第二部分 阅读理解（共两节，满分45分）
第一节 （共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
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。
Matt Scott, who was born with spina bifida (脊柱裂)，grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where he participated in a variety of sports alongside his healthy friends. Now as a member of University of Wisconsin -Whitewater wheelchair basketball team, Scott has won four national championships, and has recently been selected to the Paralympic team for the second time. The 23-year--old college senior owes his achievements to his hard work and the support of his friends and family, who never allowed him to use his disability as an excuse. "My mother was always great. Whenever I felt giving up, she had no sympathy. She really helped me build my independence by not babying me the way other mothers would have." Scott says.
It was Scott' s independent nature and strong will, along with his on - the - court skills, that attracted the attention of America's most influential sports apparel (衣服)company, Nike. Nike was searching for an athlete with a disability to represent its "Just Do It " trademark. A handful of superstar athletes with disabilities came to audition for the role, but the company picked Scott to star in the 30--second commercial.
"I think that they were looking for the prettiest face in America, and found me," Scott jokes about the selection process.
After being picked, Scott flew to California to film the commercial with Oscar - winning documentary director Errol Morris. The ad gave Scott celebrity (名人)status in the community of disabled athletes. He's been asked to speak at a number of disability - related events, and feels it's his duty to use the media to draw attention to those with disabilities. "I've been given a voice, and I want to do whatever I can to break down the social barriers that are still faced by disabled athletes, and make people realize that they have a very high athletic level," Scott says.
1.When Scott was young, _________________
he only played basketball with other disabled children
he became disabled during a basketball match
his friends looked down upon him during basketball matches
his mother didn't give him special treatment
2.Nike chose Scott to star in its commercial for his_____________ .
a. pretty appearance b. independent nature
c. strong will d. excellent basketball skills
e. status in the community of disabled athletes
A. b c e B. a d e C. a b d D. b c d
3.The underlined phrase "audition for " in the second paragraph means "___________".
A. try out for B. look out for C. take on D. pick out
4.Which of the following about Scott is TRUE?
He has graduated from the University of Wisconsin ― Whitewater.
He thinks it's unwise for the disabled to use disability as an excuse.
He starred in a commercial together with Errol Morris.
He thinks it's important to have many goals.
Imagine what you could do with a machine that could make things disappear.
For inspiration, you could read some books. In the books of J.R.R. Tolkein, Bilbo Baggins finds a ring that can make him disappear. Of course, there’s also poor Harry Potter, who used his invisibility cloak (隐形斗篷) to hide from danger.
Now that you’ve got some ideas, it’s time for the hard part: building the cloak. To do that, you have to give up science fiction and turn to real science. An invisibility cloak has to cheat anything or anyone who might be watching. In order to understand how something can be seen, it’s important to understand how we see.
Human beings can only see objects that reflect (反射) light waves. These waves enter the eye and are then processed by the brain. However, if an object doesn’t reflect light, then the waves don’t enter the eye, and the brain doesn’t process. So building an invisibility cloak is building something that doesn’t reflect light.
Cummer was part of a team of scientists from Duke University, including David Smith and David Schurig, who built the world’s first version (版本) of an invisibility cloak. They had been inspired by the work of a British physicist, John Pendry. He in May said that an invisibility cloak was possible and Pendry was not the only one thinking about a disappearing act. At the same time, a Scottish physicist, UIf Leonhardt published a paper on building invisibility equipment.
“It wasn’t easy,” says Cummer. “As often happens in science and research, it didn’t work very well the first time. That first cloak didn’t work like Harry Potter’s --- the scientists didn’t actually see anything disappear. So the research is still under way. ”The first two paragraphs serve as a (n) ________.
| A．introduction | B．explanation |
| C．comment | D．summary |
Cummer and other scientists got the idea of building an invisibility cloak from _________.
| A．the film Harry Potter |
| B．the work of a British physicist |
| C．a paper published by a Scottish physicist |
| D．the book of J.R.R. Tolkein |
From the text we learn that the research on an invisibility cloak __________.
| A．was led by Pendry |
| B．was very successful |
| C．was used in most popular movies |
| D．is still in progress |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．The Science of Disappearing |
| B．The Hardest Part of Building a Cloak |
| C．The Invention of an Invisibility Cloak |
| D．Turn Science Fiction into Real Science |
After a particularly busy period at work, I decided to get away from it all by going on a hike in the mountains in southern France.
