第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
A teenager says he convinced the White House that he was Iceland’ s president and managed to schedule a call with George W.Bush , but was found out before he got to talk to the US president.
“My call was transferred around a few times until I got hold of Bush’s secretary and managed to book a call meeting with Bush the following Monday evening ,” Vifill Atlaso, 16, told Reuters.
Several Icelandic police turned up at his door two days later---the day of the planned call---and took him in for questioning.
“They told me the CIA had called the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police and asked if the police could try and find out where I received that phone number from,” said Atlason.
The teenager said he was unable to recall where he had discovered the telephone number of the White House.
“I know I’v had it on my phone card for at least four years now and that an Icelandic friend gave it to me, but I don’t remember who,”he said.
At a White House news conference on Monday, Bush’s spokeswoman Dana Perino said her understanding was that Atlason had called a public line “that anybody can call”, according to a transcript(记录).
Jon Buartmarz, Chief Superintendent at Iceland’s national police headquarters, said Icelandic police had not spoken to their US counterparts about the matter. He declinced(拒绝) to say how police were tipped off (通告) about Atlason’s call.
“As far as we’re concerned, there will not be any further investigation, and I don’t know if the American government is taking any action because of this,”he said.
1.According to the passage, when did Atlason call the White House ?
A.On Friday B. On Saturday C. On Sunday D. On Monday
2.What does the underlined “it ”refer to ?
A.The telephone number of the White House.
B.The telephone number of his friend.
C.A White House news conference .
D.CIA
3.How did Atlason get the telephone number of the White House ?
A.From a newspaper
B.From Bush’s secertary
C.From an Icelandic friend
D.By calling the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police.
4.What is the main idea of the article ?
A.An Icelandic teenager tricks the the White House
B.CIA found out the truth of a trick.
C.A teenager pretended to be the Icelandic president.
D.The telephone number of the Whiite House is known by public.
For many people, the name Baskin-Robbins is connected to sweet memories of eating ice cream. Irvine Robbins, who helped create this famous company, died in May at the age of ninety. His career of making fun and exciting ice cream flavors (口味) changed the way Americans enjoy this food.
Irvine Robbins opened his first ice cream store in 1945 in California. At the time, there were no stores that sold only ice cream. His sister’s husband, Burton Baskin, also opened his own ice cream stores.
In 1948 they combined their six stores into one business. Baskin and Robbins realized that they were too busy to operate each store well. So, they decided to sell part of each operation to the manager of that store. This permitted the company to grow quickly.
By 1953, they renamed their company Baskin-Robbins. They advertised that they sold 31 kinds of ice cream to show the many choices buyers had. There was one flavor for every day of the month.
Robbins and Baskin sold “Lunar Cheesecake (月亮奶酪)” the day after astronauts landed on the moon in 1969. Other flavors included “ChaChaCha”, for cherry chocolate chip, and Robbins’ personal favorite “Jamoca Almond Fudge”. They said, “We sell fun, not just ice cream.”
By 1967, there were 500 Baskin-Robbins stores in the United States. The business partners sold their company that year. Today, there are more than 5,800 Baskin-Robbins stores around the world.It can most deeply remain in Americans’ good memories that Baskin-Robbins ___.
| A．launched joyful varieties of ice cream |
| B．purchased much more than ice cream |
| C．combined many stores into a company |
| D．advertised their varieties of ice cream |
Which is the correct order of the events?
| a. Lunar Cheesecake went on the market b. The company got its new name Baskin-Robbins c. Baskin-Robbins sold its company d. Six ice cream stores belonged together |
A. d-b-c-a B. a-b-c-d
C. d-b-a-c D. a-d-c-bAccording to the 5th paragraph, one particular of Baskin-Robbins is that ______.
| A．it struggled for a large size of the company |
| B．its brands actually depended on top quality |
| C．it attempted to develop more chain stores |
| D．its brands closely followed the hot events |
Baskin-Robbins enjoyed its good business essentially due to ______.
| A．the friendly manners | B．the creative ideas |
| C．the unusual efforts | D．the powerful ads |
By the story, the author seems to be suggesting readers: “______”
| A．Explore your new ways! | B．Double your efforts! |
| C．Depend on yourself! | D．Trust your partner! |
Just the mention of the TOEFL, GRE and GAMT exams brings a thought of long hours of dull paper work. But that idea is becoming increasingly out of date. As planned, computerized tests will begin next year which will bring a series of changes from test psychology to scoring techniques.
