第三部分阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A “blogger” is a person who writes on an Internet website called a “blog”. The word “blog” is a short way of saying “web log”, or “personal website”. Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like.
There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information and ideas to the people who read them. They contain links to other websites. And they provide a place for people to write their ideas and react to the ideas of others.
A research company called Perseus has studied more than 3,000 web logs. It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year.
However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products.
At the same time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed his free blog service “weblogs.com”. He said the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago, and thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the site was closed.
One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca’s Pocket. Rebecca Blood created the website in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site. That article led to a book called The Weblog Handbook. It has been translated into four languages so far.
Miss Blood says Rebecca’s Pocket gets about thirty thousand visitors a month. She writes about anything and everything—politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how to prevent being stolen from online bank accounts.
1. The text is mainly written to ________.
A. introduce an Internet website called “blog” B. tell readers about blogs
C. introduce a short way of saying “web log” D. tell readers how to write blogs
2. From the text we can learn that blogs cover almost everything except ________.
A. different ideas B. medical advice
C. advertisements D. account passwords
3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?
A. Politicians don’t use blogs at all.
B. A lot of bloggers no longer write or read blogs.
C. Those who like to use blogs are mostly teenage girls.
D. Dave Winer closed his “weblogs.com” because of the money shortage.
4. The reason why Rebecca’s Pocket is still going strong is that ________.
A. it was created by a woman B. it is about the history of blogs
C. it provides useful information and advice
D. it has editions in at least four different languages
When people hear a president speak, they seldom think about others helping to shape the presentation（报告）. Today, however, presidents depend on writers such as J. Terry Edmonds to help them communicate （交流） effectively. Edmonds is the first African American ever to work as a full-time speechwriter for a U. S. president; he is so the first African American to serve as director of speechwriting for White House. His is an all-American story of success.
Edmonds grew up in Baltimore, Maryland; his father drove a truck, and his mother worked as a waitress. A. great reader, Edmonds showed a gift for writing at his high
School, Baltimore City College After graduating in 1967 Edmonds went on to Morgan State University
Edmonds began his career in business, with jobs in public relations and communications. He joined the world of politics as news secretary for his congressman （国会议员） from Baltimore During Bill Clinton’s presidency, he wrote speeches for Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and worked in a number of job in the White House and in governmental departments President Clinton then appointed （任命）himto the office of directory of speechwriting Following the 2000 elections Edmonds returnedto Morgan State University as the school’s special assistant to the president for 2001-20025. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Edmonds proved himself to be good at writing at high school |
| B．Edmonds graduated from Morgan State University in 1967. |
| C．Edmonds was the first full-time speechwriter. |
| D．Edmonds served the White House after 2000. |
Edmonds entered the world of politics first as -------------。
| A．news secretary for a Congressman |
| B．a speechwriter for President Clinton |
| C．news secretary in the White House |
| D．a speechwriter for Secretary Donna Shalala |
The text is most likely to be found in a book about-------------。
| A．popular science |
| B．historical events |
| C．successful people |
| D．Political systems |
It was the first snow of winter — an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up until now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through brst snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one.
I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled won my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-mc-down from my brother, and if made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes, At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots（靴子）.
In her calm, motherly voice she said, “By the end of winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence（信心）.
I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected grown-ups to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.
I announced, “They’re on the wrong feet.”
She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again.
“They’re my brother’s boots, you know,” I said. “I hate them”.
Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying（烦人的） little girl, She struggle with me, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens（连指手套）？”looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots. 1. The little girl was more satisfied with her_____.
| A．trousers |
| B．jacket |
| C．boots |
| D．hat |
Miss Finlayson had difficulty with the girl’s boots mainly because_____.
| A．the girl got them from her brother |
| B．the girl put something in them |
| C．they were on the wrong feet |
| D．they did not fit the girl well |
Why does the author Miss Finlayson would remember that first snow day?
| A．Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes. |
| B．Because it was the most exciting day of the winter . |
| C．Because the little girl played a trick on her. |
| D．Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf. |
We can learn from the text that Miss Finlayson____.
| A．was losing confidence in the little girl. |
| B．gradually lost patience with the little girl. |
| C．became disappointed with the little girl. |
| D．was getting bored with the little girl. |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue , encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb. What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more material than is needed. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of super markets |
| D．the fact of packaging overuse |
According to the text, recycling ______.
| A．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| B．means burning packaging for energy |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
| C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
| D．Other products are better packaged than food. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren't bad enough, he had no health insurance.
After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones—a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.
Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children's forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site's volunteers. "They know what he's going through, so he doesn't feel alone."
Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.
These days, Thomas's main focus is his charity（慈善机构）, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people—225 to date—who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000—in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.
Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar's original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now." Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?
He needs to go to the doctor every day.
He studies the leading cause of diabetes
He has a positive attitude to this disease.
He encourages diabetics by writing articles. Diabeitcrockstar.com was created for _________.
| A．diabetics to communicate |
| B．volunteers to find jobs |
| C．children to amuse themselves |
| D．rock stars to share resources. |
According to the text, Kody ______.
| A．feel lonely because of his illness |
| B．benefits from diabeticrockstar.com |
| C．helps create the online kid’s forums |
| D．writes children’s stories online |
What can we learn about Fight It?
| A．It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties. |
| B．It organizes parties for volunteer once a year. |
| C．It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics. |
| D．It owns a well-known medical website. |
The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ______.
| A．works full-time in a diabetes charity |
| B．employs 22 people for his website |
| C．helps diabetics in his own way |
| D．ties to find a cure for diabetes |
Holidays are really important. Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways.
But holidays are expensive and，for those on low wages or living on benefits,theyare often unobtainable. Even the cheapest holidays require travel and other additional costs that are difficult for many families to meet.
For working parents，the long summer break can be a very difficult problem for childcare. When an annual leave allowance amounts to only five weeks，there is a need to spread this across the year.Couples can find themselves taking leave in turn in order to care for children who are on holiday. For some，this makes even an affordable family holiday difficult.
The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a caring and inspiring learning environment.The number of children receiving free school meals is quite large inNottinghamand many schools have breakfast clubs to make sure that children get a healthy start to the day. Most schools undertake programs of group or individual educational support. Schools also have an important role in safeguarding children's welfare through the ongoing touch and support with their pupils. During the long summer holidays，much of this is missed.
While teachers are holidaying in the UK，many of their pupils spend the whole six weeks on the street where they live. The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budget and an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children to continue their learning.
In setting out its plans for a fiveterm year，Nottingham City Council(委员会)is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks, with a more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks, each followed by a twoweek break.We believe this will give real “down time” for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning.
We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff，particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities. However, this must be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care.The passage is probably written by ________.
| A．an experienced teacher |
| B．a working parent |
| C．an inspired student |
| D．a city council member |
The underlined word “they” in the second paragraph refers to “________”．
| A．environments |
| B．holidays |
| C．wages |
| D．benefits |
It is suggested in the passage that the summer break be reduced to ________.
| A．2 weeks |
| B．4.5 weeks |
| C．5 weeks |
| D．6 weeks |
The plans for a shorter summer holiday will help students ________.
| A．obtain the cheapest holidays without additional costs |
| B．get a chance to spend six weeks a term with teachers in school |
| C．benefit more from the caring and inspiring learning environment |
| D．have more school days to receive free school meals |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．working parents can enjoy a fiveweek break to care for their children |
| B．the suggested plans for a fiveterm school year can hardly be carried out |
| C．the long summer holiday gives teachers and students real “down time” |
| D．some school staff will say “No” to the plans for a shorter summer holiday |