第三部分 阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
第一节 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30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。
When I was at university, I studied very hard. But a lot of my friends did very little work. Some did just enough to pass exams. Others didn't do quite enough. Fred Baines was one of them. He spent more time drinking in the Students' Union than working in the library.
Once, at the end of the term, we had to take an important test in chemistry. The test had a hundred questions. Beside each question, we had to write "True" or "False". While I was studying in my room the night before the test, Fred was watching television. Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test. But on that night he looked perfectly calm. Then he told me of his plan.
"It's very simple. There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test. I'll take a coin into the examination room. I haven't studied a chemistry book for months, so I'll just toss the coin. That way, I'm sure I'll get half the questions right."
The next day Fred came cheerfully into the examination room. He sat tossing a coin for half an hour as he marked down his answers. Then he left, half an hour before the rest of us.
The next day, he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor .
"Oh, good," he said. "Have you got the result of the test? What mark did I get?"
The professor looked at him and smiled.
"Ah, it's you, Baines. Just a minute."
Then he reached into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it.
"I'm terribly sorry, Baines," he said, "you failed."
1. Fred Baines _______.
A. spent quite some time working in the Students' Union
B. worked hard at his lessons but he failed again and again
C. often failed his tests
D. wouldn't work hard so long as he could pass a test
2 Fred looked perfectly calm before the chemistry test because _______.
A. he was already well prepared for it
B. he didn't think the test was so important for him
C. someone had promised to help him out
D. he believed he had found out a way to pass the test without any difficulty
3. The professor told Baines the result of the test by tossing a coin because _______.
A. he hadn't marked all the papers yet
B. he couldn't remember the mark Baines got
C. he wouldn't hurt Baines' feeling by telling him the truth
D. he wanted to teach Baines a lesson
Americans get some of their news and entertainment from public television and radio. These public media receive money to operate from private citizens, organizations and government. Many of their programs are educational. But most of the American media are run by businesses for profit. These privately owned media have changed greatly in recent years. Newspapers, magazines and traditional broadcast television organizations have lost some of their popularity. At the same time, online, cable and satellite media have increased in numbers and strength. So have media that serve racial groups and those communicating in foreign languages.
In general, more media than ever now provide Americans with news and entertainment. At the same time, fewer owners control them. Huge companies have many holdings(股份). In some areas, one company controls much of the media. One dramatic change in American media is the increased success of cable television. It comes into most homes over wires. It does not use the public airwaves to present programs, as broadcast television does. Like broadcast television, most cable television programs perform advertisements. This is true although people must pay to see cable television in their homes. Thirty years ago, few people had cable. Today, about sixty-eight percent of American homes have cable television. Television by satellite also is gaining popularity.
Over the years, traditional broadcast organizations have tried to appeal to as many watchers as possible. Many cable companies, however, present programs for one special group of viewers. For example, there are cable stations for people who like books, cooking, travel, golf or comedy.Which of the following is true about American public media?
| A．They depend on the government. |
| B．They are controlled by the government |
| C．They are free |
| D．They can earn money. |
Which of the following properly shows the change in these privately owned media?
| A．Newspapers are getting more popular. |
| B．Satellite media is getting more popular. |
| C．Traditional media also serve racial groups. |
| D．Some media make their programs in foreign languages |
From the second paragraph, we learn that .
| A．broadcast TV and cable TV programs include sales messages |
| B．more media are out of control |
| C．American media is dramatic |
| D．cable TV is free |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．American news and entertainment |
| B．Public television and radio media |
| C．media in the United States |
| D．Cable programs in the United States |
If you see a group of people dancing and singing on the street or in the railway station, you don't need to feel surprised. They are a flash mob(暴民). Who are they? Are they mobs? Don't be confused by their name. Actually, a flash mob is a group of people who gather suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disappear.
They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks. The messages may be sent to friends, who send to more people. At a predetermined time, they gather and perform some activities such as exchanging books, coming together to look at the sky, waving their hands and yelling something at the top of their voice for 30 seconds. Then, they quickly disappear before the police can arrive. Using mobile phones, the flash mob can change its place if the first one has been cancelled for any reason.
