第三节 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、D中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In 1955, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition（试演）for My King of People, a televised talent show popular in the UK. She was immediately rejected.
She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn’t perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of plain looks. Boyle was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.
Boyle suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away. After his death, Boyle put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother Bridget Boyle. The mother and daughter often talked of Susan’s possible fame. Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions. “She was the one who said I should enter Britain’s Got Talent. We used to watch it together”, Susan later told reporters. “She thought I would win.”
In 1999, Boyle used all of her saving to pay for a professional demo（样本唱片）tape, which she went to record companies. In 2002, Bolye began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O’ Neil.
In 2007, Boyle’s mother passed away at the age of 91. A neighbour reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn’t come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone.” She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. For over a year, she refused to sing. But in August of 2008, O’Neil urged her to try out for Britain’s Got Talent. Convinced that the performance would be an honour to her mother, Boyle auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland. She sang I Dreamed A Dream in the first round of the show, which was aired on 11 April 2009.
The 47-year-old Scottish woman’s plain looks provided a sharp contrast to her powerfully beautiful voice. The performance astonished the audience and the judges. Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week. Although she failed to win the final of Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular. Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.
1．Bridget Boyle’s attitude towards her daughter’s musical talent can be described as _________.
A．critical B．doubtful C．indifferent D．optimistic
2．From Para. 4 we learn that Boyle______.
A．was slightly discouraged by her voice coach
B．entered Britain’s Got Talent to prove her ability
C．decided to give up her singing career.
D．was deeply affected by her mother’s death.
3．Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?
A．Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008.
B．Her audition for My Kind of People failed.
C．She has never stopped singing since 1995.
D．She was the winner of Britain’s Got Talent
4．In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to______.
A．tell us how Bolye’s dream came true
B．let us know more about Boyle’s personal life.
C．show how Boyle was influenced by her family.
D．explain how to enter and win a talent show.
Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture (文化) the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian culture, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly. What does the smile usually mean in the U.S?
| A．Love. | B．Politeness. |
| C．Joy. | D．Thankfulness. |
The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that smile can ___ .
| A．show friendliness to strangers |
| B．be used to hide true feelings |
| C．be used in the wrong places |
| D．show personal habits |
What should we do before attempting to “read” people?
| A．Learn about their relations with others. |
| B．Understand their cultural backgrounds. |
| C．Find out about their past experience. |
| D．Figure out what they will do next. |
What would be the best title for the test?
| A．Cultural Differences | B．Smiles and Relationship |
| C．Facial Expressiveness | D．Habits and Emotions |
You may think that sailing is a difficult sport, but it is really not hard to learn it. You do not need to be strong. But you need to be quick. And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind.
First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from? Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must think about this all the time on the boat. The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail.
Let’s start with the wind blowing from the behind. This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction. Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat. It should be at a 90° angle (角度) to the boat. Then it will catch the wind best.
If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat. In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat. It should be at a 45° angle to the boat. It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn’t flap (摆动). It shouldn’t look like on a flagpole. If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down.
Sailing into the wind is not possible. If you try, the sail will flap and the boat will stop. You may want to go in that direction. It is possible, but you can’t go in a straight line. You must go first in one direction and then in another. This is called tacking. When you are tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat. What should you consider first while sailing?
| A．Sailors’ strength. | B．Wave levels. |
| C．Wind directions. | D．Size of sails. |
What does the word “It” underlined in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．The boat. | B．The wind. |
| C．The sail. | D．The angle. |
What do you have to do when sailing against the wind?
| A．Move in a straight line. | B．Allow the sail to flap. |
| C．Lower the sail. | D．Tack the boat. |
Where can you probably find the text?
| A．In a popular magazine. | B．In a tourist guidebook. |
| C．In a physics textbook. | D．In an official report. |
Cold weather can be hard on pets, just like it can be hard on people. Sometimes owners forget that their cats are just as used to the warm shelter (住所) as they are. Some owners will leave their animals outside for a long period of time, thinking that all animals are used to living outdoors. This can put their pets in danger of serious illness. There are things you can do to keep your animal warm and safe.
Keep your pets inside as much as you can when the weather is bad. If you have to take them out, stay outside with them. When you’re cold enough to go inside, they probably are too. If you must leave them outside for a long time, make sure they have a warm, solid shelter against the wind, thick bedding, and plenty of non-frozen water.
