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
Michelle Obama, Kate Moss and Samantha Cameron are three of the most stylish﹙时髦的﹚ women on the planet because they have their daughters rather than their style. A new research has shown that women with daughters tend to be more stylish than mothers of sons; a fact partly because of the style advice their daughters offer as they get older.
78 percent of women over the age of 50 say they would be more than happy to let their daughters choose a complete outfit﹙全套衣装﹚ for them. However, just five percent of women say they would turn to their sons for style advice, while 28 percent believe that mothers of boys are less fashionable than women with girls.
“Women who don’t have daughters become less interested in style as they grow older but having a daughter may keep alive her interest in looking great,” comments psychologist Honey Langcaster-James. “And, because of their close relationship, they also have a source of support and encouragement when it comes to their style decisions.”
More than a quarter of women believe that Mums who have sons are less fashion-conscious than Mums with daughters. The most common reasons for this are that daughters are more critical, offer good advice and inspiration, and add an element of competition to look the best while sons don’t seem to care and aren’t as strict as daughters.
Interestingly, although mothers tend to rely on their daughters’ style tips, their confidence isn’t reciprocated﹙互换﹚, with 40 percent of women between the age of 19 and 34 saying they wouldn’t allow their mothers to shop for them as what their mothers would choose for them would not be as good as they expected.
And although they might not appreciate the fashion advice, the research, which was conducted by online retailer Gray & Osbourn, showed that daughters do still need their mothers with 71 percent saying they chat to their female parent every day.
“In short, the research shows just how important relationships are between mothers and daughters,” added Langcaster-James, “and just how much women appreciate an honest and trustworthy opinion.”The opening paragraph is mainly to show .
| A．girls influence their mothers’ style decision |
| B．women with children are often less stylish |
| C．mothers like to follow their children’s advice |
| D．boys are actually better advisors than girls |
Which of the following may Langcaster-James agree with?
| A．Daughters usually love their mothers more than sons do. |
| B．It’s hard for boys to get along well with their mothers. |
| C．Mothers without daughters show less interest in style. |
| D．Girls are more independent than boys in some ways. |
It can be inferred from the passage that girls .
| A．show more interest in science than boys. |
| B．care more about what their mothers wear |
| C．can help a lot to solve family problems |
| D．are good at encouraging other people |
By saying “their confidence isn’t reciprocated” in Paragraph 5, the author means that .
| A．some women don’t like to choose clothes for their mothers |
| B．some women aren’t sure what to wear when attending a party |
| C．some women often show no confidence in themselves |
| D．some women would not like to follow their mothers’ style advice |
What does the author mainly tell us in the passage?
| A．It confuses many parents how to talk with their kids. |
| B．Daughters prefer to talk with their mums instead of dads. |
| C．It is important for parents to respect their children’s choice. |
| D．Mothers of girls are more fashionable than those of boys |
Children in the United States eat too much pizza that some researchers now argue the food should join the ranks of sugary drinks and fast food for the harm they do to health．
In a new study, the researchers found that pizza is a large source of calories, saturated fat(饱和脂肪)and salt in children’s diets．Children should not eat more than two slices of pizza for a meal．and should pair that with salad, rather than with another high-calorie food，the researchers concluded．
“Parents should aim to control pizza consumption(消费), particularly as a snack where it was shown to have a very adverse impact on children, and they should put their pizza dollars toward healthier brands．” said Lisa Powel, director of the Illinois Prevention Research Center．
Pizza has become a matter of focus in recent years for researchers who look at the meals children eat, rather than the nutrients within them．Studies have found pizza is among the greatest sources of calories for children．
“Since pizza remains a common part of children’s diet, we need to make ‘healthy’ pizza．”Powel said．To make pizza healthier, food producers should reduce its saturated fat and salt, and increase its whole grain content，she said．
Whether or not pizza is harmful enough to be picked out as an unhealthy food, the study attracts attention to a larger issue with the modern American lifestyle, said Alexis Tindall, who was not involved in the flow research．Many foods arc eaten too frequently and in large sizes．said Tindall．To solve the problem, people don’t have to give up eating pizza, but instead, they can eat smaller and healthier pizza，she said．
“Make it at home, instead of ordering it out where you don’t have any control over how it’s made．”Tindall said. “When we make it at home, we can choose healthier ingredients，increase the vegetables．reduce fat, and put in less cheese．Pizza doesn’t have to be just pepperoni(意大利辣香肠)and cheese．”According to the research．children shouldn’t eat ．
| A．more than two slices of pizza in a day |
| B．two slices of pizza for a meal |
| C．more pizza with French fries |
| D．pizza along with salad |
Powel suggests healthier pizza should be made ．
| A．with less salt | B．with more ingredients |
| C．in smaller sizes | D．at home |
The last sentence of the passage implies that pepperoni and cheese ．
| A．are not necessary ingredients of pizza |
| B．should be reduced by adding healthier ingredients． |
| C．should all be replaced with healthier ingredient． |
| D．are not the only healthy ingredients of pizza |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Pizza—a real junk food! |
| B．How to prepare better meals for your kids? |
| C．Bring in healthier pizza for Americans |
| D．Discover the harm of eating pizza |
As Internet users become more dependent on the Internet to store information, are people remembering less? If you know your computer will save information, why store it in your own personal memory, your brain? Experts are wondering if the Internet is changing what we remember and how.
