第二部分阅读理解（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和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When you think of snowy winter festivals, Sapporo in J
apan probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind．In Japan, there are winter festivals every year that draw great crowds and offer lots of attractions to everybody．
The biggest one is the Sapporo Snow Festival which is held every year in February on Japan's snow covered northern island, Hokkaido（北海道）．The Sapporo Snow Festival was the first of its kind held in Japan, and it is still the biggest．Every year, 2 million snow lovers rush to Sapporo, the biggest city in Hokkaido, to enjoy the Snow Festival in the first two weeks of February．At the Festival, you can see hundreds of snow sculptures made by artists from all over the world．Some are a couple of building stories high and weigh tons．There are ice sculptures too, and ice bars where you can go inside and have a beer．
The Sapporo Snow Festival was started in the 1950's by a group of high school kids．Feeling very bored in winter, they started a snow sculptures competition．Every year, more kids took part in the competition and n
ow the festival draws snow artists from 15 different countries．There are also musical performances, light shows, and snowball fights．
Every major area has its own snow festival．One of the most popular is the Iwate Snow Festival．It's held in the small town of Shizukuishi in early or mid-February．Iwate is also famous for its yearly fireworks displays, where festival-goers can watch the colors reflected off the snow．In Iwate, you can see traditional Japanese musicians and dancers perform on floats．
If you want a truly unique winter festival experience, northern Japan is a great place to go．Just make sure you dress warmly．
1．Why is the Sapporo Snow Festival famous in Japan?
A．The snow in Hokkaido is very thick．
B．it is the first and the biggest in Japan
C．There are lots of snow sculptures there．
D．its snow sculptures are the highest．
2．When is the Sapporo Snow Festival held in Japan?
A．In late February．
B．From January to February．
C．In the first two weeks of February．
D．Two weeks before February．
3．Who started the Sapporo Snow Festival at first?
A．The government of Sapporo．
B．Artists from all over the world．
C．Kids who liked outside activities．．
D．A group of high school students．
4．The author wrote the passage to _______．
A．introduce Japan’s Sapporo Snow Festival
B．attract people to take part in northern Japan’s winter festival
C．introduce Japan’s winter festival activities
D．tell us the history of Japan’s winter festivals
Do you love holidays but hate gaining weight? You are not alone. Holidays are times for celebrating. Many people are worried about their weight. With proper planning, though, it is possible to keep normal weight during the holidays. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy.
Here are some tips for preventing weight gain and maintaining physical fitness:
Don’t skip meals. Before you leave home, have a small, low-fat meal or snack(零食). This may help to avoid getting too excited before delicious foods.
Control the amount of food. Use a small plate that may encourage you to “load up (载满)”. You should be most comfortable eating an amount of food about the size of your fist (拳头).
Begin with soup and fruit or vegetables. Fill up beforehand on water-based soup and raw fruit or vegetables, or drink a large glass of water before you eat to help you to feel full.
Avoid high-fat foods. Dishes that look oily or creamy(奶油的)may have large amount of fat. Choose lean meat(瘦肉). Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables. Use lemon juice instead of creamy food.
Stick to physical activity. Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk helps to burn off extra calories.（238 words）Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?
| A．You should never eat delicious foods. |
| B．Drinking some water or soup before eating helps you to eat less. |
| C．Holidays are happy days but they may bring you weight problems. |
| D．Physical exercise can reduce the chance of putting on weight. |
Which of the following can NOT help people to lose weight according to the passage?
| A．Eating lean meat. |
| B．Creamy food. |
| C．Eating raw fruit or vegetables. |
| D．Physical exercise. |
Many people can’t control their weight during the holidays mainly because they ___.
| A．can’t help eating too much |
| B．take part in too many parties |
| C．enjoy delicious foods sometimes |
| D．can’t help turning away from foods. |
If the passage appeared in a newspaper, which section is the most suitable one?
| A．Holidays and Festivals section |
| B．Health and Fitness section |
| C．Fashion section |
| D．Student Times Club section |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How to avoid holiday feasting. |
| B．Do’s and don’ts for keeping slim and fit. |
| C．How to avoid weight gain over holidays. |
| D．Wonderful holidays, boring experiences. |
Picky eaters may have good reasons for their behaviour. No matter why your child has become picky, how you handle the situation can affect his or her future. Therefore, you should know the following reasons for picky children first of all.
Neophobia is common in children; it often happens at the dinner table. Some children just refuse to try new food because they don’t know what it will taste like, while others dislike new food before even smelling it. Some children take it to the extreme(极端) and will only eat a few foods that they like. Psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Capaldi says that, by the time children reach the age of two, they have formed their own eating habits that they don’t want to be disturbed by new offerings at the table.
A newly published study led by Dr. Lucy Cooke of University College London showed that picky eating in children results from genetic(遗传的) and environmental causes. The research, which followed the eating habits of 5,390 pairs of twins between the ages of 8 and 11, found that about 75% of the neophobia in the children was from their parents, while 25% was due to the influence of environment.
Children grow at a high speed during their first year, but that fast-paced growth tends to slow down by their second year. When children are not experiencing one of those fast growth periods, their body needs less energy; and that results in a smaller appetite(胃口). When children are not hungry, they tend to enjoy only food they like. They refuse new food and food that is not their favourite. Some children will limit the amount of food to only one kind, like hamburgers or pancakes, leaving all the other foods untouched.