From computer - equipped rooms, examinees will answer the questions on a computer. If they are sure about their choices, they can pass to the next question by pressing the entry(条目) “next”. Then another question will be randomly(任意地)selected from a vast test item bank and appear on the screen. After answering all the questions, examinees can choose the entry “quit” if they are not satisfiedwith their performance, or “score” if they want to see the result. Scores will be calculated immediately and appear on the screen. By that point, student's marks are official--there is no going back.
Since they greatly shorten the painful waiting process-which used to be two or three months, computerized tests have won worldwide popularity. Besides, there will be no rushing to the registration offices( 登记处)for these exams. Computerized tests will be given every workday in an exam center with all three kinds of tests being held in the same room. All test takers need to do is to call the exam center and book their seats for a particular day.
In addition it will become technically possible to apply new testing procedures. In the past，each examinee had the same set of test items despite differences in their ability. Under a computerized system, however, if the computer judges an answer is right, a question of a relatively difficult nature will follow. But if an examinee continues to give wrong answers and is judged as un-qualified by the computer system, he will be automatically denied the chance to go further in the test. Computerized tests allow the examinee to know their scores.
| A．immediately on a central computer for scoring test papers |
| B．a few minutes after the exam with the help of a test center worker |
| C．on the next day after they have taken the exam |
| D．immediately after the exam by means of the same computer |
If an examinee is not satisfied with his performance .
| A．he can admit defeat and give it up |
| B．he can ask the computer to give some advice |
| C．he can ask another chance within a few days |
| D．he is allowed to do it once again |
Under a computerized system, all of the following would be possible except that.
| A．different exams can be taken in the same room |
| B．one doesn’t need to rush to the registration officer for taking an exam |
| C．it will be much easier to pass an examination |
| D．one can take an exam almost at any time of the year |
The word “denied” in the last sentence most probably means .
| A．refused | B．allowed | C．lost | D．passed |
The rise in smartphones（智能手机）among young people may be having a direct effect on how successful they become as adults.
Research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has discovered the average university student checks their phones 11 times per lesson, and more than 80 percent believe this tech addiction is interfering with(干扰) their learning.
A quarter of students across five U.S states also blamed poor grades in exams specifically on the fact they used mobile devices（设备） when they should have been concentrating and revising - and these grades could determine the jobs they end up going into.
Barney McCoy, an associate professor of broadcasting at the university, surveyed 777 students at six universities across five states about how they used digital devices in the classroom.
The students were from UNL and the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Nebraska, Morningside College in Iowa, the University of North Carolina, the University of Kansas and the University of Mississippi.
Around two thirds said they used phones, tablets and laptops for “non-classroom purposes” up to ten times during a typical university day, while 15 percent admitted this figure was closer to 30 times.
Among the top reasons why students checked their devices so regularly were staying connected and fighting boredom, at 55 percent. Less than half said the devices were used for classwork.
Texting was the most popular distraction（注意力分散） technique at 86 percent, while 68 percent said they used their phones to check personal emails. Two thirds used social networks, 38 percent surfed the web and eight percent admitted to playing games when they should have been studying.
Despite eight out of ten students admitting their devices were distracting, fewer than five percent considered it to be a “very big” distraction.
“I don’t think students necessarily think it’s a big problem,” said McCoy said. “They think it’s part of their lives.”
“It’s become automatic behavior on the part of so many people - they do it without even thinking about it.”
He continued, “They’ve got their laptops open, but they’re not always taking notes. Some might have two screens open -- Facebook and their notes.”The majority of the students think that using smartphones _________ .
| A．helps to improve their grades. |
| B．contributed to their poor grades. |
| C．has a bad effect on their studies. |
| D．determines their jobs in the future. |
How many students surveyed used digital devices for “non-classroom purposes” about 30 times during a day?
| A．About 518 | B．About 116 | C．About 427 | D．Less than 388 |
_________ was the most popular form of distraction.
| A．Texting | B．playing games | C．surfing the web | D．Checking personal emails |
The text is most likely to be found in a section about _________ .
| A．successful people | B．political systems |
| C．science and technology | D．historical events |
I have had just about enough of being treated like a second–class citizen, simply because I happen to be that put–upon member of society ---- a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I'm convinced that things are being run only to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a harmful new motto for so–called “service” organizations ---- Staff Before Service.