Before I left, I read an interesting story in a magazine. It read, “Once, while I was riding on a crowded bus, the man sitting next to me threw his cell phone out of the window when his phone rang. I was surprised. He looked at me, shrugged (耸耸肩) and looked away. I had no idea whether it was his or stolen or whether he even knew what a cell phone was or not, but he clearly wanted to be free of it, because it clearly troubled him. ”
Billions of people across the world use cell phones. Though cell phones are a wonderful way for communication, they often do the exact opposite. Using cell phones can increase stress within families and friends.
So when I recently returned home, I got rid of my cell phone. Now I go outside without taking my phone with me. I’ve noticed things in my neighborhood I never noticed before, such as gardens. I’ve met new people, started conversations with neighbors I didn’t speak to before and talked with some of my friends face to face instead of chatting over the phone.
Instead of keeping me off from the world, stopping using my cell phone has helped me get even closer to my family and friends.According to the story, the man on the bus threw away his cell phone because ______.
| A．it didn’t work properly |
| B．it was stolen from someone else |
| C．he didn’t like the phone’s style |
| D．he didn’t want to be bothered by it |
We can learn from the passage that cell phones _____.
| A．are too expensive for many people |
| B．can also get people into trouble |
| C．stop people from communicating face to face |
| D．can make life more interesting |
What can we learn about the author?
| A．He wants to own a garden now. |
| B．He always chatted with his neighbors. |
| C．He used to take his cell phone when going outside. |
| D．He once rode on a crowded bus in France. |
The main purpose of the passage is to _______.
| A．tell us not to let cell phones control our lives |
| B．encourage others to hike with him in France |
| C．share his experiences in France with us |
| D．teach us how to get along with neighbors |
Grandpa was a carpenter (木匠). One day he was making some boxes for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage (孤儿院) in Egypt. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. He drove back to the church, but his search turned out to be fruitless.
Suddenly, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one of the boxes, which he had nailed shut. His new glasses were heading for Africa!
Grandpa had six children and he had paid twenty dollars for the glasses that morning. “It's not fair,” he told God as he drove home. “I've been very faithful (忠诚的) in giving my time and money to YOUR work.”
Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on holiday in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that helped him in Egypt, so he came to speak on Sunday night at my grandfather's small church in Chicago.
“But most of all,” he said, “I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, I had just broken my glasses. Then your boxes arrived. To my surprise, I found a pair of glasses in it and it fit me very well!”
The people listened, happy for the amazing glasses, but thought that the man must have confused their church with another. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas. Sitting quietly in the back, with tears in his eyes, Grandpa realized that God had played a big trick on him.Where were Grandpa’s glasses lost?
| A．In a church in Egypt. | B．In the box he made. |
| C．On his way home. | D．At the orphanage. |
How did Grandpa feel when he found his glasses were lost?
| A．Calm. | B．Worried. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Disappointed. |
Who got the glasses in the end?
| A．Grandpa. |
| B．The orphanage. |
| C．Grandpa’s workmate. |
| D．The director of the orphanage. |
The people except the author’s grandpa in the church _________.
| A．sent the pair of glasses to Africa on purpose |
| B．knew the glasses that belonged to Grandpa |
| C．thought the director had made a mistake |
| D．were not interested in the director’s speech |
There are many older people in the world and there will be many more. A limeknown fact is that over 60 percent of the older people live in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization，by 2020 there will be 1 billion，with over 700 million living in developing countries.
It is a surprising fact that the population ageing is particularly rapid in developing countries. For example，it took France 115 years for the proportion of older people to double from 7 percent to 14 percent. It is estimated（估计） to take China a mere 27 years to achieve this same increase.