If left alone outside, dogs and cats can be very smart in their search for warm shelter. They can dig into snow banks or hide somewhere. Watch them closely when they are left outdoors, and provide them with shelter of good quality. Keep an eye on your pet’s water. Sometimes owners don’t realize that a water bowl has frozen and their pet can’t get anything to drink. Animals that don’t have clean and unfrozen water may drink dirty water outside, which may contain something unhealthy for them. What do we learn about pets from Paragraph 1?
| A．They are often forgotten by their owners. |
| B．They are used to living outdoors. |
| C．They build their own shelter. |
| D．They like to stay in warm places. |
Why are pet owners asked to stay with their pets when they are out in cold weather?
| A．To know when to bring them inside. |
| B．To keep them from eating bad food. |
| C．To help them find shelters. |
| D．To keep them company. |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To solve a problem. |
| B．To give practical advice. |
| C．To tell an interesting story. |
| D．To present a research result. |
Have you ever thought, “I wish I could take a year off and just travel around the word?” Well, three lucky American teenagers were able to do just that. The teens — two males and one female — got an all-expenses paid, yearlong hike to five continents.
This trip didn’t include any five-star hotels or shopping funs. Eighteen-year-old Jamie Fiel from Keller, Texas, 17-year-old Arsen Ewing from Canyon, California, and 16-year-old Tyler Robinson from Lincoln, Massachusetts, didn’t expect fancy treatment. They signed up for the experience of a lifetime, which included hard work, often uncomfortable accommodations, and encounters with some of nature’s most dangerous animals and environments.
Jamie, Arsen, and Tyler were among hundreds of high school kids nominated by their science teachers to take this trip. Earthwatch Institute sponsored this adventure. Each year, Earthwatch employs thousands of volunteers worldwide to help with scientific research projects.
The group went all around the world to get a close look at the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Their assignments were as varied as their locations, and included measuring and attending pink flamingos in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and tracking giant sea turtles in Costa Rica.
As they worked with the Earthwatch scientists, Jamie, Arsen, and Tyler began to understand that we are at a critical moment in the life of our planet. Time for change is running out. As the teens went from country to country and witnessed different environmental dangers and challenges, they understood that solutions to important environmental issues start with the power of one person’s actions. They realized that each of them can make a difference.These teenagers went on the journey around the world .
| A．to experience the most serous environmental problems on the earth |
| B．to bring the kindness of America to the other parts of the world |
| C．to go on sightseeing around the world |
| D．to call on more teenagers to join Earthwatch Institute |
What’s TRUE about their journey?
A. They had to pay for their journey on their own expense.
B, They often had to move from one hotel to another.
C. They had to take great pains to collect environmental information.
D. They received a warm welcome every time they arrived at a new place.It can be inferred that Earthwatch Institute could be .
A. an international university that takes in students from all over the world
B. a TV station that makes programmes on the beautiful scenery of the earth
C. a travel agency that organizes adventure trips specially for school children
What exactly is a Dream Career? I am sure it means different things to different people. You could presently be unsure about what your final job would be. If you have any doubts about what your dream career is, you may know which careers you definitely would not like to do. For example, if you have an interest in art, and do not like math, you most certainly would not like being a mechanical engineer. If you love art, and have no artistic talent, maybe you would like to be around art instead, as an art curator(馆长).
A career related to your passion, hobby, or special interest, is the path to follow in finding your dream job. Try thinking about what things you like to do in your spare time. Many are attracted toward turning what they love to do in their off work hours into a full time job. For example, if you like to put together model cars, maybe you would like opening your own hobby shop, or work for someone who owns one.
Once you find what you are interested in doing, you can then match this to a career which will be similar to what you are passionate about. What you consider a dream career has to center around what kind of person you actually are. This is called your Career Personality. What type of person do you consider yourself to be? People are naturally attracted to those things which reflect who they are as unique individuals. For example, if you are slightly on the shy side, maybe you would like a job where you work on your own, relatively unsupervised, behind a computer. If you are outgoing, maybe you would like to work with others, and be the supervisor.
All it may take to find our dream career is to know ourselves a little better, trust in our own judgment, and be realistic about what we can attain occupationally. This is how I found what I am doing now.What’s the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To explain what a dream career really is. |
| B．To offer tips on finding a dream career. |
| C．To tell us what Career Personality means. |
| D．To give examples of different personalities. |
Which of the following about Career Personality is TRUE?
| A．One should choose a dream career by his／her personality. |
| B．Choosing a dream career depends on a person’s ability. |
| C．One should choose a dream career according to the reality. |
| D．One should try different types of careers by his／her ability. |
Which of the following is what we need to find a dream career?
a. Realizing our ability.
b. Believing in ourselves.
c. Having a better understanding of ourselves.
d. Considering the background of our family.
| A．a, c, d | B．a, b, c |
| C．b, c, d | D．a, c, d |
From the second paragraph we learn your dream career has something to do with the following EXCEPT .
| A．your hobby | B．your special interest |
| C．your part—time job | D．your passion |