Turning on the TV, a wonderful scene comes to your eyes—a group of men, tall, strong and handsome, and women, young, beautiful and attractive, too. Together they eat in the finest restaurants, traveling everywhere around the world by luxurious planes and pleasure ships. They are models.
Do you envy them? What sort of life are models leading? Is it a wonderful life for a young lady or a young man?
A few models are well-known actors or actresses who can make a lot of money only by showing themselves off in commercials. But the majority of them are just curious to see what it is like. They’d like to be models just because they are attracted by what they imagine—models earn a lot of money and lead a glorious life. This is true for those who are very successful. However, most models find it difficult to get work. Very few can earn enough to live on, and for all models their expenses are high. Their agents claim about 20% of the earnings, and no model will get very far without a clever agent. Besides, they have to buy good clothing. They also have to pay to travel to interviews and reach the places where the work is to be done.
Interviews for a model job are known as cattle-markets in the modeling world, and not without a good reason. A top model can choose his or her work, demand and receive high fees and has his or her expenses paid. But for most models, the situation is quite different. And agent or employer inspects each model much as a farmer inspects cattle at a market. Intelligence, qualifications and personal characteristics count for little against good looks and tight figures. For all except the very few lucky ones, the life of a model is a continual search for work, trying to sell himself or herself in the face of fierce competition and, sometimes, not particularly moral standards on the part of some employers.
Immigration officials at airport look suspiciously at a girl whose passport shows her occupation as “Model”, and these are men and women of considerable experience of the world. It comes no surprise to find that some models prefer to put “Secretary” or “Businessman” as their jobs in their passports.
Modeling is a changeable world with great rewards for a tiny minority but not for the majority.
1. For models, their good looks and tight figures are ____, compared with their intelligence and qualifications.
A. more important B. less needed C. less essential D. more looked down upon
2. Which of the following can lead you to believe according to the passage?
A. A model’s traveling expenses are usually paid by his employer.
B. To be a model, good looks are the most important qualification.
C. Most models have a fairly easy way of life with high pay.
D. A model can hardly be successful without a good agent.
3. Models often put “Secretary” or “Businessman” instead of “Model” in their passports because ____.
A. they want to avoid being stopped to sign their names by fans
B. a person with the occupation of a model is easily attacked by black societies
C. models are sometimes looked down upon
D. secretaries and businessmen are free of custom duty
4. What may be the author’s attitude towards modeling?
A. It is a worthwhile life for a young lady or a young man.
B. He is in favour of young people to try modeling.
C. Before being crazy about a model job, young people should be aware of the difficulties.
D. It is a field in which everyone has a great chance to succeed.
5. The underlined word “suspiciously” can most probably be replaced by ____.
A. doubtfully B. excitedly C. proudly D. sadly
D
Millions of people around the world cook their food over a smoky fire every day. It is often difficult to find wood for the fire. People who do not have wood must spend large amounts of money on cooking fuel. However, there is a much easier way to cook food using energy from the sun.
Solar cookers, or ovens, have been used for centuries. A Swiss scientist made the first solar oven in 1767. Today, people are using solar cookers in many countries around the world. People use solar ovens to cook food and to heat drinking water to kill bacteria and other harmful organisms.
There are three kinds of solar ovens. The first is a box cooker. It is designed with a special wall that shines or reflects sunlight into the box. Heat gets trapped under a piece of glass or plastic covering the top of the cooker. A box oven is effective for slow cooking of large amounts of food.
The second kind of solar oven is a panel cooker. It includes several flat walls, or panels, that directly reflect the sun’s light onto the food. The food is inside a separate container of plastic or glass that traps heat energy. People can build panel cookers quickly and with very few supplies. They do not cost much. In Kenya, for example, panel cookers are being manufactured for just two dollars.
The third kind of solar oven is a parabolic cooker. It has rounded walls that aim sunlight directly into the bottom of the oven. Food cooks quickly in parabolic ovens. However, these cookers are hard to make. They must be re-aimed often to follow the sun. Parabolic cookers can also cause burns and eye injuries if they are not used correctly.
You can make solar ovens from boxes or heavy paper. They will not catch fire. Paper burns at two hundred thirty-two degrees Celsius. A solar cooker never gets that hot. Solar ovens cook food at low temperatures over long periods of time. This permits people to leave food to cook while they do other things.
63. Which kind of solar cookers is the best choice for the poor?
A. a box cooker B. a panel cooker C. parabolic D. above all
64. What does the bold word “parabolic” mean in paragraph 5?
A. a curve of rising and falling B. rhombic(菱形的) C. square D. triangular
65. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Solar cooker is a new kind of cooker.