What are the implications（暗指） of these increased numbers of older folk？One of the biggest worries for governments is that the longer people live，the more likelihood there is for diseases and for disability. Attention is being paid to the need to keep people as healthy as possible，including during old age，to lessen the financial burden on the state.
Another significant problem is the need for the younger generations to understand and value the older people in their society. In some African countries，certainly in Asia，older people are respected and regarded as the ones with special knowledge. Yet traditions are fading away daily，which does not ensure the continued high regard of older people. As society changes, attitudes will change.
Much needs to be done to get rid of age discrimination (歧视) in employment. Lifelong learning programs need to be provided to enable older people to be active members in a country’s development.
Social security policies need to be established to provide adequate income protection for older people. Both public and private schemes are vital in order to build a suitable safety net.
To achieve equality in such matters will take considerable time and effort. One thing is sure：there is no time to be lost.The proportion（比例）of older people________.
| A．is bigger in developed countries than in developing countries |
| B．is one seventh of the population in developing countries |
| C．will increase much faster in China than in France |
| D．will be sixty percent in developing countries by 2020 |
According to the passage，which of the following are governments most worried about?
| A．The diseases and disability of older people. |
| B．The longer life and good health of people. |
| C．The loss of taxes on older people. |
| D．The increasing respect for older people. |
Which of the following measures is NOT mentioned to solve the population ageing problem?
| A．Getting rid of age discrimination in employment. |
| B．Ensuring adequate income protection for older people. |
| C．Providing free health care for sick older people. |
| D．Supplying lifelong learning programs to older people. |
The author concludes in the last paragraph that________.
| A．governments have spent lots of time in solving the ageing problem |
| B．population ageing is a hard problem，but it needs to be solved urgently |
| C．people are too busy to solve the population ageing problem |
| D．much time and effort will be lost in solving the ageing problem |
Don’t be surprised if you see a group of people dancing or shouting on the square. They are a flash mob (快闪族). Confused by their name? Actually, a flash mob, organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks, is a group of people who gather suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a period of time, such as exchanging books, coming together to look at the sky, waving their hands and shouting something at the top of their lungs for 30 seconds, and then quickly disappear before the police can arrive.
Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper’s Magazine, organized the first flash mob in Manhattan in May 2003 and the first successful flash mob gathered on June 3, 2003 at Macy’s department store involving 100 people gathering on Macy’s Department Store. Following this, about 200 people flooded the lobby of the Hyatt hotel, applauding in one voice for fifteen seconds, and next participants pretending to be tourists on a trip invaded a shoe shop in Soho. A later mob saw hundreds of people in Central Park making bird noises.
Wasik claimed that he created flash mobs as a social experiment designed to tease hipsters (追逐时尚的人), and highlight the cultural atmosphere of agreement and of being part of “the next big thing”. Many web logs, chat rooms and Web groups are devoted to the craze. Though flash mobs were originally regarded as useless, the concept has already developed for the benefit of political and social events. Flash mobbing takes advantage of the efficiency of communicating information on Websites and by email, and protesters can similarly use the “on and off” concept to be involved in political events. Such flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock or frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. They also have enormous economic potential, such as using flash mobs to advertise a product.
The flash mob is now becoming more and more popular. People use it to do many things. For example, in 2009, hundreds of Michael Jackson’s fans took part in a flash mob to remember him, gathering outside the railway station in Liverpool, singing and dancing Michael’s famous song, beat it together. In another example, some people took part in a flash mob to warn people against negative words. Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory. A flash mob is most likely to .
| A．give out leaflets of a brand bicycle to the passers-by |
| B．gather in public places performing and leave quickly |
| C．plan to go mountaineering on the first day of Horse Year |
| D．sit for days in front of the city hall for higher wages |
According to the passage, what contribute(s) most to the popularity of the flash mob?
| A．Harper’s Magazine | B．the government |
| C．political events | D．digital networks |
The purpose of the writing is .
| A．to amuse and interest | B．to argue and advise |
| C．to describe and introduce | D．to question and comment |