How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the post office or the supermarket because there weren’t enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles (栅门) of checkout counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to employ cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that enshrouding all their cash registers at any one time would increase overheads(operating cost). And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service grilles to be occupied “at times when demand is low.”
It’s the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is curtailed. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There’s also the nonsense of so many so friendly hotel night porters(行李员) having been dismissed in the interests of “efficiency” and replaced by coin guzzling machines. Not to mention the coldness of the tea–making kit in your room: a kettle with an assortment of teabags, plastic milk cartons and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I don't, especially when I am paying for “service”.The writer feels that nowadays a customer is ____.
| A．one who is well served |
| B．unworthy of proper consideration |
| C．classified by society as lower-ranking |
| D．the victim of modern service |
In the writer’s opinion, the quality of service is changing because ____.
| A．the customer’s demands have changed |
| B．the organizations receive more consideration than the customers |
| C．the customers’ needs have increased |
| D．the staff are less considerate than their employers |
According to the writer, long queues at counters are caused by ____.
| A．difficulties in employing staff |
| B．improper staffing arrangements |
| C．staff being made lazy |
| D．lack of co–operation between the staff |
The disappearance of old–style hotel porters can be attributed to the fact that ____.
| A．few people are willing to do this type of work |
| B．machines are more reliable than human beings |
| C．the personal touch is less appreciated nowadays |
| D．automation has provided cheaper choices |
If you are a wealthy resident of India, madly in love and planning your big fat wedding—or being pressured into arranged marriage—Thailand wants you to exchange vows（誓言） in Bangkok, Phuket or elsewhere in this "wedding Paradise（乐园）".
This wedding business starts from overseas with the Indians. Thai embassies in India give quick services for the visas. Not only the couples, you can bring anyone, say, your own cook. So, feel free to invite hundreds of your friends and relatives.
Why would Indians want to spend so much on weddings in Thailand? Because they have similarities in religion. When Indian weddings want to have some religious prayer for the couples, Thailand can do that. But the more obvious appeal are Thailand's fancy hotels, tropical islands, and delicious Thai food, allowing newlyweds to include a honeymoon in Thailand after they say "I do" while their guests also celebrate on a holiday here. But on the other hand, love does have a price.
Kasu Rajagopal arranged for his daughter to have a wedding in Phuket. They arranged entertainment to begin three days before the wedding, because guests' arrival time varied. Yachts were chartered to take guests to small islands, while a DJ, flown in from Bangalore, India, was booked to help them dance in the evening. Kasu also arranged priests for the Hindu wedding, and cooks to prepare Indian food. The approximate costs are around half a million U. S. dollars, including the airfares, hotel accommodation, food, transportation, the yachts on hire and the wedding ceremony expenses, for 225 to 250 guests.
Thailand wants to make itself a wedding paradise for all couples, not just from India, but from around the world. Last year, there were around 500 to 600 couples from China, and the numbers are slowly coming up. Westerners also arrive to get married, but in much smaller numbers. What is the main reason why the Indians would go to Thailand for weddings?
| A．They will be pressured into arranged married in India. |
| B．India shares the same religion as Thailand. |
| C．Thailand offers them more than just a wedding ceremony. |
| D．Guests are not satisfied with Indian weddings. |
We can learn from the passage that____.
| A．guests do not need visas to get into Thailand |
| B．changing vows is a necessary step for an Indian wedding |
| C．islands are people's first honeymoon destination choice |
| D．some Indians prefer the food prepared by their own cooks |
Kasu Rajagopal's example in the fourth paragraph shows____.
| A．it may cost you a fortune to have such a wedding |
| B．you can bring whatever you want to Thailand |
| C．what Thailand offers hardly satisfies customers' needs |
| D．there are quite a few activities after the wedding |
It can be predicted that____.
| A．cost of weddings in Thailand will be reduced |
| B．more people will get married in Thailand |
| C．fewer westerners will have Thai weddings |
| D．Chinese will be Thailand's No. l customers |