In some cases, many real reasons why a child behaves as a picky eater exist. About 5% of children who are 10 years of age or younger have some type of neurological dysfunction(神经机能障碍) that influences their eating habits. These children may be easily hurt by some special smells, or their brain may not be able to process such sensory information properly.The underlined word “Neophobia”in Paragraph 2 probably means_________.
| A．the fear of something new or unknown |
| B．the worry about the amount of new food |
| C．the feeling of eating at the dinner table |
| D．the fear of eating tasty food |
What can we learn about the study led by Dr. Cooke?
| A．It paid more attention to the environmental effects on children’s eating habits. |
| B．It followed the eating habits of 5,390 children aged between 8 and 11. |
| C．It showed that genetics greatly affect children’s eating habits. |
| D．It suggested that parents should have good eating habits. |
The fourth paragraph mainly tells us that_______.
| A．children’s growth speed stays the same in the first two years |
| B．children develop their own diet when they grow up |
| C．children tends to eat less when they grow up |
| D．children’s growth has an effect on their diet |
The reason mentioned in the last paragraph has something to do with a child’s_______.
| A．exercise | B．sense | C．habit | D．Interest |
One might expect that the ever-growing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holiday-makers. Indeed, a rosy picture is painted for the long-term future of the holiday industry. Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere. And every month another rock-bound Pacific island is advertised as the “last paradise (天堂) on earth”.
However, the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy. In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of seaside holidays, over-crowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.
Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most. In recent years, Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education. Its forests, full of wildlife and rare flowers, were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise. In fact, the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holiday-makers traveling through the forest land. Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers, with the consequent exploitation (开发) of precious trees and plants.
Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism. The people as well rapidly feel its effects. Farmland makes way for hotels, roads and airports; the old way of life goes. The one-time farmer is now the servant of some multi-national organization; he is no longer his own master. Once it was his back that bore the pain; now it is his smile that is exploited. No doubt he wonders whether he wasn’t happier in his village working his own land.Thankfully, the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers. The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies. At the same time, tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.
The way tourism is handled (处理) in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit. Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies. Increased understanding in planning worldwide tourism can preserve (保护) the market for these companies. If not, in a few years’ time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.What does the author actually mean in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
| A．The Pacific island is a paradise. |
| B．The Pacific island is worth visiting. |
| C．The advertisement is not persuasive |
| D．The advertisement is not impressive. |
The example of Nepal is used to suggest ______.
| A．its natural resources are untouched |
| B．its forests are exploited for farmland |
| C．it develops well in health and education |
| D．it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists |
Which of the following determines the future of tourism?
| A．The number of tourists. |
| B．The improvement of services. |
| C．The promotion of new products. |
| D．The management of tourism. |
The author’s attitude towards the development of the tourist industry is ______.
| A．optimistic | B．objective |
| C．doubtful | D．Negative |
Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life of the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music.”
When someone says, “Well, I guess I’ll have to face the music,” it does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At sometime or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you!” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!
The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Looper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue (提示) to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did---facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines (台词). But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” came to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”
Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean, shinny enough to pass inspection? Still the men had to go out and face the music of the band as well as the inspection. What else could they do?
Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.How many explanations are mentioned about the phrase “to face the music” in the passage?
| A．1. | B．2. | C．3. | D．4. |
What does the phrase “to face the music” really mean?
| A．To face the stage. |
| B．To face the back of the horse. |
| C．To face one’s leader or father. |
| D．To face something far less pleasant. |
Which of the following occasions is the one we may have to face the music?
| A．When we are playing basketball in the playground. |
| B．When we are making a speech before a lot of people. |
| C．When we are having a party at ease with our teachers. |
| D．When we are talking with somebody in secret. |
The underlined word “hostile” in the third paragraph means ______.
| A．unfriendly | B．dislike |
| C．unkind | D．Unnecessary |
Could cities that float (漂浮) on the sea solve the problems caused by floods and provide food for the world?
Some scientists think so. The idea is already being tested and they believe that floating citied will provide more homes for a growing population, without having to use land needed to grow food. And they believe floating areas will allow more food to be grown, so that no one in the world is hungry.
In some places, cities that float on the sea are already being planned, A company in the Netherlands called DeltaSync thinks that sea cities will save the world, with more than one in ten people living in them.
They say sea cities solve many of the problems the world faces in the 21st century, like not having enough land , more and more people needing homes, fossil fuels (矿物燃料) running low and the increasingly serious problems caused by floods.
DeltaSync says building in the desert (沙漠) is not possible because there is no enough water and that developing ways for people to live in space is still too expensive. So they believe the answer is our oceans, which cover over two thirds of the Earth’s surface. Their plans for floating areas include using algae (海藻) to produce fuel and food.
More than a quarter of the land in the Netherlands already lies underwater and scientists there have spent years trying to find ways to deal with it. In the city of Rotterdam they already have floating homes.
Bart Roeffen from DeltaSync says: “We have plans for neighbourhoods including roads and, in the end, I believe we can build floating cities on the sea.”DeltaSync is a company that wants to build cities _______．
| A．on land | B．in space |
| C．on the sea | D．in the desert |
Which of the following is the advantage of the cities that DeltaSync wants to build?
| A．Providing more jobs for people. |
| B．Making travel in space possible. |
| C．Supplying enough water to people. |
| D．Satisfying more people’s housing needs. |
What does Bart Roeffen think of his company’s future plans?
| A．He doubts them. |
| B．He is hopeful of them. |
| C．He is uncertain about them. |
| D．He has no idea about them. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Will there be enough water? |
| B．Will sea cities save the world? |
| C．Is it possible to live in the desert? |
| D．Is it expensive to build floating cities? |