Ⅲ.阅读(共两节,满分40分)
阅读理解(共15小题;每小2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks,
And at restaurants did not take her seriously ,did not give her good service ,pretended not to
Understand her ,or even acted as if they did not hear her .
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs.Tan..”
And my mother was standing beside me ,whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week lone.”
And then , in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs.Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.
1.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?
A.She was unable to speak good English.
B.She was often misunderstood.
C.She was not clearly heard.
D.She was not very polite.
2.From Paragorph 2, we know that the author was____________.
A.good a pretending
B.rude to the stockbroker
C.ready to help her mother
D.unwilling to phone for her mother
3.After the author made the phone call, __________
A.they forgave the stockbroker
B.they failed to get the check
C.they went to New York immediately
D.they spoke to their boss at once
4.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
A.It confuses her.
B.It embarrasses her.
C.It helps her understand the world.
D.It helps her tolerate rude people.
5.We can inter from the passage that Chinese English__________.
A.is clear and natural to non-native speakers
B.is vivid and direct to non-native speakers
C.has a verv bad reputation in America
D.may bring inconvenience in America
You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It’s the idea that if children or even babies listen to music composed by Mozart, they will become more intelligent. A quick Internet search exposes plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age there are CDs and books to help you taste the power of Mozart’s music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed.
The phrase “the Mozart effect” was made up in 1991, but it was a study described two years later in the journal Nature that sparked(激发) real media and public interest about the idea that listening to classical music somehow improves the brain. It is one of those ideas that sound reasonable. Mozart was undoubtedly a genius himself; his music is complex and there is a hope that if we listen to enough of it, we’ll become more intelligent.
The idea took off, with thousands of parents playing Mozart to their children, and in 1998 Zell Miller, the Governor of the state of Georgia in the US, even asked for money to be set aside in the state budget so that every newborn baby could be sent a CD of classical music. It was not just babies and children who were exposed to Mozart’s music on purpose, even an Italian farmer proudly explained that the cows were played Mozart three times a day to help them to produce better milk.
I’ll leave the debate on the effect on milk yield to farmers, but what about the evidence that listening to Mozart makes people more intelligent? More research was carried out but an analysis of sixteen different studies confirmed that listening to music does lead to a temporary improvement in the ability to handle shapes mentally, but the benefits are short-lived and it doesn’t make us more intelligent.What can we learn from paragraph 1?
A.Mozart composed many musical pieces for children. |
B.Children listening to Mozart will be more intelligent. |
C.There are few products on the Internet about Mozart’s music. |
D.There is little scientific evidence to support Mozart effect. |
Why did many people believe in the idea of Mozart Effect?
A.Because a study described it in the journal Nature. |
B.Because Mozart himself was a genius. |
C.Because Mozart’s music is enjoyable. |
D.Because Mozart’s music makes people relaxed. |
The underlined sentence in paragraph3 suggests that .
A.people were strongly against the idea |
B.the idea was accepted by many people |
C.Mozart played an important part in people’s life |
D.the US government helped promote the idea |
What is the author’s attitude towards the Mozart effect?
A.Favorable | B.Objective |
C.Doubtful | D.Positive |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Listening to Mozart, necessary? |
B.What music is beneficial? |
C.What is the Mozart effect? |
D.To be or not to be? |
Dear Maya Shao-ming,
To me, June 6, 1990 is a special day. My long-awaited dream came true the minute your father cried, "A girl!" You are more than just a second child, more than just a girl to match our boy. You, little daughter, are the link to our female line, the legacy of another woman's pain and sacrifice 31 years ago.
Let me tell you about your Chinese grandmother. Somewhere in Hong Kong, in the late fifties, a young waitress found herself pregnant (怀孕) by a cook, probably a co-worker at her restaurant. She carried the baby to term, suffered to give it birth, and kept the little girl for the first three months of her life. I like to think that my mother—your grandmother—loved me and fought to raise me on her own, but that the daily struggle was too hard. Worn down by the demands of the new baby and perhaps the constant threat of starvation, she made the painful decision to give away her girl so that both of us might have a chance for a better life.
