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。
F . Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24,1896, an American novelist, w as once a student of St.Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton. University for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.
His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary :“ My own happiness in the past often approached such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary.”
This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Thales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was The Great Gatsby, published in 1925,which quick brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security. Then, in 1926, he published another collection lf short stories All the Sad Young Men.
However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The love of the last Tycoon in 1940. while his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism.
56. How many novels written by Fitzgerald are mentioned in the passage ?
A. 5 B. 6 C. 7 D. 8
57. Which of the following is the correct order to describe Fitzgerald’s life according to the passage?
a. He became addicted to drinking.
b. He studied at St.Paul Academy.
c. He published his first novel This Side of Paradise.
d. The Great Gatsby won high praise.
e. He failed to reorder his life.
f. He joined the army and met Zelda.
A.f-c-e-a-b-d B. b-e-a-f-c-d C. f-d-e-c-b-a D. b-f-c-d-e-a
58. We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald .
A. had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama.
B. was well educated and well off before he served in the army
C. would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down
D. helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital
59. The passage is probably followed by a concluding paragraph about .
A. Zelda’s personal life
B. Zelda’s illness and treatment
C. Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham
D. Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary world
It is natural that children are curious about the world around them．For example, they want to know how their hearts beat．They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty．
As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things．When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers．They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky．Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars．And when they are adults, their curiosity continues．Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career in science．
Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world．Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the sky．Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences．A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e．g．physics, chemistry ．
These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world．For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run．They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats 65 or 75 times a minute．Your heart is a pump that pumps blood to all parts of the body．The blood carries oxygen and nutrition．When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them．The muscles need oxygen, too．So your brain sends a signal to the heart．The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen．Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles．It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute．
Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions．If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks．When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks．Rain falls into cracks．The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers．The rivers carry the salt into the ocean．But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year．” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question．
We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious．
63．According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A．People are curious in the same way．
B．People in different countries are interested in different things．
C．People of different ages are interested in different things．
D．Men and women are curious about different things．
64．Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____．
A．the earth , the oceans and the sky B．plants and animals
C．man-made things D．ocean water
65．A rock cracks _____．
A．in wet regions B．in dry regions
C．when salty water falls in D．at very high or very low temperatures
66．People are always curious because _____ ．
A．they know little about the world B．they know nothing about the world
C．they can not explain many things D．they want to be scientists
Just at that time, a telegram arrived from his brother．Mr．Jameson opened it quickly．It said, “Come home at once．Your wife is ill and in a critical condition．West End Hospital．”Mr．Jameson began to think．Since the work at the mine was going well, he decided to go home at once．He just told himself again and again that he couldn’t lose his wife, or his life would be meaningless．
At about 6 the next morning, he and one of his assistants reached Lamesa, where they were going to Chicago at 6:30．There was still half an hour left before the train started, so Mr．Jameson decided to telephone to Chicago to ask about his wife．And after that, if still enough time was left he could see a doctor and have the piece of coal or the piece of metal removed out of his eye．His eye and his whole head ached now．
After he sent his assistant to the railway station to buy tickets for the train, he went to make the phone call．When the operator put through his call, he sat down and waited．His eye felt like a piece of hot iron．And he was worried about his sick wife．The phone rang．Soon Mr．Jameson talked with the hospital in Chicago．A voice said, “Yes, sir! Your wife is here．She is much better．There is no danger now．You don’t have to return．”
Everything was all right．His wife was going to live．He would not lose his wife．Quite excited, Mr．Jameson began to cry like a little child and could not stop．Big tears rolled out of his eyes and down his cheeks．Soon his eye felt better．He touched his eye and felt something in the corner of his eye．That was a small piece of coal．His tears had washed it out of his eye!
59．What happened to Mr．Jameson before setting off?
A．He was hurt and couldn’t walk．
B．His eye was suffering from a certain disease．
C．A small piece of coal stuck him in the eye．
D．A piece of metal got into his eye．
60．The writer doesn’t mention but we can infer that Mr．Jameson probably _____．
A．worked in a factory in Chicago
B．worked as a mining engineer in a company
C．was worried about his work on the way to Chicago
D．sold coal in a faraway village
61．How was the coal removed out of Mr．Jameson’s eye?
A．It was taken out by a doctor．
B．A good rest helped it out．
C．He rubbed his eyes slightly．
D．It was washed out by his tears．
62．How can we describe the feeling of Mr．Jameson?
A．Worried ---relaxed B．Excited ---dull
C．Anger---calm．D．Depressed ---nervous．
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，共40分）
第一节（共15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。
We often hear the phrase: “You have a greater chance of being struck by lightning．”It is used to describe something that hasn’t got much chance of happening．However, the common saying undermines（掩盖）the very real dangers of lightning．
Last Friday, at least 5 people were killed by lightning in Nepal（尼泊尔）．
Lightning strikes are the second most common cause of deaths during natural disasters in the US．The first is floods．Around 400 people nationwide are struck by lightning each year, and of those, 70 people die．That is, more people are killed by lightning than by tornadoes and hurricanes．
Because lightning kills only one or two people at a time, its danger does not receive as much attention as other disasters．
“If you hear thunder, you are in danger from lightning, ”said Rocky Lopes, a disaster educator at the American Red Cross．
“Thunder means that lightning is close enough to hit you at any time, so you should move indoors immediately and stay there until the storm has ended．The most important thing to remember is to seek shelter,”Lopes said．
Summer is the peak time for lightning storms, so when lightning strikes across the sky, remember these safety tips:
*Stop working, fishing, swimming or playing in open fields．
*Do not stand under a tree．
*Get off bicycle and motorcycles．
*Crouch down（蹲下）if there is no shelter．
*Avoid open spaces, wire fences, metal objects and electrical objects such as hair driers．
56．Of the people who are struck by lightning each year in the U．S．A．, about ____ people are lucky enough to continue to live．
A．400 B．330 C．70 D．5
57．If you hear the thunder, the most important thing you do is to _____．
A．find shelter to hide in B．stand still in the open spaces
C．stand under a tree D．stop working in the fields
58．Which of the following is NOT true?
