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、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It was the old lady’s eightieth birthday. She was sure Mary would not forget her mother’s birthday, even if she was busy. After all, eighty was a special birthday. Perhaps Mary might come. Even if Mary didn’t come, she would send her a present. The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of colour brightened her cheeks. She was excited like a child.
Mrs. Morrison had brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake. John, the little boy next door, was now up with her with a pack of sweets.
“I guess you will get lots and lots of presents,” he said, “I did last week when I was seven.”
What would she like? A pair of slippers, perhaps. A table lamp or a little clock, with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.
She stood by the window, watching. The postman turned round the corner on his bike. Her heart beast fast. John had seen him too and ran to the gate.
“Granny, granny,” John returned. “I have got your post!”
He gave her four envelopes. Three were from old friends. The fourth was in Mary’s writhing.
“No parcel (包裹), John?”
“No, Granny.”
Almost reluctantly, she tore the fourth envelope open. Folded in the card was a check. Written on the card was a message: Happy Birthday—Buy yourself something nice with the check, Mary and Harold.
The six-figure check fell to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady bent to pick it up. Her present, her lovely present. With trembling fingers, she tore it into little bits.
1. The old lady felt _____ when she saw no packet came with her daughter’s card.
A. excited B. happy C. disappointed D. impatient
2. We can infer from the passage that______ .
A. the old lady lived alone in a flat away from her daughter
B. the friends sent the old lady many lovely presents by post
C. Mary was stopped by her husband from seeing her mother
D. the neighbors cared little about the old lady in daily life
3. The reason why the old lady tore the check into small pieces was that______ .
A. she was sure her daughter would come, not the check.
B. she didn’t notice there were six figures on the check.
C. she didn’t think the check was large enough for a present.
D. she would prefer a present with love from her daughter.
4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. The Present B. The Check C. The Birthday D. The Daughter
B
The following are the results of the tests done by “Family and Home Magazine” on some Pocket Tape-Recorders on the market now.
Pearlcorder S702 $64
This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording. Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn’t turn off automatically.
Tape length: 30minutes per side. Weight: 240g.
Sony M9 $49.95
Small and very good looking, Sony’s latest offering scored most for its appearance. Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise. The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on other tape-recorders. It doesn’t switch off automatically, but a red light shows if the machine is still running.
Tape length: 60minutes per side. Weight: 195g.
Sony M400 $115
Lots of little control buttons that make a noise are difficult to use. Recording is good but machine noise loses points. Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape has finished recording or rewinding are useful.
Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 230g.
Imperial OEM MC7 $ 29.95
Cheap and simple compared with the rest, but recording is good as long as there is no background noise. Use only its own-make of cassette. No light to show it is on; no fast-forward button and the record button makes a loud noise.
Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 285g.
Philips 585 $80
Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5 cm-designed for dictation. No recording light.
Tape length: 15 minutes per side. Weight: 220g.
46. The machine that produces the best recording with the least unwanted noise is __.
A. Pearlcorder S 702 B. Sony M9
C. Sony M400 D. Imperial OEM MC7
47. If you want a machine which turns off automatically and weighs very little you should choose _____.
A. Pearlcorder S 702 B. Sony M9 C. Sony M400 D. Philips 585
48. Which of the following allows you to record longest but costs you least?
A. Philips 585B. Imperial OEM MC7 C. Sony M400D. Sony M9
第二部分：阅读理解 (共45分)
第一节（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
A
If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years, you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial crisis. From there, you might move on to the automakers in Detroit.
But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee(被提名): public education.
At its top level, the American system of higher education may be the best in the world. Yet in terms of its core mission(核心使命)---turning teenagers into educated college graduates--- much of the system is failing.
The United States does a good job enrolling (招生) teenagers in college, but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree.
So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis in the world’s largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called “Crossing the Finish Line” tries to do precisely that. Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael McPherson, and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chingos. The first problem they diagnose is something they call under-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into. They instead go to a less selective one, perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive. About half of the low-income students with an average of at least 3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. “I was really astonished by the degree to which well-qualified students from poor families under-matched,” said Mr. Bowen.
In fact, well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates. Meanwhile, lower-income students -–even when they are better qualified—often go to colleges that excel（擅长）in producing drop-outs. “It’s really a waste,” Mr. Bowen said, “and a big problem for the country.” As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working-class students. Instead, it appears to have fallen.
What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer.
41.Which of the following would people first think of as a factor responsible for the American financial crisis according to this passage?
A. The government. B. Public education
C. The Detroit automakers. D. The Wall Street firms.
42. What is a big problem with American higher education?
A. It is hard to enroll enough students into college.
B. Many colleges are experiencing low rate of graduation.
C. Many college students stay away from classes.
D. It is hard for many colleges to get financial aid from the government.
43. The title of the book Crossing the Finish Line probably means______.
A. running to the end of the line B. going to college
C. finishing college education D. working hard in college
44. Why do some students under--match ?
A. Because they have financial difficulty. B. Because they face ambition crisis.
C. Because they lack confidence. D. Because they can’t get guidance.
45. The passage is mainly about _______.
A. problems with secondary American education and possible solutions
B. America’s financial crisis, its cause and influence
C. low rate of American college graduation, its cause and its influence
D. relationship between American education and its economy
D
A team of scientists proved that seals had a very good sense of hearing. These men trained blind seals to expect food when they heard sounds. The seals always began snapping(猛咬) when a strong signal was sounded.