More likely, I was dropped at the orphanage (M JLR) steps or somewhere else. I will probably never know the truth. Having a baby in her unmarried state would have brought shame on the family in China, so she probably kept my existence a secret. Once I was out of her life, it was as if I had never been born. And so you and your brother and I are the missing leaves on a family tree.
Do they ever wonder if we exist?
Before I was two, I was adopted by an Anglo couple. Fed three square meals a day, I grew like a wild weed and grasped all the opportunities they had to offer—books, music, education, church life and community activities. In a family of blue-eyed blonds, though, I stood out like a sore thumb. Whether from jealousy or fear of someone who looked so different, my older brothers sometimes teased me about my unpleasing skin, or made fun of my clumsy walk. Moody and impatient, burdened by fears that none of us realized resulted from my early years of need, I was not an easy child to love. My mother and I conflicted countless times over the years, but gradually came to see one another as real human beings with faults and talents, and as women of strength in our own right. Lacking a mirror image in the mother who raised me, I had to seek my identity as a woman on my own. The Asian American community has helped me regain my double identity.
But part of me will always be missing: my beginnings, my personal history, all the delicate details that give a person her origin. Nevertheless, someone gave me a lucky name "Siu Wai." "Siu" means "little," and "Wai means "clever." Therefore, my baby name was "Clever little one." Who chose those words? Who cared enough to note my arrival in the world?
I lost my Chinese name for 18 years. It was Americanized for convenience to "Sue." But like an ill-fitting coat, it made me uncomfortable. I hated the name. But even more, I hated being Chinese. It took many years to become proud of my Asian origin and work up the courage to take back my birth-name. That, plus a little knowledge of classroom Cantonese, is all the Chinese culture I have to offer you. Not white, certainly, but not really Asian, I try to pave(铺) the way between the two worlds and bridge the gap for you. Your name, "Shao-ming," is very much like mine—"Shao" means "little." And "ming" is "bright," as in a shining sun or moon. Whose lives will you brighten, little Maya? Your past is more complete than mine, and each day I cradle you in your babyhood, generously giving you the loving care I lacked for my first two years. When I pat you, I comfort the lost baby inside me who still cries for her mother.
Sweet Maya, it doesn't matter what you "become" later on. You have already fulfilled my wildest dreams.
I love you,
Mommy Why is June 6. 1990 a special day for Mommy?
A.Her dream of being a mother came true. |
B.She found her origin from her Chinese mother. |
C.She wrote the letter to her daughter. |
D.Her female line was well linked. |
How does Mommy feel about her being given away?
A.It is bitter and disappointing. |
B.It is painful but understandable. |
C.She feels sorry but pitiful. |
D.She feels hurt and angry. |
What does "I stood out like a sore thumb" in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.I walked clumsily out of pains. |
B.I was not easy to love due to jealousy. |
C.I was impatient out of fear. |
D.I looked different from others. |
What can be inferred from Mommy's Anglo family life?
A.She used to experience an identity crisis. |
B.She fought against her American identity. |
C.She forgot the pains of her early years. |
D.She kept her love for Asia from childhood. |
Why did Mommy name her daughter "Shao-ming?"
A.To match her own birth-name. |
B.To brighten the lives of the family. |
C.To identify her with Chinese origin. |
D.To justify her pride in Chinese culture. |
By "Your past is more complete than mine," Mommy means .
A.her past was completed earlier than Shao-ming's |
B.Shao-ming has got motherly care and a sense of roots |
C.her mother didn't comfort her the way she did Shao-ming |
D.her past was spent brokenly, first in Asia, then in the US |
Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity — or extreme overweight — among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% — and is growing.In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola?
A.They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently. |
B.They squeeze eating between the other daily activities. |
C.They regard eating as a key part of their lifestyles. |
D.They usually eat too much canned and frozen food. |
This text is mainly the relationship between _____.