B. If we want to cook quickly, we should choose a parabolic cooker.
C. We should be careful with solar cooker for it may cause fire.
D. Solar cooker is not a good choice for people in England.
66. We can infer that ________.
A. Solar cookers all can cause burns and eye injuries.
B. Solar cookers are environmentally friendly.
C. A solar cooker can get as hot as 232 ℃.
D. A solar cooker is a good choice for people all over the world.
C
China’s emergence has made it “hugely important” for American students to be fluent in Mandarin according to Margaret Spellings, US education secretary.
Spellings made the remark after she signed a new memorandum of understanding with China’s ministry of education late last week to expand language and academic exchanges.
“It’s in their［US students’］ interest to come and learn from and about China and the Chinese people.” she said. “You can buy in any language but you have to sell in the language of the buyer.”
Research supported by the US state department has found the number of Americans studying in China jumped 35 percent in 2004—05 over the previous university year. Spellings said her agency would work to continue the trend.
According to the Chinese ministry，10, 340 Americans studied in China last year, a smaller cohort than the 54, 080 from South Korea or 18, 870 from Japan.
The Bush administration plans to spend $114m in 2007 to fund its national security language initiative, which aims to increase drastically the number of Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Hindi and Farsi speakers in the US.
The US state department estimates that 200, 000 Americans study abroad each year, a significantly smaller group than the 550, 000 students from around the world who go to the states for an education.
Of those studying in the US, 62, 580, or roughly 11 percent of the total，came from Chinese mainland this past school year. China is second only to India, which sent 76, 500 students to the US, as a source of students for US schools．
Spellings said that the Bush administration was now working to make visa application procedures “easier and more transparent” to encourage international students.
59. What’s the best title of the passage?
A. China’s emergence B. A research from the US
C. Learning Mandarin D. US attaches importance to Mandarin speakers
60. The underlined words “her agency” in the fourth paragraph refer to ____.
A. her personal agencyB. the US Department of Education
C. the US state department D. the Bush administration
61. Which country did the largest number of students who studied in China last year come from according to the passage?
A. India. B. South Korea. C. Japan. D. The US.
62. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. It is China’s emergence that has made it important for American students to learn Chinese.
B. The US is taking measures to encourage more international students.
C. The national security language initiative in the US aims to increase the number of international students from China, Arabian countries, Russia and so on.
D. The number of American students studying abroad is much smaller than that of students from around the world studying in the States every year.
B
People have always had to find ways to keep food safe to eat. Methods to dry, smoke and salt food were invented thousands of years ago. The process of canning is much more recent. This storage method keeps food safe to eat for long periods of time. Today, canning is one of the most popular methods of storing food.
Canning uses heat to kill bacteria and other micro-organisms that cause poisons to form in food. Canning also takes away the air that these organisms need to live. One popular method of canning uses a water bath.
Clean fruits or vegetables are placed in glass bottles. The food can be put into the bottles either hot or cold. The cold method is used for soft fruits and vegetables that could lose their shape or taste. Firmer fruits and most vegetables are usually cooked. They take up less space in the bottles. After the food has been placed in glass bottles, boiling water is poured into the bottles to about three centimeters below the top. Then covers are placed on the bottles, but are not turned all the way. The bottles are placed in a large container filled with warm water that is then brought to a boil. The water must completely cover the bottles, from three to five centimeters over the top. When the water boils, any air in the bottles will be expelled. The boiling continues for several minutes. Then the bottles are allowed to cool. Finally, they are placed briefly into cold water. This makes a strong barrier to keep the air out. In other words, a vacuum is created. When the bottles are completely cool, notes can be placed on them to identify what is inside. The bottles can then be stored in a cool, dark place at a temperature of between four and twenty-one degrees Celsius.
Canning allows your family to enjoy foods that might not come fresh throughout the year. It is also a good way to store food for six months to a year, or even several years, in case of an emergency. It does not cost much to continue canning every year once the equipment has been purchased.
You can get more information about canning food from the group, Volunteers in Technical Assistance. VITA is on the Internet at vita.org.
55. Which of the following is the right order of canning food?
a. put bottles in warm water. b. place notes on the bottles.
c. place bottles briefly into cold water d. pour boiling water into bottles
A. d a c b B. a b c d C. b d c a D. a d c b
56. According to the text, which of the following is right?
A. The way to can food has been found by ancient Chinese.
B. Canning uses water to kill bacteria.
C. Hard fruits are suitable for cold method.
D. The boiling water will take away the air in the bottle.
57. What does the word “vacuum” mean in the – paragraph?
A. a missing situation B. a gap C. an enclosed space without air D. a hole
58. what’s the best title of the text?