It was proved that even a soft signal, a considerable distance away, could make these sea animals respond. That should make the fisherman who makes much noise while working, or talks loudly, start thinking.
The same team of scientists also trained seals to recognize different sounds. One bell-tone meant food ,two bell-tones meant no food. In the beginning, the seals made mistakes when the two bell-tones were sounded. They were given a light tap after each mistake. The seals were good learners. They easily learned to tell the difference between the sounds.
67.Why was it necessary to use blind seals? Because they______.
A. were unable to use sight for clues B. had better hearing
C. were waiting to be fed D. were the only animals to be found
68. To those seals strong signal meant_____.
A. snappingB. nothingC. foodD. a light tap
69. The article doesn’t say directly but suggests that fishermen usually think______.
A. seals have no good sense of hearing B. seals have good sense of hearing
C. seals can only recognize bell sounds D. seals can not hear soft or long distant sounds
70. Which title will be the best to suit the article?
A. Clever SealsB. Smart Learners
C. An Underwater SchoolD. An Unknown School
C
The outstretched(伸出的) hand caught my eyes immediately. I’d fallen on the sidewalk, having tripped on the curb(路边). A hand was there, ready to help me. Then, warm smile and, “ Are you OK?”
I’d fallen on my hands and knees, and I was fine. But I loved seeing that hand reaching toward me. The woman helped me up, made sure I was all right, and we both went our way.
As I remembered this incident during the next few days, it became a symbol of the significance of helping another one. In the grand scheme of things, such help may often seem small, but at the moment it’s needed, it can feel very significant.
One of my most meaningful lessons on how to help others came at the end of a week-long music workshop. At that final gathering, we each had the opportunity to perform for the other participants. A woman who was much more experienced and accomplished(技艺高超的)than I ---- a piano teacher who attended the workshop in order to learn new teaching techniques- invited me to play the piano with her. I'd actually been quite happy as part of the audience, watching the other students perform. My piano skills were elementary, and my confidence was low.
When she asked, though, it was almost as if she’d taken me by the hand and led me to the piano. As I plunked out a melody(旋律), she played a lovely accompaniment. Hearing that accompaniment to my melody moved me to tears. She was helping my music be beautiful—helping me play my song. But the lasting impact of that experience related to much more. I took away with me the lesson that we are each here to help one another “ play our songs” --- live our lives to the fullest, be the individuals whom we are.
63. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The significance of helping one another.
B. My experience of playing the piano.
C. The people who helped me out.
D. The incident I remembered on the street.
64. Why did the author just want to be part of the audience?
A. She couldn’t play the piano quite well.
B. There was no time left for her to perform.
C. Nobody invited her to play the piano.
D. She was too shy to perform in public.
65. We can infer from the passage that the melody played by the author was ____.
A. moving B. lovely C. so-so D. beautiful
66. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The author appreciated the two women’s help.
B. Small help is also important when it is needed.
C. A piano teacher invited the author to play the piano together.
D. The author was moved to tears because of the beautiful music.
B
There was a Roman general in the 3rd century BC named Regulus who always kept his word. This fact was well known even to Rome’s enemy—Cathage. Once, he lost a battle and was taken prisoner and sent to a Carthage prison for a period of time. Finally, his captors came to him with an offer, which they hoped would cause the Romans to give in, thus ending the war.
They asked General Regulus to go back to Rome. They wanted him to tell the Romans that Carthage was winning the war and it was useless for Rome to continue fighting. They also said that if he refused to do as they asked, he would have to sail back to Cathage and serve as a prisoner of war in their prison. Since General Regulus was a man of honor, they knew he would keep his word and return to Carthage.
Regulus set sail for Rome and on his arrival, he was immediately taken to the authorities (当局). He knew how the war was progressing from the enemy's point of view. He told the Romans that they should not give up but continue fighting, as it would only be a matter of time until Rome would win the battle over Carthage. So the Romans decided to continue the war effort. Large groups of soldiers were sent to battle due to General Regulus' suggestion.
Regulus went home to see his wife and his children but only for a short time. With deep sorrow, he informed them that he had given his word that he would return to Carthage and to his prison. Though they wished he would stay, his family knew that he must keep his word and return. He returned to Carthage as promised but Rome soon won the war.
60. This passage mainly tells us that General Regulus was____.
A. a determined man B. a man of his word
C. loyal to his homeland D. a patient man
61. The underlined word “captors" (in Paragraph 1) probably refers to “____”.
A. people who are taken prisoners B. people who have lost a battle
C. people who have won a battle D. people who keep others prisoners
62. After General Regulus' visit to Rome, the Romans_____.
A. continued the war B. made peace with Carthage
C. gave in D. accepted their failure