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. Wasik claimed that he created the flash mob as a social experiment designed to laugh at fashion seekers and stress the cultural atmosphere of wanting to be an insider or part of “the next big thing”.
Flash mob gatherings can sometimes shock people. Such an activity might seem amusing and magical, but it also might frighten people who are not aware of what is taking place. Undoubtedly, flash mob can serve as good political tools and have great potential, such as using flash mob 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, Michael Jackson’s fans took part in a flash mob to remember him. Hundreds of his fans gathered singing and dancing Michael’s famous song “Beat It” together. Flash mobs give people from all walks of life an opportunity to come together to create a memory.What is NOT the feature of the flash mob?
| A．It can get together quickly. |
| B．It can change its place freely. |
| C．It can do activities suddenly. |
| D．It can injure people seriously. |
How do flash mobs inform one another?
①By using the Internet.
②By writing letters.
③By yelling.
④By waving hands.
⑤By using mobile phones.
⑥By holding a meeting.
| A．③④ | B．①⑤ | C．②⑥ | D．⑤⑥ |
Why did Bill Wasik create the flash mob?
| A．To advertise some products. | B．To help people make friends. |
| C．To laugh at fashion seekers. | D．To create some memories. |
What can we learn about the flash mob from the passage?
| A．Bill Wasik organized the first successful flash mob in May, 2003. |
| B．People are encouraged to take a more active part in an activity. |
| C．Flash mobs tend to do something illegal for a short time. |
| D．Flash mob gathering can frighten all the people present. |
If you have a little child, who hates sitting in a car seat, then the FreedomRide is the answer to your problem.
Would you want to be stuck in an unchangeable position every time you’re in the car? No. You wouldn’t.
When an adult sits in a car for any length of time, we stretch, we change the position, we move our legs again and again. We do this without thinking. But kids in a traditional car seat can’t do this. They are stuck in one position, and they can’t move. We move because the circulation of blood needs to be recovered in our legs as we sit in the same position for any longer.
In a traditional car seat, the child can’t move to reduce the pain, so it puts them in anger.
The FreedomRide lets them have a little freedom, and still be safe. The 5-Point Harness(背带)gives them additional safety over a traditional child car seat.
I am the Webmaster for islandbreeze.com, and when JoeySafe asked us to redo their website, I was attracted by this system. That is because I have two small children, both girls, aged 3 and 4 and we obviously use car seats. I lived in Southern California, and every couple of months, my wife, the girls and I, go to see grandma who lives in Nevada. It’s a 5-hour drive, so the FreedomRide works well. Our trips are so much better now, especially since there is more room in the car without the car seats.
The FreedomRide really did make it easier to go on trips. The only thing you need when you use the JoeySafe instead of your old child car seat is a pillow. Besides, my kids want to take a pillow anyway! As a dad, I feel safe driving with the kids in the FreedomRide. I am a very safety-oriented person.From the text we can infer the FreedomRide is a _______.
| A．car seat | B．car for children |
| C．safety belt | D．game on islandbreeze.com |
The FreedomRide is likely to be designed for________.
| A．a person hating sitting in the car for long |
| B．an adult often driving a traditional car |
| C．a child requiring some freedom in the car |
| D．a driver needing comfortable seats |
The purpose of the last two paragraphs may be to ________.
| A．support the topic of the child car safety |
| B．describe the advantage of the FreedomRide |
| C．introduce the detail of the author’s work and web. |
| D．describe what the author does with his child car seat |
The next part following the last paragraph may mention________.
| A．the way of ordering | B．the way of communicating |
| C．the inventor of this product | D．the advantage of the product |
Although I started learning English during my college years, when I entered the States, I only understood two English words “Yes” and “No”. We learned many grammar rules but we could not make the language connections to the real English world. Language frustration worries almost all first generation immigrants. For example, I got a letter from a Chinese-American who has lived in the States for a long time and has a good IT job saying “My 11-year-old girl writes quite well, but as her parents, we could not even read her article.”In addition, my Chinese-American professor friend has difficulty reading a novel. Improving our English skills has become a long journey for all of us. Honestly, if I have a chance, I really want to reach out to everyone in the world who has had a similar experience: learning a second language in adulthood. I wish I could encourage them to speak out about the culture shock, frustration they felt about the differences between West and East.