A．If you hear the thunder, you needn’t move indoors right away．
B．Fewer than 70 people are killed by tornadoes and hurricanes each year in the U．S．A．
C．People don’t pay as much attention to the danger of lightning as that of floods．
D．Floods are the first most common cause of deaths during natural disasters in the U．S．A．
In 1993, New York State ordered stores to charge money on beverage (饮料) containers. Within a year, consumers had returned millions of aluminum cans and glass and plastic bottles. Plenty of companies were eager to accept the aluminum and glass as raw material for new products, but because few could figure out what to do with the plastic, much of it wound end up buried in landfills (垃圾填埋场). The problem was not limited to New York. Unfortunately, there were too few uses for second-hand plastic.
Today, one out of five plastic soda bottles is recycled in the United States. The reason for the change is that now there are dozens of companies across the country buying discarded (被丢弃的) plastic soda bottles and turning them into fence post, paint brushes, etc.
As the New York experience shows, recycling involves more than simply separating valuable materials from the rest of the rubbish. A discard remains a discard until somebody figures out how to give it a second life — and until economic arrangements exist to give that second life value. Without enough markets to take in materials collected for recycling, throwaways actually reduce prices for used materials.
Fewer landfill space and rising costs for burying and burning rubbish are forcing local governments to look more closely at recycling. In many areas, the East Coast especially, recycling is already the least expensive waste-management choice. For every ton of waste recycled, a city avoids paying for its disposal (清除，处理), which, in parts of New York, amounts to savings of more than $100 per ton. Recycling also stimulates the local economy by creating jobs and reduces the pollution control and energy costs of industries that make recycled products by giving them a better raw material.What regulation was issued by New York State concerning beverage containers?
| A．A fee should be charged on used containers for recycling. |
| B．Throwaways should be collected by the state for recycling. |
| C．Consumers had to pay for beverage containers and could get their money back on returning them. |
| D．Beverage companies should be responsible for collecting and reusing discarded plastic soda bottles. |
The returned plastic bottles in New York used to .
| A． be turned into raw materials |
| B． be separated from other rubbish |
| C． have a second-life value |
| D． end up somewhere underground |
The key problem in dealing with returned plastic beverage containers is .
| A． how to reduce their recycling costs |
| B． to sell them at a profitable price |
| C． how to turn them into useful things |
| D． to lower the prices for used materials |
Recycling has become the first choice for the disposal of rubbish because .
| A． recycling causes little pollution |
| B． other methods are more expensive |
| C． recycling has great appeal for the jobless |
| D． local governments find it easy to manage |
It can be concluded from the passage that .
| A． recycling is to be suggested both economically and environmentally |
| B． local governments in the U. S. can expect big profits from recycling |
| C． rubbish is a potential remedy for the shortage of raw materials |
| D． landfills will still be widely used for waste disposal |
Why should you learn Sign Language? Do you want to improve your communication with a family member or friend who is deaf? Do you want to be able to communicate with deaf people in general? Would you like to advance in your career by being able to communicate in ASL? Do you want to be a Sign Language interpreter?
Sign language is not just a random (随意的) collection of gestures but a full-blown (完全成熟的) language in its own right, complete with its own grammatical rules. Each country or region has its own sign language, as different from each other as English is from Spanish. Each version of sign language is somewhat linked to the spoken language in its region. For example, American sign language does share similarities with English, even though it is its own language.
The advantages of knowing sign language in addition to a spoken language are many. Communication becomes possible on many levels with the deaf community, with other people either hearing or not in any of the above situations, as well as many more.
While other languages take years to learn, American Sign Language can be taught in a much shorter time period. It is one of the easiest languages to learn because most of the signs were developed to mimic the actual word or phrase it is representing. Even the alphabet signs look like the letters of the English alphabet.
American Sign Language, or ASL, is the third most used language in the United States. Used by the deaf community, interpreters, and friends and family of the deaf. There are a lot of sites on the internet that not only shows you the sign with video, but will help you practice reading signs as well.
Teaching even hearing babies sign language seems to be the fashion in recent years and for good reason. Communicating in sign language is fun and natural as babies naturally use body gestures in early communication. Teaching baby sign language actually appears to enhance the learning of verbal skills and brain development of the children involved.Which two regions share similarities in their sign language?
A. Spain and Britain.
B. Mexico and USA.
C. Australia and Canada.
D. Japan and Korea.Sign language ________.
| A．is a collection of gestures |
| B．is easier to learn than English |
| C．is not very popular in USA |
| D．has no link to the spoken language |
One of the reasons for learning sign language is that it ________.
| A．increase self-confidence |
| B．provides more choices of career |
| C．trains brains |
| D．is interesting |
Babies’ learning sign language cannot ________.
| A．help them talk sooner |
| B．help them walk sooner |
| C．increase communication at a very early age |
| D．enrich relationship with parents and the people who take care of them |
Which of the following topics is not discussed in the passage?
| A．What is sign language? |
| B．The advantages of knowing sign language. |
| C．The relation of American sign language and English. |
| D．Ways of learning sign language. |