第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
Machines in the home have a short history. Sewing machines, washing machines and tumble dries are common enough today, but a hundred years ago few people could even imagine such things. However, inventors have designed and built a wide range of household machines since then. In most cases the inventor tried to patent（申请专利）his machine, to stop anyone copying it. Then he tried to produce a lot of them. If the machine became popular, the inventor could make a lot of money.
In 1790 the first sewing machine was patented. The inventor was an Englis
hman called Thomas Saint. There was nothing to match his machine for forty years, and then someone built a similar device. He was a Frenchman, Bartelemy Thimonier. Neither of these early machines worked very well, however, it wasn’t until 1846 that an inventor came up with a really efficient sewing machine. He was an American, Elias Howe and his machine was good enough to beat five skilled sewing women. He didn’t make much money from it, however. The first commercially successful sewing machine was patented by Isaac S
inger five years later.
Today, we take washing machines for granted, but there was none before 1869. The revolving drum（旋转桶）of that first machine set a pattern for the future, but it was crude by today’s standards. The drum was turned by hand, and needed a lot of effor
t. Eight years passed before someone produced an electric washing machine. The world had to wait even longer for a machine to dry clothes. The first spin-drier was another American invention, patented in 1924; but it was 20 years before such machines were widely used.
It was yet another American, called Bissell, who introduced the carpet sweeper. He patented the original machine back in 1876. It didn’t pick up dirt very well, but it was quicker than a dustpan and brush. Thirty-six years later, even the carpet sweeper was old-fashioned: modern homes now have a vacuum cleaner（吸尘器）with an electric motor to suck the dust.
1. Whose sewing machine could do far more than the work that was done by five skilled sewing women?
A. Thomas Saint’s. B. Bartelemy Thimonier’s.
C. Elias Howe’s. D. Isaac Singer’s.
2. According to the article, modern inventors __________ .
A. follow the pattern of the first revolving drum but improve it much
B. only imitate the first washing machine
C. power the first ever-made washing machine by electricity
D. have to wait for the first spin-drier for a long time
3. The underlined word “crude” in the sentence “but it was crude by today’s standards”
probably means __________ .
A. useless B. ugly-looking C. rough D. not skillfully made
4 The article mainly tells us about __________ .
A. the great inventors in the world
B. the important inventions in the world
C. the short history of household machines
D. the importance of the machines used in the home
Throughout his early years, Obama was known at home and at school as “Barry”. Obama’s parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled(登记入读) as a foreign student. They separated when he was two years old and later divorced(离婚). His father received Master’s degree in Economics from Harvard University, then returned to Kenya, where he became a finance minister before dying in an automobile accident in 1982. His mother married another foreign student, Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro’s home country of Indonesia in 1967. Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, from age 6 to 10, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.
During his time in Indonesia, he first attended St. Francis Assist Catholic school for almost three years. When Obama was in third grade he wrote an essay saying that he wanted to be president. His teacher later said that his reason for becoming president was that he wanted to make everybody happy.
Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his materal(母亲一方的) grandparents while attending Punahou School, a private college elementary school, from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979. Obama’s mother, Ann, died of cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir(传记), Dreams from My Father.
In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother’s middle class family. Of his early childhood, Obama writes, “That my father looked nothing like the people around me---that he was black as pitch(沥青), my mother white as milk .”
Some of his fellow students at Punahou School later told the Honolulu Star—Bulletin that Obama was mature(成熟的) for his age as a high school student and that he sometimes attended parties and other events in order to connect with African American college students and military service people.When Obama was a child, _________.
| A．people used to call him Berry |
| B．his father died of serious illness |
| C．his father became a finance minister of America |
| D．his parents attended Harvard University |
Which of the following is TURE about Lolo Soetoro?
| A．He got college education in Indonesia |
| B．He is a person from Kenya in Africa |
| C．He is Obama’s stepfather and is a black |
| D．He is a foreign student in America |
Obama’s mother, Ann, died of cancer in about ________ while his father died in _________.
| A．1982; 1967 | B．1967; 1982 | C．1979; 1967 | D．1995; 1982 |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Obama’s father was very black while his mother very white |
| B．Obama’s materal grandparents lived in Honolulu of Indonesia |
| C．Obama wanted to be president because he liked making people happy |
| D．Obama’s classmates thought he was mature for his age as a high school student |
Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be enough rain. Other times there is too much. Maybe thereisn’t a lot we can do to control the rain, but there is a lot we can do to reduce problems caused bydifferent rainfall patterns.
A new development at the London Wetland Centre in Barnes solves the problems of managingwater with a “Rain Garden”. We are likely to be hearing about it a lot more often over the next fewyears. The idea is that the garden owner can store rainwater and use it in dry periods. They canreduce the problems caused by extra rain this way.