I have mainly focused on my English writing since 2008 after I found “Literacy Volunteers”, an organization that specially focuses on helping immigrants improve their English. I decided to challenge myself, writing a story like an American. I saw many wonderful Americans there. As soon as I met my teacher Alice, I asked her to be my private language tutor and have taken Tims English class. Every week Alice and I have worked on my English essays sentence by sentence.
To observe the culture differences between West and East, occasionally, I posted a few of my English essays online. I mentioned previously about American culture; when people read the same article or even face the same situation, American and Chinese act very differently. In my viewpoint, these differences make America the strongest country in the world. I know you have the right to express your own opinions, but accusing others without proof is not acceptable.The underlined word “frustration” in the first paragraph means .
| A．failure and setbacks | B．words and problems |
| C．understanding and progress | D．slang and idioms |
In the passage, “Literacy Volunteers” is .
| A．only intended to help the Chinese-Americans |
| B．an organization which is set up to make a profit |
| C．of great use to people like the author |
| D．a school showing how to enjoy literature |
From the last paragraph we can learn that .
| A．Americans and Chinese are of the same idea about something |
| B．culture shock only exists between Chinese and Americans |
| C．accusing others freely can be acceptable in America |
| D．culture differences have great influence on the people |
The purpose of the passage is .
| A．to show how hard a Chinese-American lives in America |
| B．to share her experience of improving her English |
| C．to imply grammar rules are not important |
| D．to warn Chinese-Americans of English |
While working in Southeast Asia in the mid 1990’s, I became a branch manager in a factory. At the beginning, I used human relations principles, such as putting myself into the others place to help gain trust. After a few months, I was told that the factory team members liked and trusted me.
Then the owner, seeing how everyone thought well of me, believed that I could become an instrument of change to carry out his several unpopular programs. The factory members resisted and eventually saw me as a puppet controlled by the owner. The more I insisted that they ‘follow orders’ the more they found ways to weaken the new changes.
Finally, I was replaced by a manager who knew enough to please both masters. Even though the owner did not like the fact that his new changes were not immediately applied, the new manager gained his power by the support received from his team together with an intention to find a way. What I learned was that your team must always see you as supportive of their needs, even to the extent that the owner may not be pleased that you are unable to follow their wishes. At the end of the day, if your people do not follow you then you are no longer in charge and will be replaced.
At first I blamed my boss for putting me in such a position. Then in honest reflection, I began to realize that he had probably hoped that I would have found some middle ground. What I could have done was to first obtain their advice about why they did not wish to follow the new policy changes, and then I should have used my influence with both the owner and team members to find a better way.
Though, in fact it is a painful lesson for me, it has served me well along my career path!What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Obeying is the best quality. |
| B．Giving is always a pleasure. |
| C．Appreciating others will benefit a lot. |
| D．Dealing with relationship is important. |
The underlined word “puppet” has the similar meaning to .
| A．instrument | B．assistant |
| C．wretch | D．winner |
Which is the right order according to the passage?
a. He was removed from his position.
b. He got on poorly with the coworkers.
c. He carried out the orders of the owner.
d. He became a branch manager.
f. He was believed in not only by coworkers but leaders.
| A．a, b, d, c, f | B．f, d, c, b, a |
| C．d, f, c, b, a | D．d, c, f, b, a |
From the third paragraph we can infer that .
| A．the new manager carried out the programs at once |
| B．the new manager got on badly with workers |
| C．workers need to be recognized and supported |
| D．you should make full use of your power |