In a recent study, Professor Betsy Sparrow conducted some experiments. She and her research team wanted to know how the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they gave people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.
In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the Internet. The information was in a specific computer folder (文件夹). Surprisingly, people later remember the folder location (位置) better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called "transactive memory (交互记忆)"
According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet. Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn't mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.What can we learn about the first experiment?
| A．Sparrow's team typed the information into a computer. |
| B．The first group didn’t know where the information is. |
| C．The two groups remembered the information equally well. |
| D．The second group had a better memory of the information. |
In transactive memory, people ______.
| A．know how to access huge amounts of information later. |
| B．learn how to organize small amounts of information. |
| C．organize huge quantities of information like a computer. |
| D．bear huge quantities of information in mind. |
What is the effect of the Internet according to Sparrow's research?
| A．We are becoming more intelligent. |
| B．We are using memory differently. |
| C．We have poorer memories than before. |
| D．We need a better way to access information. |
The China Daily newspaper group is looking for English-language senior business editors, senior copy editors, copy editors and graphic designers to strengthen its international team. We offer a competitive salary package, free accommodation with utilities paid for, 90 per cent medical reimbursement, a seven-day paid leave, eleven-day public holidays and a return ticket to the country of residence.
Senior Business Editor
You must：
assist the business editor in setting goals and working on achieving them；
be an excellent team person who can generate ideas and think creatively and be able to rewrite totally if needed and mentor junior staff；
ideally have been working or have worked in a position of responsibility and understand what leadership entails；
have had at least five years’ editing experience working on editing the Business Desk and be familiar with industry software.
Senior Copy Editor
You must：
work on shifts in the Business Desk and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print；
edit or rewrite copy and give snappy headlines and captions；
have had at least two years’ editing experience working on editing desks and be familiar with industry software.
Copy Editor
You must：
be good at editing or rewriting copy and writing snappy headlines and captions；
be able to work on shifts for different pages, and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print；
have two years of editing experience working on copy desks, and be familiar with industry software.
Graphic Designer
You must：
have excellent skills in information graphics；
be good at illustrations and freehand drawings；
be experienced in newspaper or magazine layouts；
have a good sense of typography；
have good news judgment；
be well-versed with Macintosh software, including InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop；
be fluent in English.
For enquiries or to apply, write to job @ chinadaily.com.cn.What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To describe the positions of the China Daily newspaper group. |
| B．To describe the working conditions of the China Daily newspaper group. |
| C．To tell you how to become part of this group. |
| D．To advertise for recruiting some good employees. |
What is NOT required about Graphic Designer?
| A．Be well-versed with Photoshop. |
| B．Writing snappy headlines and captions. |
| C．Having a good sense of typography. |
| D．Have excellent skills in information graphics. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Free accommodations are available to the workers. |
| B．The workers there can enjoy a seven-day leave without pay. |
| C．The employees have the right to enjoy eleven-day public holidays. |
| D．The senior business editor’s only job is to help the business editor to set goals. |
Exhausted and unhappy, you still have to squeeze a smile to your friends, or teachers. That’s just life, you may think. But new research suggests that putting on a fake smile can worsen people’s mood and even lower work efficiency.
Lead researcher Brent Scott with other researchers studied a group of bus drivers for two weeks. They tried to find out what happened when the drivers were involved in “surface acting” or fake smiling, and the opposite, “deep acting” which means people put on real smiles by recalling pleasant memories or thinking about their current situation more positively.
The results showed that on days when drivers were forced to smile, they felt depressed and didn’t want to work. On days when they smiled due to positive thoughts, their mood improved a lot as well as their work efficiency.
The research goes against the popular belief among companies that employees should be cheerful to customers at all times. They include employees of shops, banks, call center workers and others who have face-to-face contact with members of the public. “Smiling for the sake of(为了) smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion and coldness, and that’s bad for the organization,” Scott told the Daily Mail.
The study also showed that women were harmed more by fake smiling than men. Their mood and work performance both worsened more. But they were helped more by deep acting — their mood became better and they worked more efficiently.
However, while deep acting seemed to improve mood in the short term, Scott says it’s not a long-term solution for unhappiness.
“There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period that you start to feel inauthentic(不真实的),” Scott said. “You may be trying to cultivate positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself anymore.”Brent Scott and others’ experiments on bus drivers suggest that ______.
| A．depression among bus drivers is common |
| B．thinking in a positive way helps with work efficiency |
| C．bus drivers with pleasant memories tend to be less efficient |
| D．the bus drivers’ work efficiency is determined by their mood |
According to the article, which of the following statements about “fake smiling” is TRUE?
| A．It is good for the business but bad for the employees. |
| B．It doesn’t work on people who are emotionally expressive. |
| C．It is a widely accepted cultural practice in the US. |
| D．It causes more harm to women than men. |
We can conclude from the article that the researchers think that ______.
| A．people should be true to their feelings |
| B．smiling helps to put people in a good mood and become more efficient |
| C．it is unnecessary to cultivate positive emotions |
| D．deep acting can improve mood in the long run |
The article is mainly about ______.
| A．the importance of smiling during face-to-face contact |
| B．a new study on fake smiling and its influence on people |
| C．suggestions on improving work efficiency |
| D．how to cheer up when you are exhausted |