A. The advantages of canning food.
B. Canning food and health.
C. Put fruits and vegetables into cans.
D. How to make canning food.
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题。每小题2分，满分40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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Events took place around the world last week to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The March eighth observance came as thousands of delegates from one hundred thirty countries met at the United Nations in New York. They discussed progress on a plan of action for women's equality. The document was approved ten years ago at a conference in Beijing.
It calls for improved health care for women, along with economic and political gains. It also calls for efforts to reduce human rights violations against women.
In Asia last Tuesday, there were demonstrations against unfair treatment of women.
In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a Conference of Women Leaders. Laura Bush, the president's wife, spoke at the event which had representatives from fifteen Muslim nations. The first lady praised recent political gains for Muslim women.
In Afghanistan, for example, President Hamid Karzai has appointed the first female governor of a province. In Iraq, women hold almost one-third of the 249 seats in the newly elected National Assembly. And Missus Bush noted that nearly half the voters in the Palestinian presidential election were women.
International Women’s Day began in nineteen ten in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was designed to build support for voting rights for women worldwide. Missus Bush noted that it took American women many years to be recognized as full citizens with the right to vote.
Last week, just before International Women Day's, hundreds of women and men demonstrated in Kuwait to demand the right for women to vote. The government urged parliament to act quickly to debate such reforms.
Also last Monday, Human Rights Watch released a report on sexual violence by soldiers and members of armed groups in eastern Congo. The New York-based group says tens of thousands of women and young girls have been raped and beaten. Yet it says almost all the crimes have gone without punishment.
51．According to the text, which of the following statements is true?
A. The document on women’s equality has not been approved yet.
B. Muslim women’s rights have been improved.
C. Palestinian women are totally equal now.
D. Kuwait women urged government to reform.
52. About how many women have been elected into National Assembly?
A. 166 B. 83 C. 249 D. 124
53. You can most probably read the text in ________.
A. a textbook B. a magazine C. a newspaper D. a biology book
54. What’s the best title of the text?
A. International Women’s Day
B. Women’s equal rights
C. How to ensure women’s equal rights
D. How do people celebrate International Women’s Day
E
Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers urged, "Barbara, be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience." How right they were! Enthusiastic people can turn a boring drive into an adventure, extra work into opportunity and strangers into friends.
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste that helps you hang in there when the going gets tough. It is the inner voice that whispers, "I can do it!" when others shout, "No, you can't!" It took years and years for the early work of Barbara McClintock, a geneticist（遗传学家）who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted. Yet she didn't let up on her experiments. Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought of stopping.
We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder and it is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such a youthful air, whatever their age. At 90, cellist Pablo Casals would start his day by playing Bach（巴赫）. As the music flowed through his fingers, his bent shoulders would straighten and joy would reappear in his eyes. As author and poet Samuel once wrote, "Years wrinkle（使生皱纹）the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."
Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money, title or power. Patricia Mallrath, retired director of the Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City, was once asked where she got her enthusiasm. She replied, "My father, a lawyer, long ago told me, I never made a penny until I stopped working for money."
If we cannot do what we love as a full-time career, we can do it as a hobby. Elizabeth Layton of Wellsville, Kan, was 68 before she began to draw. This activity ended her depression（抑郁）that had troubled her for at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic to say, "I am persuaded to call Layton a genius."
We can't afford to waste tears on "might-have-beens". We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after "what-can-be." We need to live each moment whole-heartedly, with all our senses-finding pleasure in the sweet smell of a backyard garden, the simple picture of a six-year-old, and the beauty of a rainbow.
67. Which of the following can best explain the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?
A. Enthusiasm can give you courage and strength in difficult times.
B. If you don't have enthusiasm, you can achieve nothing.
C. Enthusiastic people never consider money and fame.
D. Enthusiastic people can gain great fame and honor.
68. The author mentions cellist Pablo Casals in the third paragraph to show that ________.
A. music can arouse people's enthusiasm
B. enthusiasm can give people inspiration needed to succeed
C. enthusiasm can make people feel young
D. enthusiasm can keep people healthy
69. How many examples are given in the passage to show the importance of enthusiasm?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five.
70. The author holds the view that ________.
A. enthusiastic people will never get old
B. enthusiasm can make you succeed and enjoy life
C. enthusiasm is more important than experience
D. enthusiasm can give people more success and fame