One of the key problems that the rain garden tries to deal with is the problem caused by toomuch water in the street. In a natural environment, a lot of rainwater is sent back into the air byplants. Much is also absorbed deep into the ground, and flows into streams and rivers. What happensin city environments can be completely different —— a large amount of rainwater flows straight offthe hard surfaces of roofs and roads. The harder the rain, the less likely it will be absorbed into theground —— floods are the result. Rainwater running off roads is often polluted.
The rain garden deals with living plants rather than hard surfaces. Plants are designed to holdwater and release it slowly, either into the ground, to be absorbed by plant roots (and so eventuallyback up into the atmosphere) or to go down into the water table. Not only does the rain gardenreduce the amount of water that flows onto the street, but it helps to clean it because plants are very goodat breaking down pollutants(污染物).What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?
| A．Explaining why there is a lack of rain at times. |
| B．Introducing several different patterns of rainfall. |
| C．Telling us how to avoid problems caused by rain. |
| D．Giving the idea that there are ways to manage rain water. |
According to the second paragraph, “Rain Gardens" are likely to _____.
| A．harm the environment in the short run |
| B．become popular over the next few years |
| C．be turned down by most new developments |
| D．be too expensive for common people to accept |
We can learn from the third paragraph that _____.
| A．floods are often the results of small rains |
| B．a heavy rain is less difficult for plants to absorb |
| C．the rain garden helps send rainwater back into the air |
| D．larger amounts of rainwater flow straight off in city environments |
According to the last paragraph, what does the rain garden help to clean?
| A．The plants | B．The ground. | C．The water. | D．The street. |
As Apple tries to maintain its growth and success in China, the world's largest smart-phone market is becoming even more critical. Apple's shares(股份) fell sharply as the company's earnings for the holiday quarter through December disappointed investors.
The sales of the iPhone, which include both the iPhone 5 and older models, came in at the low end of analysts' expectations, while the company's income plan for the second quarter was below analysts' forecasts, though Apple is known to give conservative (保守的) forecasts.
Some analysts have said that for Apple to regain its growth, the company needs a more aggressive strategy(进攻型策略) for markets, or more specifically for China, where the market for smart phones has been expanding more rapidly than anywhere else. In China, demand is particularly great for inexpensive phones that run on Android(安卓) operating system, sold by many Chinese phone makers as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.
But Apple says it's already enjoying strong growth in China. "We saw big growth in iPhones," Chief Executive Tim Cook said. He said that the company has been quickly expanding its sales channels in China, including the number of Apple stores. "This isn't nearly what we need, we're not even close to that, but we're making great progress.” he said.
In China, a big missing piece for Apple is China Mobile Ltd. , the biggest local telecom carrier that doesn't yet sell the iPhone. Earlier this month, Mr. Cook met China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing and discussed cooperation, stirring hopes that the world's largest mobile carrier may soon start offering the iPhone.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone that could launch as early as this year. But one possible challenge for Apple in China is that low-priced Android-based phones are getting better in terms of quality. A report from CLSA in late November showed that many smart-phones sold at about1,000 yuan ($160) came with higher- resolution screens, better cameras and more powerful processors than phones at that price did a year earlier.Apple's shares dropped sharply because in December______________.
| A．the iPhone wasn't popular in China |
| B．its product quality was widely criticized |
| C．the earnings for the holiday quarter was disappointing |
| D．the investors were not satisfied with Apple's management |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Apple tends to offer a lower sales forecast. |
| B．China Mobile Ltd began to team up with Apple. |
| C．Cook is pessimistic about what Apple did in China. |
| D．Apple didn't take measures to develop Chinese market. |
The author uses the report from CLSA to prove _____.
| A．their prices are actually lower than a year earlier |
| B．Apple in China has ability to deal with any problem |
| C．low-ended Android-based phones are progressing fast |
| D．the promotion of lower-end iPhone will face a challenge |
The main purpose of the passage is to show the readers ______________.
| A．Apple's high popularity in China |
| B．the challenge Apple faces in China |
| C．the approaching failure Apple will suffer in China |
| D．Apple's aggressive strategy in its market expansion |
There have been big changes in the attitudes of most parents over the last few years. Physical punishment is banned in schools in most countries, and in many countries, there are moves to ban all physical punishment of children even at home. However, many parents still believe that they have the right to use some physical punishments to deal with certain misbehavior at certain ages.
It’s easy to find reasons to allow some physical punishments. One issue is that many parents find it very difficult to abandon physical punishment completely. Parents argue that this was the way they were brought up and that it didn’t do any harm to them. They believe that for the child’s sake they have the right to discipline the child in any way they consider fit, including using some physical punishments. The other one is that physical punishment can be quick and effective. There is not much point reasoning with a screaming child in the supermarket.
