell him why. |
C.Teach the child why and how to say sorry to others. |
D.Let the child know you still love hime or her. |
What do many parents think they should do with the wrongdoer?
A.Calm themselves down before scolding him. |
B.Hide their feelings when talking to him. |
C.Explain immediately why he was wrong. |
D.Speak strongly and angrily to him. |
What could be the best title for the text?
A.Different Ways to Deal with Children’s Wrongdoings |
B.Differences among Parents in Dealing with Children |
C.Best Ways to Stop Children’s Wrongdoings |
D.Research on Preventing Children from Hurting Others |
If you walk slowly through downtown Helsinki during the day, taking in the splendid 19 th century buildings, white boats and noise of passing trams (有轨电车), you will start to understand why it is called a city of two colors: white and blue.
The sea is always present in Helsinki. When you take a walk over the great open space of the central square, you will hear seabirds screaming. When you take the tram, suddenly and unexpectedly, you are faced with a calm, shining blue sea. You may notice that people in Helsinki do not rush about as in other cities. Instead, they walk along the roads, politely letting other people by.
A usual way to see Helsinki for the first time is to start out by the boats. You will walk by the elderly women selling fish and vegetables in the market square and find yourself in front of a beautiful park. You may enjoy a pleasant walk in the park for a few hours and then take the tram. Trams are the perfect way to get around in Helsinki. Watching the old houses, parks, theatres, churches, shops, restaurants and people in the streets, you may have a slightly sad film feeling to it.
The pale summer nights are another wonder in the city. Following the waterfront(滨水区)of the city after sunset, you couldn’t help stopping and listening to the sweet silence, interrupted only by the screaming seabirds and leaving fishing boats.
However, in some way. Helsinki is also the most modern city in northern Europe. You will surely want to visit the white Glass Palace, the modern art museum, and all those extremely popular cafes and design stores.Helsinki is called a city of two colors mainly because of the colors of its ________.
A.19th century white buildings and boats |
B.19th century buildings and passing trams |
C.white roads and blue trams |
D.old buildings, boats and the sea |
The best way to see most of Helsinki is to go ________.
A.by boat | B.by bus | C.by tram | D.on foot |
The 19th century buildings, the white Glass Palace and all those popular cafes and design shops show that Helsinki is _________.
A.both western and eastern | B.both quiet and noisy |
C.both historical and modern | D.both old and new |
This passage is most likely to be found in _________.
A.a story-book | B.a geography textbook |
C.a research report | D.a travel magazine |
July 27st, 2010 was a typical English summer’s day – it rained for 24 hours! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was amiss. By the time I left work at 5pm, however, the road into our village was flooded. Our house had never been flooded but, as I opened the front door, a wave of water greeted me. Thank God the kids weren’t with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs.
At first we tried to push on through. We didn’t want to move the children out of home, so we camped upstairs. We put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we moved to a wooden house in a park. The house was small, but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months. The life there was inconvenient. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community(社区). We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbours, and I’d never thought how much I’d miss that.
Although our situation was very had, it’s difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what’s happening elsewhere. I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought, “We didn’t have a straw but(茅草房)that who swept away, and our house is still standing. We’re lucky.”
We moved back home in August. With December coming, there’s still reconstruction work to be done, so it’s difficult to prepare for Christmas, But I can’t wait-I’m going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year, I won’t need any gifts-living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions. Although we are replacing things, there’s really no rush-we have our home back, and that’s the main thing.What does the underlined word “amiss” in the first paragraph mean?
A.Wrong | B.Missing | C.Right | D.Difficult |
Why does the author say that they were lucky in the third paragraph?
A.Because they were able to move to a new place. |
B.Because many other places were flooded. |
C.Because their straw hut was not swept away. |
D.Because some others suffered even more. |
It can be inferred from the text that the author .
A.was sick of staying upstairs |
B.cared much about her children |
C.could not stand living in a wooden house |
D.did not deal well with her family affairs during the flood |
What does the author mainly want to express by telling her story?
A.She valued human feelings more than before. |
B.She realized she almost didn’t need possessions. |
C.She found Christmas gifts no longer badly needed. |
D.She thought her own home was the most important. |
Writing articles about films for The Front Page was my first proper job.Before then I had done bits of reviewing --- novels for other newspapers, films for a magazine and anything I was asked to do for the radio.That was how I met Tom Seaton, the first arts editor of The Front Page, who had also written for television.He hired me, but Tom was not primarily a journalist, or he would certainly have been more careful in choosing his staff.
At first, his idea was that a team of critics should take care of the art forms that didn’t require specialized knowledge: books, TV, theatre, film and radio.There would be a weekly lunch at which we would make our choices from the artistic material that Tom had decided we should cover, though there would also be guests to make the atmosphere sociable.
Tom’s original plan for a team of critics for the arts never took off.It was a good idea, but we didn’t get together as planned and so everything was done by phone.It turned out, too, that the general public out there preferred to associate a reviewer with a single subject area, and so I chose film.Without Tom’s initial push, though, we would hardly have come up with the present arrangement, by which I write an extended weekly piece, usually on one film.
The space I am given allows me to broaden my argument --- or forces me, in an uninteresting week, to make something out of nothing.But what is my role in the public arena(舞台)? I suppose that people choose what films to go to on the basis of the stars, the publicity of the director.So if a film review isn’t really a consumer guide, what is it? I certainly don’t feel I have a responsibility to be ‘right’ about a movie.Nor do I think there should be a certain number of ‘great’ and ‘bad’ films each year.All I have to do is put forward an argument.I’m not a judge, and nor would I want to be.What do we learn about Tom Seaton from the first paragraph?
A.He encouraged Mark to become a writer. |
B.He had worked in various areas of the media. |
C.He met Mark when working for a film company. |
D.He prefers to employ people that he knows. |
The weekly lunches were planned in order to ______.
A.help the writers get to know each other |
B.provide an informal information party |
C.divide the work tha![]() |
D.entertain important visitors from the arts |
What does the author mean when he says that Tom’s plan ‘never took off’ in Paragraph 3?
A.It was unpopular. | B.It wasted too much time. |
C.It wasn’t planned properly. | D.It wasn’t put into practice. |
Which of the following best describes what Mark says about his work?
A.His success varies from year to year. | B.He prefers to write about films he likes. |
C.He can freely express his opinion. | D.He writes according to accepted rules. |