A.Americans and the French |
B.life style and obesity |
C.children and adults |
D.fast food and overweight |
The text is mainly developed _____.
A.by contrast | B.by space |
C.by process | D.by classification |
Where does this text probably come from?
A.A TV interview | B.A food advertisement |
C.A health report | D.A book review |
It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth (收费站). “I’m paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”
It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice random(随意的) kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.
Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she’d taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “like a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn’t know where it came from or what it really meant.
Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.
“Here’s the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies(想象) include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”
The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!Why did Natalie Smith pay for the six cars behind her?
A.She knew the car drivers well. |
B.She wanted to show kindness. |
C.She hoped to please others. |
D.She had seven tickets. |
Judy Foreman copied down the phrase because she .
A.thought it was beautifully written |
B.wanted to know what it really meant |
C.decided to write it on a warehouse wall |
D.wanted her husband to put it up in the classroom |
Who came up with the phrase according to the passage?
A.Judy Foreman. | B.Natalie Smith. |
C.Alice Johnson. | D.Anne Herbert. |
Which of the following statements is closest in the meaning to the underlined sentence above?
A.Kindness and violence can change the world. |
B.Kindness and violence can affect one’s behavior. |
C.Kindness and violence can reproduce themselves. |
D.Kindness and violence can shape one’s character. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.People should practice random kindness to those in need. |
B.People who receive kindness are likely to offer it to others. |
C.People should practice random kindness to strangers they meet. |
D.People who receive kindness are likely to pay it back to the giver. |
Since the beginning of the year, smog(雾霾) has covered parts of North China. In January, Beijing saw only five days without smog. The rising PM2.5 readings terrified many people, and some health experts said that whenever the smog gets serious, hospitals receive more patients suffering acute respiratory (呼吸系统) and heart diseases.
Later, news of polluted underground water in some provinces scared people who wondered whether the water they drink is safe.
So the need to emphasize environmental protection while developing the economy is heard everywhere.
Smog is especially a common concern. As a popular online post said, air may be the only thing that is equal for everyone, despite your income or profession. People with higher incomes are able to drink only bottled spring water and eat only organic food by paying higher prices, but they breathe the same air as everyone else.
At a meeting on Monday, many representatives have expressed their concerns about the air quality, too. One talked about his experience in Beijing. “After taking a taxi from the capital airport to my hotel, which took about an hour, I washed my nose and found the inside of my nose was black. We should ask ourselves this question: Why do we want to develop? It's for living a better life. Dirty air is definitely not a better life,” he said.
China needs to develop its economy and invest (投资) in hightech. Every Chinese has a dream to make China stronger. But without blue sky, clean water and safe food, the achievements in the economy will become meaningless. Space technologies are not to be developed for building a base on Mars so that one day all human beings can move to the red planet because they have destroyed Earth.
What the public wants is a strong and beautiful China. The great efforts must be made to promote ecological progress and build a beautiful China. The words have shown the central government's determination to address the environment issue.The effect of smog doesn't include ________.
A.the increase of people's income |
B.more people suffering diseases |
C.the rising of PM2. 5 readings |
D.patients increased in hospital |
Why has smog become a common concern? ________
A.Because people have to pay higher prices. |
B.Because a popular onlinepost discussed it. |
C.Because we have to develop industry. |
D.Because nobody can avoid it. |
To make China stronger we have to develop economy, but ________.
A.we have to sacrifice air as the price |
B.the smog is the only by product |
C.ecological progress can be ignored |
D.the dirty air is not what we want |
The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refers to ______.
A.space technologies | B.other planets |
C.human beings | D.industrial development |
From the last two paragraphs we can infer that ________.
A.hightech can completely solve the problem of pollution |
B.we must protect the environment while developing economy |
C.we can move to Mars after the earth has been destroyed |
D.space technologies should be developed in a large scale |