However, there are several reasons why we should stop using physical punishment. One point is that most parents are not trained to deal with misbehaving children. They don’t have enough resources or choices to handle the situation. As a result, they immediately react by hitting the child even if there are other solutions to the problem. Another point is that unless people are challenged or forced to change their belief, they may keep following negative habits. An example is seat belt use —now most people wear seat belts without thinking, while years ago the idea of using seat belts was strange to most people. In the same way, banning physical punishment will force people to change their habits.
In conclusion, parents have to change some of their belief and ideas about how children should be raised. It is possible to avoid the use of physical force, and doing so will help us move closer to the dream of removing violence from our society.According to the first paragraph, many parents think that ____________.
| A．they are free to use physical punishment on their children |
| B．most of the children behave badly in their daily life |
| C．they have changed their attitudes towards their children |
| D．physical punishment is effective to educate their children |
Many parents won’t give up physical punishment because _____________.
| A．they are disappointed with their children |
| B．they were brought up just in the same way |
| C．they don’t want to hurt their children badly |
| D．they don’t know what to do with their children |
The author gives the example of using seat belts in order to show ____________.
| A．most people are used to wearing seat belts |
| B．it’s not difficult to change some negative habits |
| C．seat belts are really very necessary and useful |
| D．people won’t change their old habits unless forced |
The main purpose of the author in writing this passage is to ____________.
| A．talk about a ban on using physical punishment |
| B．tell us we should educate our children in other ways |
| C．advise parents to give up using physical punishment |
| D．suggest physical punishment should be used at home |
What does the word“youth” mean to you? Many define it as a precious time in their life when they are young, when fun, passion, and imagination seem limitless. But for most high school students, youth is a time of determination and willpower for achieving their goals.
This is vividly shown in Mark of Youth, a movie that opened on Feb 5. Mark of Youth tells the story of four Senior 3 students in a top high school in the days leading up to the national college entrance examination.
Each character represents a different type of student, ranging from the most mischievous(调皮的)to the most motivated. Like most teenagers, they enjoy carefree moments and like to talk about their schoolmates. But the tension of the approaching exam, probably their first life-changing event, is common—they must memorize seemingly endless English words and Chinese poems, work through piles of practice test papers, and improve their scores despite the increasing pressure.
But life exists beyond campus. That the college entrance examination is coming up doesn’t mean they can escape family changes, such as when one character’s parents get divorced or another’s father is arrested. Can these four young people handle their problems and eventually make it to their ideal universities despite their on –and –off campus stress?
The story is set in Hubei Huanggang Middle School, known for its students’ outstanding performances on the big exam. The four students are played by the actors who played in the reality shows Happy Boys and Happy Girls. HongKong actor Alex Fong plays their teacher.
Students may look more fashionable in Mark of Youth than in real life, but it is the story about the final year of high school that many viewers relate to.
“The film is very inspiring,” said Senior 2 student Yao Lingqian, 16, from Leshan Foreign Language School in Sichuan province. “A total commitment(投入)to hard work, though it can be lonely and no fun at all, will leave precious marks on my youth.”
And for Senior 3 student Gao Jing, the film has given her optimism. “The characters taught me that what you score is not the only important thing. The way you approach the exam matters the most,” said the 17-year-old from Zhenping County No 1 High School in Nanyang, Henan province.
“The film really reflects senior 3students’life.” Zhang Ping, a teacher from a senior high school in Qingdao, commented.What is the function of the first paragraph in the passage?
| A．To tell us what the word “youth” means. |
| B．To introduce what will be mainly talked about. |
| C．To tell youth is a time of determination and willpower. |
| D．To introduce some famous actors. |
Why must the four Senior 3 students memorize seemingly endless English words and Chinese poems?
| A．They want to enjoy carefree moments. |
| B．They want to gossip about their schoolmates. |
| C．They want to work through piles of practice test papers. |
| D．They want to improve their scores. |
Which of the following is true about the film?
| A．Mark of Youth tells a story that happened on Feb 5. |
| B．The characters in the film have to face the pressure from both study and their families. |
| C．The film tells a story that really happened in Hubei Huanggang Middle School. |
| D．Most characters in the film are played by actors from HongKong. |
What kind of belief does the film convey?
| A．Youth is a wonderful thing. |
| B．We youth should face challenge with smile. |
| C．Entrance examination is very important in our life. |
| D．The entrance examination isn’t so terrible. |
Which of the person can we see in the film?
| A．Alex Fong | B．Yao Lingqian | C．Gao Jing | D．Zhang ping |